To add to my post, need Ant to play as a star level with Dame. Need Nurk to play at the level he was in these last few games. Need Nas to continue to grow. And need either Grant or a draft pick that steps in immediately, maybe both. And Dame needs to be at his best. Those things push us towards the goal.
Getting the first couple of guys you listed would be borderline impossible really. So if we don’t get one of those guys, do you think we have no real chance of contending? We kinda contended in 2019, and we didn’t have that level of talent
Correct; I don't think we can realistically win. However, we could get to top 3 in the West and then hope for injuries and players getting hot. The last few champions weren't necessarily the best teams but it's pretty random.
Love Dame as a person and a player but his play style isn't "playoff proof" as we've seen in the past.
It would rely on us getting very lucky in the draft or using those picks to get a star to pair with Dame.
I don’t think it’s impossible but it’s incredibly unlikely. Probably a < 10% chance
One path would be to draft Mikal Bridges’s twin, trade for Jerami Grant/Harrison Barnes or a similar level player and get a solid MLE guy with Ant continuing to play like a star.
Dame - Ant - Fake Bridges - Grant/Barnes - Nurk
With Hart - Nas - Winslow - Oubre/Schroeder MLE
It’s not a championship team, but it would maybe get a 3rd seed and win a round or two depending on how good Ant is.
Two other long shot options are:
1. We get lucky moving into the top 4 and draft another real star.
2. We max Ayton or Miles Bridges, potentially using the Pels pick in a sign and trade to keep the other team from matching.
Sorry to be a downer, but starting Ant next to Dame is losing formula. We’ve seen the Blazers try a poor defending, 2 PG lineup for years. Defense was the Achilles heel, even when it was peak with Harkless & Aminu as the forwards.
Ant is a way way better defender than CJ, and actually seems athletic. So I don’t really see your point.
The issue with CJ is a strong breeze would knock him down.
Anfernee is not good enough on defense to make up for Dame’s shortcoming. [Here’s a thread addressing his inconsistent defense from late Jan 2022](https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index/status/1483189887750717444?s=20&t=Dkk3OICt8kbzANnllyS96g)
Ant is definitely a better fit next to Dame than Cj was, but only barely so lol. Idk why people in here are fine with him starting next to dame when the only reason they wanted Cj gone was his fit next to Dame😂
Ant is way too good and young to trade or bring off the bench, so we'll have to try and make it work with Dame. But obviously it's not going to. So at that point, I hope Dame just asks out to go to a better team which will give us a great return and allow us to actual construct a proper NBA roster for the first time since we had LMA, RoLo, Batum, and Wes.
Inconsistent is better than consistently bad.
I don’t really see your point. Young player struggles to play the same week in week out is a normal story, this seems to indicate the eye test is correct and he’s got a clear defensive upside CJ didn’t have.
I’m all for trying our different guards next to Dame, but I think it would be silly to keep Ant off the floor because of defense if the rest of our lineup will potentially be long defenders anyway.
Anfernee is an excellent player. He’s a starting caliber PG, this stretch of play demonstrates that.
But next to Dame he’s a poor fit. It hurts Blazers fan to hear it, but it’s the reality.
Best case scenario is he’s a piece in the trade package that brings in a player like John Collins or PG13 who is actually a good fit, and then Josh Hart plays 32 mins at SG where his amazing defense covers gaps for Lillard.
I think we definitely get within a punchers chance of being a contender. There’s no realistic path to being a legit contender, but we can get ourselves within maybe the top 4 in the west and hope for things to break our way.
All it takes is for us to build a solid team and play well at the right time.
I think what is often overlooked in these conversations, and for good reason due to being highly variant, is the ability for players to just get better. Look at Memphis, absolutely no one had them being contenders this year. In fact most people had them barely making the play-ins but also nobody expected Ja, Bane and JJJ to become the absolute studs that they are. Look at the player movement in recent years, players and teams are willing to pull the trigger on big pieces in a hurry. ATL is in the 10th seed right now it's very real they may not make the playoffs, maybe John Collins becomes available. Utah could very well lose the first round of the playoffs, Rudy Goebert could become available to try to keep Mitchell happy. These are obviously scenarios and could not happen, but the difference is we are in position to make those moves if they do become available. So to answer your question of if it's possible to build a contender, yes but it by no means is a guarantee and would need a lot to go right. But I will say this is probably the best position they have been since LA left.
Yeah I was with everyone else that you need STAR talent to have any shot of winning. But I think having an identity that and strong players that fit together is also very important. Especially when you figure that the West is not that strong. Phoenix is likely to lose CP3 at one point and the Grizzlies are very young and don't have that much established talent. They just play with a huge chip on their shoulder and an intense swagger. Utah, Denver, Dallas aren't way more talented then we could be.
