Discussing Failure
by upper left corner on Jul 12, 2009 9:15 AM PDT
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Quick has said KP is dealing with "failure." Canzano has said this summer has been a "disaster." Fan anxiety is at record levels for the KP era. What are we to make of such hyperbolic language? Are those who defend KP, "blind homers"? Have the team's aspirations for a Championship taken a big hit?
Let's discuss after the jump.
What follows is a lengthy comment I wrote in another Fanpost thread. Someone commented that I should make this a Fanpost, and I am taking them up on the suggestion:
"Turn off Canzano. Step away from the radio. Put down the newspaper. Everything is going to be OK.I appreciate you baring your anxieties, but think you and many others are grossly overreacting.
What has actually happened this summer? Did the team make a bunch of lousy draft picks? No. Did the team make a bunch of lousy trades? No. Did the team overpay for for FAs? No.
Let’s actually review what has happened, as opposed to what has been rumored:
DRAFT: The Blazer’s draft strategy was to pick up as many useful players as possible without tying up cap space with a bunch of first round draft picks. They were rumored to be targeting Hansbrough, but it didn’t work out when he was picked earlier than expected. They used their first pick on a talented Euro who many believe will be a quality player down the road. They maneuvered to get two of the top three picks of the second round, and picked two four year college guys that they think can contribute. They got a potential diamond in the rough in Patty Mills.
ANALYSIS: Slightly disappointing that they didn’t get their targeted player, but these things happen when you are drafting in the bottom third of the draft. The jury is out on the guys they did pick, but they executed their strategy which was to preserve cap space.
FREE AGENCY: They had a plan.
1) They targeted Turkoglu because he is a very skilled player with experience who could address team needs for scoring and play-making. They made their pitch and everyone thought it was successful. Hedo changed his mind because of factors completely beyond the control of the Blazers, Stuff happens. This is more of a reflection on Turk than on team management. Move on.
2) KP worked the phones and looked at his options. He passed on some players who might have been useful but that he apparently didn’t think would fit the time line or were not big enough improvements to warrant pulling the trigger. He seems to have tried to work a three way deal with Chicago and Utah. When the price, Bayless, was too high, he decided to force Utah hand by going after Millsap. He cooked up an offer that is hard for Utah to match, but that is reasonable enough that we will be happy if they don’t.
ANALYSIS: It is too bad that the Turk thing didn’t work, but that was a mixed blessing anyway. They gave it their best shot, and can’t be blamed for the fact that it didn’t work out. They didn’t panic. They made a savvy move for Millsap, and if it doesn’t work, they will still be one of the few teams left with cap room. The team may be able to get some of the remaining FAs at bargain basement prices, or they are well positioned for lopsided trades as the trade deadline approaches.
CONTRACT EXTENSIONS: We know very little. It is quite possible that Brandon is asking for an opt out clause and the the Blazers offered a four year deal as a way to negotiate for a later opt out clause. Even in the worse case scenario, where a deal doesn’t get done, the Blazers will be in position to match any offers. As Dave suggested in his front page piece, they need to show some spine because they are going to have to sign extensions for a slew of players over the next couple of seasons. Nothing indicates that the team is unwilling to pay Brandon what he is owed. LMA will probably wait until Brandon gets his deal.
ANALYSIS: It is very early. We know very little. Obviously Brandon’s agent is applying pressure by going public. Canzano and Quick are fanning the flames of fan anxiety. Frankly, I will be extremely surprised if this is not resolved in the next month. In the mean time, there is no need to panic.
SUMMARY: Absolutely nothing has gone wrong, a few things have not gone right, but nothing major has gone wrong. KP has made zero bad moves. Some may argue that he has missed opportunities in the draft or the FA market, but KP’s track record as an evaluator of talent has been very good. Until he shows a pattern of bad decisions, KP certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Patience is a good thing. If the trade deadline comes and no moves have been made, that will be a serious mistake, but right now the basic economics of the league suggest that the longer we wait and the fewer teams able to provide cap relief, the more talent we will get for our money."
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: What happens between now and the trade deadline is very important to the Blazer's future. Once we go over the salary cap, talent acquisition is going to be much more difficult. However, the Blazer's Championship aspirations are much more dependent on the development of the talent we already have under contract than the acquisition of one or two additional players.
There is a big difference between being stymied on a potential move, and making the wrong move. Being stymied is cause for disappointment, it is not cause for panic. Failure is making the wrong move. Failure is trading away young talent for an older player in decline. Failure is grossly overpaying for FA talent. The Blazers are still in the hunt for improvement, as hard as it is for fans to be patient, patience is the smart move, patience is the right move.
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Good Post
I am in SoCal so I don’t get all of the local Radio Chatter from Portland. Seems to be so far this Summer is about what I had hoped and projected. I like where we are.
