Will there be any big surprises this off season? | Trail Daddy: A Trail Blazers Podcast Hosted…
most Bankers aren’t ready to help you until after their third cup of coffee but with Central National Banks after our service you don’t have to wait for the bank Lobby to open to get help you can contact us from 6:00 to 8:30 in the morning or from 5:00 to 10: in the evening and we’ll connect you to a real live local person who can answer questions and fix problems 7 days a week Bank different Bank Central Central National Bank member FDIC hey what’s up Blazer fans welcome to the Blazers Edge podcast I am Tera Bowen bigs joined once again by Danny mering Danny I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve talked to each other yeah it’s because it has been get a couple weeks off heading into the summer everybody just kind of disappears and waits for the Warriors to fall apart you know usual things yeah we’ll talk about that in a minute but before we go on I want to introduce our other guests that we have today we are joined by Mike man uh NBC Sports Northwest beat writer and host of the locked on Blazers podcast Mike welcome to the Blazers Edge podcast thanks for having me we are glad Dan and I were talking a little bit before the we started recording about how suddenly there’s a lot of time that we didn’t have just a couple of months ago how are you uh spending your extra time or do you have extra time maybe you’ve got other endeavors that are just kicking off right now oh I have some other endeavors but uh I feel like I have a lot more free evenings nowadays with no uh with no Blazer world uh I’m doing normal things I like you know I’m own my lawn today uh I went to I went to the mechanic you know normal normal things that you can’t do when the season is very busy you’re you’re adulting yeah I guess you can I mow my lawn during the season I don’t want to give the impression that it’s a jungle but but the other the other errands are more to the fact that you had to clarify that to make sure that all of listeners to the Pod know that you are a uh I to paint a specific picture of my jungle home that I live in I want to find the one person who was like did he say he doesn’t do it during the season he I think he did say that you guys got astute listeners you guys have a have a a that is there is not much that gets past to the folks who listen to the this brought by progrow well so I have have followed your work for a little while now Mike but I don’t really know much about you so I’m wondering do you mind telling us a little bit about how you came to where you are right now what your interest in sports was and how you got there sure um so I grew up in Chapel hille North Carolina which is uh the you know greatest college basketball city in the world apologies to Lawrence Kansas and literally nowhere else but um so I grew up walking to Carolina games uh and when I was a kid it was uh Jerry Stackhouse and rashed Wallace and then Vince Carter and Anton Jameson uh and then some other guys in the 2000s that aren’t as famous but uh shout out to Joe Forte and um so I I just became basketball was like such a rich part of my life as a kid so it was always something that I loved uh I went to school out in Portland Oregon L and Clark College one of the best colleges in southwest Portland and uh top two for sure definitely top um so I and I like worked on the College Newspaper sort of classic uh young journalism things and I started interning at Oregon live my senior year of college and I worked there for about a decade eight eight eight or so years uh and I started out discovering High School sports for a long time and then there was just uh working for modern day newspaper there is a lot of change over that happens very quickly so suddenly basically overnight I was a high school sports reporter and then I was the number two on uh the Blazers beat uh really I was number three because Jason quick was still at the o and um he’s prolific and so there was no way I was going to Leap Frog him but uh so yeah I covered the Blazers my first year was Lamarcus Aldridge’s last season with the Blazers so my first summer was a summer of of change but I had done some other blazy stuff in the Brandon Roy era and like pre- Dame draft and things like that but that is how I ended up here uh I stopped working at The Oregonian last January and I have spent one season working for NBC Sports what are some of the early like memories that you’re like oh I’m covering the NBA now did you ever have any moments like that or was it just kind of like a seamless introduction to the NBA uh you know it’s pretty normal uh it helps that like Damen Lo is a pretty normal person so there aren’t like a lot of Hoops to jump through to talk to the most famous person in the locker room type of thing um early on maybe it was like getting somebody I don’t know specifically but like having Thomas Robinson’s phone number in my phone was probably like oh I’m in I cover the NBA now because I was 26 I got on the beat um so that was still very cool to me um I don’t think T Rob ever returned a single one of my text messages so you know what are you gonna do but you had his number in your phone so yeah I could I mean who knows I had a number called I had a number labeled t- Rob he never got me back he gave me the phone number and never responded so you know oh you got ghosted by t- robob well I mean what are you gonna do I just imagine he shooting you up text now trying to get a story yeah he’s like I don’t know where he is you know what you know where he is he’s in Utah at their free agent workout oh good good for him I literally just saw him and a couple other guys that have been out of the league a few years uh were down the of the day so he’s still he’s still trying t time just