Olshey interview at draft combine

[Hoopguru]

Yep, I can see more of Nurkic playing the high post and feeding Collins down low. If Nurkic concentrates and doesn't force it he's a pretty decent passer and Collins has some great footwork to get a shot away.

agree. Zack is going to be very tough down low with his ability to move his feet and get off a shot. Once he's seasoned down there he should be getting to he FTL at least 4-5 times a game.
His toughness and attitude coupled with another year or two of experience will serve him well.

 

[rotary111]

I have a hard time believing anything that comes out of Neil's mouth. If he says "we are going after vets." I would think he is going all in on someone high up in the lottery.

Paul LOVES the draft. I could see him making a huge move if he can find someone to take CJ and ???

Atlanta and now Memphis are open to trading their pick. I could see several teams trading down or out of the draft for the right player(s).

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Well, he kind of says they were too conservative with not using TPE and draft pick (he definitely says pick, not picks, so have to assume he is talking about 2018 pick) but then he sort of justifies it by saying we would get beat anyway by Houston or GS in the next round. Well, those teams aren't getting any weaker soon, so how are things different this year? Is there any reason to give up a draft pick now unless we are getting a real difference maker. And although he seems to be trying to brag a little about assets he has been collecting; well, a 24th pick and no second rounders (for the second year in a row) are not much assets. Napier (and Nurkic) was an asset at the trade deadline but no longer is, and I don't consider Swanigan, Layman or even Connaughton real assets. So all he really has is the one TPE (others are too small to be worth anything). As someone else says, his talk about moving Zach closer to the basket seems to portend letting Davis go, and since he seems sure to use that TPE and sign Nurk, he pretty much has to let him go.

 

[CupWizier]

And he was a 15th pick so it was a crazy move for sure. They had a huge miss in having him and letting him go. But even more seems like he was the Spurs choice at 15. What a terrible draft for the Blazers too. Nolan Smith right before Faried. Hell even Jimmy Butler went at 30. Chandler Parsons taken in the second round at #38 and Isiah Thomas very last at #60
That first round though has produced some players. Just not for the Blazers.....
https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2011.html

What it really points out is how tough it can be to predict what impact a player will have in the pros with so many one and done players. GM's are afraid to pass up on the high potential young player for the more seasoned player that has a few years of college experience. It's almost as if a 3 or 4 year player is considered over the hill now. Similar to how I see posters say that 27-28 years old is now considered almost past their prime where before that was just entering their prime.

 

[hoopsjock]

If I'm Memphis I'm calling Cleveland and offering Marc Gasol and Mike Conley for #8, George Hill, Tristan Thompson, Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic, and Larry Nance JR.

For Memphis I'd just rip the bandaid right off and go full rebuild around #4 and #8.

For Cleveland a rotation of LeBron, Gasol, Love, Conley, JR, Clarkson, and Korver plus their Tax-MLE and vet min pickups is pretty solid and could be one of the only ways LeBron might stay.

 

[hoopsjock]

Well, he kind of says they were too conservative with not using TPE and draft pick (he definitely says pick, not picks, so have to assume he is talking about 2018 pick) but then he sort of justifies it by saying we would get beat anyway by Houston or GS in the next round. Well, those teams aren't getting any weaker soon, so how are things different this year? Is there any reason to give up a draft pick now unless we are getting a real difference maker. And although he seems to be trying to brag a little about assets he has been collecting; well, a 24th pick and no second rounders (for the second year in a row) are not much assets. Napier (and Nurkic) was an asset at the trade deadline but no longer is, and I don't consider Swanigan, Layman or even Connaughton real assets. So all he really has is the one TPE (others are too small to be worth anything). As someone else says, his talk about moving Zach closer to the basket seems to portend letting Davis go, and since he seems sure to use that TPE and sign Nurk, he pretty much has to let him go.

To me it can only mean one thing when he mentions the TPE and a draft pick:

Mirotic

He knows he should've used those on him.

 

[kjironman1]

To me it can only mean one thing when he mentions the TPE and a draft pick:

Mirotic

He knows he should've used those on him.

I wonder if he had that chance. Sure would be fun to know what conversations actually happened.

 

[riverman]

But there hasn't been a a center EVER that could pass the ball like the BRH!

