This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?

[Wizenheimer]

it used to be that a game thread would have 8-15 pages. The last game thread had 4 replies and they were about porn

there were lively discussions about players. teams, contracts, coaches, GM's, owners etc, and an hour rarely passed without at least one comment. But now, days can pass with nada

so who killed this forum? Me? DusterBuster, D-train? member maturity?

I'd argue it all started with the hiring of Neil Olshey...or rather with hiring Olshey and his blind ego. He built boring, dysfunctional, length-deprived rosters of players allergic to, and incapable of, good defense. And he was allowed to reboot his roster failures, year after year. He ridiculously overvalued a few players (CJ says hi) and ridiculously undervalued 1st round draft picks, trading many away for low-level role players. And he couldn't properly evaluate a big man at all

I was calling for Olshey to be fired in 2015; predicting exactly the kinds of teams that idiot would build. I was all alone on the Fire Olshey wagon (and given lots of crap about it). 6 years later I couldn't turn around on the wagon because it was so crowded. A year after that, finally, mercifully, he was fired. But the massive damage had already been done

and he was aided and abetted by Paul Allen until PA died. And Jody Allen and the Vulcans are a disaster ownership focused on the Blazers as a cash cow who don't care at all if the Blazers win

Cronin hasn't helped the situation much either. He was the guy who effectively chased Lillard out of town and set the course that will potentially see years of lottery and play-in mediocrity ahead. He seems determined on Portland going ahead with their bargain-basement version of a big-3 in Ant-Ayton-Grant...and as 3rd options masquerading as first options, those 3 players are boring with a capital B. If they weren't, this place would not be as dead as it is

it used to be rare for me to miss a Blazer game, even thru the jailblazer days. But this season, especially over the last couple of months, it's rare I watch a Blazer game. Last season, at least I had Dame and Sharpe to watch, for different reasons. This season Sharpe has been hurt, Scoot has been a disappointment, and I don't care about watching Ant/Ayton take half the shots on offense and play musical chairs on defense

I would think maybe that's just my personal bias....but again, there were only 4 replies to the last game thread....so it isn't just me

[Village Idiot]

for me its a combination of things. A new job and move to a different country have taken away some time and focus.

In general though I've lost some interest in the NBA product due to the gambling, officiating and far too long season. I used to be really into the trades and transactions board but felt it got over-moderated and, after 20 years, lost its luster.

This team really doesn't excite me. I really don't like Chauncy Billups and hope the team moves on this summer. Not a lot to look forward to this off-season either with a pretty lame crop of rookies who, at best, look to max out as high level role players.

[JRoy]

The Blazers are hard to watch.

The NBA has become such a garbage product that next year might be my last year of fandom and I have been a fan since the Walton days.

It’s a combination of things really. I don’t think any of us really believed Lillard would lead POR to a a title when the FO utterly failed to surround him with complementary talent.

[BlazersBroncos]

We’re a bad team with few bright spots. The wins we get are not really due to any significant contributions from our youth but rather the vets playing well.

Scoot has sucked mostly, Sharpe started well but sucked for a while prior to his injury, the others outside Camara are not doing much.

The most impressive youngster is a 27 year old backup C basically.

It’s hard to get excited. Hard to watch Jerami shoot 22 times a game and play no role really in the future of this team. Hard to watch Ayton only play with motor when his first 2-3 shots fall, hard to see Matisse wasting a year of his prime here when he should be a contender piece, hard having Simons as the best player on the team when he brings flashbacks of the same undersized scoring guard play we watched to little effect for like a decade.

[Norm2953]

Let's just see if this forum represents disinterest in the Blazers in town. I'm just waiting for the
season to end to see what moves will be done in the off season.

A drop in TV audience and fans in attendance might get the attention of the managers of the
bottom line.

[zzaj]

Can't argue against anything posted here.

Part of it is that the Blazers haven't really had "rebuild" years in a long time. Even the Roy/Aldridge capitulation happened fast because the Blazers got two great, win-now players in that draft. I saw somebody post that the last college senior drafted in the Lotto was in 2016...

I've been pretty clear that I thought the Blazers needed to move away from Lillard as the primary piece...if for no other reason than to actually get something in return before Lillard's value REALLY started expiring. But Olshey is 10000% at fault for wasting the Lillard era. I firmly believe that.

