Keeping our pick? This might be a Lottery year

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Make the pick for the Future.....or trade it for 'now'?

  • One last attempt

  • Build for the future....one player won't make enough of a difference

  • Get bad enough to where the pick makes an immediate impact


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Basically tied for the #6/7 spot in the Lottery.

Think it might be time to get more familiar with some of these candidates.
 
There are some interesting players in the Top 7.
 
So if the Blazers stay in the lottery, get the pick, and draft a player with high potential, that prospect will hit their prime around age 25; when Dame will be about 37.

I don't see the point in keeping both Dame and keeping the pick; I think the team in the summer needs to go one direction or the other.

People might point to GSW keeping their rookies, but I don't see putting a few nice vet minimum guys around the core of this roster making the Blazers a top 4 seed as the GSW have done. The Warriors are better able to attract those key vet minimum free agents, their ownership group pays bonko luxury tax, and with this being the third iteration of a GSW contending roster - I have to admit Curry is just at a level above Dame in elevating his team to be a contender.

We either need to use the value of the pick to get better starters in Portland around Dame, or get the most value we can from Dame and go full rebuild.
 
So if the Blazers stay in the lottery, get the pick, and draft a player with high potential, that prospect will hit their prime around age 25 Dame will be about 37.

I don't see the point in keeping both Dame and keeping the pick; I think the team in the summer needs to go one direction or the other.

People might point to GSW keeping their rookies, but I don't see putting a few nice vet minimum guys around the core of this roster making the Blazers a top 4 seed as the GSW have done. The Warriors are better able to attract those key vet minimum free agents, their ownership group pays bonko luxury tax, and with this being the third iteration of a GSW contending roster - I have to admit Curry is just at a level above Dame in elevating his team to be a contender.

We either need to use the value of the pick to get better starters in Portland around Dame, or get the most value we can from Dame and go full rebuild.

I don't agree, at least not much

Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, & Chris Duarte would all help a playoff team this season. And Duarte was a 13th pick. You can plug in names like Anthony Edwards, Lamelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, and Cole Anthony from last year's draft and last season as well

all those guys would help at least as much as RoCo, Simons, Nance, Little

it doesn't have to be an either/or with a good GM
 
While Simons & Little are young and relatively talented, to me the both scream career role player.

Looking at our roster in total, I see one star (although not playing at that level this year with his gut injury) and a whole bunch of role players - one of them even paid like he is a star.

If we can trade enough of our current role players for better role players or a difference maker, I don't hesitate.

I would not, however, trade our picks. We've done that too much with nothing to show for losing the picks. Yes, the draft is a very hit/miss situation but for me, at least, it builds some excitement about new blood and what they may be able to bring to the table. There is also something to be said for young energy (along with a few more mistakes in general) as compared to old, worn-out role players.

I also agree that we are not far from the decision point of blowing the whole thing up. Attendance is suffering. Fan excitement is non-existent. If ever there was a scenario where a team is likely to get sold/moved, we are on that path. Something needs to happen to make people interested, excited again.

Shuffling the role players as we've been doing the past few years is not providing any benefit. Our drafts, while serviceable are nothing to write home about.

Tell me, why should I be excited about this team?

I had hopes that a new coach would potentially shake things up from the sameness of the past few years but without the threat of super-Dame, it exposes the dullness of our plethora of minions and it the Blazers have become the Bottom-Feeding Bumpkins.

/End Rant.
 
lottery odds as of this morning:

essentially, Portland would have about a 32% chance of a top-4 pick

And basically tied with San Antonio who has ~37% chance of getting a top-4 pick.

This team needs more help than just one player that a trade might bring in. Simmons (with a healthy Dame) would be the closest to helping us make a major improvement, but that seems a long shot. Otherwise, Neil did too much damage to this roster that one move will fix. Sadly, it needs a major overhaul and a reset of the salary cap. There are no guarantees, but you have to hope you hit on a major talent again like Dame, but this time, surround him with more size and defense, or have that player be a more physical presence to start with.
 
Dame's injury has pretty much proven that it was Dame, not Olshey, not Stotts, who was responsible for Portland's 8 straight playoff seasons. It was Dame that carried Portland to all the feel-good moments over the last 9 seasons

Olshey especially, and Stotts to a lesser extent, should forward about half of the millions in salary they collected since 2012 directly to Dame. He's the one that earned those millions. Olshey was a Remora, without any of the good qualities
 
lottery odds as of this morning:

View attachment 43056

essentially, Portland would have about a 32% chance of a top-4 pick
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I don't agree, at least not much

Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, & Chris Duarte would all help a playoff team this season. And Duarte was a 13th pick. You can plug in names like Anthony Edwards, Lamelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, and Cole Anthony from last year's draft and last season as well

all those guys would help at least as much as RoCo, Simons, Nance, Little

it doesn't have to be an either/or with a good GM

Wait, you just praised the draft work of Cleveland, Minnesota, Charlotte, Sacramento, and Orlando, i.e., the worst run teams of the past 20 years?

In other words, it's blind luck finding guys who can contribute their first year or two.
 
Wait, you just praised the draft work of Cleveland, Minnesota, Charlotte, Sacramento, and Orlando, i.e., the worst run teams of the past 20 years?

In other words, it's blind luck finding guys who can contribute their first year or two.

lol...c'mon man...get outta here with that bullshit

what I said...clearly...was that there were players taken in the lottery, and later sometimes, who can clearly help a playoff team. Thus, having a higher draft pick was not in conflict with 'win-now'....and it isn't
 
OKC is intentionally bad....and they are only 2 games back of the Blazers. Let that sink in. The Thunder.....with seemingly endless 1st round Draft picks in the next handful of years.

On the 'bright side', the Blazers are only 2 games from being in the #3 spot in the Lottery and having a legit shot at getting a future difference maker.
 
You don't get another player like Dame maybe ever. Rebuilds via the lottery take years, and even then often give mediocre results. And they are boring: "February 18, 2023: The Blazers prize rookie had a rare great game."

Count me OUT.
 
You don't get another player like Dame maybe ever. Rebuilds via the lottery take years, and even then often give mediocre results. And they are boring: "February 18, 2023: The Blazers prize rookie had a rare great game."

Count me OUT.

Again, I would ask, "What rebuild?" We are 2 games away from the #3 pick in the Lottery....without trying like some teams are doing. What exactly would we be rebuilding from? Years of scrapping and clawing just to get throttled in the Playoffs? I would respectfully submit, while there are still good parts to this, the whole is used, played and done.

To be fair, I've been saying that for a number of years. That this version, with the pieces at the top as they are, just don't work if you are trying to be a contender. Nothing has happened to change my mind. In fact, that opinion seems more and more validated each season.
 
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