Making Sense of a Senseless Summer

[monopoman]

I could see an argument to keep Ayton until the trade deadline in hopes that some contending team with injury gets desperate...but the reality of teams giving up any player of value at that time given his Salary is very small. I don't believe Cronin is interested in draft capital...

I can see that if I squinted hard through my rose colored glasses, but what contender is going to be able to fit the criteria of not being hard capped at either apron, and have deals that aren't big contributors that they would want to move for Ayton. And, looking at us then potentially having to waive players if it was like a 3-1 type deal.

Yep--exactly.

Also, I think it stands to reason that Cronin et al. are interested in showing that reaching for a player that likely would have been drafted 15 spots later (or more) was justified. It might not be a major reason for the buyout, but reaching and standing firm about how Yang is "ready to contribute" (Both Cronin and Billups said this in their presser)...and then having him in the Remix all year, would not be a good look.

Not only that, think of the marketing opportunities I think it will be sink or swim for Yang early in the season, they will likey start Clingan and then give Yang minutes off the bench.

Him looking good at SL makes this even more of a possibility, while he is nowhere near incredibly ready to play the notion that Yang needs 4+ years minimum to be an NBA player seems off to me. He was pretty damn effective in SL and showed a lot of the things he can do already. Yeah, SL is not the same as the NBA, but this team is not in 100% win-now mode and can give him a shot at least to start the season.

I would much rather see Yang get out there with at least 10-15 MPG than toss him in the G-League and forget about it.

[tblazrdude]

He was pretty damn effective in SL and showed a lot of the things he can do already.

my question is, what type of environment can you create that can minimize his negatives and showcase his positives?

[cucad8]

my question is, what type of environment can you create that can minimize his negatives and showcase his positives?

I apologize, I can't locate it in this thread, maybe I'm missing my original post's response, but unable to give context without.

[GEE]

I think it's true to say that from a pure business dollars and cents POV, the Blazers drafting Yang is an easy win because of the obvious fan draw from China. I'm sure the commisioner likes us more now too. But with that, also true would be a resulting increase in market value for this team, increasing the sales price of this team. Yang is a money maker for sure and I think his addition alone may afford us a new arena... not made in, but funded by China.

As a player I think Yang will be fine, but likely starting with zero mpg and may even start in the G-league. By mid season I bet he's getting that 10-15 minutes per, and remember we do have RWIII, who was reported by Billups to be fully healthy now, and Reath behind him . The kid is under no pressure to show greatness Day 1.

Starting linups and rotations by Billups is it's own hottest topic, and deserves a poll. Worth noting... not being locked into the same SL every night would be smart, depending on the particular matchup. 9-10 players nightly, with hockey style line changes. Players can even just raise their hand when they get tired. 100 miles an hour 100% of the time for everyone. Fierce and all up In yo' face. We have enough depth now to even give a guy a night off when needed, like in baseball, especially the vets on B2Bs. We're going to be really good, I guar-un-tee. A 1 - 3 - 1 lineup with (1) Guard, (3) Wings and (1) Postman mostly. Twin towers will alyays be an option(Moreso mid-season w/ Yang), RWIII as a small ball C in stretches, or even Scoot and Jrue on the floor together(Moreso when Dame returns). Tons of looks we can throw at other teams and can match most anyone, and our depth will be a big advantage, especially in a potential long playoff run.

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not havebeen quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

[Pattycakes]

I think it's true to say that from a pure business dollars and cents POV, the Blazers drafting Yang is an easy win because of the obvious fan draw from China. I'm sure the commisioner likes us more now too. But with that, also true would be a resulting increase in market value for this team, increasing the sales price of this team. Yang is a money maker for sure and I think his addition alone may afford us a new arena... not made in, but funded by China.

As a player I think Yang will be fine, but likely starting with zero mpg and may even start in the G-league. By mid season I bet he's getting that 10-15 minutes per, and remember we do have RWIII, who was reported by Billups to be fully healthy now, and Reath behind him . The kid is under no pressure to show greatness Day 1.

Starting linups and rotations by Billups is it's own hottest topic, and deserves a poll. Worth noting... not being locked into the same SL every night would be smart, depending on the particular matchup. 9-10 players nightly, with hockey style line changes. Players can even just raise their hand when they get tired. 100 miles an hour 100% of the time for everyone. Fierce and all up In yo' face. We have enough depth now to even give a guy a night off when needed, like in baseball, especially the vets on B2Bs. We're going to be really good, I guar-un-tee. A 1 - 3 - 1 lineup with (1) Guard, (3) Wings and (1) Postman mostly. Twin towers will alyays be an option(Moreso mid-season w/ Yang), RWIII as a small ball C in stretches, or even Scoot and Jrue on the floor together(Moreso when Dame returns). Tons of looks we can throw at other teams and can match most anyone, and our depth will be a big advantage, especially in a potential long playoff run.

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not havebeen quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

I like you. Not depressingly pessimistic like 99.7% of our online fanbase. I vibe with that prediction. 6 seed plus early Dame return feels tastefully enough to shut all of the haters up, which is kind of to be expected with Cronin/chauncey who just walk the walk, while fans talk the talk.

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

[PDXKnight]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

Yep. He has averaged 33.5 games per season. It could happen that he plays 60, that would be an amazing jump!

And we could have a progress of wins of 21, 36, 50, it could happen if everything his perfectly.

- A breakout by Sharpe
- A breakout by Camara
- A breakout by Scoot
- Continued improvement by Clingan
- Deni stays on his current trajectory
- RWIII and Jrue stay healthy
- Thybulle plays like the end of last season
- Grant bounces back

fan or fanatic (n.) A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

We gotta hope... right?

[m0ng0]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

What did Grant show last year that says he should start over Sharpe?

[PDXKnight]

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

Yep. He has averaged 33.5 games per season. It could happen that he plays 60, that would be an amazing jump!

And we could have a progress of wins of 21, 36, 50, it could happen if everything his perfectly.

- A breakout by Sharpe
- A breakout by Camara
- A breakout by Scoot
- Continued improvement by Clingan
- Deni stays on his current trajectory
- RWIII and Jrue stay healthy
- Thybulle plays like the end of last season
- Grant bounces back

fan or fanatic (n.) A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

We gotta hope... right?

Yup, I like the optimism

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

What did Grant show last year that says he should start over Sharpe?

Honestly neither showed they should be a starter. Both are in the replacement category at this time.

Given that Billups tends to favor defense, I think Grant will get the nod. That 3-forward defense did pretty well for Billups last year. And given that neither is going to be the focus of the offense, I think he will go with the one that shot the 3 better.

I still think it would be great if Sharpe decides to lock-in on D and either stops shoot the 3 at a pathetic .311 clip or just decides to be relentless and go to the hoop.