Blazers 2023-2024 Thread

[Boom]

The funny part is that Lillard is slated to make more in the coming years than Giannis, despite being 5 years older. Now that they are on the same payroll, it should be easy to see how stupid it was to keep paying Lillard all that money.

That's simply due to the timing of Lillard's contract extension.

Lillard was a perennial All NBA player. He was never over payed.

[Phalanx]

The funny part is that Lillard is slated to make more in the coming years than Giannis, despite being 5 years older. Now that they are on the same payroll, it should be easy to see how stupid it was to keep paying Lillard all that money.

That's simply due to the timing of Lillard's contract extension.

Lillard was a perennial All NBA player. He was never over payed.

Right.

So what are the signs that a player is overpaid?

1. The team drops in the standings / becomes a perennial lottery participant.

2. The team loses free agents and can't sign others.

3. The overpaid player is difficult to trade.

Did anyone notice that it only took a couple of days to trade Jrue Holiday and teams were lining up to get him? Why is that? It's a mystery.

Speaking of mysteries: It looks like Terry Stotts is bailing on Milwaukee after only a few months on the job, with no reason given. I'm sure it must be something serious to pass up on the opportunity to re-unite with his old buddy Lillard. I wonder what happened between the time Stotts signed on in late June, and October before the new season even begins? Besides the Lillard trade, I mean.

[droop10]

The funny part is that Lillard is slated to make more in the coming years than Giannis, despite being 5 years older. Now that they are on the same payroll, it should be easy to see how stupid it was to keep paying Lillard all that money.

That's simply due to the timing of Lillard's contract extension.

Lillard was a perennial All NBA player. He was never over payed.

Right.

So what are the signs that a player is overpaid?

1. The team drops in the standings / becomes a perennial lottery participant.

2. The team loses free agents and can't sign others.

3. The overpaid player is difficult to trade.

Did anyone notice that it only took a couple of days to trade Jrue Holiday and teams were lining up to get him? Why is that? It's a mystery.

Speaking of mysteries: It looks like Terry Stotts is bailing on Milwaukee after only a few months on the job, with no reason given. I'm sure it must be something serious to pass up on the opportunity to re-unite with his old buddy Lillard. I wonder what happened between the time Stotts signed on in late June, and October before the new season even begins? Besides the Lillard trade, I mean.

Think you're reaching a bit due to your irrational level of hatred for the guy. I wouldn't say Lillard was difficult to trade due to his contract. The main deterrent was him asking to go to one specific location, and teams being skittish to trade for a guy that didn't want to play for them. Also, the free agent thing is unrelated. You can sign multiple max level guys. You have to accept that free agents don't want to come to Portland. I guess maybe you can sign some mid level guys, but Lillard's contract wasn't preventing that from happening and it wasn't going to make the team formidable by any means. Nobody wants to come to Portland. They just have to hope to hit on some draft picks, and that the guys they hit on want to stick around. That's really Portland's only shot at relevance.

[Phalanx]

Think you're reaching a bit due to your irrational level of hatred for the guy. I wouldn't say Lillard was difficult to trade due to his contract. The main deterrent was him asking to go to one specific location, and teams being skittish to trade for a guy that didn't want to play for them. Also, the free agent thing is unrelated. You can sign multiple max level guys. You have to accept that free agents don't want to come to Portland. I guess maybe you can sign some mid level guys, but Lillard's contract wasn't preventing that from happening and it wasn't going to make the team formidable by any means. Nobody wants to come to Portland. They just have to hope to hit on some draft picks, and that the guys they hit on want to stick around. That's really Portland's only shot at relevance.

That Lillard was difficult to trade because of his contract isn't even up for debate. It was everywhere stated. Even the Miami media cited it as part of the problem. The issue when you have someone who is good, but wildly overpaid is not that there is no market, but that you can't get anything like equal value back for him. People don't appreciate the near-miracle that Cronin pulled off getting what he got. Even so, it took multiple trips to the trade market well to make it happen. I still don't know why the stupid Bucks let Holiday go - they will almost certainly regret it.

I don't have irrational hatred for Lillard. I just don't fawn all over him like others do. His tenure here has been a bleak, playoff-less existence where the team's profile has degraded to a point where the Blazers are now looking up at teams like Sacramento. That was unthinkable in eras past, and it is due in large part to Lillard having eaten everyone's lunch. You can like Lillard if you want. I like winning, and Lillard has prevented that from happening for a number of years now. I'm happy he is someone else's problem now. I kind of wonder if Terry Stotts feels the same, but we will probably never know.

[pezsez1]

I wouldn't say Lillard was difficult to trade due to his contract. The main deterrent was him asking to go to one specific location, and teams being skittish to trade for a guy that didn't want to play for them. Also, the free agent thing is unrelated. You can sign multiple max level guys. You have to accept that free agents don't want to come to Portland.

Lillard's contract didn't make him difficult to trade, but it definitely limited his list of suitors. By comparison, Jru had a lot more bidders simply because more teams could afford to pay him (and because he's probably the most effective PG to guard Lillard). In the end, though, we had multiple suitors for Dame and we were able to get a pretty good haul for him, so clearly his contract wasn't that big of a problem. And you're right about the free agency issue, for sure.

[Boom]

The funny part is that Lillard is slated to make more in the coming years than Giannis, despite being 5 years older. Now that they are on the same payroll, it should be easy to see how stupid it was to keep paying Lillard all that money.

That's simply due to the timing of Lillard's contract extension.

