Blazers

[Everythingsducky]

So tough and on the fence about what they should do with Thursday looming. Been awesome seeing the young dudes progress. Can Scoot continue to shoot this well (during this stretch)? I just know if they offload Camara, they don’t give a sh*t about winning.

[Phalanx]

Why would they offload Camara? That's the best contract on the team. I thought RWIII, Grant, and Simons were the trade candidates. I'd almost hate to break up the momentum now though; It's been fun watching this run. Hopefully they can keep it up against some playoffs-level competition coming up. A few more weeks like this and they will be in the playoff hunt.

[pezsez1]

Do we really want Portland to be in the playoff hunt right now?

I wish they'd just unload the vets and fully commit to the youth movement. These wins are fun, but this organization still feels like a rudderless ship that's just kind of bobbing on the waves. I can't imagine anyone really wants to keep Ayton, Grant or Simons long-term. Ayton is a headache waiting to happen (he's great, but he's fixated on being a max-contract player), Grant is overpaid, and Simons will soon be overshadowed by either Scoot or Shae at both guard positions... and that's not to mention timeline fits.

I do find myself wondering whether this team could potentially catch lightning and make a deep playoff run. Seems like a weird time for the Western Conference in which there isn't really a dominant team other than OKC (which beat us a week ago). And I definitely don't see this team beating OKC in a playoff series. So is missing out on a lottery pick in a generationally great draft worth a one-year thrill? I'm not sure it is. And this roster isn't sustainable long-term because of the contract issues listed above.

I'm doing my best to enjoy the wins without thinking too much about the long-term implications.

[squintsdd]

Do we really want Portland to be in the playoff hunt right now?

I wish they'd just unload the vets and fully commit to the youth movement. These wins are fun, but this organization still feels like a rudderless ship that's just kind of bobbing on the waves. I can't imagine anyone really wants to keep Ayton, Grant or Simons long-term. Ayton is a headache waiting to happen (he's great, but he's fixated on being a max-contract player), Grant is overpaid, and Simons will soon be overshadowed by either Scoot or Shae at both guard positions... and that's not to mention timeline fits.

I do find myself wondering whether this team could potentially catch lightning and make a deep playoff run. Seems like a weird time for the Western Conference in which there isn't really a dominant team other than OKC (which beat us a week ago). And I definitely don't see this team beating OKC in a playoff series. So is missing out on a lottery pick in a generationally great draft worth a one-year thrill? I'm not sure it is. And this roster isn't sustainable long-term because of the contract issues listed above.

I'm doing my best to enjoy the wins without thinking too much about the long-term implications.

You want the second youngest team to go younger? I think they're already fully committed. You need vets to teach these young kids what it looks like to win. Good vets know that it's not enough to get a big lead, you have to hold onto it too. They know what crunch time looks like, and how to navigate it.

I don't mind trading Grant and Simons if they can find quality veteran depth and/or someone who's ready to contribute as a starter immediately. I also don't mind keeping Ayton. Clingan isn't ready to start, and he may never be anything beyond a strong bench player (think plumlee). What i don't want to see is more draft picks on top of what is already there. I don't want to see the 2nd youngest team continue to get younger for the next 3 to 5 years

[Duck07]

I think this run honestly defines what the best version of this team is and that's clearly not a contender even if they've had a nice run with some solid wins.

The whole trajectory has been wrong so its pointless to argue when things should have happened but here we are.

I don't see a trade coming and I really haven't enjoyed seeing the few trade ideas that include Toumani. I made a tongue-in-cheek comment about trading for Jimmy Butler for Jerami Grant on Blazers Edge but to me if you're serious about going on a real playoff run, you might actually catch lightning in a bottle with that move and you'd set yourself up for 2 massive expiring contracts next year in Ayton + Butler should it also become a disaster. Not that you could lure a Free Agent of worth or anything, but you might be able to trade for another disgruntled star and NOT have to pay a supermax extension like the Lakers get to do with Luka! (Isn't the NBA great at rewarding its big market teams?)

[Phalanx]

The beauty of having been down so far in the standings is that if the Blazers do make the playoffs, they will have to beat some good teams to get there. In fact, they will have to finish the season with a top-five-in-the-Western-Conference-type record for the second half of the season. So why would we not want that? Continuing to lose on purpose can go on for years.

I would, of course, trade any vets for better contracts to 'win-now' teams. We already know that Cronin inherited his predecessor's inability to originate good deals, so trading for them is probably the only way to make it happen. The best deals on the current team were all done by other teams and traded to the Blazers. Still, overall, I think Cronin is doing a good job. That Nurkic-for-Ayton trade looks unbelievable now, with Camara being thrown in. Do another one of those.

[pezsez1]

I'd LOVE to see another high lottery pick added to this crew! Evaluating young talent is the one clear strength of this Cronin-led front office, and there's nowhere better to do that than a generationally great draft.

