Olshey

[Village Idiot]

I will be really disappointed if Olshey isn't the first guy to leave. Hes made some solid moves but his decision to ride with the CJ/Dame pair and then doubling down on the small ball by acquiring a free+agent to be in Norm Powell to play SF was just inexplicable when we could have acquired Aaron Gordon who would have fit this team to a T.

[JasonStern]

Did losing in the first round against the Grizzlies cost Olshey/Stotts their job? No.
Did losing in the first round against the Warriors cost Olshey/Stotts their job? No.
Did losing in the first round against the Pelicans cost Olshey/Stotts their job? No.
Did losing in the first round against the Lakers cost Olshey/Stotts their job? No.
What makes losing in the first round against the Nuggets any different?
Blazers will treadmill until either Dame's play drops off or he gets sick of this.

[Epicurus]

Seems like only two of those first round losses were when the Blazers were the higher seed, and one of them was before the change in seeding which by the new method, the Blazers would have been the lower seed. Don't higher seeds normally win in the first round? I think the 3 v 6 matchup is something like 28-8. Shame on the Blazers for not having more 1st round upsets. Why would jobs be on the line for not pulling off upsets? Upsets are called upsets for a reason, aren't they?

[Epicurus]

The Blazers had the second lowest prediction to get into the Western playoffs this season. Only Memphis had a lower one. Yet once again they got into the playoffs and failed for the 4th time to beat a higher seed (once they lost to a lower seed, or more win team). I don't get the angst, but I seldom expect upsets, especially when 82 games or even 72 establish the seeds. No, this first round not winning blarney is just to put nails in coffins by those who from day one rejected the coach or just get bored and believe that change always means improvement

[Epicurus]

Finally pretending that this squad even with comparative good health was a contender under the right coach is pure nonsense. It may be as good of a squad as can be constructed given financial restrictions (some caused by the gm' charity going into 2016); but it is and was from day one a midlevel team talentwise which could squeeze into the playoffs but far from a contender.

[Case2012]

I would rather eat a ghost chili than see NeO’s face ever again. He’s the type of guy that would screw your wife and try to convince you it was your fault.

[Waynearchetype]

When Olshey was hired he admitted to knowing very little of analytics -
https://www.blazersedge.com/2013/3/5/4067980/arnovitz-blazers-gm-neil-olshey-talks-analytics

Then pressed a bit more on the issue he gives really clarifying answers, the Blazers didn't use a lot of the analytics that the rest of the league used at the time. He thinks eyeballs tests are more important but balances them, however he continually emphasis gut feelings and such. Not a good look.

https://www.blazersedge.com/2013/3/6/4074030/transcript-blazers-gm-neil-olshey-interviewed-on-1080-am-the-fan

Given his pursuit of players whose analytics were sliding (Afflalo, Covington) its kind of obvious he makes decisions without putting a ton of analysis in. Both of those players were old enough to consider their play was on the down turn, and both had clear trends in their stats to follow that, yet he paid a premium for both.

Acquiring Norman Powell, another smaller player on a team that already has defensive struggles, proved yet again that he just doesn't know what it takes to construct a good playoff team. Maybe thats the goal though, put butts in seats for regular season, be just good enough to keep fans interested. I'd like to think that he was trying though, which makes it painfully obvious he just doesn't have it as a GM.

[Epicurus]

Yes, Olshey seems to have a preference for the undersized, be that guards or forwards, both in FA and draft.

[Norm2953]

NO made the decision to keep Dame/CJ together which was the opposite of what the GSW did when they
traded Monta Ellis after drafting Klay Thompson. He's going to lose his job for that decision for it did not
take a genius to see paying CJ after paying Dame would lead to no cap flexibility when their extensions
begin.

[d-train]

NO made the decision to keep Dame/CJ together which was the opposite of what the GSW did when they
traded Monta Ellis after drafting Klay Thompson. He's going to lose his job for that decision for it did not
take a genius to see paying CJ after paying Dame would lead to no cap flexibility when their extensions
begin.

Keeping Lillard and CJ is just like Warriors keeping Curry and Thompson. Both teams kept their best 2 players. Warriors were fortunate there best 2 players plus Green stayed healthy, Blazers were handicapped by over 2 years of broken bones and other injuries.

Warriors had more luck when the cap ballooned the same time KD was free agent. Since then, I wouldn't call Warriors financial management a model for success. Maybe it's a model for how wealthier teams can waste money.

[wjun15]

Olshey is horrible. Falls in love with EVERY player he drafts.

[d-train]

Olshey is horrible. Falls in love with EVERY player he drafts.

He traded most of the players he drafted. He traded, waived, or just let all his players go most of the time. It's not a decision based on love.

[Norm2953]

NO made the decision to keep Dame/CJ together which was the opposite of what the GSW did when they
traded Monta Ellis after drafting Klay Thompson. He's going to lose his job for that decision for it did not
take a genius to see paying CJ after paying Dame would lead to no cap flexibility when their extensions
begin.

Keeping Lillard and CJ is just like Warriors keeping Curry and Thompson. Both teams kept their best 2 players. Warriors were fortunate there best 2 players plus Green stayed healthy, Blazers were handicapped by over 2 years of broken bones and other injuries.

Warriors had more luck when the cap ballooned the same time KD was free agent. Since then, I wouldn't call Warriors financial management a model for success. Maybe it's a model for how wealthier teams can waste money.

