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What is track lackin Harvar knocks the
Stairs, I M Damp Valley coming at

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you once more without my co host. Fantabulous co host that is Adam Fromwell

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Super excited though to be joined by
Tara Bowen Biggs. She is the co

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host of We Have a Take podcast, which is a great podcast covers the

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Blazers in the NBA at large.
It talks about actual basketball. It also

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talks about a lot of lighthearted stuff
and they've of course tackled some of the

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tougher issues, but I've related to
the Portland Trail Blazers lately. She's also

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the co host of the Step Back
Sisterhood podcast. Follow Tara on Twitter at

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tc b b i ggs highly recommended. She is a refreshing as hell follow

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and you can follow We Have a
Take on Twitter at We Have a Take

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and step Back Sisterhood is at step
Back Sisters all spelled exactly as it sounds.

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As you can tell by now,
I brought her on to discuss all

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things Blazers. They have been a
non stop rumor machine the past couple of

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weeks. We talk about niloshe leaving, We talk about the impressions of interim

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GM Joe Cronin. We also get
into what direction the rosters headed in.

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We talk about potential transactions, trade
targets, what's going on with Dame's future,

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which clearly lies in Portland until he
says otherwise spoiler alert. We talk

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about lineups use if nurkis players.
We cover the whole nine yards. Just

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to note, this was recorded before
they play the Timberwolves on Sunday night,

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So we do discuss the prospect of
them shifting up their starting lineup by putting

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Larry Nance Junior in for Roco or
Nurkicch. They of course put Larry Nance

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Junior in four Robert Covington. That's
still a discussion worth having because we do

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talk about it in the context of
what happens when the Blazers themselves are actually

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fully healthy and starting their normal lineup, when you have CJ. McCollum back

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from his collapsed along and Damian Lowders
all the way back from his abdominal injury.

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A quick reminder before we get started, please please, pretty please remember

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to rate, review, and subscribe
to Hardwoo Knocks wherever you get your podcasts.

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It helps us out a ton If
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it or not, and search Hardwoo
Knox. Throw us that fistart rating,

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write a review that will really nudge
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also retweet our promo, Shout us
out on Twitter, tell your friends,

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family members, acquaintances, random people
on social media, the interwebs at large

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about us. Implore them to listen
to our pleasantly sub mediocre, only medium,

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00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:30,520
insufferable national NBA podcast. It's a
blast. If this is your first

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00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,919
time talk listening to hardwo Knox because
you really want to hear about the Blazers

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00:02:34,039 --> 00:02:38,439
or your religious follower of everything that
terror does, consider throwing us that permanent

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00:02:38,479 --> 00:02:44,719
subscription wherever you consume your podcast content. Finally, please remember to follow us

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across all platforms. We are on
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Hardwood Underscore Knox, and we can
be found on YouTube dot com search hardware

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00:02:53,439 --> 00:02:55,800
Knox. We will come up subscribe
to our channel. There. That's enough

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out of me. Let's talk everything
and anything Portland Trail Blazers with Tara Bowing

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Bags. Tara, welcome back to
the Hardware Knocks podcast. I scared you,

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probably because you also expected I wasn't
gonna be loud or ask you to

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come back on so soon. It
feels like we just recorded the Blazers season

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preview, and yet here we are
fewer than twenty five games into the season,

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and there's a lot to talk about
with the Blazers again, but more

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importantly, how are you doing well? I is first of all, it's

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great to see you, and there
is your right no shortage of content coming

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out of Blazers headquarters. I You
and I spoke chatted earlier about how I

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had a really low bar, so
I'm excited to like talk about all the

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ways that they're clearing the lowest bar
possible. I couldn't actually even remember if

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we had already talked since the season
had started, because it seems like it

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was right before the season started.
But I was like, wait, have

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we already talked about what Robert Decopington
has been doing this year? Have we

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already discussed what Larry Nance has been
doing? And I couldn't remember. So

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I'm glad you reminded me we haven't
actually talked since basketball started, right we

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The only thing we've DMed about Nasir
Little and Greg Brown, because that's how

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that's how that. I mean,
you are like one of my favorite people,

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Dan, but you're not the only
person I've been DM me with about

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great bad Nazier Little. As much
as I love you, there's a few

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other people who also have been getting
bombarded with my love of Nazer Little.

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Yeah. I mean, look,
your feet is also like a Nazier little

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fanilyage. So look, I respect
he's having a great year, and I'm

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gonna ask about him because one,
I respect that you are able to find

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bright spots amid like even the darkest
clouds. But he's also been a legitimate

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bright spot, which is good.
We have to start with. I think

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the even before you get into the
roster is just the front office of people.

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Neil elshay gone very smart of the
Blazers to get rid of him before

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he could go through a coaching So
oh wait, never mind, Sorry,

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what are your You have any lingering
thoughts on that? I know you've talked

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about it extensively on we have a
take podcast. Please I would like to

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for you to share them. I'm
just curious more so about what you've thought

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about the as you called them,
vibes under interm GM Joe Cronin and whether

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you how you feel about his direction, whether you believe him when he says

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this isn't a rebuild, this is
at an enhancement. Well, I think

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the Blazer's recent press conversation is a
really great example of how things have changed

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around Rip City. So previous to
the firing of President of Basketball Operations Neil

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Olsha, it was very infrequent that
there was a press conference, much less

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one like announced to the public in
advance. Usually if there's a press conference,

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it was either media day or the
last day of the season, or

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somebody was in trouble as in,
like you know, a bunch of rumors

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had been flying and Dad had to
come out and yell at all of us,

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And so there was often a feeling
of like, oh God, what's

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Neil Sha gonna yell out of us
about this time. So the fact that

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like in advance, they were like, hey, join us for a conversation

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with the new GM and the new
president and the new coach. We're going

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to have a conversation. And that's
how they built it was as a press

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conversation on a press conference. So
then the conversation starts and it was like

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it was so casual. It was
like completely different. Like these guys were

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all sitting in there, like you
know, Haskins had on like a coat,

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but the rest of the guys were
very casual. Neil al Sha always

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showed up like in like full on
suit and tie, like never anything less

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than that behind a press table or
whatever. These guys were sitting on stools

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holding the microphone, like like I
went to Sundance one year, and like

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after they would do a premier,
like the director and the producer and the

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stars would come out and they'd had
this casual conversation with the audience and it

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kind of had the feel of that
about it. So like in that regard,

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it was so refreshing that somebody somewhere
was allowed to at least attempt to

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make it look like somebody cared.
You know. It was like somebody was

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like, you know what, our
fan base has gone through a lot,

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and the reporters are really used to
getting yelled at a lot. Why don't

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we make it more of a casual
atmosphere where people can just sort of like

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relax and talk. And so like, in that way, when we were

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talking about a low bar before the
fact that these guys were sitting on stools

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instead of on chairs behind a table. That was enough to make me feel

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like they won the press conversation.
Yeah, I mean that's a great because,

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like any of the Nule shape press
conferences were just unnecessarily combatants, even

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when they like they're always questions about
some of the moves that he made.

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But that whole like his that entire
vibe of his press conferences and the Chauncy

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Billipstone was just we talked about it. It was an unmitigated catastrophe. So

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to have that be a difference,
say, it's a change, and look

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the fact that Dwayne Haskins was allowed
there and like where Chris McGowan was kind

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of not when he was had basically
the same role, similar role. I

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don't know if the titles were the
same or whatever, but like that has

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to help too. It felt like
there was more at least synergy with any

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or even if that's it's only front
facing, it's one would you call it

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a press conversation not a press conference? A press conversation, that's it.

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That's progress. I mean it might
be minimal progress, but it is progress.

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I mean, again, low Bar, I felt it felt like really

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good that they had at least like
clearly talked about in advance, like how

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do we want to come off like
we want to come off as a team.

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And they spent a lot of time
like acknowledging the fact that the business

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side and the basketball side had had
a rift between them, they had not

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been communicating the way that they thought
that that you know, the current iteration

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thinks that they should have been and
you know, I understand. So the

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way it's set up in Portland is
that like the basketball operations is out at

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the practice facility and the business operations
are at the Moda Center, and they're

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like fifteen miles apart, and you
know, one of the things that's been

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talked about is like how those two
offices really felt like they were far apart

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and we're working together as much as
they wanted to. And they made a

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point at this press conference talking about
how they wanted to, you know,

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bring those two signs closer together.
And like I'll say it a million times

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in the last you know, nine
months with this organization, it's just felt

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like absolutely nobody cared at all.
You know, nobody cared. And the

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fact that somebody cared enough to think
about how they were going to come across

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and think about what messages that they
wanted to get across that would make the

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fans feel like invited into the conversation
and feel like people were actually trying to

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like listen and respond to you,
which was the exact opposite of the you

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know, the last conversation with Neil
Olsha where he just like you know,

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yelled at us about, you know, wanting to know any how dare we

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want to know anything about the investigation
that they conducted into Chauncey Billups. You

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00:10:03,519 --> 00:10:09,000
know that's proprietary exactly. Yeah,
So there's there was an interesting point that

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a local reporter made that I'm kind
of curious if you had any thoughts on

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it, is that when the Billups
investigation, you know, was concluded and

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we were told that, you know, they decided that they wanted to move

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forward with hiring him and they weren't
going to give us any more information,

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and then one of the local radio
stations, I think news stations had to

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like go investigate like who actually did
the investigation because they wouldn't the Blazers wouldn't

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release anything. When the investigation of
Neil Olsha started, I think initially it

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was leaked, but once it was
out there, we were kept informed about

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what was happening, not like,
of course, like exactly you know who

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they were talking to, but they
were like, it's expanded to a larger

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group of people, it's continuing to
go on. It's now possibly involving the

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players in conversations, Like we at
least had some little bit of something that

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we could like go them onto,
so it wasn't like they just forgot and

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so, you know, one of
the local reporters report kind of said that

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it was like, it's very different
the way people reacted to like not hearing

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anything about like the Chauncy Billets investigation, and then once the Neil Olsha of

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investigation was concluded, we were all
like, okay, good, we don't

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00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,480
need to know anything else more.
It's like we believe it, we trust

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you. That's fine. Well.
I think it helps that there was information

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one, but it also did feel
like since Neil sha was not the one

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in charge of that, it was
probably easier to get in talent. I

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also think there had to be a
sense because NBA media right now is so

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00:11:41,039 --> 00:11:46,879
tethered to agents and basketball executives like
they are just at the mercy of those

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people. And I think if you
thought Olsha was going to be in charge

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00:11:50,919 --> 00:11:52,799
of the Blazers long term, you
go a little bit easier on him.

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00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:56,960
Maybe you're not prying, maybe you're
not linking information about the Chauncy Billips higher.

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00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,919
It was pretty obvious that Neil Osha
was gonna get fired after all this,

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00:12:01,039 --> 00:12:03,279
and so I don't think there was
that I don't want to call it

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00:12:03,279 --> 00:12:05,320
a loyalty, but there wasn't that
sense of, you know, quid pro

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pro because he's not going to be
in a position to do anything. That

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00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,039
being said, I say this,
and then I still feel like he's been

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00:12:11,039 --> 00:12:15,200
given a forum when you look at
some of these reports where and I'm curious

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your thoughts on this part of it, it feels like Negosha's has been dragging,

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00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,080
not just Damian Lillard specifically, but
there's been a forum for him to

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sort of just like drag the Blazers
through the mud and specifically Damian Lillard.

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And even the way the ESPN report
restrained that Damian Lillard wants a contract extension,

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that's not like news that's players they're
gonna be extension eligible. That's just

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00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,279
the thing. His max salary is
his max salary. He's gonna want his

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00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,360
max salary, and that would have
been a decision whether you want to pay

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00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,679
him that much money at age thirty
five, thirty six, whatever it would

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have been. That isn't a Damian
like, that's a that's not just something

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00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,120
that popped up. It was a
decision always were gonna have to make whether

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00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,200
Damian Lillard was happy or not.
And so that stuff has just been I

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00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,120
guess the need for content or this
time of year to push the Damian Lillard

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00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,919
might want out agenda. But I've
just been I don't want to say flabbery

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00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:07,840
asid, but a little bit surprised. It feels like how much benefit of

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00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:13,279
the doubt or cachet that nielsche still
kind of has based on these like media

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00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,120
leaks when he's he's gone like he's
not an I would hazard I'm sure he'll

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end up in a basketball organization in
some capacity, because that's how this league

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works, but I would be pretty
surprised if he ends up in a real

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position of power at least for quite
some time. Yeah. I don't have

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much to add to what you said. It felt like the piece that came

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00:13:33,159 --> 00:13:37,279
out on ESPN was kind of like
had the tone of like, how dare

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00:13:37,639 --> 00:13:41,559
he like, how dare Damian Lillard
be like trying to like, you know,

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think about getting his extension in the
future when it's like, yeah,

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that's what that's what you do.
When you're in that position, you don't

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00:13:48,919 --> 00:13:52,519
go, oh, we're not going
to talk about it. I don't really

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care about it, Like it's it's
it's not a surprise. And I think

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people went Portland are just like kind
of rolling their eyes about the whole thing

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because they're so used to having the
tweets, you know, from Adrian will

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Janowski be extremely in line with things
that you know, the former GM was

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saying, and we're just all kind
of used to that, so nobody was

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really shocked about that. The one
thing I will kind of to wrap up

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the talk about the press conversation that
I will I'm trying really really hard to

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be realistic about tempering my expectations because
I don't feel like everything is over.

