Isaac Ropp speaks THE TRUTH

[wizenheimer]

Thats a big reason I don't want to make unnecessary sacrifices to try and get better this year when it would hurt us next year. Wait and see what happens with GS next year and if they lose some key pieces (Durant) then thats the time to strike in the west, this year we would just be attempting to be at best be the losers of the Conference finals or whenever we face the Warriors.

what a great strategy!

wait till this summer to see if Durant leaves the Warriors, then they'd drop all the way back to where they were when they won 73 games and a championship

and then if Durant does leave, Portland can trade with Indiana for Paul George...oh wait, he signed with OKC?

ok, trade with Chicago for Jimmy Butler...no, trade with Minny...no, trade with Philly...oh wait, he's signing in LA....dammit

well, then trade with the Spurs for Kawhi....wait, trade with Toronto....wait...he signed with the other LA...dammit again

ok then...how about Turner + Harkless + Trent + future 1sts for Anthony Davis....what? 26 other teams can beat that package...like a drum? how did that happen?

let's see now....I've got it! Lots of Blazer fans have been suckered into the "be-patient" bullshit so let's sell waiting till the Warriors suck and Portland's bad contracts have expired as the bestest plan of all. Be patient, episode 8 when we see overrated players being held untouchable, again, Dame getting another year older, again, snake oil pouring out of the front office like a red moon tide, and then, just watch what happens in July of 2020...ok, make that July 2022...just to be safe

 

[Hoopguru]

what a great strategy!

wait till this summer to see if Durant leaves the Warriors, then they'd drop all the way back to where they were when they won 73 games and a championship

and then if Durant does leave, Portland can trade with Indiana for Paul George...oh wait, he signed with OKC?

ok, trade with Chicago for Jimmy Butler...no, trade with Minny...no, trade with Philly...oh wait, he's signing in LA....dammit

well, then trade with the Spurs for Kawhi....wait, trade with Toronto....wait...he signed with the other LA...dammit again

ok then...how about Turner + Harkless + Trent + future 1sts for Anthony Davis....what? 26 other teams can beat that package...like a drum? how did that happen?

let's see now....I've got it! Lots of Blazer fans have been suckered into the "be-patient" bullshit so let's sell waiting till the Warriors suck and Portland's bad contracts have expired as the bestest plan of all. Be patient, episode 8 when we see overrated players being held untouchable, again, Dame getting another year older, again, snake oil pouring out of the front office like a red moon tide, and then, just watch what happens in July of 2020...ok, make that July 2022...just to be safe

Relax and enjoy the season!

 

[ripcityboy]

Relax and enjoy the season!

That should be the the motto for every Blazer campaign in search of the championship. No wait: Relax. Take a bunch of trazodone and enjoy the season!

That's better...

 

[julius]

I know. What would I do otherwise?

Well done. You have now earned a "remove one strike" card.

 

[HailBlazers]

what a great strategy!

wait till this summer to see if Durant leaves the Warriors, then they'd drop all the way back to where they were when they won 73 games and a championship

and then if Durant does leave, Portland can trade with Indiana for Paul George...oh wait, he signed with OKC?

ok, trade with Chicago for Jimmy Butler...no, trade with Minny...no, trade with Philly...oh wait, he's signing in LA....dammit

well, then trade with the Spurs for Kawhi....wait, trade with Toronto....wait...he signed with the other LA...dammit again

ok then...how about Turner + Harkless + Trent + future 1sts for Anthony Davis....what? 26 other teams can beat that package...like a drum? how did that happen?

let's see now....I've got it! Lots of Blazer fans have been suckered into the "be-patient" bullshit so let's sell waiting till the Warriors suck and Portland's bad contracts have expired as the bestest plan of all. Be patient, episode 8 when we see overrated players being held untouchable, again, Dame getting another year older, again, snake oil pouring out of the front office like a red moon tide, and then, just watch what happens in July of 2020...ok, make that July 2022...just to be safe

None of those Stars listed were attainable by us for a variety of reasons, but ok...

