The vent your frustrations thread

[Fez Hammersticks]

Fuck Ndiaye!

 

[Natebishop3]

Fuck Ndiaye!

Mamadou?

 

[Ed O]

I'm all for rebuilding. The team was very, very close with Oden and Roy and Aldridge (and Batum, and Bayless, and Rudy, et al). It didn't work out, but we had a couple of years of upward momentum, and if knees had held up, we'd be threatening to win titles by now.

I think Cho wanted to rebuild, and that was one of the reasons that he was let go. There may have been personality issues, too, but he knew we were more than one piece away, and I don't think that he would have thrown money and Camby and Crawford and given up value to get Felton and Smith. With that being said, if we had started the rebuild a year earlier, we might not have been able to flip Wallace as well as we did.

Finally: I'm not a season ticket holder, so it's easier for me to support another rebuild. I don't know how so many of you keep spending so much money on Blazers tickets, but bless you for doing so

Ed O.

 

[e_blazer]

It's easy to support the concept of a rebuild, but I have yet to hear somebody put forth a reasonable plan as to how that can be achieved with any reasonable expectation of building a contender within a few years. The way I see it, with Aldridge, Wes, the rookies and rest of the squad, the Blazers will be in that worst of all places that the T'Wolves know so well: not good enough to make the playoffs and not bad enough to get a franchise player. The hopes of becoming a contender would seem to hinge on some future hypothetical Chis Paul-like trade. Personally, I'd rather add some decent cheap vets, make the bottom tier of the playoffs, and hope to luck into a deal like that instead of dwelling in lotteryville for years.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Agreed, but maybe that is why I hate rebuilding when it comes to the Blazers, about 4 years of season tickets where I often didn't care if I went to games and couldn't even give the tickets away. Are we about to go through that again.

Honestly who watched the Blazers religiously last half of last season?

When the Blazers have hope to sell I buy. For me that meant when there were young players on the roster who I was curious about (even going all the way back to the halcyon days of Z-bo, Telfair and Miles) I pay attention because even if the wins are in short supply I like watching players develop ... or seeing if they can develop.

Now did I follow every game in March and April? No, absolutely not, but I (and maybe others?) needed a break from watching Crawful and Feltank drive the bitch right into the turf in pursuit of their numbers. The only time I cared to pay attention was when all of the youngins like Babbitt, Smith and the trade acquisitions got a lot of burn.

 

[Ed O]

When the Blazers have hope to sell I buy. For me that meant when there were young players on the roster who I was curious about (even going all the way back to the halcyon days of Z-bo, Telfair and Miles) I pay attention because even if the wins are in short supply I like watching players develop ... or seeing if they can develop.

Now did I follow every game in March and April? No, absolutely not, but I (and maybe others?) needed a break from watching Crawful and Feltank drive the bitch right into the turf in pursuit of their numbers. The only time I cared to pay attention was when all of the youngins like Babbitt, Smith and the trade acquisitions got a lot of burn.

I agree.

I found last season painful from the get-go. After losing Oden and Roy, the team was destined to be mediocre if everything went well (although they had me fooled for about 90 seconds at one point early in the year). The draft and trades were poorly managed and the coaching was same-old, same-old.

If there's a new team with a possibly good young core, I'll be a lot more interested than I was last year. I don't think that Lillard and Leonard are a bad start, but the team still isn't very good and I believe that years of bad drafts have gutted the chances of the team evolving into a HCA-level team.

Adding a young stud center like Hibbert might have changed things, but having that fall through and then matching Batum for over $11m/year is not going to get this team to a good enough place for me to be very excited about it.

Ed O.

 

[barfo]

Adding a young stud center like Hibbard

You mean KK Hibbs?

barfo

 

[Ed O]

You mean KK Hibbs?

I meant old mother Hibbard, of course!

Ed O.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I agree.

I found last season painful from the get-go. After losing Oden and Roy, the team was destined to be mediocre if everything went well (although they had me fooled for about 90 seconds at one point early in the year). The draft and trades were poorly managed and the coaching was same-old, same-old.

If there's a new team with a possibly good young core, I'll be a lot more interested than I was last year. I don't think that Lillard and Leonard are a bad start, but the team still isn't very good and I believe that years of bad drafts have gutted the chances of the team evolving into a HCA-level team.

Adding a young stud center like Hibbert might have changed things, but having that fall through and then matching Batum for over $11m/year is not going to get this team to a good enough place for me to be very excited about it.

Ed O.

Like I said, unless you have the top 3 picks and one is a projected future franchise player, there is no "building through the draft" bullshit. a large expiring contract is often better than having a lottery pick.

 

[Luther]

I'm all for rebuilding. The team was very, very close with Oden and Roy and Aldridge (and Batum, and Bayless, and Rudy, et al).


Ed O.

In what way was this team even remotely close to doing anything special? I must have watched a completely different team that season.

 

[Ed O]

Like I said, unless you have the top 3 picks and one is a projected future franchise player, there is no "building through the draft" bullshit. a large expiring contract is often better than having a lottery pick.

I don't agree. A large expiring contract is not worth much these days, and it's as boring as the day is long.

I want to have hope that the team will get better. A couple of years in the lottery can give me that hope. A large expiring contract does not in today's NBA.

Ed O.

 

[Ed O]

In what way was this team even remotely close to doing anything special? I must have watched a completely different team that season.

This team and that season. Which year are you talking about?

The core of Oden/Roy/Aldridge was capable of great things. Batum and Wes can be effective role players with those kinds of stars.

It didn't work out, but that's the breaks sometimes. It doesn't mean that it wasn't a good effort.

Ed O.

 

[e_blazer]

I don't agree. A large expiring contract is not worth much these days, and it's as boring as the day is long.

I want to have hope that the team will get better. A couple of years in the lottery can give me that hope. A large expiring contract does not in today's NBA.

Ed O.

What about picks in the 10-14 range over the next couple of years gives you hope?

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Actually, I am frustrated by some of the poster's attitudes. In my blazer-homerific mind, we lost 2 future HOFers who hadn't even gotten into their prime, yet somehow, posters around here expected a good season. If the Heat lost James and Wade for not just the season, but for forever, they would really, really suck.

The season wasn't great, but we did learn who the bad apples were, and we got rid of them.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I don't agree. A large expiring contract is not worth much these days, and it's as boring as the day is long.

I want to have hope that the team will get better. A couple of years in the lottery can give me that hope. A large expiring contract does not in today's NBA.

Ed O.

You need a top 3 pick (usually top 1) to get a true franchise impact player. and they only show up every other year or so.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Here's what frustrates me:
Here are the Blazers players that I've got genuinely excited about in the past five years:

Oden
Roy
Sergio
Rudy
Batum

Notice a pattern?

If Batum goes, who do I get excited about? Lillard? A jump shooting PG, my least-favorite type of player? Leonard? Who is years away if he's not Chris Mihm II? Aldridge, bless his heart, who has got to feel about how Dirk Nowitzki feels right now, except without the ring to console him, and without an owner who actually seems to know how to make his fantastic wealth work to build a consistent winner?

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I'm all for rebuilding. The team was very, very close with Oden and Roy and Aldridge (and Batum, and Bayless, and Rudy, et al). It didn't work out, but we had a couple of years of upward momentum, and if knees had held up, we'd be threatening to win titles by now.

I think Cho wanted to rebuild, and that was one of the reasons that he was let go. There may have been personality issues, too, but he knew we were more than one piece away, and I don't think that he would have thrown money and Camby and Crawford and given up value to get Felton and Smith. With that being said, if we had started the rebuild a year earlier, we might not have been able to flip Wallace as well as we did.

Finally: I'm not a season ticket holder, so it's easier for me to support another rebuild. I don't know how so many of you keep spending so much money on Blazers tickets, but bless you for doing so

Ed O.

It's the only show in town (no disrespect to the Timbers).

I do agree with the hope idea, which is why I put the Blazer misery at 4 years and not 6. The last two years in the lottery had some hope. But with the draft being such a crap shoot, especially with any pick after 3 (I agree with el jefe), trying to develop some young talent into NBA contenders (like OKC) seems like such a long shot to me. And even OKC had a #2 as their huge pick . . . and that was even lucky that they got the 2nd pick and Oden was in the draft that year.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

The season wasn't great

In other news, the Captain of the Titanic said he'd "had better voyages".

 

[Luther]

This team and that season. Which year are you talking about?

The core of Oden/Roy/Aldridge was capable of great things. Batum and Wes can be effective role players with those kinds of stars.

It didn't work out, but that's the breaks sometimes. It doesn't mean that it wasn't a good effort.

Ed O.

Very, very close to being great is making it to the conference finals. This team didn't make it out of the first round....and look @ Rudy and Bayless now...again....not close to doing anything special at all.

 

[MickZagger]

I'm grateful I don't have to watch Crawford and Felton stink up the court another season. For just that reason alone gets me excited!!

 

[RayDavies]

Here's what frustrates me:

Notice a pattern?

Not really.

Oden and Roy were just bad luck. Sergio was a combination of marginal NBA talent and being stuck in the opposite type of system than what he would have thrived in. Rudy grew a pussy after Ariza gave him a hard foul, and is still a below average NBA player.

Batum, nothing has happened yet. He wants to be on a winner, has no leverage. He may stay, but a S & T would be a better option (should Minny prove to actually want to pay him 11-12 mil) IMO.

I'm just frustrated about our shit luck, but hopefully Lillard and Leonard pan out like crazy.

 

[WillG]

I can understand some people are frustrated that Olshey may not end up securing a big signing this off-season.

I, for one, appreciate the patience that Olshey is seeming to show, when he stated that he'd go for the 'big time' signing or none at all.
It shows that he has a vision and is not willing to let the team become hamstrung by mediocre players on largish contracts (example = Wes).

Sure the team may not be great in the short term, but at least Olshey is trying to show some foresight to build a better team - a team that a few years from now that will actually be able to compete at a meaningful level.
I'm onboard with that - you can't build a contender overnight.

Having said that - I hope we sign and trade Batum. He's been one of my favorite Blazers, but that salary will come to hinder us in the coming years as we start to compete with the better teams in the league.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

If Batum goes, who do I get excited about? Lillard? A jump shooting PG, my least-favorite type of player?

Lillard drew more fouls than any other top draft pick - he's not a "jump shooting PG" just because he can also shoot.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Lillard drew more fouls than any other top draft pick - he's not a "jump shooting PG" just because he can also shoot.

He only likes PGs who can't shoot threes

 

[KingSpeed]

I'm upset too. I wish we'd have just gone for it like Boston did in 2008. Sign Nash and make a lopsided trade for Dirk and fucking go for it all. Something like that is what I want to see. Look at what NJ is doing. They're willing themselves into contender status. This does really suck. I would've been excited about this year if we had gotten Nash or Hibbert. We should definitely let Batum go. He's simply not that good. He's certainly not good enough to be the #2 option we'd need him to be here if we matched. Next year is 3 horse race with Lakers, Heat, and Nets (if they get DH12) with Thunder, Bulls, and Pacers as possible outside shots That's it. Hibbert plus a find in Lilliard might've put us in that group. Now we're nothing. We should trade Aldridge and start over.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I'm upset too. I wish we'd have just gone for it like Boston did in 2008. Sign Nash and make a lopsided trade for Dirk and fucking go for it all. Something like that is what I want to see. Look at what NJ is doing. They're willing themselves into contender status. This does really suck. I would've been excited about this year if we had gotten Nash or Hibbert. We should definitely let Batum go. He's simply not that good. He's certainly not good enough to be the #2 option we'd need him to be here if we matched. Next year is 3 horse race with Lakers, Heat, and Nets (if they get DH12) with Thunder, Bulls, and Pacers as possible outside shots That's it. Hibbert plus a find in Lilliard might've put us in that group. Now we're nothing. We should trade Aldridge and start over.

Start over? We essentially already have a blank slate with an allstar entering his prime on a not-too-bad contract.

so you want US to be on the receiving end of a lopsided trade and lose our franchise player for unknown draft picks and do nothing but tank hoping that we can land a future franchise player in the draft?

We still have cap room and some flexibility. Two lottery picks and an allstar. The world isn't over because we missed out on Roy Hibbert or we miss the opportunity to pay an inconsistent yet young prospect $11m a year who doesn't want to be here.

that is the frustration with me. The ease people say "rebuild" or "start over" when we essentially have and we are already past step one (clearing cap room and obtaining lottery picks).

 

[KingSpeed]

I guess

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Lillard drew more fouls than any other top draft pick - he's not a "jump shooting PG" just because he can also shoot.

I hope you're right. But just drawing fouls doesn't prove he's not a jump shooter - Reggie Miller used to draw a ton of fouls.

 

[Rhal]

I hope you're right. But just drawing fouls doesn't prove he's not a jump shooter - Reggie Miller used to draw a ton of fouls.

Miller didn't draw fouls from driving to the hoop and taking contact like Liller. Miller drew fouls by abusing the rules and throwing his elbow/leg into players and taking a dive when he landed to make it look like he was hit hard.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Not really.

The pattern is: they cease to be Blazers.

At this point even I am pretty ambivalent about keeping Batum. It pisses me off that he can't see that he has a better opportunity here. Yes, it's fun to play for Adelman and with Rubio. But doesn't he get that essentially Trevor Ariza is what would work best in that system: you don't get to create for yourself because Rubio has the ball, and when he doesn't, Love is posting up. So you'll get threes on assists from post ups and dunks in transition. Whereas we've gotten rid of everything that made life for Batum miserable last year: Nate, Crawford and Felton, and Batum could have stepped up and been a leader, like he was for SLUC Nancy, where the ball went through him all the time and he could be an all-round player.

Oh well, he'll find out soon enough.

It also pisses me off that now I have to hate Minnesota, when I actually enjoyed watching Rubio (in an Adelman system) before.