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I don't feel like everything has been
taken care of just because one person is

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gone, because there are people above
that. We're one person who's gone,

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who allowed him to stay and do
the things that he did for a really

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super long time, both basketball related
and also just like you know what he

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was doing that ultimately got him fired, and they you know, conducted in

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an investigation that lasted a whole month, and like we're all going, like

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we've all seen it, we all
see it, and you know, for

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a billionaire, they weren't willing to
you know, pay the fifteen million or

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twenty million payout or whatever that that
old Sha wanted. So I'm trying to,

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you know, temper my expectations that
these three guys did a good job

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of acting like they're all going to
be friends and you know they're going to

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work together to like take this team
to new heights. You know, there's

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also a small in the back of
my mind, and I don't like the

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fact that it's in the back of
my mind, but I'll admit that it's

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there. So the Joe Cronin has
been working alongside Neil all Shade this entire

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time, and awesome. He's like
a genius when it comes to salary cap

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but he's a genius when it comes
to putting all these things together. So

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I imagine that a lot of times
he had to like put stuff together because

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all Shades said, like make this
work, and then he was just like,

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how am I supposed to do that? And then he came up with

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some stuff like how they got off
of the Alan Crab. That was all

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him, you know, like the
way that move structured how to be that

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was the Cap guy exactly, But
he was also in a position where he

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had to like make it happen in
the first place too, if he was

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involved in the trades were as we're
hearing that he is so like, I'm

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just I'm trying to hold back all
of my hopes and dreams and just like

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give it time to play out.
I think I'm really feeling like the Blazers

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are at least like it means so
much to me. Like I said that

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somebody cares and is at least trying, But is that going to be enough?

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And how long is that going to
last. I'm just holding a tiny

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little bit of myself back to not
be too disappointed if things change. Yeah,

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and I do think at least I
think it was. Cronin said that

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the roster has a ceiling on its
currently constructed, which is something that Neil

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Shait just never would have said,
and so that that is probably a good

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sign. But what I think the
interesting point you made too, is that

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they had to go through this investigation
to get Neil O. Shay out and

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he ultimately wasn't fired for He was
fired for things that are much more important

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than basketball. But it's also a
little bit disturbing. It's first and foremost

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disturbing that this was allowed to happen
behind the scenes for so long, but

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it's also a little bit disturbing that
at the end of the day, he

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still wasn't fired for you know,
basketball decisions that he made, not look

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I think his tenure when you look
at just on the court the results,

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the Blazers have been a postseason mainstay. I think they've made some some good

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moves. They've had some really good
teams. So maybe it's underrated in that

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aspect, but since like twenty sixteen, it's been very touch and go to

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put it kindly, and so it
almost makes me wonder. You know,

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you mentioned who cares within the organization. You know, do the people at

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the tippy top? You know,
if we're looking at like Jody Allen or

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00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,720
like the people who were directly reporting
to her outside of Joe Cronin, how

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invested are they in this team?
Because ultimately it wasn't the stuff on the

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court or the moves that he made
that Neil Sha was fired for it.

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00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,000
He was fired because he got caught
for doing something that I guess the Blazers

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were turning a blind mine. That's
what I mean. I mean about the

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tippy top. And you know when
Paul Allen owned the team flawed as every

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human is everybody, you know,
he wasn't perfect. But when he died

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so suddenly, it was like suddenly
the heart just went out. Like he

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was so into the team, like
he wanted like film from summer league practice

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sent to him. Right, I
don't even league he was. He was

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so into the team And like Noel
Olsha would say that, like when he'd

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be trying to do the draft,
he like had a hard time because Phil

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not Phil uh. Paul was like
sending him so many like ideas the whole

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time, Like was like who just
hold on? You know, It's like

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which is a weird way to characterize
somebody like that. But anyway, ever

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since Paul has gone, like I
know that we had like with him,

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we had an owner who cared so
so so so much to go to somebody

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who inherited the team and wasn't even
sure what they were going to do with

274
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the team, and is now like
just kind of holding onto it while it

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goes through this thing. You know. That's like, you know, going

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from somebody who cares a lot to
somebody who's checked out. And the thing

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that makes me really sad about the
whole thing is that, like you could

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see that it was time to move
on in terms of like general managing,

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but instead of doing a buyout or
whatever, they had to drag people into

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it who like already had apparently not
been treated well and went and they had

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to go back to them and go
like tell us about how that was so

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that we can fire this guy for
it. And that just seems like so

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unfair to make people who already were
mistreated to have to like relive being mistreated

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so that their billionaire, you know, could save millions of dollars. That

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just was a bummer to me.
No, I totally get that we've danced

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around the Dame stuff, and what
I just don't find interesting anymore. Dame's

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future in Portland is he's going to
stay in Portland unless he says otherwise.

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I think that's just always been what
it is. And I do get you

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know, over the summer, he
took free agency meetings basically like that Chris

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Haynes report where he was sitting with
Lebron and ad he had no realistic path

291
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:53,119
to get to the Lakers, want
to make that clear, but he there

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did seem a point where he was
equivocating on whether he wanted to stay in

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Portland. That being said, I
can't bring myself to even go deeper into

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the Damian Lillard trade rumors because he's
just come out on so many occasions saying

295
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no, I want to be here, No, I want to be here.

296
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And the other thing that I struggle
with is Joe Cronus stills the interim

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tech and so is this going to
be the guy that would make the Damian

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00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,480
Lillard trade now in the middle of
the season when it's harder to make moves

299
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,119
of this magnitude, And so what
I'm more curious about. You could,

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00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,680
of course add whatever you want on
that Dame front. Do you think that

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there's a possibility this team does enter
a rebuild but it tries to actually rebuild

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00:20:33,799 --> 00:20:37,480
around Dame. And I think that
people don't talk about that because he's on

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00:20:37,519 --> 00:20:40,839
the wrong side of thirty, but
knowing how much he means to the organization,

304
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,359
I think you could argue that their
attendance would probably fall off a cliff

305
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,839
if you were trying to rebuild without
Dame. I think they're about leak average

306
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,440
right now in the percentage at which
the arenas filled. But there's just a

307
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,319
lot of noise in this COVID life
that we lead right now. But I'm

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00:20:53,319 --> 00:20:56,759
just curious to whether you think that's
a path that you think they might explore.

309
00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:02,440
I've been thinking about this a lot
lately, about like what would I

310
00:21:02,519 --> 00:21:06,759
like as a fan, what would
I like to see in terms of the

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00:21:06,799 --> 00:21:10,039
future of this team. And I
absolutely agree with you that Damien is here

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00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:14,640
until he's not. Damien is committed
until something happens and he's had enough and

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00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,440
he's ready to walk away. And
I think that, as with any you

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00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,079
know, any time in life,
you're going to be challenged and you're going

315
00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:23,680
to be tried. And I just
think that, like the first little bit

316
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,079
of adversity is not going to drive
Damian Lord away. And we talked about

317
00:21:27,079 --> 00:21:30,599
this before when I was on how
I talked about how Damion Lord is a

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00:21:30,599 --> 00:21:33,359
storyteller and his story in Portland is
not done. There are many more chapters.

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00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:37,519
I think that he's going to write
someday. He may get fed up,

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00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:40,200
but I don't think that it is
right now. So that having been

321
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:41,559
said, as a fan, I've
been thinking about what I would like to

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00:21:41,559 --> 00:21:45,640
see, and I personally would and
I think there's a good path. I

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00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,240
think there is a path forward for
this. I would love to see them

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00:21:48,519 --> 00:21:52,319
start building for Damien in like two
or three years. And I know that

325
00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:57,759
sounds like maybe that sounds like crazy, but partly for selfish reasons, because

326
00:21:57,799 --> 00:22:03,119
I'm looking at all these other teams
who have these young, exciting players that

327
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,319
were drafted, and like the last
couple of draft class of just has some

328
00:22:06,559 --> 00:22:08,720
real gems of some players that are
going to be around and like make a

329
00:22:08,759 --> 00:22:15,839
meaningful difference for a long time.
And I'm tired of just watching, you

330
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,559
know, Vets on one year minimum
contract try to pull the Blazers over the

331
00:22:19,599 --> 00:22:25,759
top. I will love everybody who
wears a Blazer jersey, except for maybe

332
00:22:25,839 --> 00:22:29,279
Raymond Felton, but I'm sure even
maybe he's a Blaze guy. But I

333
00:22:30,519 --> 00:22:33,519
and I like I will embrace Tony
Snell. You've seen that I have started

334
00:22:33,559 --> 00:22:37,000
to really, you know, love
Ben McLamore, God bless him, but

335
00:22:37,279 --> 00:22:44,559
I would love to see the Blazers
take a chance on some young under like

336
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,880
undeveloped players, draft some young players, because you know, you look at

337
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,480
Chris Paul and he's like quite a
bit older than the guys that he's playing

338
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,599
with, but he has this younger
core who was allowed to grow and and

339
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:02,759
so that you know what, they
all became ready. They that core became

340
00:23:02,799 --> 00:23:04,799
ready at the same time, and
they had Chris Paul as a leader.

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00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,000
And I think a situation like that
for Damian Lillard is like, why not

342
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:17,440
let Damian Lillard, you know,
have some input and influence on growing some

343
00:23:17,759 --> 00:23:22,319
exciting new players and why not have
them be like six seven six eight six

344
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,400
nine, and you know, come
in and ready to learn how to play

345
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,480
defense. And maybe it could be
a couple of rough years. But I

346
00:23:29,519 --> 00:23:32,759
don't I don't know if that's like
totally crazy. Is that just like nuts

347
00:23:32,799 --> 00:23:37,240
to think that it would be a
good thing for the team looking towards the

348
00:23:37,279 --> 00:23:42,960
future to keep Damian Lillard grow some
younger players around, like instead of like

349
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:47,079
getting rid of the star and starting
from scratch. I know it's hard to

350
00:23:47,079 --> 00:23:49,079
do. I don't know. I
just like I just want to watch Nas

351
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:56,119
and Aunt right now and like when
like I again, I'll love anybody who

352
00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,240
comes on the team. But every
year for the last several years, the

353
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,200
Blazers have said that, like this
minimum player that we're getting for a year,

354
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,519
they're gonna take you. Hassan Whiteside's
gonna take us over the top,

355
00:24:07,799 --> 00:24:11,519
Mario Hazonia is gonna be the man. You know, Cody Zeller is going

356
00:24:11,559 --> 00:24:15,039
to be the difference because he's going
to come in and play defense, and

357
00:24:15,319 --> 00:24:18,519
like God bless all those guys.
I am excited. I want to watch

358
00:24:18,559 --> 00:24:26,640
some young players develop around Damian Lillard
and see where that goes. That just

359
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,920
seems like more fun to me.
And I think it seems possible. But

360
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,200
I don't know, what do you
do? You think it's possible. I

361
00:24:33,279 --> 00:24:37,519
do, And I think it's unique. I think it's uniquely possible because if

362
00:24:37,559 --> 00:24:42,839
any of that contract extension talk was
true, when you're signing him to that

363
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:47,279
extension, whether it's the full max
or not, I would assume it'd be

364
00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:49,240
done with the understanding of this is
our three or four year plan. Since

365
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,759
you're under contract for the next four
or five years, whatever it be at

366
00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:55,720
that point, and then you would
have to get his buy in. But

367
00:24:55,759 --> 00:24:57,880
if he's there and sign, then
you don't have the threat of looming three

368
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:02,880
agency or the type of trade request, the non Ben Simmons trade request where

369
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:03,920
it's like, oh, he's a
year out from three NC or even just

370
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:10,160
two years out. And the other
thing is yo Dame season so far,

371
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:12,440
notwithstanding because he has not been Damian
Lillard. I don't know how much of

372
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,079
that is due to the abdominal injury, but just looking at Steph Curry and

373
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,720
his age thirty three season, I
know Dame probably is just more wear and

374
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,559
tear when you look at how important
or how many minutes he's played in certain

375
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:25,880
seasons. I don't want to say
he was more important to the Blazers and

376
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,799
Stephy he had less help during certain
seasons than Steph that Engle state, but

377
00:25:29,799 --> 00:25:33,319
you just look at their type of
games. Steph has aged so well that

378
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,000
I think you can believe. Okay, if we're this is his age thirty

379
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,880
one season, let's say they begin
the rebuildish thing now by his age thirty

380
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,039
three age thirty four season. If
you've then hit on people who are closer

381
00:25:45,079 --> 00:25:48,000
to their prime, or maybe he's
maybe he's still your best player, maybe

382
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,440
he's a co best player, but
there's not such a clear delineation between dame

383
00:25:52,839 --> 00:25:56,720
this fifty foot gap and then your
best player. I think that that's absolutely

384
00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:00,240
fine. There's probably an inherent risk
there, but there's just as much risk

385
00:26:00,519 --> 00:26:04,480
in if you want to go after
and win now. You can't trade a

386
00:26:04,519 --> 00:26:08,160
first round pick until two twenty four. You don't have a blue chip young

387
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,920
player. Nasa is intriguing, and
it's intriguing, but he's gonna be a

388
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:17,279
restricted free agent this summer, so
he's about to get paid. Your next

389
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,839
move is almost your last move in
that regard, because what else is there?