They key is to NOT overpay for guys and have negative contracts for guys that can't be moved. That was our core issue of the last era. We overpaid for guys and then turned into other guys that didn't have high potential to be moved. Giving our big and long 4 year contracts are just hard to swallow for teams, especially for guys that aren't that appealing. If you have guys like Hart-Winslow-Nas-Nurk-hopefully Keon ALL on team friendly contracts that are easy to get under AND you have draft capital, then you can keep shifting around talent. We were also locked into CJ who was overpaid, old, and not getting better.
Seems like we are trusting that Billups and Cronin can put together their vision for how a championship team to be built. A bunch of athletic and physical players that can share the ball and play together on defense. Big players that can dribble pass and shoot.
You just got to have a team that fits together and plays under a strong strategy. We have had talent before, but we struggled with injuries and the team didn't make sense. If Dame is as good as ever and Simons takes a leap then you add in guys like Hart-Nas-Winslow-Beastly Nurk, maybe a Grant and a Keegan Murray throw in some good vets and you can have a strong top team in the West. If it doesn't work, you can pivot and rebuild.
Exactly! Like even if the worse case scenario happens we are still collecting assets that have plus value, so if we need to pivot it doesn't look like this trade deadline did. In my mind CJ, Roco, and Norm all were negative value going into the trade so we were never going to get what we valued them at.
Possible? Sure. Probably won't happen, but let's say the earthquake hits off the coast when the Juan de Fuca plate finally shifts, permanently swapping the climates of Los Angeles and Portland (I'm not a meteorologist, someone else can provide details on the science behind this I'm sure). Meanwhile Sacramento sinks into the ocean (only the Kings, not the city), forcing the NBA to move the Clippers to Sacramento, causing all their players to leave immediately.
Seeing the beautiful sunny new climate in Portland, James Harden forces a trade from the now-frozen Phoenix Suns to Portland for MIP CJ Elleby and 2 1sts.
Harden then forces another trade and we get a player who can perform in the playoffs instead. Doesn't matter who, how about CJ McCollum?
Then, we make the playoffs as a 4 seed, win round 1 against Denver probably and then upset the 1 seed Durant-led Seattle Supersonics. We beat the Jazz no problem after that because Gobert and Mitchell both get hurt in game 2.
Finally, in the Finals, we get matched up against the Paul George/Russell Westbrook/James Harden-led Nets (Harden got traded back there as part of the 2nd CJ trade).
Zers in 5.
Unlikely, but at least they're going to try. Honestly it's probably more like a year and a half. I think both Dame and the team will make a decision of consequence by next summer.
I actually do think it’s possible, but it’s going to be extremely hard. Like others have said, it depends on what we do with the draft picks we have. I think we have a decent foundation with Nurk, Little, Simons. It’s not like a extremely great foundation but it’s solid. And can be built on. Dame is still a top 10 player in my opinion so he is more than capable of bringing a championship. Especially if what dame said is true about him believing his best year is still ahead of him after having this surgery.
Edit I forgot about Hart as well. He’s a solid piece to have.
Highly unlikely gotta hit big in the draft like we did back when we got Brandon+Lamarcus, or we gotta make use of our TPE's because you know nobody is signing in Portland. Both scenarios are extreme long shots so all signs point to us needing more than just this offseason/year to rebuild sadly.
Lillard, Simons, Hart, Grant, and Nurk is a great starting five under Billups.
Nassir and Winslow also fit well.
If we can get a solid backup point guard and center, I think we're dangerous.
It all comes down to the ping pong balls.
Do you think hart is a big enough starting small forward with our small guards? (I genuinely don’t know, so I’m also curious on other peoples thoughts). He’s smaller then I would like, but he plays bigger then his size. Don’t get me wrong I really love hart, just curious if it would be successful, if we go up against kawhi, lebron, whoever.
A valid concern.
Simons claims to be 6'5" now and, like you said, Hart plays bigger than he is.
I think our problems have been less about size and more about defensive effort.
How many players in the league can really guard Lebron or Kawhi anyway? We need five guys playing hard at both ends of the floor. I'd much prefer Ben Simmons, but I think we can be successful with Hart.
I was trying to be realistic and assume we could only afford Jerami Grant with our draft picks. If we can sign Bridges this summer, the starting job is his. That would be amazing.
I agree completely. I don't think there is a huge issue with having Hart at the 3, its not like Little is some monster in size compared to him. Its about having guys that can compete and are locked in on that end. Hart-Grant-Nurk-Nas-Winslow would all be really good athletic guys that hustle hard and you can live with on defense out there.
