Exclusive Whiteside To Portland

[Driew]

Little, Ant, Collins - I've never seen the Blazers stack the next iteration so clearly and so well.

NO is the shit. He deserves executive of the year at least once in his career.

 

[BBert]

Because we all are random dudes posting shit that nobody gives a shit about?

We post to each other.

That twit was to the world.

Also, BGD

 

[blazerfan11]

Nurk is only 24 - yes, still 4 years from his prime.
Personally, I'm also excited about Skal who is only 23.

Mario Hezonja is between Nurk and Skal. ( Nurk will be 25 this August, Mario will be 25 next February, and Skal will be 24 next March) You never know. He could turn it around.

 

[hoopsjock]

probably the same reason you tried to start shit with natebishop today. I didn't say anything cause first, it didn't concern me and second I really don't give a shit. Give it a try sometime.

ps- tell bonesy to post videos of baby's or dogs if he wants to quadruple the hits.

You know what's really funny about this? He blocked me because I questioned this post of his:

All of this shit going on around the league and we're not involved in any of it.....

Normally, you'd be right there putting these types of posts in their proper place. Where were you at this time?

 

[mook]

Denver fans after Nurk was traded: He is not a good teammate.

Knicks fans after we sign Kanter: He can’t play defense and lazy.

Heat fans after Whiteside was traded: He is a lazy bum

X- Factor here is that they don’t have Dame as their leader. Whiteside will help this team

While this is a good point, I think there's also the element of Portland playing a somewhat unconventional "drop" defense, where the center concedes open long 2's and 3's, but clogs the rim. It's designed around guards fighting through screens and running their asses off, and not putting your big in a place where he draws ticky-tack fouls. This is directly counter to the general NBA trend of "switchable" bigs who help in contesting threes. We just don't ask that of our centers hardly ever.

We ran this defense with Plumlee too. Plumlee is always remembered for getting us Nurkic (and a pick!), but we acquired him for Rhonae Holland Jefferson and Steve Blake. Nobody wanted him. Ed Davis benefited as well, and it was basically the only way you can even keep Leonard on the court.

What is the recurring theme here? 2000's style big centers can still stay on the court in Portland even in crunch time. (And use their time here to convince other teams they can work for them too!) Big guys set big screens, setting up Dame's offense, and big guys can guard the rim, making up for penetration we concede with our small back court.

Just watch Boston. My guess is a lot of Celtics fans are going to pull their hair out when Kanter suddenly isn't any good at defense anymore again, when the reality is he needs the right defense around him (Portland's) and he's perfectly capable. But if you try to plug him into Horford's old role, jesus. They are fucked. I can't wait to see how Meyers Leonard is an utter defensive disaster in Miami.

Portland (rightly) has a reputation for resurrecting careers. A lot of that, I think, is the example of professionalism Dame and CJ set, and obviously some great shooting coaching. But I think Stotts' drop defensive scheme does a lot to make Portland a place where big centers can find new life. People who are skeptical of the Whiteside trade are missing both components of what Portland does well at the center position--dropping defense and raising professionalism.

 

[stampedehero]

Harkless going to the Clippers

Well that is a twist. I understood he was part of the Whiteside deal but as long as he is satisfied and a millionaire, I'm ok with that. Thanks DD

 

[SwissBlazer]

but we acquired him for Rhonae Holland Jefferson and Steve Blake.

Close Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

 

[mook]

Close Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Lol. Something like that.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Parallel lines with Nurkic and Whiteside perception before joining the Blazers:

-"Lazy".
-"Not a team player".
-"Bad attitude".
-"Can be good defensively, but he's not actually effective".
-"Not good enough to be a starter" .
-"You're excited now, you'll understand how bad he is after a few weeks!".

*In both cases, players were ecstatic to pack their bags and come to Portland.

I'm really interested to see if our system and culture are strong enough to deal with this "headcase" as well.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Parallel lines with Nurkic and Whiteside perception before joining the Blazers:

-"Lazy".
-"Not a team player".
-"Bad attitude".
-"Can be good defensively, but he's not actually effective".
-"Not good enough to be a starter" .
-"You're excited now, you'll understand how bad he is after a few weeks!".

*In both cases, players were ecstatic to pack their bags and come to Portland.

I'm really interested to see if our system and culture are strong enough to deal with this "headcase" as well.

