“Jrue Holiday is a big part of what we’ve got going … I want to let him know I’m going to continue putting him in positions to be successful.”
That's coach speak for, "You're coming off the bench, but you'll still have a big role."
Maybe I'm wrong and Ja's coming off the bench. But Coach Nori already said Dame will be starting and finishing games.
The part you left out of the quote was the most interesting part:
"Jrue Holiday is a big part of what we’ve got going, And I just want to let him know that I’m going to continue putting him in positions to be successful, and that he’s earned the right to talk to me about what he is comfortable doing.”
Kind of an interesting note of deference. I would say this is actually coach-speak for "I know who the actual leader on this team is, and I am going out of my way to seek his opinion before I start implementing my coaching strategy".
Phalanx wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:13 pm
I am glad they passed on Brown; his contract was way too big and it would have screwed up the salary cap management for several years. I remember thinking when he got that deal that the Celtics would eventually implode under the weight of it. Being Brad Steven's continual outlet for salary cap relief gets old. I never got the Brown thing anyway - doesn't he play Deni's position? Giannis actually filled a need, but Brown would have had a smaller impact.
One conclusion I think we can draw from seeing the final cost for Brown is that Dundon isn't taking his draft capital lightly. That is good to see. He rebuilt the Hurricanes largely through the draft and reclamation projects, and he is employing the same strategy with the Blazers by holding onto his picks and converting bad contracts into Ja Morant. I am a huge fan of this approach. The Blazers have criminally under-prioritized the draft in past years.
Ie drafting a tall unathletic C from China, because they hoped and prayed he would be YMing,
Phalanx wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:13 pm
I am glad they passed on Brown; his contract was way too big and it would have screwed up the salary cap management for several years. I remember thinking when he got that deal that the Celtics would eventually implode under the weight of it. Being Brad Steven's continual outlet for salary cap relief gets old. I never got the Brown thing anyway - doesn't he play Deni's position? Giannis actually filled a need, but Brown would have had a smaller impact.
One conclusion I think we can draw from seeing the final cost for Brown is that Dundon isn't taking his draft capital lightly. That is good to see. He rebuilt the Hurricanes largely through the draft and reclamation projects, and he is employing the same strategy with the Blazers by holding onto his picks and converting bad contracts into Ja Morant. I am a huge fan of this approach. The Blazers have criminally under-prioritized the draft in past years.
Ie drafting a tall unathletic C from China, because they hoped and prayed he would be YMing,
Thankfully Mike Schmitz is no longer with the team. I'm still hoping Dundon eventually moves on from Cronin and company.
Phalanx wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2026 1:13 pm
I am glad they passed on Brown; his contract was way too big and it would have screwed up the salary cap management for several years. I remember thinking when he got that deal that the Celtics would eventually implode under the weight of it. Being Brad Steven's continual outlet for salary cap relief gets old. I never got the Brown thing anyway - doesn't he play Deni's position? Giannis actually filled a need, but Brown would have had a smaller impact.
You need multiple guys to compete against Thunder/Spurs. If you were serious about taking a step forward you add Brown. Blazers had the cap space to manage his contract with no issues. I think this signals a slow rebuild.
Boom wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 1:11 am
You need multiple guys to compete against Thunder/Spurs. If you were serious about taking a step forward you add Brown. Blazers had the cap space to manage his contract with no issues. I think this signals a slow rebuild.
This is nonsense. Brown couldn't even get his team out of the first round this year. He just isn't as good as you are making him out to be. You do need multiple guys to compete, which is why you don't sell out all of your draft capital and salary cap for one guy. The Lillard years should have taught fans that giving everything for one sub-par star is not the way to field a contending team. You mention the Thunder/ Spurs - both teams got to where they are by drafting well, not handing over all their picks to somebody else.
The Blazers put in an offer for Brown, and the Celtics tried to squeeze them for more picks. When the Blazers pulled out, the market for Brown dropped and the Celtics had to drop the price. The Blazers didn't have Grant's contract to trade anymore and the Celtics didn't want Jrue back, so there wasn't a deal to make at that point. End of story. You are mad about a slow rebuild. The Blazers haven't been good since the Rasheed Wallace years. I will take ANY rebuild at this point.
Brown absolutely would have made the Blazers better. And what we learned from the Dame era was that if you have an all-star, you'd better surround him with some talent or else his prime we'll go to waste.
We now have Deni, an all-star entering his prime. His best help right now is Dame, an all-star, but one coming off of a year of recovery following a huge injury. And now he has Ja Morant, also an all-star, but one coming off of a three-year slump riddled with injuries and suspensions.
Brown is an NBA Finals champion and MVP.
I'm actually ok with them not picking him up and instead opting for a slow rebuild. Getting Ja still gives us something to work with, and if he returns to form then who knows what might happen. But saying Brown wouldn't make us better right now is lunacy. And we'd also better be careful to not treat Deni the same way we treated Lillard, or else his tenure will also be marred by first-round exits and people like you will be complaining about how ineffective he was. Let's hope either Dame or Ja returns to their all-star form so that Deni isn't left doing everything by himself.
Boom wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 1:11 am
You need multiple guys to compete against Thunder/Spurs. If you were serious about taking a step forward you add Brown. Blazers had the cap space to manage his contract with no issues. I think this signals a slow rebuild.
