DO YOU LIKE OUR BLAZERS ROSTER?

[Blazinaway]

I do like the roster from the perspective of flexibility and ability to play some very good defense, something we have been sorely lacking. This new roster I think will allow us the play "Chauncy ball" and I liked the taste of that we saw last year. My one concern is Chauncy really likes to push the ball, and that has not been Dame's thing, I hope he buys in with that aspect.

[zzaj]

"like"...

As long as Lillard is on the roster I will celebrate it. People who are making a big deal out of his contract aren't fully appreciating that we are getting to witness probably the most talented Blazer to as of yet put on the uniform. I really hope we can see him play until retirement.

[BlazersBroncos]

Short answer; no.

I don’t think this team is good enough to win anything and thought there was a golden opportunity to rebuild that the FO chose not to pursue.

The most hopeful aspect off them are the rookies; Hopefully they will prove to be solid pros.

Golden opportunity to rebuild? Dame isnt getting the package he is worth until he plays well and, most importantly, healthy.

We are not a contender, but we are going to be a team that never rolls over. Billups has gone out of his way to get guys that play like dogs from start to finish. Yes, we are fodder in the end, but it will be a really fun season since we get to root for guys that play hard.

End of the day the only way we make noise is if the big swing, SS, develops into a 2nd option caliber All Star. We made moves to stay playoff competitive, but in the end the FO realized we need to hit big to take the next step and thats why we rolled the dice on Sharpe.

I like this roster. I dont think it was the right time to blow it up w/ Dame coming off injury, I also dont think there was an 'all in' move avaliable to us. So given the constrictions, it was a great offseason. Grant was added for cheap, GP2 is going to be a fan favorite and tone setter, draft went the right direction with the big swing, dont really think we overpaid by more than 1.5-2M annually on Simons or Nurkic. It was all fine in my book.

[JRoy]

Short answer; no.

I don’t think this team is good enough to win anything and thought there was a golden opportunity to rebuild that the FO chose not to pursue.

The most hopeful aspect off them are the rookies; Hopefully they will prove to be solid pros.

Golden opportunity to rebuild? Dame isnt getting the package he is worth until he plays well and, most importantly, healthy.

We are not a contender, but we are going to be a team that never rolls over. Billups has gone out of his way to get guys that play like dogs from start to finish. Yes, we are fodder in the end, but it will be a really fun season since we get to root for guys that play hard.

End of the day the only way we make noise is if the big swing, SS, develops into a 2nd option caliber All Star. We made moves to stay playoff competitive, but in the end the FO realized we need to hit big to take the next step and thats why we rolled the dice on Sharpe.

I like this roster. I dont think it was the right time to blow it up w/ Dame coming off injury, I also dont think there was an 'all in' move avaliable to us. So given the constrictions, it was a great offseason. Grant was added for cheap, GP2 is going to be a fan favorite and tone setter, draft went the right direction with the big swing, dont really think we overpaid by more than 1.5-2M annually on Simons or Nurkic. It was all fine in my book.

Hope Sharpe Rifle pans out as a high level starter. Lillard has a lot of defense around him. I do agree this team will compete.

[JasonStern]

If the team stays healthy, which is a legitimate if given Nurkić and Little's injury history, I can see us easily locking up the 6th seed. Maybe slightly higher if team chemistry pans out.

That said, I still see the team getting exposed in the playoffs and being a first round out. That's what happens when you don't bottom out or swing for the fences.

[Case2012]

I HATE how young we are. The only way that makes sense is if you package them together for another star but I don’t see Cronin pulling the trigger or there even being a star available. I would have loved to see Cronin surround Dame with proven vets in their prime for once since LA left.

[Wizenheimer]

I like the roster a hell of a lot more than the roster with CJ and Powell as starters...that was a terrible roster that produced a nearly unwatchable product. And I like the roster more than any of the 6 annual reboots of olshey's stubborn-failed-take-no-risks vision

is Portland a contender? No. Do they have a good chance to become one? No again. They need a 2nd star to contend; I think just about everybody realizes that. But at least now, with a GM that will take risks, and hopefully a collection of contracts with good value, there is a chance some near-term moves could get them close to contending. Maybe Simons or Sharpe will become 2nd stars. Maybe one will be traded for a 2nd star. CJ was never going to be traded for a star; in fact Olshey would have never traded him. Powell wasn't going to be traded for a star either

in other words, the best thing about this year's roster is that it's not olshey's roster anymore. To be sure, the roster was screwed up so badly it's going to take time to crawl out of the hole he dug. But with a changing of the guard (so to speak), a new GM, and a new coach, there is at least some reason for hope when there wasn't any at all at any time in the olshey-purgatory

(now, to me, the biggest issue that casts a dark cloud over the Blazers is Seattle & the Vulcans. I think the Blazers have very questionable ownership)

********************************************************************************************

as for Dame's extension...LOL. It has no bearing on this year's team or the the next 2 years after it. It's a non-issue for at least 3 years. The only reason anybody could be upset about it is if they believed, foolishly, that Portland had any intention to trade Dame. That was not an option on the table.

[BlazersBroncos]

I HATE how young we are. The only way that makes sense is if you package them together for another star but I don’t see Cronin pulling the trigger or there even being a star available. I would have loved to see Cronin surround Dame with proven vets in their prime for once since LA left.

I just dont understand the idea that Cronin is scared to pull the trigger on a star. Which star? Who has even been moved outside Gobert that was an All Star caliber player? What did we miss out on?

I just dont think any 2nd option caliber star is on the market right now for a realistic price (And KD doesnt count assuming any truth to BRK's asking price - hell they asked for KAT AND Edwards). We pretty clearly tried to move #7 for OG and TOR demanded more, so we wisely backed down.

