Looking ahead

[FlashWad]

Great season despite ending ugly. It was nice talking with you fellow blazer fans. We are almost ready to go to the promised land. I will be back in Summer to talk about any moves we make and then back at it next season. Be safe

 

[tiredhunter]

Hood qualifies for the non-Bird simply by finishing the season with us, correct? And you got to the $4.1M because that's 120% of his current salary? I'm trying to think of an example of when we've used this in the past. Thanks in advance!

That is the dream scenario, but man, both have earned themselves bigger paydays than that. Our only hope really remains that there just isn't enough money to go around the league after the major free agents sign.

 

[joeBlazers]

What this team does on "Offense" doesn't really matter. Until this team learns to play defense, they aren't going anywhere. See how Curry lit us up the entire series.
We complained THEY DOUBLED DAME. What exactly was Stotts strategy to stop Curry and force others to score? NONE.

 

[BonesJones]

That is the dream scenario, but man, both have earned themselves bigger paydays than that. Our only hope really remains that there just isn't enough money to go around the league after the major free agents sign.

I stil think Hood is gettable on a 1 year contract for the Tax-Payer ($5.5M).

 

[swish3]

I think that's a bullshit take

for 4 years opponents have paid no penalty for completely selling out their defense in the playoffs to stop Lillard. Kyrie Irving couldn't even make it to the playoffs till Lebron arrived

Dame has had no teammate...none nada zero...who can consistently punish a defense and force them out of their Dame-centered focus. And Stotts has had no clue how to scheme any kind of a response. It's been on Dame to carry the Blazers when he's had guys draped all over him

he's a 6'2 guard being doubled and tripled and trapped and jumped and hedged by guys in the 6'7 to 6'11 range and when he passes it to teammates like Aminu and Mo and ET and Napier they are launching brick after brick

the fucking problem isn't Dame...it's that he doesn't have a teammate like Lebron or KD or PG13 or Kawhi or Steph or even a Klay. he's got the 7 dwarfs and some of them are myopic

Wizenheimer, your post ignores the 1st half of WCF Game 4, in which Meyers was the leader as well as the leading scorer. That 5 of 6 scored swish3 performance is 83% shooting that repeats what Meyers did before in scoring 10 of 13 swish3s as an NBA record for at least 10 made in the Playoffs. In my view, Dame does have a teammate who can run the high post, screen, pass, rebound, hustle, and energize the team if the coaches will recognize and rely on him in the game plan. If we would respect Meyers with some of the optimism that I see often expressed for Zach, Jake, and Ant, and orchestrate him to shoot 6+ swish3s per half, Dame would have the major help that can make us Champions. Meyers is none of the names you list, but he is a talent to be respected and trusted to help Dame lead us to the top. Let's optimize our best and make improvements at Forward, and win!

 

[BonesJones]

Wizenheimer, your post ignores the 1st half of WCF Game 4, in which Meyers was the leader as well as the leading scorer. That 5 of 6 scored swish3 performance is 83% shooting that repeats what Meyers did before in scoring 10 of 13 swish3s as an NBA record for at least 10 made in the Playoffs. In my view, Dame does have a teammate who can run the high post, screen, pass, rebound, hustle, and energize the team if the coaches will recognize and rely on him in the game plan. If we would respect Meyers with some of the optimism that I see often expressed for Zach, Jake, and Ant, and orchestrate him to shoot 6+ swish3s per half, Dame would have the major help that can make us Champions. Meyers is none of the names you list, but he is a talent to be respected and trusted to help Dame lead us to the top. Let's optimize our best and make improvements at Forward, and win!

Even Steph curry cant get up 6 threes a half and you expect Meyers to? Lol.

 

[Blazinaway]

my guess he's thinking the 5.5M tax-MLE for Kanter and the 4.1M non-Bird for Hood

I think we trade out 1st rdr with Turner for capspace and a decent 1 or 2 yr contract player coming back, something like ET to Pels for Etuan Moore, gives us enough cap to pat Hood more, Kanter if he does not come cheap I can let go

 

[TBpup]

More Western Conference Finals trips? Sign me up! We're bound to break through if we keep getting there...