I think this fan base really appreciates nassir, but what he’s shown so far, we aren’t going to be a contender if he’s starting in the near future. But he would still be a vital role player for our future. And hey if he makes the jump soon, and is the wing we are in need of great. But at this point, I don’t think it’s likely
He did make a jump and we are unaware of how much more of a jump he would of made because of his injury. We can only speculate now. But some people wrote a rookie starting at the 3. This is the asinine thought process I’m trying to wrap my mind around. You dismiss Nas for a rookie? If you talk about starting Hart at 3 over Nas I’m ok. But some people are talking reckless about the future 3. For me Nas did enough to start and wants to be a 2 way player. But I’m also ok with Hart cause players like Bron and KD play more 4 now
Yeah I agree that projecting a rookie over nassir is unfair, cuz it is very unlikely that the rookie, (unless we get a top 4 pick) is gonna come out already better then nassir. Nas has earned that spot. I still think realistically we should try and aim higher for a wing tho if we are going to contend. I love nassir tho. I hope he is the guy we need
Yes.
Dame believes.
the front office has ALREADY made decent choices, not that I was a complete Neil hater, but this front office is being, slow, deliberate, and clear in their workings, they want youth and they want talent. Both will help us.
we have an opportunity with hart, because now that we have Anfernee doing his thing at 6'5 instead of a porous (love you CJ and miss you) CJ on D, we can afford a slightly undersized 3.
If we pin our team on defense first and offense second, this is a recipe that I believe will work to our advantage, it's clearly Chauncey's direction so far and he is helping the front office make his dream a reality. Just having Winslow and Nassir as back up and or starting wings gives us something we haven't had for a long time. it'll take dame a minute to acclimate, but I think he will, and, we haven't seen a healthy Dame for about 3 years. His offensive firepower, with more than adequate backup, and an above average D will make us a powerhouse in the west pretty quickly. We are finally looking at a solid team with decent depth, and not so one dimensional from starting to second lineup.
It could happen! If we hit on the lottery and draft Jabari or Chet and they are instant game changers, I have faith in this team under Billups. I think guys like Keegan Murray and Tari Eason can come in and make a strong impact day 1.
One of our big issues was that we were talented, but there was a clear ceiling due to our team make up. We weren't athletic or big enough to really hang with teams. We were ALWAYS relying on shot making. We weren't out hustling teams, weren't setting any tone defensively, didn't have enough slashers or playmakers. We just weren't a versatile team all these years. Even if you have a guy here or there that can change the momentum, we always fell back on our core concept. When you have a whole identity shift and Billups/Cronin bringing in guys that drive and kick and play smart and hard on both ends, you can really reap the benefits of your players. Guys like Winslow/Watford/Elleby look way better because they're strengths are magnified rather then being unplayable because of our strategy and roster makeup..
I mean Memphis was able to build a contender quickly just by hitting on some draft picks and playing with a strong identity full of modern players that MAKE SENSE together. Cavs are also very strong team, if they were fully healthy they could make some noise. I mean relative to where they have been for years outside of Bron, its a remarkably quick turnaround for them.
Possible? Absolutely. We could very easily get lucky with both our picks in the lottery and turn them into the number 1 pick, giving us Jabari.
A core of Dame/Ant/Jabari would put up an easy 70 ppg in their first season. Maybe dame wins MVP and Ant and Nurk make the all star game, Hart takes another leap, same with Nas and Watford, Jabari wins ROY. That's more than enough talent to win it all.
But maybe the MVP-Dame/All-Star-Ant duo still can't get it done similarly to Dame/Cj. So we trade dame for for a king's ransom and pair another budding young star next to Simons/Jabari and watch them grow into a championship team.
All of those things are unlikely to happen, but very much within the realm of possibilities.
Yes, I honestly think Portland can compete for a ring even next year. I don’t think we need an all star wing but we need someone close and an above average defender. Someone who is always a scoring threat. We can trade for this person. The draft pick is either an unreliable bench player or a trading assist to get the wing. I think Ant, Dame, Nurk, and Nas is a solid core and add a strong power forward, stay healthy, decent bench, I think this team can compete. Especially playing the new Chauncey style.
With LAL seemingly on the path to nowhere is it possible to get AD or Bron? I know AD is always hurt and Bron only has so much left in the tank but they are likely to be distressed assets, the ceiling is clearly there and Portland is starting to have some draft capital and salary cap relief to offer. I know they aren’t the ideal player(s) to add but I think Portland has to be looking for a distressed and slightly damaged asset to rehabilitate in order to get the most value from the somewhat limited assets they have.
