How many rings do the Blazers get with this one change?

[Cassius]

A labotomy for Rick Adelman.

I’m not trying to pour salt in wounds. I’m a Raptors fan but before we got a team, I rode with the Knicks, so anything Phil Jackson-related gets no love. Our rookie guard, Jakobe Walter, gives me serious Terry Porter vibes though I don’t see him racking up assists given the makeup of the roster.

Which brings me to Adelman and the teams with Drazen buried on the bench. 7 deep with no true backup PG playing against prime Magic/Worthy/MJ/Pip. Does anyone think Drazen could have flipped the 91 WCF or the 92 Finals? I won’t get into the 2000 WCF. I’m still mad about that one, too.


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[Cassius]

And the 2002 WCF.


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[Village Idiot]

A better "what if?" at that inflection point in history would be bringing over Sabonis in 1989 when the Soviets allowed in to move to Spain to play. Recall that he was drafted by the Blazers in 1986 and was rehabbing an achilles injury and practicing with the team in 1988. Add Sabonis to that team and the Bulls dominance would not have been nearly as certain.

[Cassius]

I thought he was drafted by the Hawks?


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[m0ng0]

Hard to say, did coaching bring Drazen out of his shell?? We may not have had somebody in place to get the best out of him?? Might be the same with Scoot? I dunno but hindsight is 20-20. Maybe the circumstances were not right. I do agree with Sabonis however

[Cassius]

Oh wow, so the Hawks and Blazers picked Sabas in consecutive years? Stern had his faults but closing that loop is crucial.

I don't think it was coaching with Drazen. I don't even think he needed 30 minutes a night. I'd just rather have another body to throw at MJ and Pip, especially one who shot 45/40/80 in cleanup minutes as a rookie.

[Norm2953]

Biggest what if is how many rings would Portland had won if they had kept Moses Malone.

Prior to the championship season, Portland had Walton, Lucas and Moses Malone in training
camp, prior to the season. Ownership was concerned Moses would not get enough PT and in
any event was fearful of payroll costs. They traded away the future chairman of the boards for
a draft pick that eventually was Mychal Thompson.

Portland's championship need not have ended in 1978 as we saw in 1983 when Malone led the
Sixers to a title.

[JasonStern]

Or Dr. J over LaRue Martin.
Or Jordan over Bowie.
Or not trading Jermaine O'Neal for an aging Dale Davis.
Or Durant over Oden/trading for Tim Duncan.
Or CP3 over Webster.
Etc., etc.
Cursed franchise. At least we nailed the Ha Seung-Jin pick. And Pryzbilla was cool.

[Wizenheimer]

Terry Porter
Michael Jordan
Clyde Drexler
Jerome Kersey
Younger Sabonis

with Ainge, Cliff Robinson, and Danny Young coming off the bench. Hard to top that scenario

by the way, the 76ers offered Charles Barkley for Kersey and Robinson. So the starters could have been:

Terry Porter
Michael Jordan
Clyde Drexler
Charles Barkley
Younger Sabonis

or the Blazers could have won the coin toss with Houston in 1984 and then drafted Hakeem

Porter
Drexler
Barkley
Hakeem

does the 5th starter matter?

by the way, part 2, the Blazers drafted Antony Mason in 1988 but just waived him, so that lineup could have been

Porter
Drexler
Barkley
Mason
Hakeem

by the way, part 3, the Blazers could have drafted Vlade Divac in 1989 instead of Byron Irvin so he could have backed up either Sabonis or Hakeem