Flukish. They only got to the WCF because Anfernee Simons gave a big FU to Stotts strategy to lose the final game and get the #4 seed. Otherwise, they would have played the Warriors in the semis and never come close to the WCF.

 

[tlongII]

The focus should now shift to winning back to back Summer League Titles.

 

[PCmor7]

You think we can convince Hood and Kanter to take a COMBINED $5 million?

I'm not thinking in terms of any of that. I am thinking that the front office will find a way to get them something decent and I am thinking that Hood and Kanter might be enticed to stay for less money because they found something better here than they did somewhere else.

Everyone thinks it's always about money. For Americans, that's usually the case. But not 100 percent of the time.

 

[PCmor7]

That is the dream scenario, but man, both have earned themselves bigger paydays than that. Our only hope really remains that there just isn't enough money to go around the league after the major free agents sign.

Not our only hope. See above.

 

[Tince]

I'm not thinking in terms of any of that. I am thinking that the front office will find a way to get them something decent and I am thinking that Hood and Kanter might be enticed to stay for less money because they found something better here than they did somewhere else.

Everyone thinks it's always about money. For Americans, that's usually the case. But not 100 percent of the time.

I certainly hope you're right.

I can't think of many players (American or not) who have resigned with us for a significant hometown discount; can you?

 

[dviss1]

Going forward I think the Dame hype must he curbed a tad.

For all his heroics, he's by and large a mediocre Playoff performer when you look past his ppg.

Balls on this post. Big.. Bright.. Fuzzy BALLS on this post...

 

[wizenheimer]

I think we trade out 1st rdr with Turner for capspace and a decent 1 or 2 yr contract player coming back, something like ET to Pels for Etuan Moore, gives us enough cap to pat Hood more, Kanter if he does not come cheap I can let go

I'm having a hard time seeing the Pels having any interest in that. I especially don't think the 2019 first will be an option there. The Pels have the AD situation to sort out before they do anything. And they also have some notable free agents to decide on. IMO, they aren't going to add 10M in salary for a25th pick two weeks before the off-season gets rolling. Maybe after the off-season is a few weeks old Portland might find a little traction for ET and a future 1st for Soloman Hill, but the savings there might be in the 'too-little-too-late' category

I am thinking that the front office will find a way to get them something decent and I am thinking that Hood and Kanter might be enticed to stay for less money because they found something better here than they did somewhere else.

Everyone thinks it's always about money. For Americans, that's usually the case. But not 100 percent of the time.

sure, players give the teams they like discounts all the time. But there's a limit to their generosity

for instance, if all the Blazers can offer Hood is 4.1M or 5.5M for one year and some other team offers him 10M/year on a 3 year deal, he isn't going to leave 25M on the table because he really likes Portland. Same is true for Kanter and Curry

 

[joeBlazers]

Should we look at the Bucks as an example? How do you feel Budenholzer (Bucks coach) could have upgraded our team? No, we don't have a Gianis, but we do have enough talent ... to be more than just the whipping boys of Steve Kerr.
Stotts should be seriously be questioned ... I'm not saying he should be fired, he should be seriously questioned ...

 

[Phatguysrule]

Flukish. They only got to the WCF because Anfernee Simons gave a big FU to Stotts strategy to lose the final game and get the #4 seed. Otherwise, they would have played the Warriors in the semis and never come close to the WCF.

Same as every other team in the western conference...

 

[illmatic99]

Flukish. They only got to the WCF because Anfernee Simons gave a big FU to Stotts strategy to lose the final game and get the #4 seed. Otherwise, they would have played the Warriors in the semis and never come close to the WCF.

Jesus. These takes you'd expect from an outsider. Not someone who follows the team on a daily basis. These two series wins were about as legit as possible. We faced two teams that were at full strength and beat them. One which required a game 7 win on the road in elevation.

Fluke my ass.

 

[B-Roy]

Where are the exit interviews being streamed?

 

[Chris Craig]

I keep hearing the Blazers have Aminus bird rights. Do they?

 

[hoopsjock]

I keep hearing the Blazers have Aminus bird rights. Do they?

