CupWizier
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Then NO shouldn’t have let him walk for nothing and traded him right?
If we only had hindsight to use the decisions would all be perfect.
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Then NO shouldn’t have let him walk for nothing and traded him right?
Because that is Aldridge's personality. He hated Roy for years because he thought he went to dinner without inviting him when it was just a misunderstanding. He was jealous of Lillard getting his own billboards when those were all Adidas billboards not Blazer funded. Popovich didn't trade him when he requested a trade either.
This is the most hindsighted argument of all-time. Before the Wes injury this team was loaded and there was no talk about Aldridge leaving. It was only when the season ended with a thud that he was going to go. Can you name a time in the history of the NBA where a team who had a top-5 record in the NBA traded their best player who was also one of the best players at his position? Why didn't that "genius" Presti trade Durant?
I'm really trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here and understand your perspective. However, Olshey DID fix things with Aldridge. When Olshey took over Aldridge requested a trade. Olshey asked him to allow him to build a team around him, which he did. The summer before Aldridge left was mostly all roses. They had just ended a long streak of not getting out of the 1st round and had most of the roster coming back. If Aldridge gave any indication he was leaving they wouldn't have risked it but instead he said he was staying and wanted to be the best Blazer ever. Anything different is simply changing the plot of the story after the fact. The next season was going incredibly well until the point it was too late to do anything about it. Olshey had even done something he had never done before and went all-in with a trade for Afflalo to put the Blazers over the top. The Blazers were in the middle of winning their 5th game in a row (4 of which were against playoff teams in the West) when Wes went down. Basically I feel like you are saying that it is the GM's responsibility to know that something unforeseen was going to happen after the trade deadline.All I'm saying is if Aldridge was volatile with Roy NO may not have been here but he had to of known it. If NO knew that the entire organization was walking on eggshells around LMA, if he knew that Dame and LMA did not get along, then it was his job to either figure out how to fix that or to trade one of them because it wasn't going to work. Those are all things that have been claimed in this thread that we "knew" at the time, not just now. I never called Presti a genius... Sure there is hindsight in this argument, but isn't NO's job to know a lot of the things that were going on in house at the time, and figure out how to fix them. There was a lot of signs even back then that there were problems you didn't need hindsight to figure it out. Overall I'd still argue that NO deserves credit for turning the roster as well as he did, but the entire thing with LMA was at least partially on him not doing his job well. Sure if LMA was going to leave then NO couldn't control that, but there was a year where even though the team was winning, LMA was allowed to pout about Dame getting attention, where it seemed like there was a total lack of leadership in the organization.
As you have alluded too, LMA was a flip flopper, and weak mentally his entire career, and yes it's hindsight, but that situation wasn't dealt with well.
Except hindsight doesn’t apply here because everyone but apparently Neil knew LaMarcus wanted to leaveIf we only had hindsight to use the decisions would all be perfect.
Except hindsight doesn’t apply here because every but apparently Neil knew LaMarcus wanted to leave
I'm really trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here and understand your perspective. However, Olshey DID fix things with Aldridge. When Olshey took over Aldridge requested a trade. Olshey asked him to allow him to build a team around him, which he did. The summer before Aldridge left was mostly all roses. They had just ended a long streak of not getting out of the 1st round and had most of the roster coming back. If Aldridge gave any indication he was leaving they wouldn't have risked it but instead he said he was staying and wanted to be the best Blazer ever. Anything different is simply changing the plot of the story after the fact. The next season was going incredibly well until the point it was too late to do anything about it. Olshey had even done something he had never done before and went all-in with a trade for Afflalo to put the Blazers over the top. The Blazers were in the middle of winning their 5th game in a row (4 of which were against playoff teams in the West) when Wes went down. Basically I feel like you are saying that it is the GM's responsibility to know that something unforeseen was going to happen after the trade deadline.
