Making Sense of a Senseless Summer

[monopoman]

I could see an argument to keep Ayton until the trade deadline in hopes that some contending team with injury gets desperate...but the reality of teams giving up any player of value at that time given his Salary is very small. I don't believe Cronin is interested in draft capital...

I can see that if I squinted hard through my rose colored glasses, but what contender is going to be able to fit the criteria of not being hard capped at either apron, and have deals that aren't big contributors that they would want to move for Ayton. And, looking at us then potentially having to waive players if it was like a 3-1 type deal.

Yep--exactly.

Also, I think it stands to reason that Cronin et al. are interested in showing that reaching for a player that likely would have been drafted 15 spots later (or more) was justified. It might not be a major reason for the buyout, but reaching and standing firm about how Yang is "ready to contribute" (Both Cronin and Billups said this in their presser)...and then having him in the Remix all year, would not be a good look.

Not only that, think of the marketing opportunities I think it will be sink or swim for Yang early in the season, they will likey start Clingan and then give Yang minutes off the bench.

Him looking good at SL makes this even more of a possibility, while he is nowhere near incredibly ready to play the notion that Yang needs 4+ years minimum to be an NBA player seems off to me. He was pretty damn effective in SL and showed a lot of the things he can do already. Yeah, SL is not the same as the NBA, but this team is not in 100% win-now mode and can give him a shot at least to start the season.

I would much rather see Yang get out there with at least 10-15 MPG than toss him in the G-League and forget about it.

[tblazrdude]

He was pretty damn effective in SL and showed a lot of the things he can do already.

my question is, what type of environment can you create that can minimize his negatives and showcase his positives?

[cucad8]

my question is, what type of environment can you create that can minimize his negatives and showcase his positives?

I apologize, I can't locate it in this thread, maybe I'm missing my original post's response, but unable to give context without.

[GEE]

I think it's true to say that from a pure business dollars and cents POV, the Blazers drafting Yang is an easy win because of the obvious fan draw from China. I'm sure the commisioner likes us more now too. But with that, also true would be a resulting increase in market value for this team, increasing the sales price of this team. Yang is a money maker for sure and I think his addition alone may afford us a new arena... not made in, but funded by China.

As a player I think Yang will be fine, but likely starting with zero mpg and may even start in the G-league. By mid season I bet he's getting that 10-15 minutes per, and remember we do have RWIII, who was reported by Billups to be fully healthy now, and Reath behind him . The kid is under no pressure to show greatness Day 1.

Starting linups and rotations by Billups is it's own hottest topic, and deserves a poll. Worth noting... not being locked into the same SL every night would be smart, depending on the particular matchup. 9-10 players nightly, with hockey style line changes. Players can even just raise their hand when they get tired. 100 miles an hour 100% of the time for everyone. Fierce and all up In yo' face. We have enough depth now to even give a guy a night off when needed, like in baseball, especially the vets on B2Bs. We're going to be really good, I guar-un-tee. A 1 - 3 - 1 lineup with (1) Guard, (3) Wings and (1) Postman mostly. Twin towers will alyays be an option(Moreso mid-season w/ Yang), RWIII as a small ball C in stretches, or even Scoot and Jrue on the floor together(Moreso when Dame returns). Tons of looks we can throw at other teams and can match most anyone, and our depth will be a big advantage, especially in a potential long playoff run.

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not havebeen quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

[Pattycakes]

I think it's true to say that from a pure business dollars and cents POV, the Blazers drafting Yang is an easy win because of the obvious fan draw from China. I'm sure the commisioner likes us more now too. But with that, also true would be a resulting increase in market value for this team, increasing the sales price of this team. Yang is a money maker for sure and I think his addition alone may afford us a new arena... not made in, but funded by China.

As a player I think Yang will be fine, but likely starting with zero mpg and may even start in the G-league. By mid season I bet he's getting that 10-15 minutes per, and remember we do have RWIII, who was reported by Billups to be fully healthy now, and Reath behind him . The kid is under no pressure to show greatness Day 1.

Starting linups and rotations by Billups is it's own hottest topic, and deserves a poll. Worth noting... not being locked into the same SL every night would be smart, depending on the particular matchup. 9-10 players nightly, with hockey style line changes. Players can even just raise their hand when they get tired. 100 miles an hour 100% of the time for everyone. Fierce and all up In yo' face. We have enough depth now to even give a guy a night off when needed, like in baseball, especially the vets on B2Bs. We're going to be really good, I guar-un-tee. A 1 - 3 - 1 lineup with (1) Guard, (3) Wings and (1) Postman mostly. Twin towers will alyays be an option(Moreso mid-season w/ Yang), RWIII as a small ball C in stretches, or even Scoot and Jrue on the floor together(Moreso when Dame returns). Tons of looks we can throw at other teams and can match most anyone, and our depth will be a big advantage, especially in a potential long playoff run.