Yes

 

[wizenheimer]

I keep hearing the Blazers have Aminus bird rights. Do they?

yes they do....but Aminu was pushing those bird rights down the floor in transition and lost them out of bounds

 

[GDiama]

Guaranteed salaries for 2020-21 are 83M if you consider extending Zach and Simons done deals. The cap is projected at 116 which means 33M cap space. Seriously Aminu's situation will define a lot. Please Neil don't fuck this up.

 

[riverman]

I stil think Hood is gettable on a 1 year contract for the Tax-Payer ($5.5M).

I think he's the guy who we end up convincing to stay on that sort of short deal with an option to get a better one later...I think Curry is history and Kanter might be too expensive unless he plays for peanuts for the same promise.

 

[swish3]

Even Steph curry cant get up 6 threes a half and you expect Meyers to? Lol.

In WCF Game 4 Meyers attempted 6 and made 5 swish3s, and Steph attempted 7 and made 5 swish3s. QED.

 

[swish3]

I think he's the guy who we end up convincing to stay on that sort of short deal with an option to get a better one later...I think Curry is history and Kanter might be too expensive unless he plays for peanuts for the same promise.

I agree with you! Not only is Rodney the one most likely to sign for next year, he is a real scoring threat, play maker, and energy source who played well in the Playoffs. Rodney defended, rebounded, and handled the ball well, and with his Playoff experience and performance can help us win the Championship next year!

 

[James lamphear]

It would seem to me, the longer the contract the more money the player would be giving up. I think the best pitch we could give Kanter would be to sign for the MLE for 1 year, get starters minutes for half the season, and then come the summer of 2020 we would have his early-bird rights. I do question if Kanter is worth $10M a year, but I can see how you could make a case for it.

Kanter might be easier then you think by resigning him he feels safe in Oregon.

 

[James lamphear]

Our hope due there a lot FA out there this year that the money will dry up around the league. Remember this is the first team that Kanter hasn't made waves on. Hood you be surprised that he won't be first name on there list and same on Curry. But out of the 3 I think Curry more likely to leave due olshey would like to give Simons a crack at those minutes. Now Aminu might be different story I think he is 50/50 guy.

 

[wizenheimer]

Guaranteed salaries for 2020-21 are 83M if you consider extending Zach and Simons done deals. The cap is projected at 116 which means 33M cap space. Seriously Aminu's situation will define a lot. Please Neil don't fuck this up.

Damian Lillard $31,626,953
C.J. McCollum $29,354,152
Jusuf Nurkic $12,888,889 (may have a "likely" bonus of 1.25M)
Zach Collins $5,406,255
Andrew Nicholson (stretched) $2,844,430
Anderson Varejao (stretched) $1,913,345
Anfernee Simons $2,252,040
Skal Labissiere $3,484,882 (qualifying offer - cap hold will be 7M)
Gary Trent Jr. $1,663,861

$91,434,807

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/portland-trail-blazers-team-salary/

That's for only 7 players so add 5 roster charges putting them in the 96-97M range depending on Nurkic's bonus. Skal might not be a part of the picture any more. So, somewhere in the 20-22M range for cap-space

but then you have to start backing out salary, or at least consider it will be a big factor

Say they sign Hood for the 5.5M tax MLE this summer. His cap-hold would be 10M in 2020. Now you only have 10-12M in cap-space

say they use both the 2019 and 2020 firsts to add "cheap" players. That will be at least 5M more in guaranteed salary. Now you're down to 5-7M in cap-space; maybe as much 9M if Skal is gone. But you've added 3 players which knock off 3 roster charges so you're back to near 10-12M in space

but if by some miracle Olshey can convince both Kanter and Hood to re-sign for the tax-MLE and non-Bird, then you'd have a 10M cap-hold for Kanter and a 7.8M cap-hold for Hood and your space is just about kaput

and of course, none of that accounts for Aminu or Layman. What happens with them? And there's still the possibility, however remote, of Curry signing for his non-Bird. He'd have a 6.4M cap-hold in 2020

in other words, yes, Portland could have some cap-space in 2020, but it sure looks like they'd need to take a step back next season to get there. Yeah yeah, I know...trade Turner yadayada

 

[GDiama]