caught up with t robob extremely fast it was like there’s no undersized power forwards in the league if you can’t shoot anymore it’s like as soon as he got into the league that position didn’t exist poor guy yeah I man I I enjoyed him while he was here but 360 drops that spins I get it you know those those days where it was just like T Rob and Will Barton Duncan all over everything that that was pretty fun yeah I mean that we have a very different team to watch now 2011 2012 13 2013 highlight where T Rob gets the block and then they go the other way and West Matthews throws the oop to wilart and it’s alltime you know it’s one of the great plays of the last decade well so you started the summer that Lamarcus left and that they had all those new players wow that must have been first off everyone after that probably felt like pretty quiet would be my guess where does this yeah um go ahead go on sorry I was just going to ask you what where does this season kind of rank in terms of En enjoying how you covered the team you know compared to other Seasons um I mean this one was the way it played out not just like making the Western cars finals but the way the playoffs played out were um it was a re it was very cool to be able to tell those stories you know to be in the building and watch such an emphatic moment from uh from Dame in the first round and then to be back there for uh uh for game six and and for the four overtime game and you know all those moments um that that’s uh I I don’t know if all writers feel this way but it’s like there’s more eyes on you in the playoffs like you have to do a better job so getting those moments to to uh to really have to capture was um was super enjoyable this year but I don’t know my like overall enjoyment of the year there’s like some random years I guess random stories that you enjoy writing so that aren’t always uh result related like these were so winning you know got brought more eyes but you’ve also had other Seasons where they might have not have been winning but there was a lot of interesting stuff going on yeah like just you get better you know this team at the end there was some new people to like write stories about but this team has been the same for so long that it was like when I was ear around them earlier and they had different parts uh it was more interesting to sort of get to know guys like you know cayman’s first year it’s like who is this guy who’s drinking milk right now like 45 minutes before the game starts um Cayman oh we hardly knew you yeah so it’s it there’s you know the getting to I think like uh you know getting to know Ed Davis when he first got here and stuff like that I remember sitting down with Chief like the first training camp that he was here you know those moments I feel like as a writer are more interesting because you you can introduce the the person to the fan base to your readers or whatever um and that’s more enjoyable than like uh you know the same team over and over again and writing like are they going to overcome the sweep stories for a million times I’m glad they were able to provide you with some good stuff to to write about because it was sure it was it was and to keep that narrative going of can they overcome the sweep well it’s it’s a new flavor of sweep yeah it’s definitely a different broom this time I was well are you guys ready let’s should we turn to some uh recent news I guess um you know there’s a trickle of things happening with the Blazers still despite that they are out of the playoffs uh Damen lard and CJ McCollum are going to go going to be attending USA Basketball training camp in August in advance of the feea World Cup how should how should Blazer fans be feeling about this is this a like um is this a good thing is this a why are they going to be risking themselves for injury what what are your guys’s thoughts on these guys at training camp well real quick Mike what’s more surprising that CJ got the invite or that Dame took it yeah it’s weird that either of them are still involved in Team USA to me kind of um I thought Dame was really over it over it but uh he probably has other people in his three Stripes corner that are like dude just please just go where are team us Jersey yeah um uh but and I think it’s a little weird CJ you know obviously rejected the USA select team that’s a little bit different than the the big boy team he’s gonna be on this year so so it I I definitely think it’s notable that they’re even going to answer your question you think it’s mostly tied to the brand or I me it’s it all is but I mean it’s also like Legacy stuff like just in general uh if to use like a current example like one of the things that people are pointing to with Andre gal like is he Hall of Famer blah blah blah it’s like he won a gold medal with Team USA it’s hilarious that you that you mention that because CJ asked that question is Kyle Lowry a Hall of Famer uh it was last night or this morning I can’t remember what it was and Lowry’s stats are incredibly similar to uh chony Bops but the one leg up that Lowry obviously has is that that Olympic gold medal and I think we’re going to have those discussions about a lot of these Fring Fringe Hall of Fame type guys and I think you look at that Dame playing in the northw and not maybe having an opportunity for a title or CJ you know playing behind Dame the opportunity to pick up that gold medal and you’re and you have it when you’re 33 34 and you’re chasing a ring I think those those things probably matter right yeah it’s it’s a it has a it has a meaning for your legacy it has a meaning for there’s a there’s a certain amount of pride too with like being on the Olympic team and those type of things um so I think it matters but I um it’s a pretty big like this summer would would be a pretty big