RoadBlazer
I'm with you
I would forget that this offseason has been less than expected by most if it weren’t for all the folks running around with their heads cut off.
by Decaf on Jul 12, 2009 9:38 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree
I’ll never forget the shrill Canzano brought when he first came over and I think he’s been a little sad that things have been going well the last few years… He wants nothing more than to drum up a bunch of panic and vile again… and sadly, some blazer fans seem to be falling for it again.
Let’s wait until this team stops ascending before we panic, shall we?
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Jul 12, 2009 6:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree in large parts, but it's obviously not all smooth sailing.
Did the team make a bunch of lousy draft picks? No. But they pretty obviously tried something else that fell through.
Did the team make a bunch of lousy trades? No. They didn’t make any apart from trading up a few spots in the draft.
Did the team overpay for FAs? No, but they tried with Hedo.
Roster? 10 players under contract, 4 unsigned draft picks from this year of which one is in Europe for the next 2-3 years and 1 has a broken foot. Hopefully some of our young guys make a jump in development (Oden is a requirement), but who knows.
Competition? Improving, both playoff contenders and marginal teams.
Contract extensions? No. Roy will make a public statement next week if nothing is done. LaMarcus is waiting.
True, it’s early in the offseason and we can still hope for the Millsap acquisition to go through. Or another run at a free agent after that on a market getting thinner by the day. Or the lopsided trade with some hypothetical team putting the hypothetical star player on the market to provide the hypothetical home run opportunity the team has been waiting for for the last 12 months and counting. The basic economics of the league also suggest that the Blazers along with other teams will get increasingly desperate to get something done before the season and then before the deadline to position themselves for the playoffs and the 2010 offseason free agent sweepstakes. We will see. Right now it’s not looking like a summer of major improvement.
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
Supply and demand
The number of teams likely to be trying to avoid luxury tax or clear space for next summer is likely to be substantially higher than the number of teams that still have cap space.
Clearly there is truth to what you say. Any time you have to do something by a deadline you are at a disadvantage and likely to get less from your money, but the same can be said for teams that need to dump salary. In the current climate, I would rather be in the Blazer’s position than on the other side. As the summer goes on and tickets remain unsold and sponsors and advertising rates slide, I think the number of teams getting antsy will increase. As teams start to loose dumps seem inevitable.
Overall, my point is that internal development is probably the most important aspect of the Blazer’s future. In addition, the Lakers and San Antonio are almost certainly going to be on the decline by 2011. I would rather see the Blazers be patient and wait for their window to open in a year or two than trade away gobs of young talent for aging veterans. I think we need to be thinking 3-8 years ahead.
by upper left corner on Jul 12, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions
I do too. The problem is that without having the cap space from next offseason onwards, that’s when the Blazers really have to trade valuable pieces to improve even a little bit if some of the young guys don’t pan out. Now they can still add a player or two at little cost in terms of giving up assets. It’s concerning that while KP surely tries to follow this strategy he so far couldn’t execute it.
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
Making the most of cap space
So the Blazers haven’t completed any use of their cap space. However, they forced Toronto to overpay for Hedo. If Utah chosses to match the offer to Millsap, that will increase the Likelyhood of a rash trade by Utah involving Boozer in order to free up team cost. If theis happens this increases the odds of a lopsided Blazers Trade by the trade deadline. KP is clearly playing chess and thinking several moves down the road noit just the current move. With the Millsap Deal we can’t lose no matter what happens the BLazers will be better positioned. And so not having spent a dollar yet on FAs we have forced one team to overpay and will either put a division rival in a bind or have stolen one of its assets. If we’d had signed Hedo early, we would have affect the league fat less than what is occuring. For that I’m impressed by KP.
If he is really jamming chess opponents intentionally, the next thing he will do after Utah matches for Millsap is advance an offer for Lamar Odom...
There is no number KP can throw that they won’t match, so it would be interesting to see if he tries to jam up their cash flow with an offer sheet. It seems like LO’s agent is waiting for one, he still hasn’t done the deal.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
Making an offer to LO would be like playing Russian Roulette.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I&feature=channel_page
by The Cactus Leaguer on Jul 12, 2009 7:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, that one could backfire bigtime
Of course, Portland’s candy vendors would rejoice.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
by hurryup09 on Jul 12, 2009 7:57 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Teams that win 54 games ...
… usually are not in the position of having to make major improvements.
Cleveland getting Shaq? I’d call that an improvement, maybe even major, but that has short term written all over it.
Artest to the Lakers? That could very well be. Off course it cost them a supposedly rising young player at the same position and who knows how Ron-Ron will fit in purple and gold land.
Wallace with the Celtics? Major improvement? You tell me.