Sure, we could have moved down from 7, gotten 2 picks and target win now guys (Maybe Mark Williams and Ochai), but do they really move the needle? No. The move we made, going for broke on the upside of SS, was the right move - because end of the day you dont take the next step with better role players, you take the next step with star talent. The better role players can be filled in after you have enough high end talent to compete. The moves GSW made to build their depth last summer were phenominal, but they would mean nothing if they didnt already have an elite talent level at the top.

The 2 main additions were vets - Grant and GP2. Its not like we went with a youth movement. Were a team well balanced in age with an outside chance one of the youngsters (Simons / SS) can take the step to real #2 option.

The plan seems pretty simple, create a team identity based around hustle, defense, and hungry players (Whether they be vets or youngsters) add vets to keep us playoff competitive and hope that new gritty, hustle, defensive, team-first identity can overcome some talent deficiencies in the PO's + swing big with #7 understanding a huge hit is the only way we really take the next step.

[Goldbum]

Can we stretch Didi and sign Enes? I mean he's a good locker room guy and great insurance if Nurkic goes down...

[elias808]

No, I don’t really care for the roster. Has play-in team written all over it. But that seems to be the way the franchise operates. We are content with not being awful. Maybe we catch lightning in a bottle and make it to the second round!

[mighty_duck]

My feeling is that our ceiling is 6th spot in the west, so I'm not enthused about this roster for the upcoming season.
Pairing 2 6"3, defense-challenged guards has not worked great for the past 7 years or so, so there is little optimism it'll work with an older and slower Dame and Nurk.
Our bench looks pretty thin, especially up front. Besides GP2 and Nas (who also have asterisks) the rest look like a G-league squad. If/when Nurk misses games, we'll be losing a whole lot.

Who knows though. Sometimes a team gels, and is more than the some of its parts. Chauncey may be able to put a defense scheme together to hide our weak points and capitalize on the young legs on the bench. We have a lot of young players that could take a step forward and surprise. SS was a great pick IMO, though he won't help much this season. If you stagger Dame and Simon's minutes, you can have good defenders on the other 4 spots.

[Goldbum]

I agree with staggering Ant and Dame. Likely Ant and Dame share the court about 16 minutes a game. That's 32 minutes each game with a quality defender at the 2 and (Hopefully) 48 at the 3 (Little/Walker/Hart). The 16 non Grant minutes at the 4 are suspect and so are the 20 minutes behind Nurkic. Maybe Walker/Winslow duplicates Grant enough to lock down backup PF minutes effectively. That still leaves roughly 20 minutes of worry at the 5... Eubanks/Watford need to be able to contribute in that role or the season will end with another lotto pick.

[BlazersBroncos]

I am not a huge Winslow guy, but I think as a 16mpg backup PF he can be fine. Defends and passes well, I take that over a scorer all day.

C is the real issue. Everyone knows I am find w/ Eubanks as a regular season guy, but Nurkic cant play 48 in the playoffs. Alot of this season hinges on Watford developing into a playoff caliber rotation guy. The SL was promising, and he flashed at times last season. If he can give, say, Memhpis era JaMycal Green caliber play, we will be sitting alot better come the POs.

[Norm2953]

Portland has placed a lot of faith in Trendan Watford.

One big plus for him is he, Ant and hopefully GP2 will be Chauncey's guys, Hopefully Walker will
join this sub group of players in support of Dame and Grant.

[BlazersBroncos]

Portland has placed a lot of faith in Trendan Watford.

One big plus for him is he, Ant and hopefully GP2 will be Chauncey's guys, Hopefully Walker will
join this sub group of players in support of Dame and Grant.

I think Hart and Winslow are for sure Chauncey guys. The FO is allowing Billups to hand pick the teams identity, Billups was for sure a heavy hand in those trades last deadline. I think he strongly likes Hart, Keon and Winslow, all guys who play hard, tough, unselfish and with effort on defense.

[Yuri Vaultin]

I think Little is the gem on the team and could be the star to emerge that the Blazers need.

[Blazers20]

Blazers should had brought in a GM with no connections to the current roster because Cronin seems to close and loyal to Lillard. Cronin seemed to close to Billups as well. When teams bring new GMs with no connection they seem more willing to make bigger splashes and pit them touches and bring in their own guys. Cronin is a NeO guy and therefore has kept NeO’s players like Lillard, Simons and Little.

Jody should had brought in a GM with no connection like Ainge, Battier, Barry or Dunleavy Jr.

I hate this team, it’s still too small and not sure these young guys are even talented.

[Blazers20]

Worse part is signing GP and hard capping the Blazers.

[Norm2953]

Portland has placed a lot of faith in Trendan Watford.

One big plus for him is he, Ant and hopefully GP2 will be Chauncey's guys, Hopefully Walker will
join this sub group of players in support of Dame and Grant.

I think Hart and Winslow are for sure Chauncey guys. The FO is allowing Billups to hand pick the teams identity, Billups was for sure a heavy hand in those trades last deadline. I think he strongly likes Hart, Keon and Winslow, all guys who play hard, tough, unselfish and with effort on defense.

Of course they are also Chauncey's guys but will likely the pieces the team will need to trade to get under
the tax line. I'm expecting Hart to get traded prior to the trade deadline, especially if team management
expects him to opt out to be an UFA.

[ebott]

While I don't think this team is good, I'm optimistic that they will be more fun to watch than recent Blazers teams. I'm hoping they really get after it on defense cause good defense leads to more fast breaks, which I enjoy watching.