I can think of one

 

[Boob-No-More]

I wonder if he had that chance. Sure would be fun to know what conversations actually happened.

The TPE + our protected 1st would have been a much better deal than the hot pile of garbage + protected 1st CHI got from NOP. They are stuck paying Asik $11 million next season and waived Tony Allen and Willie Reed (who they got for Jameer Nelson).

Which leads me to believe if POR was in talks with CHI for Mirotic, it was Olshey who said no.

BNM

 

[Scalma]

I have a hard time believing anything that comes out of Neil's mouth. If he says "we are going after vets." I would think he is going all in on someone high up in the lottery.

Paul LOVES the draft. I could see him making a huge move if he can find someone to take CJ and ???

Atlanta and now Memphis are open to trading their pick. I could see several teams trading down or out of the draft for the right player(s).

Well in theory the TPE could be used to move up in the draft. They take on a big contract in exchange for a first and then package it with their own pick and possibly a player (Aminu? Harkless?) and move up.

But if we wanna talk about fantasies, I think three of the top five teams would be interested in CJ; Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas. Don’t know what packages would look like and it’d probably downgrade our team in the immediate future, but man it’s fun to think about guys like Bamba and Porter in Portland.

 

[CupWizier]

The TPE + our protected 1st would have been a much better deal than the hot pile of garbage + protected 1st CHI got from NOP. They are stuck paying Asik $11 million next season and waived Tony Allen and Willie Reed (who they got for Jameer Nelson).

Which leads me to believe if POR was in talks with CHI for Mirotic, it was Olshey who said no.

BNM

I think the bigger issue before the deadline was when do the Blazers want to start the luxury tax. If they had done the Mirotic deal it likely wouldn't have been enough to make us that much better and this next year we would be in repeater tax territory. The fact that Vonleh was a salary dump to get under the luxury tax says to me they didn't want to start the clock this past season.

 

[hoopsjock]

I wonder if he had that chance. Sure would be fun to know what conversations actually happened.

The TPE + our protected 1st would have been a much better deal than the hot pile of garbage + protected 1st CHI got from NOP. They are stuck paying Asik $11 million next season and waived Tony Allen and Willie Reed (who they got for Jameer Nelson).

Which leads me to believe if POR was in talks with CHI for Mirotic, it was Olshey who said no.

BNM

We have to remember though that from the Bulls perspective the Pelicans pick was likely to be a lottery one as not many thought they would stay in the playoffs after losing Cousins. In theory that pick should have been around 13 or 14 not 22 or 24. Giving us Mirotic would have pushed us up the standings most likely (keep in mind no one thought we'd be the 3rd seed then) whereas the Pelicans would still be most likely out of the playoffs even with Mirotic. So purely from a draft pick positioning point of view the Bulls took what should've been the better deal. They also would have had to pay money to get to the floor so not taking back a contract wasn't a huge incentive for them, although I can see the point about next year's salary for Asik. It's entirely possible the Bulls would've still taken the Pelicans offer of a better pick even though it meant more salary long term. It turns out the difference was only 2 spots in the draft but that is with the benefit of knowing how each team finished the season.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I think the bigger issue before the deadline was when do the Blazers want to start the luxury tax. If they had done the Mirotic deal it likely wouldn't have been enough to make us that much better and this next year we would be in repeater tax territory. The fact that Vonleh was a salary dump to get under the luxury tax says to me they didn't want to start the clock this past season.

Yes, I agree and that's why I think Neil nixed any possible Mirotic deal, but I also think that's what he was referring to when he said they could have been more aggressive with the TPE and 1st round pick at the deadline.

It's hindsight. At the time, getting under the tax threshold was the smart move, but given that we climbed all the way to the 3rd seed, only get owned by NOP (with Mirotic) in the playoffs, perhaps Neil is having regrets that he didn't go all in sooner.

Would adding Mirotic to our roster and subtracting him from NOP's have been enough to swing the series in our favor? No way to know, but it would have certainly made the series more competitive, and if we would have made it to the second round, and maybe given GSW a good series (due to the better matchup for us), it may have changed the complexion of the team's short, and long term future. Adding Mirotic as a starting 4, would have changed who we pursue this summer, and would have possibly made us more attractive to cheap vets who get to pick and choose who they sign with (GSW only has so many roster spots avialble for ring chasers on vet min contracts).