Carter to the Magic? We will see. (I think Ryan Anderson is going to be the real gem of that deal.)
hakkaa päälle !
I agree completely
Somehow, with all the expectations for the summer, I get the feeling that it was going to be declared a disaster if we didn’t trade Sergio for Rubio, sign LMA and Broy combined for 20 years at only $2M each year because by gosh they just love Portland that much, trade Steve Blake for Chris Paul, and—of course—draft Blair in the first round because everybody knew he was good.
I enjoy taking part in the idle speculation on the blog… but the hysteria of Quick and the yellow-press journalism of Canzano is like being in high school all over again and commenting on prom date hookups.
Disgusting.
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
I'm glad you know the reference...
Most people think it comes from Dragonlance (close: there it’s Fizban).
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
It was my post to which you responded
“Turn off Canzano. Step away from the radio. Put down the newspaper. Everything is going to be OK.”
You know honestly, I agree with everything you have posted. I’ve said to others almost exactly what you have said in your post. About the only slight thing I would debate would be that I think the Hedo Turkoglu deal hurt us more than The Blazers are admitting. I also think we weren’t as prepared to react, because I don’t think The Blazers thought Hedo would fall through. KP is of course doing what he should and about the only thing he can, which is spin it as positively as possible, but in my pure opinion, Turkoglu was what The Blazers wanted this summer to be about for The Blazers. I think it was a very significant blow to The Blazers plans this summer.
The other thing I’d like to say in regards to the accusation of over reacting and the suggestion of turning away from Canzano/Quick, sports radio and The Newspaper is I don’t like that reaction by a lot of Blazer fans. Yes, we are dealing with a time that produces a lot of rumors and speculation and so I agree that everything needs to be taken critically. But too often in my opinion many Blazer fans are quick to reach for the Rose Colored glasses. Especially when it comes to Canzano and Quick. We love Quick when he is telling us homespun stories about Outlaw, or that Oden looked dominating in practice, or some other positive Blazer tidbit. However, if Quick tells us that Oden has been underwhelming, or is acting moody or that there is a break between KP and an ailing Paul Allen too many fans suddenly dismiss Quick as a malcontent or hack.
As a fan, don’t ask me to turn away from media outlets, radio, news and print. How does shutting yourself off from information make anything better? We might not like to hear what we are hearing BUT information is what we are all after. I would also say to Blazer fans that are quick to dismiss that sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire.
The scariest rumor, and it is rumor at this point, but the scariest rumor IMO of this summer is the rumor of Paul Allen and ailing health and disconnect between himself and the team. Of course I would wish Paul Allen well, health trumps everything. But if Paul Allen is ailing it would explain a lot. Credit Paul Allen with keeping Pro-Basketball and The Blazers alive in the NW. Don’t underestimate how much The Blazers success or stagnation or failure all starts and ends with Paul Allen. If he is sick and has put The Blazers on autopilot that would go a long way in explaining why KP seems to be fighting with one hand tied behind his back. A lot of KP’s success has been that I think he had a good connection with Mr. Paul Allen. If for any reason that becomes less potent, then KP becomes less powerful.
But I did not mention this fear in my last post because at this point it is all rumor and Paul Allen is a private person.
I just get frustrated when Blazer fans take the attitude of embracing all rumored positive spin but shunning all rumored negative spin. I say look, listen and read all you can, then keep your eyes open and away from the Rose Colored Glasses.
It’s not time to panic, as you have pointed out nothing real tangible and bad has happened yet. But do you ignore rumor that it might be coming? Only to your detriment, IMO.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
by Krang on Jul 12, 2009 10:13 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
The title of my response to you was an attempt at humor.
However, he is not primarily a journalist, he is primarily an entertainer. Everything that comes out of his mouth needs to be filtered and examined with a healthy dose of scepticism.
Quick is different. He is a journalist, and for the most part, he is a good one. However, he is prone to inserting commentary and analysis into his pieces without labelling them as such. I would put his piece the other morning in just that category. Talking about “failure” in a news story is extremely subjective. Quick either should have cited a source as saying the Blazer’s were failing or he should have labelled his piece as analysis or opinion.
Regarding Allen’s health. Who knows? However, ask yourself this, are KP’s actions with such a scenario? I don’t think so. KP is clearly taking the patient approach. He has turned down repeated offers for quality veterans because he was not willing to trade away the team’s top young talent. If Allen were seriously ill, don’t you think he would be pursuing a “win now” approach to the team? Until we hear something far more concrete than Canzano spreading rumors, I wouldn’t worry.
by upper left corner on Jul 12, 2009 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions
That's the beauty of Bedge
Dave and Ben aren’t trying to sell anything and so their focus is balanced and rationalized Quick and Cazano have editors that come down on them to drum up interest so that they can increase sales and thus charge more for advertising. The Advertisers have far less control over the Blogs. By only reading Bedge, I am able to keep up on everything in Blazers happenings and not get to worked up or too depressed when moves fall through.
