1
00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,759
What is krack lackin Hardwoodknox listeners,
I am Damp Valley coming at you without

2
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:15,919
my fantabulous co host Adam frommel I
am, however, super pleased to be

3
00:00:16,039 --> 00:00:20,679
joined by a Hardwood Knox favorite,
Tara Bowen Biggs. Follow her on Twitter

4
00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,839
at t C b b i ggs. She is the co host of the

5
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,359
We Have a Take podcast and Step
Back Sisters podcast. We Have a Take

6
00:00:30,559 --> 00:00:34,520
can be found on Twitter at We
Have a Take spelled exactly as it sounds,

7
00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,119
and step Back Sisters is at step
Back Sisters again spelled exactly as it

8
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,240
sounds. As anyone who listens to
this podcast before knows, we are gonna

9
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,399
pick Tara's brain to no end about
the Portland Trailblazer. She does a fantastic

10
00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:55,560
job covering and talking about them first
and foremost, though most importantly obviously,

11
00:00:55,799 --> 00:00:59,840
how are you doing, Tara?
I am so happy to hear your boys.

12
00:01:00,079 --> 00:01:02,640
I get so delighted every time you
asked me to come on the Pipe

13
00:01:03,239 --> 00:01:08,959
voice. Well, your your Twitter
printing in the in the message notifications.

14
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:11,280
When you DM me and ask me
if I can come on, That's when

15
00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:15,000
I start to get very happy because
I'm like, yay, I didn't do

16
00:01:15,079 --> 00:01:17,359
so bad the last time. He's
gonna have me on again, And I

17
00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,640
just I just look forward to talking
to you so much. I am just

18
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,840
pleased to get to have a conversation. But you get to your question,

19
00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:30,760
how am I? Well, like
three weeks ago, I was thinking,

20
00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:38,280
let's see, how would a three
guard lineup of Damian Lillard, Norman Powell

21
00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,439
and Ben Simmons look, And what
would Mike D'Antoni, how would he make

22
00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:49,079
that work? And now here we
are three weeks later in a very different

23
00:01:49,079 --> 00:01:53,400
world. Uh, you know,
people are choosing to give up their season

24
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:59,560
tickets, Friendships are being torn asunder. We're all on pins and needles,

25
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:04,200
worried out the star who has,
like you know, been such a force

26
00:02:04,359 --> 00:02:10,159
in our community. It's it's it's
messy. It's really messy right now.

27
00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:15,759
And in the Portland Trailblazer fan base
in Rip City, I mean the fans,

28
00:02:15,039 --> 00:02:20,560
it's the fans are not the ones
who are ms. It's uh just

29
00:02:20,599 --> 00:02:28,000
everything feels like it's kind of falling
apart, and like spectacularly fast quickly for

30
00:02:28,039 --> 00:02:31,319
a team that's been probably like a
billboard for stability over the past. Like

31
00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:35,800
I mean, Neil o'sha has been
trolled a bunch before, but this team

32
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,639
has not been. Look, the
Damian Lillard stuff is one new, Like

33
00:02:38,759 --> 00:02:43,639
that's the He's just been this beacon
of I want to be here, And

34
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,479
now that stuff rolls out amid the
Chauncey Billups stuffs, which he's embroiled in

35
00:02:47,759 --> 00:02:53,479
to at least some extent, it's
very confusing. And so the first question

36
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:59,360
I want to ask you is just
what are your thoughts on the the Billups

37
00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:02,080
higher? Like how that make you
feel? Is it? Just? Is

38
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,719
there anything they even could have done
to have spun this higher? Because the

39
00:03:06,759 --> 00:03:12,159
press conference was a joe, The
Becky Hammond tokenism was a disgusting and the

40
00:03:12,159 --> 00:03:15,199
press conference was cowardly too, Like
that was just I'm but I'm even just

41
00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:21,159
like, is there, aside from
not hiring Chauncey Billups, is there anything

42
00:03:21,159 --> 00:03:23,759
they could have done to have delivered
this news better? But more importantly,

43
00:03:23,759 --> 00:03:24,960
I just want to know how it
made you, as a Blazers fan,

44
00:03:25,039 --> 00:03:30,680
someone who's talking and covering this team
feel. I mean, you just said

45
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,719
it right there. All they had
to do was not hire him, Like

46
00:03:34,479 --> 00:03:39,000
all of this could have been all
of this could have been avoided if they

47
00:03:39,039 --> 00:03:45,039
had just chosen someone else. And
so, like, I guess to back

48
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:46,360
up a little bit, you know, I was talking about how we felt

49
00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,879
like a few weeks ago at the
end of the season, when the Blazers

50
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,919
just like kind of had a poor
playoffs and it was just over. It

51
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,360
was kind of a relief because the
team has just been hanging on, hanging

52
00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:00,840
on, hanging on. And so
I was like, wait, at least

53
00:04:00,879 --> 00:04:04,479
we know, at least we know
now that this was not the team,

54
00:04:04,639 --> 00:04:09,599
that things are going to have to
change. And then Stoss was fired and

55
00:04:09,599 --> 00:04:13,439
then Neil Olsha says, well,
it wasn't the roster, and I was

56
00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:16,680
like, wait, hold on a
minute, WHOA. So we knew we

57
00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,639
were going to get a new coach, and to be honest, I was

58
00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:26,240
initially very excited about johnsy Billips.
I didn't know about his past, and

59
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,240
I was like, sweet, John
Zy Billips would be like a great coach,

60
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,240
like all these like like every like
a lot of people who didn't know,

61
00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,560
you know, we've seen his trajectory, we've seen him as a player,

62
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,759
all of his experienced his relationships on
you know, ESPN, and so

63
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,920
initially I was like, okay,
Cool, Like Chauncy Billips will have a

64
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,920
chance to like, you know,
have his first head coaching gig in Portland.

65
00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:53,480
Cool. And then I learned about
the allegations where I learned about the

66
00:04:53,519 --> 00:04:58,360
incident, and you know, Damian
Lillard's out there putting his name behind Chauncy

67
00:04:58,399 --> 00:05:00,560
and Jason Kidd, and I was
very surprised a Jason Kidd because I knew

68
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,399
about his past, I didn't know
about Chauncy's. And so I was like

69
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,879
when Jason Kidd dropped out of the
race, it was like I was like

70
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:13,120
okay. And then I learned about
Chauncy. And even then, because I

71
00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,279
you know, I've I've lived a
very privileged, very insulated life and I've

72
00:05:17,319 --> 00:05:21,600
been extremely lucky, and I just
don't know that much about like all of

73
00:05:21,639 --> 00:05:28,120
the nuances of you know, of
assault and violence and all of these things

74
00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,199
that have been coming up lately.
So even then I was like, well,

75
00:05:31,879 --> 00:05:35,879
you know, maybe Chauncy, like
you know, everything I knew about

76
00:05:35,959 --> 00:05:41,000
him before, maybe he's you know, uh turned his life around and he's

77
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,639
done all these good things, and
you know, I can you know,

78
00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,480
maybe I can figure that out if
he ends up getting the position, and

79
00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:50,720
then I read the article of an
article on Blazer's Edge. There were two

80
00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:56,399
articles, one by Dave Deckard and
one that was like the voice of five

81
00:05:56,439 --> 00:06:01,839
women from the fan base who shared
their thoughts as survivors of violence. And

82
00:06:01,879 --> 00:06:06,519
I was just like, you know
what the point of it was that you

83
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:13,480
know, he he could you know, have done all kinds of really positive

84
00:06:13,519 --> 00:06:16,519
things for the community. He could
have you know, turned his life,

85
00:06:16,519 --> 00:06:19,519
and he could have, you know, done all these things. But to

86
00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:26,600
someone who's experienced, you know,
violence and assault. When somebody who has

87
00:06:26,639 --> 00:06:31,680
been associated with that is the lead
spokesperson for the franchise and it is out

88
00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:36,079
in front of the franchise every single
day, every single game talking, you

89
00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,120
know the amount of trauma that that
brings up. And I didn't. I

90
00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,720
didn't understand it. I've never had
it explained to me from that point of

91
00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,519
view. So I thought, Okay, that makes a lot of sense.

92
00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000
Simple, just choose a different candidate. There's all kinds of candidates out there,

93
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:55,839
There's all kinds of people who are
ready to have their first chance or

94
00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,680
another chance at being the head coach. Not that hard. So I was

95
00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,279
I was really shocked when they like
doubled down on that, and then when

96
00:07:02,319 --> 00:07:05,720
they paraded out Becky Hammond, I
was so embarrassed because I was like,

97
00:07:06,319 --> 00:07:11,040
it was like I want her to
succeed so badly, but it just was

98
00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,959
so inelegantly done, and it just
it didn't ever look like they were serious.

99
00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,319
It just looked like, oh no, we got to like throw a

100
00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,279
woman out there, and it was
just like come on, y'all, come

101
00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:25,680
on, like we can see what
you're doing. And it was just it

102
00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:31,839
was just so distressing. And then
and then the press conference happened, and

103
00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:36,040
like, you know, shout out
to like the reporters who tried to ask

104
00:07:36,079 --> 00:07:42,279
the questions, Like the reporters have
been working really hard trying to like get

105
00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:45,839
to the bottom of this and trying
to get people to be able to you

106
00:07:45,839 --> 00:07:49,040
know, giving them a chance.
And when you know you've talked it on

107
00:07:49,079 --> 00:07:53,480
your podcast before, when you know, Jason Quake asked if you know what

108
00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,279
he had learned and how it had
changed his life, and he was cut

109
00:07:57,319 --> 00:08:01,399
off and everybody saw that he was
ready to talk. Is just like,

110
00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,839
I don't understand how they keep doubling
down and I don't understand how they keep

111
00:08:05,839 --> 00:08:09,879
making it worse and like the you
know, the other bad thing, and

112
00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:13,480
I think you mentioned this too,
was when they broke the news that he

113
00:08:13,519 --> 00:08:16,120
was going to be hired on a
Friday afternoon or a Friday and then just

114
00:08:16,199 --> 00:08:20,319
like took off for the weekend.
And like Damian Lillard is the only person

115
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,680
out there, like I don't,
I don't think people really blame Damian Lillard

116
00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,319
for this. I think people.
I think people. I know that I

117
00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:31,439
agree that maybe it was a little
inelegant the way that he went about,

118
00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,240
you know, some of this stuff. Like I wish I wish that somebody

119
00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:41,639
like two weeks ago would have hired
like a really high powered PR firm that

120
00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:46,679
specializes in cleaning things up, and
that that that firm had talked to both,

121
00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,360
you know, all of the parties
involved and come up with a solution

122
00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,159
to move forward together. And you
know what that would have cost, Like

123
00:08:54,639 --> 00:08:58,360
one year of a stretched Anderson bears
out contract. Right. It would have

124
00:08:58,399 --> 00:09:03,120
just like just like fix it and
come out of it going, you know

125
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,840
what, let's not let's hire somebody
else. Let's let's do that. So

126
00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,000
anyway, I don't even remember what
that question was. I just kind of

127
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,360
like spilled my whole guts right there, well, which is and everything was

128
00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:18,440
just necessary to say. And I
don't want to and I said mentioned this

129
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,200
when we covered it, because the
stuff started like this first started leaking out,

130
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,559
like we were in the middle of
a live podcast when the Damian Lillard

131
00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:26,399
Chris Haynes latest report came. It's
like we gave our thoughts then, and

132
00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:31,120
I don't want to add to like
the you know mail call Cassidy, that's

133
00:09:31,399 --> 00:09:35,039
just leaving his comments here. I
agree with everything you said, and I

134
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,240
will say, like for me,
people are going to point out that Phillips

135
00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:45,519
was he was accused of rape,
never convicted, and it was settled outside

136
00:09:45,519 --> 00:09:46,639
of you know it was it was
a civil matter. It wasn't a criminal

137
00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:52,919
matter. Rape convictions are like so
hard, like district attorneys or like they

138
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,440
need like a mountain of evidence.
Those things can take years, and that

139
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,240
can be a stress on the victim, or I would imagine definitely is a

140
00:09:58,279 --> 00:10:01,519
stress on the victim. They're probably
lawyers of rape victims who have actually just

141
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:05,440
suggested to go to the civil trial
because it will be less stressful in the

142
00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:11,519
long term. Now, if if
you want to point out that Billips was

143
00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,240
never convicted whatever. For me,
it's not about Billips. It's about the

144
00:10:15,279 --> 00:10:20,519
message that choosing him sent. And
I am I believe in redemption. I

145
00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:24,440
believe in second chances. But I
don't know if Billips has atoned for this,

146
00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,440
or if there was evidence that showed
that he didn't do anything. You

147
00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:31,840
needed to be prepared to bring that, you know, non proprietary evidence like

148
00:10:31,919 --> 00:10:37,279
that was just bat shit crazy,
and so it was so insulting. It

149
00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,759
was so insulting to think that we'd
be like, oh, okay, oh

150
00:10:41,879 --> 00:10:45,799
I understand, you can't really tell
us, we've trusted you all along,

151
00:10:45,919 --> 00:10:50,240
Neil, We're gonna just keep trusting
you. Oh listen. Trust without the

152
00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,960
window after twenty sixteen free agency with
Neil o'shay so. But you needed to

153
00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,759
be prepared to provide something to reinforce
this notion that hey, it's okay that

154
00:10:58,799 --> 00:11:01,039
we hire him. And again,
if you want to say, well,

155
00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:03,200
why should Chauncy Bills be held back? If he is innocent, Chauncy Billips

156
00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:07,000
hasn't been held back. There was
He could have had an executive job in

157
00:11:07,039 --> 00:11:11,039
Cleveland at one point. I think
he's been involved in other coaching searches.

158
00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:15,960
He worked for ESPN, the mother
Ship. He was assistant with the Clippers

159
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,720
like this has not impacted Chauncey Billips's
career trajectory. He continued to play in

160
00:11:20,799 --> 00:11:24,759
the NBA for over a decade after
that. And the rape allegations are from

161
00:11:24,799 --> 00:11:28,720
nineteen ninety seven, and you also
can't dismiss the allegations that easily when just

162
00:11:28,759 --> 00:11:33,240
because they were settled in civil court, there was a rape kit done that

163
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,559
showed bruising, that showed seaman.
There's the details are out there. It

164
00:11:37,639 --> 00:11:41,279
was I saw it in John Hollinger's
report, Spinster's podcast, another Buyer podcast.

165
00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,840
I thought that a very good job
of covering this. The Blazer's Edge

166
00:11:43,919 --> 00:11:48,039
article had it in there so like. But for me, it's not about

167
00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,600
presuming Chauncey Billips is guilty. It's
about the message it's sent to. As

168
00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:58,360
you mentioned domestic violence survivors, sexual
assault survivors, that you didn't even consider

169
00:11:58,399 --> 00:12:03,360
them enough to come to this press
conference and explain why it was okay or

170
00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:07,759
why you felt comfortable hiring Chauncy Belts. That was the bare minimum you could

171
00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:11,559
do, and really quickly you meant
the Becky having stuff is infuriating it's I

172
00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:15,639
don't want to have to think this
way. I didn't want her. I

173
00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,360
wanted her to get another job that
wasn't the Blazer's job, because we're going

174
00:12:18,399 --> 00:12:22,039
to talk about this. The Blazers
seems I can't remember who termed this,

175
00:12:22,159 --> 00:12:24,600
like there's some Steven Silas potential there
where everything blows up. He took that

176
00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:28,039
Rockets job with James Harden and Russell
Westbrook on the roster. Look where he's

177
00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,919
at now, And I want I
want the first female head coach in the

178
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,279
NBA. I shouldn't have to think
like this, but to be in a

179
00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:39,639
position where they are actually given the
time and the resources to succeed. I

180
00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:41,679
don't know if it like it clearly
wasn't the Blazer's organization because the way they

181
00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,960
went about the hire. But the
tokenism is she's gonna have to continue to

182
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,159
go through this before she gets her
her first gig, which is annoying.

183
00:12:48,279 --> 00:12:52,600
But then to like paraded around the
press conference after you did it, through

184
00:12:52,639 --> 00:12:56,559
the news with the that a girl
like at a girl like that is so

185
00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:01,720
condescending, absolutely gross, And so
that's where I ended up on it.

186
00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,200
The Billips stuff is I think more
complex there but it's to me, it

187
00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:09,840
wasn't like you don't have to make
this about oh, Billips was found.