But "White Fever" sounds like an extremist group

 

[riverman]

But "White Fever" sounds like an extremist group

It sounds like a late 70s metal band with bleach blonde hair weave dudes with those spandex pants

 

[PCmor7]

Parallel lines with Nurkic and Whiteside perception before joining the Blazers:

-"Lazy".
-"Not a team player".
-"Bad attitude".
-"Can be good defensively, but he's not actually effective".
-"Not good enough to be a starter" .
-"You're excited now, you'll understand how bad he is after a few weeks!".

*In both cases, players were ecstatic to pack their bags and come to Portland.

I'm really interested to see if our system and culture are strong enough to deal with this "headcase" as well.

Something else to consider: He's also playing for a big contract next year. Even if the Blazer culture isn't strong enough to change him, he has self-motivation to go out there and ball out.

 

[TBpup]

Something else to consider: He's also playing for a big contract next year. Even if the Blazer culture isn't strong enough to change him, he has self-motivation to go out there and ball out.

Some Blazer fans refer to that as 'Nic Batum syndrome'.

 

[CupWizier]

Stotts rightfully should be put to task. We win in spite of him.

Stotts has done a great job with the team. You're blinded by hate.

 

[TBpup]

Stotts has done a great job with the team. You're blinded by hate.

Stotts seems very good with the players....almost sometimes to an enabling fault (CJ). However, it does seem reasonable to at least question the actual coaching acumen when the designed game plan of Game 1 in a series it to let some bricklayer name Steph Curry shoot as many wide-open '3's as possible.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Stotts seems very good with the players....almost sometimes to an enabling fault (CJ). However, it does seem reasonable to at least question the actual coaching acumen when the designed game plan of Game 1 in a series it to let some bricklayer name Steph Curry shoot as many wide-open '3's as possible.

To his credit he changed the scheme, but I still cant believe that he thought that, that was a good idea to begin with lol.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D'Angelo on 620am this morning absolutely trashing Whiteside. "He was lazy, he's immature, he only cares about his stats, Heat fans are going to boo him mercilessly, they'd have given him away for nothing..." Also saying that there's a chance that we could get peak Whiteside for 4 months, maybe if he holds a grudge against Miami and wants to show them what they're missing. Specifically told stories about Hassan checking stat sheets after losses and coming out saying "I did my job".

 

[CupWizier]

Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D'Angelo on 620am this morning absolutely trashing Whiteside. "He was lazy, he's immature, he only cares about his stats, Heat fans are going to boo him mercilessly, they'd have given him away for nothing..." Also saying that there's a chance that we could get peak Whiteside for 4 months, maybe if he holds a grudge against Miami and wants to show them what they're missing. Specifically told stories about Hassan checking stat sheets after losses and coming out saying "I did my job".

and that's the kind of player that seems to workout here. Heard the same story about Nurkic. The beauty is, he's an expiring deal if it doesn't work out as the positives far out weigh the negatives.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

and that's the kind of player that seems to workout here. Heard the same story about Nurkic. The beauty is, he's an expiring deal if it doesn't work out as the positives far out weigh the negatives.

Yeah, I don't really expect a whole lot of objective analysis coming out of the city from which a disgruntled star is reclaimed. I honestly was surprised though at the level of vitriol coming from this particular journalist.

 

[CupWizier]

Stotts seems very good with the players....almost sometimes to an enabling fault (CJ). However, it does seem reasonable to at least question the actual coaching acumen when the designed game plan of Game 1 in a series it to let some bricklayer name Steph Curry shoot as many wide-open '3's as possible.

That was one game and one game only. We win because of McCollum and Stotts not despite them.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

How do you succeed as an organization? You can't just draft the 25th best player when you're drafting
at pick #25. IMHO, you have to

1) Take chances on high upside players (Neil)
2) Create an environment where players who wouldn't succeed elsewhere succeed with you (Stotts/Lillard)

That's why Neil/Stotts/Lillard has been so successful. That's why "reclamation projects" succeed here.
NSL are strong believers in SUPPORT:
Hood: "I missed the shot. Maybe I shouldn't have taken it."
NSL: "You were open. We WANT you, no, we NEED you to take that shot 100 times/100. We know
you'll make most of them. Not only do we have confidence in you, we trust you. Trust yourself, it'll
all work out."

Contrast, this SUPPORT system to The Miami Heat. It's not that NSL is great, and that Riley is bad.
On the contrary, Riley is fantastic, but their system is based on something different - DISCIPLINE.