I've also been pretty clear that the moves of this year and last are really only going to benefit the Blazers in 2027. I am fine with that, but it's a hard ask for years of patience to see a winning product.

To answer the op question, I think the answer is: the Blazers. If Scoot was as good as advertised, or Sharpe was healthy and consistently having the impact that he does on his best games, or if either of those players showed amazing chemistry with Ayton putting up 25/12/3...if even ONE of those things would have come to pass this season, I think the game posts would look a lot different. But instead we have a season of DNP-injuries.

Probably because the team has always been so 'build via the draft' heavy, Blazer fans seem to have gotten used to tuning in for potential. And honestly, this season there is very little 'potential' to be tuning in for.

Scoot - injured and disappointing.
Ant - is likely nearing his ceiling as an 'all-candy-no-meat' player. He doesn't win you games.
Sharpe - injured and mostly disappointing
Ayton - either disappointing or exactly how we all imagined

Everybody else - either too young yet, or not talented enough to really see breakthrough growth.

The thing that I feel like a lot of us are not prepared for? There is a chance the Blazers will be WORSE next season. I assume that the Blazers are going to trade the one player who contributed to Ws probably more than any other -- Brogdon. And it's entirely within the realm of possibility that Grant or Ant could be traded by the deadline next year...shoot, BOTH could get traded. If you couple that with the spectre that is the upcoming draft, and a HUGE reason to be bad next year (capture the Flagg) then there's not a whole lot to make me think the Blazers are going to be demonstrably better.

[soobias]

it used to be that a game thread would have 8-15 pages. The last game thread had 4 replies and they were about porn

there were lively discussions about players. teams, contracts, coaches, GM's, owners etc, and an hour rarely passed without at least one comment. But now, days can pass with nada

so who killed this forum? Me? DusterBuster, D-train? member maturity?

I'd argue it all started with the hiring of Neil Olshey...or rather with hiring Olshey and his blind ego. He built boring, dysfunctional, length-deprived rosters of players allergic to, and incapable of, good defense. And he was allowed to reboot his roster failures, year after year. He ridiculously overvalued a few players (CJ says hi) and ridiculously undervalued 1st round draft picks, trading many away for low-level role players. And he couldn't properly evaluate a big man at all

I was calling for Olshey to be fired in 2015; predicting exactly the kinds of teams that idiot would build. I was all alone on the Fire Olshey wagon (and given lots of crap about it). 6 years later I couldn't turn around on the wagon because it was so crowded. A year after that, finally, mercifully, he was fired. But the massive damage had already been done

and he was aided and abetted by Paul Allen until PA died. And Jody Allen and the Vulcans are a disaster ownership focused on the Blazers as a cash cow who don't care at all if the Blazers win

Cronin hasn't helped the situation much either. He was the guy who effectively chased Lillard out of town and set the course that will potentially see years of lottery and play-in mediocrity ahead. He seems determined on Portland going ahead with their bargain-basement version of a big-3 in Ant-Ayton-Grant...and as 3rd options masquerading as first options, those 3 players are boring with a capital B. If they weren't, this place would not be as dead as it is

it used to be rare for me to miss a Blazer game, even thru the jailblazer days. But this season, especially over the last couple of months, it's rare I watch a Blazer game. Last season, at least I had Dame and Sharpe to watch, for different reasons. This season Sharpe has been hurt, Scoot has been a disappointment, and I don't care about watching Ant/Ayton take half the shots on offense and play musical chairs on defense

I would think maybe that's just my personal bias....but again, there were only 4 replies to the last game thread....so it isn't just me

i feel he exact same way. i would give cronin probably a little le way because he inherited his mess but the clock is/has been ticking. and once they signed billups o a multi year deal w/o any experience i knew i wasnt going o be pretty .im also not sold on the last 2 drafts in scoot and sharpe. hey both may have potential but sharpe seems o lack a motor and a killer instinct and scoot seems like a "cant get right" player... i know they're young but i would like to see more from them.
also we got what like 60m a year tied up in DA and grant ?
no to be a pessimist but unless more defining changes are made this now lower treadmill will continue .

