Portland

[Phatguysrule]

Brian Grant.

Kenny Anderson

Derek Anderson (signed him away from San Antonio)

Detlef Schrempf

Greg Anthony

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.

So in all that time Brian Grant and Kenny Anderson were the only starters Trader Bob was able to sign.

I don't think a player of their caliber would do much for us right now. Certainly not worth clearing a bunch of cap space for at the expense of wins.

That caliber of player could have been picked up with the TPE if it were worth doing... But paying triple the salary isn't worth it unless you're bringing in a star.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

So in all that time Brian Grant and Kenny Anderson were the only starters Trader Bob was able to sign.

I don't think a player of their caliber would do much for us right now. Certainly not worth clearing a bunch of cap space for at the expense of wins.

That caliber of player could have been picked up with the TPE if it were worth doing... But paying triple the salary isn't worth it unless you're bringing in a star.

You forgot about the Chris Dudley saga.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Today's NBA is very different than the Bob Whitsett NBA. I firmly believe if we had made the WCF Lebron, PG13, and Boogie would have at least taken our phone calls and we most likely could have ended up with at least one of them.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Nice, who do you buy from?

Just about everyone.

Brown and Strauss
PDM
Alliance
Farwest
Coast alum
Emj
Samuel and son
Puget sound pipe
I could go on and on depending on project and material type. Lol

 

[Binx]

Meyers was eager to re-sign

If only we could get four other white players like Leonard. What a team that would be!

 

[Phatguysrule]

You forgot about the Chris Dudley saga.

Oh good point. But again, was Dudley any better than Ed Davis? Plus the salary cap wasn't as much of an issue, so we were actually somewhat more of a destination team thanks to Paul Allens $$$.

 

[blue9]

"There are more attractive places", Damon said. There are uglier ones too. Boston is dank, as racist as any city in America, dirty. LA, except the beach, is over populated, expensive, dirty, dry and smoggy. Hillside is tinder dry, filled with Rattlers. Texas is hot, dusty, and bug filled. New York, congested, over populated, expensive, and pushy. Portland is a beautiful, lush, perfect sized city to raise a family. Denver has 300 days of sunshine a year, but is an awful basketball market. Nobody shows up unless the team is on top. But great place to live and raise a family. These guys are rich. They can go on trips to spend money anytime they want. Only a plane trip away. There are "HOT" women everywhere, including Portland.

The weather argument really bugs me. If it was such an important factor then there'd only be 2-3 teams in the EC that could draw Free Agents - outside of MIA, ORL, and maybe ATL/CHA, the winters experienced by the other EC teams are WAY worse than Portland. Then you got all the shit hole cities outside of NYK/BKN, CHI, BOS, and PHI. So essentially the entire EC is either (1) shit weather, (2) shit city, or (3) both...unless you're MIA/ATL, which are often shit teams.

 

[Lanny]

Oh good point. But again, was Dudley any better than Ed Davis? Plus the salary cap wasn't as much of an issue, so we were actually somewhat more of a destination team thanks to Paul Allens $$$.

I thought Dudley was much worse than Davis. He was kind of a jerk about that whole Jantzen island in Lake Oswego thing.

 

[LeeRC]

I don't think it's weather so much as it's the perception of the town. For example, does anyone here think once of Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Memphis, OKC, Charlotte in their entire daily routine?

I certainly don't. Even now, the thought of vacationing there seems more like a hassle than my idea of fun.

That's how Portland is perceived elsewhere.

Only way this team can attract players is by drafting/finding stars and making the Finals.

 

[Lanny]

I don't think it's weather so much as it's the perception of the town. For example, does anyone here think once of Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Memphis, OKC, Charlotte in their entire daily routine?

I certainly don't. Even now, the thought of vacationing there seems more like a hassle than my idea of fun.

That's how Portland is perceived elsewhere.

Only way this team can attract players is by drafting/finding stars and making the Finals.

When I worked in St. Louis I remember guys talking about how beautiful the Pacific North West was. One guy planned a vacation around coming here.

The mid West is kind of ugly as far as I could tell.

 

[tykendo]

Mid-Westerners, the "True Flat Earthers".

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Mid-Westerners, the "True Flat Earthers".

