2019 Offseason, June 30th 3PM PT.

[DusterBuster]

Is this the current roster?

Lillard-Simons
McCollum-Trent-Hezonja
Hood-Bazemore-Hoard
Collins-Tolliver-Little
Whiteside-Labissière
+Nurkic whenever he is back

Man, I love Dame, but that's pretty rough, unless guys like Simons, Trent and Skal really pick it up, I like Trent a lot so maybe

You also have a ton of negative BBIQ players, Whiteside, Skal, Hezonja, Hoard, Little have very little feel for the game

I would say it's best to save the fretting about the roster for sometime in September and October rather than early July. Still a lot of summer incoming and some things we simply can't predict like internal player development for some of the young guys who'll potentially see bigger roles.

[Sinobas]

The Thunder are going to be so god awful next year, and their franchise is in the crapper.

Everyone thought they had struck gold in the offseason which they acquired Anthony and George, but they'd have been better off just staying put it seems.

If they don't have Durant, Westbrook or George, I can't even hate them anymore.

[d-train]

Not Blazer related, but I am getting some enjoyment out of the Thunder changes. The idea of them sending Russ to Miami is particularly ironic since two of the eleventy billion picks the Clippers sent them are from Miami, so if they send Russ to the Heat, he's gonna hurt the value of those picks. Will Presti still do it know that he'll be hurting the value of some of his assets by doing so?

Wolves GM should be on the phone trying to dump Wiggins plus some assets for Westbrook. This would be the perfect opportunity for Wolves to get rid of that albatross and add a legit all-star to anchor that team with KAT.

[Sinobas]

Is this the current roster?

Lillard-Simons
McCollum-Trent-Hezonja
Hood-Bazemore-Hoard
Collins-Tolliver-Little
Whiteside-Labissière
+Nurkic whenever he is back

Man, I love Dame, but that's pretty rough, unless guys like Simons, Trent and Skal really pick it up, I like Trent a lot so maybe

You also have a ton of negative BBIQ players, Whiteside, Skal, Hezonja, Hoard, Little have very little feel for the game

I would say it's best to save the fretting about the roster for sometime in September and October rather than early July. Still a lot of summer incoming and some things we simply can't predict like internal player development for some of the young guys who'll potentially see bigger roles.

I don't think Hezonja will be a 3rd stringer. I'm thinking Bazemore will start.

[DusterBuster]

Not Blazer related, but I am getting some enjoyment out of the Thunder changes. The idea of them sending Russ to Miami is particularly ironic since two of the eleventy billion picks the Clippers sent them are from Miami, so if they send Russ to the Heat, he's gonna hurt the value of those picks. Will Presti still do it know that he'll be hurting the value of some of his assets by doing so?

Wolves GM should be on the phone trying to dump Wiggins plus some assets for Westbrook. This would be the perfect opportunity for Wolves to get rid of that albatross and add a legit all-star to anchor that team with KAT.

Thunder aren't taking on Wiggins contract.

[Goldbum]

I can almost guarantee that THIS year Whiteside is going to be ridiculous... I mean that in a good way. It’s a contract year, he’s playing with 2 guys he’s friends with who happen to be great leaders. When Nurkic comes back that’s a rock’em sock’em tandem that will provide a constant interior presence that very few teams an match up with...

[DusterBuster]

The Thunder are going to be so god awful next year, and their franchise is in the crapper.

The crapper? No way. They're headed for a major rebuild and will be awful for a bit here, but they also have one of the best asset collections of any team in the league and it's gonna get better here over the month once they move Russ. They're primed for a solid reboot of the roster... far from saying "the franchise is in the crapper".

[HoopsFanAZ]

Way too early lineup prediction:

Lillard, McCollum at the guards
Simons at backup PG for 12-14 ... we hope
Either Hood or Bazemore starts at SF, but Bazemore likely the backup SG as well. They each can get around 30+ minutes.
Collins at PF (can play C better than the back-ups)
Whiteside at C
The best of Tolliver (PF), Hejonja (SF/PF), and Labissiere (PF/C) get the remaining PF and/or C minutes -- hopefully not more than 36 minutes (30 for ZC, 30 for HW)

Fighting for minutes: Trent, Little
Pending: Nurkic
Pending: 2 (likely) veteran signings with a PG and a Big as most obvious/pressing need for backup minutes

[d-train]

Not Blazer related, but I am getting some enjoyment out of the Thunder changes. The idea of them sending Russ to Miami is particularly ironic since two of the eleventy billion picks the Clippers sent them are from Miami, so if they send Russ to the Heat, he's gonna hurt the value of those picks. Will Presti still do it know that he'll be hurting the value of some of his assets by doing so?