commitment to do it uh coming off their longest playoff run that they’ve ever had um at the end of which they I mean they look tired they look gassed I can’t really speak they obviously they’re not going to say that but but from you know just watching they look like they kind of ran out of steam because of how much uh sort of physical and mental gas they had to burn uh in those playoff series so I think you know if they’re if they’re really involved and it’s five weeks at the like just before training camp um it’s uh it’s probably a it’s probably a bit more miles than uh than just your average August workout well and you know some of the teams take the the FBA aspect of it like some of the other teams take it real seriously and so they’re going to be it’s a big deal and yeah it’s it’s a big deal in other places so everybody on Team USA has to be ready to win which you know I feel like every year the international competition inches closer and closer or am I wrong about that no I think that’s generally true uh I don’t think we’ve seen a team as good as that 2008 Spanish team in a while but there’s definitely um there’s there aren’t all pushovers particularly in this tournament it’s pretty good it seems risky to me I worry about I worry about injury and I worry about it being so close to the beginning of the year um but I do also subscribe to the uh conspiracy theory that these training camps are heavily are very important for recruiting you guys have any thoughts on that yeah I think there’s some truth to that um I don’t know that the Blazers will ever be involved in free agency ever again but uh ever again like it doesn’t seem to that DAV CJ could it doesn’t seem to me that Damon CJ could be on this team requiring the type of money they want to require and literally be talking to any of their peers about joining them in any like meaningful free agent way so you mean they AR planning on a cap Spike that allows them to sign yeah like it’s like there’s it’s like hey we’d love to play with you Brad Beal I mean we we won’t but it would be nice well but these days with players asking for trades in advance of their you know time being up with a team I feel like free agency there’s like another there’s now like an intermediary uh thing between trades and free agency which is where somebody forces their way out and then you know they give their list of course nobody ever ends up where their very rarely only Kyrie I don’t even think Boston wasn’t on his list was it oh it was it not initially I’m sure it was it may have been they probably have a lot longer list than we ever hear about um but I don’t know I just think about the in terms of they I think I feel like they just kind of decide whether or not they’d be interested in playing together and then when they get back to their home teams or whatever you know they know like oh they played together they played together these these these guys played together well it just feels like one more piece of information to pile on all the other stuff that um comes in when people are figuring out what’s going to happen you know oh yeah no I there’s Intrigue there too because like players are the ones who do the most collusion and the most effective collusion so it’s fun like that it is fun to sort of if you know if they both end up on the roster sort of uh you know scour that behind the scenes footage to see who they’re chatting with the most yeah well another little bit of news and Dan do you have anything else you want to add about USA Camp no I I I I think it’s a good thing for really any of the Blazers to to get exposure I mean the last time the Blazers featured anybody on the international level of consequence was Clyde so I’d be interested if any of the younger guys get invited to come to the other Squad I think that would be uh that would be interesting I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody like Gary got one just because it was Duke TI sure sure well moving on to the next bit of news coach Vanderpool was hired earlier this week to be an associate head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves how big of a loss is this for the Blazers Mike you’re you’re around these guys how much does he mean mean to them I would say we don’t know but it is it it’s probably a big deal like emotionally um he’s definitely Dame’s like a legitimately good friend of Dame uh one thing you see if you go to the games early is vanderpool’s kids are around and Dame will just hang out with his son who’s probably 11 maybe you know and they’ll just hang out and you know crack jokes on the bench uh they’re legitimately good friends it’s it’s definitely the coach that Dame is closest with the guy he’s worked with his whole career um there’s one great story about uh Vanderpool has warmed up Dame every single game except one in Sacramento and Nate tibits did it because Vanderpool was sick or something um and D went like four for 22 and and he just told Nate like never again like one and done baby never again um so he’s going to you know it’ll be the whenever you know game one hits or whatever it’ll be the second time ever in in however many games that with the Blazers that he hasn’t warmed up with Vanderpool um I think it’s an emotional loss it’s hard for me to figure out um tactically how much like X’s and O’s wise and and and strategy wise any one Blazers assistant does things cuz uh they you know at least their approach is like Collective they don’t have like a defensive coordinator offensive coordinator type thing they have like a everyone get in the room and think about what we can fix but I think it’s a big deal um I I think we won’t really be able to quantify what it means to Dame but there’s you know there’s those people back there who think that Kim Hughes departure like ruined