2021-22 NBA "REGULAR" SEASON THREAD

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We're all good with Tony Snells, thanks.

Still think the Blazers would move CJ before dame unless dame has made trade demands behind the scene

As long as Dame wants to stay a blazer, no GM could get away with trading him for anything less than a proven MVP.

did you see tony snells numbers last year? i think they're getting a proven mvp

As long as Dame wants to stay a blazer, no GM could get away with trading him for anything less than a proven MVP.

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Sunday, December 5, 2021 2:21 PM (thirty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is understandable and also wrong. they cant build a strong team around him, CJ is not a strong enough trade chip to meaningfully pivot with dame. they should trade both.

As long as Dame wants to stay a blazer, no GM could get away with trading him for anything less than a proven MVP.

lmao

they should burn it all down obv, a complication to all this is ownership probably wants to sell in the coming years and it’s harder to max profit when you’re selling a routine basement dweller in an untrafficked corner of the country that lacks stars or pizzazz, but could be the richies are more savvy to how rebuilds these days

a GM needs to please the fan base. presumably the imperative to drive deep into the payoffs is fan-driven, but if keeping dame for the next few years means more to the fans than diving straight into a rebuild that might possibly achieve more playoff success three or four years out from now, then the fans should get to see dame in pdx and postpone the rebuild.

caving to sentimentality is possibly the worst instinct an executive could have in this situation. Mob rule also not good!

If the Sixers like Lillard for '22-23 then buying him while he's injured is a good opportunity. But I have serious doubts about his viability for this season.

you can call it mob rule, but you need to keep your fans happy and engaged, buying tickets and merchandise. plus, the fan numbers are what the advertisers care about. alienating your fans immediately undercuts your team's revenue from any source apart from the league television contract. pdx fans seem pretty tolerant of poor playoff performance, but they love dame.

they could trade cj and nurk and tank while keeping dame. he's not going to move the needle that much

I thought for sure they were going to trade nurk last offseason

pretty sure nothing significant is going to happen with a front office on fire, and an interim gm and president

clay is there a local angle on jody allen? i can't tell if she's planning on selling the team or not.

well the front office has, since paul allen's death, been very insistent that the team is not for sale they and are thinking long-term about developing a winning franchise, but it's a bit of a thou doth protest too much situation (what other franchise is constantly like "NO!!! WE'RE NOT FOR SALE AT ALL!!!!" in the local press without being low key for sale). They're also penny pinching in pretty ugly ways, and basically everyone in portland believes the team will be sold in the near-future.

since jody's takeover they've publicly and nastily dug around to fire a long-term GM (not without warrant) who may have been a detriment to a sale, the long-term president left outta nowhere to find other work, and they've turned over dozens upon dozens of front office staff behind the scenes (some of it covid-related, most of it using covid as an excuse to find younger, cheaper folks). it has been ugly and jody has been nowhere to be seen. i don't think she's done a press conference? or even an interview? or at least she hasn't since her very early days as owner.

my feeling has been they plan sell and are waiting for the likely 2-team nba expansion in a few years that will be a free couple hundred million cash to ownership. they'll do everything they can to keep marquee names around until then, when new management will presumably strip the team for parts a few years after the expiration date.

rip city, baby!

If clay's vision of the blazer's future comes to pass, the team will move to another city within 5 years after it's sold. And I won't care, because you can't do that and keep your fans.

fans are pretty malleable, bro and they tend to have short memories for anything but glory and beef

More fools they.

anyone who sat through the interminable jailblazer years but throws in the towel because management gave up on a perennial 6-8 seed is wildin frankly

My allegiance to the jailblazers weakened all through the late 1990s and I had mostly stopped following them in 2000. I didn't even watch the infamous WCF game 7 meltdown. Brandon Roy lured me back in 2007.

