Olshey press confernce (1 Viewer)

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Olshey’s sales pitch did not slip by The Athletic’s John Hollinger, though. On Tuesday, Hollinger pointed out the flaws in Olshey’s defense.

"Don’t say that last part out loud, though. Surely, the Blazers aren’t. In a bit of performance art that one suspects is directly related to the concerns in the previous paragraph, Olshey used the postseason media meet to cast aspersions everywhere but on the talent around Lillard.

'This first-round loss was not a product of the roster,' he insisted (technically true: it was a product of the Nuggets scoring more points four times in six games), and added that the team’s ranking 29th in defense was not a reflection of the roster either. This roster, mind you, frequently had Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter teamed up in the frontcourt at the same time, among other transgressions. While it featured one of the league’s best help defenders in Robert Covington, it had no on-ball stoppers, only one rim protector (center Jusuf Nurkic), and lots of salivating matchup possibilities for opposing scorers."

This part is unfortunately accurate too, about why Olshey essentially blamed it all on coaching:

Here’s the thing: What else was he supposed to do? He almost has to blame the coach, because he likely can’t do a whole lot to change the roster right now. Surely he can’t throw up his hands and say “sorry Dame, we’re gonna be one-and-done for a while longer.”

Cap-wise, their hands are tied. The Blazers are committed to CJ McCollum for three more years and $100 million; McCollum is a plus starter but most of the league sees him as a slightly negative value at that money. (My BORD$ valuation pegs McCollum as worth $26.6 million for next year). That contract, combined with Lillard’s supermax and a few other smaller deals, leaves Portland with no cap space and just $19 million in room below the luxury tax line – an amount they will likely need nearly all of to retain Norman Powell. Alternatively, they would have only their full mid-level exception to find a replacement, in a market that isn’t exactly brimming with small forwards.

Portland also has no draft picks this year, and can supplement the eight players under contract plus Powell with just the biannual exception and the taxpayer mid-level exception while trying to limbo under the tax line, or at least getting close enough to limit the financial pain. (The Blazers will also have Bird Rights on Zach Collins, Kanter and Anthony).

Trading their way out of this situation is theoretically possible, but harder in reality. Finding a buyer for McCollum who can send back equivalent talent that makes less money is a great idea that every Blazer fan proposes; this is not so easy in real life. More plausibly, Jones will presumably opt in to a $9.7 million deal for this season and then immediately become an expiring deal to pair with a future first in search of some immediate help. However, that help likely makes more than Jones, and one wonders how much the Blazers can spend into the luxury tax in this market for this caliber of team.
 
Congrats. That was quite the catch, Illmatic.
lol i don't think i should be proud of this. need to step away a bit. but McGowan is notorious.

His twitter predicted the Jones/Roco signings last year, the root sports thing this year, the ariza trade last year, the nassir little pick, etc etc
 
lol i don't think i should be proud of this. need to step away a bit. but McGowan is notorious.

His twitter predicted the Jones/Roco signings last year, the root sports thing this year, the ariza trade last year, the nassir little pick, etc etc
Wait, how did it predict Jones/RoCo?
 
Wait, how did it predict Jones/RoCo?
followed em right before the announcement by woj. THIS headhunting thing is most likely nothing Blazer related. I believe he runs the seahawks as well.
 
Seriously, english is not my first language, what does bifurcate means?
 
followed em right before the announcement by woj. THIS headhunting thing is most likely nothing Blazer related. I believe he runs the seahawks as well.
How do you see who he most recently follows?
 
followed em right before the announcement by woj. THIS headhunting thing is most likely nothing Blazer related. I believe he runs the seahawks as well.

He needs to be a bit more careful lmao.

I look forward to the day he follows Giannis on accident.
 
The people on top on follows list when you log onto twitter on a browser. Doesnt show up on the twitter app
Ah gotcha. It started with people I also follow, but I see below that it's then likely in order. Thanks!
 
Honestly this conference was just typical Neil. The only thing that's worth noting is this is the first time that Neil has failed to hold CJ up as a superstar. That's a big deal. It doesn't mean that he still doesn't overvalue him but it does mean that he doesn't see him as the second option Dame needs to win a chip. That's a big deal. It's also a pretty big deal that he was so extremely high on Norm because that one could really blow up in his face if Powell walks for nothing.

Other than that, nothing to see here. Just Olshey being Olshey and pushing blame elsewhere and talking down to people. The same shit he's been doing since day one.
 

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