390
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,359
Because I don't think CJ. McCollums
contracts viewed as a net positive around

391
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:27,000
the league. He's still a very
good player, but that's a steep contract

392
00:26:27,039 --> 00:26:32,119
for someone who has never been like
the second best player on a finals team.

393
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,119
I granted the Blazers did get to
the conference finals. So your next

394
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,279
move, if you go towards the
win now it feels like your last bite

395
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,599
at the apple to where if it
flops, you're not as good. Then

396
00:26:42,599 --> 00:26:47,480
there's almost nothing to do, but
trade Dame. If you're talking to him

397
00:26:47,519 --> 00:26:48,160
and it's like, Okay, you
know what, We're gonna get rid of

398
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,279
nur Kich, we're gonna get rid
of Covington, We're gonna get rid of

399
00:26:51,279 --> 00:26:53,400
c J. McCollum, and we're
gonna try and rebuild through the draft,

400
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,519
take flyers on young players. Maybe
just get a little bit more youthful,

401
00:26:56,559 --> 00:27:00,160
and we'll be back up and ready
to go at a championship levels. The

402
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,359
plan in two. You know,
let's count this season so by like you

403
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,079
know, twenty twenty three or something
like that. Maybe that's something he can

404
00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,000
get on board with, especially if
they're going to sign him to an extension.

405
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:18,200
And I yes, And I to
talk a little bit more about some

406
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,599
of the young players that are coming
into the league. The difference between the

407
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,039
players who came into the league ten
years ago and the players who are coming

408
00:27:25,079 --> 00:27:29,640
into the league now. The players
who are coming into the league now,

409
00:27:29,839 --> 00:27:33,359
it just seems like, and you
correct me if I'm wrong, they come

410
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,079
in with a different they've been through
sort of different programs, and they come

411
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:41,839
in with like all these like amazing
skill sets where they're you know, there's

412
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:45,799
six eleven and they're shooting threes already, like they don't have to wait until

413
00:27:45,839 --> 00:27:48,440
their body breaks down and they have
to like figure out what am I going

414
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:52,960
to add to my game? You
know, they there's you know, just

415
00:27:53,960 --> 00:28:00,200
the players are coming in as hard, those defenders and like that's the that

416
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,119
they want to make their you know, make their name with. And I

417
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,519
don't know, I just again selfishly
as a fan, I think that's more

418
00:28:07,759 --> 00:28:12,839
fun to watch. And if we're
worried about people coming to the games and

419
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:17,799
having a high value on the team, I think, you know, having

420
00:28:17,839 --> 00:28:21,240
some young players who are fun and
exciting to watch and do things differently in

421
00:28:21,279 --> 00:28:25,799
our like a big risk but also
could be really high reward would be better

422
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,839
for like the health of the team
long term rather than just running back people

423
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,799
that are like tried and true,
and maybe we can squeeze a little bit

424
00:28:32,799 --> 00:28:34,920
more out of them. I mean
that's what Terry Stotts did. Terry Stotts

425
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:41,640
squeezed absolutely the most out of players. I mean, look at what he

426
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,119
did with Alva Rukimnu and Mo Harkless
and you know a whole bunch of other

427
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:49,240
players. So I think it would
be fun too as a fan, watch

428
00:28:49,319 --> 00:28:52,160
some young players that are, like
I said, you know, high re

429
00:28:52,359 --> 00:28:56,160
risk, high rewards, see what
they can do, make it interesting and

430
00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:00,640
maybe strike on one of them.
And like you can do that with Damian

431
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,759
Lillard, Like there's no reason you
have to get, you know, ship

432
00:29:03,799 --> 00:29:07,559
off Damian Lillard to do that.
And plus Damien's gonna stay because he wants

433
00:29:07,599 --> 00:29:11,039
to stay. And I think that's
just the big thing is, is Damien

434
00:29:11,079 --> 00:29:14,440
Willard really still want to stay if
you're going through that, because I think

435
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,079
that's a from my ten thousand foot
view of the situation. If you're gonna

436
00:29:18,079 --> 00:29:21,480
tell me Dame's gonna hover around one
of the ten or fifteen best players in

437
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,519
the league for the next few years, I'm gonna go the all En route

438
00:29:23,559 --> 00:29:26,920
still because it's just so rare that
you have those guys. But the scenario

439
00:29:27,119 --> 00:29:32,440
of rebuilding around him would be a
close second in terms of just a tantalizing

440
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:36,680
possibility. I'm just wondering if he's
going to be as open to staying in

441
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,480
Portland if that's the direction they want
to take, and I would I don't

442
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,319
think anyone aside from him would have
any idea. And I also just don't

443
00:29:41,319 --> 00:29:45,400
think that that's I'm sure internally they've
discussed it, but like, that's not

444
00:29:45,759 --> 00:29:48,240
this conversation we're having is not something
that's really been part of like the mainstream

445
00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:52,799
discourse on the Blazers. Yeah,
for sure, which is why it feels

446
00:29:52,839 --> 00:29:59,319
even weird to like say it out
loud. So we'll get to more stuff

447
00:29:59,359 --> 00:30:03,000
about the the wind nows and trades, because again, Cronin did say that

448
00:30:03,519 --> 00:30:06,799
this is an enhancement. I'm just
gonna keep coming. It was a press

449
00:30:06,839 --> 00:30:11,759
conversation about their enhancement. Lots of
synonyms being here. I think that,

450
00:30:11,839 --> 00:30:15,319
Yeah, I think that he was
looking for another word than rebuild, and

451
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,039
like was just like searching around for
something, and so I don't know that

452
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,440
enhancement. Maybe it does have a
really specific meaning in his mind, but

453
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,200
I just took at Hiss like,
well, it's not going to be a

454
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,680
rebuild, but we really don't know
what we can do at this point.

455
00:30:29,359 --> 00:30:32,119
I need someone, I need an
executive to call it a marination. The

456
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,680
situation is a marin. It's not
a rebuild, it's not a win now,

457
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,720
it's not enhancement. We're marinating.
We're gonna for a while, We're

458
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,559
gonna maronate. This team is the
But looking at the team right now,

459
00:30:42,599 --> 00:30:45,759
you have CJ McCollum dealing with the
collapse long hope. We haven't even gotten

460
00:30:45,759 --> 00:30:51,279
like a timetable or a prognosis on
it, so hopefully he's fine. He

461
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:55,039
struggled at points this year. Damian
Lillard's not. He's had some stretches where

462
00:30:55,039 --> 00:30:57,759
he's been fine. He's dealing with
the Obdonnald injury. I think we're recording

463
00:30:57,759 --> 00:31:00,759
this before they play on Sunday.
I've seen reports that after his quarter zone

464
00:31:00,799 --> 00:31:06,079
injection he plans to play. Is
there any reason to have long term concerns

465
00:31:06,079 --> 00:31:08,200
about either of these two with the
play that you saw from them on the

466
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,799
court, or is there anything that
you saw from them as to why they're

467
00:31:11,799 --> 00:31:17,000
struggling? Like CJ is shooting a
career low from mid range every single spot

468
00:31:17,039 --> 00:31:18,519
you break it down in between,
he's just at a career low. He's

469
00:31:18,519 --> 00:31:22,559
not even hitting his corner threes this
year. He's only taken thirty seven,

470
00:31:22,599 --> 00:31:25,440
but he's at sub I think he's
at thirty five percent, which is well

471
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:30,440
below the league average there. And
then Dame was just going through these uncharacteristic

472
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,079
cold streaks to open the year,
and so was there anything that you were

473
00:31:33,079 --> 00:31:36,799
noticing? Is there any reason for
long term concern aside from the injuries clearly

474
00:31:36,839 --> 00:31:40,160
with either of those two. So
I don't know how to have this conversation

475
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:41,920
with it out it sounding like I'm
trying to make a bunch of excuses,

476
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:47,559
But I'll go through sort of what
I've been thinking in my mind in Portland

477
00:31:47,839 --> 00:31:51,119
since the beginning of this season,
those of us who are really familiar with

478
00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:55,039
watching Damil and Lollard play, a
lot of us have been like, that

479
00:31:55,359 --> 00:31:59,680
is just not Damian Lillard, like
something's going on. A lot of us

480
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,519
have that he's been injured for quite
a while and just assumed that that's what

481
00:32:02,759 --> 00:32:08,119
was going on. And so I
don't think I myself have never been particularly

482
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:13,920
worried about him in terms of like, did he suddenly just like forget how

483
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,319
to play basketball. No, we
have ten years of really good data that

484
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:22,440
Damian Lillard is really good at basketball, So it has to be something else,

485
00:32:22,559 --> 00:32:25,920
and you know, it has to
be an injury. Also, new

486
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:32,640
coach, new schemes, you know, not new players around him, but

487
00:32:32,839 --> 00:32:37,440
being asked to approach the game differently, you know, in the past,

488
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,960
it was pretty much given the ball
of Damien and let Damien go. And

489
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,720
now there's been emphasis on more ball, more ball movement. I don't know

490
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:51,279
if there's been that much more emphasis
on player movement, but there's just there's

491
00:32:51,319 --> 00:32:54,839
just there's definitely been different emphasis that
there was before. And I know that

492
00:32:54,880 --> 00:33:00,200
they're all professionals and that they will
figure it out, but sometimes it does

493
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,279
take time. So and so that's
kind of what thing. I've never been

494
00:33:04,319 --> 00:33:10,400
worried about Damien. With CJ,
I feel like he also is struggling with

495
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:17,640
I don't know, with perfecting the
new system the way that the new coach

496
00:33:17,799 --> 00:33:23,000
wants him to. And generally I
don't worry about CJ at all. The

497
00:33:23,039 --> 00:33:29,119
only caveat I have to that is
in that Celtics game before CJ got injured,

498
00:33:30,039 --> 00:33:31,039
I was, I don't even know
who that person is out there.

499
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:36,920
He was playing so uncharacteristic and people
had been saying and because there were some

500
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,920
there was some ugly, ugly,
ugly games before these last two games,

501
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:45,559
ugly games, and like all CJ
was doing was just like taking the ball

502
00:33:45,599 --> 00:33:49,359
and shooting like nothing else. All
he was doing is taking the ball and

503
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,880
dribbling and shooting, and some people
say that's what CJ always does, but

504
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:54,759
I felt like he was doing even
more in that game, and I was

505
00:33:54,799 --> 00:33:57,480
just like, I don't know even
know who this is. That's why I

506
00:33:57,519 --> 00:34:00,039
was like, did he get injured
earlier? Because is like I just I

507
00:34:00,279 --> 00:34:02,200
said to somebody while I was watching
the game, I was like, I

508
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,720
don't know who that person is out
there. He's not playing like the CJ

509
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:10,400
I know, so long answer,
short answer, I'm not really worried.