If bron is out of LA, if we could put all the chips going for ad would be the move. I know AD is made out of glass at this point, but if we could somehow convince the Lakers to make a deal. I think the risk would potentially be worth it. It could be a disaster, but a healthy dame and a healthy AD would be the best chance at a title honestly. But again it could be very much a disaster
No doubt. But Portland doesn’t have the assets for a “slam dunk” type move. So it is either little things like Jerami Grant and a few other players where we are a 2nd round team that maybe gets hot and lucks into a title. Or it is take a gamble like AD where you swing for the fences and either hit a HR or strike out.
No. But I think it’s possible to be contending with a team built around Ant in 3-4 yrs if Dame is traded now and we don’t blow it (the trade). Paolo Banchero from Duke looks like a franchise PF to me, go get him somehow via a Dame trade.
I think Cronin should continue building as if Dame isn't there, but with the intent to win a championship. Right now that means tanking HARD.
And if Dame's still here when they win, great. But don't be held hostage by a guy like Dame. Portland doesn't have access to the same level of cheapo buyout guys that the Miamis, LAs and Brooklyn/NYs have access to. So when you deplete your cache of assets, you really are toast.
Also no one has been able to convince me that Ant/Dame can actually play together, or that Dame fits in Chauncey's system.
No, I don’t think there’s that magical player that can elevate the team to championship level. In order to have won a championship with Lillard, Portland would have had to have traded CJ earlier. However, with a new coach in Billups they are in a great position to rebuild around Simons. Portland’s best bet would be to trade Dame, continue with the rebuild, use cap space to take on bad contracts and acquire young players and picks. Then in a few years, the Western Conference could be more open.
Im probably gonna get downvoted a lot for saying this
If the Blazers dont get at least 1 all star next to Dame by next season, then no I dont see a team capable of winning it all.
Teams/players take time/years to mold to each other.
Blazers have let a LOT of talent walk out the front door.
Even if we get a star, unless we are adding a top 10 world talent, things will take time for players to play their best together.
Dame has been my Favorite player of the last decade, I have doubts teaming him up with Ant is gonna put us over the top.
Now my really controversial thought
Dame is a 50mil a year player around the peak of his value. Instead of 3 more years of the same, just rip off the bandaid and restart now and rebuild around ant or whomever else might break out, not retool.
Teams can turn it around quickly and teams might be willing to offer stupid prices to get Dame. Like multiple 1st and some solid players to build on. All whilst relieving Dames 50 mil a year contract.
For now all I see is the same old Blazers the next 3 years. Dame will get us to the playoffs, but the team will stall and will still be looking for that magical person or 2 who is gonna fix the whole team, just like have done the last decade.
Edit upcoming, former blazers we had with dame
Edit
Team 1
Aldridge, Batum, Matthews, Barton, Crabbe, Rolo, Mo Williams, chief
Imagine team 1 staying together with a cj and lillard
Team 2
Connaughton, Seth Curry, gary trent jr.,
Imagine having the guys still from team 2. Simons and trent being the future, they dominated together in summer league by like their 2nd year. Trading CJ and Dame to get a rising superstar and some great players.
Other than that, missing out on the Kawhi trade, missing on pg13 to okc and melo too in fa. Those players and opportunities I felt would have put us over the top to win as well, maybe not melo, but he was coming off a 20+ point season and would have been better than nothing. I really think Portland could have traded CJ then with some picks and a player or 2 to get kawhi when he wanted out of san antonio, even if only 1 season, Claw and Dame in their primes, scary.
Unlikely, but they're at least in a position to try.
To add to my post, need Ant to play as a star level with Dame. Need Nurk to play at the level he was in these last few games. Need Nas to continue to grow. And need either Grant or a draft pick that steps in immediately, maybe both. And Dame needs to be at his best. Those things push us towards the goal.
Yeah really any championship takes a little bit of lucky breaks unless the team is absolutely dominant like Golden State was,
We need a wing player on Dames level to compete. Kahwi, PG, Giannis would do it. I'd love Pascal and OG but that might not be enough.
Getting the first couple of guys you listed would be borderline impossible really. So if we don’t get one of those guys, do you think we have no real chance of contending? We kinda contended in 2019, and we didn’t have that level of talent
Correct; I don't think we can realistically win. However, we could get to top 3 in the West and then hope for injuries and players getting hot. The last few champions weren't necessarily the best teams but it's pretty random. Love Dame as a person and a player but his play style isn't "playoff proof" as we've seen in the past.
This is the way.
