Time to fire Olshey and Stotts?

[JasonStern]

At the end of the day, Olshey and Stotts are probably top 10-15 at their jobs. In a league where over half of the teams make the playoffs, that's encouraging with respect to winning more than losing and making the playoffs. If you're an owner, that helps with keeping the team profitable. And let's face it, Stotts' top 5 offense + bottom 5 defense is more fun to watch than McMillan's bottom 5 offense + top 5 defense.

Because of all of this, Olshey and Stotts likely have job security until Dame starts to slow down to age, and the side effects of tying 2/3 of the salary cap to an aging Dame and CJ (such as letting young talent like Trent walk) catch up to the team on the court. Best advice is just to enjoy the treadmill while it lasts. While it's not a contending team, the roster is very likeable and the team never feels completely out of games, even when down double digits late.

[Blazinaway]

At the end of the day, Olshey and Stotts are probably top 10-15 at their jobs. In a league where over half of the teams make the playoffs, that's encouraging with respect to winning more than losing and making the playoffs. If you're an owner, that helps with keeping the team profitable. And let's face it, Stotts' top 5 offense + bottom 5 defense is more fun to watch than McMillan's bottom 5 offense + top 5 defense.

Because of all of this, Olshey and Stotts likely have job security until Dame starts to slow down to age, and the side effects of tying 2/3 of the salary cap to an aging Dame and CJ (such as letting young talent like Trent walk) catch up to the team on the court. Best advice is just to enjoy the treadmill while it lasts. While it's not a contending team, the roster is very likeable and the team never feels completely out of games, even when down double digits late.

I an no longer able to "enjoy the treadmill while it lasts", IMO it should end very soon with major GM/Coach/roster changes. I understand your point of view and I hope you understand mine - I'd rather watch a rebuilding team than what I am and have seen for the past few years and more. For me last yr and this yr especially the roster has become less likeable mostly from a how it plays basketball perspective - too much ball hogging/one on one stuff and a coach who seems unwilling to change that, too much poor effort on defense and a defensive strategy that seems lost, a GM that is unwilling to break up a backcourt that has shown it "isn't good enough" to overcome its flaws and especially for the huge chunk of salary cap that backcourt gets paid. Just my personal opinions and I get that I can just stop watching which I have as I have watched less Blazer basketball than I ever have in the last 15 years. I am not angry, just bored with this team and hoping for some changes.

[Norm2953]

The older fans like myself remember the old mantra of 21 straight years of making the playoffs
which led to the Jailblazers era and a couple of years of hope before Roy/Oden injuries led to
that period before Dame arrived.

We're going to see another rebuilding period in and around 2025. If we're satisfied to be enjoying the
treadmill with no chance at a contending, I'm in the camp with Blazinaway. Better off being the
Raptors and begin the re-shape their roster by breaking up their 30 year old guards that won a
championship while they still had value and build around Siakum, OG and now GTJ along with a
lottery pick in a solid 2021 draft for it sucks to be the Blazers after the Jailblazers era ended for
adding piece by piece in a rebuild takes a lot of time.

[GEE]

At the end of the day, Olshey and Stotts are probably top 10-15 at their jobs. In a league where over half of the teams make the playoffs, that's encouraging with respect to winning more than losing and making the playoffs. If you're an owner, that helps with keeping the team profitable. And let's face it, Stotts' top 5 offense + bottom 5 defense is more fun to watch than McMillan's bottom 5 offense + top 5 defense.

Because of all of this, Olshey and Stotts likely have job security until Dame starts to slow down to age, and the side effects of tying 2/3 of the salary cap to an aging Dame and CJ (such as letting young talent like Trent walk) catch up to the team on the court. Best advice is just to enjoy the treadmill while it lasts. While it's not a contending team, the roster is very likeable and the team never feels completely out of games, even when down double digits late.

I like your POV. I do wonder how much control Olshey and Stotts really have to make the necessary decisions to win a championship. They do have bosses, and the Blazers are a business, run by people in Seattle, and it's unknowable if winning really is the ultimate goal, or if the ownership is comfortable with the "Treadmill". Unknowable just how much risk they would be willing to take, at the expense of potentially risking the overall value (in dollars) of this franchise. Paul Allen was at least a huge fan of his' Blazers, and was sometimes willing to lose big money trying to win it all. I don't know that we still have that.

