The curious case of Neil Olshey

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JFizzleRaider said:
Sullinger was not a project. Everyone thought he was nba ready. He had a back issue that scared people away, otherwise he would have went top ten
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The back injury still qualifies as a risk. My point was that there wasn't a sure thing at that point. There wasn't a clear-cut choice.
 
Mock drafts agreed on 3 or 4 players to take at that spot. So the choice was as clear as at the spots right above and below #11.
 
Denny Crane said:
He inherited a team that lost Roy and Oden and won 33 games. Put the right players together to win, but not enough depth. That will come. The whole vision got you further than expectations.
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This is sort of where my thinking runs.

I feel like Olshey was sent to a gunfight with a knife.

Leonard was probably a risk worth taking at 11 (even though I hated the pick when it was announced), last year's draft class was awful, so I'm not sure who he was supposed to take over McCollum. So his ability to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with Rolo and Robinson and getting "passable" veterans for very little money in Williams, Wright and Watson I can't really fault his roster management and talent acquisition.

The only thing that I'm not sure about is where does he go from here? I feel like he's still the proverbial guy with a knife at a gunfight, but somehow he managed to pick up a rusty, five-shot, revolver and a handful of bullets along the way.

Does he have enough assets to maneuver this roster to championship level from where it is now? Not so sure about that.
 
Nikolokolus said:
I'm not sure who he was supposed to take over McCollum.
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Using my 20/20 hindsight, it's obvious that Olshey should have picked either Michael Carter-Williams, Steven Adams, or Mason Plumlee.

It was a shit draft, though, so there really is no reason to bemoan taking McCollum, who will most likely struggle to stay in an NBA rotation.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I have no complaints about Neil. I think he's done an excellent job.

The Leonard pick? There wasn't a sure thing by the time we picked at #11. There were a whole ton of projects at that point, and Neil obviously rolled the dice on the one he felt had the best chance of success. Go look at who was left by the time #11 rolled around.

http://nbadraft.net/nba_final_draft/2012

I would have probably taken Sullinger or Henson (in hind sight) but both those guys were projects as well. I think I wanted Jeremy Lamb at the time, but he hasn't exactly set the world on fire either.
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Here is what frosts my cupcakes over Leonard: Olshey clearly stated he was going BPA - and then did the opposite. Leonard was a classic case of reaching for a player at the "right" position. How often does that work out?
 
oldmangrouch said:
Here is what frosts my cupcakes over Leonard: Olshey clearly stated he was going BPA - and then did the opposite. Leonard was a classic case of reaching for a player at the "right" position. How often does that work out?
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I'm not sure he didn't do that with Lillard either. He just happened to turn into a super stud.
 
Mediocre Man said:
I'm not sure he didn't do that with Lillard either. He just happened to turn into a super stud.
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This could have been a fantastic draft and his legacy would have been set if he would have taken #11, Elliot Williams, Pieces and moved up high enough to take Drummond. This is where I'm talking about creativity. He hasn't really showed any at draft time.
 
OneLifeToLive said:
This could have been a fantastic draft and his legacy would have been set if he would have taken #11, Elliot Williams, Pieces and moved up high enough to take Drummond. This is where I'm talking about creativity. He hasn't really showed any at draft time.
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That would have equaled to what Steve Patterson/Kevin Pritchard did in 06 when their creativity translated into two franchise players.
 
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OneLifeToLive said:
This could have been a fantastic draft and his legacy would have been set if he would have taken #11, Elliot Williams, Pieces and moved up high enough to take Drummond. This is where I'm talking about creativity. He hasn't really showed any at draft time.
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I wish we could've dealt 11 and Jamal Crawford to 7 and taken Drummond but oh well...
 
BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:
Yeah but we would've been a lot better at defense in the 12-13 season... Hickson as center... ughhhh
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I dont think Drummonds defense offsets his FT... if hes "stopping" 8-10 points but going 3-10 from the line then it's a wash.
 
BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:
I wish we could've dealt 11 and Jamal Crawford to 7 and taken Drummond but oh well...
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IIRC Crawford had a player option. The Blazers could not deal him past the trade deadline in February. Thus, that option could not have possibly have been on the table.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Lucky we didnt get Hibbert.
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Nobody outside of the Pacers locker room and family knows why Hibbert struggled, maybe it was Paul George or Andrew Bynum banging his wife as was suggested. Or he was fed up with something else. Maybe he was injured? We don't know anything other than he was an all star who for weeks looked like a shadow of his former self.
 
Neil Olshey has been lucky not good. He took Lillard and Leonar_ because they were need positions. If we did not need a PG Olshey would have drafted Harrison Barnes. We won on Lillard and lost on Leonar_. Then Olshey publicly admitted to not bolstering the bench last season cause he did not believe in the team. This season he made a couple of trades the most important was getting Lopez. Once again he got lucky there because had the Pelicans asked for any real asset for Lopez he would have balked. Then he got Robinson from Houston who was desperate for cap space.

Taking the large amount of luck into account Olshey has looked like a success but he has certainly benefited from other teams desperation and the team choosing to draft need over best available.

Does he have any other Mo Williams type shrewd moves in him this summer or will Portland continue to flounder with one of the worst benches in the NBA?
 
B-Roy said:
IIRC Crawford had a player option. The Blazers could not deal him past the trade deadline in February. Thus, that option could not have possibly have been on the table.
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And iirc, the Blazers and Crawford extended the date of his opt out by two days so he could be included in a trade during the draft. I think the idea was that if the blazers could send him to a team he wanted to go to, he'd agree to not opt out or something.
 
cmeese47 said:
Neil Olshey has been lucky not good. He took Lillard and Leonar_ because they were need positions. If we did not need a PG Olshey would have drafted Harrison Barnes. We won on Lillard and lost on Leonar_. Then Olshey publicly admitted to not bolstering the bench last season cause he did not believe in the team. This season he made a couple of trades the most important was getting Lopez. Once again he got lucky there because had the Pelicans asked for any real asset for Lopez he would have balked. Then he got Robinson from Houston who was desperate for cap space.

