Windhorse: Blazers planning to stand pat

[perkinsfor3]

Dame/Ant
CJ/Trent
Melo/Hood/Little
Zach/Skal/Wooten
Nurk/Rabb or Patton

And we'd probably get a decent pick if we miss the playoffs as well (Memphis is going to make it, or the Spurs).

We could potentially end ip with someone like:
Jaden McDaniels, Obi Toppin, Deni Avdija, Isaiah Stewart, Vernon Carey, Tyrese Haliburton, Precious Achiuwa, Killian Hayes, Josh Green or Zeke Nnaji .

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Dame/Ant
CJ/Trent
Melo/Hood/Little
Zach/Skal/Wooten
Nurk/Rabb or Patton

And we'd probably get a decent pick if we miss the playoffs as well (Memphis is going to make it, or the Spurs).

We could potentially end ip with someone like:
Jaden McDaniels, Obi Toppin, Deni Avdija, Isaiah Stewart, Vernon Carey, Tyrese Haliburton, Precious Achiuwa, Killian Hayes, Josh Green or Zeke Nnaji .

It would be fun for Memphis to make it but they are not gonna make it. And I'm not sold on OKC. Or Dallas for that matter. There is still a lot to be settled out West. Stay tuned. Next week's games down south are huge for the Blazers. Win all 3 and we're talking 6 seed potential. Get the 6 seed and hope you avoid both LA teams til the WCF. Then Melo goes off and like Mutombo once said: Anything can happen!

 

[KSF-ERIC]

It's not that their isn't a supply of production from Whiteside, there's just no demand for that production. In other words, the demand for him is low not because he has "questionable impact", but because there's really no playoff teams that:
A.) Need a C
B.) Have trade-worthy contracts to match salary to bring in Whiteside
C.) Have more than 2nd round picks to give up for him

The only team that I think might give up assets for Whiteside is Dallas trading Dwight Powell, Courtney Lee, and Golden State's 2020 2nd round pick for him... But even that's questionable.

His trade value lies in his expiring contract, not his play.

Why would Dallas give up GS's 2nd round pick? That thing is a goldmine. It will be the 31st pick in the draft. You get value on a pick like that. You don't have to pay as much but you still get a first round talent.

 

[Lanny]

So that means Whiteside and Bazemore will walk at end of season with nothing in return... so next season we are looking same roster but Nurk coming off major injury instead of Whiteside... with no resources to get better... yuck

Bazemore walking would be a blessing. Whiteside walking would be a tragedy.

 

[GDiama]

It would be fun for Memphis to make it but they are not gonna make it. And I'm not sold on OKC. Or Dallas for that matter. There is still a lot to be settled out West. Stay tuned. Next week's games down south are huge for the Blazers. Win all 3 and we're talking 6 seed potential. Get the 6 seed and hope you avoid both LA teams til the WCF. Then Melo goes off and like Mutombo once said: Anything can happen!

You are not sold on them, but you are sold on Blazers making the comeback? OKC i get it because they might make trades, but Dallas should have no problem securing that playoff spot if Porzingis is healthy.

 

[kjironman1]

might be quite a bit lower than that. IIRC, the NBA sent out a projection last fall of a salary cap next year of around 116M. But after the Morey vs China disaster, and Trump's trade war, I read that the NBA sent out another memo to teams suggesting that the 116M projection might be lowered, perhaps significantly. Whether that will happen or not I don't know

But say for giggles the cap remains static (there was chatter of a 10-15% drop but that seems extreme). That would mean a 109M cap. Blazers, with Hood and Hezonja picking up their options (likely?) would be at about 97.2M. But that's for only 9 players so Portland would be assessed 3 roster charges of 900K putting their 'payroll' around 100M. Now, if they use their 1st round pick and had 2 roster charges, they'd be around 101M, and that would leave them with 8M in space, less than an MLE. If the cap actually contracts, they'd have less, if the China thing is overblown, they'd have more

and none of that accounts for Skal. His cap-hold will be 7M. And Melo's cap-hold will be 1.7M although that won't matter really. But with Skal, Portland at least has some control over only the 3rd player they have that's over 6'8 (the other two coming off major injuries). I can't imagine Portland just letting him go after what happened this season

in other words, we might not see cap-space having much of an impact

Well that would explain the Laker Love Affair going on right now. The NBA can probably mitigate some of those losses by making as money as possible from Lakers, Clippers and Finding a way to they Luka as deep into the playoffs as possible.

