Larry Nance to Portland

[DusterBuster]

BlazersEdge reporting Blazers wanted Lauri originally, but they couldn’t get a deal done because… and this is rich… the Bulls also wanted a 2nd round pick. So that’s why Portland got the Cavs involved and then… took their 2nd option? Wtf

[DusterBuster]

I think this signals that Dame will absolutely be in Portland the rest of this year. Nance is a significant rotational upgrade over DJJ who was near unplayable.

I know some people are going to hate this, but don't be shocked to see a K-Love buyout where he lands in Portland. You can smell the collusion on this deal

Agree totally with this…

Almost like... I already knew... https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/263954/Kevin-Love-Cavaliers-Making-Progress-On-Buyout

Notttt so fast….

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Good deal. We need hustle/glue guys around our back court and Nance is a versatile modern player. Slight overpay, but teams know we need to make these moves with Lillard's clock ticking so can ask for more. Wish we could have dumped Elleby in this trade, pay Cleveland to waive him or whatever, that would have made this good trade a very good trade.


I'm still expecting us to dump him this season, hopefully it wont be too expensive but that will let us go balls to the walls for the next 3 seasons.

Expensive to dump Elleby? I’m not tracking? Isn’t he on a really cheap contract, why can’t they just buy him out if they need to dump him? Also, why do they need to dump him? Can’t they just not play him and have him ride the bench?

We are 1.3 million into the luxury tax, so if we can dump Elleby straight up we avoid the luxury tax this year, and the repeater tax next year, the year after and the year after - essentially through the life of Dames contract.

And by expensive, I mean I hope we can dump Elleby by paying a team the remainder of his contract, send a little extra cash to make it worth their while. But if teams know we are an Elleby dump away from ducking the luxury tax they may have leverage to ask for a second round pick or something. So expensive is not real expensive just relative to what it should cost if teams play hardball on helping us out knowing our situation, we likely wont ever have to burn a 1st rounder or a prospect like Ant/Little/Brown on it. It should be a nothing ask which is why it would have made sense to roll it into a trade that everyone was already happy with, instead of a stand-alone "hey please help me out" request.

Before the trade we actually could have stretched+waived Elleby to duck the tax if we really needed, not the ideal way but if teams played hardball we had that in our back-pocket. Now we cannot stretch+waive Elleby and still duck the tax so we NEED another team to play ball.

And just to be clear, if the Blazers really had a big move I would say pay the damn tax. But since we are only 1.3 million into it the smart long-term move is to avoid it this year, so we can resign Covington/Nurkic to 3 year contracts, go well into the luxury tax and not have to worry about incurring repeater status for the rest of Dame and CJ's contracts.

[PDXKnight]

BlazersEdge reporting Blazers wanted Lauri originally, but they couldn’t get a deal done because… and this is rich… the Bulls also wanted a 2nd round pick. So that’s why Portland got the Cavs involved and then… took their 2nd option? Wtf

Man that’s insanely stingy. I could totally see olshey being offered paul george for cj and then balling and demanding a first from the clips

[PDXKnight]

Good deal. We need hustle/glue guys around our back court and Nance is a versatile modern player. Slight overpay, but teams know we need to make these moves with Lillard's clock ticking so can ask for more. Wish we could have dumped Elleby in this trade, pay Cleveland to waive him or whatever, that would have made this good trade a very good trade.


I'm still expecting us to dump him this season, hopefully it wont be too expensive but that will let us go balls to the walls for the next 3 seasons.

Expensive to dump Elleby? I’m not tracking? Isn’t he on a really cheap contract, why can’t they just buy him out if they need to dump him? Also, why do they need to dump him? Can’t they just not play him and have him ride the bench?

We are 1.3 million into the luxury tax, so if we can dump Elleby straight up we avoid the luxury tax this year, and the repeater tax next year, the year after and the year after - essentially through the life of Dames contract.

And by expensive, I mean I hope we can dump Elleby by paying a team the remainder of his contract, send a little extra cash to make it worth their while. But if teams know we are an Elleby dump away from ducking the luxury tax they may have leverage to ask for a second round pick or something. So expensive is not real expensive just relative to what it should cost if teams play hardball on helping us out knowing our situation, we likely wont ever have to burn a 1st rounder or a prospect like Ant/Little/Brown on it. It should be a nothing ask which is why it would have made sense to roll it into a trade that everyone was already happy with, instead of a stand-alone "hey please help me out" request.

Before the trade we actually could have stretched+waived Elleby to duck the tax if we really needed, not the ideal way but if teams played hardball we had that in our back-pocket. Now we cannot stretch+waive Elleby and still duck the tax so we NEED another team to play ball.

And just to be clear, if the Blazers really had a big move I would say pay the damn tax. But since we are only 1.3 million into it the smart long-term move is to avoid it this year, so we can resign Covington/Nurkic to 3 year contracts, go well into the luxury tax and not have to worry about incurring repeater status for the rest of Dame and CJ's contracts.