There IS indication that PA is pursuing a "win now" approach.
Remember when recently, after meeting with Allen, KP stated that our time line had moved up?
I had heard no PA health rumors to that point (matter of fact I first heard them just now in this post) but the first thing that the’ time line’ statement brought rushing into my mind was that Paul’s cancer had returned. And I posted that fear at the time. You see, I always thought PA was on the same page as KP as far as growing our team organically and letting the cake bake et cetera. So it appeared to me that something had changed. And whatever caused that change I think, was responsible for our very aggressive pursuit of Hedo. Which free agent could have better helped us accelerate our time line?
I’m probably totally wrong about Allen’s jeopardized health and I very most certainly hope I am. But it would sure explain a few things.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
Also: COMCAST SUCKS!
Did you listen to Clownzano's interview of KP?
KP was talking about needing veterans who are not just " a fit" but a “special fit.” At first, I thought KP was just try to do his salesman job, but the second time I heard it I really listened to what KP was saying and tried to put his words in the context of the teams strategic situation. Here is my take:
1) The timeline has moved up because the team has developed quickly and become competitive sooner than team management expected.
2) Now, the trick is to try to help the players take the next step by bringing in one or two savvy veterans. KP seems insistent that the guys he goes after not only fit on the floor they have to fit in the locker room. That explains why he didn’t go after Artest, or Odom (who is frequently in Phil’s doghouse).
3) He is committed to trying to help the team win now, but is unwilling to sacrifice the future for the present. Take a look at the rumored deal with Utah and Chicago. He is trying to get Hinrich in order to improve PG defense now, but he is not willing to deal Bayless. If it were a “win now at any cost” strategy, Bayless would be gone. At the trade deadline, he had multiple offers for quality veterans, but teams wanted Batum.
Seems to me that a lot of the reason KP is having trouble doing a deal is that he has become more selective about the type of player he is willing to take back, and more selective about who he is willing to send out. The less flexibility you have the harder it is to make a deal work.
by upper left corner on Jul 13, 2009 5:47 AM PDT up reply actions
I like your interpretation a hell of a lot better than mine.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
Also: COMCAST SUCKS!
I agree entirely
This is not about shortening the window. This is about progress being made more quickly than originally expected, so now they want to pry the contention window open earlier without shortening it on the other end. Instead of waiting until 2011 to be a legit contender, they want to become a legit contender now, but they still don’t want to damage the chances for 2015 and later.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
I guess it's how you approach life.
I can ignore a rumor. What is the detriment to doing so? That I can’t say I was right? Big deal. I prefer not worry or be anxious, until I actually have something to worry about. If the rumor turns out to be true, then I will react accordingly.
Right now is a crazy time because there’s rumors, lack of information, mis-information, misunderstandings, closed-door dealings, etc. As fans, we’re not privy to that information. Why make assumptions?
If you want to panic and questions things, go ahead. It will make you feel terrible, but I guess that’s what you want, isn’t it?
I prefer to wait for more info, even if it comes out next year. But that’s just me.
Patty Mills - PG of the future. Book it.
by Blazerholic on Jul 12, 2009 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
+1 for Krang
I was going to write something very similar. I agree with every point that upper left corner made in this FanPost.
But upper left corner didn’t list the rumors of some disconnect between the front office and either Paul Allen or the Vulcans. Like Krang, that’s the only one that worries me. If there is anything that I would define as toxic, it is the Vulcans when they meddle with the franchise.
Very good points about Quick by both Krang and upper left corner. I think people are too hasty in dismissing Quick’s reports. I also agree that Quick’s opinions could be left out.
But even when Quick is expressing his opinion, there are usually pieces of information that are useful. For example, he went over the top in the radio interview when he said that the situation between the front office and Allen was a mess.
Yet at that same point in the interview, you get information that the problems with Roy’s extension are being caused by Paul Allen and that Pritchard is frustrated. That’s clearly reporting based on off-the-record conversations. It is through those off-the record conversations that we useful information. And yes, he could have left out his opinion that it is a mess.
Anyways, to Krang’s larger point, we can hold conflicting thoughts in our minds (cognitive dissonance). Here is the way I look at the Blazers right now:
- Great young team with a bright future ahead. I can’t wait.
- Disappointing summer so far. Obviously hasn’t worked out the way they planned.
- But that’s ok because we still have great talent and don’t need to force anything.
- Brandon Roy’s contract thing is kind of crazy, but I’m not worked up over it. I’m sure it will get sorted.