510
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:15,920
Definitely not worried about Damien. Would
love for him to have enough rest to

511
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:21,400
get fully healthy. Not too bit
worried about CJ. But I do understand

512
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,480
he has a lot going on.
He also his wife is about ready to

513
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,960
have a baby any day. He's
the president of the Players Association, and

514
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,280
maybe it takes a little while to
get into a new routine where you can

515
00:34:32,559 --> 00:34:37,679
have a balance between your job of
being a basketball player and then all the

516
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:40,440
other jobs that he's recently taken on. Yeah, I don't think enough attention

517
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,320
has been paid to just the newness
of the Blazer situation with Chauncy going from

518
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,199
Terry Stotts to Chauncy Billips and also
this is the first time that you've had

519
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,159
McCollum or Lillard undergo such change.
Even if you don't think the offenses look

520
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:57,440
drastically different, it's definitely encouraging that
their offense is fifth and points per possession

521
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:01,079
despite the absences in general under livering
from Dame and CJ, I'm with you

522
00:35:01,079 --> 00:35:06,840
on Damian Lillard that he'll be fine. The one conserve I would have is

523
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,639
that he looked off during the Olympics
too, and the fact that he said

524
00:35:09,639 --> 00:35:13,760
the abdominal injury has been around for
like three or four years. That's either

525
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,599
encouraging because of how well he's played, or discouraging because it's like, well,

526
00:35:17,639 --> 00:35:20,679
holy shit, like maybe you need
to sit out the rest of the

527
00:35:20,679 --> 00:35:22,960
season and get that fixed rather than
get a quarters own injection. I mean,

528
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:27,639
we've we've known about it in Portland
for a while, you know,

529
00:35:28,599 --> 00:35:35,079
and he he seems really reluctant to
talk about it because he doesn't ever want

530
00:35:35,079 --> 00:35:40,119
to sound like he's making excuses.
But whenever you see him struggling with shooting,

531
00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:43,119
it's kind of like like if he
has an off night, it's like,

532
00:35:43,159 --> 00:35:45,199
oh, I wonder if his abs
are are hurting him? Yeah,

533
00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:50,119
so I would love for him to
have enough time to I mean, what

534
00:35:50,199 --> 00:35:54,079
an opportunity for him to do that
right now, you know, when the

535
00:35:54,079 --> 00:35:58,119
rest of the team is in turmoil
and they're trying to figure out what they're

536
00:35:58,119 --> 00:36:02,840
gonna be, Like, just like
it was shocking, shocking to Rip City

537
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:07,679
that they were sending him for ten
days. Yeah, that's this is probably

538
00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,800
like already the most games he's missed
in his career over a season, though,

539
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,639
unless I was there a season where
he didn't really play that much,

540
00:36:15,039 --> 00:36:17,679
he was given an iron man day. Yeah, he's been an iron man,

541
00:36:19,119 --> 00:36:22,559
so absolutely, I would hazard he
would be fine, But you hate

542
00:36:22,559 --> 00:36:24,519
to see that, like there's been
an injury lingering for years. I'm more

543
00:36:24,559 --> 00:36:30,079
concerned about McCollum because he just looks. You mentioned the thing about his wife

544
00:36:30,119 --> 00:36:32,880
and they're having a child. I
do think people probably underestimate like how much

545
00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,280
that can take a told. Bradley
Beale has been pretty open about it,

546
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:39,719
like going through a pregnancy with your
wife and that lack of sleep, And

547
00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:44,360
then you mentioned he's the president or
vice is he president now? The players?

548
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,199
Yeah, that's a lot. There's
a lot going on, and so

549
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:52,400
that plus the change I still think
of all the zoom calls it would involve

550
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:58,199
to be I have too many zoom
calls non podcasts related since the pandemics.

551
00:36:58,199 --> 00:37:00,880
I can only imagine what the president
of the Basketball Players Association would have.

552
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:06,239
But just watching him, I have
no It feels like a shot gets blocked

553
00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:09,880
more often than he's just not.
Like something just seems off about his offense

554
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:14,800
that would worry me. Knowing he's
under contract for the next was he a

555
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,119
four years left or is just the
first the four years three years left at

556
00:37:17,199 --> 00:37:22,159
thirty plus million per year, So
there's like the level of concern there.

557
00:37:22,199 --> 00:37:25,280
And also the other thing. Could
he been dealing with Bruce Ribs all season

558
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,679
and like that was just something he
was trying to play through and this is

559
00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:32,920
an issue that just sort of worsened
and now now we're here. Who knows.

560
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:37,039
At that point. I'm definitely more
concerned about him though moving forward than

561
00:37:37,039 --> 00:37:42,400
I would be about David A little. Yeah, I guess, like with

562
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:46,559
with sort of the whole team in
general, and they're like, I know

563
00:37:46,639 --> 00:37:52,199
that. I'm sure you've heard about
their home and their road record where they

564
00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,599
were ten at one time, they
were ten and one at home and one

565
00:37:54,679 --> 00:37:59,880
and ten on the road. At
that point, I was kind of surprised

566
00:38:00,199 --> 00:38:07,519
that we hadn't heard anything about the
team rallying around something Like I thought that

567
00:38:07,599 --> 00:38:13,960
at some point, like we might
hear that, you know, they're rallying

568
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:16,400
around their coach like they have they
like, let's let's figure like they just

569
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:21,840
they looked like they were playing like
listlessly. They just looked like like they

570
00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:25,119
hadn't tapped into whatever it was,
you know, And it goes through with

571
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:30,159
you know, the coach calling him
out in the in the press conferences,

572
00:38:30,599 --> 00:38:34,119
like on the one hand, like
I don't think that's like the right way

573
00:38:34,119 --> 00:38:37,719
to do it. But on the
other hand, it's like he just said

574
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:40,360
what we were all looking at,
and it was you know, I just

575
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:44,800
kind of I kind of expected that
at some point they would all have like

576
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:46,599
rallied like, Oh, we were
having a lot of injuries, Let's pull

577
00:38:46,679 --> 00:38:51,360
together. Oh are you know people
are unsure that whether our coach is going

578
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:55,360
to be successful, Let's pull together. Oh our general manager under investigation,

579
00:38:55,519 --> 00:38:59,280
let's pull together. But it just
didn't look like they were pulled together.

580
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,199
I will say though, that the
last two games, even though they were

581
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:10,400
losses, they look like a different
team in terms of just like being more

582
00:39:10,599 --> 00:39:15,800
unified than I'd seen them all season. Really, yeah, which is I

583
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:20,320
totally forgot about Billip's calling them out. That was just like not between that

584
00:39:20,559 --> 00:39:23,519
and then him criticizing Roko for like
not being a better point of attack defender

585
00:39:23,599 --> 00:39:29,639
when that's never been when Roko does
my next I guess these are all pessimistic

586
00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:34,079
questions so far. Would would be
with Nurkic and Roco? What in the

587
00:39:34,119 --> 00:39:37,480
world is up with either of those
dudes. Nurkis does look a little bit

588
00:39:37,519 --> 00:39:42,039
more in tune with the offense lately, but Roco over the past ten games

589
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,639
is averaging a few over his past
seven games excuse me, because he missed

590
00:39:45,639 --> 00:39:50,599
three is averaging fewer points than Ben
mckilmore. Is what is going on here

591
00:39:50,639 --> 00:39:53,719
with these two guys. So with
the use of Nurkics, you know how

592
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:58,360
much I like dunks, and he
is averaging one more dunk per game so

593
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,679
far this season than he was last
year. So the little ray of Sunshine

594
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:07,760
has that to report. The last
two games, where I was saying that

595
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,639
I really liked what I saw those
last two games, it looked to me

596
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:15,920
like which one of my favorite things
with this team, My favorite things when

597
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:17,079
this team. Of course, you
know, dame time is a really awesome

598
00:40:17,119 --> 00:40:21,440
time time. But I love it
when you use of Neurgish decides to put

599
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:25,719
the team on his back. And
it doesn't happen that often, but when

600
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:30,400
he comes out and he's slapping other
players on the butts and he is like

601
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:35,320
shoving the ball in rather than like
flipping it in, that's a sign that

602
00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:40,159
you're going to have a really great
use of Neurgish night. And he's been

603
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:47,119
consistently, you know, putting up
numbers and double doubles, but sometimes having

604
00:40:47,159 --> 00:40:53,719
thirteen points at twelve rebounds is less
contributing to winning, and some nights it's

605
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:59,280
more contributing to winning. And I
think one of the big like one of

606
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:02,719
the big big changes that happen this
year on defense is that is supposed to

607
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:07,719
be coming up farther. He is
now supposed to be at the you know,

608
00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:13,760
at the at the top of the
screen as opposed to hanging back.

609
00:41:14,199 --> 00:41:16,719
He now has all the defense happening
behind him, like where he used to

610
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:21,679
be like under the basket or lower. He used to be able to see

611
00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:23,679
what was going on. When you're
coming up. You can't see everything that's

612
00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:28,880
going on, so you have to
trust everybody. You have to trust everybody

613
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:34,320
behind you who you can't see is
doing what they're doing. And also if

614
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:38,199
you're like Roco supposed to be doing
something, you have to like show that

615
00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:44,480
you're trustworthy and being able to do
that thing. And it's also new.

616
00:41:44,599 --> 00:41:50,480
I don't I haven't heard a lot
of talk about like this new defensive scheme

617
00:41:50,519 --> 00:41:55,039
to relize a ton on trusting each
other throughout multiple rotations. It used to

618
00:41:55,079 --> 00:42:00,079
be like just go stand in these
spots and kind of like be big and

619
00:42:00,199 --> 00:42:05,800
like pray. And we know,
we know that that wasn't great because they

620
00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:09,280
were twenty ninth and defense last year. We also know it had as good

621
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:15,119
a chance of working against Orlando as
it did against Golden State. The news

622
00:42:15,159 --> 00:42:20,679
scheme is much more sophisticated. It
relies a lot more untrusting, and your

623
00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:23,800
big guy can't like spends a lot
less time seeing what's going on behind him,

624
00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:27,119
and you have to, like I
said, you know, trust your

625
00:42:27,119 --> 00:42:31,559
players through multiple rotations, so like
when they look good, they can cover

626
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:36,280
like the first rotation, maybe the
second rotation, and then everything completely falls

627
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:38,880
apart on the third rotation, so
doesn't work here against Golden State, who

628
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:43,000
will just go and go and go
and go until they get their great shot.

629
00:42:43,079 --> 00:42:45,360
So I think I don't think use
of Nurkis has fallen off the cliff

630
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,519
in terms of defense, even though
some of the Knights it looks really bad.

631
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:52,599
I think he's getting used to it, and I've seen recent play that

632
00:42:52,679 --> 00:42:57,960
shows me he's getting more comfortable with
it. And you know, if they

633
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,159
could put it together and you know, I think it could be a good

634
00:43:00,199 --> 00:43:05,159
thing. But I just I just
think it's again it sounds like an excuse.

635
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,559
But I don't think he's suddenly become
bad at defense. I think he's

636
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:15,880
playing a different defense and he's figuring
it out Roco. I don't know.

637
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:19,079
I just maybe it's just a bad
fit right now. I think, you

638
00:43:19,119 --> 00:43:22,760
know, maybe the coach is a
bad fit for him, Maybe the scheme

639
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:30,719
is a bad fit for him.
You know, he's never been like he's

640
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:36,760
never been a volume shooter, obviously, but now it's like takes something at

641
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:40,760
least take a popple, like you're
not a bad three point shooter, especially

642
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:44,480
when he takes a little bit of
a step back, like he last season,

643
00:43:44,559 --> 00:43:45,800
like he would be right up at
the three point line and like he

644
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:50,280
was. I think that he was
always a better shooter when he took like

645
00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:53,639
another step back and shot from a
greater distance. But anyway, yeah,

646
00:43:53,679 --> 00:43:57,599
I just I just think it's just
not a good fit for him right now.