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not havebeen quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

I like you. Not depressingly pessimistic like 99.7% of our online fanbase. I vibe with that prediction. 6 seed plus early Dame return feels tastefully enough to shut all of the haters up, which is kind of to be expected with Cronin/chauncey who just walk the walk, while fans talk the talk.

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

[PDXKnight]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

Yep. He has averaged 33.5 games per season. It could happen that he plays 60, that would be an amazing jump!

And we could have a progress of wins of 21, 36, 50, it could happen if everything his perfectly.

- A breakout by Sharpe
- A breakout by Camara
- A breakout by Scoot
- Continued improvement by Clingan
- Deni stays on his current trajectory
- RWIII and Jrue stay healthy
- Thybulle plays like the end of last season
- Grant bounces back

fan or fanatic (n.) A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

We gotta hope... right?

[m0ng0]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

What did Grant show last year that says he should start over Sharpe?

[PDXKnight]

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

Well if anyone wants to wager on the over/under 35 games for Timelord im certainly taking the under. The other stuff is in the realm of possibility in a best case scenario. The biggest one is it would be huge if Shaedon hit another level. That'd give us a lot to look forward to moving ahead. Id say he already deserves to start over Grant tbh, Grants percentages last year weren't 6th man worthy let alone starting caliber. OTOH if we are comparing shaedon vs toumani or Deni the story changes

Our "best" starting lineup omitting Injury concerns may well be Jrue-Toumani-Deni-Rob-Clingan or Jrue-Thybulle-Deni-Toumani-Clingan (switch out Dame on both when hes back). Really wish Rob wasnt injury riddled as he really solidifies the front court defensively along with giving us rhe ability to seamlessly switch to small ball

Yep. He has averaged 33.5 games per season. It could happen that he plays 60, that would be an amazing jump!

And we could have a progress of wins of 21, 36, 50, it could happen if everything his perfectly.

- A breakout by Sharpe
- A breakout by Camara
- A breakout by Scoot
- Continued improvement by Clingan
- Deni stays on his current trajectory
- RWIII and Jrue stay healthy
- Thybulle plays like the end of last season
- Grant bounces back

fan or fanatic (n.) A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

We gotta hope... right?

Yup, I like the optimism

[dckingsfan]

Jrue / Scoot
Sharpe / Grant
Camarra / Thybulle
Deni / Grant
Clingan / RWIII / Yang

Prediction that Portland gets the 6 seed and Dame announces his return for this years' playoffs a few weeks prior. I have a sneaky suspicion his injury may not have been quite as bad as either Tatum or Hali-B's. All injuries are unique to a degree. If we can just stay healthy and that 's just luck.

That would be awesome if RWIII could play meaningful minutes and if Yang can be ready to contribute in the first year.

It would be awesome if Sharpe breaks out and is worthy of a starting role over Grant.

It would be beyond wild if we could win 50 games and get the 6th seed ahead of OKC, Houston, Minny, GS, Dallas and SA not to mention beating out LAC, LAL & Memphis!

Count me in for this if it comes true - it would be awesome to say the least.

What did Grant show last year that says he should start over Sharpe?

Honestly neither showed they should be a starter. Both are in the replacement category at this time.

Given that Billups tends to favor defense, I think Grant will get the nod. That 3-forward defense did pretty well for Billups last year. And given that neither is going to be the focus of the offense, I think he will go with the one that shot the 3 better.

I still think it would be great if Sharpe decides to lock-in on D and either stops shoot the 3 at a pathetic .311 clip or just decides to be relentless and go to the hoop.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Early on, the summer was weird -- then shocking -- then okay but wow -- and then Dame's back ... in a year ... but Dame's back.

But it's never felt "senseless" to me.
1. Shaedon got benched -- according to various sources and players -- because of his D. Definitely not getting back on D. But why didn't Ant get benched?! A coach can only bench so many players. And Ant is the more proven shooter.

Ant is what he is. He's improved physically and some on D and some on passing and decisions AND definitely scoring from 3 levels and getting his own shot. He is what they think he is. He's a good baller on O. He needed a new home, and they have looked at trades for a couple years. How seriously and with a realistic price tag? I do not know.