188
00:13:09,879 --> 00:13:13,639
It wasn't even found innocent, like
it was settled. It was you don't

189
00:13:13,639 --> 00:13:16,440
have to bring up oh, he
was never criminally charged. This isn't about

190
00:13:16,519 --> 00:13:20,000
Billips. It's about the message it
sends toward a big portion of your fan

191
00:13:20,039 --> 00:13:22,840
base that is probably feeling alienated and
has to bring up trauma, like you

192
00:13:22,879 --> 00:13:28,519
mentioned, seeing this person who hasn't
had to, and this might be this

193
00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,279
is more so the Blazer's fault than
Billips is he seemed prepared to speak,

194
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,399
like you said the press conference,
but to have to see this person come

195
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,200
up speak every night, be elevated
to this high profile position because he has

196
00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:43,639
more gravitas than Mikey Antoni or Becky
Hammond, whatever the fuck that that was

197
00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,840
so gross. That is so gross
when he talked about that. So like

198
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,759
that's the problem here. And the
other thing is if women, if sexual

199
00:13:52,799 --> 00:13:56,480
assault victims, if domestic violence victims
are saying they feel a certain kind of

200
00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,360
way about this higher, then it
fucking matters and fucking listen. And so

201
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,879
that's that is all independent of the
actual Chauncy Billip's case, and it's still

202
00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:09,000
mine melting to me that people can't
wrap their head around. I think a

203
00:14:09,039 --> 00:14:13,600
lot of people have, but that
stuff just bends my brain still. All

204
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,039
they had to do, all they
had to do is not hire him.

205
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:20,799
All they had to do was to
choose a different candidate. But you know

206
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:28,320
what they did. They gave him
five years. They gave him five It's

207
00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,320
not only just like, oh no, we're gonna hire him, but he's

208
00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:37,519
gonna be here for five years.
And that was just like such a screw

209
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:41,159
you. It was just like so
like it was and then the press conference

210
00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,600
is just like the the icing on
that cake. If you were going to

211
00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,960
hire him, then you needed to
provide answers to the question that you refused

212
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,799
to and then they at like he
can't handle it either, you know.

213
00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,960
That's the other thing. It was
just like you're really getting him off to

214
00:14:54,039 --> 00:14:58,600
a great start by like not trusting
him, Like we're supposed to trust you,

215
00:14:58,639 --> 00:15:01,480
but you won't even trust him to
ans And you're also clearly not on

216
00:15:01,519 --> 00:15:05,159
the same page because he went to
answer, you sent some weird ass signal

217
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,919
with your water bottle flex whatever that
was in your eyes, Like the least

218
00:15:07,919 --> 00:15:11,799
subtle thing in the world. So
thank you for sharing your thoughts and I

219
00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,480
don't know if you have anything to
add on it, but it's it's a

220
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,840
they. It could not have been
more poorly handled. I guess the other

221
00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:24,120
question I had is people have also
said that this is selective outrage because Billips

222
00:15:24,159 --> 00:15:26,799
has held other positions. Luke Walton
is in the NBA, Jason Kidd got

223
00:15:26,879 --> 00:15:31,120
hired by the MAVs. The one
thing I'll say about the MAVs is hiring

224
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,519
Jason Kidd, who was charged for
how the domestic abuse charge in two thousand

225
00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:39,000
and one was the year. I
wanted to double check that that's just so

226
00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,519
on brand for the MAVs that people
probably thought like given out their history whatever.

227
00:15:43,039 --> 00:15:46,279
He also has to have his press
conference yet, which is a really

228
00:15:46,279 --> 00:15:48,000
long time to not have a coaching
press conference. I assume there will be

229
00:15:48,039 --> 00:15:54,399
more. I was curious what you
thought about that type of stance, where

230
00:15:54,399 --> 00:15:56,759
this is, why aren't we talking
more about Luke Walton. Then my argument

231
00:15:56,759 --> 00:16:00,159
would be delay the framework. There's
gonna come up point where this is,

232
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,519
you know, this is sad.
We're probably not talking about Chauncey Billips like

233
00:16:03,559 --> 00:16:07,879
this either these things sort of just
fade to the background because it doesn't clearly,

234
00:16:07,919 --> 00:16:11,039
it doesn't do anything because the Blazers, clearly or Neil O'Shea whoever,

235
00:16:11,159 --> 00:16:17,159
like however many decision makers were involved, clearly felt empowered enough to do everything

236
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,080
they did. This is a body
of shit show work. Like it's not

237
00:16:19,159 --> 00:16:22,519
just the billops higher But it's like
you mentioned with Becky Hammond. But I'm

238
00:16:22,559 --> 00:16:26,759
just curious how you feel when people
say, well, why wasn't there the

239
00:16:26,759 --> 00:16:29,639
sas rage when Billips was here?
Or why aren't we talking more about Luke

240
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,720
Walton, or why aren't we talking
more about Jason Kidd, though I would

241
00:16:32,759 --> 00:16:34,919
argue we have probably talked the bunch
about Jason Kidd. I mean, I

242
00:16:34,919 --> 00:16:40,360
think it's just it's like it's indicative
of, you know, a world where

243
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,639
there's plenty of people out there,
like even like me and myself included,

244
00:16:42,679 --> 00:16:47,080
who didn't who don't know how to
talk about this stuff, who haven't understood

245
00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:52,399
the you know, the gravity of
it, that like the widespread and it's

246
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:56,600
like we're wrestling with a lot of
things right now. And you know,

247
00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,039
I always felt bad for my friends
in Sacramento because, like Luke Walton's not

248
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,279
going anywhere because they're not gonna pay
They're not gonna like fire him and pay

249
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,519
somebody else while they're paying him,
you know. And so I'm just looking

250
00:17:07,559 --> 00:17:12,880
at like that's gonna be our you
know, situation for five years, and

251
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,119
you know it's I guess it's time
for maybe the league to decide, you

252
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,680
know what they can. Oh,
I wasn't going to bring this up,

253
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:29,000
but maybe I will. So,
Like this is two thousand, it's not

254
00:17:29,079 --> 00:17:32,720
that spicy, But in two thousand
and three, the Blazers made this whole

255
00:17:33,079 --> 00:17:37,400
song and dance about how they were
gonna they were they made a pledge.

256
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,319
This is in two thousand and three, so you know what time this was

257
00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,079
around. This is around a time
that things were also not going well and

258
00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:45,559
the Blazers and I don't call it
by the name that a lot of people

259
00:17:45,559 --> 00:17:48,960
call it, because I think that's
gross. But the Blazers came out with

260
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,279
this pledge to the fans and it
was all about how they were going to

261
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,519
only have players of character, and
they were going to only have players who

262
00:17:56,519 --> 00:17:59,000
were active in the community. They
were going to only have players that they

263
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,359
were going to hold up to it
to a certain thing. So I went

264
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,720
up and I looked it up on
the internet archive to find out, like,

265
00:18:03,759 --> 00:18:07,559
Okay, what did they say about
like the character that you know,

266
00:18:07,599 --> 00:18:11,880
it was supposed to represent Ripsody?
So first of all, I started reading

267
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,160
it and I was like, this
is so gross because it was only the

268
00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:19,799
players that they were holding accountable.
So what's the code for that, right?

269
00:18:19,839 --> 00:18:23,240
You know, it's like we want
our players to be respect vote to

270
00:18:23,279 --> 00:18:27,359
bowl, and we want our players
to like, uh, echo our you

271
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:33,000
know, our values, and didn't
say anything about like the coach, because

272
00:18:33,039 --> 00:18:34,480
I was like, what did they
say about the coach? You know?

273
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:41,680
So I don't know, I just
I think it's a it's a sadly these

274
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,799
reckonings are going to keep happening.
But I guess if he had to have

275
00:18:45,839 --> 00:18:48,880
the silver lining, which is like
gross, but like if more people learn

276
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,680
and understand every time and more people
speak out against it, the more it

277
00:18:52,759 --> 00:18:57,279
happens. Like maybe someday there'll be
a franchise who gets this kind of path,

278
00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:03,000
you know, pushed back from their
really loyal fans, and and they

279
00:19:03,039 --> 00:19:06,880
go, you know what, maybe
let's not make this higher. Maybe let's

280
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,960
choose somebody else, like I don't
know, I don't know, I don't

281
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,519
know. It's mind going to bungle
that actual decision you're talking about. All

282
00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:17,680
I had to do was hire someone
else, but then to bungle the bungling

283
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:22,160
with the press covers that they have
is Yeah, did you see that they

284
00:19:22,279 --> 00:19:26,559
hired for who they signed on to
their summer league team, Michael Beasley.

285
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:34,759
Hey, that's the help that they
need this organizations. It's really going to

286
00:19:34,839 --> 00:19:38,160
win the fans. Back to the
question points that I just asked you,

287
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,200
not that we did talk about it, and I'm not saying you're glossing over

288
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,759
it, but now I'm about to
ask you about actual basketball. Like that's

289
00:19:44,759 --> 00:19:48,920
how like there's no natural segue to
this. It's just I'm gonna ask you

290
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,000
about actual basketball because there's an off
season happening in mid all this. And

291
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:59,519
let's start with Dame to recap it
for our listeners. Like he first came

292
00:19:59,519 --> 00:20:02,160
out, said he on a Jason
Kidd, Jason Kidd removes his name from

293
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,880
the running, which, to be
rejected by Jason Kidd is like pretty that's

294
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:10,759
pretty terrible, terrible look. Jason
kiddnew he had to know the Maverick job

295
00:20:10,839 --> 00:20:11,920
is gonna be open. That's my
stance there, but that's unrelated. He

296
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,720
also was in support of Billups,
and Chris Haynes said in that report Damian

297
00:20:15,759 --> 00:20:21,160
Lillard plans to be heavily involved in
the coaching search. Brian Wynhorse reported that

298
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,200
Damian Lillard was on the Zoom Call
interviews, some of the Zoom Call interviews.

299
00:20:23,839 --> 00:20:26,519
As far as I know, that's
very irregular. The hire is not

300
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,960
on Dame, but he kind of
tried to distance himself from it after.

301
00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,440
I guess he thought fans were attacking
him, but I saw a lot of

302
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,279
fans defending him. And the organization
is responsible for the higher and they could

303
00:20:37,319 --> 00:20:41,880
have done a better job of protecting
Dame from all of this, so that's

304
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,119
on them too. I don't blame
Dame for that. Not a batter moment

305
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,079
for him, though, the way
we came out on Twitter. Tried to

306
00:20:47,079 --> 00:20:51,000
distance himself from it. And then
there's the report from Chris Haynes, which,

307
00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:52,920
as you know, if Chris Haynes
is saying something about Damian Lillard,

308
00:20:53,279 --> 00:20:59,519
it came from Damian Lillard himself or
like the closest person to Damian Lillard that

309
00:20:59,599 --> 00:21:03,240
this could force him to reconsider be
part of the reason for him to reconsider

310
00:21:03,319 --> 00:21:06,640
his future with the Blazers, because
he also wasn't have faith in them to

311
00:21:06,799 --> 00:21:11,880
contend the latter point after watching Neil
shaken duct business this past summer. I

312
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:14,559
wouldn't, you know, can't blame
him. I'm just curious as to what

313
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:21,799
you make of the Dame situation at
large right now. So I am not

314
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:27,359
as worried about Dame actually leaving the
organization because I know how invested he is,

315
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:32,079
and I know historically how invested he's
been in every community that he's been

316
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,000
involved with, you know, whether
it was like his high school community,

317
00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:40,720
his AAU team, his family.
He's always extremely he's extremely loyal. There

318
00:21:40,759 --> 00:21:44,000
was like like one point in high
school where he did go to a different

319
00:21:44,039 --> 00:21:47,359
school for another year, and like
he went right back to his his his

320
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,200
other school, you know. So
like I believe that Dame means it when

321
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,920
he says that he wants to be
here, But I've also believed all along

322
00:21:56,039 --> 00:21:57,759
that if he does leave, it's
because somehow we screwed up. We I

323
00:21:57,799 --> 00:22:00,440
don't know if that means we the
fan base or if it means we the

324
00:22:00,519 --> 00:22:03,039
organization. Right now, it kind
of looks like the organization. But I

325
00:22:03,079 --> 00:22:07,000
think the most telling thing is that
with this, really this is like one

326
00:22:07,039 --> 00:22:11,359
of the most important things that is
hired that has happened during Dame's whole tenure

327
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:17,119
year is hiring a new head coach
and the fact that the two camps could

328
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:21,160
not be aligned like the when I'm
when, I mean like the organization and

329
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,640
ownership and Damian Lillard have two completely
different stories coming out. I think that's

330
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,200
the worst thing to me, and
that signals to me that Dame no longer

331
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:33,720
trusts the organization. I don't think
it's so much about fans. I think

332
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,440
he probably was mad. I think
he probably like tried to you know,

333
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,319
he was trying to figure out what
to do, like because you know,

334
00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:44,319
it's not a great look for him, and he's used to always looking really

335
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,880
good, but like, you know, he didn't look great, and so

336
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,640
he you know, lashes out a
little bit. But I think the majority

337
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,720
of the fan base that I know
and that I see don't blame Dame for

338
00:22:56,799 --> 00:22:59,119
it, and also don't blame Dame
for saying, like, look, if

339
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,039
you can't get a better team around
me, you know, I'm not gonna

340
00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:06,799
stick around and like Niel Shay saying
that you know it wasn't the roster,

341
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,960
it was the coach. Like,
does that mean we're gonna go into the

342
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,920
season with the same roster that we
watched over and over as Chauncey Billip's gonna

343
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,119
change things that much? I have
no idea, you know why, because

344
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,119
Chaunceyvillips doesn't have a head coaching body
of work, but he has gravitas.

345
00:23:22,799 --> 00:23:26,119
Has gravitas, Yeah, he sure
does. And I guess you kind of

346
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:30,119
already answered this, and I'm I'm
not going to go into fake Dame trades,

347
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,319
mostly because I agree with you that
it'd be a shock if it at

348
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,039
some point. Yes, I think
it's an issue, but he has three

349
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,279
three years posted a player option left
on his deal. I would just be

350
00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:42,880
shocked if anything happened this season.
But would your opinion change of him if

351
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:48,039
something did happen this season where that's
a lot of time left on his deal

352
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,319
that he signed to all of a
sudden change course. And the fall up

353
00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:56,119
to that is if Dame, if
they were to trade Dame, would you

354
00:23:56,319 --> 00:24:00,200
want them to actually start over or
would you be favoring a type of well,

355
00:24:00,279 --> 00:24:03,759
let's get good players so that we
can remain competitive, because for me,

356
00:24:03,319 --> 00:24:07,000
zooming out, I think people who
covertly at large or just aren't importantly

357
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,319
aren't covering this team day to day. We're gonna say, no, you

358
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,960
need to start over, you bottom
out, pick picks, pix pix pix,

359
00:24:12,079 --> 00:24:15,680
YadA, YadA, YadA. But
it's just so much more complicated than

360
00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:19,160
that it is. And right now
people are so mad at the front office

361
00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:23,240
that I think they just I don't
think they don't. I personally don't care

362
00:24:23,519 --> 00:24:26,599
which direction they go. I just
want them to get a front office that

363
00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:30,920
is different, that has like more
respect for the fans, and so like

364
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,200
if they got in a new front
office and that front office laid out the

365
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:40,759
vision and explained it to us and
didn't say just trust us, then I

366
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,039
would be, you know, fine
with whichever I mean. Like, just

367
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,960
like the recent weeks. It reminds
me of like one of my favorite quotes,

368
00:24:48,039 --> 00:24:52,000
which is from Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who said things can change in

369
00:24:52,039 --> 00:25:00,359
a moment, and something could happen
to Damien. Something could like so when

370
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,079
he says I want to be a
lifetime Plazer or whatever, like I totally

371
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,519
believe him, But I also know
things can change in a moment, and

372
00:25:07,599 --> 00:25:11,720
we've just been through a moment,
and I think we'll be able to get

373
00:25:11,799 --> 00:25:15,119
through it. But like, that
doesn't mean it won't happen again, and

374
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,960
it doesn't mean that it's not you
know, it doesn't mean that he you

375
00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:21,759
know, could end up deciding to
leave. I just hope that if he

376
00:25:21,839 --> 00:25:25,680
does decide to leave, he does
it in a way that like he's not

377
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,519
just like leaving the whole place in
flames. You know that he at least

378
00:25:29,559 --> 00:25:34,400
has a fond memories long enough,
you fond enough memories of all of us

379
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,720
who like didn't have anything to do
with this, to try to at least

380
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,880
help us get set up in a
way that we can move forward without having

381
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,279
to completely bought him out. And
I think I agree with you. The

382
00:25:45,319 --> 00:25:48,680
only way I think it would change
my perception of Dame is if this was

383
00:25:48,759 --> 00:25:51,400
like if he was actually using the
fan base is like a shield for this,

384
00:25:51,799 --> 00:25:53,319
Like that would be where it'd be
like, okay, no, like

385
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,240
it's not that's not on a fan
base the organization now though, and I

386
00:25:56,319 --> 00:26:00,720
might have viewed him differently, and
Terry stocks still be in the head coach.