[PDXKnight]

Jody killed it

[Wizenheimer]

I've been pretty clear that I thought the Blazers needed to move away from Lillard as the primary piece...

I've also been pretty clear that the moves of this year and last are really only going to benefit the Blazers in 2027. I am fine with that, but it's a hard ask for years of patience to see a winning product.

personally, I think the Blazers got a poor return for trading Dame + Nukic + Little. Ayton is not an upgrade over Nurkic, IMO. On offense, he's a better shooter, yes, but he's not really a better scorer because he doesn't get to the FT line. Nurkic is a better offensive rebounder; a much better passer; and a better screen-setter. On defense, they both are out of their depth defending the perimeter but Nurkic is a better paint defender and rim protector. And a better defensive rebounder

Ayton is 4 years younger, but he's also twice as expensive. And paying a non-elite big man over 30M/year is not smart in a league that values outside-->drive-inside players so highly. Wings rule the NBA and traditional scoring bigs like Ayton don't have big impacts on winning unless they are unicorns like Jokic

I'd agree with the argument it was time for Portland to move on from Nurkic after Dame was traded. I think trading for Ayton and his contract was the wrong direction and made almost no sense at all

besides Ayton...Brogdon? Williams? Camara?...for Dame, Nurkic, and Little?.....geeeeeezuzzz

they will have the Warriors' pick this year, which could end up anywhere from 12 to 19 in a weak draft. And you need to adjust your timeline because the 1st unprotected pick Portland got was 2029, not 2027. Yes, they have the right to swap with Milwaukee in 2028, but only if it's a lottery pick because that pick is all tangled up in Olshey's idiotic trade for Larry Nance. And if Portland has a lottery pick in 2028 (quite possible), what are the chances Milwaukee's pick will be higher in the draft order?

I really got tired of people saying that the Blazers needed to trade Dame because they could never build a contender around Dame. Well folks, we are seeing the alternative and it's an ugly view

[Wizenheimer]

by the way, I mention the 5 post game thread from Wednesday. Tonight's game had a 0 post game thread

[Wizenheimer]

by the way, speaking of Simons/Ayton:

* Portland is now 19-51; that's a .271 winning percentage

* with Ant, Portland is 11-36; a .239 winning percentage
* with Ayton, Portland is 12-35; a .255 winning percentage

* with Brogdon, Portland is 15-24; a .385 winning percentage. Without Brogdon Portland is 4-27; a .129 winning rate
* with Grant, Portland is 17-37; a .315 winning percentage

[BigPuma]

I've always been a lurker, not a poster but generally enjoyed the game threads in the past.

For me the reason that the threads are dead is that the team isn't trying to win. The whole fun of these game threads is talking about what the team is doing, and what you think they can do differently to win more. Not much fun when the team is trying to lose. They spent half of 2022 season, half of 2023 season, and all of 2024 season trying to lose. Not much else to say...

[m0ng0]

And we're not watching the youngsters grow because the starting lineup is a day to day decision, there is no continuity, unless it's strictly based in injuries? My thinking was they would set a core, and roll with it, but it's not the case.

It's harder to grow when the rotation is like throwing darts against the wall.

Ayton/Reath
Walker/Camara
Banton
And the trio of Scoot, Simon's and Sharpe.

At least they could grow and build chemistry,


I just wish the games would be on regular TV.

[The Sebastian Express]

A combination of current non-Scoot/Rayan/Camara/Kris players. I find those guys fun to watch when they're the focus, even if rough sometimes. I don't find a lot of joy out of watching an Ant-led team. He has a lot of positives, but as the number one guy on a team it isn't fun specifically for me.

But also the histrionics and negativity from some posters. The world outside basketball sucks. It's not really enjoyable to talk about it when many of the comments can go into the extremes of negativity and overreactions.

[JasonStern]

it used to be that a game thread would have 8-15 pages. The last game thread had 4 replies and they were about porn

Models. Not pornography. Models. And given how bad the Blazers have looked this season, having models to look at is appreciated. And BC does a great job hiding them behind show/hide filters, so they are safe for work and you have to opt in to viewing them.

As for your main question, what is there to discuss? The Blazers really, really suck right now. And any hope for the future is either injured or getting beat out by G-League players. If Shaedon and Timelord were playing, I'd care more. But they aren't.