Taking the large amount of luck into account Olshey has looked like a success but he has certainly benefited from other teams desperation and the team choosing to draft need over best available.

Does he have any other Mo Williams type shrewd moves in him this summer or will Portland continue to flounder with one of the worst benches in the NBA?
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Yet several other GMs could have been similarly lucky and taken similar advantage of other teams' desperation, and they didn't. "Luck" only goes so far; you still have to make the moves.
 
cmeese47 said:
Neil Olshey has been lucky not good. He took Lillard and Leonar_ because they were need positions. If we did not need a PG Olshey would have drafted Harrison Barnes. We won on Lillard and lost on Leonar_. Then Olshey publicly admitted to not bolstering the bench last season cause he did not believe in the team. This season he made a couple of trades the most important was getting Lopez. Once again he got lucky there because had the Pelicans asked for any real asset for Lopez he would have balked. Then he got Robinson from Houston who was desperate for cap space.

Taking the large amount of luck into account Olshey has looked like a success but he has certainly benefited from other teams desperation and the team choosing to draft need over best available.

Does he have any other Mo Williams type shrewd moves in him this summer or will Portland continue to flounder with one of the worst benches in the NBA?
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I don't think you understand what "lucky" means. The Lopez and Robinson trades were not "luck," they were shrewd moves made by a guy who had a limited amount of cap space and used that cap space to the utmost. At some point it's not luck, it's skill.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I don't think you understand what "lucky" means. The Lopez and Robinson trades were not "luck," they were shrewd moves made by a guy who had a limited amount of cap space and used that cap space to the utmost. At some point it's not luck, it's skill.
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Skill right had New Orleans asked for Meyers Leonard in that deal it does not get done. Sure Neil deserves some credit for making the deal happen but it was New Orleans who was desperate to trim salary for Evans. Same goes for TRob he was smart enough to make himself available to talk a deal but it was Houston who was throwing him away to sign Howard.
 
What I find valuable about Olshey is his relationship with players. He has enough of a rapport and respect around the league to convince players to come play in Ptd. Several teams wanted Wright and Mo for that price but they choose to come to Ptd. Hibbert agreed in principal to sign with Ptd when I'm sure many teams were willing to offer him a max deal.

I get the sense Olshey has the respect of many players around the league and playing in small market Ptd doesn't seem to be as much of an issue with Olshey as GM.
 
cmeese47 said:
Skill right had New Orleans asked for Meyers Leonard in that deal it does not get done. Sure Neil deserves some credit for making the deal happen but it was New Orleans who was desperate to trim salary for Evans. Same goes for TRob he was smart enough to make himself available to talk a deal but it was Houston who was throwing him away to sign Howard.
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You're right, the deal doesn't get done because they were trying to clear cap space. Neil was able to get us involved in the deal and we got two key pieces for nothing. Do you think new Orleans was just drunk dialing every gm and Neil was the first to answer?
 
Natebishop3 said:
You're right, the deal doesn't get done because they were trying to clear cap space. Neil was able to get us involved in the deal and we got two key pieces for nothing. Do you think new Orleans was just drunk dialing every gm and Neil was the first to answer?
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I think he has done an incredible job adding talent for pennies on the dollar. What I'm not sure about, partly due to his own words, is if those moves were better than even he thought they'd be.
 
Natebishop3 said:
You're right, the deal doesn't get done because they were trying to clear cap space. Neil was able to get us involved in the deal and we got two key pieces for nothing. Do you think new Orleans was just drunk dialing every gm and Neil was the first to answer?
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I am sure the Pelicans made it known Lopez was available maybe Olshey was the first to call or maybe we offered the most but one thing clear the Pelicans and Rockets were ready to make a deal. It's not like he called them and convinced them to deal us those two guys for nothing they were already there and he benefited. Same as he benefitted in LA from being handed Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
 
So it's agreed the Pelicans and Rockets were looking to make a deal, and Olshey was able to make a deal with each of them that improved the Blazers.

Kudos to Olshey.

:cheers:
 
BBert said:
So it's agreed the Pelicans and Rockets were looking to make a deal, and Olshey was able to make a deal with each of them that improved the Blazers.

Kudos to Olshey.

:cheers:
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I don't think cmeese47 thought that one through. Being a nega-poster is filled with a lot of false arguments and straw men. :)
 
cmeese47 said:
Skill right had New Orleans asked for Meyers Leonard in that deal it does not get done. Sure Neil deserves some credit for making the deal happen but it was New Orleans who was desperate to trim salary for Evans. Same goes for TRob he was smart enough to make himself available to talk a deal but it was Houston who was throwing him away to sign Howard.
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You contradict yourself (not the first time you've done so on this exact same issue). NOP did not, and would not, have asked for Meyers Leonard. As you correctly stated, NOP was desperate to clear cap space. So, they would have NEVER asked to take back Leonard's guaranteed $2.2 million in salary. Instead, they asked for a second rounder with no guaranteed contract and no rookie salary scale requirements.

Besides, even if NOP had asked for Leonard, how do you know Olshey would have turned them down to get the proven starting center LaMarcus Aldridge had asked for in his exit interview?

With both Lopez and Robinson, he saw opportunities to upgrade our talent without giving up a single rotation player, and he pounced all over those opportunities. There's a difference between being opportunistic and being lucky. It's the ability to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them.

BNM
 
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