Wolves GM should be on the phone trying to dump Wiggins plus some assets for Westbrook. This would be the perfect opportunity for Wolves to get rid of that albatross and add a legit all-star to anchor that team with KAT.

Thunder aren't taking on Wiggins contract.

They are going to have to take bad contact(s) to move Westbrook. Unless, there is another superstar free agent being pursued by a half-dozen teams and he makes it a condition of signing that a team acquires Westbrook.

[DusterBuster]

Wolves GM should be on the phone trying to dump Wiggins plus some assets for Westbrook. This would be the perfect opportunity for Wolves to get rid of that albatross and add a legit all-star to anchor that team with KAT.

Thunder aren't taking on Wiggins contract.

They are going to have to take bad contact(s) to move Westbrook. Unless, there is another superstar free agent being pursued by a half-dozen teams and he makes it a condition of signing that a team acquires Westbrook.

They'll get some expiring deals for him. They won't be forced to take back a bad contract for Russ.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Thunder aren't taking on Wiggins contract.

They are going to have to take bad contact(s) to move Westbrook. Unless, there is another superstar free agent being pursued by a half-dozen teams and he makes it a condition of signing that a team acquires Westbrook.

They'll get some expiring deals for him. They won't be forced to take back a bad contract for Russ.

It would make a bit of sense for them to take back a bad contract if they can get a little extra for it, but for the most part I agree they wont have to take one if they are willing to forego other assets. Honestly much of the online discussion around Westbrook's value has surprised me and I've never been a fan of his but he is still a good player that I don't expect to drop off a cliff tomorrow. Guys who can create basketball plays like he does are just expensive.

Now, if I were a GM I would be kind of picky about what kind of team I add Westbrook to, just because his style is so domineering and he needs tons of shooting around him, so that combined with the time of year (why didn't Presti do this before he pulled a trigger on the PG trade??) could make it difficult to realize full value.

[Brandon-Clyde]

It is important to remember that while it is somewhat important to start off the season well it is more important how we finish the season. At season's end Portland could have 48 minutes of dominance at center. Furthermore at the trade deadline Portland could have the most and best assets available to upgrade in trades of the Western Conference playoff teams( none of Denver,Utah, Golden State or either LA team has a 2020 first to trade I believe) with ,picks,expiring contracts and several young prospect

[d-train]

I believe Olshey adds players because of how he projects they will benefit our team. I don't believe anyone is added because of trade value. Although, there is likely a correlation between a players ability to help a good team and his trade value.

[d-train]

I would like the Blazers to get another rebounder and big man defender. We also need more wing defense. Defense is where the loss of Aminu, Harkless, and ET is going to be felt the most. Bazemore is good but Hood is weak.

[Jsun947]

If Nurkic comes back healthy in Feb I'd gladly flip Whiteside and Bazemore for Gallinari and Love at the deadline. I'd feel a lot better about our depth chart afterwards especially if we can sign a vet C and PG to fill out our rotation.


Dame/Vet PG/Simons
McCollum/Hood/Trent Jr
Gallinari/Hezonja/Little
Love/Tolliver/Labissiere
Nurkic/Collins/Vet C

[DusterBuster]

Read on Twitter

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[Showdown]

Depth chart for the beginning of the season :

Lillard/Trent
CJ/Bazemore/Simmons/
Hood/Little/Hezonja/Trent
Collins/Hezonja/Labassiere/Toliver/Little
Whiteside/Labassiere/
*Nurkic

Collins will spend majority of his minutes on pf, Little is only player that can provide us what we lost on defense when we traded Harkless and let Aminu walk, Bazemore is undersized for sf and Toliver is really bad and it wont take long before everyone realise that .

[No-Man]

Is this the current roster?

