2019 Offseason, June 30th 3PM PT.

[plyrically]

Yea my bad smh

[d-train]

I heard that. Blazers made another trade that hasn't yet been announced. Blazers don't have many trade pieces left. I'm thinking maybe Skal.

[plyrically]

So I’m watching this Rodney interview from like half an hour ago and Olshey just said they’re about to announce a trade later on today.

Was it the official whiteside announcement?

I really there’s no more trades. It was just the Whiteside announcement

[d-train]

I think that's right. I bet they were referring to the Whiteside trade.

[Dame Lizard]

I would love Portland to sign Jamychal Green.

[DusterBuster]

I would love Portland to sign Jamychal Green.

Me too, he would be a perfect pickup. Not sure where his FA value is and if he can be had for a vet min deal tho.

[DusterBuster]

2020: 27th-30th
2021 (Miami): 19th -22nd (maybe lower because Pat Riley is pretty good too, similar to Jerry West)
2022: 27th-30th
2023: no swap because Clips are better team
2024: 27th-30th
2025: no swap because Clips are better team
2026: protected

That's assuming Leonard and George both stay healthy and re-sign with the Clippers at the end of their current contract.

sure...it's assuming that two LA guys who made no bones about wanting to finish their careers in LA witll re-sign with a LA team

a lot can happen in 3 years and Kawhi and PG could end up hating each other

the point was that saying "OKC got 5 first round picks and two pick swaps" sounds a whole lot better than what it will likely end up being

I would worry about Kawhi's healthy and durability by the time they hit those 2023 and 2025 pick swaps. I think just assuming the Clippers will still be the same Clippers by then is giving stability in the NBA too much credit.

You're assuming best case scenario for all those picks... Ive watched too much NBA in my life to assume we know anything about what lays ahead 3-5 years from now.

Hell, even if Kawhi and PG stay in LAC together the whole time, by the 2025 swap, Leonard and George will be like 35 years old... Kawhi at 29 or 30 is already on a super strict load management regimen. If he and the Clippers age playing deep into the playoffs for the next few years, that will take a toll on their bodies.

[Wizenheimer]

That's assuming Leonard and George both stay healthy and re-sign with the Clippers at the end of their current contract.

sure...it's assuming that two LA guys who made no bones about wanting to finish their careers in LA witll re-sign with a LA team

a lot can happen in 3 years and Kawhi and PG could end up hating each other

the point was that saying "OKC got 5 first round picks and two pick swaps" sounds a whole lot better than what it will likely end up being

I would worry about Kawhi's healthy and durability by the time they hit those 2023 and 2025 pick swaps. I think just assuming the Clippers will still be the same Clippers by then is giving stability in the NBA too much credit.

You're assuming best case scenario for all those picks... Ive watched too much NBA in my life to assume we know anything about what lays ahead 3-5 years from now.

Hell, even if Kawhi and PG stay in LAC together the whole time, by the 2025 swap, Leonard and George will be like 35 years old... Kawhi at 29 or 30 is already on a super strict load management regimen. If he and the Clippers age playing deep into the playoffs for the next few years, that will take a toll on their bodies.

sure, this could be similar to when the Nets sold their future to the Celtics, although prime Kawhi + prime Paul George are a lot better bet than elderly KG and Pierce

I'll also point out what I said:

"so, some context on those picks is in order, and what they might look like, using that list above"

I wasn't saying that was a certain outcome, just that a possible likely outcome would add some context to the "wow, 5 first round picks and two swaps" narrative. I think it's a relatively safe bet that for at least the first 4 or 5 years of that pick list, the Clippers should be pretty good and their picks would be low, as in the range where Portland got Swangan

It's worth noting that Paul George and Dame are the same age and Kawhi is a year younger than both...the same age as CJ. Portland just bet on Dame for 6 more years

and even if the Clips do give up a couple of lottery picks at the end of the obligation, if they have a championship or two, nobody will be complaining. It's pretty much a risk they had to take, and for OKC it was an offer to large to refuse, especially after Dame had ripped their hearts out on April 23

[Norm2953]

Is everyone on this board pulling for a CP3 for Westbrook to come down?

[PDXKnight]

Is everyone on this board pulling for a CP3 for Westbrook to come down?

Wouldn’t bother me at all. I cannot see Westbrook and harden working well together at all, no good nearly enough ball to go around

[DusterBuster]

Is everyone on this board pulling for a CP3 for Westbrook to come down?

Pretty dumb move for both sides. Still keeps the Thunder in cap hell and gives them just enough to not fully bottom out - plus CP would complain and whine his way out of town. Meanwhile Westbrook and Harden would be an awful pairing alone given how much both needs the ball in their hand to be effective.

[wjun15]

I am predicting that once folks see Bazemore play the talk of shipping him out at the trade deadline will cool a bit. Portland has its best SF rotation in years IMHO.

This.

Baze is by far the best wing dame played with and I don’t care about Batum’s playmaking.

I think people are forgetting Bazemore is actually a SG but he will be forced to play SF. Hes actually only 6"5 and has a pretty slight frame for a SF at only 200lbs. He will be giving up considerable weight playing against guys like Kawhi (230lbs), PG (220lbs), Lebron (250lbs), Convington (225lbs), Luka (220lbs). You could argue Bazemore is actually undersized for guarding big Guards as well.

