Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

So after getting swept, it looks like both Olshey and Stotts are on the hot seat. I believe Olshey should be getting more of the blame for some of the contracts/deals that have really hamstrung Portland's ability to do any big moves this off-season but it looks like since Olshey has Allen's ear, Stotts is going to get thrown under the bus.

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Who are we going to get that is an upgrade to Stotts? Seems like a foolish move that will just make the team worse in the long run.

karlhungis wrote:Who are we going to get that is an upgrade to Stotts? Seems like a foolish move that will just make the team worse in the long run.

Yeah, I can't see where firing Stotts would be a practical move; he coached what he had. The overwhelming lack of talent was exposed by New Orleans X's & O's wasn't the problem.

tough series for you guys though it was a decent match up for them as well

EaZyE wrote:tough series for you guys though it was a decent match up for them as well

They shut down our guard play for most the series, and that was our primary offensive source. So good game plan by Pelicans. A little sad we couldn't counteract in 4 games in a row.

toronto is a great example of how you can do pretty much everything above average (play, coach, scout, draft, manage the cap) and still be utterly irrelevant in the nba because you don't have a superstar.

Pretty disappointing. This is likely the ceiling for the next few years. Such a waste.

that's how it is for 80-90% of the NBA, it's not easy to compete for titles. Philly, Boston, GSW, Houston and Lebron's team are really the only teams that have a decent chance to win it.

Toronto and Portland are kind of similar in that they invest a large part of the cap in their starting backcourt. I think the Raptors have a better excuse for doing so, given the tax situation in Canada and how their location affects retaining and acquiring free agents. The main difference I see that has led to their success in comparison to the Blazers, is that the rest of the salary cap has been put to better use. Instead of Turner, Harkless, Leonard, and dead contracts from bad signings (totaling over $42 million this year), Toronto pays solid contributors like Ibaka and Valanciunas (about $35.5 million). They have also assembled a better bench so that the starters don't have to play as many minutes. So even though they overpay their guards, the rest of the team has been managed much better than the Blazers.

Over half the NBA makes the playoffs (16 out of 30 teams), so getting swept in the first round puts the Blazers at about the 50th percentile for the season. With an owner so willing to spend like Paul Allen, that really seems like some serious underperforming. I don't need contention every year, but every other year, or even once a decade might be nice.

now that the mocks are rolling out in full force, seems portland and chandler hutchinson are being tied together a lot. he's a kid i mentioned several months ago as being a *great* 2nd round choice but it sounds like he's been given a guarantee somewhere in the first round so if we want him we'll have to take him with the #24. he's 6'7 with a 7'1 wingspan. if the team ends up trading away CJ and spends the money on nurk, hutchinson would be a very interesting replacement possibility.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... -hutchison

Olshey gives an interview in which he defends his failure to make a trade by the deadline by saying that it's a positive because he preserved the TPE ($5.4 million) and trade exception ($12.9 million) so that they can be used to build the roster. So sounds like huge trades and free agent signings are going to happen this summer, which is great news.

damian lillard, first team all nba.

oregontrack wrote:damian lillard, first team all nba.

Hopefully that makes him feel better as he watches Chris Paul and Steph Curry battling to see who gets to the NBA finals. Maybe it will take his mind off of getting his butt kicked by Jrue Holiday in the first-round playoff sweep.

Phalanx wrote:

oregontrack wrote:damian lillard, first team all nba.

Hopefully that makes him feel better as he watches Chris Paul and Steph Curry battling to see who gets to the NBA finals. Maybe it will take his mind off of getting his butt kicked by Jrue Holiday in the first-round playoff sweep.

Joining him on the First Team: James Harden, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant. I love this especially because it shoves Westbrook down to the second team. Of all the players in the NBA, I dislike Westbrook more than any other and it isn't even close. He will most likely average a triple double next season, and the season after that, and on and on. But, one of the key attributes to being a top player is making the other players better, he's not interested in doing that. Lillard did do that with the Blazers last season. Lots of people were wondering if Harden & Paul would work together in Houston? Looks like it is. Westbrook, George, Anthony was a mess, and I don't see Westbrook being included in another super team scenario.

That's a big honor for Lillard and Portland. He earned it though.