- Oh please no Vulcans. Not when we’re so close to being a dominant team. And what’s with the unsolicited dig at Portland from Seattle-based Tod Leiweke? He’s off my christmas card list.
- Ok, let’s just hope that this is more of the sort of thing that goes on in corporations where you have to jump through the hoops instead of a change in autonomy for KP and Penn. Allen did say “go for it.” It’s hard to believe that changed so quickly. Crossing my fingers.
- Wow, Millsap would be great. Maybe he really has a three-point shot?
- But Utah will probably match.
- Oh well, if they do we can just wait and see what Oden, Bayless, Batum, Fernandez and Webster bring this year.
- Plus there are teams that will likely have injuries or other issues that cause them to want to trade players and dump salary closer to the trade deadline. Millsap would be nice, but if it doesn’t work out, that’s fine too.
- Webster. His jump shot sure is pretty. I hope he plays again.
- Wonder if Bayless and Roy will ever work out the way Roy thought they might last summer.
- Roy. Wow. What can I say?
- Jeez, I love this team. When does the season start again?
See, good, bad, and yet healthy. Not panicking in any way. :-)
by grigs on Jul 12, 2009 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Everyone has the right to wear the glasses...
I for one will continue to wear the Rose (Garden) colored glasses. I take the Blazers success…or failure… very seriously but lets keep some perspective. It’s a GAME… Entertainment. Nobody dies if we lose a game or a player. Embracing the positive and avoiding the negative is almost always a good idea in my book. There is plenty of real life bad news out there. If I choose to ignore something like Calzones National Enquirer inspired foolishness about the downfall of the Blazers because Roy hasn’t been signed 4 days into the signing period is that so bad? You used the word “rumor” several times. I try to not base my judgement of success or failure on rumor… but on results on the court… and I’m happy with those results…. Now where’d I leave them dang glasses…
by Ilikeemall on Jul 12, 2009 12:49 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I very much agree with what you're saying Krang ....
the rose colored glasses, the ready knock on Quick if he should dare say something detrimental et cetera. I think we need to realize that JQ has probably got more insight into the team than any other writer and certainly any blogger, and I think it’s almost certain that the team uses him to write things to help their situations. Even the Oden being underwhelming story could have potentially benefited Blazer management if they felt they were having a hard time getting through to Greg about working harder to get in shape. That one is just a guess, but I sure can envision some of Quick’s other stories being KP motivated.
I almost always listen when Quick talks—more than anyone else— because he’s in a position to know more than anyone else. Canzano? Now that’s a totally different story.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
Also: COMCAST SUCKS!
by TwoDeep on Jul 12, 2009 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
People said last year at this time
that anyone who expected more than 50 wins had rose-colored glasses.
Sometimes the optimists are right.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
by jscot on Jul 13, 2009 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Quick and Clownzano do not belong in the same category
If you read my comment above, I made a real distinction between Quick and JC. Quick is a smart guy and a good journalist. JC is a manipulative entertainer and a provocateur.
I think you are making a straw-man argument. I actually agree with you, and you seeming to suggest that I don’t.
by upper left corner on Jul 13, 2009 5:54 AM PDT up reply actions
Don't take it personally.
I didn’t read TwoDeep’s comment as being in response to you. I took it as more of a general commentary on how Bedgers have been very dismissive of Quick.
Attacking Jason Quick has happened a lot in the past week as Quick has broke news about the Roy contract dispute and the reason behind it.
Anyways, I didn’t read jscot’s comments as being a response to you as much as an echoing of Krang’s comments about Quick.
It is all good. I wan't taking it personally, just trying to clarify my position.
Sometimes it gets tough to tell who is responding to whom around here.
by upper left corner on Jul 13, 2009 6:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Definetely ULC.
I did note that you differentiated between the two. I was just using this as an interjection point to comment on my observations of how a good number of Bedgers are so willing to attack Quick if he writes a piece they perceive to be negative regarding the team (one of Krang’s points). It was not in response to your post at all.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
Also: COMCAST SUCKS!
Having a summer with very few changes isn't an altogether bad thing.
The Blazers were a good team last year with 3 rookies playing critical roles on the team and another with alot of potential sitting on the bench. We might not have gained anything yet this offseason, but have we really lost anything of huge consequence either? Our young players’ natural progression alone will improve the team as a whole, but there’s certainly nothing that seems to point to the team getting “worse”. There have been teams making moves, but making moves and improvements don’t always go hand in hand. Some of those teams will undoubtedly be the better for their offseason changes, while there’s almost certainly going to be at least a few that suffer from them.
