Props to ABM!

[tlongII]

Here's a recap from the OLive poster that took notes...

KP thinks Bayless will be the stopper for guys like D-Williams and CP3 right off the bat.
KP/Nate's overriding goal when starting the "rebuild" in 2005 was to make the community proud of the team again. KP said he wanted to get to the point where businesses were shutting down on game day, Blazers signs were in the windows and billboards all over the place, like it was in the "Glory Days".

Raef's definitely out until March, which only makes his contract more valuable. If someone trades for him, and if (When) he doesn't play in his 41st straight game, the team gets 80% of his salary (up until he starts playing again) in a check from the insurance company. So for a lux-tax or penny-pinching team, they can ship out around 16M in salary for an outlay of around 2M or so (less if he's traded for early in the year).

KP would really like a local D-League team in the northwest, but just because he's a fan of small-town ball. He said they're with Sioux Falls right now (did Idaho move without me hearing about it?) and they don't have any plans that he knows of to buy their own team. He says it's not fiscally viable right now. He also waxed poetic for a bit about where he came from in the minor leagues, and how great they are as a learning ground.

He said Oden vs. Bynum is Must-See TV, but he would trade Greg for anyone in the league. "He's a special, special player".

To run, or not to run? It'll be easier this year b/c they're going to have much more on-the-ball pressure and more interior rebounding. He said that once Greg "gets into trouble", they'll dial that back.

For extensions of Webs, Frye, Diogu...he said that the only reason that teams would do a deal in October was if the team got a really good deal. He said that they didn't have plans to do that, b/c the players (he wouldn't be specific) thought they would have a "blow-up" year, and would take their chances in Free Agency next year. KP said something like "no problem for me...I can negotiate (with a smile on his face)".

He says that Rudy won't be the immediate Messiah, but he is already the best teammate on the team. He says sorry if he misses an open shot, picks up other guys when they're not feeling it, encourages when he's not on the floor, etc.

Rudy made it very clear to KP and the management team that his decision was completely independent of Sergio's status. Speaking of Sergio (I think it's been said) KP loves his ability to run the P&R, but when teams started going under and daring him to shoot, he missed a couple and completely lost confidence in his shot. This summer he's been working hard on that.

He then said that his thought about the 3 was that they needed a wing defender. He then said Batum's not as far behind Webs and Outlaw as people might think, and gives him options going forward. He said Batum's skillset was going to be upgraded by playing here against great players, since French League is "just ok", and they don't play a ton of high-quality D. But for Kopo, who "really, really wanted to be here", KP thought that he'd get an offer to be the starting PG on a high-quality Euro team (which he did with Bologna), and that his skills would improve with lots of time running a team, which he wouldn't get here. When asked about the buyout situation with Kopo, KP said he wasn't worried b/c Kopo really wanted to be here.

He said "Ike Diogu can't guard this table, and I've told him that".

He's tight with Sam Presti still. The computer/sim modeling that they do is "the Spurs' model on steroids". Jeff Ma is in town this week to work more on it. More teams are starting to pick up on it, much to his chagrin, but they're still at the forefront.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Was there anyone there from the Blazers to complain to about the Comcrapst fiasco? I realize KP and Nate would not be the people to bring it up to.

KP's response was "That's way above my pay grade. That's the business side, I stick to the basketball side.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Schub, get it done!

 

[BlazersBlood]

KP's response was "That's way above my pay grade. That's the business side, I stick to the basketball side.

I don't want to derail this awesome feel-good thread, but Comcast & DirecTV need to strike a deal for the good of the fans. But of course when was the last time corporate America really done anything for the good of the people.

He then said that his thought about the 3 was that they needed a wing defender. He then said Batum's not as far behind Webs and Outlaw as people might think, and gives him options going forward. He said Batum's skillset was going to be upgraded by playing here against great players, since French League is "just ok", and they don't play a ton of high-quality D. But for Kopo, who "really, really wanted to be here", KP thought that he'd get an offer to be the starting PG on a high-quality Euro team (which he did with Bologna), and that his skills would improve with lots of time running a team, which he wouldn't get here. When asked about the buyout situation with Kopo, KP said he wasn't worried b/c Kopo really wanted to be here.

I like the sound of everything in that little blurb. Batum sounds like he could become that lockdown wing defender that we'd love Outlaw or Martell to become. KP's got the backup plan to the backup plan.

He says that Rudy won't be the immediate Messiah, but he is already the best teammate on the team. He says sorry if he misses an open shot, picks up other guys when they're not feeling it, encourages when he's not on the floor, etc.

Sounds like Rudy is having no issues fitting in. I still can't believe we got him for nothing thanks to the Suns. Paul Allen is the greatest owner ever!

 

[BlazerWookee]

Speaking of Rudy as a teammate, have you seen the clip of Blake pulling his hamstring? Rudy is right there, showing concern, and helping Blake to sit down.

 

[maxiep]

Speaking of Rudy as a teammate, have you seen the clip of Blake pulling his hamstring? Rudy is right there, showing concern, and helping Blake to sit down.

Where can you see that video?

 

[BlazerWookee]

Where can you see that video?

I saw it on the news, I think it was on Channel 8. I'll do some digging and see if I can find anything...

 

[BBert]

Who went? Sounds very fun.

I was there. It's good to be buds with ABM.

Nate was great. He came out, unexpectedly, and talked to us for a long time. He was so open and friendly and relaxed, I was blown away. Practice had just ended, and as relaxed and happy as he seemed, he must be really pleased with his team. In fact he said as much. He even brought up how much he used to yell at the players when he first got here; and now this year, not at all. This team is going to be special.

Bobby Medina was very informative and and regaled us with some good stories. I got the feeling he could have hung out and talked a lot longer, but we had to leave to meet Kevin.

KP was of course great, as already posted. I can't say how much I appreciate the generosity they all showed in sharing their time, intellect, and insights with us.

And last but not least, it was cool to get together with some of my favorite Blazers brethren for a few drinks.

 

[BBert]

I wasn't there, but I can tell you (as ABM's best friend) that he put a LOT of effort into this thing over many months. I was very impressed as to how much time he had into the whole thing. I think the reason he didn't open it up to the full public is that he had to somehow keep it down to a certain amount of people. Also, I think he didn't want any of the press that read these boards to show up unless invited.

It is very impressive, and ABM deserves many kudos for organizing it. Obviously he couldn't just invite everyone, and obviously everyone would want to be there.

Yes. I feel kind of bad and a little embarrassed to be talking about it, when there are so many other devoted fans I know would have dug it as much as we did. But it did need to be be a manageable number. I know ABM did the best he could for everyone. At least we have some good dish to share.