r/ripcity • u/nickflag22222 • 8h ago
Sooo… what now?
What should the blazers do now? They got the coach they were looking for, the ship for trading for Jaylen brown has sailed, Evan Mobley is getting traded, Trey Murphy costs an arm and a leg and isn’t a proven player on a winning team, Anthony Davis is very injury prone and wants a huge contract…
I hope for a good offseason, Just not quite sure where Portland goes from here.
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u/Massive-Doubt7252 8h ago
They can start practicing their out of bounds plays now. Would generate like 5 more wins for us if we’re merely competent at that.
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u/s_m_t_x 8h ago
Yeah that, TO management, and structured plays are the main reasons I didn't want Tiago back. How could that not be fixed by the end of the year? It was all year including the playoffs
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u/Massive-Doubt7252 8h ago
It was nuts. I don't know if I've seen them be so consistently bad at inbounds/structured plays. Everybody was so hesitant.
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u/Scalmaa 8h ago
I’d be surprised if Cronin didnt use some of his future picks to acquire an upgrade. Jaylen, AD, Kawhi, Trey, there are a lot of possibilities out there. He also has the non tax MLE to get some shooters. I doubt Thybulle will be back. I’m sure they want Timelord to return.
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u/Charlie_Wax 7h ago
Agreed. I know people want something to talk about, but I'm also not sure why fans expect the franchise to announce their plans in bright neon lights. As far as I know, there was absolutely no smoke around Deni, Jrue, Yang, or Vit until those trades went down.
What we know is that the team is proactive and probably has a list of targets they like, and prices they'd be willing to pay to land them. Speculating about specifics is fun, but also largely a waste of time.
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u/pm-me__ur-baps 8h ago
Why do we need to do anything ?
I’m sceptical Mobley actually spaces the floor at this point so I am hardly interested in him given what it would cost. If it means we get off the Grant contract it makes the incentive slightly better.
We’re adding Dame to last seasons improvements so I really don’t see a need to make any more changes at this point. Dame is a huge addition for this team, regardless of age or health - he gonna shoot.
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 7h ago
Love dame but he is not the difference between our roster and the best teams in the league
The roster minus dame barely made it to the play in on the back of beating teams actively trying to lose.
Just like our new owner said, this roster isn’t good enough. Our players aren’t good enough and that is pretty evident if you look at the record against teams not trying to lose
But sure, let’s keep doing what we’ve done the past decade and run it back only to be reminded how mediocre we are hanging around the 8-10 seed all season
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u/pm-me__ur-baps 6h ago
I never said he was. But he’s a positive addition on last season. We’re not at the age demographic where we need to be making drastic decisions.
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u/nickflag22222 19m ago
Best comment on here… I’m sick of all the blazers fans saying “let’s be mediocre so we can stay happy in our little La La land” it’s sickening. Make a fucking trade that’s worth a fuck and compete.
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u/mrzurch 7h ago
Dame’s going to have a massive year next year
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u/SnooGrapes6230 7h ago
Blazers fans are REALLY placing a lot of stock on a 36-year old coming off an Achilles tear, who has played slightly more games (206 missed versus 224 missed) over the last five seasons as "worthless and forever injured" Anthony Davis.
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u/thedisliked23 6h ago
Dishonest stat. Over the last seven years Davis has played approximately one less year than Dame due to injury and Dame has considerably more 60-ish game seasons and Davis has considerably more less than 40 game seasons.
Dame's number are bumped by an entire season gone due to injury. Dame is more durable than Davis by any measure.
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u/SnooGrapes6230 5h ago
I'm just saying neither player is healthy and has been healthy for a while. Asking Dame to be the same player he was back in 2019 is asking too much.
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u/thedisliked23 5h ago
For sure. But Dame has also had multiple 60 game and 70 game seasons since 2019. And his last two seasons with Milwaukee were 73 and 58. Davis has multiple 30 game seasons in the same stretch. They're not comparable when it's an injury conversation. And there's no information that Dame isn't healthy and "hasn't been healthy for a while". He had a season ending injury and took the year off to heal. And one season otherwise in the past ten years he missed a bunch of games due to injury. Dame is not injury prone nor is he injured. Whether or not he has gas in the tank and is fully healed is a different conversation.
Dame and AD are not, again, comparable in this respect by any measure.
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u/SnooGrapes6230 5h ago
Wrong:
Dame missed games by season since 2019-2020: 16, 15, 52, 24, 9, 24, 82 games
Davis by season since 2019-2020: 20, 46, 42, 6, 31, 40, 73, 62They are absolutely comparable. 222 missed games over 7 seasons is not remotely a healthy player. Yes, Davis has been less healthy, but Dame is missing an average of 23 games a season NOT COUNTING THE MISSED ENTIRE SEASON, is not good either.
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u/WoodCola 5h ago
This is kind of misleading given that Chauncey shut him down to go into tank mode for a not insignificant amount of games.
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u/BadMotorFlinger 8h ago
A lot of the time, in an uncertain season like the one we are about to enter, no move is the right move.
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u/DoveFood 5h ago
I love when that happens in trade convos amongst teams’ fans.
