what should the blazers do, go all-in or stay on course

[Dzon Dilindzer]

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woj and lowe were talking about blazers and lowe brought out that blazers are one team that should do what utah jazz did, adding third star and then they would become really, really good team... woj said blazers have the pieces (zach collins, anfernee simons, nassir little) to get that third star if some team wants to move all-star player

dame is not getting any younger, hell be 29yo in little more than two weeks and woj also said blazers are looking for that third star for some time, so that would be natural move (i said this, not woj)... anfernee simons is someone who could probably become blazers franchise player someday, zach collins and nassir little can become good players and then theres nurk whos only 24yo, so the future is bright

[PDX MM]

Don't have sound atm so I can't watch the video but at this point Kevin Love is not a star but is being paid like one. While I wouldn't be against trading for him it depends on what the Cavs want back. I am not giving up Collins for him. Who else could we realistically target? Myself I would rather see us do what it takes to resign Kanter and Hood but what do I know.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

id be willing to give zach collins or anfernee simons for kevin love, but not both (id be fine with adding nassir little too if thats what it takes to get the deal done)... kevin love has downgraded some, but hed still be great **** addition to this team

dame, cj, nurk & love, makes you wonder...

[Dzon Dilindzer]

i think the raptors and okc earlier have shown the way to other franchises

both pg 13 and kawhi wanted to go to la (kawhi perhaps still does) and pg 13 signed with okc and kawhi might resign too... raptors always knew adding kawhi is not a guarantee for chip or that he will stay, but they knew he gives them a shot

they knew they could lose kawhi in free agency and they still give up demar derozan... they had enough with lowry & derozan and they decided to go all-in... blazers should do the same i believe

going all-in is not a guarantee for winning the chip, but neither is staying on course... id be fine with blazers staying on course if dame was a couple years younger, but hes not... im not sure our young guns will develop enough in the next two or three years

but if they can take a leap like nurk did, thats whole other story... when nurk was traded to blazers, his numbers increased... that would require collins to start at pf and play with starters and simons getting minutes as backup pg/sg

[BlazersBroncos]

I only see Love as a realistic target and even then, he is clinging pretty precariously to that title of '3rd star'. I wouldn't trade more than EC and protected FRP's for him.

Aldridge is someone I would welcome back with open arms, but he doesn't seem to be available as Pops isn't willing to full rebuild. And any package for LMA would likely require Zach Collins, who Pops was enamored with back in 2017.

Blake Griffin is just not available despite what some like to think, and any deal for him will need to be Kawai Leonard like IMO. Detroit isn't loosing their franchise player, and the money that comes with him, for EC's and FRP's.

After those three, you have to get creative. I would entertain a S&T for Julius Randle but IDK what that would cost. Would NO do Mo Harkless + 2020 Lotto Protected FRP + 2 Future R2 Picks for Randle? And does that come close to what he will demand as Harkless makes 11-12M, and the cap wars this offseason could see Randle getting 18-20M offers IMO.

Someone that I have had my eyes on for years now is Danilo Gallinari, but the situation around him is so fluid with LACs offseason hinging on Leonard. If they do snag Kawai, and want more cap room, this is a deal that I have liked for some time:

PDX Trades - Mo Harkless + Meyers Leonard + Gary Trent Jr
PDX Receives - Danilo Gallinari

LAC Trades - Danilo Gallinari + 2020 Lotto Protected FRP LAC
LAC Receives - Gary Trent Jr + Future Top 55 Protected R2

SAC Trades - Future Top 55 Protected R2
SAC Receives - Mo Harkless + Meyers Leonard + 2020 Lotto Protected FRP LAC

SAC punts their cap space for a year, gets two rotation EC's and a protected FRP

LAC creates 20M+ in cap space to sign a second star and pair him with Leonard

PDX takes a chance on a low tier 3rd star who doesn't have a contract that overwhelms the team long term. Ideally we could resign him for 15M next offseason. His meh defense can be offset by Kent and Aminu, but his ballhandling, shot creation, 3PT stroke and general offensive acumen is something this team sorely lacks after Damian and CJ.

Bring Aminu back on 2/24M, sign Kanter w/ MLE, QO to Layman and sign Vet Min guys like Tim Frazier and Greg Monroe to round out the roster:

PG - Damian Lillard (32) / Anfernee Simons (16) / Tim Frazier
SG - CJ McCollum (32) / Kent Bazemore (16)
SF - Danilo Gallinari (18) / Kent Bazemore (12) / Jake Layman (18) / Nassir Little
PF - Zach Collins (14) / Al-Fariq Aminu (24) / Danilo Gallinari (10) / Skal Labissiere
C - (Jusuf Nurkic) / Enes Kante (24) / Greg Monroe (12) / Zach Collins (12)

[d-train]

All-in has been the course for at least a couple years already. All-in doesn't mean settling for the best BAD deal for the sake of making a deal. Olshey will make a good deal when there is one. There is no universal timetable when a team with a star says, now is the right time to trade our star player to the Blazers.