Lillard was a perennial All NBA player. He was never over payed.

Right.

So what are the signs that a player is overpaid?

Players production and value doesn't match the contract.

Lillard had one of his best seasons after bouncing back from his abdominal surgery. He was rewarded with a 3rd team All NBA selection last season. Had the Blazers not tanked Lillard would have played more games and would have likely pushed himself into the 1st/2nd team. You never really get equal value when star players request trades, but most think the Blazers did well here. That's due to the leagues value of player like Lillard.

1. The team drops in the standings / becomes a perennial lottery participant.

The overall roster quality progressively gotten worse through Lillard's tenure. Neal Olshey & Jody Allen are to blame here.

2. The team loses free agents and can't sign others.

Good players rarely hit free agency anymore and Portland has never been a destination. Who did they lose and how was Lillard's contract the issue?

3. The overpaid player is difficult to trade.

This is another false narrative. Lillard was traded and the Blazers received good value. The only thing difficult was Lillard's agent.

[alxtw]

Agree, I also see the #1 problem is Jody being the owner. She doesn't want to spend the salary tax required to field a championship contending roster.

The funny part is that Lillard is slated to make more in the coming years than Giannis, despite being 5 years older. Now that they are on the same payroll, it should be easy to see how stupid it was to keep paying Lillard all that money.

That's simply due to the timing of Lillard's contract extension.

Lillard was a perennial All NBA player. He was never over payed.

Right.

So what are the signs that a player is overpaid?

Players production and value doesn't match the contract.

Lillard had one of his best seasons after bouncing back from his abdominal surgery. He was rewarded with a 3rd team All NBA selection last season. Had the Blazers not tanked Lillard would have played more games and would have likely pushed himself into the 1st/2nd team. You never really get equal value when star players request trades, but most think the Blazers did well here. That's due to the leagues value of player like Lillard.

1. The team drops in the standings / becomes a perennial lottery participant.

The overall roster quality progressively gotten worse through Lillard's tenure. Neal Olshey & Jody Allen are to blame here.

2. The team loses free agents and can't sign others.

Good players rarely hit free agency anymore and Portland has never been a destination. Who did they lose and how was Lillard's contract the issue?

3. The overpaid player is difficult to trade.

This is another false narrative. Lillard was traded and the Blazers received good value. The only thing difficult was Lillard's agent.

[Phalanx]

You guys love ripping on Jody, but I doubt you could articulate what she is supposed to have done, other than not giving her fortune away to NBA players and spending like that idiot in New Jersey. You only spend like that when you have a team on the cusp of winning a championship. All the Blazers ever had under Jody's tenure is an undersized guard who can't play defense and hucks it up from half court. Jody's worst move was signing off on that extension to Lillard instead of trading him sooner. Thankfully, Milwaukee is now the bagholder and Portland actually stands to gain by the Bucks' inevitable decline in a few years because of that draft pick. Cronin is a genius!

[Boom]

I think the team would have moved on from Neil Olshey sooner had Paul Allen's health not failed him.

[Everythingsducky]

Unhappy Root is now charging extra for Blazer games. The Blazers should be paying us fans. Not paying it. Not worth it. You would think a team that knows it’s going to suck, would do everything to get eyes on it, and build a connection (in any way) with the new youth. Guess that works both ways. I’m choosing to not pay.

[pezsez1]

You would think a team that knows it’s going to suck, would do everything to get eyes on it, and build a connection (in any way) with the new youth.

Pretty sure this was all Xfinity and outside of the Blazers' control.

Agree, though. I couldn't care less about $15 per month, but I'm not going to reward Xfinity for its dick move. I'm going to cancel my cable as soon as the college football season ends unless they give me that upgrade for free.

It's easy enough watching games for free. Did it tonight. I don't mind paying for services that I use, but I refuse to be jerked around.

[squintsdd]

Unhappy Root is now charging extra for Blazer games. The Blazers should be paying us fans. Not paying it. Not worth it. You would think a team that knows it’s going to suck, would do everything to get eyes on it, and build a connection (in any way) with the new youth. Guess that works both ways. I’m choosing to not pay.

Oh man, be careful. You sound like Canzano

[buckmarkduck]

Root is garbage. Why do the blazers make such terrible tv deals? It seems they move from bad deal that cuts out fans to the next deal that cuts out fans. Sign with someone available to everyone.

[pezsez1]

Dame Time in Milwaukee! So glad to see him with a real team.

Blazers are in for a rough couple years, but I'm definitely excited to watch some hoops without expectations or disappointment. Eager to see if Scoot can become a guy capable of leading a franchise.

[Duck07]

Dame Time in Milwaukee! So glad to see him with a real team.

Blazers are in for a rough couple years, but I'm definitely excited to watch some hoops without expectations or disappointment. Eager to see if Scoot can become a guy capable of leading a franchise.

It kind of felt like watching the Blazers but I'm not sure if that's just from watching Dame or if the entire Bucks teamed transformed overnight, lol. It's one game so no need to over-react to how they'll gel over the season.

As for PTB, they need a real tactician and teacher as a Head Coach now, that much is clear from watching them essentially run zero plays until Brogdan got on the floor. There's just no clear offensive identity that was shown or how they want to play besides rat-ball. Granted, its 1-game for this group and against 3 former All NBA defenders, but for me its that lack of purpose together that's bothersome and the fault of the HC. This team is clearly going to lose a lot of games to earn a Top 5 pick this season but they need to at least be learning some things along the way.