Shams: the ****? Simons to Boston for Holiday… real

[Dame Lizard]

If ya'll are making a win now push then I think Lauri Markkanen would be a fantastic fit on this roster.

Oh dear - that's a very likely candidate r.e. who Cronin will go after.

[Sinobas]

I wonder who the Kings were offering up for Holiday. That team got old, fast.

I wouldn't mind flipping Holiday for DeRozan, who is on a cheaper contract with less years. They can throw in Devin Carter.

[Sinobas]

If ya'll are making a win now push then I think Lauri Markkanen would be a fantastic fit on this roster.

Oh dear - that's a very likely candidate r.e. who Cronin will go after.

I think he'd be a great addition to the team. He had a down year last year, but he'd be a great fit on our team.

[Butter]

I am not thrilled with this deal on the surface, mostly because if the salary cap implications.

But... it does raise some interesting points:

1. This is another deal where Cronin was willing to give up future draft picks for a veteran.

2. He seems willing to bring in older veterans

3. The Blazers are obviously good at keeping secrets NO ONE knows about.

4. The Blazers do not seem sold on Scoot. Bringing in a veteran PG as a mentor is a great plan, but I have a hard time believing their going to park Jrue on the bench.

5. Vulcan is willing to let Cronin spend money

*** Finally - I agree with the crowd that the Blazers may try to flip Holiday. I'll wait to hold my final judgment for a bit.

[BlazersBroncos]

Jrue isn’t getting flipped. We clearly want to win and he is a great 3rd guard since he can play with both the kids and fits our defensive identity.

[Brandon-Clyde]

Juat pure speculation on my part but flipping Jrue to any team would likely mean a team with a very short possible window due to the age or health of it's players and that team having something Portland would want. My theory would be Philadelphia. The trade would look something like this

Portland sends Jrue, Jerami and 11 and receives PG13 and the #3 pick.
Philadelphia gets two players capable of contributing now, gets out of George's contract and receives a late lottery pick as well. Jrue would be an especially good fit next to Maxey.
Portland does this solely for the third overall pick and could either buy out George or hope he regains enough value to be tradable by the trade deadline next February.

[Walton1one]

Jrue isn’t getting flipped. We clearly want to win and he is a great 3rd guard since he can play with both the kids and fits our defensive identity.

You realize how absurd that really sounds? Not you, but that Cronin\Billups believe that?

Sheer incompetence if true, new owners cannot come soon enough to turf these idiots

Again I’ll reserve judgment to see if Jrue is flipped for better fitting parts, but acquiring a 36yr old win now guard with 3 years left @ $32/34/37 is crazy considering this team is nowhere near ready to compete let alone questionable to make the playoffs

Looney tunes is what that is and the paid (2) 2nd’s to get him, lol

[BlazersBroncos]

Jrue isn’t getting flipped. We clearly want to win and he is a great 3rd guard since he can play with both the kids and fits our defensive identity.

You realize how absurd that really sounds? Not you, but that Cronin\Billups believe that?

Sheer incompetence if true, new owners cannot come soon enough to turf these idiots

Again I’ll reserve judgment to see if Jrue is flipped for better fitting parts, but acquiring a 36yr old win now guard with 3 years left @ $32/34/37 is crazy considering this team is nowhere near ready to compete let alone questionable to make the playoffs

Looney tunes is what that is and the paid (2) 2nd’s to get him, lol

Its been clear for some time now that the FO sees the team in a far different light than the non-casual fans do (IE fans that pass their time posting nonsense like we do online lol). We may move Holiday in 1-2 years but I would bet heavily that he is in the plans for this season.

The FO sees the young core as being high potential. They likely still believe Scoot / Sharpe are foundational guys, that Deni is a legit #2 option and that Camara has potential to be more than a 12/5 3/D glue-guy. They have been prioritizing high character, tone setting vets for a few years now (Resigning Thybulle, going out of their way to ensure RWIII was in the first BOS trade, now making a move for Holiday).

Look, I dont think it works. But I understand the direction. We have been in the lotto for 4 years. Thats about half a decade of non-relevance. The financial positives of being even a fodder playoff team are always understated by fans as well. Holiday is a proven winner, brings high character and a great vet presence to the kids, tone sets on the court, positive defender, advanced metrics are still well above replacement level, can play with either youngin at PG or SG and the cost was a defensive sieve who never contributed to winning basketball.