[Norm2953]

I tend to doubt there is no all in deal available for Portland but the goal should be to find away to get
a better #2 to Dame for CJ is at best a marginal #2

[Wizenheimer]

I'm not sure what exactly "all in" and "stay the course" mean....?

I think Portland's course has been limited by their tax situation and the resultant lack of flexibility. Their flexibility will increase by quite a bit next summer, depending on what happens this summer

as for all-in, the times to go all-in was when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were available. In that case, all-in means moving CJ from untouchable to trade asset. And it's unclear if it would have made any difference

Kevin Love is not an all-in piece in my view. He's not quite at that talent level anymore and he's an injury magnet with an awful contract.

Blake Griffin would be an all-in move, but the price would be high and still might not be enough. And similar to Love, he has an extensive injury history and a huge contract. Speaking of price, the Blazers would have to wait till the end of August when Bazemore's contract could be aggregated with others, unless of course Portland made CJ, and his salary available

I guess if Cleveland would trade Love for Bazemore + Meyers + a 1st, then ok, take the risk. The problem with that is Portland would very likely be paying repeater tax rates in 2021, about the time Dame's super-max kick in. Is Love worth that?

[Fitz303]

id be willing to give zach collins or anfernee simons for kevin love, but not both (id be fine with adding nassir little too if thats what it takes to get the deal done)... kevin love has downgraded some, but hed still be great **** addition to this team

dame, cj, nurk & love, makes you wonder...

That would only make me wonder why Olshey still has a job. The Blazers should absolutely not give up Collins or Simons for 31 year old Kevin Love, who has taken a serious step back in production, and who's best position is the same as Jusuf Nurkic.

I don't know why the audio isn't working on that video anymore, but I listened to it when it first came out. Basically what was said was that Portland now has the pieces to make an all in move, there are questions to Loves position PF or C, and a few other random comments. The only thing I heard that was really noteworthy was in passing where Lowe said something to the effect of Portland has already made some nice moves to go into next season with even if they are already done making moves, which by all accounts, they are not... Lowe seemed to indicate that Portland is still very much in the mode of making moves this early offseason. Maybe that just means retaining their FAs, but it seemed like he was speaking more towards Portland trying to make trades

[d-train]

CJ's best quality is even though he is nearly as good as Lillard, he's willing to be a supporting player. Most players as good as CJ would want an equal share of the offense. CJ is willing to put the team first and be the clean-up man while Lillard and Nurkic execute their 2-man game. It works very well for the Blazers to have our best shot creator in a 2nd wave attack.

[d-train]

Would Love go against Jokic or Green and win the battle for the basketball? Will Love defend the paint? When has Love ever done this for his team?

[Dzon Dilindzer]

internal development is a good thing, we could get so much if collins, simons and little breakout like nurk in couple of years, but theres one problem with it: damian lillards age!

i believe our young guys will develop and become better players and more valuable assets than they are right now, but it will take time, time that dame lillard doesnt have, hes not getting any younger, hes very soon to be 29 yo... im not sure staying on course, meaning keep developing internally will do the trick... if you can get kevin love now, with all his health issues, you should seriously consider it, hes an all-star player after all

it will take two or three years for zach collins to breakout, probably more for anfernee simons and nassir little and by that, dame lillard will be 31yo or 32yo... and its all based on belief, belief that our young guys will breakout

dame lillard, cj mccollum, nurk & kevin love core is formidable, a sure thing unlike certain belief

[zzaj]

Love averages about 60 games per season, as does Griffin.
Galinari averages about 50 games per season.

Blazers would be really lucky to get 75 games out of one of them. Griffin played that many last year, but it had been 6 years since he got anywhere close to that.

I'm more bullish than most on the injury thing, but I don't believe trading for an injury-prone player who is one injury away from bringing you back to the starting point is an "all in" move. We all felt what that was like with Nurkic this past playoffs.

All that being said, if the price is right? Sure. I just don't see that ever being the case. Each one of those players has differing skills that would help the team and would be a clear upgrade to the roster.

[BlazersBroncos]

Love averages about 60 games per season, as does Griffin.
Galinari averages about 50 games per season.

This is exactly why they are seen as available. Add Hayward to that as well.

We don't have the assets to get a 3rd star w/o dealing Damian, CJ or Nurkic unless that guy is 'buyer beware'.