Of course, it's all hindsight and speculation, but I do think things would be more optimistic around here right now if Neil had been more aggressive at the trade deadline and added Mirotic to our roster and kept him off of NOP's.

BNM

 

[riverman]

In all fairness....Mirotic didn't look like a game changer in the second round.

 

[Scalma]

In all fairness....Mirotic didn't look like a game changer in the second round.

Neither did any of our players, in the first round.

Mirotic wouldve been a great addition, but at least Olshey admits he fucked up.

 

[Boob-No-More]

We have to remember though that from the Bulls perspective the Pelicans pick was likely to be a lottery one as not many thought they would stay in the playoffs after losing Cousins. In theory that pick should have been around 13 or 14 not 22 or 24. Giving us Mirotic would have pushed us up the standings most likely (keep in mind no one thought we'd be the 3rd seed then) whereas the Pelicans would still be most likely out of the playoffs even with Mirotic. So purely from a draft pick positioning point of view the Bulls took what should've been the better deal. They also would have had to pay money to get to the floor so not taking back a contract wasn't a huge incentive for them, although I can see the point about next year's salary for Asik. It's entirely possible the Bulls would've still taken the Pelicans offer of a better pick even though it meant more salary long term. It turns out the difference was only 2 spots in the draft but that is with the benefit of knowing how each team finished the season.

At the time of the trade, POR was 6th in the West and NOP was 7th, 1 game behind us in the standings. Sure, Cousins was injured, but given that POR was also not a lock to make the playoffs at that time, I'm not sure there was a big perceived difference between our 1st round pick, and theirs at the time.

POR and NOP both caught fire right before the all star break (about a week after the Mirotic trade), with NOP winning 10 in a row and POR winning 13 in a row. I don't think anyone saw either team going on a tear like that. So again, not sure their 1st round pick had all that much more perceived value at the time of the trade.

The Pel's pick is lottery protected top 5 this year, top 8 next year, followed by top 10 and then top 9 protected. Realistically, with NOP in 7th place at the time of the trade - and the trade making them better, best case CHI was looking at that pick being late lottery. With only 1-game separating them from us in the standings and neither team playing well at the time, it was also very possible POR's pick would have been late lottery as well.

If there were talks between POR and CHI about Mirotic, I believe, due to the tax situation and the fact that POR had yet to catch fire, I think it would have most likely been Neil nixing any possible trade. If he really wanted to get Mirotic, I think he could have sweetened the deal a little more to beat any NOP offer, but I don't think it was even a possibility - at the time.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

In all fairness....Mirotic didn't look like a game changer in the second round.

He sure looked like a game changer in the first round against us. 18.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.8 spg and 2.5 bpg on .571/.492/.833 shooting. He's had extended hot shooting spells in the past, but it was his defense that was a revelation to me.

Move him from NOP's side to ours and it would have completely changed that series.

Then, if we beat NOP and advance to the second round, who knows what happens? It's a completely different matchup. Dame has had huge games against GSW in the past, which would have demanded more attention from GSW's defense which would have meant more open looks for Mirotic. Different series, different matchup, butterfly effect...

BNM

 

[hoopsjock]

Yes, I agree and that's why I think Neil nixed any possible Mirotic deal, but I also think that's what he was referring to when he said they could have been more aggressive with the TPE and 1st round pick at the deadline.

It's hindsight. At the time, getting under the tax threshold was the smart move, but given that we climbed all the way to the 3rd seed, only get owned by NOP (with Mirotic) in the playoffs, perhaps Neil is having regrets that he didn't go all in sooner.

Would adding Mirotic to our roster and subtracting him from NOP's have been enough to swing the series in our favor? No way to know, but it would have certainly made the series more competitive, and if we would have made it to the second round, and maybe given GSW a good series (due to the better matchup for us), it may have changed the complexion of the team's short, and long term future. Adding Mirotic as a starting 4, would have changed who we pursue this summer, and would have possibly made us more attractive to cheap vets who get to pick and choose who they sign with (GSW only has so many roster spots avialble for ring chasers on vet min contracts).

Of course, it's all hindsight and speculation, but I do think things would be more optimistic around here right now if Neil had been more aggressive at the trade deadline and added Mirotic to our roster and kept him off of NOP's.

BNM

This is all exactly right.

 

[riverman]

He sure looked like a game changer in the first round against us.