 

[kjironman1]

You are not sold on them, but you are sold on Blazers making the comeback? OKC i get it because they might make trades, but Dallas should have no problem securing that playoff spot if Porzingis is healthy.

Pretty key words right there.

 

[GDiama]

Pretty key words right there.

Sure, but we support the Blazers. Cannot talk much about health issues.

 

[BonesJones]

Why would Dallas give up GS's 2nd round pick? That thing is a goldmine. It will be the 31st pick in the draft. You get value on a pick like that. You don't have to pay as much but you still get a first round talent.

This is a shallow draft Eric. The 31st pick in this draft is like the 40th-45th pick in a normal draft. Are you familiar with the prospects available at that point in the draft?

Also noticed how I said they "might". And thats literally the only playoff team that I could come up with that might trade for him, so a focus on Dallas isnt even close to my overall point

 

[OneSport3]

It would be fun for Memphis to make it but they are not gonna make it. And I'm not sold on OKC. Or Dallas for that matter. There is still a lot to be settled out West. Stay tuned. Next week's games down south are huge for the Blazers. Win all 3 and we're talking 6 seed potential. Get the 6 seed and hope you avoid both LA teams til the WCF. Then Melo goes off and like Mutombo once said: Anything can happen!

I'm all for optimism, but this team hasn't showed that they can win one of those games, forget all 3 games.

 

[tester551]

I'm all for optimism, but this team hasn't showed that they can win one of those games, forget all 3 games.

Also, dreams of the 6th seed (or 7th) are pretty damn slim at this point.

Mavs (@ 6th seed) have a 0.600 winning percentage. They are closer to Blazers are 7.5 games back. That's a lot of ground to try and make up. Assuming Mavs keep their current pace, Portland would have to win 80% of their remaining games to catch them!

 

[oldfisherman]

I do not agree with the opinion "the plan is to stand pat".

I believe the strategy is to be ready to take advantage of any unforeseen oportunities. There are at least two types of trades that would help the Blazers.

A trade that lowers the tax bill for this season.

A trade that improves next seasons roster.

I will admit, the odds of making a trade appear slim. But for Neil to give up on trying to make a trade, and plan to stand pat, is silly.

 

[hoopsjock]

Good. Sign / trade a 2nd for Justin Patton or Ivan Rabb. Sign Kenny Wooten.

Don't take on big contracts or more years. Load manage Dame and CJ, develop Ant and Gary Trent. Its a lost year - even if you sneak into the playoffs, you wont make it past the 2nd round and it will take too big of a toll on Dame and CJ.

Maybe Whiteside could be traded for a second round pick. With such a low return I'm fine keeping him and seeing if he ends up interested to resign as a backup.

If you can get a first round pick sure you do the trade... I highly doubt he has that value.

Andre Drummond is available as well and possibly not even worth a first round pick.

These routes are basically ensuring that this team will not contend for the rest of the Dame era, unless you're of the belief that simply adding Nurk back into the fold will put them into contention.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Dame/Ant
CJ/Trent
Melo/Hood/Little
Zach/Skal/Wooten
Nurk/Rabb or Patton

And we'd probably get a decent pick if we miss the playoffs as well (Memphis is going to make it, or the Spurs).

We could potentially end ip with someone like:
Jaden McDaniels, Obi Toppin, Deni Avdija, Isaiah Stewart, Vernon Carey, Tyrese Haliburton, Precious Achiuwa, Killian Hayes, Josh Green or Zeke Nnaji .

Sign.
Kenny.
Wooten.

 

[perkinsfor3]

These routes are basically ensuring that this team will not contend for the rest of the Dame era, unless you're of the belief that simply adding Nurk back into the fold will put them into contention.

