No context tweets from Hart and Nurkic

[SlyPokerCat]

Kyrie was healthy for the playoffs. He played with Durant for two years into the playoffs, so we have a pretty good sample. I don't share your opinion that Dame is clearly better -they have put up pretty similar numbers over the years, and Kyrie is two years younger in a comparison of two guys both on the wrong side of 30. Durant himself will be 34 when the season starts.

The more significant comp to me is the payroll of each team. The Nets could afford to surround Durant and irving with more talent, and they still weren't able to get past the 2nd round either year they played together. The adjustments that Portland would have to make to bring in Durant would pretty much guarantee there would be little money left to fill out a team, as we have already seen for a number of years with Dame and C.J.

Why do you care? It isn't your money. We got under the tax this year. We would still have Grant for one year, Hart for one year, who knows what Nurkic will cost. Probably not much more than 12 million a year.

So we have all these dudes for one year, get to see what happens with the team, and have options to let salary go if it is a colossal failure.

Better than just hanging out without a shot at contending the next few years with an aging star.

 

[John Law]

Why do you care? It isn't your money. We got under the tax this year. We would still have Grant for one year, Hart for one year, who knows what Nurkic will cost. Probably not much more than 12 million a year.

So we have all these dudes for one year, get to see what happens with the team, and have options to let salary go if it is a colossal failure.

Better than just hanging out without a shot at contending the next few years with an aging star.

People keep saying that, as they said it when Paul was alive, and they ignore the fact that ownership - the people whose money it is- clearly care how much of it is spent. Now that the team is probably being prepped for sale, I think they probably REALLY care. In any case, this argument ignores my earlier objection: what about the future of the team? Durant is signed for the next four years. There is no way ownership is going to pay luxury tax over that span. So that means letting guys go when their contracts expire, and a steady diet of player rentals and minimum contracts. We've already seen where that leads us. No thanks, I think Cronin gets it and is taking the team in a different direction, thankfully. The Blazers are getting younger and deeper, and that is how you win.

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

We've already seen what KD did with Kyrie - not much. I'm less worried about if Dame would get mad and more concerned with my team being good from top to bottom. Trading for Durant would not help the team win. Drafting well and acquiring players who punch their salary cap weight does.

Hello,

How many games did copout Kyrie play in?
Less than half i believe?
Not what KD signed up for, im sure.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

People keep saying that, as they said it when Paul was alive, and they ignore the fact that ownership - the people whose money it is- clearly care how much of it is spent. Now that the team is probably being prepped for sale, I think they probably REALLY care. In any case, this argument ignores my earlier objection: what about the future of the team? Durant is signed for the next four years. There is no way ownership is going to pay luxury tax over that span. So that means letting guys go when their contracts expire, and a steady diet of player rentals and minimum contracts. We've already seen where that leads us. No thanks, I think Cronin gets it and is taking the team in a different direction, thankfully. The Blazers are getting younger and deeper, and that is how you win.

Might as well trade Dame then.

Ownership absolutely can care about the money, but you gotta pay to win in most cases. Jody sure seemed stoked about the team in the war room. I don't think having Durant and Dame on the team at their salaries would scare off someone like Phil Knight from offering up money to buy the team.

Building for the future means you don't intend to win anytime soon. Why keep Dame if a prize is looking at you straight in the face saying I can make you a contender?

A team with Dame and Durant would get ring chasers. That is a good thing. Dame could even decide to extend for less money than $50 million per year to be able to keep other players. Too many variables.

Bottom line is, you don't turn down KD wanting to team up with Dame. Doing so is straight up idiocy, even if it means we only are Finals contenders for 2 years. Be honest with yourself, when is the last time we really were contenders as a franchise?

 

[Wade Garrett]

If Portland ever got a chance at putting Dame and Durant together they better move on that.
Never mind we could have drafted the guy.

I wouldn't trade Damian for KD, but the two of them teaming up in PDX seems like a no-brainer.
Sure, it may gut the future, but just to taste one chip? Who cares about 2028?

 

[John Law]

I think it's legitimate to point out that ring chasers might come to Portland on cheap contracts. On the other hand, I can't remember that ever happening in Portland, even when the Blazers were contenders.