Even CJ is the same weight as Bazemore even though hes 2 inches shorter. Dame is only 5lbs less than Bazemore. Kent is really not a "SF". And Rodney isnt much stronger either at 205lbs. Now I know weight doesnt always equal strength, but both of these guys are not really built for the strong post play down low.

People forget how strong Aminu and Harkless were. Despite Aminu's frame (still 220lbs), he was quite adept at guarding the post against bigger guys.

We really need to figure out how we are going to guard the physical wings. This is the only glaring weakness I see from our team after losing Aminu/Moe.

[PDXKnight]

I wonder why NYC hasn’t at all been mentioned in the Russ talks? NY loves to chase superstars historically and they have both young trade chips and cap room to absorb a large amount of westbrook’s contract.

[Norm2953]

Knicks would have to mad to offer up young assets for Westbrook...

Its going to be a team that wants to pair Russ with another star player to compete with the numerous
dynamic duos in the league. Detroit does make some sense in the weaker eastern conference

[zzaj]

I am predicting that once folks see Bazemore play the talk of shipping him out at the trade deadline will cool a bit. Portland has its best SF rotation in years IMHO.

This.

Baze is by far the best wing dame played with and I don’t care about Batum’s playmaking.

I think people are forgetting Bazemore is actually a SG but he will be forced to play SF. Hes actually only 6"5 and has a pretty slight frame for a SF at only 200lbs. He will be giving up considerable weight playing against guys like Kawhi (230lbs), PG (220lbs), Lebron (250lbs), Convington (225lbs), Luka (220lbs). You could argue Bazemore is actually undersized for guarding big Guards as well.

Even CJ is the same weight as Bazemore even though hes 2 inches shorter. Dame is only 5lbs less than Bazemore. Kent is really not a "SF". And Rodney isnt much stronger either at 205lbs. Now I know weight doesnt always equal strength, but both of these guys are not really built for the strong post play down low.

People forget how strong Aminu and Harkless were. Despite Aminu's frame (still 220lbs), he was quite adept at guarding the post against bigger guys.

We really need to figure out how we are going to guard the physical wings. This is the only glaring weakness I see from our team after losing Aminu/Moe.

"Strong post play down low"? I'm not sure which NBA you are watching, but the one I'm watching hasn't had NBA SFs playing like that in a looooong time.

It's true that both Baze and Hood are a bit thinner than Turner and Harkless, respectively. Hood came into the league at 208lbs, I would imagine that he's easily 10lbs heavier than that now after 5 years of strength training and simply getting older. Regardless, nobody (including Aminu from last year) on the Blazers is going to stop the elite SFs of the NBA. That will have to be done by committee.

Bazemore is more of a SG in terms of size, and he's played that position quite a bit the past couple of years. But before that he had good statistical years playing mostly SF. It'll be interesting to see what role he gets on the Blazers. It's easy to say that he will play the Turner role off of the bench, but Turner was such a uniquely limited player that it's tough to imagine somebody else in that role. How Stotts incorporates Bazemore and how he responds will be fun to track all season long.

Right now the Blazers don't have a good bench facilitator on the team. Olshey seems to want that mantle to be worn by Simons, but it's an unknown whether or not he can handle the intricacies of setting up a team and leading a defense. If I was to wager a guess based on the little we've seen of him and his summer league play last night, I'd say not.

[PDXKnight]

Knicks would have to mad to offer up young assets for Westbrook...

Its going to be a team that wants to pair Russ with another star player to compete with the numerous
dynamic duos in the league. Detroit does make some sense in the weaker eastern conference

I could easily see NY getting Westbrook merely due to the fact that they always seem to want to jump on a sumperstar whether it’s sensible or not to acquire one

[zzaj]

I sure wish that the Blazers would figure out a way to sign a Jeremy Lin or Trey Burke as a 3rd PG. I don't feel very confident in what the Blazers have to offer in terms of running the team if Lillard misses any time. A little load management might be nice as well...

Joakim Noah would also be a good backup, emergency C. If Whiteside misses any time in the beginning part of the season, the Blazers are pretty screwed. With how much parity there is in the West this coming season, making the POs may be even more difficult than the last couple of years.

Something like:

Lillard/Lin/Simons
CJ/Bazemore/Simons/Trent Jr.
Hood/Bazemore/Tolliver/Little
Collins/Hezonja/Skal
Whiteside/Noah/Skal

*Nurkic

Would make me a little less squeamish...

[trix17]

I feel like Mario will take a bit of that Turner role as playmaker off the bench along with Simons.

What would people's thoughts be on moving Whitesides contract at the deadline (assuming Nurk is back) for Love? Would be a good fit next to Nurk. Maybe depends on how we view Collins at that point.

[Case2012]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evandammarell/2019/07/07/after-the-clippers-power-move-the-table-appears-set-for-the-cavaliers-to-trade-kevin-love/#78de0b0f26c3

[PDXKnight]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evandammarell/2019/07/07/after-the-clippers-power-move-the-table-appears-set-for-the-cavaliers-to-trade-kevin-love/#78de0b0f26c3

Do we even have the money to make a love deal work without whiteside/nurk involved? I think it goes without saying dame or cj wouldn’t be dealt for k love