Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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FlDuckFan
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by FlDuckFan »

pudgejeff wrote:
buckmarkduck wrote:Golden State sucked for decades. Then they drafted Curry, Thompson and Green, and then won a title. That's what attracted other players.
Also, Curry hurt his Ankles and signed a cheap deal because no one would give him a big one. Some really perfect circumstances.

Boogie getting hurt also is another great circumstance for them. I think having Boogie will benefit Green the most having another tough/rough attitude on the team.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2784 ... ract-offer

Four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins apparently left a lot of money on the table before agreeing to a one-year contract with the Golden State Warriors.
The New York Times' Marc Stein reported Cousins turned down a two-year, $40 million deal from the New Orleans Pelicans. The offer came during the 2017-18 season after Cousins suffered a torn Achilles.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Cousins will sign a one-year, $5.3 million contract with the reigning NBA champions.
Cousins told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears he didn't receive any "significant contract offers" before deciding on a move to Golden State.
When he declined New Orleans' two-year deal, Cousins likely felt confident he can play his way into an even bigger contract this time next summer, and he might be able to do just that with the Warriors.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by StevensTechU »

Portland isn’t signing major FAs because it isn’t a major market, isn’t the home state to virtually any players, and isn’t a place you party. The lack of African Americans is fourth biggest factor, at best. Free agents aren’t exactly flocking to Atlanta.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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So it looks like OKC and Melo will be parting ways, likely by using the stretch provision and him becoming a free agent. There's also the possibility they work out a trade to a team looking for an expiring contract for next summer. I know CJ and Dame wanted him on the Blazers in the past but I don't think he's a good fit as they'd then have 3 defensive liabilities on the floor at a time.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by oregontrack »

i think everyone would agree that ultimately, carmelo would be a bad fit here. i won't argue otherwise.

however...

if we could work out a trade where OKC would take back two of our longer contracts (this is so in the realm of hypothetical i don't want to even take the time to run it through a trade simulator) -- say, for turner and harkless -- i would trade for him in a new york minute.

1. he's expiring, and turner and harkless are not, so we go from being on the hook for around $30 mil for 2 years to 1 year -- this turns into your nurk extension and then some, assuming he takes the QO.

2. we all seem to agree that the blazers are looking at 7th place, 8th place, or lottery finish this season, so who the hell cares if he "doesn't work out" -- it's not like we're adding lit dynamite to a championship contender. we're adding a talented but ultimately flawed (granted, more negatives than positives these days) to mediocrity.

3. i don't honestly think OKC would touch this. the argument "for" would be that OKC turns an unworkable, crazy overpriced piece that makes their team worse into two slightly cheaper but ultimately overpriced pieces that could actually help their team on the court. OKC, despite the odds, fancies themselves legit contenders. carmelo adds NOTHING to this team, turner and harkless would be depth.

4. despite what anyone thinks of carmelo, from a cap standpoint alone i think it'd be a home run for portland. carmelo makes $27 for 2018-19, turner/harkless make $27 for 2018-9 AND 2019-20. if i'm olshey i try some combinations and see what works.

5. a legit all star he is not, but carmelo can still be fun. if we're going to be mediocre, might as well just go all in for a year while we're under these cap restraints and have fun watching the team bomb 3's and try to outscore teams 115-110 every game.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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The whole point of cutting Carmelo loose is to cut into the massive luxury tax OKC will be paying on their ridiculous payroll. Taking back other ridiculous contracts would defeat the whole purpose of the move.

And speaking of defeating one's purpose, it looks like Olshey just signed Trent Jr. to a larger deal than six first-round picks got. Even when he enters a structured salary environment, he still finds a creative way to pay more than everyone else. There is also a rumor of a three-year $45 million deal in the works for Nurkic without even an offer sheet to bid against. I hope it's a big fat lie, but if it's true, I might just give up and become a Warriors fan.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Merganzer »

Tony Parker signs 2 year / 10 M deal with Charlotte.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Merganzer »

Phalanx wrote:The whole point of cutting Carmelo loose is to cut into the massive luxury tax OKC will be paying on their ridiculous payroll. Taking back other ridiculous contracts would defeat the whole purpose of the move.

And speaking of defeating one's purpose, it looks like Olshey just signed Trent Jr. to a larger deal than six first-round picks got. Even when he enters a structured salary environment, he still finds a creative way to pay more than everyone else. There is also a rumor of a three-year $45 million deal in the works for Nurkic without even an offer sheet to bid against. I hope it's a big fat lie, but if it's true, I might just give up and become a Warriors fan.
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/inde ... iver_index

"What we wanted to do was make sure we secured players we know will fit into our system..."
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by oregontrack »

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/7/1/1 ... rge-rumors

sorry if that doesn’t link properly, seems to be 50/50 when posting on my phone.

i was basing the possibility (however minuscule) of carmelo being traded on this article. weighs stretching vs trading.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Phalanx »

I should add: It appears that the tweet talking about Trent getting paid more than six first-rounders was a bit misleading (here is the associated article).

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2018/07/06/tr ... -rounders/


It seems that, in getting a guaranteed third year on his deal, Trent actually has more guaranteed money than some first-rounders who have only two years guaranteed. They all still make more than Trent per year. On the whole, if they got a nice glimpse of him in summer league practice and they like him enough, guaranteeing him for the third year isn't that big a deal, and could actually pay off for the Blazers if Trent blows up.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by oregontrack »

4 years / 48 mil extension for nurk, per woj.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Duck24 »

oregontrack wrote:4 years / 48 mil extension for nurk, per woj.
Meyers Leonard money.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by thomas time »

I think 12 is about right, the most I would want to pay for him. He's still only 23 and will get better, start dunking those easy lay ups he missed or take more time once he catches them down low. Blazers don't really have anybody better and not going to find anybody to bring in on the market.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Phalanx »

$53 million over four years according to other sources (specifically Shams). I hope Woj is right. This could be worse, and reportedly was worse when they made the offer at the beginning of the year when Nurkic turned it down. Hopefully, Nurk can stay motivated now that he has a contract.

I don't even want to know what the luxury tax implications are. The Blazers are going to be stuck with this team for at least two years, so hopefully the younger guys can improve.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by greenyellow »

From what people are saying, this contract is less than what he was offered back in the fall (some say it was around $14-15 million per year) so Portland ends up saving a bit of money for a guy who's production likely couldn't be readily replaced through FA or without giving up a lot in a trade. Plus it sounds like both Lillard and CJ are happy about him coming back.

Edit: From ESPN's Bobby Marks, Portland is now at $130 million on 14 contracts, so they're $6 mil over the tax and will have a tax bill of $9 mil. Nurk's first year salary of the new deal falls outside the top 20 of all centers. They'll likely guarantee Baldwin and/or Papagiannis so their tax bill will likely end up at around $10-15 million if they stick with this roster the entire season. Since this will likely be their first season paying the luxury tax in nearly 10 years, they won't face the increased repeater luxury tax like the Thunder, Warriors, and Cavs are facing. I suspect they aren't done making changes yet since Olshey said that FA signing only started today and they'll consider more potential moves once things settle down towards the middle of the month and Summer League finishes.
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