 

[wizenheimer]

None of those Stars listed were attainable by us for a variety of reasons, but ok...

you don't know that, but it perfectly fits the Olshey narrative

he offers below average role player(s) with three late firsts for PG13 and it's "look, at least I tried but he just wasn't available to us"

he makes the only decent assets Portland has "untouchable" and it becomes "it takes two to make a trade and the other teams weren't buying our good assets"

he does next to nothing while leaking spin about being aggressive; meanwhile other teams demonstrate what aggressive means and work hard to upgrade their rosters by actually making the top end of their rotations and assets available instead of the bottom end

I think Issac Ropp is kind of a jerk but I think he was accurate about how Olshey's bad-mouthing the Portland situation and mantras about organic growth and chemistry and patience has taken hold and given him cover to sit on his hands and serve his own ego. Yeah, I'm sick of his act and very biased...no denial

 

[Hoopguru]

That should be the the motto for every Blazer campaign in search of the championship. No wait: Relax. Take a bunch of trazodone and enjoy the season!

That's better...

I prefer a little Jamison...Someone told me Trazodone caused ringing in the ear.

 

[THE HCP]

If I knew who this guy was, I'd give my opinion.

 

[hoopsjock]

If I knew who this guy was, I'd give my opinion.

Honest question for The @HCP. I see you saying that you don't know people or who that is quite often. Is this just you trying to be funny or do you really not know people when you say that?

I find it hard to believe that someone born and bred in Portland and who loves sports wouldn't even know of people who were on Talking Ball or on Portland's highest rated show (not just sports) or in this case someone who has been on both.

 

[CupWizier]

 

[THE HCP]

Honest question for The @HCP. I see you saying that you don't know people or who that is quite often. Is this just you trying to be funny or do you really not know people when you say that?

I find it hard to believe that someone born and bred in Portland and who loves sports wouldn't even know of people who were on Talking Ball or on Portland's highest rated show (not just sports) or in this case someone who has been on both.

I haven't listened to local sports talk since probably the late 90s....seriously. Right about when I go into my industry I started to get to know these media "personalities"...... realizing how most of these guys are just random ass dudes who didn't know more about this sports than me or my friends. So I started tuning them out, literally. Never seen an episode of Talkin Ball....even though the producers wanted me to be a guest twice and my boss wouldn't let me because Jaynes was on there. So I honestly don't know who this guy is. I had never heard of Travis Demurs until he showed up on BlazerOne this season.
There are some I like and respect their opinion, like Freeman. I don't follow Quick, Jaynes or any of those guys on Twitter and damn sure wouldn't watch them on TV.
I love coming on here and reading everybody's opinions on our Blazers. The common fan.

 

[tlongII]

I haven't listened to local sports talk since probably the late 90s....seriously. Right about when I go into my industry I started to get to know these media "personalities"...... realizing how most of these guys are just random ass dudes who didn't know more about this sports than me or my friends. So I started tuning them out, literally. Never seen an episode of Talkin Ball....even though the producers wanted me to be a guest twice and my boss wouldn't let me because Jaynes was on there. So I honestly don't know who this guy is. I had never heard of Travis Demurs until he showed up on BlazerOne this season.
There are some I like and respect their opinion, like Freeman. I don't follow Quick, Jaynes or any of those guys on Twitter and damn sure wouldn't watch them on TV.
I love coming on here and reading everybody's opinions on our Blazers. The common fan.

Yeah, but what about me? The UN-common fan.

 

[hoopsjock]

I haven't listened to local sports talk since probably the late 90s....seriously. Right about when I go into my industry I started to get to know these media "personalities"...... realizing how most of these guys are just random ass dudes who didn't know more about this sports than me or my friends. So I started tuning them out, literally. Never seen an episode of Talkin Ball....even though the producers wanted me to be a guest twice and my boss wouldn't let me because Jaynes was on there. So I honestly don't know who this guy is. I had never heard of Travis Demurs until he showed up on BlazerOne this season.
There are some I like and respect their opinion, like Freeman. I don't follow Quick, Jaynes or any of those guys on Twitter and damn sure wouldn't watch them on TV.
I love coming on here and reading everybody's opinions on our Blazers. The common fan.

It's one thing to not listen or watch them, but to not even know the hosts of one of the only Blazer shows or a local sports radio show that has been on the air for 13 years is a little weird.