387
00:26:00,799 --> 00:26:03,759
Let's say they don't make a coaching
change and it's this year that something

388
00:26:03,799 --> 00:26:06,960
happens with him, and I'm only
looking at this year down the line,

389
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,319
I actually get it. I might
have viewed him differently based on like I'd

390
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,799
rather I'd rather lose here than win
anywhere else type deal. But now the

391
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:17,160
organization has given him a built out, built an excuse to get at you

392
00:26:17,599 --> 00:26:21,559
GTFO whenever he wants because of how
poorly all this was handled and how they

393
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,240
failed to protect him. So I'm
with you on everything there, but I

394
00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:26,559
ultimately don't think it becomes an issue, which is why are you ready to

395
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:32,440
move on to like the stuff that
I think actually matters? Yes, let's

396
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,720
talk about basketball. Fuck is up
with Nicole and nurkish? Use of Nurkish?

397
00:26:36,759 --> 00:26:38,519
Sorry, I can't believe I'm cursing
so much, But like talk.

398
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,960
You know that moment that postgame presser
where he was like, I don't I

399
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,960
don't even know if I'm gonna be
here, that's up to my agent.

400
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,480
And look, I'll say, if
I were an NBA player making twelve million

401
00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:52,160
a year, I'm not gonna care
what Like I'm not looking at oh my

402
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:53,680
contract non guaranteed. It's not up
to me. I'm just I'm taking that

403
00:26:53,759 --> 00:26:57,839
money. So maybe he didn't know
that, but those were very bizarre words,

404
00:26:59,079 --> 00:27:02,079
and just the general consensus is that
he thinks he needs a bigger role.

405
00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:04,519
I'm just and that's somehow you know, that had its own moment,

406
00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:10,039
but then everything else that happened kind
of very dad So like WTF. There's

407
00:27:10,079 --> 00:27:18,160
the PG version WTF with oh yusef
okay. So you know what, if

408
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,839
he could stay in the game and
stay on the floor and make the layup,

409
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:32,240
I'd have a lot more empathy for
him, you know. He it's

410
00:27:32,319 --> 00:27:36,680
been a roller He's I mean,
he's just a huge personality. And if

411
00:27:36,759 --> 00:27:41,319
you're if Nurkis is on your team, it's a roller coaster because they go

412
00:27:41,559 --> 00:27:45,279
as use of Nurkic goes, you
have like the steady conductor of the train,

413
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,400
Damian Lord. But really it's like
use of nurkicch is Like if he

414
00:27:49,839 --> 00:27:55,200
is there and dialed in and wants
to win more than anything, there's like

415
00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,240
little that can stop him. But
if he's just performing and he can't stay

416
00:28:00,319 --> 00:28:06,519
on the court because he's in voul
trouble, if he is he's seven feet

417
00:28:06,599 --> 00:28:08,359
tall. Okay, I did a
little bit of research before this because I

418
00:28:08,519 --> 00:28:12,599
was just like, I feel like, I feel like he should be scoring

419
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,839
more. And I know it's not
scoring isn't everything, but he's seven feet

420
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,799
tall, and I feel like half
of the season I was sitting there going,

421
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,759
oh my god, like how did
you miss that layup? Or like

422
00:28:22,839 --> 00:28:23,920
why didn't you just dunk it?
It was right there? Why did you

423
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,960
do that little flip shot up there? So in the restricted area he shoots

424
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:34,200
fifty seven percent, which to me
for somebody who's seven feet tall and weighs

425
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,680
a lot and can like really move
guys around with his strength, it just

426
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:42,079
feels like it should be better than
that. And to then say I want

427
00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:45,240
a bigger role, I'm like,
what bigger role do you want to do?

428
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,200
Like stay on the court? I
don't get it. In val trouble,

429
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,359
like does he want to shoot more
threes? Does he? Like?

430
00:28:51,799 --> 00:28:53,759
I'm really curious to see to think
about all the ways that he thinks that

431
00:28:53,799 --> 00:28:59,240
he's being held back because on nights
where he decided to take over and put

432
00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:02,240
the team on his back, because
there were a couple especially leading right up

433
00:29:02,279 --> 00:29:04,960
to that terrible injury that he like, that was when I finally got on

434
00:29:06,119 --> 00:29:11,160
board use of Nurkics was like a
month before he had that broken leg,

435
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,160
which was so so sad because there
were nights where you could tell that he

436
00:29:15,319 --> 00:29:18,440
decided to put the team on his
back and do the work and it was

437
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:26,599
a thing of beauty and that just
didn't happen. It just I just kept

438
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:27,880
waiting for that to happen again,
and it was like, no, it's

439
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:33,240
like one handed rebounds, you know, it's like one handed passes is not

440
00:29:33,319 --> 00:29:34,599
taking care of the ball, and
it's just like, come on, nobuddy,

441
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,160
what are you doing? Like and
then there's a fact that he's with

442
00:29:38,279 --> 00:29:44,000
clutch and clutched already, you know, traded Gary away, which you know,

443
00:29:44,319 --> 00:29:48,279
I'm happy with Norman Powell, but
like I just I feel like they're

444
00:29:48,319 --> 00:29:51,519
whispering. I feel like when he
was saying some of the things that he

445
00:29:51,599 --> 00:29:55,119
was saying in the press conference,
somebody was has been telling him like,

446
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:56,400
you're not you don't have a big
enough role there. You could have a

447
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,400
big enough role, You could have
a bigger role, And I just don't

448
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,880
know how much of it was him
like just saying what he felt like he

449
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,799
needed to say in the moment,
and how much of it is just like

450
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,319
what he realized things. I don't
know. It's a mess so much as

451
00:30:11,359 --> 00:30:15,400
a mess. Just can't believe what
happened. My response was the same.

452
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,880
I was, like, your bigger
role is playing in more than forty one

453
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,880
games over the course of the past
two seasons. That's yours, And look,

454
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,359
I was I didn't really like Nurkic, seems I still remember him like

455
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,759
pouting in Denver those days, and
you mentioned the stuff of four's injury,

456
00:30:29,839 --> 00:30:33,160
during his injury, him cheering on
like the team from the sidelines, like

457
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,720
he became infinitely more likable during that
stretch. And then he comes out and

458
00:30:36,799 --> 00:30:41,000
says this, and look, players
are put on the spot and it's heat,

459
00:30:41,079 --> 00:30:42,039
like heat of the moment. So
I get that there could have been

460
00:30:42,039 --> 00:30:45,559
a misstep there, but it was
just it came so far out of left

461
00:30:45,599 --> 00:30:48,559
field that I have to think,
like that's something he's been like stewing on

462
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,920
for quite some time. And you're
you know, you mentioned like, just

463
00:30:52,119 --> 00:30:56,359
for context, he shot fifty seven
percent at the rim, which is in

464
00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:02,480
a ten percent tile for centers or
Biggs perfects. That's not good and what's

465
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,720
also weird is that he's still important
to this team because the Blazers were terrible

466
00:31:06,799 --> 00:31:11,519
defensively for most of the year.
They had one sixteen seven offensive defensive rating

467
00:31:11,519 --> 00:31:12,920
for clean and glass roos, filtos, aut garbage time for the whole year.

468
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,680
That was the eighteen percentile for lineups
that met the criteria, with Nurkics

469
00:31:18,759 --> 00:31:22,079
on the floor one O nine five
defensive rating, a first percent five of

470
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,799
line ups that met the criteria.
He's important to what they do, but

471
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,279
you also don't really have the cachet
on a team that has Damian Lord and

472
00:31:29,319 --> 00:31:32,680
c J McCollum to like kind of
come out and say like there needs to

473
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:37,240
be more, Like your bigger role
is like play one, be held enough

474
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:41,720
to play and then to play better. That's your bigger role. I and

475
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,119
I forgot what I was gonna say, Like I just, you know,

476
00:31:45,279 --> 00:31:48,079
imagine, like I don't think he's
the only I think he I don't.

477
00:31:48,119 --> 00:31:52,359
I don't have no idea what he
thinks. In my opinion, he is

478
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,880
not the only center who could improve
the Blazer's defense. Like I think there's

479
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:01,640
other centers out there who could also
improve the Blazers defense. And also stay

480
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:10,599
in the game and shoot and you
know, not like deflate everybody. Like

481
00:32:10,799 --> 00:32:15,880
I was telling I was explaining this
to somebody that like so many times,

482
00:32:15,359 --> 00:32:19,480
you know, he's close to the
basket, He's right there. It's it's

483
00:32:19,559 --> 00:32:22,759
right there. I'm reaching you can
see that. I'm like, the basket

484
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,039
is right there, and he just
like does this little flip shot and instead

485
00:32:25,079 --> 00:32:30,240
of like dunking it, and it
just takes all the air out of the

486
00:32:30,319 --> 00:32:32,359
team. It's like that was it
was. It was right there, and

487
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:37,720
it just like deflates everybody. And
I sorry, I hate feeling like I'm

488
00:32:37,759 --> 00:32:39,640
just like piling on him, but
I think there's other centers in the league.

489
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:43,359
I just like keep thinking about,
like what if Robin Lopez was still

490
00:32:43,359 --> 00:32:45,880
on the team. By the way, is shooting eighty percent and from less

491
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:52,799
than five feet, you know like
what, I just don't I think Nurkicic

492
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:58,400
has come to think that maybe he
that he's the key to the Placers being

493
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:00,960
defend better defensively, and I just
think there's other people out there who could

494
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:06,119
also improve the Bleachers on defense.
He's not the only one. I agree

495
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,000
wholeheartedly with that point. So I
wish him all the success in the world,

496
00:33:09,039 --> 00:33:13,000
whether it's important or somewhere else.
I don't want to pile on him,

497
00:33:13,079 --> 00:33:15,759
but I don't think he's the only
one. Well, so that really

498
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,920
is my question for you, is
because his contract is non guaranteed and at

499
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,200
twelve million dollars for what he does
do, even though I think he's eminently

500
00:33:23,279 --> 00:33:28,000
replaceable, he's not being waived,
like they're just not letting him go.

501
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,480
Do you think that he's traded before
next season? I wouldn't be surprised.

502
00:33:35,119 --> 00:33:37,960
I wouldn't be surprised. You know, so much of it depends on CJ.

503
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:43,039
Because I have you know, it
worries me to think about, like

504
00:33:43,079 --> 00:33:47,680
what would happened for Damien if both
CJ and Nurkish were traded, just because

505
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,079
he gets so attached to his teammates
and everything, and that might be a

506
00:33:52,119 --> 00:33:54,440
pretty good blow. But I also
think that he also is really great at

507
00:33:54,480 --> 00:34:00,319
embracing new teammates, so maybe it
wouldn't be so bad. Where do you

508
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,559
fall on the CJ McCollum stuff.
And we've talked about this. I feel

509
00:34:02,599 --> 00:34:06,880
like the past two off seasons,
when you were hosting a Blazer's ed pod,

510
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,400
I came on and talked about it. We talked about it during the

511
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:13,199
middle of this season, and the
complexity of it is CJ mccollumb is so

512
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,039
good, but he's not He's never
made an All Star team, he's not

513
00:34:16,079 --> 00:34:21,320
an MBA player, so it's tough
to trade him and get better because there

514
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,760
needs to be other stuff attached.
So I've long been an advocate of don't

515
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,480
move CJ McCollum, Like, it
just doesn't make sense given how last season

516
00:34:29,639 --> 00:34:32,199
ended though, and everything that's going
on right now with just Damian Lillard's future

517
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:36,239
kind of staring you in the face
despite him being under contract for another three

518
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:38,800
or four years. Where do you
land on it now? Because I find

519
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:43,840
myself like severely softening my stance where
I'm like, you have Norman Powell,

520
00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:46,119
who everyone expects him to resign.
Otherwise, why did you trade for him?

521
00:34:47,039 --> 00:34:51,400
Anthony Simons like showed stuff even during
the postseason, like had moments.

522
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:53,679
So if you have those two guys, I might argue that CJ's probably never

523
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,760
been more expendable to them, But
I'm just curious where you land on it

524
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:02,119
now. Yeah, So I I
also have softened my stance a lot.

525
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:06,039
I wouldn't. I would look at
it, and I look at it from

526
00:35:06,039 --> 00:35:07,559
a different point of view though,
because I want what's best for CJ.

527
00:35:08,199 --> 00:35:15,159
And like on his podcast recently,
like he addressed like all the being constantly

528
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:19,480
in trade members. He's constantly since
like his second year, everybody in like

529
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,360
in the town that he plays for, has been calling for him to be

530
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,280
traded. So he's really used to
it. And what he talked about in

531
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,480
his podcast and he's like, I
know what I signed up for. He's

532
00:35:27,519 --> 00:35:30,360
like, I am lucky enough to
play in the NBA, and if I

533
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:31,760
have to listen to people talking about
trading me, and if I get traded,

534
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,119
that's what I signed up for,
Like, I am okay with that.

535
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:38,880
So that softened it a lot for
me. I want him to go

536
00:35:39,039 --> 00:35:44,119
somewhere where he would be appreciated.
So what I don't want to see is

537
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,679
him being traded somewhere where he just
ends up being bounced around the league.

538
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:52,159
I want him to go somewhere if
he gets traded, where he can have

539
00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:54,840
a meaningful impact, because I think
he's underrated. I don't think people understand

540
00:35:54,920 --> 00:36:00,760
like what he I mean, obviously
he's a great player. Sure he hasn't

541
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:05,440
been an All Star, but how
hard is it to be a guard to

542
00:36:05,559 --> 00:36:07,480
get into the All Star And the
might have been on this season had he

543
00:36:07,599 --> 00:36:12,880
not gotten injured. Like, yeah, he's been fantastic. He I mean,

544
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,079
he's a fantastic player. He can
get a shot from anywhere. He

545
00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:19,440
believes in himself. He doesn't get
in his own head. You know.

546
00:36:19,599 --> 00:36:22,719
If he does have a spell where
he isn't playing well, he just plays

547
00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,679
right through it. He's like been
like he's played through injuries. He has

548
00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:30,760
been an absolute you know, solid
you know, plus just all the good

549
00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:35,800
things that he does in terms of
like he's he's the guy who helps the

550
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:37,719
rookies and buys the rookies of the
new suits. Who's who tells him how

551
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:43,119
it's all going? You know,
CJ is so important and he has so

552
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,079
much more to give than just like
an excellent mid range game and you know,

553
00:36:46,119 --> 00:36:51,920
pretty good range from three. So
I mean now too, as I'm

554
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:53,880
sure you know, like that's just
he's really good, is my point.

555
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:59,320
But I'm sorry, Yeah, he
so he doesn't he doesn't dunk, but

556
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,519
like who him or who in Portland
does and he doesn't get to the line

557
00:37:02,599 --> 00:37:06,719
very much. And I think that's
probably the biggest thing is that you know,

558
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:09,119
we keep that's like the thing that
we keep looking at that he could

559
00:37:09,159 --> 00:37:12,840
improve is being able to draw more
files and get to the line much.

560
00:37:13,119 --> 00:37:15,320
But he has so much to give, and I've gotten to the point where

561
00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:21,119
like I want to see him thrive
wherever he is, and the way that

562
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:23,840
season ended for him, I was
just like, you know what if we

563
00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:29,639
can find if the Blazers can find
a better place for him to thrive and

564
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:34,880
get something back that gives the Blazers
something different because they've had this, they

565
00:37:35,039 --> 00:37:40,039
played the same game for the last
six years, Like the game looks exactly

566
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,599
the same. And that's why,
like the Ben's Seven Things is like fun

567
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:49,239
to think about because it will look
totally different. It would like be a

568
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,519
completely different look. And I think
I personally am like hungry for just like

569
00:37:52,559 --> 00:37:55,920
a different look because I've gotten really
tired of watching the game. But I

570
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,119
think DJ could go somewhere and be
so important and so good for another team.