There is also the potential of Dame's influence or control in decision making. He is THE major cash-cow for this franchise, obviously, and I think Dame knows just how much money he makes for the ownership. This gives him enormous power, and much like LBJ, can lead to a player having direct say to ownership. Not good. Knowing the history of this franchise back to the days of BROY, I feel like I've seen this movie before.

Blazers ultimately have been competitive, fun and frustrating to watch and follow, and profitable (as far as I know), and to their credit have provided Portland with a family-friendly product that they have nurtured since the jailblazers left.

[JasonStern]

Better off being the
Raptors and begin the re-shape their roster by breaking up their 30 year old guards that won a
championship while they still had value and build around Siakum, OG and now GTJ along with a
lottery pick in a solid 2021 draft for it sucks to be the Blazers after the Jailblazers era ended for
adding piece by piece in a rebuild takes a lot of time.

Interestingly enough, the Raptors were a similar treadmill team with DeRozan+Lowry that everyone said needed to be blown up until they made the Kawhi trade. And, as fate would have it, the 2017-18 MVP demanded a trade this season, with the Blazers being one of the few destinations he'd accept.

[Norm2953]

Raptors however are a destination city in free agency, unlike Portland which gives them one more
avenue to build their team.

It will be fascinating to see how Portland approaches the 2021 off season. While I think they should be
fired, I've never thought they were stupid and they can see the rebuild on the horizon as Dame/CJ enter
their mid 30's. If they are content to ride this out to the end, the rebuild will be longer with the need
to be paying out luxury taxes for the next three seasons. If they do what the Raptors did and did a
reverse Powell trade and moved CJ for young player, they will take a step back to hopefully be in
position to get better. We can all see Portland like they had with Roy/Oden, the injuries which just
set this team back for much was expected of Zach Collins who the team hoped to pair with their
Bosnian Beast, giving the team real talent up front with Dame/CJ. Too many injuries to both Nurkic
and Collins makes it unlikely Portland's management can count on them in long term planning and
one has to wonder if management will let them walk to try to avoid paying luxury taxes.

[PDXKnight]

Raptors however are a destination city in free agency, unlike Portland which gives them one more
avenue to build their team.

It will be fascinating to see how Portland approaches the 2021 off season. While I think they should be
fired, I've never thought they were stupid and they can see the rebuild on the horizon as Dame/CJ enter
their mid 30's. If they are content to ride this out to the end, the rebuild will be longer with the need
to be paying out luxury taxes for the next three seasons. If they do what the Raptors did and did a
reverse Powell trade and moved CJ for young player, they will take a step back to hopefully be in
position to get better. We can all see Portland like they had with Roy/Oden, the injuries which just
set this team back for much was expected of Zach Collins who the team hoped to pair with their
Bosnian Beast, giving the team real talent up front with Dame/CJ. Too many injuries to both Nurkic
and Collins makes it unlikely Portland's management can count on them in long term planning and
one has to wonder if management will let them walk to try to avoid paying luxury taxes.

the gary trade looks insanely bad now. But i think at least he won’t be helping us win games when we are in rebuild mode for i’d much rather have a top 4 pick athletically than a number 10 pick and gary

[Norm2953]

I don't think the GTJ trade will go down as insanely bad for his market this summer might really blow up
if he puts up numbers. I think he's going to be another Wesley Matthews, will play solid defense with
more range on his shot. Whether he becomes the locker room leader is another matter.

Portland does seem content to play around on the edges with Dame/CJ as their core. They should be okay
for now but as they get older, the injuries will be begin to mount and will linger and certainly will allow CJ
to walk in three years, prompting Dame to think about an opt out which oddly enough will be doing Portland
a favor. The blueprint for Portland to challenge for a title drafted after the 2017 draft just disappeared
after two years on injuries to Zach and Nurk.

[DaVoiceMaster]

i've got another year left before the rebuild, but the Blazers cannot stand pat. They have to add another caliber player. I really hope Nassir Little can develop into a nice 3&D player at SF. Heck, I even like the idea of him at the backup SG position if he can stay with the smaller players.

[GEE]

i've got another year left before the rebuild, but the Blazers cannot stand pat. They have to add another caliber player. I really hope Nassir Little can develop into a nice 3&D player at SF. Heck, I even like the idea of him at the backup SG position if he can stay with the smaller players.