The Blazers are still a young team loaded with talent and potential, the notion that they have to win a championship now doesn’t make sense to me. Portland could concievably keep the core of this team together for a very long time, we don’t have to contend now in order to contend in the future. Some people compare the Blazers to the Chicago Bulls a few years back as a team with a solid young core, and they point out that Chicago never became true contenders… But they’re really two completely seperate situations. For one, Chicago didn’t have the balance of talent that Portland does, their best players were at the 1-3 positions and they were consistently taken advantage of inside. Portland has a solid mix of perimeter and post players and even a defensive stopper or two. Portland, while labeled a “jump shooting” team by some analysts, was also one of the best rebounding teams in the league, put the two together and you’re going to be pretty effective offense.
In my mind all we have to do is keep as much of this team together as possible, with a few tweaks here and there to make up for departures, and it’s really only a matter of time before this is a very good team with legitimate title chances year in and year out. With that in mind, I think we all would be better off with the attitude of "Turn off Canzano. Step away from the radio. Put down the newspaper. Everything is going to be OK.".
The more you panic, the more the Oregonian can charge for ad placement.
It’s not just the Oregonian, but the whole news media empire in general. Look at the swine flu stories, worded to create mass hysteria. It worked. I’d be worried about it being a case of calling wolf, except people believe the stories every time. With so much incoming information, and a new panic to worry about each week, or even each day, no one ever remembers how much we’re being manipulated.
Of course, I’m pretty disgusted with media and people both. That a microcosm of this problem has appeared here on Blazers’ Edge, and the media surrounding the Blazers disappoints me, but hardly surprises me. Just try to identify it when you see it. Claims of epic failure on the Blazers’ end are grossly exaggerated for a reason. Quick, Canzano and Wojnarowski write their columns with carefully chosen words for a reason. To get a reaction. To get you emotionally involved in the story. Positive, negative, doesn’t matter. Because you’re talking about it. Which bring more people to see it, which brings more ad revenue. As well as future readers and future revenue.
Upper Left Corner is right. Long term, meaning more than just the last two weeks, or the next two weeks, the Blazers franchise is in a very positive place. But that’s boring. That doesn’t sell anything. Because that’s nothing new. And in a world of endless information coming at us at an alarming rate, nothing new is as good as nothing. Thanks a lot news industry. Thanks a lot television. Thanks a lot radio. You’ve made us into helpless, hungry beasts, waiting to devour the next tidbit you throw to us. We’ve been willingly demeaned and insulted. We’ve been willingly enslaved. We’ve willingly become your pawns in exchange for garbage.
And we can’t get away. Here I am, checking the news, even on Sunday, every fifteen minutes, hoping for some little bit of news, as if it would change my life. I’m as stuck as everyone else. And it sucks.
μὴ φοβοῦ, μόνον πίστευε.
by T Darkstar on Jul 12, 2009 12:00 PM PDT reply actions 4 recs
upper left
you are el fuego, keeping the recs of the post # even into the teeens. congrats…
rec
Oh, and nice article :D.
Muchas gracias, mi amigo.
Me encanta hablar sobre el basketball.
Vamos, Los Blazers!
by upper left corner on Jul 12, 2009 6:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Proof that KP is not a faultless psychic or all-powerful wizard
First we thought that KP was perfect. Not only did he get us Brandon and LaMarcus, scooping the two best players out of a single draft, but the next year he won the draft lottery.
Then he selected Greg Oden in the “Greg Oden Draft”. Oden was projected to be a once-a-decade franchise center. And KP still might not have been settled on him when he drafted him.
The same draft, he hands chickenfeed in NBA cash to Phoenix for the draft rights to Rudy. Somehow we get a trade exception out of those deals that was a useful chip, too. He then pries Rudy out of Europe just a year later, whereupon the Spaniard sets several rookie 3-pt shooting records and participates (and gets ripped off) in the NBA dunk contest.
KP. Can. Do. No. Wrong. Amiright?
While I am one who thinks Oden can still prove out as the best player in that draft knee injury included, and while Blazers’ management says they would have taken him anyway saying he is good enough to wait out, KP did select a guy who right away blew out a knee, rehabbed a full year, and played 80%, if that, last year.
Then KP handled the Darius Miles contract fiasco. Having to deal with a long-run Trader Bob contract on a player with no work ethic and a knee injury, who liked Baskins and Robbins over the gym, KP cut him on a medical provision simply to get him off the cap. The fact that Miles played just enough NBA games to count against our cap space meant that holding onto RLEC was an incredibly risky move. Maybe the deal wasn’t there, but it was nonetheless disappointing.
And KP got virtually nothing out of Sergio. Nate and KP should have decided much earlier that Sergio wasn’t going to work out, like at the trade deadline. Sergio and the RLEC could have netted us a real player. I don’t know that a deal could have been made, but I am disappointed one wasn’t.