 

[illmatic99]

I haven't listened to local sports talk since probably the late 90s....seriously. Right about when I go into my industry I started to get to know these media "personalities"...... realizing how most of these guys are just random ass dudes who didn't know more about this sports than me or my friends. So I started tuning them out, literally. Never seen an episode of Talkin Ball....even though the producers wanted me to be a guest twice and my boss wouldn't let me because Jaynes was on there. So I honestly don't know who this guy is. I had never heard of Travis Demurs until he showed up on BlazerOne this season.
There are some I like and respect their opinion, like Freeman. I don't follow Quick, Jaynes or any of those guys on Twitter and damn sure wouldn't watch them on TV.
I love coming on here and reading everybody's opinions on our Blazers. The common fan.

What's so special about Freeman? He actually seems like the least invested of the lot. He's been here for like over 10 yrs now and still doesn't understand CBA rules, fan sentiments, etc and has like no connections to players/agents/management. Compete waste of access and credentials I think. Chris Haynes was an awful writer and so often got played by agents (remember the Batum extension?) , but he leveraged his position and connections here to get multiple national gigs. But at least he improved-- not seeing that from Freeman.

And Quick for all his faults is probably the writer who is most connected with this fanbase and team. His writing is also excellent and he digs deep into his connections.

 

[Rhal]

what a great strategy!

wait till this summer to see if Durant leaves the Warriors, then they'd drop all the way back to where they were when they won 73 games and a championship

and then if Durant does leave, Portland can trade with Indiana for Paul George...oh wait, he signed with OKC?

ok, trade with Chicago for Jimmy Butler...no, trade with Minny...no, trade with Philly...oh wait, he's signing in LA....dammit

well, then trade with the Spurs for Kawhi....wait, trade with Toronto....wait...he signed with the other LA...dammit again

ok then...how about Turner + Harkless + Trent + future 1sts for Anthony Davis....what? 26 other teams can beat that package...like a drum? how did that happen?

let's see now....I've got it! Lots of Blazer fans have been suckered into the "be-patient" bullshit so let's sell waiting till the Warriors suck and Portland's bad contracts have expired as the bestest plan of all. Be patient, episode 8 when we see overrated players being held untouchable, again, Dame getting another year older, again, snake oil pouring out of the front office like a red moon tide, and then, just watch what happens in July of 2020...ok, make that July 2022...just to be safe

By the warriors logic we shouldn't do anything because nothing we do is going to put us on that level so we might as well just blow it up and hope in 5 years to be good enough to compete because we won't do it against them even with Durant leaving. Or is there some magic trade that we turned down or haven't done that could put us on the same level because if there isn't then why rush and screw ourselves for the future to just lose again and again to them?

Do you have empirical evidence that we could have traded for PG, JB, or Kawhi? Everything surrounded those trades made it seem like it a no go for us in every since, not because we didn't want to pull the trigger but because we didn't have what those teams were looking for or in PG's case they just straight up turned us down. You seem very pissed off that we aren't making any moves but all the things you point to are in the passed and we had no shot at. What could we have done that isn't some BS speculation of "oh that team made a trade we should have made that trade instead" because that is not how the NBA works. Different GM's and teams value players vastly differently. Is there any move we could have made that we didn't recently, because it really doesn't' seem like we missed out on any blockbusters because we didn't want to move CJ. Also NO has shown he is willing to part with players he loves if the blockbuster trade is there, just look at the CP3 trade.

PG we offered 3 1st round picks for and EVERYONE I MEAN EVERYONE thought he was going to LA and whoever traded for him had no shot of resigning him.

Kawhi wasn't going to be traded to a West Coast team, that was reported and rumored almost the entire time he was on the block. We don't' know if Kawhi is going to stay but if he does that's a win for Toronto if he doesn't then that's a major loss for them. Also are you saying that a package centered around CJ would trump one surrounding Derozen?

In JB case he was with a team in our conference that both FO's have had problems with each other in the past and I don't think there has ever been a star traded to another team in the same conference when both are trying to compete and not blow it up. If your talking about from Chicago They gave up their last two high selected lottery players for him, something that I don't think a package of CJ was better then. Also JB c looks more and more like a headcase that causes problems everywhere he goes.

Like in poker, to panic and make a move to make a move is usually idiocracy and almost never works. I can see your anger in this post and other posts but that anger seems misdirected or anger only in hindsight unless you know of some blockbuster trade we turned down because NO valued his players to highly.

