SharpesTriumph
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We can agree to disagree. I think a run through the play in would have kept Dame quiet for another yr. Whether that's beneficial to the team overall is debatable but that's not the discussion here.
I just don't like the whole hearted embrace of losing that we've fostered the past two years. It just leads to young guys building bad habits and reflects and overarching culture that losing is OK. And what exactly is it doing for Billups and his coaching education?
Don't get me wrong-- they were fully justified in doing it for Wemby, but given the gusto with which they pursued that strategy leads me to think they'll do it again this yr.
I agree with your concerns of fostering a culture of losing. I think its important we have a number of good vets on the roster. We have plenty of young upside with rookies the last two drafts plus Ant. If we get back one or two more good prospects in a Dame trade then fine. All the other roster spots should be vets regardless if they are starters/ occasional backups/ or end of the bench Udonis Haslem types. When we had a roster of older players and all win now starters we could take some upside swings on young guys breaking out in roster spots 12-15. But that is not needed any more, we need vets in those spots.
The 2024 and 2025 drafts don't look near as good, and the Blazers shouldn't start the year with so many wins as they did the last few seasons.
I'm hoping the Blazers can just try to win and we let the chips fall where they may. If the Blazers do lose and we get a nice pick then fine, hopefully the talent and results gets incrementally better in future years. If the Blazers have some good wins this year or next year that's even better because that means 5-10 players are progressing better than we expect instead of just getting a higher spot for 1 player.