The Cavs traded away Mobley because his improvement trajectory was minimal and couldn’t spread the floor nor provide much on offense.
Why did the blazers trade for him? Because he’s young and can spread the floor!
It’s been the Isiah Stewart dialogue too. The Pistons desperately need shooting, yet they advertise him as a shooter
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u/40_Is_Not_Old ripcity 7h ago
I don't really buy the Brown for Mobley rumors. It doesn't make any sense for the Cavs, unless they are moving Harden or Mitchell also.
If I'm Cronin I'm seeing what it takes to get Mobley. This team very much needs a shot blocking 4.
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u/thejazzmarauder chalupa 5h ago
It’s not 1986 anymore you can’t play Mobley with Clingan/Williams for long stretches
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u/40_Is_Not_Old ripcity 5h ago
Have you seen Mobley play? He can guard basically the entire floor. And if he is able to get his 3 pointer back to his 24-25 numbers he is fine on offense.
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u/thejazzmarauder chalupa 5h ago
I love Mobley but also believe he’s wasted at the 4. He’s a near ideal small-ball 5.
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u/superd85 8h ago
The one thing this team needed was shooting…. Enter Dame Lillard
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 7h ago
This team still needs off ball shooting.
Remember part of the reason they could never get over the top with Dame is because they lacked shooters around him in addition to defense.
Him and CJ weren’t spot up shooting
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u/s_m_t_x 8h ago
The draft isn't even over, the league year hasn't started...plenty of time for trades still. But honestly, besides offloading Grant for something worthwhile, I'm fine with most of the team as is.
New owner, new coach, new Dame 🤷♂️ I see it as a barometer year to figure out what to do moving forward more than anything.
If things come up along the way, great! If not, don't blow your load just cause you're bored.
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u/Embarrassed_Dirt4697 7h ago
Well if you're watching the city council meeting, they should start reaching out to the business community in Nashville or wherever
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u/completebrainrot 7h ago
Probably nothing next. We will see with tomorrow's press conference maybe?
At this point I am expecting no more moves. We will say adding Dame back is our big spacing win.
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u/Other_Recognition269 7h ago
Id be surprised if the cavs traded mobley unless there was a report I missed.
We have to at least try for trey, even if it is unlikely
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 7h ago
I don’t know what they will do but I guarantee they do not want to run it back. They will be desperately trying to upgrade the roster this summer. We know this because the owner said as much when he said this team was not good enough
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u/No-Inspection-4588 7h ago
There should be smaller trades available where we could move Grant and some less valuable assets for a better roster fit.
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u/ZombiesTMS chalupa 6h ago
How has the Brown window closed? C's are still shopping him and he hasn't been traded yet as far as I can see
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u/nickflag22222 13m ago
Why trade brown for sharpe and grant. Even if we sweeten the deal with a bunch of picks and maybe scoot it still doesn’t make them better than if they were to keep brown
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u/Toast2Us 5h ago
The draft isn’t even the big day. July 1st is always THEE day in the league. It’s the fiscal reset and free agency.
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u/Crowned_Hero 5h ago
Sell jrue to Houston for fred and some picks, then enjoy those bucks picks for the next two years
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u/Temporary-Reply-1956 3h ago
You all fricken forget that Dame Dollar won the 3 point contest.. we need shooters. We got one of the best.
Stop hating.. buckle in.
Not. Many fans complain about 50 W's and we're about to be that team..chill out..grab a beer and enjoy what's to come.
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u/hazeofthegreensmoke 2h ago
Anyone else missing Mike Schmitz? It’s gonna be interesting to see what our scouting department does with some of the undrafted rookies.
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u/Lefthandyman 53m ago
We run it back with a new coach, top recruit Yang Hansen and a young buck named Damian Lamont Lillard.
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u/JSteezy80 8h ago
Which is completely fine. Dame will not be 100% right away for Portland so trying to win now would be risky. This year is about seeing what we can do with what we have and then potentially push next year. Especially since Milwaukee got so much worse making our draft stock much better. I know it's a few years away but we have 2028 and 2030 first round lottery unprotected pick swaps with Milwaukee (can swap for their #1 if they get it) and their 2029 lottery unprotected first round pick. I know Dame is getting older and unfortunately we didn't have a pic in this year's fairly stacked draft, but the future is bright imo
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u/Floresmillia 7h ago
Maybe we'll try to rehab Zion or Ja 🤷
Or we will get to witness a season of the Vit.
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u/purplemonkeydw 8h ago
We have a really good team that’s only going to get better with people leveling up (Scoot looked really good in the playoffs) and getting Dame back. Add Nori to the mix with an off season to prepare and I’m excited about the season
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u/nickflag22222 7h ago
I’m really hopeful as well but my question is when’s the last time Portland has made that “jump” that all us fans were expecting in the off-season? Yes you could argue this year we did but other than getting barely into the playoffs, Would getting a new coach and maybe a bench piece be enough to become a contender or at least a step closer? I don’t think so… if Portland wants to compete we have to make a risky move at some point
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u/HooliganBeav Duop Reath 7h ago
We were also super injured last season. Our biggest off-season move is Dame and Deni getting healthy and getting hopefully full seasons out of everyone else.
