2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

it's worth looking at both ways, imo. though i actually tend to lean more towards using reaves like ginobili for the spurs--a sixth man who plays starter minutes and closes games. beasley (or christie or brown or whomever) can start games and play fewer minutes.

i still contend that as much as we want to make the playoffs and shock the world by winning a title as a 9 seed (lol) that we're really sort of in training camp for next year right now.

 

Agree, the likelihood of making any noise this year is small, but since one of our main stars is aging fast, you certainly hate to pass up any opportunity to catch lightning in a bottle.

 

So this is going to be a thing until he retires

 

i feel like he's always shut it down in the past. i'm thinking he doesn't shut it down this time. i mean, what's portland supposed to do to improve the team at this point? i suppose they can clear some cap space this summer, but nobody with enough impact is going to be available. up until they shut him down, he was on pace to play about the same amount of games he's been playing the past few years, so they can't blame injuries, really.

but you're probably right. he has been pretty unequivocal about it.

 

I don't really know how they can build anything there for him. They got rid of one undersized #2 option only for a new one to be drafted and rise up in his place. They have a lot of defensive wings around him, that's the right idea but they need to be better. Instead of a Grant, it needs to be an OG or Bridges. Their bigs need to be better and healthier. They can't address enough in FA or via trade to make them a top 6-7 team in the West.

He's loyal to sticking it out. But I wonder if a point will come where Portland admits defeat and thinks it's best for them to move him. If they can take that optics hit or if they'll both tumble through mediocrity until the bitter end.

 

he's not going anywhere. this is a thing every year

 

Dame is annoying. Just f***ing ask out already...stop "grinding".

Nobody would hold it against him, including Blazers fans and Blazers front office. I think they'd almost prefer it at this point.

 

I agree, but the problem seems to be that Dame would hold it against himself.

 

We still need a back up center dude... chicago is going to blast us next game every min AD isnt playin

 

I think Jrue Holiday would be the best fit.

 

that you, Darvin?

 

Dame as the third star is a whole new dynamic with AD and Lebron. Lakers need to make sure they have enough contracts and draft capital.

 

if we just re-sign most of our current team, we'll have plenty available to trade should the blazers pull the plug mid-next year. we can't really be players this summer, imo.

 

Yeah, any major changes this summer would probably have to be through sign and trades and I have no interest in being hardcapped.

I’m starting to get worried about retaining Rui, specifically us even wanting him back rather than him wanting to be elsewhere. I still think he can be a core contributor for us going forward but Ham hasn’t figured out how to use him yet. Hopefully we’re wise enough to retain the salary slot.

 

outgoing S&Ts (which is what would happen in a lillard trade) don't hard cap you. again, i'd prefer to just bring back the current team, but because we control so many of these contracts via rights, we have a ton of options this summer.

as much as anything, i just liked having another playable guy who wasn't tiny. but it's hard to argue that he's done much to make management prioritize signing him. his QO could even be considered an overpay by some. but i also hope we do something smart either by retaining him on a friendly deal or using the rights to help the team in some other way. don't want to end up like we did with randle, just losing someone for nothing.

 

We need to retain Rui - and we also need to f***ing play him more.

I don't know what he did to not get PT...but he's shown enough to warrant at least a starting spot on this team.

I think we should bring Brown off the bench...as well as he's played

 

nvm with LeBron back, Brown will be off the bench and we're not starting Rui over Vando...but Rui needs to play a lot more and he should be the backup 4 behind Vando.

 

I'm not sure this talent level is any better than what Dwight is seeing in Taiwan AND I've been against signing Whiteside to any guaranteed deal for years because his IQ is in the negatives. However, this couldn't help for a 10 day or two?

 

Totally agree. He was still putting up 8.2 & 7.6 with 1.6 blocks in just 18 min in the NBA last season, playing 65 games. Including 8 starts when needed, where he put up 11.5 & 11.3 with 1.9 blocks. That's 16.5 & 15.3 per 36 with 3.2 blocks.

Maybe, just maybe, we could have used that against Houston. Where we played 6'8" guys against 6'11" guys and got outrebounded by 15, instead of signing 7'0" Whiteside or another C. It was really stupid not to do it before the Houston game, and after that loss, it's borderline incompetent not doing it by now.


ETA: Btw, I checked, and that graphic is real, unlike the fake Dwight one that was circulating previously.

https://www.bsnpr.com/juegos/juego?r=BS20231001

 

Isn't Bamba's month about up soon? I know we aren't going to keep 3 other 5's besides AD.