 

[BonesJones]

you don't know that, but it perfectly fits the Olshey narrative

he offers below average role player(s) with three late firsts for PG13 and it's "look, at least I tried but he just wasn't available to us"

he makes the only decent assets Portland has "untouchable" and it becomes "it takes two to make a trade and the other teams weren't buying our good assets"

he does next to nothing while leaking spin about being aggressive; meanwhile other teams demonstrate what aggressive means and work hard to upgrade their rosters by actually making the top end of their rotations and assets available instead of the bottom end

I think Issac Ropp is kind of a jerk but I think he was accurate about how Olshey's bad-mouthing the Portland situation and mantras about organic growth and chemistry and patience has taken hold and given him cover to sit on his hands and serve his own ego. Yeah, I'm sick of his act and very biased...no denial

You dont know who Olshey did or didnt go after, and the circumstances surrounding why it didnt happen.

 

[BonesJones]

By the warriors logic we shouldn't do anything because nothing we do is going to put us on that level so we might as well just blow it up and hope in 5 years to be good enough to compete because we won't do it against them even with Durant leaving. Or is there some magic trade that we turned down or haven't done that could put us on the same level because if there isn't then why rush and screw ourselves for the future to just lose again and again to them?

Do you have empirical evidence that we could have traded for PG, JB, or Kawhi? Everything surrounded those trades made it seem like it a no go for us in every since, not because we didn't want to pull the trigger but because we didn't have what those teams were looking for or in PG's case they just straight up turned us down. You seem very pissed off that we aren't making any moves but all the things you point to are in the passed and we had no shot at. What could we have done that isn't some BS speculation of "oh that team made a trade we should have made that trade instead" because that is not how the NBA works. Different GM's and teams value players vastly differently. Is there any move we could have made that we didn't recently, because it really doesn't' seem like we missed out on any blockbusters because we didn't want to move CJ. Also NO has shown he is willing to part with players he loves if the blockbuster trade is there, just look at the CP3 trade.

PG we offered 3 1st round picks for and EVERYONE I MEAN EVERYONE thought he was going to LA and whoever traded for him had no shot of resigning him.

Kawhi wasn't going to be traded to a West Coast team, that was reported and rumored almost the entire time he was on the block. We don't' know if Kawhi is going to stay but if he does that's a win for Toronto if he doesn't then that's a major loss for them. Also are you saying that a package centered around CJ would trump one surrounding Derozen?

In JB case he was with a team in our conference that both FO's have had problems with each other in the past and I don't think there has ever been a star traded to another team in the same conference when both are trying to compete and not blow it up. If your talking about from Chicago They gave up their last two high selected lottery players for him, something that I don't think a package of CJ was better then. Also JB c looks more and more like a headcase that causes problems everywhere he goes.

Like in poker, to panic and make a move to make a move is usually idiocracy and almost never works. I can see your anger in this post and other posts but that anger seems misdirected or anger only in hindsight unless you know of some blockbuster trade we turned down because NO valued his players to highly.

Also, what do you wanna bet that Jimmy, Kawhi, and PG said there would be little to no chance theyd resign here? Do people want us to trade for a one-year rental?

 

[wizenheimer]

or in PG's case they just straight up turned us down.
PG we offered 3 1st round picks for

this is exactly what I was talking about

you say "3 first round picks" as it that's some great offer, but it ignores that all three were in the last half of the same draft, a draft that was considered kind of weak outside of the lottery. I'm so tired of some Blazer fans acting like that was a great collection of picks. What we also know about Portland's supposed good offer was that Dame, CJ, and Nurk were all off the table and after that, Indiana could have their choice of any player on Portland's roster, but as I pointed out, only one player had enough salary to make a legal trade...Turner. There was no mention of Portland making available any combination of players

so then, when OKC was offering a package of Oladipo and Sabonis (an 11th pick a year earlier), the Blazers were countering with an offer of Turner and 3 non-lottery 1st's....and the tears flow about how Portland just couldn't get Indiana interested in their "strong" offer or that KP wouldn't deal with Portland. Even if you think it didn't have to be Turner but something like Harkless + Meyers, it's hardly a competitive offer

the point being, of course Portland can't generate interest in their trade proposals because they aren't serious proposals.