The Blazers just gave up 125 points to the Clippers. Dalano Blanton is a top 3 player for the team this season. What conversations do you want to have? Could the Blazers beat the G-League Ignite? That's not something I want to overthink and certainly not positive.

Honestly, the NBA in general has been losing me. March Madness is going on. Ducks are going to play Creighton. In college, you can play defense and the game isn't just a 3 point chuck fest, with players extending their arms and legs hoping to get some flopping foul. I admit that the talent isn't as good, but the buying in to a team long-term argument is pretty invalid these days. Anfernee Simons is the longest tenured Blazer. I love Ant - will never understand the hate. Understand the criticism, but not the hate. But when that is the seasoned veteran on the team...

Watch some Ducks hype videos. That's a university. What has the Blazers brand done? If you search for Blazers on YouTube, you get videos for a formal jacket. If you search for Portland Trail Blazers, you still get ads for a formal jacket. Are you hyped? You might up your jacket game, but you aren't getting excited for this team.

And finally, the Root contract really killed it. Same reason the Pac-12 is dead. This is honestly the answer. And my previous points were filler content. If the games were readily available, people could watch them. If you had viewership, you might get fans interested. I am region restricted and limited to NBAtv and broadcast games. And broadcast games are few, because they are tied to a contractual obligation to broadcast them. That's a major reason why we get the late filler slots. Nobody non-regional cares about this team. And if any mid to major market game is on, they are going to focus on that.

As much as we "hate" the Lakers, having LeBron put up 40 on us does at least get people to watch. But they watch us give up 125 points and laugh.

Hopefully that summarizes things. I know it wasn't a positive answer. But it was an honest answer, and that is rare these days.

[Goldbum]

I wish I knew. In July I will have been posting here 23 years. This is the least engaged I've ever seen the fan base.
On the plus side I will be putting out a Blazer focused podcast soon.

[Waynearchetype]

To blame in this order:
Jody
Cronin
Billups
Grant/Simons
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idk i'll just say D-Train for fun here.

[Moonbeam]

For me, it’s been a very tough season. I can handle seasons where Portland is bad, but I don’t have faith in Cronin to make meaningful moves toward improvement nor do I have faith in Billups developing the young players already on the roster. The 2011-12 season was a dumpster fire, but the trade deadline provided the necessary restart. The Blazers feel directionless and as much as I like many of the players on the team, it’s a slog to watch.

[JasonStern]

We're not directionless. The direction is just down.
Emotionless ownership that refuses to sell the team and move on.
2 years of deliberate tanking leading to two players who seem to be mid-tier starters versus all-stars (and everyone knows I'm a HUGE Shaedon Sharpe fan). Third year of tanking and the draft looks weak.
This year, Brogdon was the best player. And you figured that was to move him for something - pick(s) or prospect(s). And we didn't even do that.
And I'm really not crapping on players like Banton and Reath. It just shows how bad the roster has gotten. G-league players beating out our starters. Without Brogdon, I am not sure the Blazers could beat the g-league all-star team. And if the Blazers did, it's because they poached g-league all-stars that, again, beat out or starters.
You would think that they would at least change the promotion to when the Blazers give up 100, you get free McNuggets. Or at least lower ticket prices. Losing Dame is tough. I get that. But on the few occasions I would see a live game, at least I knew I was paying to see greatness. The motivation to pay to see Jabari Walker put up 8 points just isn't there.
The irony here is that a Brogdon/Grant/Ayton/Ant/? lineup, if motivated and healthy, is actually a solid core. Play in tier, even in a stacked west. But are we in the hunt for the play in? Kind of shows the team is as motivated as the fans are. But at least the team can use health as an excuse.
And then the coaching has been so bad that even if we had the Dream Team roster, we'd somehow manage to go 41-41.
Highs and lows. There were several seasons as a kid post Drexler that I thought we would be horrible. Or when Aldridge left, I thought we would be horrible only to beat an injured Clippers team. Now we're just horrible.

[JasonStern]

Also, RealGM is so adware bloated in 2024 that a high end cell phone can't even access the site in a remotely usable fashion. I brought this up with management in the past, and their answer is that "this is what pays for the site. Do you want to pay for the site?" And the answer is always no. I would rather buy beer.