Myers Leonard’s career so um there’s some truth to it I guess oh just gonna say Mike when when you look at at the way the Blazers staff is structured and and kind of the culture that they built do you think that that plays a part into a team like Minnesota and and particularly David’s relationship with Damen Lillard as to why they’re they’re looking to pull him to Minnesota and give him kind of that number two seat to kind of be the the Whisperer for Kat and maybe wiggin still yeah exactly and I think he’s worked with Andrew Wiggins actually with Team Canada um when they were both a little bit younger uh uh WIS didn’t go to the international competitions but he was around the team at least at least a little bit while interpool was uh working with working with that group um yeah I think I think his um his relationship with players definitely helps you know he’s been a hot name on the coaching sort of assistant coaching circuit for four years he’s at least gotten a lot of interviews um so I think I think that’s also what they like and moving him to sort of an associate head coach role who you know he has more experience than Ryan Saunders but he doesn’t like wildly outrank him in terms of years he’s not uh he’s not the Lionel Holland Jason kid assistant I think that uh kind of fits the that fits the profile that’s gonna be fun but I mean Saunders according to Mark Stein at least um wanted to keep Sydney low on his staff uh and the Rosas the new GM was just like no we’re we’re hiring we want all new people so I assume that Vanderpool was uh very high on their list for a variety of reasons I had read that Vanderpool was more of the defensive side but you’re saying that there’s a lot of collective coaching among all of the coaches it seems like the the defense was something that it’s been pretty the same pretty steady same approach over all of these years and I’m just wondering you know have the have the key players on the team now maybe finally figured it out enough that it wouldn’t be quite such a shakeup um without having whoever was behind that defense but you’re thinking maybe it was actually not just Vanderpool it was everybody can kind of pick it up yeah I mean they built this with with Terry when whatever the summer of 2013 I think is when they switched that after JJ hickon left um and they got Rolo and they had someone who could really play defense and that’s kind of they built this this setup um I think what maybe Vanderpool has done um because the way I understand it is like uh you know they split up the scouts so each coach Scouts offense and defense for who whatever team he has um and then we’ll and then we’ll go in that way as opposed to like you know Dave’s going to do the defensive Scout and Nate will have the offensive Scout um I’m sure that guys have Specialties that it’s sort of the nature of any professional world uh but I don’t think necessarily that David was this defensive Mastermind that’s going to like change things if nerk is healthy they’ll be a pretty good defensive team if he’s not they’ll be pretty bad it’s amazing how that works isn’t it yeah it’s like they have a really they have one really important defensive player on the roster a couple other decent ones and uh if those guys are in uniform they’ll have a chance well we got one more BL sort of Blazer adjacent news item that maybe will take us into our next topic and that was that the Brooklyn Nets have traded Allan crab so even though Allan Krab has been gone for a couple years I think a lot of people have had their eyes on him and in particular um you know because he has that large contract um what might become of him and he’s been traded to Atlanta for ton Prince what can Blazers fans take if anything from this uh from this transaction I guess it gives you a range or an idea of what the range might be to move uh a big money contract I mean specifically Evan Turner uh because they don’t have anyone that really matches that but what it would maybe take to just sort of get out from under the Evan Turner type deal would be a current first and a future first potentially is that what it was I might be DET no you’re I think you’re you’re you’re right for the exchange because the uh they also they got ton Prince back in the deal plus uh I think it was two seconds I think is what it kind of worked out to be um but I think you’re right as far as like moving like that that’s that’s what it is it sets the bar for moving what 15 plus million dollar contract um requires and you have to grease it with at least a a pick of consequence and a future pick if another asset’s coming back in return yeah so number 17 in a protected 2020 first round so yeah I mean that’s that that seems like about what it would cost does that surprise does that seem like a a [Music] surprising uh I think this draft is considered crappy enough that guys are saying throwing away 17 there’s there’s very little chance I can get an impact player so it’s really one draft pick that’s my read on that yeah realistically like I said the other day I’ve talked to to folks who have one guy at 14 or 15 I and then you know another team has them at like 27 28 so it’s it’s one of those things where beyond the first four maybe five guys the the pick is just kind of so so and you rather just include it if it allows you to be a player in free agency and or uh facilitate bigger trades in the in the coming year yeah the Nets also have a bunch of young guys like they don’t need more draft picks they need adults yeah I guess I was thinking of it too kind of as the you know the first shot right of the off season because I remember last year one of the earliest moves that was made in the offseason I think it was last year was when Lou Williams signed his contract for like seven or eight million like something