NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread

[pudgejeff]

Isn't it a good thing if we make the playoffs this year so we can finally convey that Chicago pick and be freed up to make other moves? I think we have an extra FRP from the trade down to get Hansen.

Ya 2 in 2028 and 2 in 2029.

[Phalanx]

Isn't it a good thing if we make the playoffs this year so we can finally convey that Chicago pick and be freed up to make other moves? I think we have an extra FRP from the trade down to get Hansen.

Yeah, there's a few ways to look at it. I would prefer not to give Chicago the best possible pick for what turned out to be a crappy player rental. It turns into a 2nd round pick in a few years if it isn't conveyed by then, but then that would mean the Blazers are still in the lottery those years too. I wish they could just deliver the Chinese 'lottery pick' to them right now and call it good. I really hate seeing first-round draft picks getting traded because drafting is probably the only way Portland can be a winning team again. The bottom line though is that the Blazers suck at drafting anyway.

[pezsez1]

Random thoughts..

Yang Hansen is really bad at defense. He just backs himself up until he's under the basket and allows open short-range shots.

Toumani is really becoming a dependable 3-pt shooter... amazing how much value that guy has.

Deni is really good, but is still not a closer.

Blazers are basically playing without anyone viable at the 2. I love Jru Holiday, but he's meant to be a point guard.

Jerami Grant shouldn't play another minute this season.

Scoot is a bit underrated right now.

Injuries suck.

And welcome Tom Dundon!

[Phalanx]

Blazers are basically playing without anyone viable at the 2. I love Jru Holiday, but he's meant to be a point guard.

Sign Jaden Ivey on the cheap.

[Boom]

Isn't it a good thing if we make the playoffs this year so we can finally convey that Chicago pick and be freed up to make other moves? I think we have an extra FRP from the trade down to get Hansen.

Blazers are in no position to trade away future 1sts. This roster is so bad. They need to be taking swings in the 1st round.

[pezsez1]

Blazers are in no position to trade away future 1sts. This roster is so bad. They need to be taking swings in the 1st round.

This roster is bad??? I wouldn't go that far. I mean this could be our starting lineup next season:

Dame (All-Star, prolific scorer)
Deni (All-Star, does almost everything well)
Toumani (eventual all-NBA defensive player & 3pt sniper)
Grant (great fashion sense)
Clingan (rising big with a 3pt shot)

With the bench rotation being:

Henderson (trending better and better)
Jru (playmaker)
Sharpe (would tear up second units)
RWIII (fantastic backup big)
Thybulle (veteran 3&D)

We could make a big trade involving Grant and maybe Sharpe or Henderson along with our picks and add another huge piece to this rotation.

If that roster is "so bad" then you better prepare for nothing but disappointment. This will be the first Blazers roster in ages to have two all-stars, 3-pt shooters up and down the starting 5, and also some quality depth. And with a trade or two it could get substantially better.

[pudgejeff]

Isn't it a good thing if we make the playoffs this year so we can finally convey that Chicago pick and be freed up to make other moves? I think we have an extra FRP from the trade down to get Hansen.

Blazers are in no position to trade away future 1sts. This roster is so bad. They need to be taking swings in the 1st round.

The more important part of conveying the pick to the Bulls is it allows the Blazers to use the pick swaps they have coming.

[Boom]

Blazers are in no position to trade away future 1sts. This roster is so bad. They need to be taking swings in the 1st round.

This roster is bad??? I wouldn't go that far. I mean this could be our starting lineup next season:

Dame (All-Star, prolific scorer)
Deni (All-Star, does almost everything well)
Toumani (eventual all-NBA defensive player & 3pt sniper)
Grant (great fashion sense)
Clingan (rising big with a 3pt shot)

With the bench rotation being:

Henderson (trending better and better)
Jru (playmaker)
Sharpe (would tear up second units)
RWIII (fantastic backup big)
Thybulle (veteran 3&D)

We could make a big trade involving Grant and maybe Sharpe or Henderson along with our picks and add another huge piece to this rotation.

If that roster is "so bad" then you better prepare for nothing but disappointment. This will be the first Blazers roster in ages to have two all-stars, 3-pt shooters up and down the starting 5, and also some quality depth. And with a trade or two it could get substantially better.

Yes, this team is really bad. They're going to land somewhere in the 8-10 seed. They have been actively trying to win games all year and there's been historic tanking in the NBA this year. They're barely holding onto a 500 record even when so many teams are trying to lose. They have had several blowout losses even when they've had a full roster. It's been mostly ugly basketball.

[Boom]

Isn't it a good thing if we make the playoffs this year so we can finally convey that Chicago pick and be freed up to make other moves? I think we have an extra FRP from the trade down to get Hansen.

Blazers are in no position to trade away future 1sts. This roster is so bad. They need to be taking swings in the 1st round.

The more important part of conveying the pick to the Bulls is it allows the Blazers to use the pick swaps they have coming.

There's no guarantee that the Blazers are going to out perform the Bucks and land an amazing swap.

[pezsez1]

Yes, this team is really bad. They're going to land somewhere in the 8-10 seed. They have been actively trying to win games all year and there's been historic tanking in the NBA this year. They're barely holding onto a 500 record even when so many teams are trying to lose. They have had several blowout losses even when they've had a full roster. It's been mostly ugly basketball.

The Blazers have been without key players for big stretches of the season. In fact, I'm not sure if the roster's actually been completely healthy since the first few games. Scoot was out for months, Deni was out (and lame) for a bit, Jru was out for an extended period, now Grant is probably done for the year, joining Sharpe who's already been out for several weeks... I can't think of any other competitive team that's dealt with so many injuries. (I'm not even counting Dame here because we already knew he'd be out for the season.)