I agree with this....but in the second round he looked pretty bad....and we stunk up the first round ..he also had some baggage from Chicago at the trade deadline that was a red flag...didn't practice with the team...got in a fight...I think this was a factor...Joe Ingles would have been a game changer for us

 

[Boob-No-More]

I agree with this....but in the second round he looked pretty bad....and we stunk up the first round ..he also had some baggage from Chicago at the trade deadline that was a red flag...didn't practice with the team...got in a fight...I think this was a factor...Joe Ingles would have been a game changer for us

But Ingles wasn't available (I'm a big Jingles fan, BTW).

BNM

 

[riverman]

But Ingles wasn't available (I'm a big Jingles fan, BTW).

BNM

He's the perfect Terry Stotts player

 

[hoopsjock]

At the time of the trade, POR was 6th in the West and NOP was 7th, 1 game behind us in the standings. Sure, Cousins was injured, but given that POR was also not a lock to make the playoffs at that time, I'm not sure there was a big perceived difference between our 1st round pick, and theirs at the time.

POR and NOP both caught fire right before the all star break (about a week after the Mirotic trade), with NOP winning 10 in a row and POR winning 13 in a row. I don't think anyone saw either team going on a tear like that. So again, not sure their 1st round pick had all that much more perceived value at the time of the trade.

The Pel's pick is lottery protected top 5 this year, top 8 next year, followed by top 10 and then top 9 protected. Realistically, with NOP in 7th place at the time of the trade - and the trade making them better, best case CHI was looking at that pick being late lottery. With only 1-game separating them from us in the standings and neither team playing well at the time, it was also very possible POR's pick would have been late lottery as well.

If there were talks between POR and CHI about Mirotic, I believe, due to the tax situation and the fact that POR had yet to catch fire, I think it would have most likely been Neil nixing any possible trade. If he really wanted to get Mirotic, I think he could have sweetened the deal a little more to beat any NOP offer, but I don't think it was even a possibility - at the time.

BNM

We didn't have a major injury though and adding Mirotic to our roster would've solidified are positioning as at least the 6th seed. Even with adding Mirotic most people nationally expected them to fall out of the playoff race with 10 teams all looking playoff worthy. The difference between the 8th seed and the 9th seed in the West in terms of playoff positioning ended up being 14th vs 19th. That may not seem like a huge difference but like I said they would've been well below the salary floor without taking back a contract. You're right though, we probably refused to do it without them taking back a package of Leonard and Vonleh (or something like that) which would've meant more long term money or refuse to give up a 1st rounder if we were using the TPE.

The question becomes, would making the 2nd round have been worth going into the tax and losing our 1st round pick to have Mirotic for one more year? The quick answer is probably yes but the longer answer is yet to be determined because if the draft pick turns into a good prospect or we use the TPE for something else then we have to weigh those against what Mirotic would've provided.

 

[hoopsjock]

Well in theory the TPE could be used to move up in the draft. They take on a big contract in exchange for a first and then package it with their own pick and possibly a player (Aminu? Harkless?) and move up.

But if we wanna talk about fantasies, I think three of the top five teams would be interested in CJ; Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas. Don’t know what packages would look like and it’d probably downgrade our team in the immediate future, but man it’s fun to think about guys like Bamba and Porter in Portland.

Which one of those guys would you target in a hypothetical trade for 3, 4, or 5?

 

[Pinwheel1]

But Ingles wasn't available (I'm a big Jingles fan, BTW).

BNM

Yeah he was not available last year, but after the Clippers cut him in in preseason in 2014 he was....for cheap.
Those type of guys are out there.....Neil needs to find one.

 

[Boob-No-More]

We didn't have a major injury though and adding Mirotic to our roster would've solidified are positioning as at least the 6th seed. Even with adding Mirotic most people nationally expected them to fall out of the playoff race with 10 teams all looking playoff worthy. The difference between the 8th seed and the 9th seed in the West in terms of playoff positioning ended up being 14th vs 19th. That may not seem like a huge difference but like I said they would've been well below the salary floor without taking back a contract. You're right though, we probably refused to do it without them taking back a package of Leonard and Vonleh (or something like that) which would've meant more long term money or refuse to give up a 1st rounder if we were using the TPE.

