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Portla****—nd Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey took questions from the media on Media Day 2018. In the course of the interview, he highlighted a few major themes:
- The Western Conference continues to improve and the Blazers will have a tough road ahead.
- Portland’s bench is more intriguing this year.
- He’s generally happy with Portland’s position, performance, and moves.
Here are some highlights from Twitter.
Olshey - "The West got tougher, teams are going to be healthier"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey: "The margin for error in the West is so narrow."
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) September 24, 2018
Olshey on the West - "There are probably 12 teams that are legitimate playoff caliber teams"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey on how personnel moves addressed improvememt - "Everyone we got is a big time shooter"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey on expectations for Curry "Make shots. We're high on Seth. Can play with Dame and CJ or behind those guys. He allows Dame and Evan to be primary ball handlers"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey on whether Collins is a four or five - "He's a front court player"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey - "This isn't a market that would endure bottoming out for cap room or the panacea of a draft pick"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey refers to Nurkic as a player the Blazers were "incentivized to take," alluding to Denver attaching the first-round pick to move him in 2017.
— David MacKay (@DavidMacKayNBA) September 24, 2018
Olshey on whether there's a sense of urgency to win - "Look we work for Paul Allen, so there's a growing sense of urgency every day"
— Peter Sampson (@PeterSampson) September 24, 2018
Olshey, asked to assess Terry Stotts' performance: "Well, we're one of five teams in the NBA to make the playoffs five years in a row. That's the first bar. I think Terry's record speaks for itself."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) September 24, 2018
"..He stayed the entire summer- he's strong, he's had a great September. He's really, in terms of a guy who's made a jump...he's a guy who everyone of my guys in the front office breathe a sigh of relief because we didn't let him go." - Neil Olshey on Jake Layman
— Danny Marang (@DMarang) September 24, 2018
Olshey said he's "happy with what we did" in the offseason. Said the team was outbid for six veterans in free agency, but likes that each addition to the roster is a good shooter.
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) September 24, 2018
Olshey: "One of the things we need to remember, we finished with the third-best record in the conference last year. We had a great regular season. I think we’re ready to build off that."
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) September 24, 2018
Olshey says everyone the #Blazers added this off-season is a "big-time shooter."
— Jay Allen (@PDXjay) September 24, 2018
Zach Collins was the #1 rated defender in Summer League, according to Neil Olshey. So there’s that...
— Dusty Harrah (@Dusty_Harrah) September 24, 2018
Olshey on his relationship with @Dame_Lillard: "We talk all the time...it's a very open environment...I want collaboration, with all of the guys." @trailblazers @RipCityRadio620
— Jay Allen (@PDXjay) September 24, 2018