Olshey press confernce

[BBert]

More like 5 seconds and yes - asking about trading the best Blazer ever is like kicking my dog.

I didn't watch or listen but that would be a stupid question. A better approach IMO would be to acknowledge that Dame is untouchable, then ask about the remaining roster. Such as, say CJ has the most trade value on the team and mention the size of his contract for trade purposes. Then let Olshey riff on his "both teams played hard" vagueness and cliches.

 

[blazerkor]

That's fair. But I think if you gave any of the eastern championship contenders the option of a 30M bench shooter, they'd take the one with the better defense.

CJ is not a bench shooter. CJ is still one of the most potent bucket getters in the league. One series didn't change that. Look at the dudes numbers from the regular season this year. There are teams that need perimeter scoring in their starting lineups. The Knicks are the easiest one to point out and who I think CJ will likely start next season on but there are other teams as well. So yeah neither Norm or CJ are bench players. Norm is a solid two way player and CJ is an elite bucket getter.

 

[B-Roy]

CJ is not a bench shooter. CJ is still one of the most potent bucket getters in the league. One series didn't change that. Look at the dudes numbers from the regular season this year. There are teams that need perimeter scoring in their starting lineups. The Knicks are the easiest one to point out and who I think CJ will likely start next season on but there are other teams as well. So yeah neither Norm or CJ are bench players. Norm is a solid two way player and CJ is an elite bucket getter.

I'm talking about the Nets, the Bucks and probably the Sixers.

 

[Cugel]

Keeping cj ensures the team will not move forward. Dame will be forced to ask for a trade. His legacy is in Neil's hands, not where you want to be imho.

 

[BBert]

I actually think this is one of his better pressers.
1) Flat out told the media, stop BS’ing, let’s talk about the second star talk and all that stuff. Led to a conversation about how most are predetermined.
2) Essentially called out the media saying “CJ and Dame backcourt, still untouchable?” And responded by saying “look, this is a business, we will do anything to make the team better but we won’t announce it to the world. Said the media has run with the narrative that he would never break up the backcourt and it’s essentially not true (for the right deal, which he may believe is CJ for LBJ or something.)
3) Accurately pointed out that teams that were not trying to win and clearly were rebuilding somehow played better defense than us.
4) Finally acknowledge that we need accountability on both sides of the court.
5) Also, I was intrigued by the “we don’t play our draft picks anyway” comment. Makes me feel like that may have been another issue with Terry.

Thank you for that perspective.

 

[e_blazer]

Olshey just threw Stotts under the bus.

"I will say that collective thought on the 29th defensive rating was not a product of the roster."

I'd say it was a product of the injuries to Nurk and Collins more than Terry's ability to get a team to play defense. The defense once Nurk was back was about midlevel instead of near the bottom of the league. Collins would have helped even more. But there's no point in really debating that anymore since Terry's been sent packing.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I seriously think some of you guys underestimate how easy it is to not be a dick.

Not so sure? Now if you said "How easy it is to be a dick" i would agree wholeheartedly.

 

[blazerkor]

not looking good guys

Yeah he backtracked that quote big time talking about everyone on the roster being on the table and wanting to find a second superstar to pair with Dame, even though that's hard to do.

To me when watching the entire news conference, that quote was saying that we have those guys locked up and nothing can take that away from us... so Olshey was saying he's in control of those players. It was about showing strength but the rest of the news conference made it sound like anything but permanency.

 

[Scalma]

5) Also, I was intrigued by the “we don’t play our draft picks anyway” comment. Makes me feel like that may have been another issue with Terry.

definitely a shot at Stotts lol, especially when you consider his answer about simons later in the presser about opportunity and consistent minutes. He also made it seem like he didn’t agree with how Nas was, or more specifically wasn’t, used

 

[Labinot41]

Yeah he backtracked that quote big time talking about everyone on the roster being on the table and wanting to find a second superstar to pair with Dame, even though that's hard to do.

To me when watching the entire news conference, that quote was saying that we have those guys locked up and nothing can take that away from us... so Olshey was saying he's in control of those players. It was about showing strength but the rest of the news conference made it sound like anything but permanency.

Hope you right, we need moves

 

[B-Roy]

I'd say it was a product of the injuries to Nurk and Collins more than Terry's ability to get a team to play defense. The defense once Nurk was back was about midlevel instead of near the bottom of the league. Collins would have helped even more. But there's no point in really debating that anymore since Terry's been sent packing.

I mean, it's a mix of both. No one forced Terry to play both Melo/Kanter together till the end of the season. Collins would have helped break up the Melo/Kanter vortex, but I don't believe it would have altered the course of the season.

 

[wizenheimer]

CJ is not a bench shooter. CJ is still one of the most potent bucket getters in the league. One series didn't change that. Look at the dudes numbers from the regular season this year. There are teams that need perimeter scoring in their starting lineups. The Knicks are the easiest one to point out and who I think CJ will likely start next season on but there are other teams as well. So yeah neither Norm or CJ are bench players. Norm is a solid two way player and CJ is an elite bucket getter.

