The Portland Trailblazers

[Hawk-Lock]

Blazers put up a great fight. Nothing to hang their head about. Curious to see what they do in the offseason.

 

[JSeahawks]

Blazers put up a great fight. Nothing to hang their head about. Curious to see what they do in the offseason.

They've got a ton of money to spend, just not possible to get big free agents to come to portland.

I'm dreaming of Durant playing beside Lillard and mccullum, but of course there's 0 chance of that. Needs 3rd scorer and a big man.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Frickin' curry.

Proud of the blazers though. Out manned at every position and they battled the whole series.

Curry is all that and more. Oh, you meant Stephen Curry? Take solace that you're spot on in every known definition of the word.

I will never be a Blazer fan. Golden State and Stephen Curry are about the only reason to care about the NBA let alone waste time watching it.

Unless Seattle gets a team back in the NBA, it's dead to me and millions of other former diehard basketball fans. I and others can only stomach a certain level of obvious corruption and backroom shenanigans before walking away.

 

[Alexander]

Frickin' curry.

Proud of the blazers though. Out manned at every position and they battled the whole series.

Curry is all that and more. Oh, you meant Stephen Curry? Take solace that you're spot on in every known definition of the word.

I will never be a Blazer fan. Golden State and Stephen Curry are about the only reason to care about the NBA let alone waste time watching it.

Unless Seattle gets a team back in the NBA, it's dead to me and millions of other former diehard basketball fans. I and others can only stomach a certain level of obvious corruption and backroom shenanigans before walking away.

You know you're not required to post in this thread, right?

Everybody outside OKC knows Seattle got screwed. I don't begrudge any Sonics fan swearing off the NBA until they get their team back. But those of us who still have a rooting interest get tired of that being contributed to every discussion we try to have about our team.

We get it. You don't like the Blazers. Not sure why you feel the need to post that once, let alone twice. Anything else to contribute to a discussion about the Portland Trail Blazers?

 

[Alexander]

Blazers put up a great fight. Nothing to hang their head about. Curious to see what they do in the offseason.

They've got a ton of money to spend, just not possible to get big free agents to come to portland.

I'm dreaming of Durant playing beside Lillard and mccullum, but of course there's 0 chance of that. Needs 3rd scorer and a big man.

Given their competitiveness in this series, I want to think this bodes well for the team's future. And maybe it does to a certain extent. But unlike past up-and-coming teams that arguably had most of the talent they needed already on the roster, this team's roster just doesn't feel like it's anywhere close to championship caliber. Unless one of the young guys unexpectedly develops into a superstar (someone like Meyers Leonard, who seemed to take a step back this season), they'll need to add at least one max-level player at the right position to realistically contend. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a clear way to do so, at least in the near future.

That said, this team impressed me with their grit, especially against the Warriors. I'm very glad I bought League Pass at the beginning of the season and got to see almost all of their games. Well worth it.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Frickin' curry.

Proud of the blazers though. Out manned at every position and they battled the whole series.

Curry is all that and more. Oh, you meant Stephen Curry? Take solace that you're spot on in every known definition of the word.

I will never be a Blazer fan. Golden State and Stephen Curry are about the only reason to care about the NBA let alone waste time watching it.

Unless Seattle gets a team back in the NBA, it's dead to me and millions of other former diehard basketball fans. I and others can only stomach a certain level of obvious corruption and backroom shenanigans before walking away.

You know you're not required to post in this thread, right?

Everybody outside OKC knows Seattle got screwed. I don't begrudge any Sonics fan swearing off the NBA until they get their team back. But those of us who still have a rooting interest get tired of that being contributed to every discussion we try to have about our team.

We get it. You don't like the Blazers. Not sure why you feel the need to post that once, let alone twice. Anything else to contribute to a discussion about the Portland Trail Blazers?

Seriously? I'm shocked you actually asked. I thought I was crystal clear and completely civil about it, so deal with it.

So you ask about the Trailblazers? Typical second tier team that beat a first tier team that was a shell of themselves because of devastating injuries to multiple first tier players. Need more? Other than Stephen Curry and Golden State just proved they're both fun to watch and historically great?