While always having the history of the GSW trading Monte Ellis in the back of my mind, trading GTJ was a big trade for Portland in telling alot about the direction this franchise has chosen. I think they have decided they are perfectly happy standing pat. The move to make wasn't to add another small SG rental, while trading away GTJ, who lit up for 44 a few nights back, and had a game winner the other night. Hood also, though not great this year, was getting better physically with each game. When you add Little's development, and even Giles' proven ability when given the opportunity... we were in prime position to make the trade, that (IF) you were really wanting to go for it all, obviously was to move CJ with maybe Hood, and get that needle moving player. GTJ and Little were ready to step up.

And remember what Denver did this year in trade... a little salt for my wounds.

[Norm2953]

Jamal Murray's torn ACL does give Portland some hope in a series with Denver but we can argue over the
likelihood of a rebuild at some point as Dame/CJ begin to slip. I think Dame will be an elite player for
another 2-3 years.

There is some interesting speculation about Powell getting offers of perhaps $100 Million/4 from a team like
the Knicks which almost certainly Portland will not attempt to match. We might be able to get a TPE out of
it which we likely can't use. If they let him walk, they still have Nurk, Zach, Roco looking for new deals along
the likelihood of DJJ opting out of his deal. If all these guys end up walking (some by choice if Nurk gets hurt
again) given they all will be UFA, we will be looking at a complete roster overhaul by year 3 of CJ's deal.

Let's wait and see if they indeed are going to just going to ride it out with Dame/CJ. This is not a young team
anymore with the trade of GTJ for the remaining youth are hardly the guys the franchise can build around for
its possible even Zach will get some contract offers that Portland would be reluctant to match, even after
playing in just 11 games in two seasons.

[JasonStern]

As long as the team is profitable and winning, a major shake-up isn't going to happen.

Everyone complained that the Blazers never cashed in on their young assets to get win-now pieces. And now Olshey turns 2 first round picks into Covington and GTJ into Powell and everyone is still complaining because our pieces are all win-now and not young long-term assets.

There is some interesting speculation about Powell getting offers of perhaps $100 Million/4 from a team like
the Knicks which almost certainly Portland will not attempt to match. We might be able to get a TPE out of
it which we likely can't use. If they let him walk, they still have Nurk, Zach, Roco looking for new deals along
the likelihood of DJJ opting out of his deal. If all these guys end up walking (some by choice if Nurk gets hurt
again) given they all will be UFA, we will be looking at a complete roster overhaul by year 3 of CJ's deal.

Covington is under contract next year. That's a big reason why Gordon (under contract next season) would have been a great get. That would have ensured a Dame/CJ/Gordon/Covington/Nurkić lineup had an adequate amount time to gel before making major financial decisions about trying to win with that core.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I'm not sure DJJ will opt out. Is anyone else going to pay him $10M next year?

[BlazersBroncos]

I'm not sure DJJ will opt out. Is anyone else going to pay him $10M next year?

With how much cap space is out there I would bet he can get 10-12M but more importantly for him, a longer and/or more player friendly deal.

This offseason there is cap surplus, which is a rare occurrence.

[Norm2953]

I think he would opt out with a cap surplus and no clear role as a starting forward on this team.

This will be an interesting off season if he and Powell walk and Zach entering RFA. Portland has
some decisions to make for Roco and Nurk will be in the final year of their contracts. Likely
Portland will be able to get a TPE for Powell

[PDXKnight]

I think he would opt out with a cap surplus and no clear role as a starting forward on this team.

This will be an interesting off season if he and Powell walk and Zach entering RFA. Portland has
some decisions to make for Roco and Nurk will be in the final year of their contracts. Likely
Portland will be able to get a TPE for Powell

i’m gonna break the mold here and say djj stays. Yes there’s a lot of money out there but a lot of teams don’t necessarily wanna spend that money on guys like him. Anything is possible but if he falls down in the rotation i cannot see his value being super high making it wise for him to stay

[d-train]

I haven't studied this so called big money supply this free agency. For now, I'll just accept that there will be teams with cap room, and maybe more teams with more room than normal. Even so, the comparisons to 2016 are ridiculous. The cash availability in 2016 was driven to an absurd level by a massive hike in the salary cap. That's not projected to happen this summer.

[d-train]

I expect DJJ will opt out and Blazers will try to resign him. There is no doubt Powell will opt out. I still believe Collins will be extended a QO that he will accept, but this is a developing situation.

I also still believe Blazers will have a huge budget well into tax territory. However, this is also a developing situation. So far, I would say Blazers are committed to this team 2 more years, but this could change suddenly.