"elite bucket getters" don't shit the bed being defending by Austin Rivers & Monte Morris

CJ's career TS% is .553. That's about the NBA average which is miles from elite. His eFG% isn't close to elite either

 

[JoshuaHall]

You're definitely not alone, as many people on this forum think this is one of the best rosters in the NBA, turned mediocre by a single person, Stotts.

I think that people just want a simple answer--having to solve major structural issues with the roster is hard and means being far from a championship. Having one of the most talented rosters with just the worst coach in NBA history means you can win the title with one move.

This roster is massively flawed and not that talented. As it turns out, CJ was just playing over his head for a short time before his injury and has since shown he's a one-dimensional scorer who's pretty mediocre overall. Nurkic has talent in a vacuum, but his defensive strengths are mismatched for this era--you can pillory Stotts all you want for playing drop coverages, but he was protecting Nurkic--having Nurkic switch or even hedge would lead to equally terrible results and make Nurkic look inept. And those are, by far, Portland's two best players after Lillard. This is not a highly talented roster.

Let's not even get into Olshey rostering Melo "for the legacy." Maybe this team hemorrhages points because players like Melo had to play a bunch of minutes based on the roster construction. Maybe this team shouldn't have been 29th on defense based purely on personnel, but it should have been in the 20s.

I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think anyone would say this is one of the best rosters in the NBA.

It’s an above average roster that gets below average results for the talent. Definitely has its flaws.

In other words, we should be able to contend when other teams suffer injuries to key rotational pieces (like this year). When others are healthy, probably not.

Jazz, injured.
Nuggets, injured.
Suns, injured.
Clippers, injured.

Having a defense worse than teams tanking should exemplify the “below average results” part.

furthermore, saying melo on the roster is a complete bailout of Stotts. Stotts shouldve benched his ass just like he did DJJ. But it’s clear what Stotts does and does not value.

Roster can definitely use improvement but to act like Stotts maximized his roster is completely laughable.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Nurkic--having Nurkic switch or even hedge would lead to equally terrible results and make Nurkic look inept.

And it did. He got in foul trouble as soon as he was asked to actually play this way.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

To this point, i think this has to do with roster construction and pairing with Dame more than anything.

I believe Dame + Norman > Dame + CJ. But in a vacuum, CJ > Powell.

And given their contract situations, the value CJ brings back > value Powell brings back.

What Olshey heard was the crowd booing CJ and just two games before the crowd chanting NOR MAN POW ELL Clap Clap Clap
No he isn't stupid at all.

 

[wizenheimer]

I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think anyone would say this is one of the best rosters in the NBA.

somebody just said it in this thread a few posts back

 

[JoshuaHall]

Of course he did. Olshey put together the roster. It MUST be the coaches' fault.

If I had to pick between firing Stotts and firing Olshey, I would have fired Olshey.

Agreed.
Because the next GM, if he wasn’t a complete dumbass, would fire Stotts as his first move.

 

[Scalma]

And it did. He got in foul trouble as soon as he was asked to actually play this way.

He was asked to not only guard the league mvp one on one, but he was also asked to cover up all the mistakes made on the perimeter. The hedging wasn’t a full time strategy. Drops were still mixed in there. This team relied on him too much defensively. I’d love to see how many other centers could handle the defensive responsibility he had on his plate. He’s a good defender, but he’s not Gobert. Shit even Gobert would’ve struggled covering for everyone.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Am I alone in thinking he was spot-on that this roster underachieved, especially defensively? And that we had a ton of pieces to have more depth in the playoffs than the 7 man rotation Stotts was using. Keeping Jones/Little parked on the bench while our lineups got destroyed on the boards while getting carved up defensively was infuriating.

Funny how Spoelstra did exactly the same thing with Jones last season and Miami made it to the finals...

 

[Fairly-Hard]

He was asked to not only guard the league mvp one on one, but he was also asked to cover up all the mistakes made on the perimeter. The hedging wasn’t a full time strategy. Drops were still mixed in there. This team relied on him too much. I’d love to see how many other centers could handle the defensive responsibility he had on his plate. He’s a good defender, but he’s not Gobert.

Agree. The point though was that there was a reason he was not hedging full time and he was not asked to switch more. On this team with the way it is constructed he got in foul trouble quickly when teams took advantage of the flaws.

 

[Zach Collins Enthusiast]

If you want to add another star next to Dame one player who may be attainable is Pascal Siakam

 

[JoshuaHall]

somebody just said it in this thread a few posts back

Somebody = “many people”?
Sounding like HCP saying everyone is terrible to Stotts when one jackoff was acting a fool.

 

[blazerkor]

"elite bucket getters" don't shit the bed being defending by Austin Rivers & Monte Morris

CJ's career TS% is .553. That's about the NBA average which is miles from elite. His eFG% isn't close to elite either

If that's what you think, that's fine but the entire national media, including guys who were in front offices last season and will be next season, say that about CJ. One series isn't going to change that and efficiency that you're pointing out has always been there hasn't changed that. So you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with the popular opinion around the league. The one thing that doesn't get talked about often (I hear it mentioned nationally every once in a while) that I think is talked about in front offices is that Dame takes away from what CJ could be.