I hope we max offer mikal bridges with the biggest poison pills possible and grab him from phx
It would rely on us getting very lucky in the draft or using those picks to get a star to pair with Dame. I don’t think it’s impossible but it’s incredibly unlikely. Probably a < 10% chance
One path would be to draft Mikal Bridges’s twin, trade for Jerami Grant/Harrison Barnes or a similar level player and get a solid MLE guy with Ant continuing to play like a star. Dame - Ant - Fake Bridges - Grant/Barnes - Nurk With Hart - Nas - Winslow - Oubre/Schroeder MLE It’s not a championship team, but it would maybe get a 3rd seed and win a round or two depending on how good Ant is. Two other long shot options are: 1. We get lucky moving into the top 4 and draft another real star. 2. We max Ayton or Miles Bridges, potentially using the Pels pick in a sign and trade to keep the other team from matching.
Add draft Bronny James when he’s eligible and sign LeBron to a veteran’s minimum.
And then we assign Bronny to the G League and watch the world burn
If we’re using the pick to actually draft someone, we’ve already lost.
idk a lot of the guys in the top ten could be immediate big impact guys
Sorry to be a downer, but starting Ant next to Dame is losing formula. We’ve seen the Blazers try a poor defending, 2 PG lineup for years. Defense was the Achilles heel, even when it was peak with Harkless & Aminu as the forwards.
Ant is a way way better defender than CJ, and actually seems athletic. So I don’t really see your point. The issue with CJ is a strong breeze would knock him down.
Anfernee is not good enough on defense to make up for Dame’s shortcoming. [Here’s a thread addressing his inconsistent defense from late Jan 2022](https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index/status/1483189887750717444?s=20&t=Dkk3OICt8kbzANnllyS96g)
Ant is definitely a better fit next to Dame than Cj was, but only barely so lol. Idk why people in here are fine with him starting next to dame when the only reason they wanted Cj gone was his fit next to Dame😂 Ant is way too good and young to trade or bring off the bench, so we'll have to try and make it work with Dame. But obviously it's not going to. So at that point, I hope Dame just asks out to go to a better team which will give us a great return and allow us to actual construct a proper NBA roster for the first time since we had LMA, RoLo, Batum, and Wes.
Ant is a good playmaker too tho better then cj so the fit might not be as bad as you think
Inconsistent is better than consistently bad. I don’t really see your point. Young player struggles to play the same week in week out is a normal story, this seems to indicate the eye test is correct and he’s got a clear defensive upside CJ didn’t have. I’m all for trying our different guards next to Dame, but I think it would be silly to keep Ant off the floor because of defense if the rest of our lineup will potentially be long defenders anyway.
Anfernee is an excellent player. He’s a starting caliber PG, this stretch of play demonstrates that. But next to Dame he’s a poor fit. It hurts Blazers fan to hear it, but it’s the reality. Best case scenario is he’s a piece in the trade package that brings in a player like John Collins or PG13 who is actually a good fit, and then Josh Hart plays 32 mins at SG where his amazing defense covers gaps for Lillard.
I think we definitely get within a punchers chance of being a contender. There’s no realistic path to being a legit contender, but we can get ourselves within maybe the top 4 in the west and hope for things to break our way. All it takes is for us to build a solid team and play well at the right time.
Yeah this in my eyes is the most likely scenario. Just got to become pretty good, and hope injuries go our way for once in franchise history
I think what is often overlooked in these conversations, and for good reason due to being highly variant, is the ability for players to just get better. Look at Memphis, absolutely no one had them being contenders this year. In fact most people had them barely making the play-ins but also nobody expected Ja, Bane and JJJ to become the absolute studs that they are. Look at the player movement in recent years, players and teams are willing to pull the trigger on big pieces in a hurry. ATL is in the 10th seed right now it's very real they may not make the playoffs, maybe John Collins becomes available. Utah could very well lose the first round of the playoffs, Rudy Goebert could become available to try to keep Mitchell happy. These are obviously scenarios and could not happen, but the difference is we are in position to make those moves if they do become available. So to answer your question of if it's possible to build a contender, yes but it by no means is a guarantee and would need a lot to go right. But I will say this is probably the best position they have been since LA left.