Bullshit. Just dont go for the shortsighted option. Dont break the bank for the Griffin, Love, Wiggins types. There's maybe some options out there which make sense, but the timing is difficult. Nurk will take time to come back, and even then we're missing pieces to content this year. Its a lost year - what I'm saying is that its best not to rush things now - look for some players you could develop instead.

 

[Natebishop3]

Bullshit. Just dont go for the shortsighted option. Dont break the bank for the Griffin, Love, Wiggins types. There's maybe some options out there which make sense, but the timing is difficult. Nurk will take time to come back, and even then we're missing pieces to content this year. Its a lost year - what I'm saying is that its best not to rush things now - look for some players you could develop instead.

I would add Wiggins. I put him much higher than Love or Griffin. He's only 24 years old. That fits the window of our young guys. I think he could thrive in our culture. I would trade for him in a heartbeat.

 

[Natebishop3]

Honestly, this feels like a move by Neil to try to back some people off because I think he's getting mega lowballed on Whiteside.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Sign.
Kenny.
Wooten.

 

[perkinsfor3]

I would add Wiggins. I put him much higher than Love or Griffin. He's only 24 years old. That fits the window of our young guys. I think he could thrive in our culture. I would trade for him in a heartbeat.

He's a net negative. Always been, even with the nice streak earlier this season. So you're gambling on him changing his ways and the right to pay him... 30+M per year until 2023-2024? That also means you'll be unable to resign Ant and Zach when their contracts come up, and you're stuck with playing Dame, CJ, Wiggins, Melo rest of the year. You must be betting on Whiteaide being able to block 15 shots per game with that defense.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Eric Mika is also interesting and a good fit. Wooten and Mika.

 

[James lamphear]

Sign.
Kenny.
Wooten.

The problem with Wooten is that what's all he can do. Defensely he decent but offensely he can Dunk and that about all he can do. He might be alright from 0-5 feet same as college. If he can extend his offense at least then he be someone to look at. Remember we can't even Ally oop with Whiteside. I might change my mind when I go look at video.

 

[Neil O. Shyster]

7 games below .500 near mid season and people in here think Eric Mika and Kenny Wooten are going to fix this mess Neil got us into, change the way Stotts coaches, and gets CJ to pass?!

 

[perkinsfor3]

The problem with Wooten is that what's all he can do. Defensely he decent but offensely he can Dunk and that about all he can do. He might be alright from 0-5 feet same as college. If he can extend his offense at least then he be someone to look at. Remember we can't even Ally oop with Whiteside. I might change my mind when I go look at video.

He really improved a lot in the gleague!

 

[James lamphear]

He really improved a lot in the gleague!

He might have improved but he needs to extend his range on his shot. Remember he plays with the Knicks G-league and hasn't been call up with them.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Ive heard 5-6 teams are interested. The Knicks are clueless.

Btw another player I like as a fit is Dragan Bendee. Wanted us to sign him over the summer already.

 

[perkinsfor3]

7 games below .500 near mid season and people in here think Eric Mika and Kenny Wooten are going to fix this mess Neil got us into, change the way Stotts coaches, and gets CJ to pass?!

No, people.in here just dont want any part of handcuffing the franchise to bloated contracts over the next 3-4 years. Especially when its one dimensional players.

 

[Neil O. Shyster]

No, people.in here just dont want any part of handcuffing the franchise to bloated contracts over the next 3-4 years. Especially when its one dimensional players.

Uh, you realize Neil did just that with CJ’s extension right?

 

[perkinsfor3]

Uh, you realize Neil did just that with CJ’s extension right?

With only one year left after this.

 

[hoopsjock]

Bullshit. Just dont go for the shortsighted option. Dont break the bank for the Griffin, Love, Wiggins types. There's maybe some options out there which make sense, but the timing is difficult. Nurk will take time to come back, and even then we're missing pieces to content this year. Its a lost year - what I'm saying is that its best not to rush things now - look for some players you could develop instead.

Not trading Whiteside because of an unknown couple of weeks versus bringing in a better player long term is the definition of short sighted.

I don't want guys like Love either but there are plenty of other viable options that could help both this year and are under contract for next year.

 

[hoopsjock]

With only one year left after this.

Nope, CJ has 4 years after this one left.