 

[hoopsjock]

this is exactly what I was talking about

you say "3 first round picks" as it that's some great offer, but it ignores that all three were in the last half of the same draft, a draft that was considered kind of weak outside of the lottery. I'm so tired of some Blazer fans acting like that was a great collection of picks. What we also know about Portland's supposed good offer was that Dame, CJ, and Nurk were all off the table and after that, Indiana could have their choice of any player on Portland's roster, but as I pointed out, only one player had enough salary to make a legal trade...Turner. There was no mention of Portland making available any combination of players

so then, when OKC was offering a package of Oladipo and Sabonis (an 11th pick a year earlier), the Blazers were countering with an offer of Turner and 3 non-lottery 1st's....and the tears flow about how Portland just couldn't get Indiana interested in their "strong" offer or that KP wouldn't deal with Portland. Even if you think it didn't have to be Turner but something like Harkless + Meyers, it's hardly a competitive offer

the point being, of course Portland can't generate interest in their trade proposals because they aren't serious proposals.

The 2017 draft was considered one of the deepest ever.

 

[hoopsjock]

you don't know that, but it perfectly fits the Olshey narrative

he offers below average role player(s) with three late firsts for PG13 and it's "look, at least I tried but he just wasn't available to us"

he makes the only decent assets Portland has "untouchable" and it becomes "it takes two to make a trade and the other teams weren't buying our good assets"

he does next to nothing while leaking spin about being aggressive; meanwhile other teams demonstrate what aggressive means and work hard to upgrade their rosters by actually making the top end of their rotations and assets available instead of the bottom end

I think Issac Ropp is kind of a jerk but I think he was accurate about how Olshey's bad-mouthing the Portland situation and mantras about organic growth and chemistry and patience has taken hold and given him cover to sit on his hands and serve his own ego. Yeah, I'm sick of his act and very biased...no denial

And please stop the notion that ET was the only player possibly offered because of Quick's wording. That's not what was meant and is completely moronic to imply otherwise.

 

[Rhal]

this is exactly what I was talking about

you say "3 first round picks" as it that's some great offer, but it ignores that all three were in the last half of the same draft, a draft that was considered kind of weak outside of the lottery. I'm so tired of some Blazer fans acting like that was a great collection of picks. What we also know about Portland's supposed good offer was that Dame, CJ, and Nurk were all off the table and after that, Indiana could have their choice of any player on Portland's roster, but as I pointed out, only one player had enough salary to make a legal trade...Turner. There was no mention of Portland making available any combination of players

so then, when OKC was offering a package of Oladipo and Sabonis (an 11th pick a year earlier), the Blazers were countering with an offer of Turner and 3 non-lottery 1st's....and the tears flow about how Portland just couldn't get Indiana interested in their "strong" offer or that KP wouldn't deal with Portland. Even if you think it didn't have to be Turner but something like Harkless + Meyers, it's hardly a competitive offer

the point being, of course Portland can't generate interest in their trade proposals because they aren't serious proposals.

It was 3 picks and anyone not named CJ/Dame/Nurk in what was considered a very deep draft. This is why iv taken such an umbrage with your posts because you just assume we could have done the same thing other teams had or that NO is doing nothing but sitting in his office twiddling his thumbs since we don't have rumors swirling left and right since very little leaks out of portlands front office. EVEYRONE and I do mean everyone, thought that PG was bolting after 1 year for LA. PG never once said he was going to resign with OKC and it was a great shock when he did since It was considered a forgone conclusion that it was happening otherwise he would have gotten a lot more then Oladipo and Sabonis for him.

 

[wizenheimer]

And please stop the notion that ET was the only player possibly offered because of Quick's wording. That's not what was meant and is completely moronic to imply otherwise.

it doesn't matter though.

whether it was Meyers + Harkless, or Turner, or Turner + Baldwin, or Meyers + Aminu, or Harkless + Davis, there's simply no competitive offer there. Turner, Meyers, and Harkless all have bloated contracts, and Davis was an expiring. The value was so low it was never a serious proposal. And if we're talking about 2 players and 3 draft picks, how many rosters have room for 5 guaranteed contracts?

 

[hoopsjock]

it doesn't matter though.

whether it was Meyers + Harkless, or Turner, or Turner + Baldwin, or Meyers + Aminu, or Harkless + Davis, there's simply no competitive offer there. Turner, Meyers, and Harkless all have bloated contracts, and Davis was an expiring. The value was so low it was never a serious proposal. And if we're talking about 2 players and 3 draft picks, how many rosters have room for 5 guaranteed contracts?