We NEVER were going to trade Simons for salary ballast and a late FRP. The path, it seems quite clear, was to resign him as to not lose an asset or flip him for a win-now player. Take that into account and this trade is fine. I take Holiday on this contract over Simons resigned at 3/85-90 10 times out of 10.

We need to simply accept that the people running this team dont see tanking as a viable option. They want semi relevance, a sort of resurgence as the Kings had a few years back - which was a financial boon for them. A small market with a single professional sports team has a monopoly on fan support and even a bubble play-in spot would be a huge boon for finances and relevance. Tanking for a 5th year in a market this small, unsaturated by other pro sports teams would be leaving a ton of money on the table.

Its not just a game, its a business.

[Jsun947]

I wonder how much Portland is looking at wanting to be a playoff team this year or next in order to preserve the swap rights with the bucks in 2028?

Sneaking into the 7 or 8 apot could be incredibly valuable moving forward.

As of right now the only terrible team in the west is Utah.

Phoenix, Memphis, Sac, NO, Dallas and Portland are probably fairly close. The older and more injury prone teams like Lakers, Clippers, Denver, and Warriors could be one injury or so from catastrophe.

It’s likely only a few wins could separate 7th from 13th-14th in the west

[BlazersBroncos]

I wonder how much Portland is looking at wanting to be a playoff team this year or next in order to preserve the swap rights with the bucks in 2028?

Sneaking into the 7 or 8 apot could be incredibly valuable moving forward.

Yep. This is another understated truth. The Bucks are going to be horrible by the time we have those swaps / pick. Opening that up is tremendously important to the teams future prospects IMO. We NEED to convey that FRP in 2026.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I just don't like the deal because I can't not consider the long-term salary implications.

But if you just take a look at the upcoming year it's fine. Ignore what happens beyond this year. For the next 12 months this is totally fine. Just take out the part of my brain that looks more than 12 months into the future. Then this is fine.

#blazerfancopingmechanisms

[Walton1one]

We need to simply accept that the people running this team dont see tanking as a viable option. They want semi relevance, a sort of resurgence as the Kings had a few years back - which was a financial boon for them. A small market with a single professional sports team has a monopoly on fan support and even a bubble play-in spot would be a huge boon for finances and relevance. Tanking for a 5th year in a market this small, unsaturated by other pro sports teams would be leaving a ton of money on the table.

Semi- Relevance

What you are really saying is they are fine with a team that is irrelevant

Which is why if they really traded for Jrue to keep him, those 2 clowns (Joe\Chauncey) should be run out of town on a rail

This team has just as little of a chance to make the playoffs or be fodder in the play in w/o Jrue (or Simons) on the roster as they do with him, it is just absolute fantasyland these guys are living in

[Blazinaway]

what are the odds Jrue gets flipped in next few weeks?

[BlazersBroncos]

We need to simply accept that the people running this team dont see tanking as a viable option. They want semi relevance, a sort of resurgence as the Kings had a few years back - which was a financial boon for them. A small market with a single professional sports team has a monopoly on fan support and even a bubble play-in spot would be a huge boon for finances and relevance. Tanking for a 5th year in a market this small, unsaturated by other pro sports teams would be leaving a ton of money on the table.

Semi- Relevance

What you are really saying is they are fine with a team that is irrelevant

Which is why if they really traded for Jrue to keep him, those 2 clowns (Joe\Chauncey) should be run out of town on a rail

This team has just as little of a chance to make the playoffs or be fodder in the play in w/o Jrue (or Simons) on the roster as they do with him, it is just absolute fantasyland these guys are living in

The team will make tons of money if we become semi-relevant. Thats the goal here. Again, its a business. Few ownership groups are going to be interested in buying a team in the middle of a Hinkie / Presti level teardown. Few front offices are willing to burn entire years of revenue generation in the hopes of tanking their way into a chance, not even a guarantee, at a needle moving prospect.