Then in the recent draft, KP was caught flailing around again, this time with less to show than in the past. Unless Claver is another Rudy. We have no rookie of the year prospect and KP did not seem to get the man we targeted. Although I was disappointed we didn;t get much out of Sergio, KP did draft pretty well with the picks he had. He avoided Blair, which to me seems like the big question of the draft. And his smart free late-late pick PG busts his foot and it requires surgery on the first day of camp.
The free agent market is dwindling and the guy we had a deal with in principle showed he has none.
Now we are leveraging our cap space either for Millsap or more likely just to shake things up so a player we really want might become available.
Has the aura come off KP a little bit? Yes.
KP is not an all-powerful wizard. He is not God or a close relation. He is not a faultless psychic or Svengali who can turn a GM into an idiot who’ll trade him the goods at will.
He has an active owner who can’t stand the idea of letting the next Jermaine get away from us. And while Nate says KP gets the players, we all know that Nate gets to say his piece in decisionmaking. And if KP gets somebody who doesn’t fit Nate’s style (Sergio much?) then that player is hammered into the shape Nate wants or they sit on the bench. Okay, KP’s situation with the owner and coach are very favorable, just saying nothing is perfect.
KP is a savvy, incredibly hard-working, smart GM who came up through the scouting ranks as an incredibly gifted talent. Barring the availability of the Second Coming, I am quite happy we have him. Now, with hard work and a little better luck, the core he put together will take it up to another new level next year.
I don't understand your point of why we don't have a ROY candidate
Does that determine a championship winner? So what if we don’t have a Derrick Rose that wouldn’t have been available to us anyway.
But I do agree with the principle, KP is human, he does bleed red like the rest of us.
My avatar is 3 years into the future for sure...
Exactly
Of course we have no one in the hunt for ROY. We didn’t have a pick until the late 20s.
And we shouldn’t expect KP to find a path on draft day to pull a miracle out of his hat and land us the best player every time. Except that to date his draft days have been world-record-setting. Most trades, most steals. I want my GM to bat 1.000. So far, KP is batting about .780. Most GMs are lucky to get to .300.
54 wins and counting...
It’s hard to draft a ROY when you when 50+ games the year prior…those ROY days are over…we need a League MVP now…..
Not bad, as indictments go, but you know the old saying.....
…..a good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich.
Humor aside, I don’t disagree with much of what you say. KP certainly puts his pants on just like the rest of us; one leg at a time. I do think it is a matter of perspective, a kind of “is the glass three quarters full, or is it one quarter empty?” thing.
KP is not perfect. Sometimes when i hear him interviewed I just want to cringe at all the “everything is groovy, its all about the culture” stuff. Just give it to us straight KP. Having said that, KP has proven himself to be a very good evaluator of basketball player flesh. He has proven himself to be an astute tactician who is willing to take risks at times and willing to be patient at others.
I am certainly not saying that there have been some disappointments this summer. I am attempting to draw a clear distinction between disappointment and failure.
by upper left corner on Jul 12, 2009 6:36 PM PDT up reply actions
And I agree with you, ulc
KP had such a hit parade to start, he gave himself an impossibly hard act to follow.
All I am saying is that he faces life as a real person, not a superhero or a refugee from a vastly more intelligent and psychic race of space aliens. Which was pretty much my own opinion of him until recently.
Good Post
Also, a very nice remark from LaoTzu. KP is only a man and man is fallable. I think that KP has had plans and back-up plans play themselves out and still he hasn’t flinched. KP is not on contengency plan T or something and we should all be so lucky to have the patience of KP. Patience is a virtue and we could all use a little of that now and then. Let’s cool it with the Chiken L’il stuff and turn the BFT off.
Rec
That is all.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
Rec
for being one of the sane people here on Blazer Sedge
The NBA: Where amazingly bad officiating happens, is encouraged, and rewarded.
Hey, wait a minute!
When you post that immediately below one of my comments, you are supposed to hit the “reply” button first!
Allegations that you weren’t talking about me at all will not be tolerated.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
Failure is when you lose the war, not a couple of skirmishes
I think that only when the trade deadline comes and goes and nothing has happened can we say that KP has “failed.” And even if this summer is a failure, there will be other battles in the future.
One thing to consider is that KP is the victim of his own success. Other GM’s would have to be blind not to realize the potential the Blazers have going forward. That’s gotta make it harder for KP to get deals done. So he has to exercise patience and not make a desperate error. As long as he ignores the panic-stricken media and fan base, I think he’ll avoid that trap.
Stay the course, KP! We may scratch our heads here & there (passing on Blair at #33?), but most of us are confident you’ll get the job done in the end.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Well said, sir.