Damian Lillard $31,626,953
C.J. McCollum $29,354,152
Jusuf Nurkic $12,888,889 (may have a "likely" bonus of 1.25M)
Zach Collins $5,406,255
Andrew Nicholson (stretched) $2,844,430
Anderson Varejao (stretched) $1,913,345
Anfernee Simons $2,252,040
Skal Labissiere $3,484,882 (qualifying offer - cap hold will be 7M)
Gary Trent Jr. $1,663,861

$91,434,807

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/portland-trail-blazers-team-salary/

That's for only 7 players so add 5 roster charges putting them in the 96-97M range depending on Nurkic's bonus. Skal might not be a part of the picture any more. So, somewhere in the 20-22M range for cap-space

but then you have to start backing out salary, or at least consider it will be a big factor

Say they sign Hood for the 5.5M tax MLE this summer. His cap-hold would be 10M in 2020. Now you only have 10-12M in cap-space

say they use both the 2019 and 2020 firsts to add "cheap" players. That will be at least 5M more in guaranteed salary. Now you're down to 5-7M in cap-space; maybe as much 9M if Skal is gone. But you've added 3 players which knock off 3 roster charges so you're back to near 10-12M in space

but if by some miracle Olshey can convince both Kanter and Hood to re-sign for the tax-MLE and non-Bird, then you'd have a 10M cap-hold for Kanter and a 7.8M cap-hold for Hood and your space is just about kaput

and of course, none of that accounts for Aminu or Layman. What happens with them? And there's still the possibility, however remote, of Curry signing for his non-Bird. He'd have a 6.4M cap-hold in 2020

in other words, yes, Portland could have some cap-space in 2020, but it sure looks like they'd need to take a step back next season to get there. Yeah yeah, I know...trade Turner yadayada

I had Skal leaving, but shit I forgot Varejao and Nicholson. Cap holds don't matter, you can renounce all those. Especially if Kanter stays it should just be for a year to make sure Nurkic takes it easy. Longterm I don't see Kanter having any significant value for this team as he will be forever backup. I was thinking to add some guy in the 10-15M range and then fill roster with minimums, exceptions etc. If Layman signs anything more than QO (a guy we didn't use in playoffs) it will be a waste, just sign him for one year and let him walk next summer. Aminu will define a lot. To be honest I don't want any money committed on him next summer.

 

[hoopsjock]

Damian Lillard $31,626,953
C.J. McCollum $29,354,152
Jusuf Nurkic $12,888,889 (may have a "likely" bonus of 1.25M)
Zach Collins $5,406,255
Andrew Nicholson (stretched) $2,844,430
Anderson Varejao (stretched) $1,913,345
Anfernee Simons $2,252,040
Skal Labissiere $3,484,882 (qualifying offer - cap hold will be 7M)
Gary Trent Jr. $1,663,861

$91,434,807

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/portland-trail-blazers-team-salary/

That's for only 7 players so add 5 roster charges putting them in the 96-97M range depending on Nurkic's bonus. Skal might not be a part of the picture any more. So, somewhere in the 20-22M range for cap-space

but then you have to start backing out salary, or at least consider it will be a big factor

Say they sign Hood for the 5.5M tax MLE this summer. His cap-hold would be 10M in 2020. Now you only have 10-12M in cap-space

say they use both the 2019 and 2020 firsts to add "cheap" players. That will be at least 5M more in guaranteed salary. Now you're down to 5-7M in cap-space; maybe as much 9M if Skal is gone. But you've added 3 players which knock off 3 roster charges so you're back to near 10-12M in space

but if by some miracle Olshey can convince both Kanter and Hood to re-sign for the tax-MLE and non-Bird, then you'd have a 10M cap-hold for Kanter and a 7.8M cap-hold for Hood and your space is just about kaput

and of course, none of that accounts for Aminu or Layman. What happens with them? And there's still the possibility, however remote, of Curry signing for his non-Bird. He'd have a 6.4M cap-hold in 2020

in other words, yes, Portland could have some cap-space in 2020, but it sure looks like they'd need to take a step back next season to get there. Yeah yeah, I know...trade Turner yadayada

If we had a chance at using that cap space though, we could easily just let those guys walk that have cap holds.