They trust their scouting department, see high upside with Scoot / Sharpe still and want to make a run at a playoff spot. Its not that insane a route when you take into account that that not all franchises are run with 'championship or bust' mentalities and the financial upside of relevance. Then a few breaks go your way developmentally or otherwise and your in a position like Indiana (Granted Hali has shown much more than anyone we have). Getting into the playoffs and paying that FRP to CHI and opening the 2028 swap is another big bonus here.

There has been no indication the team was being run by people willing to tank, to cash rotation players for filler and late picks or burn a year to get a better ping pong %. We should accept that the team is not being run like NBA 2K - they want to make money. Playoffs, even low seed playoffs, even play-in slots, get a teams money printer humming. Again, think back to SAC and the relevance they attained when they made the POs a few years back. The casual fanbase was buying in left and right, they were talked about at the national level - I bet their evaluation on team worth in a sale improved dramatically after that season.

Again, business and sport. Not just sport.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

That is why an ownership who is driven by a bit of "fandom" is good. Have a bit of that championship or bust mentality from the top, not just all business.

I also wouldn't be too surprised if there was some metric like "playoff teams sell for 10% more on average than lottery teams" that they are looking at as they try and sell the team.

[Walton1one]

First off, there’s a good chance even with Jrue they do not make the playoffs, every one of these teams listed below is better than POR, a lot better

OKC - HOU - MIN - DEN - LAL - LAC - GS - MEM - SA - DAL

And the you have teams like NO - SAC - PHX any one of whom could overtake POR, if this is a money grab attempt by mgmt, it is a pretty lousy one

No, what this is is a pathetic attempt by Joe\Chauncey to save their jobs, which they have been lousy at, and hope that the new owner takes pity on them if they can miraculously make the playin

I cannot defend an ownership\mgmt group that willingly sacrifices a chance to win meaningfully for fleeting irrelevance let’s face it, who remembers the play in team for the last 3 or 4 years, no one gives a crap not even the fans.

Sure, let’s definitely not follow the OKC model, it is not like they won anything right?

[BlazersBroncos]

That is why an ownership who is driven by a bit of "fandom" is good. Have a bit of that championship or bust mentality from the top, not just all business.

I also wouldn't be too surprised if there was some metric like "playoff teams sell for 10% more on average than lottery teams" that they are looking at as they try and sell the team.

I would assume that as well. And honestly operating any other way would be insane from a business perspective.

I dont think the FO is crazy assuming the internal young talent is likely to improve enough in 25/26 to put us out of 'high pick' range. They are betting on this and making the move for win-now vets that should help internal growth, help reach a playoff seed and help the PDX FRP convey to CHI to open up the MIL 2028 swap.

It would be a big indictment of the talent evaluators within this franchise to assume the 3 former Top-10 picks from the past 3 drafts under 22 + guys like Deni and Camara are NOT likely to improve this upcoming season at a level that gets us into play-in conversation. They are betting on themselves and their ability to evaluate the young talent.

[Jsun947]

First off, there’s a good chance even with Jrue they do not make the playoffs, every one of these teams listed below is better than POR, a lot better

OKC - HOU - MIN - DEN - LAL - LAC - GS - MEM - SA - DAL

And the you have teams like NO - SAC - PHX any one of whom could overtake POR, if this is a money grab attempt by mgmt, it is a pretty lousy one

No, what this is is a pathetic attempt by Joe\Chauncey to save their jobs, which they have been lousy at, and hope that the new owner takes pity on them if they can miraculously make the playin

I cannot defend an ownership\mgmt group that willingly sacrifices a chance to win meaningfully for fleeting irrelevance let’s face it, who remembers the play in team for the last 3 or 4 years, no one gives a crap not even the fans.

Sure, let’s definitely not follow the OKC model, it is not like they won anything right?

I’m not convinced at all that Dallas is a better team than Portland considering what their current roster is.

[oldfishermen]

After sleeping on it, and further consideration, the more I like this trade.

We got the better player. Jrue fills a need in our guard rotation. Plus Jrue brings intangible qualities this roster was lacking.

Whether we keep or trade Jrue, this trade creates more options, both on and off of the court.

However, I do believe it will be difficult to trade Jrue's contract. My gut says, it will take a major multi player trade to make the $$$ work.

[The Sebastian Express]

All it took for me to get my wish for Simons to get trade was for a tree to take out my power and internet for half a week.

Not a fan of the contract, but a fan of the deal.