that was like shockingly low and everyone was like contract every piss about what is this gonna mean so do you do you see this as any sort of a bell weather for anything that might happen well it means the Nets are they’re getting in on the you know on the market fish the big yeah the big fish they’re definitely um they’re like the most competently run team of the teams would have I mean maybe the the Clippers I think the Clippers don’t have two Max slots yet but they can get there with some kind of bouncing everybody yeah yeah they can so it’s like you know now um obviously the two other glamour franchises in America’s largest cities have um their eyes on Landing High Caliber free agents but like the the actual good businesses in those in those same cities um are geared up so um there could be could be a wild July um I think the best case scenario for the Blazers is everybody moves to New York open up the Western Conference get them out of there get him out of there Klay Thompson Welcome to New York Kevin Durant you too bud everybody just go east please well one of the things that concerned me about that trade is that um I instead of trying to fure out individual players I look at teams that the Blazers have traditionally made deals with and the Nets is one of those teams so I wonder like does this restrict the ability because I’m always you know considering all of the things that the Blazers need to accomplish this offseason and The Limited uh ways that they have to accomplishment I was like sweet so they’ve got the Nets they got the Kings they got um you know the Cavs and the magic are like these are the teams that they go to over and over and over again I was like oh no like the Nets have already made a move does that take them off the table as a potential partner for um for the Blazers you know in terms of because they were one of those teams that well I guess Atlanta was one of the teams that’s supposed to be taking um you know taking on big contracts so does that cut down the Blazers ability to um trade some of their larger contracts yeah it seems like bad news that one of the teams willing to take on bad money took on the Blazers old bad money as to their new bad money yeah that seems like bad news for them like I know I don’t know how you you spin it any other way so Mike this kind of transitioned from the the idea of what it’ll cost for Portland to do that to into a bit more of the offseason stuff from what I was able to gather the Blazers don’t want to use that first round pick and they do want to bundle it up with either haros or Turner but in order to do that they need to do it before the Dead obviously before draft day to make this work in the next what 11 days do you think the Blazers make a move kind of going into the draft to set everything else up I I definely think they’re going to try to um you know they uh Mo most of their moves have been sort of the smaller bargain variety ones uh they haven’t had a big big splashes in a while um obviously you hear sort of the things get floated out what almost almost happens um certainly after for the fact but uh yeah I think they will I don’t it’s hard for me to say um you know one way or another yes or no well they do but I think I I I think from what uh everyone I’ve talked to sort of about what the what their goals are this summer I think they want to get briefly below the tax line in order to get that full midlevel back and uh and offer somebody big big $9 million a year you know pay Rodney Hood $9 million a year so I think uh I think that’s the move I don’t know if you can just straight up do that and um it seems unlikely with fewer teams on the board that they wouldn’t have to take back some money too so maybe we see a move but it could be of a variety of flavors go ahead D oh no I was gonna ask you Dan what are you watching for what are some of the the big signs that you are looking for to determine which way the Blazers are going to go during the off season I mean um part of it you you kind of touched on with the teams the players normally deal with work with what what what is what are the rumors that we’re hearing you know the Whispers exactly are they shopping are they buying are they selling you know kind of who what when where why and what does the timeline look like are they more interested in getting more young guys do they want a veteran do they want expiring money and you’re just kind of trying to just listen to all the rumors that are out there and find that little bit of smoke and then kind of break it down from there and the thing is then this goes to kind of a bigger deal and I I want to ask you about this Mike I I’ve and we’ve talked about this God knows how many times everybody knows I’m not a proponent of the Dame CJ backcourt not because I don’t think it that they’re great players just that it’s not the best fit but the thing that I keep getting push back on this from after this last season because you know nothing’s better than looking back a few weeks ago and making that your base point for all things good but do you think that they’ve reached a point Mike between Dame and CJ that there’s unless a contract runs out or something serious happens that these two guys are kind of kind of just spend their careers together yeah I mean they made the Western Conference Finals um they all of the things that maybe Outsiders worry about I think this run proved to the Blazers that they have a good enough roster that if things break their way in the playoffs and that’s I mean luck is built into this bad boy that they’ll that they can be one of the teams that compet and maybe if the Golden State Juggernaut breaks up or flattens out a little bit uh talent wise maybe they’re right there so I think just considering what happened this postseason the the