2. But they improved -- in the short term -- with Jrue Holiday. And a 3rd contract for Ant would have felt (to me) kinda soul-crushing. That. IMHO, they improved with no immediate (or even longggg term) damage to team salary -- It is a win.

3. Drafting Yang after passing on every player who I liked -- except Demin went before -- forwards who were reasonably near number 11 AND WERE THERE! -- they CHOSE not to pick my guys. Killed. Me. But drafting Yang brought me back like the paddles of life. That bar at the Rose Garden cleared out soon after. Nothing to see there. Yang. Really? Yes. Really.

Buying out DA and taking the SINGLE year hit to the cap? Smart move. No junking up the roster with backups who are gone in a year or longer, bad contracts. No screwing around. Clingan and Yang. Maybe some Time Lord and some Reath. But that decision is made. Young bigs. I am calling that a win. Winning. It's hopefully going to be fun.

4. And Dame returned with an apology from Cronin for not building a better team and going for it before -- aka, here's the max we can give you and an option year on the 3rd and a no trade clause -- yes, we're sorry without saying the words.

I DON'T CARE that Dame and Jrue are 35. 36 when Dame returns and 37 when they both retire, I guess. It's a frickin' win and a year of "prove it" is in store for Shaedon and Scoot. Good! Lead, follow, or get out of the way -- and if they're followers, they're probably gone. I'm okay with it either way.

Does this help ME make sense of a senseless summer? Actually, most of it makes sense to me. 2 young centers, 2 frickin' good forwards, a good-not-excellent, veteran forward who is gone in 3 years max who can actually play the other forward minutes, and some interesting young players (guards and swings). Given where they were?

It makes a ton more sense to me than keeping DA even for a year OR Ant OR giving either one a new contract ... It wasn't everything I wanted but that was over during the draft lottery. A lot of us wanted actions not words this summer. Trades. Moves. I'm okay with it. It's like the word "sensical." I did not think it was a word and died on that hill until I looked it up. This summer to me, in hindsight, was sensical.

[BlazersBroncos]

We wanted DA and Sinons gone - they are gone.

We wanted big swing in the draft - Yang is just that.

We wanted to lean into defense - Holiday fits the bill.

The only out-of-left-field move was Dame but at the MLE you can’t really complain. He is a wildcard at this point, a reasonable gamble. It’s another swing that makes sense on a few different levels - basketball and financially.

I would argue that Cronin did literally everything 90% of this community was hoping for and yet he is still eviscerated by some here.

This offseason was fantastic. Easily the best in a decade plus.

[dckingsfan]

We wanted DA and Simons gone - they are gone.

We wanted big swing in the draft - Yang is just that.

We wanted to lean into defense - Holiday fits the bill.

The only out-of-left-field move was Dame but at the MLE you can’t really complain. He is a wildcard at this point, a reasonable gamble. It’s another swing that makes sense on a few different levels - basketball and financially.

I would argue that Cronin did literally everything 90% of this community was hoping for and yet he is still eviscerated by some here.

This offseason was fantastic. Easily the best in a decade plus.

Yep, there have been some good moves this off-season.

But this isn't a zero sum game it is n-game exercise. So, how did we do vs. what other teams did in the west? Did we bring on more new young players and jettison those development players that didn't work out? Did we gain cap flexibility for the future?

I think if you look at it, it is a mixed bag, no? It isn't all doom and gloom but we certainly didn't hit it out of the park. What we did do is make some progress - so looking at past off-seasons it does seem better than the last decade.

Now we are left "hoping" that some things work out - and indeed they could. Scoot, Yang, Clingan, Sharpe & Rupert could all take big jumps. Deni & Camara continue on their trajectories. That would position us in the longer term to get into the play-in (I would hope). But I don't see a strategy that gets us to the WCF. I don't think there is a clear cut strategy from my vantage point (I am sure I am wrong though). And I don't see the tactics that have been employed to support a well founded and executed strategy.

Seems the the FO has moved from truly terrible to reasonably decent.

My 1/2 cent.

[Wizenheimer]

We wanted DA and Sinons gone - they are gone.

We wanted big swing in the draft - Yang is just that.

We wanted to lean into defense - Holiday fits the bill.

The only out-of-left-field move was Dame but at the MLE you can’t really complain. He is a wildcard at this point, a reasonable gamble. It’s another swing that makes sense on a few different levels - basketball and financially.