I do turn down Durant wanting to team up with Dame. I think that would be a disaster for my favorite team that is just starting to come out of a similar multi-year disaster. My hope is that this new team gels and the young guys are able to jump in and contribute like I see on other contenders. With all the picks Olshey traded away in recent years, this is the first year that it feels like a real pipeline is being built. Hopefully, they stay on that course and don't let the siren song of some aging team-hopper lull them into burning it all down again.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

I think it's legitimate to point out that ring chasers might come to Portland on cheap contracts. On the other hand, I can't remember that ever happening in Portland, even when the Blazers were contenders.

I do turn down Durant wanting to team up with Dame. I think that would be a disaster for my favorite team that is just starting to come out of a similar multi-year disaster. My hope is that this new team gels and the young guys are able to jump in and contribute like I see on other contenders. With all the picks Olshey traded away in recent years, this is the first year that it feels like a real pipeline is being built. Hopefully, they stay on that course and don't let the siren song of some aging team-hopper lull them into burning it all down again.

Staying the course and letting the cake bake worked for us last time, right?

We are talking about one of the best players to ever play in the NBA.

Rod Strickland and Detlef Schrempf signed on when we were contenders. We haven't been real contenders since back then.

 

[riverman]

Staying the course and letting the cake bake worked for us last time, right?

We are talking about one of the best players to ever play in the NBA.

Rod Strickland and Detlef Schrempf signed on when we were contenders. We haven't been real contenders since back then.

This is a way different cake...you can't go back to ten years of Olshey and compare what the front office is trying to do now in my view....Jerami Grant isn't Mario Hezonja and Josh Hart isn't Anthony Tolliver so....let's move on from what didn't work last time..we had a contender before Wes went down though...Dame Wes Nico LA and Rolo were as good as any team in the league that season.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

This is a way different cake...you can't go back to ten years of Olshey and compare what the front office is trying to do now in my view....Jerami Grant isn't Mario Hezonja and Josh Hart isn't Anthony Tolliver so....let's move on from what didn't work last time..we had a contender before Wes went down though...Dame Wes Nico LA and Rolo were as good as any team in the league that season.

I'm not talking about Olshey. I'm talking about Roy, Sergio, Rudy, Bayless, Oden, Aldridge, Batum etc. "Let the cake bake' was the statement people like Maris made when anyone suggested consolidating some of our young players for vets to catapult the team.

 

[hoopsjock]

Okay, fair enough, but how much time would Durant and Lillard have to get into a rhythm? And meanwhile, what would trading away assets to acquire Durant do to the future of the team?

Lillard and Durant would not win without a significant surrounding cast, which the team would not be able to afford with $90 million going to two guys. THe more likely scenario is that one or both of them would get injured and the Blazers would be catapulted right back into the lottery. No thanks; I like the trajectory the Blazers are on now. Grow through the draft and by signing younger players who can grow on the team.

If they're both healthy, I think by halfway through the season they'd be in rhythm.

As far as cast goes, they'd for sure still have Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic. That's a very solid start. They'd also for sure have one of Sharpe/Ant/Hart. IMO, Jabari Walker would be able to fill some minutes right away with a Dame/KD team as a 3&D guy. Winslow is someone that you could probably keep as well. Use the MLE on a Victor Oladipo. Re-sign Ingles for when he's healthy. Sign smart minimums, like you mentioned players would likely come to ring chase. The hard part is getting two top-10ish players on the same roster. Filling in the gaps is the easy part.

 

[John Law]

If they're both healthy, I think by halfway through the season they'd be in rhythm.

As far as cast goes, they'd for sure still have Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic. That's a very solid start. They'd also for sure have one of Sharpe/Ant/Hart. IMO, Jabari Walker would be able to fill some minutes right away with a Dame/KD team as a 3&D guy. Winslow is someone that you could probably keep as well. Use the MLE on a Victor Oladipo. Re-sign Ingles for when he's healthy. Sign smart minimums, like you mentioned players would likely come to ring chase. The hard part is getting two top-10ish players on the same roster. Filling in the gaps is the easy part.

If they are both healthy is a big if for guys that have been injured for a large part of the season recently. Also, I can't tell if you are factoring in all of the players Portland would have to send to acquire Durant, especially if they aren't trading Lillard. It seems like you still have them playing for Portland. As the only non-Lillard player making over $20 million, Grant would almost certainly have to be included, as well as Sharpe as the only attractive draftee. That still leaves around $15 million of salary to match, so I'm guessing a re-signed Simons would be the other one. Doesn't leave much of a team left over. I don't think replacing those guys would be as easy as you make out, especially since with Durant, the Blazers would already be within $10 million of the luxury tax threshold without signing any replacement players. That pretty much means the entire rest of the roster would be guys on veteran's minimum contracts in order to stay under the tax. That situation gets worse every year as Lillard and Durant's contracts go up and their performance goes down.

