Blazers 2011-2012 Season

[greenyellow]

i don't think there's any way to be confident about what portland will do going forward, for the very reasons you mentioned, but i do think the organization made the smart moves they had to make yesterday, which is at least encouraging. i was worried they'd try to trade for a veteran to try to salvage a 7th or 8th seed this year, which would have been infuriating.

i'm just interested in what we're going to do with our two lotto picks this year. if we don't "blazer" it, and actually come away with something worthwhile, i'll be confident going forward even if our GM search is still going on. if the season ended today, we'd be picking #5 and #12. i mean, what if we grab jared sullinger at #5 to start with lamarcus on the front line, and pg damian lillard at #12? that'd be a great core to team with LMA and batum, and we'd still have about $18 mil in cap space to either bring in an upgrade for wes matthews, or add bench depth.

I don't think much of Sullinger since he seems real stiff and unathletic for being a PF-type player. Plus, Lillard is really just a score-first PG that Portland doesn't need.

[oregontrack]

well... you might not think much of sullinger, but scouts sure do. he's almost exactly what portland, in particular, needs down low. he's certainly not a stiff, he's a bruising hybrid forward/center who can finish down low, something portland desperately needs with aldridge spending so much of his time 20 feet away from the hoop. now, i don't know if i'd take sullinger if he was going to be my go-to post presence, but he would fit in great here. he doesn't have elite athleticism, but that doesn't make him a stiff.

i love lillard. 43% 3-point shooter, ultra aggressive driving the rim, confident kid, great in transition, good size, strong frame. going with the fits-well-with-this-team theme, he looks like everything we thought we'd be getting when we traded for felton. we NEED shooters.

[greenyellow]

With what's in the draft and where Portland would be picking, I think they probably end up with a decent post player and a SG/SF type player. I just don't have faith in Elliot Williams staying healthy or Batum being an impact/go-to player so they end up taking a backcourt scorer. The team just has so many holes and deficiencies that anyone they pick will fill a need.

[thomas time]

As much as I like Gerald, it was a great trade to get him for a lottery pick with Nic the future at sf. Great win tonight in Chicago even without Rose playing, even though we might want them to lose to better postion themselves for the lottery.

[oregontrack]

i'm at the point now where we just need to pick the best player available at any position with our two lottery picks. if that's a 3, slide batum over to the 2 on a permanent basis. if it's a 4, aldridge becomes our new permanent center. we just need an influx of talent, and what we'll hold onto is pretty versatile.

also, i love jj hickson.

[greenyellow]

i'm at the point now where we just need to pick the best player available at any position with our two lottery picks. if that's a 3, slide batum over to the 2 on a permanent basis. if it's a 4, aldridge becomes our new permanent center. we just need an influx of talent, and what we'll hold onto is pretty versatile.

also, i love jj hickson.

Picking up Hickson was a good move since he's a really serviceable player at either the 4 or 5 spot. A big upgrade over say Thomas and Przybilla.

[thomas time]

Sup with these refs and goaltending calls against the blazers, that was a clean block by Batum. Not to mention Wesley getting fouled at the end, or Caron I believe just running over Batum and a no call. It seemed like all the close calls went the way of the clippers, though the lost is better for our chances in the lottery. It just frustrates me the refs end up effecting the game, espically as many bad calls as there were last night is just INEXCUSEABLE.

[UOducksTK1]

#5 and #11 right now. Blazers keep losing, Nets stay in the 5-7 range.

[UOducksTK1]

oh yeha, and.. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/blazers-al ... 11dhW8vLYF

[greenyellow]

oh yeha, and.. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/blazers-al ... 11dhW8vLYF

Not again. They must be doing something wrong if they can't keep their stars healthy for a whole season.

[oregontrack]

portland's medical staff has always been one of the worst in the league. a very frustrating bunch, to say the least.

shut it down, lma. get us into the top 10!

[greenyellow]

portland's medical staff has always been one of the worst in the league. a very frustrating bunch, to say the least.

shut it down, lma. get us into the top 10!

When compared to other training staffs, I'd have to agree with you there. There just shouldn't be any reason why all of these major injuries keep happening, resulting in careers ending prematurely. I'd say the best staff around is probably the Suns since they find ways to keep older players like Grant Hill and Steve Nash playing.

[UOducksTK1]

Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace get injured around the same time with soreness? I'm sorry, but the NBA needs to look into this. I feel blatant tanking right here..

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/392 ... hFf3S8vLYF
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/353 ... Mn6QK8vLYF

[UOducksTK1]

Blazers are doing a good job of tanking themselves, but too little, too late. We will be stuck with the #10 pick.

[thomas time]

The Portland Trail Blazers have strong interest in interviewing Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak for their general manager vacancy, according to sources familiar with Portland's thinking.
Kupchak is one of the Blazers' top targets in their quest to land an executive with experience running a franchise's basketball operations, sources told ESPN.com.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Lakers would be willing to grant Portland permission to speak to Kupchak, who has spent more than 25 years in L.A.'s front office

Blazers talk about going BIG this offseason, well this is definitely a start.