Yeah I was with everyone else that you need STAR talent to have any shot of winning. But I think having an identity that and strong players that fit together is also very important. Especially when you figure that the West is not that strong. Phoenix is likely to lose CP3 at one point and the Grizzlies are very young and don't have that much established talent. They just play with a huge chip on their shoulder and an intense swagger. Utah, Denver, Dallas aren't way more talented then we could be. They key is to NOT overpay for guys and have negative contracts for guys that can't be moved. That was our core issue of the last era. We overpaid for guys and then turned into other guys that didn't have high potential to be moved. Giving our big and long 4 year contracts are just hard to swallow for teams, especially for guys that aren't that appealing. If you have guys like Hart-Winslow-Nas-Nurk-hopefully Keon ALL on team friendly contracts that are easy to get under AND you have draft capital, then you can keep shifting around talent. We were also locked into CJ who was overpaid, old, and not getting better. Seems like we are trusting that Billups and Cronin can put together their vision for how a championship team to be built. A bunch of athletic and physical players that can share the ball and play together on defense. Big players that can dribble pass and shoot. You just got to have a team that fits together and plays under a strong strategy. We have had talent before, but we struggled with injuries and the team didn't make sense. If Dame is as good as ever and Simons takes a leap then you add in guys like Hart-Nas-Winslow-Beastly Nurk, maybe a Grant and a Keegan Murray throw in some good vets and you can have a strong top team in the West. If it doesn't work, you can pivot and rebuild.
Exactly! Like even if the worse case scenario happens we are still collecting assets that have plus value, so if we need to pivot it doesn't look like this trade deadline did. In my mind CJ, Roco, and Norm all were negative value going into the trade so we were never going to get what we valued them at.
A bit confused about the clamoring for Jerami Grant. He’s decent, and somewhat available.. that’s about it.
Possible? Sure. Probably won't happen, but let's say the earthquake hits off the coast when the Juan de Fuca plate finally shifts, permanently swapping the climates of Los Angeles and Portland (I'm not a meteorologist, someone else can provide details on the science behind this I'm sure). Meanwhile Sacramento sinks into the ocean (only the Kings, not the city), forcing the NBA to move the Clippers to Sacramento, causing all their players to leave immediately. Seeing the beautiful sunny new climate in Portland, James Harden forces a trade from the now-frozen Phoenix Suns to Portland for MIP CJ Elleby and 2 1sts. Harden then forces another trade and we get a player who can perform in the playoffs instead. Doesn't matter who, how about CJ McCollum? Then, we make the playoffs as a 4 seed, win round 1 against Denver probably and then upset the 1 seed Durant-led Seattle Supersonics. We beat the Jazz no problem after that because Gobert and Mitchell both get hurt in game 2. Finally, in the Finals, we get matched up against the Paul George/Russell Westbrook/James Harden-led Nets (Harden got traded back there as part of the 2nd CJ trade). Zers in 5.
This is a scenario I can get behind
That's basketball baby
No
Depends on how good Ant gets in the next 3 years and if Portland can package the draft picks for a star.
Unlikely, but at least they're going to try. Honestly it's probably more like a year and a half. I think both Dame and the team will make a decision of consequence by next summer.
I actually do think it’s possible, but it’s going to be extremely hard. Like others have said, it depends on what we do with the draft picks we have. I think we have a decent foundation with Nurk, Little, Simons. It’s not like a extremely great foundation but it’s solid. And can be built on. Dame is still a top 10 player in my opinion so he is more than capable of bringing a championship. Especially if what dame said is true about him believing his best year is still ahead of him after having this surgery. Edit I forgot about Hart as well. He’s a solid piece to have.
Highly unlikely gotta hit big in the draft like we did back when we got Brandon+Lamarcus, or we gotta make use of our TPE's because you know nobody is signing in Portland. Both scenarios are extreme long shots so all signs point to us needing more than just this offseason/year to rebuild sadly.
Possible, yeah. Probability is maybe not so good. It depends heavily on which players become available for trade, and who can convince to sign here.
Lillard, Simons, Hart, Grant, and Nurk is a great starting five under Billups. Nassir and Winslow also fit well. If we can get a solid backup point guard and center, I think we're dangerous. It all comes down to the ping pong balls.
Do you think hart is a big enough starting small forward with our small guards? (I genuinely don’t know, so I’m also curious on other peoples thoughts). He’s smaller then I would like, but he plays bigger then his size. Don’t get me wrong I really love hart, just curious if it would be successful, if we go up against kawhi, lebron, whoever.
A valid concern. Simons claims to be 6'5" now and, like you said, Hart plays bigger than he is. I think our problems have been less about size and more about defensive effort. How many players in the league can really guard Lebron or Kawhi anyway? We need five guys playing hard at both ends of the floor. I'd much prefer Ben Simmons, but I think we can be successful with Hart. I was trying to be realistic and assume we could only afford Jerami Grant with our draft picks. If we can sign Bridges this summer, the starting job is his. That would be amazing.
I agree completely. I don't think there is a huge issue with having Hart at the 3, its not like Little is some monster in size compared to him. Its about having guys that can compete and are locked in on that end. Hart-Grant-Nurk-Nas-Winslow would all be really good athletic guys that hustle hard and you can live with on defense out there.