Actually, the GSW made the decision to trade Monta Ellis after they saw what they had in Klay. Ellis was a 25 PPG scorer
but a poor fit alongside of Steph. Portland instead seems to have made the opposite decision for Ellis while a better
player than Klay in 2011 his size and skill set was a perfect match with Steph just like a healthy Wesley Matthews was
a perfect match with the young Lillard.

[Epicurus]

I agree that Lillard would work better with a Matthews like 3 D guard, a true power forward like ALdridge, ball mover like Batum. Unfortunately, he got redundancy at SG, undersized PFs, and a variety of SF all who did one thing Batum offered by himself. Drafts just brought more undersized potentials and even this last season acquisitions were undersized (excepting Giles, but what does he do that productively>). Good enough to try hard and get into the playoffs; but foolhardy to believe anything beyond three trips beyond the first round. Certainly not a bad team as some hyperbolic commentators pretend; but not really first tier.

[d-train]

NO made the decision to keep Dame/CJ together which was the opposite of what the GSW did when they
traded Monta Ellis after drafting Klay Thompson. He's going to lose his job for that decision for it did not
take a genius to see paying CJ after paying Dame would lead to no cap flexibility when their extensions
begin.

Keeping Lillard and CJ is just like Warriors keeping Curry and Thompson. Both teams kept their best 2 players. Warriors were fortunate there best 2 players plus Green stayed healthy, Blazers were handicapped by over 2 years of broken bones and other injuries.

Warriors had more luck when the cap ballooned the same time KD was free agent. Since then, I wouldn't call Warriors financial management a model for success. Maybe it's a model for how wealthier teams can waste money.

Actually, the GSW made the decision to trade Monta Ellis after they saw what they had in Klay. Ellis was a 25 PPG scorer
but a poor fit alongside of Steph. Portland instead seems to have made the opposite decision for Ellis while a better
player than Klay in 2011 his size and skill set was a perfect match with Steph just like a healthy Wesley Matthews was
a perfect match with the young Lillard.

Actually, Blazers did exactly the same thing Warriors did. Warriors idenfied their 2 best players, Curry and Klay, and they built their team with players in the same timeline. This excluded Ellis. Blazers best players were Lillard and CJ, Matthews wasn't as good and didn't fit. You can argue Warriors 2 players are better, that's reasonable. Warriors didn't really have more success until Green replaced Lee. Before Green, Curry and Klay fell just as short as Lillard and CJ have. And, Lillard and CJ's success when they have a good big man, like Nurk, has been starkly more impressive.

[Waynearchetype]

Keeping Lillard and CJ is just like Warriors keeping Curry and Thompson. Both teams kept their best 2 players. Warriors were fortunate there best 2 players plus Green stayed healthy, Blazers were handicapped by over 2 years of broken bones and other injuries.

Warriors had more luck when the cap ballooned the same time KD was free agent. Since then, I wouldn't call Warriors financial management a model for success. Maybe it's a model for how wealthier teams can waste money.

Actually, the GSW made the decision to trade Monta Ellis after they saw what they had in Klay. Ellis was a 25 PPG scorer
but a poor fit alongside of Steph. Portland instead seems to have made the opposite decision for Ellis while a better
player than Klay in 2011 his size and skill set was a perfect match with Steph just like a healthy Wesley Matthews was
a perfect match with the young Lillard.

Actually, Blazers did exactly the same thing Warriors did. Warriors idenfied their 2 best players, Curry and Klay, and they built their team with players in the same timeline. This excluded Ellis. Blazers best players were Lillard and CJ, Matthews wasn't as good and didn't fit. You can argue Warriors 2 players are better, that's reasonable. Warriors didn't really have more success until Green replaced Lee. Before Green, Curry and Klay fell just as short as Lillard and CJ have. And, Lillard and CJ's success when they have a good big man, like Nurk, has been starkly more impressive.

The warriors drafted a larger defensive player who was a great spot up shooter, that complimented their offensive ball handling point guard. The Blazers drafted a player whose profile was almost exactly the same as damian lillards, whose skills were the same. Being essentially the same player is not complimentary. Complimentary means that their strengths work together and their weaknesses dont overlap. Dame and CJ have the same strengths and weaknesses. They don't make each other better when both are on the floor (it seems to be the opposite). Their weaknesses are exacerbated when both are on the floor (largely the reason we were one of the worst defensive teams in the league). That is not complimentary.

[Myth]

Actual cause. Seems decent at evaluating talent to draft. But terrible with contracts and worse at team construction. If you look at our roster, there is quite a bit of talent, but it just has no balance and makes no sense together. Simons, Melo, and Kanter are all talented players, but no GM with an eye for team construction would think Dame needs these guys on the bench to help Lillard and CJ with offense and defense be damned.

[Epicurus]

Love that the guy who built the house, seen as a bit rickety, being the one saying that it's time for a new property manager.

[GEE]

I woke up earlier today and saw the news of Terry Stotts getting run. So Olshey was obviously able to convince Jody, that he isn't the problem, and has the ability to right the ship, somehow. But, how?

Jody clearly has decided that whatever plan Olshey has proposed is an acceptable one, but my point is, a direction has already been chosen. Olshey will be allowed to execute it and we will soon see what that looks like.

Could just be a coaching change with some minor tweaks to the roster, but ya never know.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Our major failures are Olshey's fault, the reason the team didn't make the second round is Olshey's fault.


Stotts, like most coaches on underachieving teams, got the scapegoat. That's fine, it was time.


But giving Olshey a shot to make things right is doubling down on a bad bet.