571
00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:06,079
Yeah, and look, since I'm
filtering out the rookie season, but

572
00:38:06,519 --> 00:38:09,119
finding bucket getters in the playoffs,
like from scratch bucket getters, this isn't

573
00:38:09,119 --> 00:38:15,360
someone was just hitting like shots off
passes from Dame twenty point seven points per

574
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,400
thirty six minutes for his career outside
of his rookie season in the playoffs,

575
00:38:17,599 --> 00:38:22,320
shooting forty seven percent from two and
thirty nine percent on three, and the

576
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,119
twos heat takes are difficult twos like
they're floaters or those pull up mid rangers.

577
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:30,920
Forty seven percent is incredibly good.
And that rate has actually been higher

578
00:38:30,039 --> 00:38:34,679
over the past like four seasons in
the playoffs, So he is really good.

579
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:37,000
It's just I agree with you.
I think it might be time for

580
00:38:37,079 --> 00:38:40,239
something different. And this was the
postseason where you couldn't you have Zach Collins,

581
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:44,599
and like Nurkes was injured at some
point during the year, Like injuries

582
00:38:44,639 --> 00:38:46,960
weren't the main factor this time.
And so like you said, they've they've

583
00:38:47,079 --> 00:38:50,800
rolled the same thing out, And
so you said, Ben Simmons is intriguing.

584
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,840
Now would you do the I wanted
to throw fake trays at you.

585
00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:59,199
I'll throw them at you later in
the pod one because it'll be a segment

586
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:00,679
for YouTube, which is easier for
me to cut up. So that's self

587
00:39:01,079 --> 00:39:06,159
too, just to loop them all
together. But for CJ McCollum specifically,

588
00:39:06,199 --> 00:39:09,119
like, if the framework is CJ
and something for Ben Simmons, is that

589
00:39:09,199 --> 00:39:13,320
a deal you're actually doing from the
team's perspective, Like, obviously you want

590
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,679
CJ to go somewhere where we thrive. Actually think he'd be fantastic in Philly.

591
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:20,920
But besides the point from that,
it depends on what you mean by

592
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,400
the end something. It's probably Roco
is the only piece that I can really

593
00:39:23,639 --> 00:39:27,679
only player, excuse me, that
I could really think of that you think

594
00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:32,400
would be somebody that Philadelphia would also
want because CJ is or the Blazers could

595
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:37,199
also part with right and see,
because Ben Simmons is a defense onto himself

596
00:39:37,239 --> 00:39:38,639
basically, which is tough to find. And if you're going to keep Nerk

597
00:39:38,679 --> 00:39:42,199
in that situation, I probably wouldn't. But if you are, like,

598
00:39:42,599 --> 00:39:45,039
you still have two really good defenders
there, and I think you could play

599
00:39:45,119 --> 00:39:47,440
Derek Jones Junior a little bit more
if you wanted to, so Roco is

600
00:39:47,679 --> 00:39:52,440
And also the thing with Dame and
why I think CJ not that he's expendable,

601
00:39:52,519 --> 00:39:54,320
but you don't have to worry about
necessarily who's going to be the second

602
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:59,159
score, because someone will be because
of Dame and also Dame scores and like

603
00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:01,719
the tightest of Spain, like,
it doesn't matter he's played with poor shooting

604
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:06,320
wings, which Ben Simmons is a
very poor shooting something. He's a guard,

605
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,039
big whatever, so that's not an
issue to me, which is why

606
00:40:09,039 --> 00:40:13,719
I also like Ben Simmons for the
Blazers, but for the Sixers, like

607
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,840
I do, think you need to
because Ben Simmons is so good, so

608
00:40:15,039 --> 00:40:21,760
young and under contract, and also
CJ is pretty bad defensively, Roco softens

609
00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:23,320
that blow for them a little bit, even though he's not the best individual

610
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:27,840
defender. That's the framework I came
up with. I've been told by just

611
00:40:28,039 --> 00:40:31,000
people invested in the outcome of this
trade, let's just say said that that's

612
00:40:31,039 --> 00:40:35,360
not enough for Philadelphia. But I
think given where Ben Simmons's value is at

613
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:37,400
right now, if you want to
trade a mid season when he's playing better,

614
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:40,039
like had they traded him in March, I think they probably could have

615
00:40:40,079 --> 00:40:44,559
gotten more. But right now,
I wouldn't give up more if I were

616
00:40:44,599 --> 00:40:46,480
the Blazers, but I think I
would do that trade if I were Portland.

617
00:40:47,079 --> 00:40:51,280
I just don't, I guess I
because I'm in Portland. I'm looking

618
00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:52,840
at it through Portland cover glasses,
and I just like, I don't know

619
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:57,400
where seventy sixers think that they can
get more like that. I don't think

620
00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:01,119
that. I think they're I think
they're undervaluing CJ and what CJ could bring

621
00:41:01,199 --> 00:41:06,840
to that team which needs like a
backbone, it needs the strength, that

622
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:12,400
needs the leadership that CJ is bringing. CJ who never doubts himself, who

623
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:17,480
will you know, plays through everything. I just I think CJ would be

624
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:22,800
I would think that he would fit
in really well as a player and as

625
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:24,760
that final piece of like somebody who
can bring them all together, because like

626
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:30,159
who's the leader on that team?
Like who doesn't have? Yeah, like

627
00:41:30,199 --> 00:41:35,000
who's the leader on that team?
Is it Joel Embiid? Is it?

628
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:42,159
It is Joel Embiid? Like the
person that you want leading the team without

629
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:47,039
some sort of number two who's like
an experienced number two, who's an incredible

630
00:41:47,159 --> 00:41:50,400
number two or number one if we
want to talk about it in Star Trek

631
00:41:50,519 --> 00:41:57,199
terms, like imagine how lucky Joel
Embiid would be to have CJ McCollum as

632
00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:00,480
his number one, right, you
know? And like and do you want

633
00:42:00,599 --> 00:42:02,119
us to throw a Roko too,
I don't think so, I don't know.

634
00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:07,119
I just I don't think or then
throwback somebody, you know, somebody

635
00:42:07,199 --> 00:42:15,880
else who is that can be developed
as the you know I mean. The

636
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,039
other thing is with Ben Simmons is
he is more expect Like people are really

637
00:42:19,119 --> 00:42:22,480
mad about how much money as being
paid to Damian Lord and C. J.

638
00:42:22,559 --> 00:42:25,079
McCollum. Well, Ben Simmons is
getting paid even more for longer.

639
00:42:27,039 --> 00:42:30,519
So like stuffing that blow a little
bit too well. I think if you're

640
00:42:30,559 --> 00:42:32,960
training for Ben Simmons, I think
you believe in Ben Simmons, and so

641
00:42:34,039 --> 00:42:37,239
you probably look at a sub twenty
five year old on contract for that long

642
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,039
is like the asset i'd be curious
to see. I agree with you in

643
00:42:40,079 --> 00:42:44,760
the sense that look and people around
the league they clearly feel the way that

644
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:45,840
you do. Because I don't know
if you saw the rumored trade that the

645
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:50,599
Pacers offered Malcolm Brockdon in a first
round pick. I'm assuming that first round

646
00:42:50,639 --> 00:42:52,000
pick was this year's first round pick, which for them I think is number

647
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,159
Is it twelve? Is it?
I think it's twelve or whatever it is.

648
00:42:55,760 --> 00:43:00,119
That's not an offer that Philly would
even pick up. The phone for

649
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,280
in March, and so if you
feel emboldened to offer that, it probably

650
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:08,000
speaks to what you're saying about Simmons'
value. The tricky thing with Portland and

651
00:43:08,039 --> 00:43:12,360
CJ, though, is why I'm
also attracted to the Ben Simmons scenario is

652
00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,840
if you trade Sji McCollum, you
still have Damian Lillard. So yeah,

653
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:20,159
maybe the Knicks are willing to send
you young players bunch of picks. Damian

654
00:43:20,199 --> 00:43:22,679
Lillward is not going to care about
that. Like Damian Llward needs to win

655
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:25,320
now. I think Ben Simmons is
at least as flawed as he is,

656
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:29,280
is still a win now player for
the Blazers, and there are probably very

657
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:32,400
few scenarios where I think teams would
be willing to give up a ton of

658
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:37,199
value for CJ where it's not a
very future based package, which again does

659
00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:42,119
nothing for the Blazers if they want
to keep Damian Lillard. Yeah, and

660
00:43:42,199 --> 00:43:45,199
I'm glad that you pointed out the
fact that Ben Simmons is twenty five and

661
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:49,079
so like when his contract is over, he'll just be the age that CJ

662
00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:52,840
is now, So that is not
something that had taken into consideration. But

663
00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:54,960
I mean I would push I mean, what do I know, But I

664
00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:00,039
would push for just like straight up
and put you and just remind them how

665
00:44:00,159 --> 00:44:02,599
lucky they would be. Right,
And I think you can do that because

666
00:44:02,639 --> 00:44:07,320
if I'm Joel Embiid, although I've
I've heard that Joelbid does like really into

667
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,599
like the nuance of the He spent
time learning when he was injured under Sam

668
00:44:10,679 --> 00:44:15,400
Hanky, so maybe he's like more
invested in like the trade Minusha than we're

669
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:16,440
giving him credit. But if I'm
Joel and Bid, yeah, I'm making

670
00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:20,519
the straight up swap. And if
I'm Portland, I am saying what you're

671
00:44:20,519 --> 00:44:22,199
saying because if you're Filly and you're
willing to move Ben Simmons right now,

672
00:44:22,639 --> 00:44:25,559
his value has never been lower.
So I agree with you there, I

673
00:44:25,599 --> 00:44:29,360
don't think. I think if it
was just a straight up swap, if

674
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:30,519
I'm Filly, I might roll the
dice and see if I can reboo his

675
00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:34,400
value in the next season. But
that's why it's such a fascinating conversation for

676
00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,280
both these teams, because they're indies. Just like they need to maximize the

677
00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:43,119
windows of their current superstars, and
that's difficult to do with who they have

678
00:44:43,199 --> 00:44:46,679
around them right now. Yeah,
I'm ready to adopt Ben Simmons. If

679
00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:50,119
he wants to come to Portland,
he can come and stay at my house.

680
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,920
And you know, I just I
feel like I also want what's best

681
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,320
for him, and you know,
after we saw at the end of the

682
00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,960
season, clearly a change of scenery
is going to be better for him.

683
00:45:04,559 --> 00:45:07,159
Whatever a player says that, it's
like a mental thing that I always just

684
00:45:07,239 --> 00:45:09,119
sort of even though I've made jokes, like, I always sort of feel

685
00:45:09,159 --> 00:45:13,159
for them because it's like they're under
such a microscope. And that's the thing

686
00:45:13,199 --> 00:45:15,119
with Dame in the social media we
were getting back to. Maybe it wasn't

687
00:45:15,519 --> 00:45:19,079
the entire It was probably I would
say a minority of the fan base that

688
00:45:19,159 --> 00:45:21,719
was going after him. But like
when when you have that huge of a

689
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:23,519
following, the minority of the fan
base is still probably thousands of fans,

690
00:45:23,679 --> 00:45:29,039
So yeah, I get that aspect. Moving on to Norm I kind of

691
00:45:29,119 --> 00:45:31,800
just off handedly said that they're going
to resign him. Do you think that

692
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:35,480
they will, like, do you
think that he's got from Portland next season?

693
00:45:35,599 --> 00:45:37,000
I think that they will because they
have the tools to do it.

694
00:45:37,079 --> 00:45:39,159
You know, they can, like
they have his bird rights, I believe,

695
00:45:39,199 --> 00:45:43,840
so they can go over. I
just think that's I think that's their

696
00:45:44,559 --> 00:45:49,639
best chance of signing an impact player
right now. Everybody else is going to

697
00:45:49,679 --> 00:45:52,239
be somebody that they can pick up
on the margins or will be a trade.

698
00:45:52,719 --> 00:45:55,599
I think he's Yeah. Did you
like his Did you like his fit

699
00:45:55,679 --> 00:45:59,400
with the team during the time that
he was there? Yeah, yeah,

700
00:45:59,559 --> 00:46:05,039
I mean I thought he'd fit in
really well. I like I talked to

701
00:46:05,079 --> 00:46:07,719
you about at the beginning, Like
I enjoyed the three guard line up,

702
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:09,840
even though obviously it wasn't sustainable and
it wasn't something that they could really do

703
00:46:10,119 --> 00:46:13,800
in the playoffs. But imagine if
one of the guards was six ten.

704
00:46:15,039 --> 00:46:22,360
You know, that's a different look
right right there. I just want something

705
00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:25,159
different, and Norm Powell was different. Great at getting downhill, so good

706
00:46:25,159 --> 00:46:30,719
at getting to the line, like
that was that was like a pleasant surprise,

707
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:32,039
Like, oh he draws fowls,
he knows to do it, and

708
00:46:32,079 --> 00:46:35,719
then he also he's just real explosive
and a lot of times like if I

709
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:37,960
wasn't paying close attention, I'd like, look out at the corner of my

710
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,400
eye, I was like, was
that Damber Was that Norm? I don't

711
00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:44,639
know there's and I when I was
grading the trade in real time, I

712
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:46,440
ended up being higher on it than
when you're doing it in real time.

713
00:46:46,519 --> 00:46:49,440
Like you look back and you're like, Wow, what an idiot I was

714
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:51,199
to write that. But I mean
you talked about it, you were like

715
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:53,320
I saw you weren't too fascinated by
it. And I was looking at it

716
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:58,400
purely from a cost perspective of I'm
pretty sure Gary Trent Jr. Who is

717
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:00,760
younger, is going to be cheaper
and it's a little bit more complimentary.

718
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:05,840
But they didn't need complimentary. They
needed You mentioned the downhill juice that he

719
00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:09,079
gives them, and so I think
that's important. I'm just one of the

720
00:47:09,159 --> 00:47:13,320
reasons why. I also think that
there's a higher chance than normal of CJ.

721
00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:17,400
McCollum trade. How many dudes under
six four are you gonna pay fifteen

722
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:22,199
plus because he's probably gonna cost them
between fifteen and twenty million dollars to keep?

723
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:24,000
How many of those do? And
I want players to get paid.

724
00:47:24,039 --> 00:47:29,800
I don't care about Jody Allen's pockets. I don't care. But the reality

725
00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:32,800
of the situation is, are you
gonna pay eighty million dollars? A year

726
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:39,679
to three dudes under six four.
I don't think so, but I do

727
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:43,159
like Norman palace fit. And I
also don't understand why you would have traded

728
00:47:43,199 --> 00:47:45,599
for him if you weren't going to
recent Yeah, yeah, I think that

729
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:51,199
he's a Blazer and he gives.
Like I was really annoyed at once the

730
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:54,320
trade was made, Like you know, the headlines of Portland were like CJ

731
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:58,480
McCollum more tradeable than ever, and
it's like, oh my god, give

732
00:47:58,519 --> 00:48:00,320
it a rest. But at the
same time, like I understand, like

733
00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:04,400
and again having heard CJ say,
this is what I signed up for,

734
00:48:04,679 --> 00:48:07,159
and like thinking about like the way
the season ended with like people actually boot

735
00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:09,320
him in the last game and I'm
like, no, you don't do that,

736
00:48:09,559 --> 00:48:13,280
like that what this guy has done, you don't do that. And

737
00:48:13,519 --> 00:48:16,639
they can he can thrive somewhere else, like all the best to him.

738
00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:22,480
Well, can you tell my listeners
about Norman Powell's dogs. Yeah, they're

739
00:48:22,519 --> 00:48:25,199
so cute. I don't know,
we have a we have a lot of

740
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:30,280
interesting pets on the on the team. You know, CJ got a new

741
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:36,840
dog during the pandemic. Robert Cummington
has snakes, you know, Hussan Whiteside

742
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:38,400
used to have Fish, but you
know, he's not with the team anymore.

743
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:42,440
But I don't know, it's just
it's just fun to have someone who

744
00:48:42,679 --> 00:48:46,400
like, you know, it's so
like they have their own Instagram accounts and

745
00:48:46,639 --> 00:48:50,760
they're just you know, it's just
fun. It's fun to like, you

746
00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:54,360
know, have other non basketball things
sometimes. The Raptors Crossover pod you did

747
00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:58,360
with I can't remember who was on
it, but I remember listening to it

748
00:48:58,559 --> 00:49:00,760
was fantastic because I didn't realize how
attached the fan base was the Norman Powell.