Wrong
Except hindsight doesn’t apply here because everyone but apparently Neil knew LaMarcus wanted to leave
Well first of all, just because I blame Aldridge and not Olshey doesn't mean I think Olshey did a "great" job. Second of all, I'm still waiting for examples of teams that were really good that traded their best player in the middle of a really good season? I'm legitimately trying to think of an example.It kind of is the GM's job even though I realize how completely unfair it is, no one has a crystal ball. However the draft is guessing who's going to be good and who isn't, free agency is guessing who will fit and who won't. The roster, and all the stuff that goes into it well it's a ton of guess work, and hoping the future plays out according to plan is the job when someone gets lucky their a great GM, when they don't they suck, it's like Pat Riley is a genius because Wade Lebron and Bosh showed up! (Obviously he had, had success before that I know). Every single GM's job status is based on how well they guessed.
In this case though, at the time they knew there were issues between Dame and LMA (it wasn't a secret). They knew LMA and Roy had similar problems (so this was a pattern with LMA), they knew that the organization was on "eggshells" (your words) around LMA, that LMA seemed to show 0 interest in fixing any of it. No they didn't know that LMA was going to leave, but that situation whether he stayed or not needed to be addressed. That team had one of the better starting 5's in Blazer history (not the best), but they had a ton of talent and yes they were winning, so it made the situation even tougher. However it wasn't exactly a secret even back then that there was smoke there, who knows had LMA of stayed would he of tried to demand they traded Dame, because the star was too bright? Sure now a few years later LMA see's things different, but it didn't seem like at the time he was willing to make that situation better. Which is where leadership comes in, and not just let's appease LMA by pampering his spoiled butt, and telling him hey we'll build the entire team around you, and everyone will be super nice to you. Now obviously with NBA stars there is a lot of pampering that's just expected, but keeping those ego's in check is a big part of what coaching is for, but it's also part of the GM's job to make sure the coach is doing it, or if he's not than to make sure it gets done. I just don't know how we come out of that situation and say well NO did a great job, none of it was on him.
You are right. Neil knew too. Thats why he fired our big man coach for leaking it.
This guy needs an official notarized document to believe anything is true lolexcept that you are basing that opinion on nothing but speculation and no proof. Did Aldridge express that he wanted to remain a Blazer before the season started? If you answer truthfully then you know that your post was then false.
Except hindsight doesn’t apply here because everyone but apparently Neil knew LaMarcus wanted to leave
Not even relative. The leak happened right before he agreed to sign with San Antonio so he couldn't have been traded by then anyway. Why are there so many posters trying to revise history?
Well first of all, just because I blame Aldridge and not Olshey doesn't mean I think Olshey did a "great" job. Second of all, I'm still waiting for examples of teams that were really good that traded their best player in the middle of a really good season? I'm legitimately trying to think of an example.
I guess the Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas last summer but he was injured and they were getting a better PG in return.
In a small market you have to sometimes take a risk that your star will stay, especially if he is saying publicly he is. OKC did it with Durant. Cleveland did the 1st time with LeBron. Toronto did with Bosh. Did you know that Tim Duncan was set to sign with the Magic in 2000? He backed out at the last minute because Doc Rivers didn't allow family members on the team plane and wouldn't change his policy for Duncan (what an idiot). I just think it's crazy to blame anyone other than the player.
This guy needs an official notarized document to believe anything is true lol
Neil has his puppets in full force in this forum defending everything he has ever doneread this and then tell me everyone knew that Aldridge wanted to leave. It wasn;t until Mathews went down and we failed in the playoffs that Aldridge began to change his mind, but that was well after the trade deadline.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...ers_lamarcus_aldridge_pledges_to_sign_co.html
What?
How is this not relative? Hughes says it wasn't publicized, but we lost LMA. Then NO fired him. How is that not relative and revising history????
Read the link below please.....