I lived in Alberta Canada for a while and flat is like the only way I would describe it lol.

 

[tykendo]

Understand that one. Live in the Denver. Look west, mountains, look east, as flat as a pancake for as far as the eye can see.

 

[Hoopguru]

I lived in Alberta Canada for a while and flat is like the only way I would describe it lol.

Ive made that drive for Calgary to Regina...flat as a pancake

Used to cover Western Canada and Ive never seen such a rivalry between two cities, Calgary & Edmonton ! If you are north of red deere top better be an oilers fan or you could be in for deep shit!

 

[dviss1]

Curious if we'd have the same problem with FA's if we had an MLB or NFL team?

Is it the league?

If young, rich, black millionaires would take a pay cut to go to play in "The Frozen Tundra", why not here?

 

[Hoopguru]

Curious if we'd have the same problem with FA's if we had an MLB or NFL team?

Is it the league?

If young, rich, black millionaires would take a pay cut to go to play in "The Frozen Tundra", why not here?

Imo, if we were to break through to the WC finals with the young players we have, I think we could attract FA's.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Curious if we'd have the same problem with FA's if we had an MLB or NFL team?

Is it the league?

If young, rich, black millionaires would take a pay cut to go to play in "The Frozen Tundra", why not here?

As a a person who used to be a packer fan, I don’t remember a lot of people taking pay cuts to play there so much as I remember guys wanting to play with Favre, it doesn’t seem like guys want to play with Rodgers nearly as much and that’s why outside of Rodgers they don’t have much going on...

 

[hoopsjock]

As a a person who used to be a packer fan, I don’t remember a lot of people taking pay cuts to play there so much as I remember guys wanting to play with Favre, it doesn’t seem like guys want to play with Rodgers nearly as much and that’s why outside of Rodgers they don’t have much going on...

Why aren't you anymore?

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Why aren't you anymore?

I’m not really sure, I’ve kind of become a titans fan because of Mariota. I think with no local NFL teams it’s hard for me to be a big fan of anyone, it’s not like I can easily go to a game, or two here or there. I think my football “allegiance” at this point is mostly for the Ducks (I know the beaver fans here won’t like that lol).

 

[kjironman1]

Absolutely.

Money:
Florida and Texas have no income tax. By not signing in one of these states, you're taking a $$$ break. Who wants to lose more $$$ off the top? Note: Canada taxes are particularly heinous.

Weather:
If you're south of a certain laditude, it's in the 70s in February. If I'm a player, I need a good reason to not want to play there

Hip:
Some franchises have a historic appeal: LAL, Boston, Chicago... (not Portland)

Large Media Markets:
Increased opportunities for sponsorship.

"Basketball Reasons":
When was the last time the Blazers made it to the conference title game?

Diverse or Black Population:
Players want to feel "at home" culturally. Can they do that in Portland?

When you think about it logically, the question isn't why wouldn't they come to Portland, it's why would they? And the answer is simple. They want to come to Portland if we completely overpay them (e.g. ET).

So much of this is simply talking points with very little basis in reality-
Money- You play where they will pay you. Oregon is on the middle ground on Taxes. Florida and Texas only have so many teams. Right now only one of them is a winning team.
Weather- Maybe they should build a covered arena in Portland? Oh wait...... Players go home in the off season until it's time to play ball. Portland summers are plenty warm or have you not been outside in the last two months? Matter of fact it's a whole bunch better than most anywhere in the south.
Hip- Really?
Media- The world is connected and please tell me who isn't on twitter or instagram? Media market simply doesn't count unless you are talking the All-Star game. Which they all seem to go to anyway.
Basketball reasons- Tell me one player anywhere that wanted anything to do with Golden State 6 years ago?
Black Population- Greg Oden is the only one i have ever heard say anything about having a problem being a young rich Black man in Portland. This is a taking point brought up way too much. I work quite often for a former Blazer player that scoffs at that. To each his own. It has nothing to do with being Black in Portland.

So when you honestly think about it logically it ain't Portland. It's the player they are talking to. Build a team and have a history of treating players right with a good atmosphere. Then they will come. It would help to get a team back in Seattle and draw new divisional lines. Personally i think that is quite possibly the biggest reason players think twice about coming here. The East coast and other areas don't have to travel as far during the season.