I get the impression that KP is being quite selective about who he wants to bring in and even more selective about who he is willing to let go. That certainly increases the degree of difficulty. Combine that with the fact that other GM are not likely to want to help the team achieve even more success, and the fact that expectations are through the roof, and it isn’t all that surprising that it has been tough to get a deal done.
by upper left corner on Jul 13, 2009 6:05 AM PDT up reply actions
Will that even be the benchmark?
I would love to see a deal to make the Blazers better before the trade deadline, but I don’t think I will be calling out failure if it doesn’t happen. Deals have been made while teams are over the salary cap. I understand the cap space is a golden opportunity, but only to make a deal that makes the team immediately better without derailing the future. If that deal isn’t there, why make one?
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
That word and KP should not be in the same sentence
Judge the GM on how well the puzzle comes together not how jagged each piece looks.
"Knowledge will get you from A to B. Creativity will get you anywhere." Einstein
Discussing Panic
I agree with a lot of this post. But my opinion is that it is not panicking to wonder what the hell is going on.
I could care less about Hedo or the draft picks. Our team will be fine even if we dont add another piece.
The thing that has pissed off most people that follow the team is what is going on with Brandon Roy. There is absolutely no reason why there should be any haggling over 4 years vs. 5 years. It is completely illogical to jerk this guy around. And because it is so bizarre, it has many people wondering…. including myself.
So although Clownzano & Quick might be fanning some flames, I wouldnt say that their sentiment is something unique to them. All of my friends (which are all Blazer fans) were saying the same thing over the weekend.
“Blazers better take care of Roy”
or
“What the hell are we doing”
So, NO, I am not freaking out. Merely pondering what has transpired.
Hi fans it Brandon Roy.
And ME.....LaMarcus Aldridge
If it boils down to Roy wanting an opt out to UFA status after his 4th year? Hell no
We don’t know and the ugly thing is as fans that we probably will never get to know. Being a 365 day a year fan is tough right now.
Exactly.
If we were privy to the negotiations, it would likely make perfect sense. Unfortunately, we are being fed one bit of info from Brandon’s agent without any context or explanation from the other side. Everybody is just doing there job:
Brandon and his agent want a deal. They are pummeling the organization in the media in order to gain leverage.
Canzano and Quick are creating controversy and selling papers.
KP is trying to reassure everybody that it will all work out in the end.
I will be shocked if this deal doesn’t get done. Bottom line is probably that Roy has most of the leverage. The Blazers are unlikely to risk escalating a conflict with their franchise player, and unable to withstand the s**tstorm of anger that would cause with their fan-base. Roy can’t really afford to take the risk of getting hurt this season before an extension is signed.
Both sides have an incentive to get this done, and they most likely will.
by upper left corner on Jul 13, 2009 6:16 AM PDT up reply actions
The part that we are all wondering about
Is what negotiating needs to go on? Max money & max years is what he wants, and thats what we all know he should get. It doesnt even seem like there is an argument for why it hasn’t happened yet.
Hi fans it Brandon Roy.
And ME.....LaMarcus Aldridge
Your friends are taking a small portion of the available information and forming extreme-ish opinions on the people involved
That’s panicking.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 13, 2009 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Saying we need to take care of Roy is panicking?
What is so extreme about wondering?
We’re not saying that KP should be fired or that Paul Allen should be burned at the stake. Just wondering why the best player on our team isnt getting locked up ASAP.
Hi fans it Brandon Roy.
And ME.....LaMarcus Aldridge
Improvement
First off, great post and discussion. I’ve been wanting to write something similar for a long time.
Secondly:
Players who will get better next year: (most improved at the top)
SF Martell Webster (no contribution last year, any contribution is an improvement)
SF Nic Batum
PG Jerryd Bayless
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Greg Oden
SG Brandon Roy
SG Rudy Fernandez
Players who will likely maintain their level of play:
C Joel Pryzbilla
SF Travis Outlaw
PG Steve Blake
Players expected to decline next year:
…crickets…
The rest are rookies and any contribution is a bonus.
Where’s the panic coming from?!?
"HA HA HA HA HA
I'm not laughing, I'm just listing the five ugliest Blazers ever."
- rockingharder
PANIC!
We have crickets on our team. How are we so bad that we are drafting crickets?!?!?!?
The Princess of Blazersedge
by Zaig on Jul 14, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Concerns do not equal panic
People are more worked up about labeling people who express concerns as panicking than the people who are supposedly panicking are about their concerns.
There's been some panic in the sidebar, too
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
Why have concerns?
What about what I said above concerns you? (besides the crickets…)
"HA HA HA HA HA
I'm not laughing, I'm just listing the five ugliest Blazers ever."
- rockingharder
My concerns are solely related to Allen and Vulcans
Getting a read on how they are going to handle finances in the coming years. Otherwise, no worries.
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