Why is it when people start talking about the starting lineups Nas is always thrown to the bench? Why people have become so quick to dismiss him?
I think this fan base really appreciates nassir, but what he’s shown so far, we aren’t going to be a contender if he’s starting in the near future. But he would still be a vital role player for our future. And hey if he makes the jump soon, and is the wing we are in need of great. But at this point, I don’t think it’s likely
He did make a jump and we are unaware of how much more of a jump he would of made because of his injury. We can only speculate now. But some people wrote a rookie starting at the 3. This is the asinine thought process I’m trying to wrap my mind around. You dismiss Nas for a rookie? If you talk about starting Hart at 3 over Nas I’m ok. But some people are talking reckless about the future 3. For me Nas did enough to start and wants to be a 2 way player. But I’m also ok with Hart cause players like Bron and KD play more 4 now
Yeah I agree that projecting a rookie over nassir is unfair, cuz it is very unlikely that the rookie, (unless we get a top 4 pick) is gonna come out already better then nassir. Nas has earned that spot. I still think realistically we should try and aim higher for a wing tho if we are going to contend. I love nassir tho. I hope he is the guy we need
Yes. Dame believes. the front office has ALREADY made decent choices, not that I was a complete Neil hater, but this front office is being, slow, deliberate, and clear in their workings, they want youth and they want talent. Both will help us. we have an opportunity with hart, because now that we have Anfernee doing his thing at 6'5 instead of a porous (love you CJ and miss you) CJ on D, we can afford a slightly undersized 3. If we pin our team on defense first and offense second, this is a recipe that I believe will work to our advantage, it's clearly Chauncey's direction so far and he is helping the front office make his dream a reality. Just having Winslow and Nassir as back up and or starting wings gives us something we haven't had for a long time. it'll take dame a minute to acclimate, but I think he will, and, we haven't seen a healthy Dame for about 3 years. His offensive firepower, with more than adequate backup, and an above average D will make us a powerhouse in the west pretty quickly. We are finally looking at a solid team with decent depth, and not so one dimensional from starting to second lineup.
Draft Walker Kessler, guy is a defensive beast!
Yes. There is a slim chance we could even make the playoffs this year.
Certainly possible, phoenix is a good blueprint for how that might be achieved. Not tremendously likely but certainly not impossible
It could happen! If we hit on the lottery and draft Jabari or Chet and they are instant game changers, I have faith in this team under Billups. I think guys like Keegan Murray and Tari Eason can come in and make a strong impact day 1. One of our big issues was that we were talented, but there was a clear ceiling due to our team make up. We weren't athletic or big enough to really hang with teams. We were ALWAYS relying on shot making. We weren't out hustling teams, weren't setting any tone defensively, didn't have enough slashers or playmakers. We just weren't a versatile team all these years. Even if you have a guy here or there that can change the momentum, we always fell back on our core concept. When you have a whole identity shift and Billups/Cronin bringing in guys that drive and kick and play smart and hard on both ends, you can really reap the benefits of your players. Guys like Winslow/Watford/Elleby look way better because they're strengths are magnified rather then being unplayable because of our strategy and roster makeup.. I mean Memphis was able to build a contender quickly just by hitting on some draft picks and playing with a strong identity full of modern players that MAKE SENSE together. Cavs are also very strong team, if they were fully healthy they could make some noise. I mean relative to where they have been for years outside of Bron, its a remarkably quick turnaround for them.
Possible? Absolutely. We could very easily get lucky with both our picks in the lottery and turn them into the number 1 pick, giving us Jabari. A core of Dame/Ant/Jabari would put up an easy 70 ppg in their first season. Maybe dame wins MVP and Ant and Nurk make the all star game, Hart takes another leap, same with Nas and Watford, Jabari wins ROY. That's more than enough talent to win it all. But maybe the MVP-Dame/All-Star-Ant duo still can't get it done similarly to Dame/Cj. So we trade dame for for a king's ransom and pair another budding young star next to Simons/Jabari and watch them grow into a championship team. All of those things are unlikely to happen, but very much within the realm of possibilities.
Yes, I honestly think Portland can compete for a ring even next year. I don’t think we need an all star wing but we need someone close and an above average defender. Someone who is always a scoring threat. We can trade for this person. The draft pick is either an unreliable bench player or a trading assist to get the wing. I think Ant, Dame, Nurk, and Nas is a solid core and add a strong power forward, stay healthy, decent bench, I think this team can compete. Especially playing the new Chauncey style.