I bet we could deal ellby for a top 50 protected second without paying cash

Could also look to deal simons for a more cost effective win now piece since clearly we are loaded up on guards & are unlikely to extend him unless he’s cheap. Would be nice to have a defensively capable PG or really any guard that can defend and powell isn’t as advertised in that dept

[Pattycakes]

Y’all really need to hold off on the Dame Demand energy. For one, dude emulates humility. For two, he’s never done anything but dismiss those rumors. For three, there’s literally not much of a better situation for him now that Stotts’s wussy footing is out and we might actually prioritize Defense even 1% of the time

[GEE]

Read through the comments, and there were lots of good/smart ones. Nance Jr. is nice, and a decent upgrade considering fit on this team. I think he will remind us of Batum, and could eventually start at PF, if we can refrain from starting Powell, but that would require moving CJ.

I hope Olshey isn't done. If Olshey could do:
1. CJ for Harris (Great for both teams IMO/Balancing act)
2. Sign Rondo
3. Sign LA

Dame / Rondo
Powell / Simons
ROCO / Little
Nance Jr. / Harris
Nurkic / LA

[monopoman]

BlazersEdge reporting Blazers wanted Lauri originally, but they couldn’t get a deal done because… and this is rich… the Bulls also wanted a 2nd round pick. So that’s why Portland got the Cavs involved and then… took their 2nd option? Wtf

Man that’s insanely stingy. I could totally see olshey being offered paul george for cj and then balling and demanding a first from the clips

Lauri coming in on a 4 year $67 million deal seems that we would have had to give up DJ Jr. and another player or two to match salary.

[Soulyss]

Agree totally with this…

Almost like... I already knew... https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/263954/Kevin-Love-Cavaliers-Making-Progress-On-Buyout

Notttt so fast….

Hmmmmm....

Read on Twitter

Don't believe the "doesn't want a buyout..." That's just agent posturing to get maximum payout.

[soobias]

Read through the comments, and there were lots of good/smart ones. Nance Jr. is nice, and a decent upgrade considering fit on this team. I think he will remind us of Batum, and could eventually start at PF, if we can refrain from starting Powell, but that would require moving CJ.

I hope Olshey isn't done. If Olshey could do:
1. CJ for Harris (Great for both teams IMO/Balancing act)
2. Sign Rondo
3. Sign LA

Dame / Rondo
Powell / Simons
ROCO / Little
Nance Jr. / Harris
Nurkic / LA

i dont think they would trade for harris and pay him all that money and put him on the bench.
i dont think of any nba player making north of $25m has ever come off the bench, but i could be wrong

[soobias]

Y’all really need to hold off on the Dame Demand energy. For one, dude emulates humility. For two, he’s never done anything but dismiss those rumors. For three, there’s literally not much of a better situation for him now that Stotts’s wussy footing is out and we might actually prioritize Defense even 1% of the time

only this with this statement to me is that dame and cj dont play defense. and this far into their careers it'll be a challenge to get them to change from what they have been doing their whole basketball lives.

[Myth]

Not too keen on Kevin love. Where does he fit in our rotation? He's not really aged well, as injuries have taken their toll. He wouldn't aid in our efforts to improve defensively, and he's not good enough on O to make up for that.

Love has fully given up on his NBA career. Dude is just half ass coasting in Cleveland. I won’t be surprised if he just full on retires once his deal CLE is up.

I think people hope that he is phoning it in ala Blake Griffin but then returns somewhat to form. I’d still rather focus on D, but I’d accept a partially returned to form Love. The Love we have seen most recently though? Pass.

[Myth]

Read through the comments, and there were lots of good/smart ones. Nance Jr. is nice, and a decent upgrade considering fit on this team. I think he will remind us of Batum, and could eventually start at PF, if we can refrain from starting Powell, but that would require moving CJ.

I hope Olshey isn't done. If Olshey could do:
1. CJ for Harris (Great for both teams IMO/Balancing act)
2. Sign Rondo
3. Sign LA

Dame / Rondo
Powell / Simons
ROCO / Little
Nance Jr. / Harris
Nurkic / LA

i dont think they would trade for harris and pay him all that money and put him on the bench.
i dont think of any nba player making north of $25m has ever come off the bench, but i could be wrong

Given the rapid rise in salaries, that statement really only limits it to the last few years. So yes, no player making that much has come off the bench. But Ginobili in 2013 was the highest paid Spur and that was probably equivalent to being $25M+.

[monopoman]

Y’all really need to hold off on the Dame Demand energy. For one, dude emulates humility. For two, he’s never done anything but dismiss those rumors. For three, there’s literally not much of a better situation for him now that Stotts’s wussy footing is out and we might actually prioritize Defense even 1% of the time

only this with this statement to me is that dame and cj dont play defense. and this far into their careers it'll be a challenge to get them to change from what they have been doing their whole basketball lives.

They actually were playing better defense a few years ago, it seems like they started to tune Stotts out. I was watching some 2017 and 2018 games recently, and while they weren't great defenders they were giving way more effort on that end.

I think Billups will get mad respect in the locker room being a former champion that played on quite possibly the best team defensively of all time.