Lillard-Simons
McCollum-Trent-Hezonja
Hood-Bazemore-Hoard
Collins-Tolliver-Little
Whiteside-Labissière
+Nurkic whenever he is back

Man, I love Dame, but that's pretty rough, unless guys like Simons, Trent and Skal really pick it up, I like Trent a lot so maybe

You also have a ton of negative BBIQ players, Whiteside, Skal, Hezonja, Hoard, Little have very little feel for the game

I would say it's best to save the fretting about the roster for sometime in September and October rather than early July. Still a lot of summer incoming and some things we simply can't predict like internal player development for some of the young guys who'll potentially see bigger roles.

I don't think Hezonja will be a 3rd stringer. I'm thinking Bazemore will start.

Hezonja is terrible, like truly bad, not a NBA player

Bazemore starting makes sense with Hood helping the bench scoring makes some sense yeah

I really like Trent, and Simons seems to be talented but you guys need another PG and PF/C for sure

[BlazersBroncos]

Hezonja is terrible, like truly bad, not a NBA player

This is probably true, but I think he has some potential still. Never played for a stable organization with this type of culture and leaders. I wouldnt be suprised if he could develop into a scoring, agressive small ball PF. Dont see starter / star potential this late in his development, but as a scorer he could be a nice compliment Zach.

I really like Trent, and Simons seems to be talented but you guys need another PG and PF/C for sure

I am fine with going into the seasons with Simons as our only backup PG. But PF/C is a huge need, and we dont even need a 3rd stringer, but someone who can actually play minutes. There are plenty of cheap guys out there that could run 12-15mpg at backup Center; Kosta Koufos, Ekpe Udoh, Amir Johnson, Zaza, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Cheick Diallo, Faried, etc.

Notably Joakim would be a great option as Stotts likes to play high post passing bball at times. After him, I lean Faried because he still brings enegry and rebounding, albeit he isnt a good defender. Diallo is the youngest with the most potential, but I prefer a vet since we are heavy on youth.

Regardless, I think the rotation will be:

PG - Damian Lillard / Anfernee Simons
SG - CJ McCollum / Rodney Hood / Gary Trent Jr
SF - Kent Bazemore / Rodney Hood / Nassir Little
PF - Zach Collins / Mario Herzonja / Anthony Tolliver
C - Hassan Whiteside / Vet Fa / Skal Labassiere

I have more trust in Mario as a rotation guy than Skal. Just dont see that much potential in Labassiere. He is sorta a Channing Frye type but much worse at shooting.

Really with we signed Tacko Fall.

[zzaj]

Hezonja is terrible, like truly bad, not a NBA player

This is probably true, but I think he has some potential still. Never played for a stable organization with this type of culture and leaders. I wouldnt be suprised if he could develop into a scoring, agressive small ball PF. Dont see starter / star potential this late in his development, but as a scorer he could be a nice compliment Zach.

I really like Trent, and Simons seems to be talented but you guys need another PG and PF/C for sure

I am fine with going into the seasons with Simons as our only backup PG. But PF/C is a huge need, and we dont even need a 3rd stringer, but someone who can actually play minutes. There are plenty of cheap guys out there that could run 12-15mpg at backup Center; Kosta Koufos, Ekpe Udoh, Amir Johnson, Zaza, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Cheick Diallo, Faried, etc.

Notably Joakim would be a great option as Stotts likes to play high post passing bball at times. After him, I lean Faried because he still brings enegry and rebounding, albeit he isnt a good defender. Diallo is the youngest with the most potential, but I prefer a vet since we are heavy on youth.

Regardless, I think the rotation will be:

PG - Damian Lillard / Anfernee Simons
SG - CJ McCollum / Rodney Hood / Gary Trent Jr
SF - Kent Bazemore / Rodney Hood / Nassir Little
PF - Zach Collins / Mario Herzonja / Anthony Tolliver
C - Hassan Whiteside / Vet Fa / Skal Labassiere

I have more trust in Mario as a rotation guy than Skal. Just dont see that much potential in Labassiere. He is sorta a Channing Frye type but much worse at shooting.

Really with we signed Tacko Fall.

Did you watch Tacko last night? Hard to not see him making an impact in a Boban kind of way...I still think Alexander-Walker might end up being the best player in this draft.

As for the rotation...Coaches generally go with team senority, and Stotts hasn't really been an exception. It would surprise me a little bit if Hood doesn't get the start over Bazemore.

If they can get them, Jeremy Lin and Joakim Noah would round out the roster nicely in case of injuries, IMO.