Just in case you hadn't seen it,
Zach Lowe had Trail Blazers GM
Neil Olshey on his podcast talking about losing
LeMarcus Aldridge and their rebuilding plans.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-lowe-post-podcast-trail-blazers-gm-neil-olshey-on-losing-lamarcus-aldridge-and-the-future-of-the-team/[Warning: They talk about Seinfield for what feels like forever half way through but they get back to Blazers talk at the end]
Some interesting points:
- They traded for
Gerald Henderson knowing that it could work with
LeMarcus coming back or it would work if he left.
- They wanted to get into the upper 2015 Draft but there wasn't an avenue so they looked for guys in previous drafts they were high on eg.
Noah Vonleh and
Mason Plumlee.
-
Zach said that
Aminu needed to improve his shooting or his dribbling,
Neil said something like, "if he could do those things already we wouldn't be able to pay him 7.5 million a year, you pay people for what they can do and then you develop other areas." That got me thinking about some of the guys we signed like
Jae Crowder, some people get down on our roster because of what players have shown so far, rather than what they
could become in the next couple of years. Yes, I know it is unknown what they could become, but while players are on our roster working with our coaching staff in this culture, I am optimistic.
-
Zach asked what
Neil was looking for this year and
Neil talked about assessing the talent to see what they have, whether they need to retool the roster with solid veterans to compliment or sell on the assets. It reminded me a little of the Celtics situation, a full season with this roster that is mostly intact from the second half of last season to develop more chemistry and have continuity (continuity is something they talk about on this podcast too) and
Danny Ainge can really see what he has going on here with this roster. Eg.
Is Marcus Smart a franchise player? Is Jared Sullinger or Kelly Olynyk a realistic option long term? Which rookies really do have the work ethic and winning mentality that we want? -
Neil talked about seeing
CJ McCollum and
Meyers Leonard play really well at the end of last season and how that confirmed what they saw in those players when they drafted them. This made me think about the ceilings of our players that might still be
multiple seasons away.
I really like the rebuild job that Trail Blazers have done in only a short amount of time. What do you guys think?
I love these forums, I am excited for this upcoming season and I am optimistic about our future! Cheers