Whiteside has always been immature. Not in a junior-high-wearing-rainbow-sunglasses-inside kind of
immature (that's Biebs), but more in a junior-high-punkish kind of way where the kid has home problems
that lead to attitude problems at school.

IMHO, a system of SUPPORT is exactly what Whiteside has needed his whole career. It may also be
that DISCIPLINE is exactly what Biebs needs to succeed. This could actually work out well for both
teams, instead of just a trade of expiring contracts for each other.

#dropsmic

 

[Eastoff]

Something else to consider: He's also playing for a big contract next year. Even if the Blazer culture isn't strong enough to change him, he has self-motivation to go out there and ball out.

I worry it might be a negative. He might worry about stats and not team ball.

 

[PCmor7]

I worry it might be a negative. He might worry about stats and not team ball.

Kind of hard for a center to do that, because he needs his teammates to get him the ball. A center goes for his own by going after offensive rebounds.

About the ONLY way he can pad stats is by trying to block every shot and getting out of position. And people around the league know when a guy is doing that. GMs aren't going to be snowed by stats. They see what a guy does and how he does it.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Kind of hard for a center to do that, because he needs his teammates to get him the ball. A center goes for his own by going after offensive rebounds.

About the ONLY way he can pad stats is by trying to block every shot and getting out of position. And people around the league know when a guy is doing that. GMs aren't going to be snowed by stats. They see what a guy does and how he does it.

I worry it might be a negative. He might worry about stats and not team ball.

I think he understands that WINNING is his best shot at another 100-million dollar contract, not stat-padding.

He's already posted a video about how excited he is to come to Portland.

 

[Natebishop3]

Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D'Angelo on 620am this morning absolutely trashing Whiteside. "He was lazy, he's immature, he only cares about his stats, Heat fans are going to boo him mercilessly, they'd have given him away for nothing..." Also saying that there's a chance that we could get peak Whiteside for 4 months, maybe if he holds a grudge against Miami and wants to show them what they're missing. Specifically told stories about Hassan checking stat sheets after losses and coming out saying "I did my job".

On a bad team that’s not even winning in the east, I could see that kind of attitude. I still don’t even know why they brought him back in the first place. They were already looking like a lottery team that summer.

 

[CupWizier]

I think he understands that WINNING is his best shot at another 100-million dollar contract, not stat-padding.

He's already posted a video about how excited he is to come to Portland.

Always nice to have someone who is motivated to prove himself and someone who wants to be here. I keep remembering the press conference with Walter Berry when we were surprised he dropped to us and so we took him without much research as he wasn't expected to be available. In his press conference he was saying how he planned on playing out his contract and moving on before he even touched foot on the Blazer floor. Well, he was moved before the season started and that's what landed us Duckworth and Berry lasted 3 years in the NBA.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Always nice to have someone who is motivated to prove himself and someone who wants to be here. I keep remembering the press conference with Walter Berry when we were surprised he dropped to us and so we took him without much research as he wasn't expected to be available. In his press conference he was saying how he planned on playing out his contract and moving on before he even touched foot on the Blazer floor. Well, he was moved before the season started and that's what landed us Duckworth and Berry lasted 3 years in the NBA.

and I thought I was old

Good point, though.

 

[THE HCP]

Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D'Angelo on 620am this morning absolutely trashing Whiteside. "He was lazy, he's immature, he only cares about his stats, Heat fans are going to boo him mercilessly, they'd have given him away for nothing..." Also saying that there's a chance that we could get peak Whiteside for 4 months, maybe if he holds a grudge against Miami and wants to show them what they're missing. Specifically told stories about Hassan checking stat sheets after losses and coming out saying "I did my job".

Curious if he is their Jason Quick? Can you imagine somebody on another forum quoting a Blazers fan named KingSpeed???

 

[oldfisherman]

I worry it might be a negative. He might worry about stats and not team ball.

See your point
If Whiteside gets selfish, and pads his stats by pulling down 15 rpg instead of his avg of 11+, the Blazers are going to suck.

(Don't know how to apply green font from cell phone)

 

[PtldPlatypus]

See your point
If Whiteside gets selfish, and pads his stats by pulling down 15 rpg instead of his avg of 11+, the Blazers are going to suck.

(Don't know how to apply green font from cell phone)

I got you.