647
00:43:57,639 --> 00:44:00,679
Whatever it is the scheme or just
the personality with the coach, and

648
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:04,960
they haven't figured it out. But
I don't think. I actually don't feel

649
00:44:05,159 --> 00:44:09,760
hopeless about any of this because I
can see, like, oh, if

650
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:14,039
they could do this, if they
got more used to that, then you

651
00:44:14,079 --> 00:44:16,800
know, this would fall into place
more if the use of gets used to

652
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:21,280
not being able to see the guys
behind them and trusting that they're gonna do

653
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:23,079
what they're gonna do. If Larry
ANNs is in there, Larry and Nanson

654
00:44:23,079 --> 00:44:25,960
knows exactly what he's supposed to do, Norman Powell knows what he's supposed to

655
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:30,480
do. Ben McLamore knows what he's
supposed to do. Like once he gets

656
00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:34,000
used to that, then he can
turn his attention on the thing that he's

657
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,480
supposed to be doing and then do
all the running around that he has to

658
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:40,519
do. Yeah, I guess I
would be curious with Nurkicch whether he would

659
00:44:40,559 --> 00:44:45,119
be built to play on defense the
way that Portland wants to play this season,

660
00:44:45,199 --> 00:44:49,960
just because in the positions that he's
in, if he's going to contest

661
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:52,840
shots at the rim, which they're
still gonna need him do, that compromises

662
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:55,400
him. I did look, opponents
are shooting above seventy percent at the rim

663
00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:59,679
against Nurkitch this season, which is
just it's the worst mark in the league

664
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,880
among players who contest as many shots
as him. So that's something to watch.

665
00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:07,679
I do think from the top now
like he used to be down there

666
00:45:07,079 --> 00:45:10,199
you mentioned, and this is going
back and watch it. You mentioned like

667
00:45:10,239 --> 00:45:15,000
the rotations that they're making as the
season has progressed. It seems like they're

668
00:45:15,039 --> 00:45:20,079
forcing possessions to last longer so that
they're getting it, but they're still getting

669
00:45:20,079 --> 00:45:22,480
burned, like you said on those
third rotations, or if they have to

670
00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:25,239
make these more complicated decisions. And
so now of a sudden, you're in

671
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:30,119
this plane of existence where you're working
your ass off now maybe for more later

672
00:45:30,159 --> 00:45:32,920
into the shot clock, let's say
inside seven seconds, and yet you're still

673
00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:36,920
giving up a bucket and then now
you have to go back and play offense

674
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:40,039
at the other end, there's like
I'm wondering if there's like a stamina trade

675
00:45:40,079 --> 00:45:44,519
off there. But I do think, and I don't know how accurate to

676
00:45:44,519 --> 00:45:46,920
measure this is, but the fact
that they do seem to be forcing possessions

677
00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:51,719
to last later in the shot clock
might be a sign that they are getting

678
00:45:51,719 --> 00:45:54,840
it. I'm just curious as to
whether they have the personnel to make this

679
00:45:55,039 --> 00:45:59,960
viable and how much of their I
call it defensive improvement, but the defensive

680
00:46:00,639 --> 00:46:02,199
the defensive numbers aren't good. How
much of this has to do with the

681
00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:07,159
fact that you haven't had Dame for
a while or you haven't had CJ now,

682
00:46:07,199 --> 00:46:09,400
And those are two guys who are
not going to help your defense for

683
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:13,239
the most part. Right, I
was gonna say that I don't. I

684
00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:16,920
don't think not having Dame and CJ
is making the defense worse. Right,

685
00:46:21,519 --> 00:46:22,679
One of the other things that I
do like, I love dunks, and

686
00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:27,360
I also love it when they forced
a turnover on the twenty four second clock

687
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:31,880
violation and that does happen. Yeah, I don't know, I can't remember,

688
00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:36,039
Like what was the question? Just
if you think that they have the

689
00:46:36,199 --> 00:46:39,400
and maybe is whether they had the
you thought the personnel to play like this,

690
00:46:39,639 --> 00:46:44,360
I don't. I don't think the
personnel fits the scheme. And I

691
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:46,840
think that's something that they have said, whether or not they said it directly

692
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:51,840
or they danced all around it.
It came I walked away from the press

693
00:46:51,880 --> 00:47:00,559
conversation that about the enhancement, right. The enhancement involves finding players that are

694
00:47:00,639 --> 00:47:04,719
more likely to fit into what the
new coach wants to do. Would you

695
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:08,480
consider a and it seems mind blowing
to mention this because the starting lineup killed

696
00:47:08,519 --> 00:47:13,360
people when they're when they're healthy,
obviously killed people last year after that Norman

697
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:16,960
paletrade. Would you consider any changes
within the starting lineup once so you have

698
00:47:17,079 --> 00:47:21,679
all five of those guys available,
sej and Dame are penciled in there there

699
00:47:21,679 --> 00:47:23,239
in Stone. I get that I'm
probably looking more at the front corp.

700
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:28,119
Would you consider tinkering with that at
all? Oh? Sure, I mean,

701
00:47:28,639 --> 00:47:32,599
I think we're all just kind of
waiting for Larry to be the starter.

702
00:47:36,039 --> 00:47:39,119
I'm not sure. I mean,
I've seen moments like at the beginning

703
00:47:39,159 --> 00:47:45,119
of the season when Nurkics and Nance
were in there together. It didn't look

704
00:47:45,119 --> 00:47:51,039
great, but lately in these last
few games when they've been so shorthanded and

705
00:47:51,079 --> 00:47:54,639
they just had to figure it out. I liked some of the stuff that

706
00:47:54,679 --> 00:48:00,360
I saw when Larry Nance was playing
alongside use of Nurkisch. You know,

707
00:48:01,199 --> 00:48:06,480
the best use of Nurkics games are
the ones where he has a lot of

708
00:48:06,519 --> 00:48:09,599
responsibility, i e. The ball
in his hands. The nice thing about

709
00:48:09,639 --> 00:48:15,199
Larry is he doesn't need the ball
in his hands, but he does have

710
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:20,920
the ability to do some playmaking.
And so as long as like Larry doesn't

711
00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:24,079
feel like, you know, he's
having the opportunity to be a playmaker or

712
00:48:24,119 --> 00:48:28,239
taken away from him. He seems
like a guy who just like, if

713
00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:30,199
there's a chance to make a play, he'll make a play. If there's

714
00:48:30,199 --> 00:48:31,239
not a chance to make a play, he'll do something else. What I

715
00:48:31,239 --> 00:48:36,360
would hate to see is have Larry
just camped in the corner and that's all

716
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:40,880
that he does. And you know, uh, Norman Powell has managed to

717
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:46,639
come out of the corner and have
you know, do a more of a

718
00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:51,559
versus you know, a more varied
offense. And I would just hate to

719
00:48:51,559 --> 00:48:55,199
see Larry be like shrunk down to
only you know, standing in the corner

720
00:48:55,239 --> 00:48:59,199
to shoot the three. Oh,
I'm totally with you there. He's too

721
00:48:59,199 --> 00:49:01,320
good of a player to be,
too versatile a player to be to be

722
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:06,719
doing that good small bottle five if
I like it when they go small,

723
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,840
well, that's the change that I
would make. Would be removing Roco or

724
00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:15,119
Nurkich immediately for Larry Nance Junior once
you're healthy, the more nuclear one.

725
00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:19,280
And I'm not sure how you feel
about this, I would pull both Roko

726
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:22,519
and Nurkicch and put nas and Larry
Nance Junior in there and say, you

727
00:49:22,559 --> 00:49:25,039
know what, we need guys that
are going to be more consistently like just

728
00:49:25,119 --> 00:49:29,880
defensively active and engaged. And I
don't think engagements necessarily a Roco problem,

729
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:31,840
but I think with Nurkisch, when
his offense isn't going like he can be

730
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:36,320
first team All MOPI on certain nights
where give the scheme, maybe he doesn't

731
00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:38,440
fit him, but even when they've
played some more conservative half court sets,

732
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:42,639
like he just hasn't looked the same. I don't know if you know you're

733
00:49:42,639 --> 00:49:45,840
also kind of taxing your bench then
at that point, because removing two of

734
00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:50,000
your let's call them problems from the
starting lineup. They still need to play.

735
00:49:50,599 --> 00:49:52,760
You have to play nurk Hitch,
You're not gonna not play Roco.

736
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,400
I'm just curious as to what you
would think about I guess you're on board

737
00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:59,880
with just putting Nance in for either
Roko or Nurk. Would you consider,

738
00:50:00,039 --> 00:50:01,760
like, do you think that Phillips
has the guts? Or is that just

739
00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:05,920
a bad idea to put both NAS
and Nance in the starting lineup and say,

740
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:07,239
you know what, let's just let's
just try this. No, I

741
00:50:07,280 --> 00:50:10,800
think there's no situation under the sun
that you want to bench use of nurkicch

742
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:14,280
because then you just have no nothing. Then you have nothing, could be

743
00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:17,719
clear? I want to bench use
of nurk ch. I just I just

744
00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:24,440
I just think that would be such
a There would be so many other consequences

745
00:50:24,519 --> 00:50:29,039
to benching Nurkics. It wouldn't be
worth it. Cutting down on his minutes,

746
00:50:29,679 --> 00:50:34,920
sure, or starting NAS instead of
Larry and continuing to have Larry like

747
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:40,920
lead the second unit. But I
just I just like benching use of Nurkics

748
00:50:42,079 --> 00:50:46,079
would be as disruptive as like benching
CJ. I think is that a crazy

749
00:50:46,079 --> 00:50:50,440
thing to say? No? And
it's the other part here, the callous

750
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:52,239
business perspective of it. That's not
doing anything for his trade value if you

751
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:58,000
display something. I know, starting
startup designations are so asked backwards now because

752
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:01,079
it just matters the most used lineup, the most played players and who's in

753
00:51:01,119 --> 00:51:05,679
the game and crunch time, Like
that's what actually matters, not starting.

754
00:51:05,719 --> 00:51:08,320
But there's still that cachet assigned to
it. And if you're demoting, demoting,

755
00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:10,320
I put that in air quotes.
People can't see us, but I

756
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:14,800
put it in air quotes. That's
not the best look. I do have

757
00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,760
some happy questions for you about the
Blazers, though, and okay, my

758
00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:21,880
favorite I don't want not my favorite
Blazers. I love Damian Lillard and I'm

759
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:24,599
a huge line at shure guy nots
Little has been a joy to watch this

760
00:51:24,639 --> 00:51:28,480
season, not the least of which
because he's actually been able to play and

761
00:51:28,519 --> 00:51:34,920
stay healthy. What makes not just
so special and so effective for this team

762
00:51:35,039 --> 00:51:42,039
being one of the few players every
single night to just be like so excited

763
00:51:42,079 --> 00:51:45,320
to be out there. And I
think some of it might be because it

764
00:51:45,360 --> 00:51:47,039
took him so long to get into
place where he is healthy enough to be

765
00:51:47,079 --> 00:51:52,440
there like he It was a difficult
path for him to get to, you

766
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:55,960
know, get into the regular rotation, and he every time he steps up

767
00:51:57,039 --> 00:52:00,280
on the court, he just lights
up the court with his energy and his

768
00:52:00,559 --> 00:52:06,599
enthusiasm and you know, having a
player who will just go for it.

769
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:10,079
Like he had an awesome block the
other night. I can't remember who he

770
00:52:10,199 --> 00:52:15,480
blocked. I think it was in
the Golden State State game, and you

771
00:52:15,480 --> 00:52:20,880
could just see it develop like you're
like, oh, this is turning into

772
00:52:20,960 --> 00:52:23,800
a block, and he had plenty
of room underneath. There was nobody standing

773
00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:27,960
in front of him in the basket, so you could just see him planting

774
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:32,199
and rising up and it was just
he has those impact plays that get everybody

775
00:52:32,239 --> 00:52:37,320
excited. He has the dunks that
get everybody excited. He's the one who

776
00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:38,760
can wake up the rest of the
team when they need a little bit of

777
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:43,519
wake up. So that's what I
love and I appreciate about him. It's

778
00:52:43,639 --> 00:52:47,760
just like when energy seems to be
failing or lacking, you just run nas

779
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:51,880
in and all of a sudden you've
got everybody waking up, going, oh,

780
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,239
yeah, this is fun. This
is fun. And that's why kind

781
00:52:54,239 --> 00:52:58,360
of like I liked him off of
the bench, which is like not a

782
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:02,079
fair reason to like bench some buddy, but you can rely on him bringing

783
00:53:02,239 --> 00:53:07,280
energy. He I think the block
was on want to Conna Anderson, which

784
00:53:07,599 --> 00:53:10,679
the name might detract from the shine
of it, but one if people don't

785
00:53:10,679 --> 00:53:14,599
watch him, want to Conno Anderson
is awesome. And that block he had,

786
00:53:14,639 --> 00:53:17,400
like JT had all the runway in
the world, So he had this

787
00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:21,920
built up at his team, and
Nas just sent that thing back and kept

788
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:24,000
it in play. I believe,
unless I'm wrong, I might be disremembered.