Damon CJ Duo was here to stay but I do think if they had if there had been if they had lost you know if they had lost in four or five games of the first round I do think this would have been the summer that the Blazers were finally like pushed to make that move I just think they were pushed so hard the other way after the results uh and you can debate whether those results are like sort of a meaningful way to make decisions or not but I think that’s what happened I’ve been looking kind of historically at the points in time where the Blazers made the big move because I think we’re kind of on a precipice right now where they may be ready to do that or at least they want to show that they’re willing to do that you know you look back at when Buck Williams came to the team they pushed all their chips in to bring Buck Williams on and that made a difference to that team um still didn’t win them a championship but it got him to the finals for a couple of years and then there was again when they went all in on Scotti Pippen and what I look at this time and it goes back to kind of goes back to the article that you wrote this week Dan about the Blazers being in for that big trade so I look at it’s not so much breaking up Damon CJ now because they can’t play together but in terms of if the Blazers really really want to be all in on a giant Superstar like Toronto was with Kawai the best person that they could conceivably offer would be CJ because of his talent because of CJ’s abilities and his leadership and how good he is you know he would be somebody another team would want and say yes we would love him to come to our organization because you know this disgruntled star doesn’t like us anymore um do you see that as kind of a shift in the way people have do you see a shift in the way people have talked about about now breaking up Damon CJ you’re asking me or Dan sorry it was kind of aiming at Dan because he just wrote that article about I figured he I figured he had yeah no no no I I was there I just um I I tapped my button so sorry um but yeah no I I don’t know if I’ve seen a a shift in anybody else but it I’m not going to change my opinion unless you know they need less to break their way and don’t get be wrong this past season was incredible Dame had his series and his moment CJ had his his series and his moment I just there’s I just never liked the fit so that’s that’s what I always get back to um I think they’re great together I just think that this team can’t be better and I think individually they could be better when they were apart um but I don’t know if there’s necessarily a shift but I I think if you’re going to the reason I wrote that that that article as a comparison to the Raptors are yeah the Raptors are better team they had a little bit more to work with uh bench wise whatever else but if you’re looking at about a comparison deal and if you’re asking about which team would you rather have with the Blazers going forward the one that just made the Western Conference finals and just kind of retools a little bit or would you even knowing that you made the Western Conference Finals willingly do a transformation as vicious as what San Antonio went through because taking away your number one number two and d rozan and getting a guy like Kawai in return an otherworldly top three top five guy if you’re the Blazers even knowing the success level much like the Raptors running up against a juggernaut in in a conference would you would you take that risk knowing that you you you’ve elevated your ceiling and the responses that I got you know don’t really tell one side of the other people are still very much uh entrenched on their their respective sides so I don’t think there’s been a ton of shift um I mean have you sensed anything of that Mike oh no but I’m not plugged in um at least to like um people’s the larger fan-based opinion on things um smart man I do think uh I I do think I’m just telling the truth I just don’t I just don’t know like I don’t I haven’t I haven’t been um I don’t know scouring the web scouring the message boards since the season ended I’ve been mowing my lawn like I said I’m talking The Outsider not you but uh yeah Dan come on fans are your lifeblood um I think the Blazers would I don’t think like I don’t think they don’t like I said I don’t think they want to trade CJ but if if there’s like a a Kawai or a serious Anthony Davis type offer it’s not like they w’t they won’t they’ll listen like they’re not like they’re not hanging up the phones there’s you know I think fans tend of think that there’s this idea of like a trade block where you just you know you kind of like go to the you go to the the certain like slack chat room on for MBA GMS and you see like who’s available no it’s like you you call people and say like what are you trying to get done this summer and if one of those people they call is David Griffin and he gets to the point where he wants to make a trade I think they would um you know hear out what what New Orleans wants uh but I don’t think they’re actively calling and seeing like what you know gauging CJ’s interest or gauging the interest level for CJ because they think that they would rather tool you know numbers Parts you know 5 six S as opposed to one and two one of the reasons I think trades the the Blazers are going to be active in the trade market too is this because it’s like the most logical way with all the other constraints that they’re under to add more players because they at some point have to get their roster up to at least 14 if not 15 players and one way that they can do that with you know operating under their constraints is they can trade one player out and hopefully be able to match and get two players back I mean it may come down do you think it may come down to that yeah