749
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:04,760
Of all people, he's been such
a rollercoaster his entire career, with

750
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:07,159
the exception of really this season,
and I think towards the end of last

751
00:49:07,199 --> 00:49:10,360
one, they seemed gutted to like
lose him from an emotional standpoint, So

752
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:14,039
that was fun. I highly recommended
people could check out that podcast. I'm

753
00:49:14,039 --> 00:49:16,599
here for all the dog content,
dogs, puppy love. I could probably

754
00:49:16,639 --> 00:49:22,400
do without the snakes. Not gonna
lie, but you know, Roko is

755
00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:25,440
a different kind of guy, right, And that's that's just where he that's

756
00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:29,199
just where he goes. He has
this great picture we find him like where

757
00:49:29,199 --> 00:49:31,719
he's got like the snake wrapped around
his head like a headpiece. Oh my

758
00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:36,960
god, did you do him?
Buddy? Okay, Derek Jones Junior.

759
00:49:37,039 --> 00:49:39,079
This is even so many like understated
like could be free agents. But I'm

760
00:49:39,119 --> 00:49:43,599
assuming he picks up his player option, if only because he really didn't play

761
00:49:43,639 --> 00:49:47,400
a ton in Portland, especially as
the season more on. What's the Is

762
00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:51,320
it really just because he doesn't he's
not a good shooter? Is that why

763
00:49:51,360 --> 00:49:55,639
they didn't play him? More?
Dan, I have no idea. People

764
00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:02,280
people come to Portland and they lose
all of their abilities to dunk, Like

765
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:08,119
we have two dunk champions on the
team and the few as dunks in the

766
00:50:08,239 --> 00:50:15,320
league right, Like I don't know
why. I know, but like even

767
00:50:15,639 --> 00:50:21,239
when he did play, yeah,
I don't know why, Like Terry didn't

768
00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:25,119
like that as an additional option,
you know, to have somebody to cut

769
00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:29,400
who's like right there, who can
sky high. Part of it is because

770
00:50:29,639 --> 00:50:34,599
we also don't have the best lob
throwers in the league. I'm hoping that's

771
00:50:34,639 --> 00:50:37,360
something that they will get better at. I mean, it's just like there's

772
00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:40,199
just things. If you if you
want to watch assists, if you want

773
00:50:40,239 --> 00:50:44,760
to watch dunks, if you want
to watch lobs. You just gotta pick

774
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:47,320
another team. Maybe things will change. I don't know, But I don't

775
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:50,840
know why Derek Jones, you know, but I don't understand why Dreck Jones

776
00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:52,760
Jr. Didn't play like It wasn't
like I thought that he was going to

777
00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:55,679
be like a game changer, like
their best player on the team or anything.

778
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:01,400
But I don't know why he sat
down. Now. When Ronde Hollis

779
00:51:01,480 --> 00:51:07,760
Jefferson joined the team, I saw
the difference between the way Rande Hollis Jefferson

780
00:51:07,840 --> 00:51:14,159
plays with no offense and Derrek Jones
Jr. Having limited offense. But I

781
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:21,239
still felt Ronde kind of held the
team together a little bit more with I

782
00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:25,840
feel like Derek Jones Jr. Like
never really found a role and maybe that's

783
00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:29,559
why, like they just didn't have
the luxury of giving him time to find

784
00:51:29,599 --> 00:51:34,159
his role, something that I'm almost
embarrassed say, I didn't give consideration too.

785
00:51:34,199 --> 00:51:37,400
And so you just said it is
when you're in an offense that's run

786
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,280
through Dame cj and then mellow.
Of course Derek Jones Jr. Might not

787
00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:44,840
be the best fit because you're not
going to have those opportunities to necessarily move

788
00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:46,480
off the ball as much or get
out in the open floor like he did

789
00:51:46,519 --> 00:51:50,039
in Miami, and then yes,
you could argue will keep him on the

790
00:51:50,039 --> 00:51:52,199
floor for his defense. He's kind
of in the row Coo Molde though,

791
00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:57,039
where it's he's a better team defender
than he is going to be an individual

792
00:51:57,159 --> 00:52:01,039
defender. I think you could Ronde
Hollis jeff Nurkic maybe, but Ronie Hollis

793
00:52:01,079 --> 00:52:05,840
Jefferson might just be their best individual
defender from this roster this past season,

794
00:52:06,519 --> 00:52:08,719
or is at least pretty close to
it. So I hadn't really given that

795
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:12,000
more thought. And I'm not saying
they shouldn't have played him more, but

796
00:52:12,159 --> 00:52:16,519
that it's hard to overcome that type
of offensive liability when the stuff that he's

797
00:52:16,559 --> 00:52:20,519
best at the Blazers, as you
mentioned, with the lobs and stuff like,

798
00:52:20,559 --> 00:52:23,519
they might not be built to maximize
that. You know, he may

799
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:29,840
be a little bit better individual defender
than you give him credit for. I

800
00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:32,280
mean, he wasn't great, but
like he played a lot when he was

801
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:36,519
playing, he did play a lot
of minutes on the best player, and

802
00:52:36,800 --> 00:52:40,599
like he's slowed him down. But
like when you don't have the machine of

803
00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:46,360
a good like team defense behind that
you know, how much can you do?

804
00:52:46,559 --> 00:52:51,119
But like when you there's there's this
great classic picture of him that I

805
00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:54,280
love so much. It's not him
blocking Lover on the stunk, which is

806
00:52:54,360 --> 00:53:00,199
also great, but there's this one
of him facing up Steph Curry just with

807
00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:06,199
this smile on his face like he's
just relishing. I've never seen this role.

808
00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:08,719
It's such a great it's such a
great picture, and it's just like,

809
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:14,239
I don't think he got as as
much credit, and I don't think

810
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:16,480
he was helped by the fact that
the team defense behind him. I think

811
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:20,320
I think, I mean, obviously
this is a stupid thing to say,

812
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:22,159
but like, had he had better
team defense behind him, he would have

813
00:53:22,559 --> 00:53:27,440
seemed like a better individual defender.
But I just I don't think that he

814
00:53:27,519 --> 00:53:30,599
ever really got the credit or the
chance to show or the role that he

815
00:53:30,679 --> 00:53:34,280
needed well. And I think it's
the same thing with Roco then too,

816
00:53:34,320 --> 00:53:37,519
because people were talking about how,
oh he didn't have the impact offensively he

817
00:53:37,599 --> 00:53:38,760
was supposed to. But you make
a great point there, or something I

818
00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:43,280
should consider more heavily when there are
as many bad defenders around him as it

819
00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:46,079
is any individual defender short of a
few, you know, Nope, especially

820
00:53:46,119 --> 00:53:50,880
perimeter players, you can't be the
defense that Rudy Gobert is. It's just

821
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:55,039
a different machine. And I'll just
say one more thing. When Nurkics came

822
00:53:55,119 --> 00:54:01,559
back, Roco like had the luxury
of own playing one defense for one person,

823
00:54:01,960 --> 00:54:06,480
and he was so much more effective
because he had to cover for Cantor

824
00:54:06,599 --> 00:54:08,679
and like we all know cancer,
like Candor is what cancer is, and

825
00:54:08,840 --> 00:54:15,199
like, but when Cancer was the
starting center, Roco was playing defense for

826
00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:21,000
two people, and you could really
tell the difference in his defense when he

827
00:54:21,199 --> 00:54:24,840
only had to play his own defense
after use of nurkicch came back. Yeah,

828
00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:30,159
and look the statistically the combination of
Rocco and Nurkic at the four and

829
00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:31,400
five, they were great defensively.
So that you know, if you do

830
00:54:31,599 --> 00:54:36,119
keep this team intact for the most
part, there was like a blueprint to

831
00:54:36,199 --> 00:54:38,039
like good minutes. I don't think
you probably need one more guy who's not

832
00:54:38,119 --> 00:54:42,400
Derrick Jones Jr. But I was
going to ask you, because they technically

833
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:46,360
do need another backup big maybe two
and one that could spread the floor would

834
00:54:46,360 --> 00:54:50,840
probably be nice. What would you
think about playing Derek Jones Junior in like

835
00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:57,639
smaller Linance where he is the backup
five. I don't really see him in

836
00:54:57,880 --> 00:55:01,760
that role. I don't know why. I just go to Ronde. Like

837
00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:07,880
Runde played that backup center. He
played small ball center, and I mean

838
00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:12,119
it wasn't great, but he also
like just got there. I really like

839
00:55:12,239 --> 00:55:15,159
Runde a holist different if he can't. And also, you know, Covington

840
00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:22,039
played I see either because I mean
Derrick Jones Jr. Is not big.

841
00:55:22,119 --> 00:55:28,000
He's tall, he's tall, and
he's you know, I mean, yeah,

842
00:55:28,039 --> 00:55:30,079
he's he's kind you know, he's
taller than Damien, but he's also

843
00:55:30,239 --> 00:55:34,639
just very very thin. He just
doesn't have a lot of bulk, you

844
00:55:34,760 --> 00:55:40,280
know. So I guess maybe like
Skinny at Davis, like before Davis got

845
00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:45,320
all big and buff, like Skinny
at Davis was like really fun as the

846
00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:50,239
center because he could just like like
snake up through all of these like you

847
00:55:50,559 --> 00:55:52,760
know, get the rebounds, like
by just like being tiny and like squirting

848
00:55:52,840 --> 00:55:57,000
up through everybody and getting their rebounds. And like maybe Derrick Jones Jr.

849
00:55:57,039 --> 00:56:00,159
Could Could do a little bit of
that. But like just like you know,

850
00:56:00,599 --> 00:56:05,400
he is so small that even some
of the small ball centers would probably

851
00:56:05,519 --> 00:56:07,079
throw him around. Yeah, and
I guess that would be the trade off.

852
00:56:07,159 --> 00:56:10,280
I think that probably the best way
to maximize him offensively because he could

853
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:15,400
get some of those like roles to
the basket as a center. But you

854
00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:20,400
brought up great points defensively. I
think you kind of already answered this question.

855
00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:22,320
I think I'm not sure you're gonna
throw me for a for a whirld

856
00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:28,000
here, but between mellow Ronde and
I feel embarrassed even including Enis Canner and

857
00:56:28,119 --> 00:56:30,079
his hander in here. But he's
like he's a free agent. So I

858
00:56:30,119 --> 00:56:34,280
gotta who's more integral to the Blazers
moving forward? Who do they have to

859
00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:36,679
bring back for I mean, I
don't know. I think you think that

860
00:56:36,679 --> 00:56:40,679
I'm gonna say Ronde, which you
know, my heart is with Runde for

861
00:56:40,960 --> 00:56:45,800
just no good reason except for I
just I just think he's just like he's

862
00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:52,360
just so he's like he's he gave
like two interviews during the two ten day

863
00:56:52,400 --> 00:56:55,599
contracts that he was here or whatever, and they were both just so fantastic.

864
00:56:55,719 --> 00:57:00,360
Like he's such a natural in terms
of like communicating, and like you

865
00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:02,639
can see that on the team too, Like he's actually a really good communicator.

866
00:57:04,199 --> 00:57:07,199
So like as far as like,
you know, somebody being able to

867
00:57:07,320 --> 00:57:10,920
fit into like an important role either
even if it's like, you know,

868
00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:14,800
the eighth or ninth man man off
the bench. I think, you know,

869
00:57:14,920 --> 00:57:16,559
Ronde would be great, you know
that. Having been said, we

870
00:57:16,679 --> 00:57:23,000
are the caretakers of Carmelo Anthony's legacy
or the what are they anyway, we're

871
00:57:23,039 --> 00:57:28,119
supposed to be in curating his legacy
here in Portland, and I actually do

872
00:57:28,400 --> 00:57:35,440
kind of like having him around if
he could, if his experience could be

873
00:57:35,719 --> 00:57:38,679
used like to help like coach up
the younger guys. But I don't know

874
00:57:38,719 --> 00:57:46,639
if he But you know, part
of being a caretaker of somebody's legacy is

875
00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:52,239
also knowing when it's time to like
not play them because sometimes they just don't

876
00:57:52,280 --> 00:57:55,320
have it anymore. So that could
be a sticky situation, and it could

877
00:57:55,360 --> 00:58:00,719
be a sticky situation for a new
coach who is a form or teammates.

878
00:58:00,440 --> 00:58:04,039
So yeah, you know what I'm
gonna go. No, I don't know

879
00:58:04,079 --> 00:58:07,840
if I can go with Randy.
It's not Ensna's cancer. God bless him

880
00:58:07,920 --> 00:58:12,480
for like he was the best starting
backup center that we could have possibly had.

881
00:58:13,239 --> 00:58:19,400
But yeah, he was. He
was that's a hard one. You

882
00:58:19,480 --> 00:58:22,559
know, if I knew that Mellow
could like be okay being like a player

883
00:58:22,679 --> 00:58:27,519
coach, I would say Mellow because
he has just been delightful this whole time

884
00:58:27,559 --> 00:58:30,719
that he has been here. He's
been amazing during the regular season and the

885
00:58:30,800 --> 00:58:35,320
games, he was amazing. You
know, he really had an impact.

886
00:58:35,400 --> 00:58:37,920
He won them a lot of games
during the regular season. Just seems like

887
00:58:37,960 --> 00:58:42,760
he ran out his team a couple
of times. He also had a couple

888
00:58:42,800 --> 00:58:45,320
of playoff performances, if I'm remembering
correctly and not getting them mixed up up

889
00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:50,519
with last year. I don't know. I mean, I don't think i'd

890
00:58:50,599 --> 00:58:54,199
like lay down for like. I
don't think I would like how hard I

891
00:58:54,199 --> 00:59:00,400
would fight for like having to keep
necessarily any of them. That's fair there,

892
00:59:00,639 --> 00:59:05,239
I would I would think Mellow would
be more important as an actual player

893
00:59:05,679 --> 00:59:07,559
if you end up, like if
they made the CJ. McCollum Ben Simmons

894
00:59:07,599 --> 00:59:13,239
trade some framework of that. I'm
not saying Mellow's shock creation is gonna replace

895
00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:19,239
CJ's, but you're gonna need someone
else to do that because Norman Powell,

896
00:59:19,320 --> 00:59:22,840
Okay, like fine, we like
Ben Simmons ain't gonna do it. Yeah,

897
00:59:22,880 --> 00:59:24,719
And I guess you could rely more
on Anthony Simons too, but they

898
00:59:24,800 --> 00:59:30,599
seem to go through, like Anthony
Simon phases us just so. And I'm

899
00:59:30,599 --> 00:59:32,400
so curious to see, like what
his future is with this team, because

900
00:59:32,400 --> 00:59:37,119
he is extension eligible and if you're
gonna pay norm and if you're keeping CJ,

901
00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:39,079
and if you have Dame like that
factors. I'm not trying to make

902
00:59:39,119 --> 00:59:42,599
this all about money, but like, at some point you get so small

903
00:59:42,639 --> 00:59:45,719
on the back court that you can't
give up all the money for those sub

904
00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:51,079
six four players. The Placers are
going to introduce the four guard lineup next

905
00:59:51,079 --> 00:59:52,719
season. I would love it.
I look, I mean here for I

906
00:59:52,880 --> 00:59:55,440
was thinking they used to get Russell
Westbrook and that he should be the fourth

907
00:59:55,480 --> 01:00:00,039
guard and that would be hilarious.
Oh my god, you're trying to I

908
01:00:00,159 --> 01:00:05,400
dream out of Portland. I think
I'm just making jokes. We got a

909
01:00:05,519 --> 01:00:08,440
joke. What is so, whether
it's you know, throwing aside, whether

910
01:00:08,480 --> 01:00:12,719
it's by virtue of free agency or
trade that they address this. What is

911
01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:15,599
the biggest need for this team?
I had of next year being like a

912
01:00:15,679 --> 01:00:21,360
specific position play an archetype. What
is it for me? I mean,

913
01:00:21,360 --> 01:00:23,760
I don't know what the team thinks
that they need, but I am yearning,

914
01:00:24,079 --> 01:00:30,480
like actual yearning for a center who
can shoot, like a center with

915
01:00:30,559 --> 01:00:35,559
a shot, especially with poor Zach
Collins being down again. That just absolutely

916
01:00:35,639 --> 01:00:37,559
breaks my heart that he now is
injured again and it's going to be out

917
01:00:37,599 --> 01:00:42,480
and I don't even know if they're
going to pick up his option or whatever.

918
01:00:42,599 --> 01:00:45,599
I don't know if they're gonna He's
a restrictive free agent, I believe,

919
01:00:46,159 --> 01:00:49,599
so I don't know what they're gonna. I mean, they've waited so

920
01:00:49,840 --> 01:00:52,239
long for him to get healthy and
yet again now he's not, so like,

921
01:00:52,280 --> 01:00:53,840
I don't know how much longer they
can wait on him to get healthy.