789
00:53:24,280 --> 00:53:30,119
He's getting better at all of those
little things that you appreciate about a

790
00:53:30,119 --> 00:53:35,360
guy who's gonna have a really nice
long career in the NBA. His rebounding

791
00:53:35,480 --> 00:53:38,480
this season has gone to a whole
nother level. I don't know if it's

792
00:53:38,480 --> 00:53:42,480
gonna, you know, show in
the numbers, because I haven't looked.

793
00:53:42,519 --> 00:53:46,679
I just know watching games, I'm
like, that was a great NAS rebound.

794
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:52,639
He is he has a way of
like what Ed Davis used to do

795
00:53:52,199 --> 00:53:55,400
is like get small and just like
wiggle his way up. You know how

796
00:53:55,440 --> 00:54:01,639
like have you seen that video of
the of the Octopus that like leaves the

797
00:54:01,639 --> 00:54:05,840
boat through this tiny little slot and
you're just like how's it, Octop And

798
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,199
like he just like makes himself so
small and can get up into these tiny

799
00:54:09,199 --> 00:54:14,199
little areas and then get big again
and like get everybody out of the way.

800
00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:16,840
Like nas can like knife his way
in there into these tiny little spaces

801
00:54:17,239 --> 00:54:22,679
and grab a rebound. And you
know, rebounds can also create a lot

802
00:54:22,719 --> 00:54:29,920
of energy. And my new thing
is I am lobbying for a rebounding contest

803
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,239
in the All Star Game. I
think they need to figure out some way

804
00:54:32,239 --> 00:54:38,320
to have a rebounding contest and put
nozz Little in a whole series of Blazers

805
00:54:38,320 --> 00:54:43,079
who over the years I've enjoyed watching
the rebounds. But yeah, that's another

806
00:54:43,119 --> 00:54:45,880
thing. And he can score in
multiple ways, like I didn't know that

807
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:49,000
he could score off a step back. He also is driving. He's getting

808
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:52,519
to the line. He gets to
the line on drives this year, and

809
00:54:52,519 --> 00:54:54,880
he's averaging I think like three drives
a game. It's not an insubstantial number.

810
00:54:54,920 --> 00:54:59,519
Whatever. It's like if I'm not
watching closely and I see a drive,

811
00:55:00,079 --> 00:55:02,599
you know, first all I'll think
it was Damien and then I'll think

812
00:55:02,639 --> 00:55:06,400
it was Norman Powell. But like
part of the times, it was not

813
00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:08,880
as I'm like, Oh, he's
like he goes into it with so much

814
00:55:08,920 --> 00:55:15,519
authority and like, at this point, there's no you know, there's no

815
00:55:15,559 --> 00:55:19,719
concern. If the ball is in
his hands, there's no concern. And

816
00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:22,800
he can take a couple of dribbles
and shoot it. He can catch and

817
00:55:22,840 --> 00:55:23,880
he can shoot it. He can
put it on the floor and take it

818
00:55:23,920 --> 00:55:25,760
to the rack. He can do
a lot of things, and he can

819
00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:30,880
know that he's getting fouled. I
mean, that's like, that's fantastic.

820
00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:35,119
It's been a hard it's been a
long road that we've been waiting to get

821
00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:38,960
you know, guards or you know, forwards who are not Damian Lillard to

822
00:55:39,079 --> 00:55:45,079
the line. I eat CJ and
I love, but CJ does not get

823
00:55:45,119 --> 00:55:47,519
to the line. In support of
your rebounding point, he has the third

824
00:55:47,599 --> 00:55:52,440
highest defensive rebounding rate among Blazer's rotation
players. And the first two are obviously

825
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:55,119
they're they're bigs in Zeller and Murkis, but he has a higher defensive rebounding

826
00:55:55,199 --> 00:55:59,199
rate than Mayer nance Junior. I
think that that's probably more situational than anything.

827
00:55:59,239 --> 00:56:00,920
It's not the huge friends, but
that's this is someone I think it

828
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:04,840
was not six nine six eight around
there, so it's not this huge guy.

829
00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:07,360
But but you're right on the rebounding
front. Is there any other bright

830
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:12,920
spots to sort of glom onto with
this team? Is it? Anthony Simons

831
00:56:13,039 --> 00:56:16,960
between the leg dunks from Greg Brown? Like what should people be watching about

832
00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:21,239
this team and actually be happy about
or be looking for? Is a sign

833
00:56:21,239 --> 00:56:25,800
of optimism moving forward? One of
the things that I am looking forward to

834
00:56:27,159 --> 00:56:30,320
is when we get Greg Brown time, because it's a blowout on the Blazer's

835
00:56:30,719 --> 00:56:35,519
positive side. We've seen a lot
of Greg Brown water. It's like,

836
00:56:35,599 --> 00:56:38,280
well, at least we get breg
Greg Brown tonight. Instead of like,

837
00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:40,599
oh sweet, maybe the Blazers are
gonna get such a big lead that we're

838
00:56:40,599 --> 00:56:44,440
gonna get Greg Brown. It's more
like, well they threw in the white

839
00:56:44,480 --> 00:56:50,079
flag. At least we get Greg
Brown. But Greg Brown is super fun

840
00:56:50,159 --> 00:56:53,440
and he just pulled off that in
game dump and I noticed that since then

841
00:56:53,519 --> 00:56:58,719
one other player did it as well. I'm not sure who it was,

842
00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:02,119
may have been somebody from Detroit,
and I was like, not great,

843
00:57:02,119 --> 00:57:14,079
Browns is better, But so Anthony
I am. I'm happy that he is

844
00:57:14,199 --> 00:57:20,880
having a lot more games where scoring
is like almost automatic he still has games

845
00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:23,199
like every good player does where they
you know, it's just not his night,

846
00:57:23,599 --> 00:57:27,880
but most night scoring is automatic and
that's like, you know, super

847
00:57:27,960 --> 00:57:32,519
valuable. Out of necessity, Dennis
Smith Junior has been having to play and

848
00:57:32,639 --> 00:57:37,360
he's been fun, and it's been
nice to like actually have a true backup

849
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:42,840
point guard because for years the Blazers
just they don't have a backup point guard.

850
00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:45,760
CJ is their backup point guard.
Anthony is being groomed to be the

851
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,320
next backup point guard. They've never
it's been a long time since they had

852
00:57:49,320 --> 00:57:53,320
somebody who's actually a point guard playing
backup point guard. And you know,

853
00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:59,079
just because Damien has been out,
Dennis Smith Jr. Has done really well

854
00:57:59,119 --> 00:58:00,960
and been fun. It's been fun
to watch him actually run the floor,

855
00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:07,639
and he and use of Nurkic had
some nice chemistry. And I think it's

856
00:58:07,800 --> 00:58:10,880
possible with the new coach, after
more people come back and they're more healthy,

857
00:58:12,199 --> 00:58:15,840
maybe he'll be more willing to think
about like having an actual backup point

858
00:58:15,840 --> 00:58:20,760
guard than Stots ever had. But
yeah, it's been fun to watch Dennis

859
00:58:20,800 --> 00:58:23,039
Smith Jr. That's kind of by
necessity, just due to injuries. But

860
00:58:23,119 --> 00:58:28,079
I'm hoping that that can be a
thing. And you know, I had

861
00:58:28,079 --> 00:58:34,400
a lot of high hopes for Tony
Snell. He's an odd player. He's

862
00:58:34,519 --> 00:58:37,280
just really odd. He can play
for like a lot of minutes and not

863
00:58:37,440 --> 00:58:45,280
have any whatever. I thought that
was kind of charming at first, but

864
00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:47,519
now it's kind of like, maybe
get a rebound or maybe he's just like

865
00:58:47,599 --> 00:58:51,039
helping box people out so nuts can
get the rebounds. I don't know.

866
00:58:52,239 --> 00:58:55,880
And you know, I think Ben
McLamore has done well considering he's not gotten

867
00:58:55,920 --> 00:59:00,000
particularly regular rotations. It's just kind
of like, oh, you're on tonight,

868
00:59:00,039 --> 00:59:02,480
Okay, go in, and you
know he at least knows how to

869
00:59:02,519 --> 00:59:07,880
play some defense and you know,
not make things worse. But yeah,

870
00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:14,880
NAS is definitely the brightest spot for
me. Uh, no argument for me

871
00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:16,199
here. Larry Nance Jr. Has
also been just really good for him and

872
00:59:16,239 --> 00:59:21,239
just rock solid. And look,
if people want to question the merit of

873
00:59:21,239 --> 00:59:25,039
what we're talking about, you and
I discussed on your former podcast at Blazer's

874
00:59:25,119 --> 00:59:30,599
Edge Robert Covington trade that off season
they traded for Robert Covington. Then we

875
00:59:30,599 --> 00:59:35,239
were we had a podcast either end
of last season or was at the beginning

876
00:59:35,239 --> 00:59:37,760
of the off season about how they
should trade for Larry Nance Jr. What

877
00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:40,280
did they do? They were the
one who know all is seeing, You're

878
00:59:40,320 --> 00:59:46,880
the you're the seer and all of
these ones uh Roco was at least both

879
00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:50,639
of us. Maybe that was just
in the ether for so long, but

880
00:59:51,079 --> 00:59:52,480
all of a sudding is when Tara
and I talk about it, it clearly

881
00:59:52,480 --> 00:59:57,119
gets rolled into existence, so we
can talk about which is why people should

882
00:59:57,119 --> 01:00:00,480
pay attention to this next question.
I asked you and I send you a

883
01:00:00,480 --> 01:00:04,480
list of players, but what is
the even if it's not a specific player,

884
01:00:04,519 --> 01:00:08,840
like, what is the if there's
one archetype, one genre of player.

885
01:00:08,960 --> 01:00:14,119
This team needs to continue winning now
by the way, not to hit

886
01:00:14,199 --> 01:00:19,320
reset and rebuild around, but to
enhance the roster to the level that they

887
01:00:19,519 --> 01:00:23,320
want to be at. What type
of player is it? So I have

888
01:00:23,360 --> 01:00:29,400
been also trying to come to the
I've been coming to the realization that it's

889
01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:34,880
super possible that the Blisters will not
be trading CJ. McCollum, that it's

890
01:00:34,920 --> 01:00:42,039
just not gonna be feasible for what
they want and what other teams want,

891
01:00:42,039 --> 01:00:44,760
and it just might be hard for
that. So when you're when you ask

892
01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:47,440
me that question, I didn't go
like Ben Simmons because that I think that

893
01:00:47,480 --> 01:00:51,559
would be really fun to have somebody
like that Ben Simmons on the team,

894
01:00:51,599 --> 01:00:55,920
who's a really great would be who
can Yeah, and I will say it

895
01:00:55,960 --> 01:01:00,280
again, c J would be perfect
in Philadelphia, But I just don't think

896
01:01:00,280 --> 01:01:05,679
that's gonna happen, so kind of
to talk go to my point that earlier

897
01:01:06,559 --> 01:01:12,480
I would love a younger player maybe
you know, twenty one, twenty two,

898
01:01:12,840 --> 01:01:17,599
twenty three, you know, who
still is still developing and still has

899
01:01:17,599 --> 01:01:25,760
things to learn. Somebody who is
a wing or a four, somebody who's

900
01:01:25,800 --> 01:01:30,960
somebody who's taller than six six,
Like they need height, they really do.

901
01:01:31,159 --> 01:01:35,480
Like the other night, I was
watching it and I was like,

902
01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:40,880
Tony Snell did nothing but raise his
hand, and it was harder for Depth

903
01:01:42,039 --> 01:01:44,840
Curry to score. Like all Tony
Snell had to do is put his arm

904
01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:47,800
up in the air and it was
like twenty times harder than you know,

905
01:01:49,000 --> 01:01:52,079
guarding one of their smaller, more
dominiuative guards. So I was just like,

906
01:01:52,159 --> 01:01:57,519
just please, so somebody who's young, somebody who's tall, somebody who

907
01:01:57,599 --> 01:02:01,519
can shoot the three and has they
don't have to be fully developed, but

908
01:02:01,760 --> 01:02:07,119
who has room to grow. There's
a name that springs to mind that I

909
01:02:07,119 --> 01:02:08,960
did not give you my list,
now that you described it, I don't

910
01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:13,719
think I understood how much you wanted
to go the more youthful route. And

911
01:02:13,880 --> 01:02:15,599
I don't know if he fits your
height qualification. You might be six six

912
01:02:15,719 --> 01:02:19,760
exactly. Let me check this really
quick. But he's having a good season

913
01:02:19,920 --> 01:02:24,320
after being injured for the first two
years of his career. Romeo Langford in

914
01:02:24,400 --> 01:02:27,960
Boston. Oh, he's six four. He's way shorter than I thought he

915
01:02:28,079 --> 01:02:32,079
was. So but he's been defending
up If that's any consolation. I just

916
01:02:32,320 --> 01:02:36,440
I'm none of the names I sent
you and you I see in our dock

917
01:02:36,559 --> 01:02:38,480
that you put their age and hights
next to it to fit the bill.