 

[hoopsjock]

If they are both healthy is a big if for guys that have been injured for a large part of the season recently. Also, I can't tell if you are factoring in all of the players Portland would have to send to acquire Durant, especially if they aren't trading Lillard. It seems like you still have them playing for Portland. As the only non-Lillard player making over $20 million, Grant would almost certainly have to be included, as well as Sharpe as the only attractive draftee. That still leaves around $15 million of salary to match, so I'm guessing a re-signed Simons would be the other one. Doesn't leave much of a team left over. I don't think replacing those guys would be as easy as you make out, especially since with Durant, the Blazers would already be within $10 million of the luxury tax threshold without signing any replacement players. That pretty much means the entire rest of the roster would be guys on veteran's minimum contracts in order to stay under the tax. That situation gets worse every year as Lillard and Durant's contracts go up and their performance goes down.

Grant can't be included to match salary, so he can't be part of this deal and has to stay. Bledsoe/Hart is over $32 million. Adding Nas gets it over the amount needed to match from Portland's perspective. Then you add the sweetener Sharpe or Ant and the multiple 1sts and swaps. Not saying it's enough but that would be the best we could offer.

 

[John Law]

I thought Bledsoe only counted for his guaranteed amount? I don't know why the Nets would want him anyway. Same with Hart- seems like all we can offer are expiring deals for their star player. Feels like we are spending a lot of time talking about something that has no chance of happening.

 

[hoopsjock]

I thought Bledsoe only counted for his guaranteed amount? I don't know why the Nets would want him anyway. Same with Hart- seems like all we can offer are expiring deals for their star player. Feels like we are spending a lot of time talking about something that has no chance of happening.

In a trade his salary would be guaranteed for next year. The Blazers literally can't trade for KD without Bledsoe being a part of it (unless it's Dame). Brooklyn wouldn't have an issue with his contract as long as the other assets were plentiful. For Brooklyn, they'd be rebuilding if Kyrie and KD left. They'd want to stockpile assets and expirings.

Edit: Could also find a 3rd team for Hart if they wanted more picks.

 

[John Law]

If you count Bledsoe's entire salary to take back Durant, that puts the Blazers far beyond the luxury tax, and most likely for the duration of Durant's contract. We thought we had salary cap hell before.

 

[blazerkor]

If you count Bledsoe's entire salary to take back Durant, that puts the Blazers far beyond the luxury tax, and most likely for the duration of Durant's contract. We thought we had salary cap hell before.

You only have salary cap hell if you're not competitive and in the luxury tax. If you're winning championships (which we would be) then you're just fine.

 

[blazerkor]

Grant can't be included to match salary, so he can't be part of this deal and has to stay. Bledsoe/Hart is over $32 million. Adding Nas gets it over the amount needed to match from Portland's perspective. Then you add the sweetener Sharpe or Ant and the multiple 1sts and swaps. Not saying it's enough but that would be the best we could offer.

I actually think that if the Nets were doing a youth rebuild which is what would make sense, this is the best trade we could give them (with first round pick swaps in '24, '26 and '28).

 

[STOMP]

I actually think that if the Nets were doing a youth rebuild which is what would make sense, this is the best trade we could give them (with first round pick swaps in '24, '26 and '28).
View attachment 48148

I like Durant more then most here, but hell no on your hypothetical. They'd be border line contenders for a hot minute but good god there would be nothing left in the cupboard for the future.

STOMP

 

[blazerkor]

I like Durant more then most here, but hell no on your hypothetical. They'd be border line contenders for a hot minute but good god there would be nothing left in the cupboard for the future.

STOMP

There would be nothing left in the cupboard... that's for sure. We would not be borderline contenders. We would win multiple rings unless there were serious injuries. Who is going to beat a team with Dame, Hart, KD, Grant, Nurk, Winslow, Ingles, TPMLE and vet min ring chasers?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

vet min ring chasers

WE COULD BRING CARMELLO BACK!

 

[STOMP]

There would be nothing left in the cupboard... that's for sure. We would not be borderline contenders. We would win multiple rings unless there were serious injuries. Who is going to beat a team with Dame, Hart, KD, Grant, Nurk, Winslow, Ingles, TPMLE and vet min ring chasers?