I know, I wasn't arguing anything other than your repeated stance that only ET fit the criteria.

 

[wizenheimer]

I know, I wasn't arguing anything other than your repeated stance that only ET fit the criteria.

yeah I know, and you're right...I was just using it as an easy example of why the "we offered three 1st's" was really misleading

as for the 2017 draft, I remembered it as being weak, but maybe that was in top-end talent compared to other drafts, but the depth was better. Certainly, at this point, several players taken after Zach are performing better. I was pretty impressed with Terrance Ferguson last night

 

[hoopsjock]

yeah I know, and you're right...I was just using it as an easy example of why the "we offered three 1st's" was really misleading

as for the 2017 draft, I remembered it as being weak, but maybe that was in top-end talent compared to other drafts, but the depth was better. Certainly, at this point, several players taken after Zach are performing better. I was pretty impressed with Terrance Ferguson last night

The Pacers blew their pick too when they took TJ Leaf at #18.

I don't think I've had the pleasure of having this argument with you but the Pacers with 4 1sts (including their own or they could have asked for a future 1st instead of pick #26) could've easily moved up a few spots from #15 to get Donovan Mitchell (Utah traded #24 and Trey Lyles to move up to #13). Then they could've drafted any two of players including John Collins, OG Anunboy, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, etc. I'd argue that a Mitchell, Collins, and OG trio might be better long term than Oladipo and Sabonis.

 

[TBpup]

yeah I know, and you're right...I was just using it as an easy example of why the "we offered three 1st's" was really misleading

as for the 2017 draft, I remembered it as being weak, but maybe that was in top-end talent compared to other drafts, but the depth was better. Certainly, at this point, several players taken after Zach are performing better. I was pretty impressed with Terrance Ferguson last night

Our guard defense makes almost every other team's guards look good....so tough to know what he is really like. He's averaging 6 ppg this year....so is he good, or just good against lilliputian defense?

 

[THE HCP]

It's one thing to not listen or watch them, but to not even know the hosts of one of the only Blazer shows or a local sports radio show that has been on the air for 13 years is a little weird.

Why weird? We don't have Comcast, so I've never seen ANY Comcast show. I don't listen to local radio. And don't follow any local people on Twitter. So at what point do you think I would ever come across these people?
I just rode up in the elevator with Dame. Thats where I get my "inside" team info......not from some local radio hack.

 

[THE HCP]

What's so special about Freeman? He actually seems like the least invested of the lot. He's been here for like over 10 yrs now and still doesn't understand CBA rules, fan sentiments, etc and has like no connections to players/agents/management. Compete waste of access and credentials I think. Chris Haynes was an awful writer and so often got played by agents (remember the Batum extension?) , but he leveraged his position and connections here to get multiple national gigs. But at least he improved-- not seeing that from Freeman.

And Quick for all his faults is probably the writer who is most connected with this fanbase and team. His writing is also excellent and he digs deep into his connections.

Because Freeman is a cool guy the you could sit down, have a beer with and talk sports. He doesn't make it about him. He doesn't include himself in his articles. I actually liked Haynes as well for the opposite reason. He really got in there and tried to get that scoop regardless. Thing with him is, he is actually a really nice cool guy. I guess with me having the opportunity to get to know these guys, if I don't like em personally, their opinion doesn't mean anything to me. I can promise you, the players aren't revealing anything to Jaynes and Quick...... they do with Haynes. He's a good follow.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Why weird? We don't have Comcast, so I've never seen ANY Comcast show. I don't listen to local radio. And don't follow any local people on Twitter. So at what point do you think I would ever come across these people?
I just rode up in the elevator with Dame. Thats where I get my "inside" team info......not from some local radio hack.

Did he tell you, you’re getting traded?

 

[THE HCP]

Did he tell you, you’re getting traded?

He said he wanted to stick with me and didn't want to disrupt our chemistry! HA!
Actually we never talk basketball really. Boxing, movies and music.
We were talking about the new boxing company/streaming service DAZN. Since I'm no longer covering boxing for HBO, he was asking if I plan on working with them. That kid knows more about the sweet science the anybody I know.