922
01:00:54,320 --> 01:01:00,880
So I would love a center who
with more shooting ability. I mean,

923
01:01:00,920 --> 01:01:04,880
I don't want to say I would
love this center who could shoot threes.

924
01:01:05,039 --> 01:01:07,280
Oh my god, Like I hate
saying that out loud, because like,

925
01:01:07,320 --> 01:01:08,840
who doesn't want a center who can
shoot threes? But I just I

926
01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:14,079
really think that they need a center. You know, a lot of people

927
01:01:14,119 --> 01:01:17,199
say backup point guard. Maybe this
coach will be more willing to go with

928
01:01:17,400 --> 01:01:22,079
a backup point guard, but I
just really think was Zach Collins in the

929
01:01:22,199 --> 01:01:27,519
situation that he's in and thinking that
use of Nurkus's time might be limited.

930
01:01:27,960 --> 01:01:30,400
I want a center who can shoot. Yeah, I glossed over. I

931
01:01:30,480 --> 01:01:34,239
skipped over the Zach Collins. Question
I have for you is do you think

932
01:01:34,280 --> 01:01:37,039
that they'll to me? I would
be like, just because of what he

933
01:01:37,079 --> 01:01:40,119
showed in his first two seasons defensively
one, we don't know if that mobility

934
01:01:40,159 --> 01:01:43,079
is going to be any more,
Like how he's injured his ankle like a

935
01:01:43,159 --> 01:01:45,880
million times now and he never you
know, he showed shooting I think it

936
01:01:45,960 --> 01:01:49,880
was last year, but it was
elemited game sample size, and so he's

937
01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:54,519
very much in theory, this floor
spacing, mobile defender who is basically not

938
01:01:54,639 --> 01:02:00,679
played like it like in so long. I would say seems like the best

939
01:02:00,719 --> 01:02:04,400
option for both parties would be he
signed his qualifying offer. They offer it,

940
01:02:04,440 --> 01:02:07,760
and at seven point four million,
I guess the argument against it would

941
01:02:07,760 --> 01:02:10,920
be easy gonna play next season and
then if he's not, or if there's

942
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:14,960
a chance that he won't, Like
now you have burned a roster spot,

943
01:02:15,159 --> 01:02:17,400
which you don't necessarily want to do. But I actually still think he could

944
01:02:17,400 --> 01:02:21,000
be good. But I'm just curious
whether you think they're going to try and

945
01:02:21,079 --> 01:02:24,519
keep him around beyond this year.
I mean, this is where why I'm

946
01:02:24,559 --> 01:02:29,119
not well. This is one of
many reasons I would be bad ebbing in

947
01:02:29,159 --> 01:02:34,840
the front office because I am I'm
so concerned about him as a person,

948
01:02:35,079 --> 01:02:38,320
Like if he doesn't sign, like
who's he gonna get like healthcare from?

949
01:02:38,880 --> 01:02:42,679
You know, if he continues to
break things, that's like freaks me out,

950
01:02:42,760 --> 01:02:45,360
Like they just like cut him off
and he doesn't like you know,

951
01:02:45,480 --> 01:02:47,800
he's been in long enough with the
players Union that he would be fine,

952
01:02:47,800 --> 01:02:52,119
if that's any conflf if okay,
that isn't that is Constellation because I believe

953
01:02:52,199 --> 01:02:57,559
the other teams that somebody out there
would want him, but like Portland hangs

954
01:02:57,679 --> 01:03:00,599
on for so long to these guys, and like I'm more like with about

955
01:03:00,679 --> 01:03:02,400
use of Nurkics, who like when
he does play, plays great, but

956
01:03:02,519 --> 01:03:06,400
like we haven't been able to have
a whole season of him, Like we

957
01:03:07,079 --> 01:03:10,800
just like how long can you keep? And then I know injuries are random

958
01:03:12,079 --> 01:03:15,280
and you know, you you you
never know where they're going to come from.

959
01:03:15,360 --> 01:03:19,719
But like poor Zach just like he
can't he can't stay healthy. And

960
01:03:19,840 --> 01:03:22,599
I mean I think that would be
one of those like really hard decisions that

961
01:03:22,840 --> 01:03:25,519
like time to let somebody else see
if they want to invest in him,

962
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:30,599
because PORL needs roster spots they need. I mean, if they're serious about

963
01:03:30,639 --> 01:03:36,400
trying to build everything they can around
Dame, then you know, and you've

964
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:38,719
got to start showing it if you
are going to pay Norman Powell. And

965
01:03:38,800 --> 01:03:44,880
again I would just pay Zach Collins. But paying seven point four million whoever

966
01:03:44,920 --> 01:03:46,159
the number one I just said,
to keep him for a year when he

967
01:03:46,239 --> 01:03:49,800
might not play, when you're probably
gonna go into the tax anyway, Like

968
01:03:49,840 --> 01:03:52,360
it actually gets more expensive in theory
than at seven point four million. I

969
01:03:52,519 --> 01:03:57,800
just hope he's able to play again
one but I've you know, and you're

970
01:03:57,800 --> 01:04:00,760
worrying about like him as a human, I totally at that. I would

971
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:02,440
have full confidence that if he's not
in Portland, I think he winds up

972
01:04:02,480 --> 01:04:05,559
signing like a two year deal or
something with another team where they take a

973
01:04:05,760 --> 01:04:09,199
you know, it would suck for
him, whereas price tag would probably be

974
01:04:09,320 --> 01:04:12,400
diminished and they have a team option
where they get to keep him super cheap

975
01:04:12,440 --> 01:04:15,079
for next year or something. But
he'll still be in the ambient just because

976
01:04:15,079 --> 01:04:17,000
of what he showed those two seasons. I don't know this exactly, but

977
01:04:17,039 --> 01:04:20,000
I remember looking it up a year
and a half ago and it's still accurate

978
01:04:20,039 --> 01:04:25,519
because they haven't played together since he
and Yusef Nurkicch have played like under two

979
01:04:25,639 --> 01:04:29,440
hundred possessions together. That's like,
that's one of the big what ifs of

980
01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:30,519
this Blazer team. Like, yeah, I would have been intrigued to see

981
01:04:30,519 --> 01:04:33,519
more Zach Collins at center, but
like, had you had Collins and Nurkicch

982
01:04:33,599 --> 01:04:38,039
is like backbones of your defense,
Like that's just one of the what ifs,

983
01:04:38,119 --> 01:04:40,840
And it just sucks. It's a
bummer for him looking at shoulder and

984
01:04:40,880 --> 01:04:44,199
then I think, what two ankle
surgeries? Now maybe it's their third.

985
01:04:44,320 --> 01:04:46,440
Yeah, so that's just a bummer. Yeah. As a Blazer fan,

986
01:04:46,519 --> 01:04:50,639
I'm very familiar with what if scenarios, and as a Blazer fan, I

987
01:04:50,880 --> 01:04:54,719
find that I sometimes hang on too
long and like, you know, I

988
01:04:54,800 --> 01:04:58,079
gotta like toughen up a little bit. But also the thing that so says,

989
01:04:58,159 --> 01:05:03,000
like Zach Collins this whole difficult year, he was with the team,

990
01:05:03,440 --> 01:05:08,880
and he was on the sidelines,
and he was cheering and he was giving

991
01:05:09,000 --> 01:05:12,920
his all, and I just feel
so bad because I was never like a

992
01:05:13,000 --> 01:05:16,920
big Zach Collins fan, right,
but like just seeing how hard he worked

993
01:05:16,960 --> 01:05:19,880
to be a part of the team
and then to have the setback, it's

994
01:05:19,880 --> 01:05:24,360
just heartbreaking. And I just wonder
like if you know, also like just

995
01:05:24,480 --> 01:05:28,840
a different start could help him.
Also, just like I don't know how

996
01:05:28,920 --> 01:05:30,119
it's I have no idea like what
it's like for his head, but like

997
01:05:30,239 --> 01:05:33,079
maybe maybe he's just like, Okay, I just keep hitting injured in Portland,

998
01:05:33,559 --> 01:05:38,079
Like maybe I need to just go
somewhere else. And I could see

999
01:05:38,199 --> 01:05:42,840
him like turning out to be like
great in Charlotte or whatever, like whatever

1000
01:05:42,960 --> 01:05:45,320
random team decides that they want him. I could see him having a really

1001
01:05:45,360 --> 01:05:48,599
good career after he gets all these
injuries taken care of. But at some

1002
01:05:48,719 --> 01:05:55,519
point in Portland, we have to
learn how to move on. Did you

1003
01:05:55,599 --> 01:05:58,880
do you have any trade targets or
free agents that have come to mind for

1004
01:05:58,880 --> 01:06:01,840
the Blazers that you're hoping to see
them go after this off season. Well,

1005
01:06:01,880 --> 01:06:05,119
I don't know how realistic any of
them are, but guys that I

1006
01:06:05,280 --> 01:06:11,320
end it, and they're like probably
way beyond what the Blazers could could do

1007
01:06:11,480 --> 01:06:15,679
right now. I love Jonas Valence
Junas, and I don't know that he's

1008
01:06:15,719 --> 01:06:20,920
really fits into what the Grizzlies are
wanting right now, just because they're they

1009
01:06:21,199 --> 01:06:27,199
have such exciting young court and maybe
they want to like give somebody else more

1010
01:06:27,199 --> 01:06:30,039
of a chance to play in there. So I love him. I love

1011
01:06:30,159 --> 01:06:33,519
Rashaun Holmes, and I'm not sure
why he's so good. That's why you

1012
01:06:33,599 --> 01:06:39,679
love them, So I mean,
I just I think that he again,

1013
01:06:40,039 --> 01:06:45,440
you know, as a big guy
who like has decent shooting right and can

1014
01:06:45,559 --> 01:06:48,360
rebound, and the other the other
guy I like and is Miles Turner,

1015
01:06:48,960 --> 01:06:55,639
so Rashaun Holmes, he's a free
agent. So that one seems very hard

1016
01:06:55,719 --> 01:06:59,280
to me for the Blazers because I
don't know how much he's going to command,

1017
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:01,760
and of course they don't have any
there if they have limited tools to

1018
01:07:01,880 --> 01:07:06,519
be able to bring in someone,
but you know, maybe they could like

1019
01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:12,960
trade somebody into cap space and free
up a little space that way to bring

1020
01:07:13,039 --> 01:07:15,679
in somebody like that. I don't
know that that's what they would prioritize what

1021
01:07:15,679 --> 01:07:18,960
they're trying to do. And I
know that Indiana has been trying to figure

1022
01:07:19,000 --> 01:07:24,239
out for a really long time.
You know Sabonis Turner, can they like

1023
01:07:24,320 --> 01:07:26,880
we have our backcourt that it's like, can they play together? You know

1024
01:07:26,920 --> 01:07:29,280
they've got their friend port, can
they play together? Like? I think

1025
01:07:29,360 --> 01:07:31,719
Miles Turner would be an awesome addition. I actually tried to figure out a

1026
01:07:31,760 --> 01:07:35,199
way to get the Blazers Miles Turner. When I was doing it, we

1027
01:07:35,280 --> 01:07:40,920
were talking about a trade exercise I
did for Bleacher Report. I think that

1028
01:07:41,079 --> 01:07:44,440
what's tough for them is, I
think you probably have a starting if you

1029
01:07:44,480 --> 01:07:48,000
look at it in a vacuum of
if you dangled Anthony Simmons a future first

1030
01:07:48,119 --> 01:07:51,880
and use of Nurkicch, like the
talent there is enough for a baseline,

1031
01:07:53,159 --> 01:07:56,880
But the Pacers have no needs for
use of Nurkicch with Sabonis there, And

1032
01:07:57,000 --> 01:08:00,039
so it's can you find a third
team to give something who wants Nurkicch And

1033
01:08:00,079 --> 01:08:03,039
that would give stuff to the Pacers
for Miles Stern because Turner would be a

1034
01:08:03,039 --> 01:08:09,000
fantastic fit. It's just I don't
know if they have like the assets to

1035
01:08:09,320 --> 01:08:13,480
necessarily get him, but what Indiana
wants right, But you know, if

1036
01:08:13,519 --> 01:08:19,119
Sacramento is going to lose Rashawn Holmes
then maybe they could use a player like

1037
01:08:20,159 --> 01:08:23,840
Yeah, I keep going back to
when I was thinking of Nurkis trades like

1038
01:08:23,880 --> 01:08:27,359
Okay, Sacramento and Charlotte, like
they probably should play faster than he would

1039
01:08:27,359 --> 01:08:30,640
be a fit, but they both
also just need good center play because I

1040
01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:33,399
don't think Rashaun Holmes is gonna be
back in Sacramento. They have limited rights

1041
01:08:33,640 --> 01:08:38,039
on Rashaun Holmes and so like they
can't pay him more than it's like ten

1042
01:08:38,159 --> 01:08:41,239
point three million a year without using
cap space, which is right now they

1043
01:08:41,279 --> 01:08:44,880
don't have, and so he's I'm
so interested to what he gets. But

1044
01:08:45,159 --> 01:08:47,039
I would love I would love Rashaun
Holmes anywhere. You could have mentioned him

1045
01:08:47,119 --> 01:08:53,319
for freaking Memphis now. Trudis would
be an interesting trade target. And I've

1046
01:08:53,359 --> 01:08:57,159
also been curious as to whether because
he's not under this long term deal,

1047
01:08:57,279 --> 01:08:59,600
Like the Grizzlies are good now,
but they're not a contender, maybe they

1048
01:08:59,640 --> 01:09:03,079
would entertained offers for him that would
be an interesting fit. I also tried

1049
01:09:03,119 --> 01:09:06,399
to figure out trade wise how to
get them. It's a lower resolution,

1050
01:09:06,520 --> 01:09:11,359
but like Chris Bouchet shot blocking floor
spacing, big Man, I think would

1051
01:09:11,359 --> 01:09:14,720
be a fit their trade assets are
just so tough to work with. For

1052
01:09:14,800 --> 01:09:15,840
the Blazers, I think, as
you could probably see because I sent you

1053
01:09:15,960 --> 01:09:24,800
trades and they're just in a very
difficult situation. Yeah, this trade that

1054
01:09:24,880 --> 01:09:28,720
you sent me, trying to think
of the one that that I that I

1055
01:09:28,840 --> 01:09:31,520
like the most. Oh, I
like the Larry Nance one. I liked

1056
01:09:31,560 --> 01:09:35,520
it too, which makes me think
that Cleveland won't. The trade I sent

1057
01:09:35,560 --> 01:09:41,760
you was right, So the Calves
would get Anthony Simons Derek Jones Junior and

1058
01:09:41,760 --> 01:09:44,600
I'm assuming he opts in, and
then you get the twenty twenty three first

1059
01:09:44,640 --> 01:09:47,640
round pick with top ten protection.
They might see Simon's as redundant because they

1060
01:09:47,680 --> 01:09:50,560
have sexed in in Garland, and
they might wind up with Jalen Green or

1061
01:09:50,640 --> 01:09:55,159
Sugs. But I think people think
they're going to trade Sexton eventually, so

1062
01:09:55,479 --> 01:09:58,119
I think the value is at least
close, and Larry NaNs Junior is entering

1063
01:09:58,159 --> 01:10:00,079
his age twenty nine season. The
Calves are nowhere near ready to win,

1064
01:10:00,960 --> 01:10:04,720
and Larry X Junior is is so
good I would love him. I tried

1065
01:10:04,760 --> 01:10:09,159
to go with this trade actually for
the Blazers in my actual article, but

1066
01:10:09,239 --> 01:10:12,000
it felt like I was one assets
short and I couldn't figure out how to

1067
01:10:12,079 --> 01:10:15,880
get it to Cleveland. Like I
thought, like if you sent Yusuf Nurkus

1068
01:10:15,960 --> 01:10:23,119
to Sacramento, would they send Marvin
Bagley and a second or Marvin Bagley and

1069
01:10:23,239 --> 01:10:25,960
Robert Woodard, who's a very interesting
wing to me to Cleveland? Does that

1070
01:10:26,039 --> 01:10:29,199
get it done? But larry Y
Junior is actually my single him and Chris

1071
01:10:29,279 --> 01:10:32,960
Bouche and my single two most favorite
trade targets for the Blazers this offseason really

1072
01:10:33,119 --> 01:10:35,479
interesting because both of them, you
know, when as soon as they come

1073
01:10:35,479 --> 01:10:41,159
to Portland, they're going to forget
how to dunk. So how would they

1074
01:10:41,199 --> 01:10:44,680
still be if they weren't dunkers.
I will say Chris Bouche will never forget

1075
01:10:44,760 --> 01:10:47,159
how to dunk. I'm a huge
Chris Bouche fan, so he will never

1076
01:10:49,439 --> 01:10:56,279
two swam Dune champions. Few as
dunks in the league. Are there any?