The Warriors would still be favored over them. Several others would have at least as good a shot (Celts, Bucks)

STOMP

 

[noknobs]

Wait, so some of you are actually serious about Durant getting traded here?

 

[Natebishop3]

WE COULD BRING CARMELLO BACK!

I don’t know who Carmello is, but maybe we could sign Carmelllo?

 

[blazerkor]

I don’t know who Carmello is, but maybe we could sign Carmelllo?

I don't think he was talking about Carmelo Anthony. I think he was talking about but I have good news... they never left.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

Wait, so some of you are actually serious about Durant getting traded here?

Guess we aren't allowed to dream. Not sure anyone actually thinks it happens. Didn't know we had to be serious for you at all times.

 

[BBert]

I don't think he was talking about Carmelo Anthony. I think he was talking about View attachment 48151 but I have good news... they never left.

That I would do.

 

[blazerkor]

Guess we aren't allowed to dream. Not sure anyone actually thinks it happens. Didn't know we had to be serious for you at all times.

I don't think it's likely because Kyrie hasn't opted out yet and said that he'll be leaving or seeking a sign and trade. If that happens I think it's almost a certainty that KD will demand a trade and that they won't drag it out. I also think their likely approach at that point will be to build a good young team around Ben Simmons. At that point I think we will have the best deal to offer them... the deal being EBEC, S&T Ant, Nas, Keon, the draft rights to Shaedon, unprotected FRPs in '25, '27 and '29 and swaps in '24, '26, '28. In that case I think we would be the most likely to land KD but it's a trade and in any trade, even if your team is the most likely to pull it off, it is still not likely to happen until it's done because there are 28 other teams and all sorts of variables swirling around.

That being said according to whoever the fuck @noknobs is, I am dumb because I think it's a realistic possibility that is unlikely but just as unlikely as us landing Grant, just as unlikely as any of the free agent signing ideas that people have in here. Many of them are realistic, the Grant thing did happen or is happening but until someone is signed and in the Grant case until it was reported as a done deal, it's very unlikely that it happens because there are many other premutations of events happening in a league of 30 teams with 450 roster spots, 60 two way spots and according to HoopsHype 165 agents. Again though, I'm fucking dumb for seriously thinking that Durant could be playing here next season... not that he's likely to be but that it might be more likely that he's playing here than anywhere else in the league besides Brooklyn.

 

[Chris Craig]

Never going to happen.

Too many of us just getting tired waiting for championship to come back to Portland.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

I don't think it's likely because Kyrie hasn't opted out yet and said that he'll be leaving or seeking a sign and trade. If that happens I think it's almost a certainty that KD will demand a trade and that they won't drag it out. I also think their likely approach at that point will be to build a good young team around Ben Simmons. At that point I think we will have the best deal to offer them... the deal being EBEC, S&T Ant, Nas, Keon, the draft rights to Shaedon, unprotected FRPs in '25, '27 and '29 and swaps in '24, '26, '28. In that case I think we would be the most likely to land KD but it's a trade and in any trade, even if your team is the most likely to pull it off, it is still not likely to happen until it's done because there are 28 other teams and all sorts of variables swirling around.

That being said according to whoever the fuck @noknobs is, I am dumb because I think it's a realistic possibility that is unlikely but just as unlikely as us landing Grant, just as unlikely as any of the free agent signing ideas that people have in here. Many of them are realistic, the Grant thing did happen or is happening but until someone is signed and in the Grant case until it was reported as a done deal, it's very unlikely that it happens because there are many other premutations of events happening in a league of 30 teams with 450 roster spots, 60 two way spots and according to HoopsHype 165 agents. Again though, I'm fucking dumb for seriously thinking that Durant could be playing here next season... not that he's likely to be but that it might be more likely that he's playing here than anywhere else in the league besides Brooklyn.

Last time I checked it was the offseason, Dame posted a pic of him with KD in a Blazers jersey and free agency and the draft are upon us.

However, you can't think about any potential transactions to better the team because it makes you an idiot.

Do your best to try to be serious from here on out.

 

[blazerkor]

Never going to happen.

Too many of us just getting tired waiting for championship to come back to Portland.

You're likely right. It's a very safe bet to make. It's a safe bet that we will not add an all star to this roster this offseason... there are just too many unknowns to think that would be a likely scenario, that being us getting any additional all star. Then when you make any into a specific all star and at that a legend still near the top of his game it becomes even more unlikely but there are reasons to think that it's not an impossibility.