It happened right before the draft. Not right before he signed with SA
"Well, people don't realize we just went young,'' Hughes said in the interview. "We didn't publicize it, but we lost LaMarcus Aldridge. It hasn't been declared yet, but I'm sure he won't come back. We will go young.''
The interview was taped on June 27, the day after the NBA Draft and the day after Blazers' president of basketball operations Neil Olshey made a spirited denial of national reports that Aldridge had told the team he was leaving."
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...zers_fire_kim_hughes_assistant_coach_who.html
Seems like you are the one trying to revise history.
The point is NO knew.
Neil has his puppets in full force in this forum defending everything he has ever done
Orion, we are talking about whether he was going to leave prior to the trade deadline. It all changed when Wes went down and the season ended with a thud instead of on a high note like possibly making the WCF. Anything that happened that summer doesn't prove anything either way.What?
How is this not relative? Hughes says it wasn't publicized, but we lost LMA. Then NO fired him. How is that not relative and revising history????
Read the link below please.....
It happened right before the draft. Not right before he signed with SA
"Well, people don't realize we just went young,'' Hughes said in the interview. "We didn't publicize it, but we lost LaMarcus Aldridge. It hasn't been declared yet, but I'm sure he won't come back. We will go young.''
The interview was taped on June 27, the day after the NBA Draft and the day after Blazers' president of basketball operations Neil Olshey made a spirited denial of national reports that Aldridge had told the team he was leaving."
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...zers_fire_kim_hughes_assistant_coach_who.html
Seems like you are the one trying to revise history.
The point is NO knew.
It’s become very obvious Neil can do no wrong in your eyes... you probably have a picture of him in your wallet. Fans have no right to complain about anything he has done... you feel the need to comment on and defend every anti Neil postIt's become very obvious when a few of you can't back up your posts you resort to making false claims and fabricating shit. Grow up. You act like you know everything but continually prove you don't know shit with your posts.
That was shortly before free agency opened. Explain to me how Olshey could have traded him? If Aldridge had decided he was signing elsewhere there is absolutely nothing anyone could have done as it was AFTER the fact and well after when he could have been traded.
Orion, we are talking about whether he was going to leave prior to the trade deadline. It all changed when Wes went down and the season ended with a thud instead of on a high note like possibly making the WCF. Anything that happened that summer doesn't prove anything either way.
I couldn't think of an example, but that doesn't mean he couldn't of been first. I did know about all of those players including Duncan. LMA definitely gets the "blame", but NO doesn't get a pass for it either, it was his player, his roster, he was the leader.
I just want someone to show me that they thought trading Aldridge during a season where we had a shot at something special was what they would've done AT THE TIME. Not based on what happened afterwards.Oh I know and my point is NO is a closed lipped MF. unless anyone here was privy to the convo WHEN NO was notified, nobody really knows when he was aware, or could have figured it out.
I never said he could trade him after the draft. I simply said NO knew. If he knew when Hughes did, how do you know he DIDN'T know earlier? Do you know when NO was notified? If not, then you don't know when either, but it is plainly clear that many people knew before they admitted to knowing.
The gray area is how much earlier did they know?
None of us know this, but we DO know that NO is in charge of things like this. If he didn't explore all possible scenarios including LMA leaving and just banked on him resigning, that was a mistake. You dont take chances like that without having a plan b and c.
I just want someone to show me that they thought trading Aldridge during a season where we had a shot at something special was what they would've done AT THE TIME. Not based on what happened afterwards.
He did, but I didn't believe it was sincereexcept that you are basing that opinion on nothing but speculation and no proof. Did Aldridge express that he wanted to remain a Blazer before the season started? If you answer truthfully then you know that your post was then false.
This guy needs a video of Neil saying he knew to believe it... he is in love with Neillol, so because he knew shortly before free agency opened then he probably knew before the trade deadline? Now that's some seriously hilarious speculation there. It's impossible to have a logical discussion with many of you posters as you guys create your own manufactured scenarios.
He did, but I didn't believe it was sincere