918
01:02:38,840 --> 01:02:42,800
I think the youngest name I sent
you on there it looks like they're twenty.

919
01:02:44,760 --> 01:02:49,480
Oh there, look, I'm gonna
suggest Frank everybody, Oh, there's

920
01:02:49,480 --> 01:02:52,039
a twenty two year old. So
I had lu dort On. There were

921
01:02:52,159 --> 01:02:53,239
of the names that I sent you, though, was there any one that

922
01:02:53,639 --> 01:02:57,920
intrigue or that you thought would be
a good And by the way, Ben

923
01:02:57,960 --> 01:03:00,679
Simmons would be a great fit.
I think I've always leaned more towards I

924
01:03:00,679 --> 01:03:06,320
think the Blazers really need to attach
stuff to CJ to get him. I've

925
01:03:06,360 --> 01:03:08,480
still been curious and maybe they wouldn't
do it, and I guess Philly doesn't

926
01:03:08,480 --> 01:03:12,840
need like a backup five anymore.
But if you went forget CJ, if

927
01:03:12,880 --> 01:03:15,920
you went the Norman Powell route and
picks and like one of your other players,

928
01:03:16,320 --> 01:03:21,480
does that not intrigue Philly. Maybe
it doesn't because they're apparently looking for

929
01:03:21,519 --> 01:03:24,119
a top twenty five player, which
is just so so ambiguous and feels so

930
01:03:24,159 --> 01:03:28,000
impossible at this stage. But I
do agree that Ben Simmons would obviously be

931
01:03:28,039 --> 01:03:31,079
a perfect fit for Portland. Well
as you can see the one that I

932
01:03:31,159 --> 01:03:36,159
highlighted on the list you set me
as Miles Turner. You know, he's

933
01:03:36,199 --> 01:03:38,239
twenty five, so he still has
a lot of years to go on.

934
01:03:38,519 --> 01:03:42,679
He's you know, obviously he's a
forward center, so he's tall, but

935
01:03:42,760 --> 01:03:46,159
he also does shoot the three.
And he's also ready for something new.

936
01:03:46,639 --> 01:03:51,320
And that's kind of the other thing. As I'm I'm looking for somebody who

937
01:03:52,320 --> 01:03:55,039
you know is ready for like is
looking forward to a new situation, And

938
01:03:55,119 --> 01:04:00,800
it sounds like just he's He's heard
for years that you know, he and

939
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:04,360
Sibonians don't fit together, so you
know, come on, we'll see if

940
01:04:04,360 --> 01:04:09,039
you fit over here. I just
I just like him. I don't know

941
01:04:09,039 --> 01:04:14,960
if he's a great fit, but
he I think he would be. He's

942
01:04:15,000 --> 01:04:16,880
he would be the best fitting big
on the roster. I think immediately,

943
01:04:18,199 --> 01:04:21,280
I guess, I just don't know
what you give up to because the Indie's

944
01:04:21,280 --> 01:04:25,320
not gonna want nur Kitch. In
that situation, I would imagine you have

945
01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:28,079
to attach a first there. I
just don't know what else it costs you.

946
01:04:28,440 --> 01:04:31,920
Blazers basically don't have any I guess
if Indie still wanted to win,

947
01:04:32,039 --> 01:04:35,400
because I still question whether they actually
want to blow it up. CJ McCollum

948
01:04:35,480 --> 01:04:41,119
does make some sense there, especially
if Carris Lavert continues down this trajectory of

949
01:04:41,159 --> 01:04:45,239
just not being I don't say he's
not good, because every red him very

950
01:04:45,280 --> 01:04:46,559
high and Carris Laver, but he
very much needs the ball in his hands,

951
01:04:46,559 --> 01:04:50,679
and I think with CJ you can
at least do other stuff with him.

952
01:04:50,719 --> 01:04:54,639
The name that stood out to me, and I think it. I've

953
01:04:54,639 --> 01:04:58,360
thought CJ. McCollum would be very
interesting in Boston and one of the players

954
01:04:58,440 --> 01:05:01,239
you just sort of described as Jalen
Brown, who I don't think the Celtics

955
01:05:01,239 --> 01:05:03,519
will trade, and I definitely don't
think the Blazers have the AMMO to get

956
01:05:03,559 --> 01:05:09,239
him unless they're trading Damian Lillard.
He's shorter, but he can be like

957
01:05:09,320 --> 01:05:13,719
the lifeblood of your defense Marcus Smart
guarding positions one through four. And I'm

958
01:05:13,719 --> 01:05:17,119
curious where you land on the idea
of I don't know what the exact structure

959
01:05:17,159 --> 01:05:21,199
would be because he makes so much
less than CJ. And for the nerds

960
01:05:21,360 --> 01:05:27,199
with us, he Smart can't be
traded until January twentieth. But if it's

961
01:05:27,239 --> 01:05:32,280
like Smart and you know Richardson for
CJ. McCollum, like, are you

962
01:05:32,320 --> 01:05:36,039
willing to go that type of a
route at this point? Does Norman Powell

963
01:05:36,079 --> 01:05:41,440
make CJ at all a little more
expendable in that regard where you can prioritize

964
01:05:41,760 --> 01:05:47,760
fit and need over talent. So
I love Dame and Nora and Powell next

965
01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:51,320
to each other, and so if
they were, you know, sending out

966
01:05:53,000 --> 01:05:59,280
CJ, I would be perfectly happy
with a Powell and Lillard backward. And

967
01:05:59,400 --> 01:06:04,400
I don't think you know, I
don't I don't know. I guess isn't

968
01:06:05,599 --> 01:06:10,639
this sounds really gross to ask?
But how tall is Marcus Smart? Six

969
01:06:11,039 --> 01:06:15,119
four? He's the thing I'll say, give his arms up though, like

970
01:06:15,199 --> 01:06:16,719
if you're if you're six four,
but you keep your arms up, then

971
01:06:16,800 --> 01:06:21,679
okay. But like I just you
know, like there's the Blazers have I

972
01:06:21,719 --> 01:06:27,480
mean, I texted you when they
played their four guard lineup like they've they

973
01:06:27,599 --> 01:06:32,000
played a four guarding up like twice, Like what are you? What are

974
01:06:32,039 --> 01:06:35,400
you doing? Like? But just
give us some more versatility, like I

975
01:06:35,440 --> 01:06:40,360
just I would I would rather have
a non guard return. He's well if

976
01:06:40,400 --> 01:06:43,239
Josh Richardson's a little bit bigger,
but Marcus Smart sixth three with a six

977
01:06:43,239 --> 01:06:47,480
foot nine wingspan, he can defend
capably one through four. Though I agree

978
01:06:47,519 --> 01:06:50,199
with what you're saying, but if
it was Marcus Smart, I might throw

979
01:06:50,239 --> 01:06:54,519
the hype thing out of the equation. I'm curious what the makeup of that

980
01:06:54,519 --> 01:06:57,159
deal would look like, because personally, if you told me Marcus Smart was

981
01:06:57,159 --> 01:07:00,800
the centerpiece of a CJ. McCollum
deal, I have no d Boston would

982
01:07:00,800 --> 01:07:02,400
be interested in that. But just
watching their offense this year, I think

983
01:07:02,440 --> 01:07:05,239
CJ. McCollum healthy, of course, could help them. How do they

984
01:07:05,280 --> 01:07:09,079
feel about his contract? YadA,
YadA, YadA. If I'm the Blazers,

985
01:07:09,079 --> 01:07:10,840
I would do it. I don't
know what else needs to be.

986
01:07:10,880 --> 01:07:14,480
There needs to be money included.
I don't know if it's is it Josh

987
01:07:14,599 --> 01:07:17,519
Richardson and Romeo Langford is you could? Really it would have to be a

988
01:07:17,519 --> 01:07:21,800
complicated deal because of his extension.
But the Celtics don't see as hot seam

989
01:07:21,840 --> 01:07:26,920
as high on Robert Williams the Third
as other people are just based off Robert

990
01:07:26,920 --> 01:07:29,960
Williams the Third Minutes and so like. Can he be involved? Would they

991
01:07:29,960 --> 01:07:33,639
have interest in, you know,
Larry NaN's junior or Roco or even use

992
01:07:33,679 --> 01:07:35,920
of Nurk. It's just for sometimes
the way they want to play since al

993
01:07:35,960 --> 01:07:40,199
Horfor is already there so many moving
machinations there. But if you told me

994
01:07:40,239 --> 01:07:44,239
Marcus Smart was the centerpiece of a
CJ. McCollum return for Portland, I'm

995
01:07:44,239 --> 01:07:46,159
going to tell you right now,
I actually wouldn't blink at it. I

996
01:07:46,159 --> 01:07:49,800
would do it. I would I
wouldn't hate it, especially if he promised

997
01:07:49,800 --> 01:07:55,400
to keep his arms up. I
want a player who can do two things.

998
01:07:55,480 --> 01:07:58,599
I don't care what two things there
are. But I want a player

999
01:07:58,760 --> 01:08:01,079
like who has two things that he
can do. He can you know,

1000
01:08:01,760 --> 01:08:08,119
defend and he can dunk, he
can shoot from three and he can get

1001
01:08:08,119 --> 01:08:12,760
a fast break, you know,
Like I want a multidimensional player. And

1002
01:08:12,840 --> 01:08:15,399
so as long as it's somebody who
can do a couple of things and it

1003
01:08:15,479 --> 01:08:19,439
isn't just like a one note player. God, I sound like Danny Murring

1004
01:08:19,920 --> 01:08:24,600
he finally sunk in, he finally
got third of me about he always you

1005
01:08:24,640 --> 01:08:27,359
know, he always talks about,
like, you know, people who can

1006
01:08:27,359 --> 01:08:30,439
do more than one thing. But
I like, I see it like I

1007
01:08:30,479 --> 01:08:36,159
want somebody who's got two separate,
two sets of skills that so if one

1008
01:08:36,199 --> 01:08:40,640
thing isn't working, they can do
the other thing rather than you know,

1009
01:08:40,800 --> 01:08:43,720
just do their one thing and on
the night they they will have it.

1010
01:08:43,760 --> 01:08:50,680
Well, SUBBN, Tony Sell,
would you do I'm thinking like Miles Turner

1011
01:08:51,279 --> 01:08:56,880
and Jeremy Lamb get you basically to
see j you mccollins salary. I don't

1012
01:08:56,880 --> 01:08:58,960
know what else you would have to
include for the pacers to want to do

1013
01:08:58,960 --> 01:09:00,600
that, and they're probably gonna want
to at least another I know that they

1014
01:09:00,640 --> 01:09:03,960
want to play. Uh, oh
my god? Why am I blanking on

1015
01:09:04,000 --> 01:09:08,199
his name? Isaiah Isaiah Jackson?
Is that who they have? Isaiah Todd?