32 points on 11-15 FG, 4-6 3PT and 6-6 FT from miles bridges tonight to beat the hawks in ATL tonight w/ half the team out bcuz of covid

shams will prob have all the details by EOD

― lag∞n, Friday, December 3, 2021 1:14 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Dozens of coaches, front office members and team staffers were interviewed as part of the probe — Blazers players were given an opportunity to speak with investigators but all of them declined. The firm concluded Olshey often confronted staffers and cursed toward them, sources said. According to individuals with knowledge of the probe, Olshey allegedly made an inappropriate comment toward a female staff member, which was cited during the investigation.

Olshey earned a reputation for his temper during his 10 seasons in Portland, often privately disparaging co-workers. Staffers described Olshey as abrasive and controlling. Olshey had two more years on his contract worth upwards of $20 million total. One source said the Blazers believe they had cause to fire Olshey, which voided his contract. Olshey may challenge that stance.

https://theathletic.com/2999270/2021/12/06/inside-the-trail-blazers-firing-of-gm-neil-olshey-and-what-comes-next-with-franchise-cornerstone-damian-lillard/

Multiple sources have told The Athletic that Lillard would like to play with Philadelphia 76ers three-time All-Star Ben Simmons. The Trail Blazers’ league-worst defense would instantly improve, and sharing a backcourt with a non-shooter could work given Lillard’s high-volume usage.

Sources say the Trail Blazers, under Olshey, discussed the framework of a trade for Simmons, moving CJ McCollum, a first-round draft pick and a young player such as Nassir Little or Anfernee Simons to Philadelphia. The 76ers, sources said, at one point asked the Trail Blazers for McCollum and multiple draft picks and multiple draft swaps, which Portland rejected. Olshey maintained significant confidence in the roster he constructed. Now, it’s unclear if there’s a deal to be had with the 76ers. But with Olshey out, who among chair Jody Allen, vice chair Bert Kolde and Cronin would be the one making the call on a Simmons trade or any acquisition designed to alleviate Lillard’s concerns?

seems like a cj for simmons trade could still happen

so scratching around for an excuse to fire olshey was more penny pinching

and a sub par gm gets paid 10m pa?? far out

with curry and maxey playing well i'm not sure why cj would be all that appealing to the sixers.

so scratching around for an excuse to fire olshey was more penny pinching

with curry and maxey playing well i'm not sure why cj would be all that appealing to the sixers.

― call all destroyer, Monday, December 6, 2021 9:36 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

They need a wing to push Green/Thybulle to the bench, though maxey has regressed a bit since Embiid came back. I would probably do this regardless if there were picks coming back.

if that piece is trying to push a narrative that olshey screwed up by not trading CJ for simmons it just feels like leaking coming from portland and/or dame’s side bcuz there’s never been any indication privately or publicly that the sixers were willing to trade simmons for a player of CJ’s caliber

yep

it did say that the sixers demanded much more in return but maybe their price will drop

with curry and maxey playing well i'm not sure why cj would be all that appealing to the sixers.

― call all destroyer, Monday, December 6, 2021 9:36 AM (thirty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

hes better than them, an irl shot creator, the type of player the sixers have been lacking forever, would be tough to play him and curry together from a defensive perspective tho

"And in recent weeks, sources say Lillard has grown frustrated with the team’s play and tension appears to be on the rise between the players and Billups.”

really weird that they were so insistent on hiring billups

Billups is a former NBA champion, longtime respected player and formed a friendship with Lillard before taking the Portland job. But Lillard made it clear during the coaching search that he preferred a head coach who had done this job before; at the time, Lillard was open to partnering with veteran coach Mike D’Antoni or Kidd.

rockets 6 Ws in a row somehow

theyre def not letting wall play now

(or jalen)

jalen i dont think is nearly a winning player yet but that could change

yeah just funny theyre doing this without him. most rookies are bad

plethora of options and nbatv is showing pistons vs okc tonight lol

grizz just smashed it out of the park with the desmond bane pick/development. looks like he should've been a top 10 pick in that draft, went 30th

i remember a lot of draft people advocating for him to go in the teens at least and they're looking pretty good

dude is built like a pro bowl outside linebacker and is shooting 40% from three on 6 attempts per game and can handle the ball

Def a steal. Grizz have some cool players

love the griz

Bane has a great attitude too