Showdown wrote:I think that Whiteside wont get traded and that both Olshley and casual Portland's fans would rather trade Nurkic than him. Just look comments on that article about comparasion between Nurkic and Whiteside on BlazersEdge and you will see hive mind about Whiteside how aggresive they are and how they are disrespecting Nurkic and all those comments are green which means that majority of the people agree with them . For example comparasion shows that Nurkic is better almost every impact stats and then comment from guy "two roy's" how" it looks pretty thin because Nurkic is just a better passer and has better on off stats and he had Meyers as backup so it isn't big thing and that Whiteside will be better" and that comment is green which means that lot of people recomended it . That's a lie because RPM and BPM among others aren't just on off stats and if someone is better at every impact stat that means he impact game much more than the other guy. If you look lower on the comments same guy says that Nurkic will have just 3 more healthy years in his career. Other guy "KennyMoore" says that Whiteside is more talented player and Nurkic was more productive but that was only because he played in Stotts system and that Whiteside will be much better . This comment is also green and this guy also has negative comments about Nurkic's future after injury , how "it was great trauma for his lower body and he'll never be the same player" . (i see a patern here) We had similar comments on this board where people saying " unpopular opinion" about keeping Whiteside and trading Nurkic too. People complain about Simmons hype but thing with Whiteside is much bigger, it's closer to hysteria .
Olshey wanted to sign him in 2016 and he likes his players so he will try to keep him no matter how much it cost. My prediction is that Whiteside will be untouchable in trade talks just like CJ,Collins and Simmons and then Olshey will use fact that there is no many good FA's on the market to give him contract bigger than Nurkic's, 15-18 milions per year and then will try to convince Nurkic to be backup because he has backup center contract. If Nurkic accept he will have two headed monster for long time and if he refuse he will trade him in the offseason or at the deadline. If Whiteside perform bad so this kind of deal isn't possible, he will try to get Cousins,M.Gasol or Howard to give them new contract to be Blazers starting center in years to come.
You wouldn't happen to be Whiteside's agent, would you?
Now that Magic Johnson no longer works for the Lakers, there isn't a single front office in the league that would make player personnel decisions based on comments on some fanboi forum web site. Seriously, you think Neil Olshey is going to dump Nurk and re-sign Whiteside based on the medical expertise of "KennyMoore" on BlazersEdge and because "two roy's" thinks Nurk's much better impact stats are overrated?
Nurk is a MUCH better player, younger and cheaper. Whiteside is a great stopgap replacement until Nurk comes back, but he's a rental, possibly even moved at the trade deadline if Nurk is back and looking decent.
Also, the idea that Neil will keep Whiteside because he likes "his guys" is out of date and just plain false. All of the guys he did sign in 2016 are gone: Crabbe, drafted and re-signed by Olshey = GONE; Turner, signed by Olshey = GONE; Meyers, drafted and re-signed by Olshey = GONE; Harkless, resigned by Olshey = GONE. Add in several other players Olshey drafted and/or signed (Connaughton, Layman, Will Barton, Swanigan, Aminu, Ed Davis, etc.) and has either traded or let walk and this narrative is blatantly false. Of the 14 players Olshey has drafted (including draft day trades) since coming to Portland, only 6 are on the current roster. Those 6 are Dame, C.J., Collins, Simons, Trent Jr. and Little. Of those, only Dame and C.J. are over the age of 21 and have been with the team longer than two seasons. The other 8, plus Aminu (who he also drafted for the Clippers) are all gone.
The Nurk trade is widely considered one of Olshey's best moves, and rightly so. One of his other best moves was re-signing Nurk to a very team friendly contract. He is much more invested in Jusuf Nurkic than he is in Hassan Whiteside.
I think it's great that Neil was able to get Whiteside. He's the perfect fill in until Nurk is back and playing well, but after that he's a huge expiring contract. Whiteside has lacked focus and motivation for most of his career. He seems to only maintain focus and motivation in a contract year. So, this is the perfect time to get him. Get his best performance until Nurk is back and then let someone else make the mistake of overpaying him next summer.