Given all that turmoil -- and how young these guys are -- the fact they might still finish as the 8 seed in an absolutely stacked conference is pretty good. We'll see how the Blazers finish the season, but last night against the Clippers was possibly their best game of the season and they're without Grant and Sharpe.

I mean heck, this roster is chasing down a playoff spot with Sidy Cissoko and Kris Murray playing major minutes. That's got to count for something.

[Phalanx]

If Portland makes the playoffs this year, they will be giving Chicago the 15th pick. Yuck. The more I look at this, the more I think it would be dumb to win the play-in. Just take the pick (most likely #12?) and spare yourself the first-round embarrassment. Do better next year, hopefully under new management, and give Chicago the worst possible pick in 2027. If they wait until 2028, everything gets really complicated, and the Blazers would probably have to capitulate and make a bad deal with the Bulls to satisfy that obligation. Of course, that assumes Milwaukee will be a non-playoff team in 2028. If it looks like Milwaukee is good that year, Blazer management might want to ride it out and only give Chicago the 2nd-round pick. It would be fun to watch that unfold, but I think the pick will be conveyed in 2027.

Of course, there is always the possibility that Portland will just go right on sucking through the 2028 season and the swap won't matter much. Jrue and Grant have been carrying a lot of the scoring load this year and will probably get worse in the next few years. If Sharpe stays injury-prone and Scoot doesn't improve, the outlook is pretty bleak. Banking on Lillard coming back and saving the day is some serious pie-in-the-sky thinking. If he couldn't carry a team at his peak, I'm not sure why anyone thinks he will do any better as an old man.

[Boom]

I mean heck, this roster is chasing down a playoff spot with Sidy Cissoko and Kris Murray playing major minutes. That's got to count for something.

It's just an example of how bad this team is and how poorly this management team has performed. Drafting Yang last season was a complete waste.

This team is old with minimal upside. Looking ahead to next year. Sacramento and maybe the Pelicans are the only teams with a bleaker outlook than the Blazers.

[pezsez1]

This team is old with minimal upside. Looking ahead to next year. Sacramento and maybe the Pelicans are the only teams with a bleaker outlook than the Blazers.

Again, I have to disagree. Deni, Toumani, and Clingan are all young and on team-friendly contracts. Scoot is playing better with each game. Sheadon might never reach his potential, but he's still a solid rotation piece.

Jru and Dame are old. Grant won't be here long term.

The Blazers have a chance to be very good over the next couple of years. Beyond that, yeah, the future is a bit hazy. But the roster as it stands right now is actually very good with the chance to be elite. It's just not built to last because one of our two all stars is old.

Do we agree and are just messing up on semantics, or am I missing something?

[Boom]

This team is old with minimal upside. Looking ahead to next year. Sacramento and maybe the Pelicans are the only teams with a bleaker outlook than the Blazers.

Again, I have to disagree. Deni, Toumani, and Clingan are all young and on team-friendly contracts. Scoot is playing better with each game. Sheadon might never reach his potential, but he's still a solid rotation piece.

Jru and Dame are old. Grant won't be here long term.

The Blazers have a chance to be very good over the next couple of years. Beyond that, yeah, the future is a bit hazy. But the roster as it stands right now is actually very good with the chance to be elite. It's just not built to last because one of our two all stars is old.

Do we agree and are just messing up on semantics, or am I missing something?

Toumani is a limited player. He hasn't developed offensively and he's not a great positional rebounder. He hasn't shown year to year improvement. Competing teams have 2-3 better wings on their rosters. Sheadon is one of the worst defensive players in the league. Which is why Billups routinely benched him. Something hasn't clicked there. He's still young and the contract is fine, but he's not solid at this point. Deni is a really good player. Next year will be his 7th year in the league. He's realistically a 3rd maybe 2nd option on a good playoff team. I'm hoping the Blazers wont be forced to give him a max extension. I think he's similar to Mikal Bridges who put up great stats on a bad team, before joining the Knicks. Clingan is the one bright spot on this team... Making the Yang selection even more ridiculous.

Overall this team is being lapped by their Western conference rivals. I would wager that the 13th ranked Mavs and 14th ranked Jazz will out perform the Blazers next season.

[pezsez1]

I agree with your assessment of Shaedon, but disagree about Toumani. I think he's absolutely improved. Just last night he set an NBA record for drawn charges in a season. He's been shooting 37% from the 3pt line over his past 50 games, which is the best he's ever shot from range. Both of those marks show improvement on both sides of the ball.

Scoot is also underrated right now. He's committing fewer turnovers and getting to the rim more often. I never expected Scoot to be an all-star level point guard, but he's absolutely showing he can be a very good point guard in this league. He's only in Year 2, and was injured for the first 2-3 months of this season, but his development is already light years ahead of Anfernee Simons, who turned into a pretty solid player (just not someone to build a whole team around).

Clingan is another player who's shown amazing growth this season. He's turning into an elite rim protector, he rebounds, he's great at catching lobs, and he's put in the work to develop a respectable 3-pt shot (which will only get better over time). More importantly (other than last night) he almost never gets into foul trouble. Dude knows how to play vertical defense while staying on the floor, and that's rare. He was a steal in a weak draft & should absolutely be our franchise center unless we trade up for an all-star (which I don't think we'd do for that position).

Deni is really good, and he will get better. His biggest problem is simply maturity. He'll be unstoppable once he gets out of his own way. Having Dame outside the 3-pt line to open things up will also make Deni so much more dangerous.