I understand the hesitation to take on Love and his contract with that injury history, but finding a way to get Gallo, an EC coming off a tremendous year where he was about as healthy as one could hope, would be a coup IMO.

Adding a guy that can get us 6FT per game and 2.5 3PTs would transform this team. That's what Gallo got last season. He posted a 21PER and 8+ W/S. Those are numbers that eclipse CJ.

There is a good chance it was an outlier season for him, but also a good chance Gallo is just that good when finally healthy.

Moving Harkless, Leonard and a FRP for Gallinari would be a tremendous addition for this team. Its why I hope that Leonard goes to LAC, making it necessary to shop Gallo for cap space and that 2nd FA. He is the best Portland could hope for when taking into account adding talent without crippling their salary cap moving forward.

[B0naf1d3]

Gallinari, Hayward, Porter jr....yes, if you can get them. Worth the short term risk. Otherwise, stay the course, and revisit the options at the deadline next year. Unless the Blazers are being gifted Love/Griffin for cheap (CLE/DET wanting expirings, and a protected first rounder or 2) I stay away. I'd think differently if they were both 27 on their previous contracts.

This upcoming year is huge for Leonard, Harkless, Collins, & Simons. Wouldn't be surprised to see them each take significant steps forward. Bazemore should come in and average 12+ ppg. Who knows who becomes available next year (Aaron Gordon, Josh Richardson, Robert Covington, Brad Beal, etc). But that's an interesting group of players who could boost their value tremendously with opportunity, as well as being expirings or on rookie deals.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Gallinari, injuries.
Griffin, cost and injuries. And Detroit pairs him for a strong front court.

Love is that former all star whose 3's, passing, rebounds and outlets, and pedigree makes contention for the Blazers more likely. His age is not on the Cavs' timeline of youth but is not of the same significance for Portland.

Admittedly, I'm a fan of his and always have been. You want more fast break opportunities? Love can make that happen with full court passes on the money. He has his limitations physically, but a trade of Leonard, Harkless, and Labissiere, and a protected pick is an easy decision for me. Love is the better player, so paying up is expected.

The Cavs have MANY contracts that can come off the books in the summer of 2020. I would be surprised if they don't trade Love this year to build around that youth. They are better served by a higher pick next summer.

[mighty_duck]

Dare I say it? At this stage in his career, Isn't Love just a high usage Meyers Leonard (albeit with worse shooting percentage, and better defensive rebounding)?
And it's only going downhill from here. With 4 years at ~$30 million each left, his contract has negative value.

[zzaj]

Love averages about 60 games per season, as does Griffin.
Galinari averages about 50 games per season.

This is exactly why they are seen as available. Add Hayward to that as well.

We don't have the assets to get a 3rd star w/o dealing Damian, CJ or Nurkic unless that guy is 'buyer beware'.

I understand the hesitation to take on Love and his contract with that injury history, but finding a way to get Gallo, an EC coming off a tremendous year where he was about as healthy as one could hope, would be a coup IMO.

Adding a guy that can get us 6FT per game and 2.5 3PTs would transform this team. That's what Gallo got last season. He posted a 21PER and 8+ W/S. Those are numbers that eclipse CJ.

There is a good chance it was an outlier season for him, but also a good chance Gallo is just that good when finally healthy.

Moving Harkless, Leonard and a FRP for Gallinari would be a tremendous addition for this team. Its why I hope that Leonard goes to LAC, making it necessary to shop Gallo for cap space and that 2nd FA. He is the best Portland could hope for when taking into account adding talent without crippling their salary cap moving forward.

No doubt, Gallo would certainly help the Blazers. He stretches the floor and plays a very smart brand of basketball. I didn't realize he was an expiring. If the Blazers can get him using some combo of anything that isn't Lillard/CJ/Nurkic/Collins, I'd say go for it.

I don't see the Clippers biting with what the Blazers would have to offer. They obviously don't need more expiring extra cap space. They don't need more young players. They need good veterans that will get them over the hump. In other words, exactly the type of player that Gallo already is. If they are able to get a couple of big names to sign there this offseason that can help them translate wins, then he would probably be more inclined to re-sign as an UFA after the upcoming season.

[Capn'O]

Gallo would probably be the most helpful piece but buyer beware when Jerry West is involved. In fact, maybe just call him to get a sense of which of the young pieces Portland shouldn't trade.

[d-train]

Gallo would probably be the most helpful piece but buyer beware when Jerry West is involved. In fact, maybe just call him to get a sense of which of the young pieces Portland shouldn't trade.

Blazers don't need another scorer. We are better off with defense and shooting. What we need is rebounding until Nurkic is back. Gallo doesn't help us with what we need. Blazers might have traded Turner for Gallo, but I think we already did better.