[Pattycakes]

Y’all really need to hold off on the Dame Demand energy. For one, dude emulates humility. For two, he’s never done anything but dismiss those rumors. For three, there’s literally not much of a better situation for him now that Stotts’s wussy footing is out and we might actually prioritize Defense even 1% of the time

only this with this statement to me is that dame and cj dont play defense. and this far into their careers it'll be a challenge to get them to change from what they have been doing their whole basketball lives.

They actually were playing better defense a few years ago, it seems like they started to tune Stotts out. I was watching some 2017 and 2018 games recently, and while they weren't great defenders they were giving way more effort on that end.

I think Billups will get mad respect in the locker room being a former champion that played on quite possibly the best team defensively of all time.

I’m just saying. I’ve seen too many cases of a “garbage team” firing their coach then immediately looking like a championship squad literally the following game to not think there’s a connection to coaching and personnel. Stotts is a nice guy, cool. But he’s just a guy, and that’s about it. So is Chauncey, but I’ll take the one with a reason to actually fight and improve.

[soobias]

Y’all really need to hold off on the Dame Demand energy. For one, dude emulates humility. For two, he’s never done anything but dismiss those rumors. For three, there’s literally not much of a better situation for him now that Stotts’s wussy footing is out and we might actually prioritize Defense even 1% of the time

only this with this statement to me is that dame and cj dont play defense. and this far into their careers it'll be a challenge to get them to change from what they have been doing their whole basketball lives.

They actually were playing better defense a few years ago, it seems like they started to tune Stotts out. I was watching some 2017 and 2018 games recently, and while they weren't great defenders they were giving way more effort on that end.

I think Billups will get mad respect in the locker room being a former champion that played on quite possibly the best team defensively of all time.

very true.. look at PHX last year and MIAMI in the bubble.
nance doesnt move the needle for me either way, but if he works out then ok.
im not trying to be pessimistic but i see another 1st round exit the way this roster is constucted.

[PDXKnight]

only this with this statement to me is that dame and cj dont play defense. and this far into their careers it'll be a challenge to get them to change from what they have been doing their whole basketball lives.

They actually were playing better defense a few years ago, it seems like they started to tune Stotts out. I was watching some 2017 and 2018 games recently, and while they weren't great defenders they were giving way more effort on that end.

I think Billups will get mad respect in the locker room being a former champion that played on quite possibly the best team defensively of all time.

I’m just saying. I’ve seen too many cases of a “garbage team” firing their coach then immediately looking like a championship squad literally the following game to not think there’s a connection to coaching and personnel. Stotts is a nice guy, cool. But he’s just a guy, and that’s about it. So is Chauncey, but I’ll take the one with a reason to actually fight and improve.

I’m cautiously optimistic but there’s been plenty of good players who made mediocre coaches

[skoharry]

#1 - a FRP does nothing for us now.
#2 - if we do trade CJ, we can probably get a FRP back.
#3 - in a Damian Lillard trade, we'd probably get those FRP's back. Whether it be all for one year or spaced out.
#4 - we needed a decent backup PF and Nance can do a little bit of everything.

[monopoman]

They actually were playing better defense a few years ago, it seems like they started to tune Stotts out. I was watching some 2017 and 2018 games recently, and while they weren't great defenders they were giving way more effort on that end.

I think Billups will get mad respect in the locker room being a former champion that played on quite possibly the best team defensively of all time.

I’m just saying. I’ve seen too many cases of a “garbage team” firing their coach then immediately looking like a championship squad literally the following game to not think there’s a connection to coaching and personnel. Stotts is a nice guy, cool. But he’s just a guy, and that’s about it. So is Chauncey, but I’ll take the one with a reason to actually fight and improve.

I’m cautiously optimistic but there’s been plenty of good players who made mediocre coaches

I'm not claiming he will be a great coach without question, I just love that he will know more about what it takes to be a good defensive team. Especially when offense is less of a problem for this team, we all know defense was the biggest issue with the Blazers last year.

[JasonStern]

Always nice to have fans of other teams say things like "No! Not Nance! He was the heart and soul of this team!" I don't think a single Blazer fan posted "No! Not DJJ!"

Also worth noting is that the Blazers would be under the luxury tax right now if it wasn't for the Andrew Nicholson stretch. Gift that keeps on giving.

BlazersEdge reporting Blazers wanted Lauri originally, but they couldn’t get a deal done because… and this is rich… the Bulls also wanted a 2nd round pick. So that’s why Portland got the Cavs involved and then… took their 2nd option? Wtf

Man that’s insanely stingy. I could totally see olshey being offered paul george for cj and then balling and demanding a first from the clips

Lauri coming in on a 4 year $67 million deal seems that we would have had to give up DJ Jr. and another player or two to match salary.

This. Or the Blazers wanted Lauri to sign closer to DJJ's salary and he refused. Neil Olshey has never been afraid of trading 2nd round picks. That said, the Blazers already owe their 2023-2026 2nds to Boston, Sacramento, and Nawlins.