This is nonsense. Brown couldn't even get his team out of the first round this year. He just isn't as good as you are making him out to be. You do need multiple guys to compete, which is why you don't sell out all of your draft capital and salary cap for one guy.
He's an All NBA player. He would have made the team better.
Phalanx wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 6:20 amThe Lillard years should have taught fans that giving everything for one sub-par star is not the way to field a contending team.
What are you talking about? Neil Olshey never made such a move. He overvalued the guys on the roster and never made a meaningful transaction.
Phalanx wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 6:20 amYou mention the Thunder/ Spurs - both teams got to where they are by drafting well, not handing over all their picks to somebody else.
yup
Phalanx wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 6:20 amThe Blazers put in an offer for Brown, and the Celtics tried to squeeze them for more picks. When the Blazers pulled out, the market for Brown dropped and the Celtics had to drop the price. The Blazers didn't have Grant's contract to trade anymore and the Celtics didn't want Jrue back, so there wasn't a deal to make at that point. End of story.
The Athletic reported that the Blazers analytics viewed him as a negative player. There was no offer.
Phalanx wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 6:20 amYou are mad about a slow rebuild. The Blazers haven't been good since the Rasheed Wallace years. I will take ANY rebuild at this point.
Spending 100+ million on 35 year old PGs, trading out of the 2025 lottery, and doing everything they can to give up their 2026 1st in a historic draft are not signs of a team going through a rebuild.
pezsez1 wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 3:21 pm
Brown absolutely would have made the Blazers better. And what we learned from the Dame era was that if you have an all-star, you'd better surround him with some talent or else his prime we'll go to waste.
We now have Deni, an all-star entering his prime. His best help right now is Dame, an all-star, but one coming off of a year of recovery following a huge injury. And now he has Ja Morant, also an all-star, but one coming off of a three-year slump riddled with injuries and suspensions.
Brown is an NBA Finals champion and MVP.
I'm actually ok with them not picking him up and instead opting for a slow rebuild. Getting Ja still gives us something to work with, and if he returns to form then who knows what might happen. But saying Brown wouldn't make us better right now is lunacy. And we'd also better be careful to not treat Deni the same way we treated Lillard, or else his tenure will also be marred by first-round exits and people like you will be complaining about how ineffective he was. Let's hope either Dame or Ja returns to their all-star form so that Deni isn't left doing everything by himself.
I'm trying to find where anyone in this thread said Brown wouldn't have made the team better. The question is what they would have had to give up and how much better. I am saying his impact would have been less than if they actually got someone who filled holes in the roster like Giannis (or even LeBron).
My recollection is that both Boom and Pez were totally fine with the Grant contract when Cronin signed him, as you both were with all of Lillard's supermax deals. Neither of you understand cap management and how it impacts the success of a team. You think that the team is just magically bad because of voodoo or something. Thankfully, it seems like Dundon gets it. It came out today that he never even made a formal offer for Brown because the Celtics were asking too much. I believe he intends to use the bulk of his draft picks going forward, a strategy I have been advocating here for a number of years now. I could try to explain it all to you, but you don't even read what I actually write anyway, so let's just see where the new strategy takes us, and when we start having deeper, more successful teams, you can pretend it was because of the moon's gravity or something.
pezsez1 wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2026 3:21 pm
Brown absolutely would have made the Blazers better. And what we learned from the Dame era was that if you have an all-star, you'd better surround him with some talent or else his prime we'll go to waste.
We now have Deni, an all-star entering his prime. His best help right now is Dame, an all-star, but one coming off of a year of recovery following a huge injury. And now he has Ja Morant, also an all-star, but one coming off of a three-year slump riddled with injuries and suspensions.
Brown is an NBA Finals champion and MVP.
I'm actually ok with them not picking him up and instead opting for a slow rebuild. Getting Ja still gives us something to work with, and if he returns to form then who knows what might happen. But saying Brown wouldn't make us better right now is lunacy. And we'd also better be careful to not treat Deni the same way we treated Lillard, or else his tenure will also be marred by first-round exits and people like you will be complaining about how ineffective he was. Let's hope either Dame or Ja returns to their all-star form so that Deni isn't left doing everything by himself.
If Ja can be healthy, like get 60 games in the regular season. and return to form in a new environment, with really not much pressure since he will go from being option 1 to now being 3rd guy. Then we will have added two all star quality guys this season around Deni. And if at the end of the day all Ja does is stay healthy, and produce 20ppg this year, with no real distractions but he isn’t a true difference maker for us. That type of player can be traded for a solid return.
If Ja can be healthy, like get 60 games in the regular season. and return to form in a new environment, with really not much pressure since he will go from being option 1 to now being 3rd guy. Then we will have added two all star quality guys this season around Deni. And if at the end of the day all Ja does is stay healthy, and produce 20ppg this year, with no real distractions but he isn’t a true difference maker for us. That type of player can be traded for a solid return.
Yeah, Ja is a real wild card. My gut tells me this isn't going to work out. I might be a bit cynical on this, but these guys don't change their stripes too often. We just went through this with DeAndre Ayton. If he does return to form though then Portland will have the resources to do some roster retooling and become a powerhouse in a hurry. Or, like Phalanx and others have said, we can just let the next couple years go by and start the next rebuild. (Hopefully without trying to thread the needle again.)