I would argue that Cronin did literally everything 90% of this community was hoping for and yet he is still eviscerated by some here.

sure, a GM can get credit for digging his way out of holes...just as long as he wasn't the guy who dug the holes in the first place. Simons and Ayton, and their contracts, were holes that Cronin dug himself. It's great he finally recognized that those two were not winning players and had, at best, neutral value, but in reality were negative assets

personally, not having those two players in Blazer uniforms makes me want to watch the Blazers again. So sure. for me that's addition by subtraction, but I'm not forgetting that Cronin grossly overvalued those guys in the first place. He does get credit for correcting mistakes. That's something Olshey never did

Yang? ok, but after Scoot I'm not foolish enough to lean into all the hype again. I saw him do some good things in SL. I also saw a weak rebounder and a turnover machine. Clingan is miles ahead of Yang at this point while Yang is a project C. And Clingan and Yang are way too immobile to play together

Simons for Jrue? yeah, I liked that although the combined contracts of Grant/Jrue are a bit heavy. I'll say this though, if the season starts and both Scoot and Sharpe are on the bench there's been a major failure in drafting

This offseason was fantastic. Easily the best in a decade plus.

well, when the standard is an Olshey off-season it's pretty easy to beat the standard

I agree though that this off-season was really solid. I'm not totally sold on Yang, and we'll need to look at this draft in a couple of seasons, but owning the unprotected Orlando pick in 2028 and Yang's rookie scale is a pretty good outcome for the 1th pick in a so-so draft

[Norm2953]

It would be a better summer if we had just pulled off the trade for the Pelican's unprotected pick in 2026.

Team has to hope Yang develops into a star

[DC_Melo]

Early on, the summer was weird -- then shocking -- then okay but wow -- and then Dame's back ... in a year ... but Dame's back.

But it's never felt "senseless" to me.
1. Shaedon got benched -- according to various sources and players -- because of his D. Definitely not getting back on D. But why didn't Ant get benched?! A coach can only bench so many players. And Ant is the more proven shooter.

Ant is what he is. He's improved physically and some on D and some on passing and decisions AND definitely scoring from 3 levels and getting his own shot. He is what they think he is. He's a good baller on O. He needed a new home, and they have looked at trades for a couple years. How seriously and with a realistic price tag? I do not know.

But they improved -- in the short term -- with Jrue Holiday. And a 3rd contract for Ant would have felt (to me) kinda soul-crushing. That. IMHO, they improved with no immediate (or even longggg term) damage to team salary -- It is a win.

Drafting Yang after passing on every player who I liked -- except Demin went before -- forwards who were reasonably near number 11 AND WERE THERE! -- they CHOSE not to pick my guys. Killed. Me. But drafting Yang brought me back like the paddles of life. That bar at the Rose Garden cleared out soon after. Nothing to see there. Yang. Really? Yes. Really.

Buying out DA and taking the SINGLE year hit to the cap? Smart move. No junking up the roster with backups who are gone in a year or longer, bad contracts. No screwing around. Clingan and Yang. Maybe some Time Lord and some Reath. But that decision is made. Young bigs. I am calling that a win. Winning. It's hopefully going to be fun.

And Dame returned with an apology from Cronin for not building a better team and going for it before -- aka, here's the max we can give you and an option year on the 3rd and a no trade clause -- yes, we're sorry without saying the words.

I DON'T CARE that Dame and Jrue are 35. 36 when Dame returns and 37 when they both retire, I guess. It's a frickin' win and a year of "prove it" is in store for Shaedon and Scoot. Good! Lead, follow, or get out of the way -- and if they're followers, they're probably gone. I'm okay with it either way.

Does this help ME make sense of a senseless summer? Actually, most of it makes sense to me. 2 young centers, 2 frickin' good forwards, a good-not-excellent, veteran forward who is gone in 3 years max who can actually play the other forward minutes, and some interesting young players (guards and swings). Given where they were?

It makes a ton more sense to me than keeping DA even for a year OR Ant OR giving either one a new contract ... It wasn't everything I wanted but that was over during the draft lottery. A lot of us wanted actions not words this summer. Trades. Moves. I'm okay with it. It's like the word "sensical." I did not think it was a word and died on that hill until I looked it up. This summer to me, in hindsight, was sensical.

I created this thread and I support this message. I like the direction things are going.

[BlazersBroncos]

It would be a better summer if we had just pulled off the trade for the Pelican's unprotected pick in 2026.