1077
01:10:57,279 --> 01:10:59,600
I guess the other free you know, you mentioned a big who shoots

1078
01:10:59,680 --> 01:11:03,880
looking at free agents that I think
they could maybe sign. Daniel Tye would

1079
01:11:03,920 --> 01:11:08,479
be good. I think then he
should be fairly cheap. And look,

1080
01:11:08,520 --> 01:11:10,800
I don't even know if they're going
to spend as of right now. They

1081
01:11:10,840 --> 01:11:13,720
could probably spend five point nine million
is the most they could spend on a

1082
01:11:13,760 --> 01:11:15,920
free agent, and that's assuming they're
willing to spend it. I don't know

1083
01:11:16,039 --> 01:11:19,600
how you know they feel about paying
attacks this year, But Daniel Tys would

1084
01:11:19,640 --> 01:11:24,199
be good if Michael Green opts out, if you wanted to go small.

1085
01:11:24,399 --> 01:11:27,840
But I'm guessing after living through what
happened in Houston with James Harden wanting out,

1086
01:11:27,880 --> 01:11:30,479
he won't want to come to Portland
with Dames situation in the air.

1087
01:11:30,720 --> 01:11:32,880
PJ. Tucker, if you wanted
to run small, would be very interesting

1088
01:11:32,960 --> 01:11:38,840
to me for this team too.
I was I'm always on board a guy

1089
01:11:38,920 --> 01:11:42,680
named Green. I have this I
just want the Blazers to sign somebody whose

1090
01:11:42,720 --> 01:11:45,600
last name is Green. It goes
back to this, like five years ago.

1091
01:11:45,680 --> 01:11:48,159
I did this thing where I realized
that Blazers just lose to guy's name

1092
01:11:48,239 --> 01:11:50,359
Green, and I thought they could
just like get a guy named Green on

1093
01:11:50,399 --> 01:11:54,079
their team that would like take one
of them out of the mix. This

1094
01:11:54,239 --> 01:11:56,880
was when they had to like play
against Memphis all the time, who had

1095
01:11:56,920 --> 01:12:00,199
two guys named Green. But to
Michael Green was one of the Green that

1096
01:12:00,279 --> 01:12:04,359
I always liked that I always thought
would be a nice fit on the Blazers.

1097
01:12:04,520 --> 01:12:09,439
What do you think about Nerland's Noel? I like his fit, But

1098
01:12:09,520 --> 01:12:12,039
if you want someone who could shoot, he can't even catch the ball.

1099
01:12:12,119 --> 01:12:15,960
Let him won't shoot right, He
would just be defensive, and that would

1100
01:12:15,960 --> 01:12:19,039
be So you mentioned before about Nurkis. If you wanted to trade Nurkis as

1101
01:12:19,079 --> 01:12:23,960
part of getting another type of player, maybe it's a wing, like a

1102
01:12:24,039 --> 01:12:29,359
defensive wing. Nolan's Noel was I
think proof that you could probably replace Nurkis

1103
01:12:29,399 --> 01:12:31,960
defensively because there are two different players. Defensively, no one's well covers a

1104
01:12:32,000 --> 01:12:35,520
lot more ground. He's more of
a shot blocker, but he's really good

1105
01:12:35,560 --> 01:12:41,560
defensively to where I could see him
having the same statistical impact on their defense

1106
01:12:41,720 --> 01:12:44,760
as Nurkics did. And so that's
why you know, I agree that I

1107
01:12:44,800 --> 01:12:46,319
would like to see him get a
floorce basing big But if you want the

1108
01:12:46,359 --> 01:12:50,039
non floorce basing big route, maybe
because you're willing to trade nurkicch like Noel

1109
01:12:50,199 --> 01:12:54,720
is like one of the cheaper options
in Fury, I would assume that I

1110
01:12:54,800 --> 01:12:58,119
think would be nicely to allow Bleil
to give him a little bit more money

1111
01:12:58,159 --> 01:13:01,439
to somebody else. One other a
free agent that you sent my way who

1112
01:13:01,600 --> 01:13:09,439
I was very intrigued by is Nick
Batoum. I've loved watching him have success

1113
01:13:09,840 --> 01:13:14,920
with the Clippers, and like the
way they used him as a small ball

1114
01:13:15,000 --> 01:13:18,760
center because he's a shooter, and
then that they could slip over into small

1115
01:13:18,800 --> 01:13:23,199
ball center if they needed to,
as opposed to like being somebody who's like

1116
01:13:23,279 --> 01:13:25,960
defensive and like like, oh sometimes
he can shoot like he's a shooter.

1117
01:13:26,600 --> 01:13:30,079
So that intrigued me. I don't
know if he would want to come back,

1118
01:13:30,680 --> 01:13:34,960
but it was I just so enjoyed
watching him, except for the fact

1119
01:13:34,960 --> 01:13:38,439
that he was on the Clippers.
But I want I want good things for

1120
01:13:38,520 --> 01:13:42,159
him. He's but there's his resurgence, just I don't if i'm him.

1121
01:13:42,159 --> 01:13:44,279
I don't know why i'd want to
leave LA because I don't want to jinx

1122
01:13:44,319 --> 01:13:47,000
anything. But I had him listed
because for the exact same reason you said.

1123
01:13:47,359 --> 01:13:49,279
You know, he doesn't have to
be a small ball five, but

1124
01:13:49,600 --> 01:13:53,800
he gives you the option. Now
with the way that the league is trending,

1125
01:13:55,079 --> 01:13:59,199
I wanted to ask you about one
trade that you sent my direction that

1126
01:13:59,279 --> 01:14:04,720
I don't understand, and oh,
maybe I'll understand it, Derek White for

1127
01:14:05,000 --> 01:14:10,119
CJ McCollum. Derek White. So, first of all, how does that

1128
01:14:10,439 --> 01:14:16,840
work. Does San Antonio have that
much room that they can absorb that much

1129
01:14:17,479 --> 01:14:21,279
good contract? Yeah, So to
put it basically in perspective, if they,

1130
01:14:21,520 --> 01:14:25,119
let's say they wanted to resign to
mar de Rozen, they could probably

1131
01:14:25,159 --> 01:14:29,479
still just take CJ McCollum into cap
space without any without giving anything back.

1132
01:14:29,840 --> 01:14:32,279
And so Derrick White is also making
fifteen million next year because of his extension.

1133
01:14:32,880 --> 01:14:36,840
He is, he's injury prone.
I think that's the risk there.

1134
01:14:38,239 --> 01:14:41,960
I just want to say I'm super
insulted on CJ McCollum's part until you explain

1135
01:14:42,000 --> 01:14:45,359
to me why he should not be
Because Derek White, I think, is

1136
01:14:45,439 --> 01:14:48,640
a borderline top tier defender who can
go up against ones or twos in a

1137
01:14:48,680 --> 01:14:53,319
way that TJ McCollum never would have
been able to. He can score,

1138
01:14:53,520 --> 01:14:56,479
he can initiate the offense, don't
I think he's probably a better pick and

1139
01:14:56,600 --> 01:15:00,079
role player or a better facilitator than
CJ at this point to get in in

1140
01:15:00,199 --> 01:15:03,520
the ground floor of someone who's probably
slightly younger, and then you're also getting

1141
01:15:03,920 --> 01:15:09,600
a lotto pick that I had number
twelve going a just it wasn't Derrik White

1142
01:15:09,640 --> 01:15:12,039
for CJ. McCollum. Straight up, it was Derek White and number twelve.

1143
01:15:12,880 --> 01:15:15,960
You could either use that another deal
or you're getting it on the ground

1144
01:15:15,000 --> 01:15:17,520
floor of a younger player if you
want a groom or see if you can

1145
01:15:17,560 --> 01:15:23,960
make an impact. Immediately you look
distasted by it. I actually think it

1146
01:15:24,000 --> 01:15:29,000
was one of my favorite on Philly
CJ trades. That was the I think

1147
01:15:29,000 --> 01:15:31,239
that's the only one I sent you
because it's actually the one that I like

1148
01:15:31,479 --> 01:15:36,119
the most of anything that I can
come up with, So I guess I

1149
01:15:36,239 --> 01:15:40,680
mean, yes, you Also you
did include the number twelve pick. The

1150
01:15:40,720 --> 01:15:43,680
Blazers do not have a pick,
so that would give them a pick.

1151
01:15:44,640 --> 01:15:46,079
I don't know what they would at
this point. I don't trust what they

1152
01:15:46,119 --> 01:15:48,920
would do. And also, as
I mentioned, Damian Luller is not going

1153
01:15:49,000 --> 01:15:53,520
to care about picks, so like
there's that factor in as well. And

1154
01:15:54,199 --> 01:15:59,840
you know, it would also reduce
the Blazers payroll a lot, which has

1155
01:16:00,159 --> 01:16:04,520
been a problem for them and for
a long time. To put it mildly,

1156
01:16:04,680 --> 01:16:09,159
I just don't know that it replaces
everything you would lose from CJ.

1157
01:16:09,359 --> 01:16:13,560
McCollum, and I just think that
there would have to be other like what

1158
01:16:13,760 --> 01:16:16,239
other key moves do you think would
have to be made like? Or do

1159
01:16:16,319 --> 01:16:19,640
you just think that Derek White like
is as good as CJ. McCollum is

1160
01:16:19,720 --> 01:16:23,319
right now and would be able to
do all the things that CJ does.

1161
01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:27,199
He's not as he's not He's not
nearly as good offensively. I think he

1162
01:16:27,319 --> 01:16:29,680
might be a better fit for what
this roster needs. If you're telling me

1163
01:16:29,760 --> 01:16:33,600
that Norman Powell is going to stick
around, but he's not the level of

1164
01:16:33,640 --> 01:16:36,600
shot creator, even if I think
he's a better table setter, he's not

1165
01:16:36,680 --> 01:16:40,520
the level of shot creator CJ is, and that that's the problem you run

1166
01:16:40,560 --> 01:16:44,840
into with with CJ. So I
would understand your trepidation. I'm also a

1167
01:16:44,880 --> 01:16:46,760
big Derek white guy, so there's
bias creeping in the last one. I

1168
01:16:46,760 --> 01:16:49,079
actually want to run by you.
I know you didn't mention it, but

1169
01:16:49,119 --> 01:16:54,840
I was intrigued by it. Josh
Richardson was awful this past year, but

1170
01:16:54,960 --> 01:17:00,760
he is someone who can defend one
through four basically, has shown he can

1171
01:17:00,840 --> 01:17:04,279
hit threes in the past, and
has also shown before he went to Philly.

1172
01:17:04,560 --> 01:17:08,680
There is some off the dribble juice
there, and so I'm just wondering

1173
01:17:08,880 --> 01:17:14,880
if if Dallas is so low on
him that the cost was Derek Jones Junior's

1174
01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:17,000
expiring contract because they trust they want
someone who could run the floor better,

1175
01:17:17,359 --> 01:17:23,159
maybe play some small ball five nasire
little who's speaking of someone who's struggled to

1176
01:17:23,159 --> 01:17:26,399
stay healthy. And then that story
about him having COVID was absolutely gut wrenching.

1177
01:17:26,479 --> 01:17:29,399
So I'm not I taken into account. I'm that I'm just moving this

1178
01:17:29,479 --> 01:17:31,159
guy's life. I feel bad.
And then a second round pick or something,

1179
01:17:31,439 --> 01:17:34,920
would you be willing to take a
flyer on Josh Richardson in that scenario?

1180
01:17:35,399 --> 01:17:39,840
My thought there was just this kind
of allows you to keep CJ and

1181
01:17:39,920 --> 01:17:43,600
Dame together and it all feels like
it makes sense even though you're still trending

1182
01:17:43,640 --> 01:17:47,079
smaller to me. So, I
mean, there's definitely some pros to that

1183
01:17:47,359 --> 01:17:50,560
there. You know, he's a
wing defender. He also has, you

1184
01:17:50,640 --> 01:17:54,560
know, an expiring contract, so
it's not somebody that you'd be like bringing

1185
01:17:54,640 --> 01:17:57,600
on forever and ever. You could
like give him a try and see how

1186
01:17:57,680 --> 01:18:01,760
it goes and how he fits in
overall, though, Like it's one of

1187
01:18:01,800 --> 01:18:06,920
those things where like if you're telling
Damian Lillard you're gonna make changes and give

1188
01:18:08,000 --> 01:18:10,800
him the support that he needs to
go in the next direction. I just

1189
01:18:11,039 --> 01:18:15,039
don't know that this is the move
that sends that message to your superstar.

1190
01:18:16,119 --> 01:18:19,640
I mean I would totally agree.
It was more like you're we're keeping CJ

1191
01:18:19,880 --> 01:18:24,399
for you. I mean, that's
that's how Neal Osha does things. He'll

1192
01:18:24,479 --> 01:18:27,840
be like, well, you wanted
to keep CJ, so this is the

1193
01:18:27,920 --> 01:18:30,359
best that we could do. This
is like, sorry, that made that

1194
01:18:30,439 --> 01:18:35,680
horrible nice you know you wanted to
keep CJ. This is the best that

1195
01:18:35,800 --> 01:18:40,920
we could do. That's just so
Neal Olsha and I just I don't know

1196
01:18:41,039 --> 01:18:43,840
that it moves the needle enough.
It's you know, it's a it's a

1197
01:18:43,960 --> 01:18:50,199
super classic around the edges type move. That's like and I think the players

1198
01:18:50,239 --> 01:18:54,079
that you have involved in the trade, like, I don't see that as

1199
01:18:54,159 --> 01:18:56,520
a as a huge loss. And
also we just feel, you know,

1200
01:18:57,560 --> 01:19:00,520
give them a chance to thrive somewhere
else. So I don't dislike it.

1201
01:19:01,000 --> 01:19:03,760
And you know what, you're the
one who called Robert Covington last year and

1202
01:19:03,760 --> 01:19:06,840
I was like, and then let's
turn out great. So you know what,

1203
01:19:06,920 --> 01:19:11,119
why not is there? So it
does seem like you think though they

1204
01:19:11,199 --> 01:19:14,560
need to take a bigger swing.
So is there like when you thought of

1205
01:19:14,880 --> 01:19:18,000
trade targets or CJ. McCollum bring
backs aside from Ben Simmons, has there

1206
01:19:18,039 --> 01:19:20,600
been any names that's grown to mind? Because like, would you even do

1207
01:19:20,800 --> 01:19:27,920
like does a let's say a CG. Mccollumn for Miles Turner and right,

1208
01:19:28,840 --> 01:19:30,680
who else does that? Is that? Like? Does TJ. Warren and

1209
01:19:30,760 --> 01:19:33,359
Miles Turner for CJ. Mccllum do
it for you? It depends on if

1210
01:19:33,439 --> 01:19:35,640
Nurkis is still there on that kind
of thing. But like, yeah,

1211
01:19:35,680 --> 01:19:39,199
I'm like, I'm ready to hell
out of Portland already. I'm sorry.

1212
01:19:39,239 --> 01:19:45,560
I'm over the Nurkas experience importand I
think I kind of am too, Like,

1213
01:19:45,720 --> 01:19:49,039
oh my god, dude, can
keep him if you have Miles Turner

1214
01:19:49,079 --> 01:19:53,000
of course, Like then then there's
another move that needs to be made for

1215
01:19:53,119 --> 01:19:57,000
sure. Yeah, No, I'm
I am as a Blazer fan, I'm

1216
01:19:57,000 --> 01:19:59,479
ready to Like I said, I'm
ready to see something different. I'm ready

1217
01:19:59,520 --> 01:20:02,600
to let go of the Nurkish experiment. I'm ready. I would love to

1218
01:20:02,640 --> 01:20:05,079
be able to keep c J.
But I'm also ready for a c J

1219
01:20:05,239 --> 01:20:10,640
to go, like, you know, somewhere else if if that's better for

1220
01:20:10,760 --> 01:20:14,560
him. I love the idea of
like somebody like Miles Turner coming in,

1221
01:20:14,680 --> 01:20:18,199
who like somebody with a proven track
record of what they can do. I

1222
01:20:18,239 --> 01:20:21,119
mean, that's why I like Jonas
Valentcinis. Like he's not like the flashiest

1223
01:20:21,159 --> 01:20:25,159
guy or anything, but like we
know what he can do, and what

1224
01:20:25,319 --> 01:20:27,760
he can do would be useful for
the Blazers. I think it would be

1225
01:20:27,840 --> 01:20:30,800
really really useful for the Blazers.
Would you would would you say, teaching

1226
01:20:30,880 --> 01:20:31,840
a column for him though you wouldn't
know, Okay, no, no,

1227
01:20:32,039 --> 01:20:35,239
no, no, that would be
more like I mean, nurkis free Jonas.