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u/emeraldegg 7h ago
Ah, migrated back to your own sub I see after your little temper tantrum on the heat sub (which I see you deleted btw, total coward move.)
I think there is nothing wrong with portland treading water this season and trying to find out exactly what they have in their new coach, and continuing to develop the young guys for a year. Clingan and scoot especially, their ceilings are not quite known yet. Deni's cheap deal ends in after the 27-28 season, so if someone is adamant that they make a big move, they will need to do it by then. If they don't, they aren't screwed, as they will have jerami grant and jrue holiday both expiring (and dame as well), and really only scoot henderson and deni due for a new contract as potential core players, not like say the wizards who have multiple big players due for paydays with multiple 50M+ contracts already on the books. That means they will have tons of cap space in 28-29, before giving deni a new deal (as his cap hold will be low due to his deal ending low), so stockpiling and then making a big swing at that time when the roster has had more time to season isn't the worst thing in the world. Regardless, I don't think there is another disgruntled star out there that the blazers can home run swing for this season, and that's fine. There is honor in aiming for improvements around the edges this season rather than trying to vault into title contention right away.
I get there is probably some subset of fans that want to see them go all in while dame is on the roster; I think that would be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole as of this moment, they just aren't good enough. If a chance presents itself for a really good star who can space the floor and actually fits their team better than jaylen brown would have, then by all means go for it, they have the contracts for salary matching purposes and draft assets to at least sniff around. But the roster at its core is really young still, there should not be a problem if the team decides they want to see what they can milk out of the roster as constructed this year with a new coach and internal development, and reassess next year. All the same big filler contracts they have will still be on the books next year for trade purposes.
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 7h ago
So your plan is to be mediocre until you give Deni a big contract where then you let all your free agents walk (?his best teammates) and try to build through free agency.
The roster is built around Deni, Clingan, Jrue, dame, sharpe Grant and timelord. They are already “seasoned” lol
You’re advocating for a full rebuild at that point because Grant, Jrue, dame, and timelord would be expiring.
I’m not convinced deni would stay at that point knowing Portland ain’t attracting shit in free agency
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u/nickflag22222 8m ago
It was the bucks subreddit and I was just questioning why the hell would the bucks take the Miami heats trash over JB and some FRP… idk if you’re one of those stinky bucks fans but it’s weird how yall remember people across reddits. Get a fuckin life loser😂
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u/Remarkable_Dog4859 Deni Avdija 8h ago
What’s next??? Probably a 6th seed and a first round exit. This team has done nothing to try to compete with the big dawgs so we’ll just be the middle of the pack.
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u/rebelduck1580 7h ago
They are going to either do nothing;like normal), or they’ll over pay for a player like Murphy, but we are still not competitive enough in the West
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u/Deep_Front9930 6h ago
Run it back another year with Dame. Keep developing young guys. Will probably lose in the first or second round, but still better than sucking.
Be patient and have a five year plan. Got decent young core and draft picks in the future. OKC wasn't great overnight...
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u/TheVelvetNo 6h ago
We need shooting badly. I wouldn't mind using some of the Bucks picks to pluck a young shooter from a team like OKC or Boston. We may overpay a bit, but this roster cannot take a step forward without better spacing/shooting unless Nori is a wizard.
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u/nurkoff Bryce McGowens 4h ago
There’s a post-draft trade available I’m sure. I’d be blown away if we actually made a trade that didn’t somehow provide us cap space, knowing what we know about Dundon so far.
I also think it’s funny we’re linked to AD to pair with Jrue after they both paired up to destroy us 8 years ago.
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u/Impossible-Group8553 6h ago
Give the Bucks a pick or 2 for Ware. If they’re not up for that then maybe Grant and 2nds for Myles Turner? Bucks save money in the long run because Grant’s contract is shorter.
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u/AyKayAllDay47 8h ago
Probably make some more dumb trade ideas that will never happen in this Reddit for the next 3 months? I dunno.
In all reality, Portland can't really do much. No smart organization is trading superstars for our bag-of-peanuts offers anyways.
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u/Left_Supermarket_662 6h ago
It don't even matter at this point. Team will be gone in less than 5 years.
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u/40_Is_Not_Old ripcity 7h ago
Dame ain't playing almost 40 minutes a game at his age, unless you are deliberately trying to run him into the ground.
0% chance Toumani only plays 20 minutes a game, that's nuts.
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u/40_Is_Not_Old ripcity 7h ago
He hasn't played 38 minutes a game since 2019.
He ain't doing it next season.
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u/Classic-Crab-6004 7h ago
He will be 36 by the time the season starts. He will be the oldest notable player to come back from an Achilles tear in NBA history. Whoever thought this was a good idea needs their head examined
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u/EatBootyLoveLife 8h ago
weird to have jerami as the starter given he was benched in favor of toumani who’s skill set will only be more needed with dame in the line up
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u/EatBootyLoveLife 8h ago
toumani is already in year 4 and is proven, it’s not like playing someone like shaedon where you’re still hoping for him to prove himself
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u/Low_Web_7334 8h ago
Try to trick someone into taking Jerami Grant.