Team has to hope Yang develops into a star

Why? We used a 16 pick on him. Even if he maxes out as a reliable backup with some unique tools, thats fine value for 16. Then you add in the 2028 ORL UNP pick and it looks even rosier.

Ya, wish we made that NO trade. But what we got to move down isnt anything to scoff at. We got great value to go from 11 to 16. In most drafts getting a future UNP FRP to move down 5 slots would be THE best value trade of the day.

But this year there is the idiot in NO that made such a poor move that it overshadowed getting a UNP FRP for moving 5 slots. Ya, I wish we took the NO deal - but the FO clearly thought Yang would be off the board by 23 and they keyed in on him as their big swing. I am fine with that.

Did we bring on more new young players and jettison those development players that didn't work out? Did we gain cap flexibility for the future?

Scoot and Sharpe are going into their 3rd and 4th years, were high picks and both came from unconventional pre-NBA backgrounds. I think jettisoning them this early was never on the teams radar, and I agree with that stance. As for cap flexibility, we got spurned by Hedo Turkoglu who chose freaking Toronto over Portland back in 2016. This team will NEVER be a player in Free Agency.

If the choice we Simons for Holiday or Simons + SRP for a EC like Nurkic (Mirroring the Sexton trade here) - then I say screw it and take big contract. Small guards that dont D are worth nothing in this league right now.

The fact we pulled Jrue for Simons, even with the contract, is pretty incredible IMO - when you consider a landscape where UTA paid to get off Sexton, where Clarkson was cut, where Cam Thomas as a 23ppg scorer is getting 15M AV offers from BRK.

[dckingsfan]

It would be a better summer if we had just pulled off the trade for the Pelican's unprotected pick in 2026.

Team has to hope Yang develops into a star

Why? We used a 16 pick on him. Even if he maxes out as a reliable backup with some unique tools, thats fine value for 16. Then you add in the 2028 ORL UNP pick and it looks even rosier.

Ya, wish we made that NO trade. But what we got to move down isnt anything to scoff at. We got great value to go from 11 to 16. In most drafts getting a future UNP FRP to move down 5 slots would be THE best value trade of the day.

But this year there is the idiot in NO that made such a poor move that it overshadowed getting a UNP FRP for moving 5 slots. Ya, I wish we took the NO deal - but the FO clearly thought Yang would be off the board by 23 and they keyed in on him as their big swing. I am fine with that.

Did we bring on more new young players and jettison those development players that didn't work out? Did we gain cap flexibility for the future?

Scoot and Sharpe are going into their 3rd and 4th years, were high picks and both came from unconventional pre-NBA backgrounds. I think jettisoning them this early was never on the teams radar, and I agree with that stance. As for cap flexibility, we got spurned by Hedo Turkoglu who chose freaking Toronto over Portland back in 2016. This team will NEVER be a player in Free Agency.

If the choice we Simons for Holiday or Simons + SRP for a EC like Nurkic (Mirroring the Sexton trade here) - then I say screw it and take big contract. Small guards that dont D are worth nothing in this league right now.

The fact we pulled Jrue for Simons, even with the contract, is pretty incredible IMO - when you consider a landscape where UTA paid to get off Sexton, where Clarkson was cut, where Cam Thomas as a 23ppg scorer is getting 15M AV offers from BRK.

Well again, it is an n-game theory. We missed out on the better deal. Not much else to say about that.

And I was talking about players like Cissoko, Wesley, Love and Murray. That and there were trades available for other youngsters. We didn't do terribly but we weren't all that either, no?

I am still excited to see what Yang becomes. Still hoping that Scoot, Clingan, Sharpe and Rupert have really good improvements to their respective games.

[DaVoiceMaster]

It wasn't a bad summer, but it wasn't a home run either. A home run would have been if Grsnt was moved for an expiring and/or young talent. Jrue is a decent player and he plays defense so that is exciting. The question that popped into my head was who will get the majority of minutes st PG... Jrue or Scoot. Now add Lillard to the mix in a year. Maybe Jrue gets moved IF Scoot shows something this year, and he needs to shoe a lot.

As Wiz pointed out... there are some things to like, but he is going to really struggle for a while. He blocks out versus going for the rebound, he turns the ball over a lot, and he is going to foul out of a lot of games. The Blazers will need to utilize a 3rd center, whether that is RW3 or Reath, or they play small ball with Deni.

Overall, the summer wasn't bad, but comparing it to the last 10-years doesn't mean much since the Blazers never did much.