Zach Lowe: The Blazers' Oregon Trail to contention

[Wizard Mentor]

good, but not short article.

All that for cap room in an isolated market in which undrafted Wes Matthews remains the most significant outside free-agent acquisition of the past decade. "Good players on favorable contracts are more valuable to us than cap room," Blazers GM Neil Olshey told ESPN.com. "Especially in an era where all 30 teams have cap room -- or the ability to get it." The Blazers don't have as much time to wait as you might think; Lillard and McCollum are 26 and 24, squarely in their primes. "With our interest in extending C.J., we weren't going to be a cap room team next year, anyway," Olshey said.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17213986/the-blazers-looking-get-better-build-future

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:

When one recent draft pick entered the league carrying a whiff of entitlement, sources say, the coaching staff pointed at Lillard: He's way better than you, and he's working harder.

Gotta be Project Pat, right?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:



Gotta be Project Pat, right?

Meyers

 

[BlazerCaravan]

"Evan Turner's contract could end up a disaster" okay first off I want some citations on the risks. Second off after Oden and Roy, and losing LaMarcus for nothing, Evan Turner will not be a disaster in any way measurable by blazers fans.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Meyers

Except he arrived at the same time as Lillard...

But yeah, it seems unlikely to be CJ, and none of our other rookies have the remotest right to have even a whiff of entitlement.

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

Noah Vonleh

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Calabro! :MARIS61:

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:



Gotta be Project Pat, right?

I think so. My other guess was Meyers but it says "recent draft pick".

 

[riverman]

Meyers

I'm guessing TRob who was drafted ahead of Lillard at 5

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

That was a good read.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I'm guessing TRob who was drafted ahead of Lillard at 5

TRob isnt a "recent draft pick".

 

[HolyBackboard]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:



Gotta be Project Pat, right?

My first thought was AC ... Pac-12 POY, falls to 2nd Round, no PT at all his rookie year. Again, no concrete evidence, but that is who I thought of first.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

That was a good read.

Kinda.

Blazers suck because they overpaid for a couple of players but they didn't have any other options so they still suck but it's a necessary suck.

 

[riverman]

TRob isnt a "recent draft pick".

depends on how old you are...to me Greg Oden is a recent draft pick...I'm not talking about Danny Ainge or John Lucas here

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Got me noticin' - here's the 2012 draft:

5. Kings Thomas Robinson PF
6. Trail Blazers Damian Lillard PG
11. Trail Blazers Meyers Leonard C
15. 76ers Maurice Harkless SF
30. Warriors Festus Ezeli C
40. Trail Blazers Will Barton SG
48. Knicks Kostas Papanikola

Working our way through it! All we need now are Anthony Davis and possibly Draymond Green. I'd also settle for MKG.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

depends on how old you are...to me Greg Oden is a recent draft pick...I'm not talking about Danny Ainge or John Lucas here

Really? You think an NBA writer is going to consider anything past a year or two as "recent"? No.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Really? You think an NBA writer is going to consider anything past a year or two as "recent"? No.

If it supports the narrative he's trying to push you bet your ass he will.

See some of the BS Canzano writes for multiple examples.

 

[illmatic99]

The Whiteside bit is interesting.

Long story short, we need a massive jump from either an outside addition or CJ/Dame to get into championship contention.

But he did say we could end up in the WCF if it all turned out well for us. If this roster caps out as a competitive adversary to GS in the next three years, I think I'd be satisfied. :/

 

[Pinwheel1]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:

Gotta be Project Pat, right?

I don't think he was necessarily talking about a Blazer. I think he was just pointing how hard Lillard works at his game. I could see Byron Scott saying it to D'Angelo Russel last summer down in LA where I believe Dame worked out too.

 

[illmatic99]

Also didn't care for the flippant dismissal of Ezeli. His 15-20 mpg of defense will help us immensely.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Also didn't care for the flippant dismissal of Ezeli. His 15-20 mpg of defense will help us immensely.

Dude also has something against Turner and Crabbe specifically. Interesting take on our guys, locker room material for sure.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I was not sure where he was going with the article. He seemed to be all over the place. But his conclusion was fair.

" The Blazers are good, and they'll stay good with an uncertain path to the next tier up. Overspending this summer cluttered that path with obstacles, but it's hard to find a realistic alternative that would have cleared it up."

 

[illmatic99]

Dude also has something against Turner and Crabbe specifically. Interesting take on our guys, locker room material for sure.

Lowe is easily the most knowledgable and articulate bball writer out there. I don't think anything he said about Crabbe and Turner are that egregious.

My point about Ezeli has to do with the fact that he really won't get that much of a burden and put his health in any more risk than he has been all his career. We really don't need much out of him. 15 mpg of rim protection and good screens. He should give us about 80 games of that for regular season and playoffs.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Lowe is easily the most knowledgable and articulate bball writer out there. I don't think anything he said about Crabbe and Turner are that egregious.

My point about Ezeli has to do with the fact that he really won't get that much of a burden and put his health in any more risk than he has been all his career. We really don't need much out of him. 15 mpg of rim protection and good screens. He should give us about 80 games of that for regular season and playoffs.

I thought him bringing up how awful the Turner and Crabbe deals were four times in the article was a little obsessive, even when he was talking about how thin the market is for wings. Like, we have TWO of the wings in this thin market. If either turns into something good, we are ahead of the game. If both in tandem turn into something good we have succeeded. I honestly don't understand his analysis.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Meyers

Bollocks. Meyers? Entitlement? I don't buy it.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

My first thought was AC ... Pac-12 POY, falls to 2nd Round, no PT at all his rookie year. Again, no concrete evidence, but that is who I thought of first.

If so, it turns out he WAS entitled... to SEVENTY MILLION DOLLARS.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I was not sure where he was going with the article. He seemed to be all over the place. But his conclusion was fair.

" The Blazers are good, and they'll stay good with an uncertain path to the next tier up. Overspending this summer cluttered that path with obstacles, but it's hard to find a realistic alternative that would have cleared it up."

Yeh, that's what I was gonna quote. I think Olshey started at the top; with the most optimistic scenario of getting two of Durant, Horford, Whiteside. I think he learned even before July 1 that there was no chance on either Durant or Horford. I think it's possible he even learned about Whiteside before July 1. So he went to top wings available, knowing that "The way the game is being played, plus the dearth of available wings, made us willing to pay a premium for players that fit our model"; lost Parsons, quickly moved on to Turner. Overpaid, but at that point and considering the need to use all the money this year, maybe panicked a little. Maybe lucked into Ezeli. Signed all our RFA's because at that point, why not.
I liked the confirmation that Turner was not guaranteed anything, and liked that Stotts is already getting Lillard and McCollum thinking about how to work with Turner.

 

[Natebishop3]

I've got to wonder who this little snippet was referring to:



Gotta be Project Pat, right?

My first thought was Crabbe..... but I guess it depends on what you view as "recent." Would Patty C really come in with entitlement issues?

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Based on their personalities, it's gotta be either Pat or Meyers. HCP probably wont say so here, but I'm pretty sure he'd agree.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

My first thought was Crabbe..... but I guess it depends on what you view as "recent." Would Patty C really come in with entitlement issues?

With his Notre Dame celebrity and his baseball contract, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.