1016
01:09:08,239 --> 01:09:13,039
Why am I isaias? You know
four hundred and fifty I clearly don't

1017
01:09:13,119 --> 01:09:15,680
five hundred NBA players, well,
you know, four hundred and forty five

1018
01:09:15,760 --> 01:09:18,920
of them, like years, so
many light years ahead of me. Maybe

1019
01:09:18,920 --> 01:09:23,239
it's like, I wonder if if
the Pacers still want to be competitive and

1020
01:09:23,319 --> 01:09:27,960
not actually rebuild, would if would
you Tara being in charge of the Blazers,

1021
01:09:28,039 --> 01:09:30,920
do CJ McCollum a first? At
that point you're looking at a twenty

1022
01:09:30,960 --> 01:09:38,119
twenty four first and Cody Zeller for
Miles Turner and Jeremy Lamb. I No,

1023
01:09:38,399 --> 01:09:40,199
I don't. I mean, first
of all, I don't know that

1024
01:09:40,199 --> 01:09:43,800
they even have a first. Twenty
four is the first first that they could

1025
01:09:43,800 --> 01:09:47,239
trade. No, like that goes
against me wanting to get younger and build

1026
01:09:48,119 --> 01:09:53,960
a younger you know, build a
younger Core Turner is twenty five, I

1027
01:09:54,000 --> 01:09:57,439
do, I don't know if Indie
is younger, but like to give away,

1028
01:09:57,479 --> 01:10:03,039
like, are any chances of any
more chances of drafting? Like I

1029
01:10:03,159 --> 01:10:05,960
just I don't want to give any
more picks up. They gave up two

1030
01:10:05,960 --> 01:10:12,640
picks for Robert Covington. They just
they don't have very many picks, and

1031
01:10:12,680 --> 01:10:17,680
so I unless they wanted to like
do something else entirely and do a second,

1032
01:10:18,159 --> 01:10:23,039
you know, deal with a team
that has a lot of picks,

1033
01:10:23,079 --> 01:10:26,359
like New Orleans or okay, see
and pick up some other picks that way,

1034
01:10:26,399 --> 01:10:28,960
I just do not want to get
picks unless they've got other ones coming

1035
01:10:28,960 --> 01:10:30,960
in. Yeah. I mean the
other way to go is maybe Indie if

1036
01:10:31,000 --> 01:10:34,279
they if McCollum comes back soon and
he's really good, I think you can

1037
01:10:34,319 --> 01:10:39,439
justify flipping Turner and Lamb. Who's
really dead salary for Indie at this point.

1038
01:10:39,760 --> 01:10:42,279
For CJ. McCollum, straight up, you are losing a lot of

1039
01:10:42,279 --> 01:10:45,439
offense. But I think Turner does
more of what you would need. But

1040
01:10:45,479 --> 01:10:48,039
then you run to the overlap nerd
kitch is still there. It's so tough

1041
01:10:48,079 --> 01:10:50,800
to come up with when now moves
to the Blazers, just because they've traded

1042
01:10:51,239 --> 01:10:55,119
some of their best assets already,
and especially like you said, if you

1043
01:10:55,119 --> 01:10:58,079
want to keep your picks, it
gets really hard to sort of suss out

1044
01:10:58,079 --> 01:11:01,159
moves. It still revolves really around
CJ. McCollum, unless you look at

1045
01:11:01,279 --> 01:11:06,159
maybe moving Larry Nance or Norman Powell. The final question I have jotted down

1046
01:11:06,239 --> 01:11:10,720
for you, though, is when
you look at the players that I think

1047
01:11:10,720 --> 01:11:14,039
are most likely to get traded on
the roster, who springs the minor CJ?

1048
01:11:14,239 --> 01:11:16,920
Nurk, Anthony Simons but just because
he's entdering restricted free agency, and

1049
01:11:16,920 --> 01:11:19,319
then Robert Covington because he's going to
be a free agent as well and has

1050
01:11:19,359 --> 01:11:23,960
not been good. Is there like
a how would you like rank those players

1051
01:11:24,000 --> 01:11:28,399
in terms of the likelihood that they
would be traded this year? I would

1052
01:11:28,520 --> 01:11:33,479
rank Roco and Simons as the most
likely, followed by Nurk and CJ.

1053
01:11:35,479 --> 01:11:40,159
They I think they should just trade
Nurk Hitch like that is something I'd actively

1054
01:11:40,199 --> 01:11:43,039
do, even if it's you're not
going to take back negative value, but

1055
01:11:43,119 --> 01:11:45,640
I don't know what you're gonna end
up paying him if you can just get

1056
01:11:45,680 --> 01:11:48,199
something for him, and I think
it would just be easier to build a

1057
01:11:48,279 --> 01:11:54,960
more athletic center rotation having Larry Nance
Junior there already and even NAS just a

1058
01:11:54,960 --> 01:11:58,279
better fitting one for probably cheaper than
he's gonna command. And so he's the

1059
01:11:58,319 --> 01:12:01,359
guy that I look at where I
don't think I'd be surprised there's a Again,

1060
01:12:01,399 --> 01:12:03,880
we're dealing with an interim general manager. Still wouldn't surpris me if the

1061
01:12:03,880 --> 01:12:06,359
Blazers do nothing. To be honest
with you, but I think he's the

1062
01:12:06,399 --> 01:12:09,960
player that if I'm Portland's I don't
know what the market for him is,

1063
01:12:09,960 --> 01:12:13,520
like it's tough to find home for
bigs. He is very good offensively though,

1064
01:12:13,680 --> 01:12:15,800
so he's the player I would be
looking to move. I think though,

1065
01:12:15,840 --> 01:12:19,079
if I'm Portland, let me ask
you this, like, which player

1066
01:12:19,880 --> 01:12:25,800
do you think is somebody that another
team would really want to have on their

1067
01:12:25,800 --> 01:12:31,560
team? Wait? Like that the
Blazers have? Yeah, Like, I

1068
01:12:31,600 --> 01:12:38,720
think how many teams need somebody like? That's the I think that's the problem

1069
01:12:38,760 --> 01:12:42,960
you run into is Charlotte needs a
big. I don't know if Nurkic is

1070
01:12:43,039 --> 01:12:45,680
that well, I would say,
I do know. I don't think he's

1071
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:47,560
the big that they need. But
because he probably doesn't cost you a ton,

1072
01:12:48,239 --> 01:12:50,640
is that something they look at?
Do they view him as an upgrade

1073
01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:57,680
over Mason Plumbly? I honestly have
no idea. You run out of stuff

1074
01:12:57,720 --> 01:13:01,079
like just really quickly after that In
teams that that need Biggs. I guess

1075
01:13:01,119 --> 01:13:04,760
the the Pacers would need a center
in theory if they decided to trade the

1076
01:13:04,800 --> 01:13:10,359
Turner elsewhere. I hate the Nurkic
Sabonus fit though, and Sabonus should probably

1077
01:13:10,359 --> 01:13:15,840
be playing center, I guess.
I mean the Clippers have Zoobatch and Hartenstein.

1078
01:13:15,239 --> 01:13:18,239
It's it's tough to find teams that
need Biggs there. I think there

1079
01:13:18,239 --> 01:13:21,760
are a bunch that need backup Biggs. But you already mentioned that you can't

1080
01:13:21,840 --> 01:13:26,479
use use of Nurkich is sort of
your your second string center. Yeah,

1081
01:13:26,520 --> 01:13:30,720
and can you imagine being the Trailblazers
on the night that nur Kich who you

1082
01:13:30,800 --> 01:13:34,880
traded away and got benched? What
plat like? What he would do to

1083
01:13:34,920 --> 01:13:39,279
your team when he does come off
the bench somehow he's the first player to

1084
01:13:39,319 --> 01:13:44,560
score fifty, you know, off
the bench, or maybe Jamal Crawford's in

1085
01:13:44,640 --> 01:13:47,600
that already, but like I could
just like, oh man, he might.

1086
01:13:47,800 --> 01:13:51,439
He's probably most valuable as part of
a bigger deal, just as an

1087
01:13:51,439 --> 01:13:55,479
expiring contract. The terrible as that
is to say, because he's better than

1088
01:13:55,479 --> 01:13:59,319
that type of player. But if
the Blazers were looking to let's just say

1089
01:13:59,359 --> 01:14:01,920
they wanted to after a Harrison Barnes
and you need to step ladder your way

1090
01:14:01,960 --> 01:14:08,840
to salary. If you're getting a
young player and a pick to Sacramento having

1091
01:14:08,880 --> 01:14:13,840
an expirment contract like Nurkic having one
like Robert Covington, even that's at least

1092
01:14:13,880 --> 01:14:17,399
an incentive for the offer. But
it's it's this weird it's this weird thing

1093
01:14:17,399 --> 01:14:20,079
where I think he's more valuable to
them on the court, but I also

1094
01:14:20,159 --> 01:14:24,920
just don't think he's going to be
more valuable to them moving forward based on

1095
01:14:24,960 --> 01:14:28,159
how it seems like they want to
apply on defense. Well, and this

1096
01:14:28,199 --> 01:14:30,920
is where I think we're all sort
of like existing in the old Shay fog

1097
01:14:31,119 --> 01:14:36,199
of like what he left behind.
Which is why I would love to see

1098
01:14:36,359 --> 01:14:40,600
like some players come in who we
really don't know, but they have a

1099
01:14:40,640 --> 01:14:44,479
really high ceiling, because right now
we kind of know exactly who all these

1100
01:14:44,520 --> 01:14:46,960
folks are. So when you're talking
to another team about making a trade,

1101
01:14:47,399 --> 01:14:49,880
like they may look at him and
go, that's not who we need right

1102
01:14:49,880 --> 01:14:55,279
now, because there it's really clear
who they are. The other team I

1103
01:14:55,399 --> 01:14:58,920
might be like, yeah, I
don't we don't need a player like nurkis

1104
01:14:59,000 --> 01:15:00,920
right now, we need, you
know, a player like Larry Nance,

1105
01:15:01,159 --> 01:15:03,439
and you know, we might be
like, well, we're not ready to

1106
01:15:03,439 --> 01:15:05,720
give up Larry Nance. So I
just I feel like like, sort of

1107
01:15:05,760 --> 01:15:12,680
like whatever has been left behind by
the former GM is going to be really,

1108
01:15:12,680 --> 01:15:15,479
really, really tough to do something
with, which is why I'm like,

1109
01:15:15,279 --> 01:15:20,640
instead of going for you know,
minimum vets year after year after year,

1110
01:15:20,760 --> 01:15:24,920
if they could figure out some way
where they could at least get some

1111
01:15:25,800 --> 01:15:30,079
young, dynamic players in Oh darn
New York just scored. I'm watching the

1112
01:15:31,800 --> 01:15:38,199
I'm devoting ninety nine point nine percent
of my attention to you, but the

1113
01:15:38,199 --> 01:15:41,840
Portland Timbers are playing in the MLS
Cup right now. Let me allow you

1114
01:15:41,880 --> 01:15:44,680
to shift that attention to there by
wrapping this up with the question of is

1115
01:15:44,680 --> 01:15:46,880
there anything that we need to talk
about or that you want to talk about

1116
01:15:46,880 --> 01:15:50,479
that we have not discussed yet.
No, I don't think so. You

1117
01:15:50,560 --> 01:15:56,760
always ask such great questions. I'll
just say that I think that, you

1118
01:15:56,800 --> 01:16:01,920
know, I am feeling optimistic based
on the fact that we're still early in

1119
01:16:01,960 --> 01:16:06,520
the season, that the players are
still figuring out who their new coaches,

1120
01:16:06,800 --> 01:16:12,680
the new coaches still figuring out who
their players are. And I feel like,

1121
01:16:12,880 --> 01:16:16,319
even if no moves are made,
you know, right now, we

1122
01:16:16,399 --> 01:16:19,479
may have to wait until February,
we may have to wait until somebody else

1123
01:16:19,520 --> 01:16:25,800
comes in. I feel like at
least the front office is starting to care.

1124
01:16:26,920 --> 01:16:30,720
That means so much, and I
think, you know, it means

1125
01:16:30,720 --> 01:16:34,640
a lot to fans, and I
think it will trickle over to the team

1126
01:16:34,720 --> 01:16:38,640
as well as they put it together
and figure out, you know, who

1127
01:16:38,680 --> 01:16:43,319
they are. I just I do
feel more hopeful about this team than I

1128
01:16:43,359 --> 01:16:45,600
did like a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if I feel more

1129
01:16:45,600 --> 01:16:49,520
hopeful, but I'm definitely with you
that the vibes seem better and this seems

1130
01:16:49,560 --> 01:16:55,000
like a more workable dynamic that they
that they have. Sara, are you

1131
01:16:55,039 --> 01:16:59,039
able to tell our listeners where they
can find you on social media and hear

1132
01:16:59,079 --> 01:17:03,720
you talk about Groops? Absolutely.
You can find me on Twitter at tcb

1133
01:17:04,359 --> 01:17:11,000
B I G G S two bs
and two gs, and you can find

1134
01:17:11,039 --> 01:17:14,840
me my other podcast as We Have
a Take at We Have a Take and

1135
01:17:15,039 --> 01:17:17,319
yeah, I'm mostly on Twitter.
Nobody wants the pictures that I post on

1136
01:17:17,359 --> 01:17:24,119
Instagram. Yeah, but it's so
great. As always talk to you Dan,

1137
01:17:24,159 --> 01:17:26,479
Thank you so much for having me
on and thank you so much for

1138
01:17:26,520 --> 01:17:29,479
giving me a bunch of your time
as usual. And as you know by

1139
01:17:29,479 --> 01:17:31,239
now, there will be a future
request coming down to five LiLine at some point