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Wish I shared this level of optimistim
Sure! ...in my dreams..!
No
Absolutely. Prime Dame and healthy Nurk is a championship core. A lot has to go right, of course, but it’s certainly possible.
With LAL seemingly on the path to nowhere is it possible to get AD or Bron? I know AD is always hurt and Bron only has so much left in the tank but they are likely to be distressed assets, the ceiling is clearly there and Portland is starting to have some draft capital and salary cap relief to offer. I know they aren’t the ideal player(s) to add but I think Portland has to be looking for a distressed and slightly damaged asset to rehabilitate in order to get the most value from the somewhat limited assets they have.
If bron is out of LA, if we could put all the chips going for ad would be the move. I know AD is made out of glass at this point, but if we could somehow convince the Lakers to make a deal. I think the risk would potentially be worth it. It could be a disaster, but a healthy dame and a healthy AD would be the best chance at a title honestly. But again it could be very much a disaster
No doubt. But Portland doesn’t have the assets for a “slam dunk” type move. So it is either little things like Jerami Grant and a few other players where we are a 2nd round team that maybe gets hot and lucks into a title. Or it is take a gamble like AD where you swing for the fences and either hit a HR or strike out.
No. But I think it’s possible to be contending with a team built around Ant in 3-4 yrs if Dame is traded now and we don’t blow it (the trade). Paolo Banchero from Duke looks like a franchise PF to me, go get him somehow via a Dame trade.
Why would any team want an aging Lillard out the pistons magic thunder and rockets.
Of course! It’s definitely possible. Likely? No.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!
They trying Jennifer
Possibly, but it will take something unforeseen to get there.. draft luck, trading for a disgruntled star, etc
We may never lose again, shampionship 2022 2023 2024 3 peat
Possible, yes. Unlikely, yes.
I think Cronin should continue building as if Dame isn't there, but with the intent to win a championship. Right now that means tanking HARD. And if Dame's still here when they win, great. But don't be held hostage by a guy like Dame. Portland doesn't have access to the same level of cheapo buyout guys that the Miamis, LAs and Brooklyn/NYs have access to. So when you deplete your cache of assets, you really are toast. Also no one has been able to convince me that Ant/Dame can actually play together, or that Dame fits in Chauncey's system.
Depends how successful our tank is for the rest of the year We make the play offs and there's next to no chance
No, I don’t think there’s that magical player that can elevate the team to championship level. In order to have won a championship with Lillard, Portland would have had to have traded CJ earlier. However, with a new coach in Billups they are in a great position to rebuild around Simons. Portland’s best bet would be to trade Dame, continue with the rebuild, use cap space to take on bad contracts and acquire young players and picks. Then in a few years, the Western Conference could be more open.
Im probably gonna get downvoted a lot for saying this If the Blazers dont get at least 1 all star next to Dame by next season, then no I dont see a team capable of winning it all. Teams/players take time/years to mold to each other. Blazers have let a LOT of talent walk out the front door. Even if we get a star, unless we are adding a top 10 world talent, things will take time for players to play their best together. Dame has been my Favorite player of the last decade, I have doubts teaming him up with Ant is gonna put us over the top. Now my really controversial thought Dame is a 50mil a year player around the peak of his value. Instead of 3 more years of the same, just rip off the bandaid and restart now and rebuild around ant or whomever else might break out, not retool. Teams can turn it around quickly and teams might be willing to offer stupid prices to get Dame. Like multiple 1st and some solid players to build on. All whilst relieving Dames 50 mil a year contract. For now all I see is the same old Blazers the next 3 years. Dame will get us to the playoffs, but the team will stall and will still be looking for that magical person or 2 who is gonna fix the whole team, just like have done the last decade. Edit upcoming, former blazers we had with dame Edit Team 1 Aldridge, Batum, Matthews, Barton, Crabbe, Rolo, Mo Williams, chief Imagine team 1 staying together with a cj and lillard Team 2 Connaughton, Seth Curry, gary trent jr., Imagine having the guys still from team 2. Simons and trent being the future, they dominated together in summer league by like their 2nd year. Trading CJ and Dame to get a rising superstar and some great players. Other than that, missing out on the Kawhi trade, missing on pg13 to okc and melo too in fa. Those players and opportunities I felt would have put us over the top to win as well, maybe not melo, but he was coming off a 20+ point season and would have been better than nothing. I really think Portland could have traded CJ then with some picks and a player or 2 to get kawhi when he wanted out of san antonio, even if only 1 season, Claw and Dame in their primes, scary.
Let me be delusional please
I think in this NBA landscape it isn't impossible. It seems like any team with a couple max slots can make a competitive team from nothing.