Kind of reminds of a much better version of the Sonics before the team was purposely gutted so Stern and his band of merry band of twits could backstab not just Seattle but a whole geographic region. Sorry if I've offended your sensibilities. Hey live and learn.

 

[Alexander]

Seriously? I'm shocked you actually asked. I thought I was crystal clear and completely civil about it, so deal with it.

Sorry if I've offended your sensibilities. Hey live and learn.

Rest assured, by "sensibilities" are doing just fine.

My issue is that people (not just you) have popped into the thread solely to say "NBA sucks because Sonics." I understand why people feel that way, but it's not relevant to a discussion about another team. If you refuse to follow the NBA, good for you, but if that's the case, it doesn't make sense to post in a thread about the Portland Trail Blazers. It's like going to a thread about the Sounders just to post "soccer sucks." Or going to an NFL forum to say you don't much care for football. Or going to a thread about a topic you don't care about and saying "this topic sucks." Sure, you can do it, but why derail other people's discussion?

While I didn't expect the Blazers to do much this year, let alone get past the Warriors in the playoffs, I have been following them closely all season, and I take some measure of pride in the fight they've shown. These last few games have been intense, and now that it's all over, I like reading people's thoughts on the season as a whole and where the team goes from here. It's kind of like what we do for the Seahawks on the main forum. After a close game that ended the team's season, it's a little deflating to come to this thread and see you contribute nothing to the discussion beyond "I'll never be a Blazer fan." That's fine (most people aren't Blazers fans), but no one asked you to be one or expected you to be one, so saying it out of the blue like that is kind of weird, and a bit of a dick thing to do right after the team's season ended.

 

[m0ng0]

It was a hell of a run and a lot of fun to watch, Portland pushed them harder than I expected. this will be an interesting off season.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Portland really was in every game outside of Game 1. Very impressive effort on their part. Will be interesting to see what they do in the offseason to build around Lillard (arguably the most underrated player in the league) and McCollum some more.

 

[JSeahawks]

Portland really was in every game outside of Game 1. Very impressive effort on their part. Will be interesting to see what they do in the offseason to build around Lillard (arguably the most underrated player in the league) and McCollum some more.

I'd bet portland had the lead quite a bit more then gs did in the series, much of it by double digits. Unfortunately gs was much better in the clutch, confidence of a champion.

 

[Alexander]

Portland really was in every game outside of Game 1. Very impressive effort on their part. Will be interesting to see what they do in the offseason to build around Lillard (arguably the most underrated player in the league) and McCollum some more.

I'd bet portland had the lead quite a bit more then gs did in the series, much of it by double digits. Unfortunately gs was much better in the clutch, confidence of a champion.

They had the halftime lead in every game but the first, twice by double digits. They had a fourth quarter lead in 2/5, and were down 1 and 2 points in two other games. The Warriors just know how to get it done in crunch time. The Blazers would succumb to bad habits while the Warriors would stay disciplined and ratchet up the intensity on defense.

Part of me hopes they lay waste to the rest of the teams they face, so that the Blazers end up as the only team in the league who beat them more than once this season. They'd have to sweep San Antonio, since the Spurs beat them once in the regular season, but they could afford to drop a game to OKC and Cleveland.

 

[CPHawk]

Frickin' curry.

Proud of the blazers though. Out manned at every position and they battled the whole series.

Curry is all that and more. Oh, you meant Stephen Curry? Take solace that you're spot on in every known definition of the word.

I will never be a Blazer fan. Golden State and Stephen Curry are about the only reason to care about the NBA let alone waste time watching it.

Unless Seattle gets a team back in the NBA, it's dead to me and millions of other former diehard basketball fans. I and others can only stomach a certain level of obvious corruption and backroom shenanigans before walking away.

Then I guess it's going to be dead to you forever then.

 

[Atradees]

Dr Mr Allen, Lets not be too patient, Whiteside........Durant.............go get em! This is what we fought for! The cap is awesome right now and primed for the taking. We had Rod Strickland and a host of other great free agent signings.....it can be done. Perhaps we dont need the quintescential megastar but bones on the defense and the next up and comer?