The question becomes, would making the 2nd round have been worth going into the tax and losing our 1st round pick to have Mirotic for one more year? The quick answer is probably yes but the longer answer is yet to be determined because if the draft pick turns into a good prospect or we use the TPE for something else then we have to weigh those against what Mirotic would've provided.

Of course, this is all speculation. Nobody here knows if POR was seriously talking to CHI about Mirotic and if so, what was on the table and what wasn't.

All we really have is Neil vaguely second guessing himself. To me, that indicates he was surprised that we climbed all the way to the 3rd seed without making a big trade deadline move, but was also disappointed by how easily we were handled by NOP in the 1st round. The team had enough talent to rise to the 3rd seed in the West, but wasn't built for post season success, even against a second tier opponent.

I think we lost a lot of momentum by getting crushed by NOP in the first round, and that may hurt our chances to attract players this summer. We don't have much to offer in terms of salary (tax payer MLE). So, anyone we go after can probably get a comparable offer elsewhere. It's not a question of if we will become a tax paying team, it's a question of when. I think by postponing it, Neil realizes that it killed our momentum and cost us a player of Mirotic's caliber, and we may have trouble finding someone of comparable quality going forward. It would have been a costly opportunity, but it was a missed opportunity none the less.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

Yeah he was not available last year, but after the Clippers cut him in in preseason in 2014 he was....for cheap.
Those type of guys are out there.....Neil needs to find one.

Baldwin has the potential to be one of those guys. He was drafted with the 17th pick and cut after just one year by MEM. We got him for nothing. We also basically got Shabazz and Mo for nothing (top 55 protected pick). This seems to be one of Neil's strengths.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

He's the perfect Terry Stotts player

People here laughed at me when I said Ingles was a bargain at 4 years/$52 million. Many of those same people called me a hater when I pointed out how overpaid and 1-dimensional Crabbe was (4 years/$75 million) and that Ingles wasn't just cheaper, but a much better player.

BNM

 

[Hoopguru]

I can think of one
View attachment 20720

He was great but second best, imo. Walton did the outlet pass like no one ever has. He had eyes in the back of his head as he would turn and throw the outlet before even looking for his man. Sometimes in mid air too. He also was able to get more backdoors than most.
Sabonis is close but id say he' was more behind the back and no look. He often times forced a back door too. We had him in his career downside which he was still an excellent player. If healthy both he and TBRH would have been right up there with BR, WC, & KAJ

 

[Wizard Mentor]

People here laughed at me when I said Ingles was a bargain at 4 years/$52 million. Many of those same people called me a hater when I pointed out how overpaid and 1-dimensional Crabbe was (4 years/$75 million) and that Ingles wasn't just cheaper, but a much better player.

BNM

You idiot. Don't you know Ingles is white and slow, and Crabbe is the prototypical size for an NBA SG? Freakin' Noob.

 

[hoopsjock]

Of course, this is all speculation. Nobody here knows if POR was seriously talking to CHI about Mirotic and if so, what was on the table and what wasn't.

All we really have is Neil vaguely second guessing himself. To me, that indicates he was surprised that we climbed all the way to the 3rd seed without making a big trade deadline move, but was also disappointed by how easily we were handled by NOP in the 1st round. The team had enough talent to rise to the 3rd seed in the West, but wasn't built for post season success, even against a second tier opponent.

I think we lost a lot of momentum by getting crushed by NOP in the first round, and that may hurt our chances to attract players this summer. We don't have much to offer in terms of salary (tax payer MLE). So, anyone we go after can probably get a comparable offer elsewhere. It's not a question of if we will become a tax paying team, it's a question of when. I think by postponing it, Neil realizes that it killed our momentum and cost us a player of Mirotic's caliber, and we may have trouble finding someone of comparable quality going forward. It would have been a costly opportunity, but it was a missed opportunity none the less.

BNM

Yeah, I mostly agree with that. Like I said before though the future use of the TPE and #24 pick still gives Olshey a chance to atone for that mistake if he does something good with one or both of them. Without them we'd be going into the off season with Mirotic added to the roster and more positive momentum but just the tax-MLE that we already have. As for the free agent thing, a lot of teams are in a tough spot financially similar to us last summer where if they want to stay under the tax line they might not use their MLE. I think there are just too many free agents for the money that is out there so we should be able to find someone decent who will play next year for that.