1228
01:20:35,359 --> 01:20:39,039
What else do you think the Blazers
would have Blazers have to throw in

1229
01:20:39,159 --> 01:20:42,479
more? Yeah, I would think
Simons and then probably some sort of pick

1230
01:20:43,159 --> 01:20:49,119
m But I think I think just
to change like that would be pretty significant.

1231
01:20:49,600 --> 01:20:53,279
Or do you think that Jonas Valancialis
is too much like use of nurkids

1232
01:20:53,319 --> 01:20:55,880
so that they're not really that different. No, I think he's a much

1233
01:20:56,000 --> 01:20:59,680
He can actually shoot. Yeah,
he helps the offensive lot. I feel

1234
01:20:59,720 --> 01:21:02,800
like work is better defensively and he's
better as a passer. But if that's

1235
01:21:02,840 --> 01:21:05,760
the cost, if it's we're gonna
have Ben Simmons too, so well,

1236
01:21:05,840 --> 01:21:10,600
and that's the so I find myself
trying to keep CJ in Dame together because

1237
01:21:10,600 --> 01:21:13,680
if you're not getting Ben Simmons back, I haven't really found it. We

1238
01:21:13,800 --> 01:21:15,199
just I haven't really found a deal
that I like, which is why I

1239
01:21:15,319 --> 01:21:18,439
focus so much on You know,
I would view Larry Nance as more than

1240
01:21:18,560 --> 01:21:21,640
justin on the Margins move, but
you're absolutely right that it Josh Richardson move

1241
01:21:21,840 --> 01:21:25,960
is definitely like, yeah, okay, there's like some upside there, but

1242
01:21:26,199 --> 01:21:29,119
that's very much. Hey, we're
trying to remain intact. Would make some

1243
01:21:29,319 --> 01:21:31,359
sort of change. This is Neil
o'sha saying, yeah, the roster was

1244
01:21:31,399 --> 01:21:35,640
better than Terry Stotts could coach it
too, and there's risk in that.

1245
01:21:35,920 --> 01:21:41,359
But I just unless it's Ben Simmons, I just haven't found the CJ McClone

1246
01:21:41,399 --> 01:21:44,520
trade to return that the like even
the Pacers won. I don't even know

1247
01:21:44,560 --> 01:21:46,000
if I like it for the Pacers
because of what that does to their defense.

1248
01:21:46,439 --> 01:21:50,279
But like I just TJ Warren Miles
Turner like, yeah, I kind

1249
01:21:50,319 --> 01:21:55,039
of like it. But I'm looking
at what CJ does from a playoff scoring

1250
01:21:55,119 --> 01:21:57,800
perspective, and now I find myself
to being like, all right, you

1251
01:21:57,840 --> 01:22:00,119
know what, let's keep them together
for another year, Kevin? Can you

1252
01:22:00,199 --> 01:22:04,439
do something medium? Is there another
Norman Powell size trade in you? Without

1253
01:22:04,520 --> 01:22:10,640
moving? CJ? Is basically where
I'm at. I think Damon's I mean,

1254
01:22:10,760 --> 01:22:15,479
Damon CJ with a center who has
a different look would be interesting.

1255
01:22:15,640 --> 01:22:23,279
Damon TJ with a center who you
know could play defense but also can score

1256
01:22:23,319 --> 01:22:26,199
from different places. Or maybe that's
use of nur Kitchen his bigger role.

1257
01:22:26,439 --> 01:22:29,800
Maybe we're gonna see Yusef Nurks just
unleashed, and he's gonna be able to

1258
01:22:29,840 --> 01:22:31,479
do all these amazing things because he's
been hell back all of the years.

1259
01:22:31,520 --> 01:22:34,760
Ears, I don't know what is
that? I know we talked like does

1260
01:22:34,800 --> 01:22:38,479
he want post ups? Is this
more picking rolls? Like? What is

1261
01:22:38,600 --> 01:22:40,520
does he want? Like you said, does he want to take more threes?

1262
01:22:40,560 --> 01:22:45,279
Like? What is what is this
role? I don't know. I

1263
01:22:45,359 --> 01:22:47,359
just think that people were whispering his
ear. They don't appreciate you, they're

1264
01:22:47,399 --> 01:22:50,760
not using you enough, They're only
playing you twelve million dollars. You could

1265
01:22:50,800 --> 01:22:54,239
be getting so much more. You're
so much better than this. I just

1266
01:22:54,319 --> 01:22:57,600
think that he's had that in his
ear and so he believes it and like

1267
01:22:57,720 --> 01:23:00,920
god speed, Like, yeah,
go find a bigger contract somewhere else,

1268
01:23:00,000 --> 01:23:03,479
or you know, go grow into
you know, somewhere where they can pay

1269
01:23:03,520 --> 01:23:09,079
you a lot more. I don't
know, it's that's a better kind of

1270
01:23:09,119 --> 01:23:12,000
mess than the other kind of mess
that we talked about earlier, right,

1271
01:23:12,800 --> 01:23:16,319
I just it's so hard to like
talk about all of these things knowing this

1272
01:23:16,439 --> 01:23:21,840
other stuff was like hanging over Yeah, exactly, it's so trivial. I

1273
01:23:23,000 --> 01:23:25,680
have common hear enough of your time. But my final question would be,

1274
01:23:25,720 --> 01:23:29,000
is there anything we haven't talked about
that you think needs to be talked about

1275
01:23:29,079 --> 01:23:30,399
with this team heading into the off
season, or anything you want to talk

1276
01:23:30,439 --> 01:23:33,880
about relative to this team? No, I mean we've covered so much and

1277
01:23:33,920 --> 01:23:39,199
I've taken a lot of your time. I love this. Anyone who wants

1278
01:23:39,239 --> 01:23:43,680
to entertain my fake trades for their
teams. I did all this research.

1279
01:23:43,840 --> 01:23:45,520
It was so it was really fun. Like I you were like, do

1280
01:23:45,520 --> 01:23:47,319
you want to talk about trades?
And I was like, yeah, send

1281
01:23:47,359 --> 01:23:49,680
me a bunch so that I can
react to because I'm not at a point

1282
01:23:49,720 --> 01:23:53,760
where I can like come up with
trades, but I really like to.

1283
01:23:54,920 --> 01:23:57,640
Almost vomited at a Derek White one, so that one makes me feel a

1284
01:23:57,640 --> 01:24:00,520
little bit bad. It looked like
vomited on camera. I was. It

1285
01:24:00,640 --> 01:24:04,720
was more like DEBTF, like you, where are you coming from? Just

1286
01:24:04,920 --> 01:24:10,800
like I just needed to come and
defend CJ on that one because it's just

1287
01:24:10,960 --> 01:24:14,920
like so like I don't know,
I just see them as farther apart than

1288
01:24:14,920 --> 01:24:16,479
you do. But like I've been
watching CJ, I know really well.

1289
01:24:16,479 --> 01:24:19,840
We didn't talk about the Harrison Barnes. He's another player. I absolutely love

1290
01:24:20,520 --> 01:24:24,000
you sent Harrison Burns trade, So
I guess if there's one more thing to

1291
01:24:24,079 --> 01:24:27,319
talk about, there was the Harrison
Barnes trade. I don't know if it's

1292
01:24:27,319 --> 01:24:30,159
the best one. You said,
Harrison Barnes and Delon right for Derk Jones

1293
01:24:30,199 --> 01:24:34,199
junior, use of Nurkic Anthony Simon's
in a first round pick. I think

1294
01:24:34,239 --> 01:24:39,359
Harrison Barnes is a great player.
I don't know that he moves the needle

1295
01:24:39,560 --> 01:24:45,000
enough to like lose both use of
Nurkis and Anthony Simons from the current roster.

1296
01:24:45,520 --> 01:24:48,720
Yeah, and you're small after that
because now you've traded your starting center

1297
01:24:48,760 --> 01:24:51,840
when you don't really have a backup
center. So I recognize that, but

1298
01:24:51,960 --> 01:24:57,079
Delon Wright does a lot defensively for
you, as does I think Harrison Barnes

1299
01:24:57,159 --> 01:25:00,760
positionally at the three or the four
and him and Roco, and I think

1300
01:25:00,800 --> 01:25:02,600
you can get away with Barnes and
small ball five minutes. I'm not saying

1301
01:25:02,600 --> 01:25:04,720
the Blazers need to play it that
way. That one I didn't bring up

1302
01:25:04,760 --> 01:25:08,720
because I was leary of it.
It felt like, I don't think it's

1303
01:25:08,720 --> 01:25:11,600
too much value for what the Blazers
are getting back, but if you're them.

1304
01:25:11,960 --> 01:25:14,640
We talked about bigs, like you
need to know that Daniel Tye is

1305
01:25:14,720 --> 01:25:17,880
signing with the Blazers or that another
big yeah is going to sign with the

1306
01:25:17,920 --> 01:25:24,479
Blazers because you're very small after that. But I'm a huge I'm a huge

1307
01:25:24,520 --> 01:25:27,319
Harrison Barnes guy too. Like you
talk about someone who just fits anywhere,

1308
01:25:28,439 --> 01:25:31,039
and it's like solid, he's not
great defensively, Roco is definitely better.

1309
01:25:31,079 --> 01:25:34,000
I'd probably argue Derek Jones Junior is
better, but he's just solid, and

1310
01:25:34,239 --> 01:25:38,560
I think the Blazers need more of
those guys that are assets on both ends

1311
01:25:38,600 --> 01:25:41,840
of the floor, and it's hard
to keep track of with like all of

1312
01:25:41,960 --> 01:25:45,479
these different options that we impossibilities that
we've talked about. But I guess it's

1313
01:25:45,520 --> 01:25:48,239
like a question that I have to
have for you. Is one of the

1314
01:25:48,319 --> 01:25:55,239
things that I worry about a little
much is the Blazers going too far concentrating

1315
01:25:55,399 --> 01:25:59,239
just on defense, because, like
we all the story has been told about

1316
01:25:59,359 --> 01:26:03,600
how bad the Blazers have been on
defense, but like I also sort of

1317
01:26:03,680 --> 01:26:11,960
worry about them like keeping Damian Lollard
and building everybody else defensively around him,

1318
01:26:11,960 --> 01:26:15,680
and that fundamentally sort of like taking
away that the way the Damian Lollard like

1319
01:26:16,279 --> 01:26:20,119
creates the team identity, because like, the team identity has always been a

1320
01:26:20,319 --> 01:26:26,319
lot of offense, and you know, I just worry about maybe going too

1321
01:26:26,359 --> 01:26:28,800
far in the other direction. Is
that something you've ever thought about, like

1322
01:26:28,880 --> 01:26:31,880
with anybody. It's funny because it's
in the side notes that I have in

1323
01:26:31,960 --> 01:26:35,880
my drafts and Gmail. My notes
are all over the place, But I

1324
01:26:36,079 --> 01:26:39,920
tried to filter. I want to
see when I it was the Jonathan Isaac

1325
01:26:39,960 --> 01:26:42,520
trade I sent you that I'm not
the biggest fan of for either team.

1326
01:26:42,840 --> 01:26:45,520
That made me think about this is
would they be skewing too far in the

1327
01:26:45,560 --> 01:26:49,000
defensive direction. So I decided to
filter out their numbers on what Damien like,

1328
01:26:49,159 --> 01:26:54,359
what their offensive lineup looked like when
Dame played without CJ. Norm or

1329
01:26:54,439 --> 01:26:58,319
Gary Trent Jr. Since their you
know, times are and then mellow,

1330
01:26:58,880 --> 01:27:01,720
and the offense was knock during those
times, and so I think it was

1331
01:27:01,840 --> 01:27:05,439
in the thirtieth percentile they ranked in
offensive efficiency and that's Dame. Like I

1332
01:27:05,600 --> 01:27:10,159
view, Dame is a ticket to
a top ten offense, and so that

1333
01:27:10,199 --> 01:27:15,000
would be a concern. I think
the fact that you have Norm, I

1334
01:27:15,079 --> 01:27:17,199
think alleviates it a little bit.
But if we're talking about Melo going somewhere

1335
01:27:17,239 --> 01:27:19,479
else, and I'm not saying he
was the most important guy of their offense,

1336
01:27:19,640 --> 01:27:23,159
and if you're trading Nerd for a
defensive upgrade, he's not as good

1337
01:27:23,199 --> 01:27:27,159
on offense, I do definitely think
it's a concern. I would just looking

1338
01:27:27,319 --> 01:27:30,279
I might look at it from a
postseason perspective of your rotation is going to

1339
01:27:30,319 --> 01:27:33,800
be so short that once you get
to the postseason, the defense is going

1340
01:27:33,880 --> 01:27:36,479
to be more important because Damian Lillard
will be on the court for forty to

1341
01:27:36,560 --> 01:27:41,920
forty two minutes, and the offense
will be good when he and Norm are

1342
01:27:42,039 --> 01:27:45,279
together. But that's also kind of
why I kind of focused on the CJ

1343
01:27:45,479 --> 01:27:48,640
trade the non CJ trades too,
is because if you trade him without getting

1344
01:27:48,880 --> 01:27:53,159
you know, there's a real offensive
trade off from CJ to Ben Simmons.

1345
01:27:53,359 --> 01:27:57,000
It's just you still have Norman Powell
in that scenario. And then I'm still

1346
01:27:57,239 --> 01:28:00,439
I'm tantalized by Anthony Simmons. It
seems like during the last month and a

1347
01:28:00,479 --> 01:28:03,800
half of every season he just goes
off and off, and so if you

1348
01:28:03,880 --> 01:28:06,199
do believe in him, maybe there's
a path there. But I do think

1349
01:28:06,239 --> 01:28:10,279
that's a concern, a fair concern
for you to have, And I'd be

1350
01:28:10,359 --> 01:28:14,159
curious, like, what does leaning
too much into defense look like for them?

1351
01:28:14,720 --> 01:28:17,159
I don't know what it looks like, but there definitely would be a

1352
01:28:17,279 --> 01:28:21,000
risk of doing that. Well,
we'll have to check in again halfway through

1353
01:28:21,039 --> 01:28:25,159
the year when the Blazers are,
like, you know, suddenly top five

1354
01:28:25,239 --> 01:28:29,119
defense or remain in the bottom cellar. I feel like it's going to be

1355
01:28:29,199 --> 01:28:31,039
one or the other. Well,
I hope you know, I'm going to

1356
01:28:31,079 --> 01:28:35,319
be pestering you before then once the
offseason actually happens and we know what this

1357
01:28:35,439 --> 01:28:38,800
team looks like doing into next season, so I hope you're able to come

1358
01:28:38,840 --> 01:28:43,960
back for our regular season preview series. I love talking to you. You're

1359
01:28:44,000 --> 01:28:47,800
always so generous with your time and
your analysis, and I appreciate the update

1360
01:28:48,000 --> 01:28:53,039
on the pets that Blazers players have. Do not know there is a picture

1361
01:28:53,079 --> 01:28:57,199
that existed about Roco wearing a snake
on his head. I need to see

1362
01:28:57,239 --> 01:29:00,039
that picture of Derek Jones Junior smiling
against sEH and Curry though, if you

1363
01:29:00,119 --> 01:29:02,640
can send me that. But thank
you so much for your time. It

1364
01:29:02,760 --> 01:29:06,359
really is always a joy to speak
with you, and for anyone again who's

1365
01:29:06,399 --> 01:29:13,960
not following Tara on Twitter remedy that
post taste at tc B b I Ggs,

1366
01:29:14,359 --> 01:29:17,079
co host of the We Have a
Take and Step Back Sisters podcasts.

1367
01:29:17,159 --> 01:29:21,039
Twitter handles are the names at We
Have a Take and at Step Back Sisters

1368
01:29:21,520 --> 01:29:26,439
once more with feeling and for the
kids. Thank you so much, Tara,

1369
01:29:27,399 --> 01:29:29,359
Thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure.