This Organization Needs to Change Their Mindset

[lawai'a]

Of course there is accountability in the organization. The Blazers have the highest payroll in the league this year. Jody Allen is spending a ton of money and no doubt expects results. That said, the team wasn’t able to field anything like their full roster this year. There’s no way to know how close the Blazers could have been to a title run if the injury bug hadn’t bitten so hard. I know many here will say that’s just an excuse. I doubt that Jody Allen or the rest of the Blazers organization feels that way. IMO, they will want to build on what they have, but still see the real world testing of the basic roster that have assembled before deciding to make wholesale changes. I could be wrong, and maybe there is a big deal that will make sense, but my bet is that we see pretty much the same roster next season. Hopefully, healthy.

i agree with everything but would like to add that (as several posters lead by the HCP and mediocre man predicted) the staff misses the accountability of players DURING the games that coach david vanterpool provided. i believe this impacted our defense more than schemes or coaching did.

 

[Mediocre Man]

It is possible to be depressed without moaning about specific things. And in fact, if your team is making you MORE depressed, then you need to find another team or learn to find enjoyment from your team, warts and all. Part of what is frustrating about a sports team is that you can't change it. It is what it is. So if you can't love it as it is, take up a hobby where you are in control.

Remember, fan is short for fanatic, so maybe the depressed people are the bigger, true fans?

 

[BigGameDamian]

Has Terry been canned yet?

 

[TBpup]

Gary
Trent
Jr.

too early to say he is the answer?

I think he is a very solid answer....as next years starting SG.

Dame/CJ are undersized to start with. There there is this particular play that EVERY SINGLE team in the league seems to run.....the PnR. So that means we have a 40% chance of having one of our weekest defenders switched onto a Davis, Kawhi, Durant, PG13, Harden, Siakim....the names are endless. It's tough enough when there is a switch (which we do at the very HINT of a screen). Then to have it be one of your worst defenders who is already undersized in their normal matchup.

You can hide one small, weak defending guard....GST does it all the time with Curry. But that is a 20% chance. We double that every game with 40% of our roster being small and not good defensively. Then we count on the remaining three players to play defense, make up for the 'shortcomings' and then for the most part, stand around on offense and wait for a kick out.

CJ has the skills to lead his own team. But as the #2, he can't take advantage of them in this system where we are guard dominated, yet don't ever run and get fast breaks that you'd think a guard oriented team would excel at.

If Stotts and CJ are back, next year will be no different.

Are we really going to be in front of any of the following?

Lakers
Clippers
Warriors
Nuggets
Mavericks
Jazz
Rockets

Even healthy (which is tough with Nurk's history), this team seems destined to fight it out with the Mavs, Jazz, Rockets, Thunder, Grizzlies and Suns...just to get into the Playoffs but be no where near HCA....if there aren't any changes.

Otherwise, sadly, we will continue to watch Dame's prime go by with moments of historic excitement, but no chance of getting anywhere near contending for a title.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Have you read the stories about why Brown was fired in Philly? The same two issues come up in every article - inability to adapt on the fly and lack of accountability. The Blazer front office just calmly accepts the same flaws in Stotts. (as do many fans)

 

[hoopsjock]

Bones. Not that i disagree but 29 other teams lose every year. Do you think of those teams who made it to the playoff but dont win, are also like this?

He isn't saying that they would for sure win if they have a championship mindset but it is hard to take that next step while not having it.

Look at the Raptors this year. They lost Kawhi and Danny Green for nothing and they had significant injury problems but I didn't hear many excuses about injuries or personnel issues. Instead they worked hard and got the #2 seed. I don't think they'll win the title again but I think this year was a success for them.

 

[hoopsjock]

I don't quite understand loving this team except for the vibe, GM coach roster and majority of the fans that cheer for them.....there are other teams with different cultures to cover and cheer for....I enjoy Blazer basketball so put me in the category of fans that accept and actually like the team for what they are....they weren't winning a championship for quite a few reasons this season..mostly health in my view. I agree with Dame's view on the team, not this take presented here. Nobody cheering is pretending to be a Blazer fan....not liking virtually anything about the organization and franchise or trusting the direction might be pretending to be a fan.....the bottom line for enjoying sports doesn't need to entail being a dynasty or bust. I'd say to most fanbases it's the same as far as support and fans. I'm a Beaver fan...they're rarely going to beat the Ducks in anything but baseball. Doesn't rile me up though

No one is saying you can't root for the team a certain way or be happy with what they did this year. Bones isn't trying to say what the best level of fandom is either. This is just his line of thinking on what it would take for the Blazers to go from being a nice story to a serious threat. It's not knocking those who are fine with the way things are, he just personally wants to see that attitude change. It's totally fine if you don't.

 

[e_blazer]

No one is saying you can't root for the team a certain way or be happy with what they did this year. Bones isn't trying to say what the best level of fandom is either. This is just his line of thinking on what it would take for the Blazers to go from being a nice story to a serious threat. It's not knocking those who are fine with the way things are, he just personally wants to see that attitude change. It's totally fine if you don't.

The biggest question in my mind is, is a team made up primarily from guys on the current roster a serious threat if healthy? If so, what tweaks would make the chances better? New backup PG? New defensive coach? My bet is that Olshey is going to come down on this line of thinking for at least one more year since he didn’t get to test it this year. Personally, I am fine with that.

Other folks around here are of the opinion that major changes are needed. CJ and Dame can’t cut it on defense. Stotts isn’t good enough to coach a contender. Olshey won’t take the risk needed to swing for the fences. And on and on. The problem with this line of thinking, at least from my personal view, is that it relies on decisions that are totally out of our control. You can always imagine that better coach or that great trade, but you have no way to get to it. I can’t operate that way, but I guess I understand the thinking.

 

[BonesJones]

If the NY Knicks can't do it, despite being in the city that has the best claim to being the capitol of the WORLD, can we really expect it out of little-ol' Portland?

But here, let's make it short and sweet:
1. Fire Olshey
2. Hire Masai Ujiri (somehow)

It's about as realistic as any suggestion, and a lot shorter.

Or how about this:
Allow Nike to get involved in team ownership. THEN you'd have something. Somehow I doubt the rest of the league would approve, though.

See, that thinking is what I'm talking about. We limit ourselves if we think that way. Problem is, I think Olshey thinks that way...

 

[BonesJones]

No one is saying you can't root for the team a certain way or be happy with what they did this year. Bones isn't trying to say what the best level of fandom is either. This is just his line of thinking on what it would take for the Blazers to go from being a nice story to a serious threat. It's not knocking those who are fine with the way things are, he just personally wants to see that attitude change. It's totally fine if you don't.

Exactly. Well said.

 

[kjironman1]

I read your entire statement. I have many of the same feelings. I also don't like being told that i'm not a true fan because i voice them.
Probably your best statement IMHO was your last-

I'm a die-hard fan, I want us to contend, and badly. Sometimes I wonder if that want isn't matched by the organization itself. I know a lot of people will reply telling me why I'm wrong while using the excuses that I outlined here, but that might prove my point. Or maybe I'm wrong. I'm not sure.

I think there is some truth to the Killer mentality. Stotts does not have that. He does things good but not great most of the time and never seems to be able to instill a killer mindset. I know you would like to see more. We have been on opposite sides of this at times in the past but it's time to get some NASTY on this team. Not "JailBlazers" but some "True Grit" would not hurt at all.
There is some truth to what happened this year. I would have liked to see where they went with Collins, Nurk and Hood all year. I also think they would have made much different moves if they didn't know Nurk was out for the season pretty much.
This year ended up a patched together fight right to the very end.
Maybe it's best for us to not use this year in the discussion because of the obvious built in excuses.

I'm with ya on this Bones. They need that edge. Mathews had it. I actually think Lillard has it. I also think they have found a guy in Trent that has it and Collins might? Not sure about CJ because he can show it? Players like Harkless, Aminu, Batum, Aldridge, Meyers Leonard, did not have it.
There are players that absolutely lick their chops when they see Portland coming up on the schedule. Been that way for going on 20 years aside from maybe Pryzbilla and Blake with some Andre Miller in there.
I don't have any answers here..... I just know i feel ya on this.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

The biggest question in my mind is, is a team made up primarily from guys on the current roster a serious threat if healthy? If so, what tweaks would make the chances better? New backup PG? New defensive coach? My bet is that Olshey is going to come down on this line of thinking for at least one more year since he didn’t get to test it this year. Personally, I am fine with that.

Other folks around here are of the opinion that major changes are needed. CJ and Dame can’t cut it on defense. Stotts isn’t good enough to coach a contender. Olshey won’t take the risk needed to swing for the fences. And on and on. The problem with this line of thinking, at least from my personal view, is that it relies on decisions that are totally out of our control. You can always imagine that better coach or that great trade, but you have no way to get to it. I can’t operate that way, but I guess I understand the thinking.

Decisions out of our control? If you mean the fans, that is obviously true. That is true of every opinion of every fan. In that case, why are you here? Why should fans discuss anything about the league?

If you are talking about the organization, sorry, but your comment makes no sense. Other teams make trades, hire and fire coaches, sign free agents, etc. Why would other teams have control over their own destiny while the Blazers don't?

 

[kjironman1]

Blazers need to sign a defensive guru as assistant coach

I would really like to see this as well as a true Big Man coach.

 

[e_blazer]

Decisions out of our control? If you mean the fans, that is obviously true. That is true of every opinion of every fan. In that case, why are you here? Why should fans discuss anything about the league?

If you are talking about the organization, sorry, but your comment makes no sense. Other teams make trades, hire and fire coaches, sign free agents, etc. Why would other teams have control over their own destiny while the Blazers don't?

I’m talking purely from a fan basis. The Blazers can, and I’m sure do, do internal evaluations of the organization and how to meet it’s many goals. We have zero input on that as fans, yet every year people around here advance the same types of ideas about changes they feel absolutely have to be made. I have no problem with those ideas and I think they can be fun to discuss. What’s a Blazers forum for, after all, if not that? I just think that a bit of humility about the things we don’t know might be a good thing. In the overall scheme of things, our thoughts about what the Blazers should do have about the same impact as a fart in a hurricane. Not really worth getting too worked up about.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

I like Dame's attitude. Fuck super teams, let's beat em. Problem is injuries are a real excuse. Warriors lost last year cuz Durant and Klay went down. Cavs lost in 2015 Kyrie and Love went down. Lakers lost in 1989 after sweeping the first three rounds because they got injured in the final round. Now, real depth can help you survive injuries and we 100% did NOT have real depth this year. That is something Neil will have to improve on as Mario and Anthony Tolliver were not the answer. The trade for Ariza was inspired and then, unfortunately, he opted out of playing. Instead of changing to win, I think it's more exciting and impressive to win with what we have at the core. You want AD and LeBron traded to us for Dame and CJ for a title run? Or would you prefer to see Dame and CJ learn from past failures and win it themselves? I'm sure Raptors are thankful for their championship last year but they lost their best player after one year. I'm not convinced the Raptors would not have won without the Kawhi trade. Without LeBron in the East, I think the Raptors still would've won the title with DeRozen but I guess we'll never know.

 

[royo]

It may be Lillard's mental about superteams, but he and CJ wanted Melo long time ago and I believe if some superstar was there to take, Lillard wouldn't mind. This aside.

I understand that Por is small market and Blazers do as good as they can for that reason. Therefore we should be happy with what we have. So, we know, that we gonna be bit above average team forever. In this case why not develop young players and have some fun on the court? What's the point of playing Lillard to the ground if we happy anyways?

 

[illmatic99]

Dame never said a damn word about superteams. All he said was that he didn't want to leave Portland and build here.

 

[royo]

Takes about 24s to find him talkin bout super teams.

 

[e_blazer]

Dame never said a damn word about superteams. All he said was that he didn't want to leave Portland and build here.

“
I think people are taking control because there’s no greater time to do it than now,” says Lillard. “And I don’t have a problem with that, but the way I see stuff is, like, I don’t prefer to go that route. Just like they’re choosing to do this stuff for their career, I’m choosing to do what I want for mine, too.”

Backcourt mate C.J. McCollum, who also signed an extension with the Blazers this summer and is putting down roots around Portland, has shown a similar commitment to Lillard’s.

“To leave, what did I invest all this time for just to leave, you know?” he says. “If I go play with three other stars, I don’t think that many people would doubt that I could win it. We would win it, but what is the challenge or the fun in that?”

Lillard knows the Blazers’ history and is adamant that he wants to be different.

“I wanna be the one, the star that wants to be here,” says Lillard. “I wanna be the one that embodies all of those things and then be a part of the rise from ‘we haven’t won since ’77, and now we won, and Dame’s everything to our city.’”

https://www.slamonline.com/nba/dami...-challenge-or-the-fun-in-joining-a-superteam/