Spend....spend....spend. Its now time!

Whatever happened here with the Sonics and Stern burned the NBA. I have lived here since 07-was always a Blazer fan.
I figure Stern just got hardcore bribed by the OKC ownership. That simple. Its a shame. Portland had a Cinderella season with all the right character and moves. Kudos to them.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Dr Mr Allen, Lets not be too patient, Whiteside........Durant.............go get em! This is what we fought for! The cap is awesome right now and primed for the taking. We had Rod Strickland and a host of other great free agent signings.....it can be done. Perhaps we dont need the quintescential megastar but bones on the defense and the next up and comer?

Have a very hard time seeing Portland even getting a visit from Whiteside or Durant, much less luring them over to sign.

The Blazers have pieces in place to start building a really nice team, but you're not about to lure an elite FA up there. Sorry just isn't happening.

I can see the Blazers adding a couple of second-tier guys (Noah, Gasol, maybe they take a risk on a Dwight Howard) and doing some nice work in the draft to get to that point though. They just have to be patient about it.

 

[Atradees]

Bob Whitsett did it. We can wheel and deal. This FO is much more competant.

This shoe capitol of the world. Come get your Nike deal MoFos!!!

(I know-forever the optimist!)

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Put down the marijuana pipe, the Blazers aren't getting Durant. Whiteside isn't out of the question, it's not like he is some bonafide superstar. I think one name I'd keep an eye out for with Portland would be either Al Horford or Dwight Howard.

 

[Atradees]

Dwight is not a candidate I would be grateful about............He wouldn't seem to fit the team chemistry or Overacheiver like identity.

I would rather have DeMarcus Cousins. He and Lilliard supposedly have some type of friendship.

Labron James likes Terry Stotts and Damon as well in recent statements.

I would rather just keep developing who we have than max a deal for Dwight.

I just hope some Pat Riley led team doesnt put three big free agents on one team and call it a championship.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Dwight is not a candidate I would be grateful about............He wouldn't seem to fit the team chemistry or Overacheiver like identity.

I would rather have DeMarcus Cousins. He and Lilliard supposedly have some type of friendship.

Labron James likes Terry Stotts and Damon as well in recent statements.

I would rather just keep developing who we have than max a deal for Dwight.

I just hope some Pat Riley led team doesnt put three big free agents on one team and call it a championship.

First Durant, now LeBron (It's not Labron btw)

How delusional are you? This isn't NBA 2K. Actually even on NBA 2K they'd laugh at the notion of playing in Portland.

And you don't have the assets to trade for Cousins.

You're not getting Kevin Durant. You're not getting LeBron James. And hell.. just to beat you to the punch.. you're not getting Steph Curry when he becomes a FA in 2017. The Blazers have a better chance that Greg Oden and Brandon Roy's knees heal over the summer and they come back to Portland.. than they do of signing KD or LeBron

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Please NO Dwight Howard! Cousins tho, that would work for me.

 

[Atradees]

You may check my spelling if you like.

ANYWAYZ....back to basketball......

We have had nice free agents before.

Were they all second tier?

Kenny Anderson
Steve Smith
Scottie Pippen
Rod Strickland
(I wont list CTC Sheed)
Gerald Wallace (he was so disappointing)
Shawn Kemp
Brian Grant
Buck Williams (awesome)
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Wesley Matthews
Andre Miller
Jamal Crawford
Nicolas Batum

The Blazers have done an amazing job with the cap.
Lilliard, McCollum and Stotts are respected across the league.
It is an intriguing offseason full of possibilities.

Free Agent Possibilities: The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2016/05/trail_blazers_players_trades_free_agents.html#0

Free Agency Primer: The Blazers Edge
http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/5/1...ail-blazers-salary-cap-room-space-free-agency

Teasers:

Greatness Recognizes Greatness
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/05/lebron_james_says_trail_blazer.html

Cousins hugs all Blazers
http://www.csnnw.com/blazers/could-demarcus-cousins-fit-portland