I don't like CJ next to Dame, I think that's a horrible combination on the floor but that doesn't blind me to the fact that besides getting to the free throw line CJ scores in every way a player can and he does it well. When you said his eFG% wasn't elite that was obviously misleading. His is ahead of Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, Khris Middleton this season and right behind Luka for fucks sake. Next to Dame... no thanks. Next to a guard who can cover up his lack of defense... the guy is a great guy to have on your team.

 

[e_blazer]

I mean, it's a mix of both. No one forced Terry to play both Melo/Kanter together till the end of the season. Collins would have helped break up the Melo/Kanter vortex, but I don't believe it would have altered the course of the season.

I think that the lack of having Collins available for the Denver series was critical. Kanter was totally unplayable against the Nuggets; so much so that Terry was forced to go with a small ball lineup including Rondae. With Collins, when Nurk sat he would have been able to play Zach at the 5 with Melo at PF and RoCo at the 3. That would have been huge. Probably would have swung the series to Portland. It still likely wouldn't have been enough to get past the 2nd round, but the Blazers would have at least been competitive against the Suns.

 

[Scalma]

If that's what you think, that's fine but the entire national media, including guys who were in front offices last season and will be next season, say that about CJ. One series isn't going to change that and efficiency that you're pointing out has always been there hasn't changed that. So you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with the popular opinion around the league. The one thing that doesn't get talked about often (I hear it mentioned nationally every once in a while) that I think is talked about in front offices is that Dame takes away from what CJ could be.

I don't like CJ next to Dame, I think that's a horrible combination on the floor but that doesn't blind me to the fact that besides getting to the free throw line CJ scores in every way a player can and he does it well. When you said his eFG% wasn't elite that was obviously misleading. His is ahead of Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, Khris Middleton this season and right behind Luka for fucks sake. Next to Dame... no thanks. Next to a guard who can cover up his lack of defense... the guy is a great guy to have on your team.

he’s gonna look great in Philadelphia

 

[JoshuaHall]

Funny how Spoelstra did exactly the same thing with Jones last season and Miami made it to the finals...

Miami wasnt desperate for defense
They were desperate for offense

 

[JoshuaHall]

If that's what you think, that's fine but the entire national media, including guys who were in front offices last season and will be next season, say that about CJ. One series isn't going to change that and efficiency that you're pointing out has always been there hasn't changed that. So you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with the popular opinion around the league. The one thing that doesn't get talked about often (I hear it mentioned nationally every once in a while) that I think is talked about in front offices is that Dame takes away from what CJ could be.

I don't like CJ next to Dame, I think that's a horrible combination on the floor but that doesn't blind me to the fact that besides getting to the free throw line CJ scores in every way a player can and he does it well. When you said his eFG% wasn't elite that was obviously misleading. His is ahead of Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, Khris Middleton this season and right behind Luka for fucks sake. Next to Dame... no thanks. Next to a guard who can cover up his lack of defense... the guy is a great guy to have on your team.

CJ is getting massively disrespected after that series. Some of it is well deserved but they think he is a scrub now for some reason.

 

[blazerkor]

If you want to add another star next to Dame one player who may be attainable is Pascal Siakam

We can all hope. If we in a three team situation had to give up CJ and future picks to get Siakam or even add in Nas, I would do it. Siakam's two way ability with Norm, RoCo and Nurk under a new coach that puts emphasis on defense and accountability would make our starting lineup elite. I don't think having DJ coming off the bench under a new coach would be a bad thing either. And hey maybe Zach will be healthy.

 

[B-Roy]

https://basketballfeelings.substack.com/p/exits-the-thing-about-almost

Olshey said the team’s first round lost “was not a product of the roster” and that anyone coming in to take over as coach was going to have to vastly improve things “without a ton of roster changes”. Despite his penchant for signing new players that do nothing to help this infallible roster, Olshey deflected any blame for his poor decision making, or inability to create any real defensive improvement over eight seasons, on being a small-market team with no pull in the league’s free-agent market. He also called the Blazers the “one of the most winningest small-market franchises in the league”.

https://uproxx.com/dimemag/portland-trail-blazers-gm-neil-olshey-loss-not-his-fault-quotes/

President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey did his exit interview with the virtually assembled media in Portland on Monday, and while no one expects a GM to bury themselves going into an offseason, the brashness with which he shrugged off responsibility for the Blazers’ first round exit was truly breathtaking.



Not even a little bit? Like, at all? Roster construction was just a complete non-factor in the Blazers losing to a shorthanded Denver team in six games? Sure. Still, surely you can look at this roster and note that it’s just not filled with strong defenders and that you need to be there to assist your new coach with roster upgrades on that end to bring more balance to the team, right?

 

[Graduate32]

Yeah he backtracked that quote big time talking about everyone on the roster being on the table and wanting to find a second superstar to pair with Dame, even though that's hard to do.

To me when watching the entire news conference, that quote was saying that we have those guys locked up and nothing can take that away from us... so Olshey was saying he's in control of those players. It was about showing strength but the rest of the news conference made it sound like anything but permanency.

This is really nicely explained, and I agree with this interpretation. All the players are returning... unless of course a worthwhile opportunity presents itself otherwise.