I just don't see Ayton or Simons being here long-term... Ayton makes too much, and Simons is redundant with Scoot (who looks as good in Year 2 as Ant looked in Year 4). Grant is in his prime and can't realistically take a backseat to either Deni or Camara. It's fun to watch right now but it just doesn't pencil out.

If this isn't how it's going to be, then why cling to it at the expense of a potential future star? As a small market team it's vital that we're honest about that.

[Phalanx]

When you have a team that can win 10 of 11, there's no high lottery pick happening. Hopefully the winning continues and the Blazers storm into the playoffs with the 6-seed and get a winnable first-round match-up. If the winning tapers off and the 6th seed doesn't seem likely, the smart move would be to tank just enough to stay out of the play-in. Barely making the playoffs only gives a fat pick to Chicago and leaves Portland pick-less and drummed out of the playoffs in the first round.

I like the way the roster is shaping up. A nice mix of veterans and emerging talent. Some good depth in key positions to hedge against injuries. Plus, the entire rotation is signed through next year, so a nice window to win something if they can keep this going. The next four games should tell us a lot.

[Duck07]

There is nothing about watching the entire offense go through Simons that makes me hopeful about the future of this group doing anything notable and the impatience of not having made moves prior to all of this will be an inflection point in hindsight for why the team will stay mired in mediocrity for years beyond this.

I can understand not moving Ayton, but Grant and Ant block minutes and shots from the 2 young guards and forwards that are the 4 players you're supposed to be running everything through for the future to see whether or not they rise to the occasion. Making them all defer to Ant might win some games in the short-term because he can shoot but he's not a long-term answer at all.

Nothing about this run makes me want to sign Ant and Ayton long-term which is why I don't think the lack of moves is helpful in the long-run.

[Merganzer]

Nothing about this run makes me want to sign Ant and Ayton long-term which is why I don't think the lack of moves is helpful in the long-run.

Agreed. In the NBA especially, making the Playoffs is good if the team has a realistic shot at making the championship round, if you just get to the Playoffs, it's harder to get better. Moves and good draft picks are essential for the Blazers since no free agents are coming. Status quo is a no go.

[pezsez1]

In the NBA especially, making the Playoffs is good if the team has a realistic shot at making the championship round, if you just get to the Playoffs, it's harder to get better.

Agreed.

This team is fun to watch right now but we still don't have THAT GUY who would be the best player on a championship team. The path to a title is almost nonexistent without that kind of player. And the path to getting that player is almost nonexistent for a team like Portland without getting high lottery picks.

I guess time will tell whether Portland can win a championship without a single superstar. I don't think anyone would ever bet even $1 on that happening. But that's the route we're heading down right now, probably good enough to squeeze into playoffs (if not this year, then next year) but not remotely good enough to actually win anything, but also then too good to get helpful draft picks.

A high lottery pick in this year's draft could have ignited a title window. Instead, I predict another decade of flirting with the first round, maybe the second. So much fun.

[Phalanx]

When was the last time the Blazers won a championship? The Ford administration? So all the years since then have been a waste of time?

I think this team can potentially win a playoff series next year: something that has only happened three times in the last 24 years. They could do it this year, but their terrible record to start the season is going to give them a difficult draw in the first round if they can get past the play-in. If they can avoid injuries, they are going to start passing teams in the standings very soon. There is nothing more fun in sports than when your team was not expected to win, but they do anyway. The current Blazers have that potential, and I am here for it. It beats the heck out of just watching them slowly die year after year while they pay Lillard to get older.

How many wins will it take before you guys get on board? I hope we find out.

[pezsez1]

The Blazers have never won a championship in my lifetime... missed it by like one year.

But a few times they COULD have won a championship. We had reason to believe.

For Blazer fans, the best we can realistically hope for is to have reason to believe. Right now we're on a trajectory that doesn't really offer that. I believe we're on a trajectory to maybe sniff the WCF someday before getting smoked by a real contender -- basically what we just went through in the Lillard era, only without a real superstar to give us a puncher's chance.

After being stuck in playoff mediocrity for so long I just don't have any appetite for making that the standard.

I'm over trading Lillard and am in fact thankful we moved on. But the whole point of moving on was to reset and build something better, not to keep on with this "threading the needle" BS and end up almost exactly where we started.

[nogerO]

The Blazers have never won a championship in my lifetime... missed it by like one year.

But a few times they COULD have won a championship. We had reason to believe.

For Blazer fans, the best we can realistically hope for is to have reason to believe. Right now we're on a trajectory that doesn't really offer that. I believe we're on a trajectory to maybe sniff the WCF someday before getting smoked by a real contender -- basically what we just went through in the Lillard era, only without a real superstar to give us a puncher's chance.

After being stuck in playoff mediocrity for so long I just don't have any appetite for making that the standard.

I'm over trading Lillard and am in fact thankful we moved on. But the whole point of moving on was to reset and build something better, not to keep on with this "threading the needle" BS and end up almost exactly where we started.

OK

[Boom]

I was very disappointed that the Blazers didn’t move Simons.