that’s certainly a possibility I think um going into the off SE this off season under the impression that this Blazers front office is going to do a bunch of stuff is a way to get um disappointed I think we should remember all of the other off SE all of the other off Seasons before we think that this one’s going to be Super Active at least in terms of like Tang things thaten um so yeah certainly they’re going to try to change things around but like this this group um Neil’s group doesn’t exactly have a long track record of like super busy jues except for one time that they did and here we are I mean they went right out and signed Nick stalis so yeah they called a minimum guy you know four minutes after the deadline or whatever and well I I pictur that like uh Money Ball when it was uh what’s his name the uh the catcher with no arm sitting around for the A’s or waiting for a phone call and stus is just sitting there like I got a phone call now at this time you know he’s sitting there like eating dinner with his family and I love stal because he was the perfect fit like he he just it’s just it was just a nice nice little thing Mike when when you when you look at this team right now they’ve they’ve obviously got five free agents one restricted of those guys do you think there’s there’s a surprise resigning or a surprise release uh I think the most surprising reigning that’s probably at at least somewhat under consideration in that building would be bringing Anis caner back I think there’s an assumption that he’s super gone I think he’s super gone but um I think the Blazers liked what he did enough that they would at least consider what his Market is and not just say hey man let see you later and like immediately renounce his rights and move on I think they’ll I think they’ll give caner a serious look Dan what do you think about the which free agent are most likely to come back I I still think it’s Hood um and the one guy obviously everybody overlooks is Layman and the Blazers have the the RFA status on him and with how restricted they are and I really I think how hard Layman’s value kind of dropped off like as much as as hoods climbed uh towards the end of the year Layman fell uh pretty closely so they may be able to retain capable Wing player that knows the season or knows the season that knows the team um for cheaper than than maybe anticipated and I I think that is something that needs to be counted on especially yeah I think Layman’s very very likely to come back very very likely um what do you I think it’s a good price for him too ultimately I think he’s G he’s gonna be a value signing that Blazers are gonna look back and go huh that’s nice to have maybe they might give him $10 million you never know mik don’t put that out there dude you never listen you never know well it’s not I I I could see one of the teams that the Blazers have um signed their free agents I could see one of them coming back with that saying okay well you really want to keep take Jake Layman well we’re gonna offer him1 million we had that with Alan crab let’s not do that again I know you’d think they’d learn their lesson well I mean they ended up ultimately getting NIS caner at a point where they really really need needed in his caner so maybe that four years ago um was worth it but um what are the Blazers going to do do you think about the fact that nurkic is gonna miss at least half of the season and he’s going to miss a big chunk of the season and that leaves Zack Collins Myers Leonard and scal so uh you know what do you think the Blazers do with regard to the center position it is a real mystery because it would be a mistake obviously to invest heavily in that you know 35 to 50 game starter yeah with you know and the you know the future of the Blazers is is has to involve Zack Collins there’s no way this version of this team I mean maybe he get trade away but you know what I’m saying like the this current the roster currently as it is like he has to pop for this group to work um or he has to play for another team uh so you know there’s some incentive to make sure there’s minutes for him uh you know Myers Leonard had one very good game and one superhuman game in Western Conference Finals um I’m not sure that makes him likely to play When the regular season starts and Terry STS is still his coach but we will see so you know who knows who knows but I I think it’s really risky for them like that’s why I say that they haven’t totally they won’t let caner just walk out the door they’ll they’ll keep interest in then because they the center position is so unknown it is it’s a risky proposition when you’re looking at this team kind of how you address there how different do you think this team looks I mean there’s a there’s a strong reality where the only starters there on opening night are Dam and CJ that are the same yeah there’s a chance for that um I I if I had to guess I think four of I mean nerk will be on the roster but I I would assume that that Chief is back uh Rodney Hood may have priced himself out uh there’s a lot of teams with money he’s a POS that’s he plays the weakest position in the league which is uh Wings who can dribble and uh he might get paid a ton of money like the the Phoenix Suns might give Rony Hood $50 million that I think that’s like you have to like you have to consider that um the sort of the big payments for guys like Rodney who just blew up so I think there’s a pretty good chance they look very different um just just because uh some of their free agents are guys who contrib did a bunch I think there’s a chance that the only free agent they bring back is is aluku I think there’s a chance that um you know they bring back three of The Five Guys hard to tell well I mean your your point that you know if we think that there’s going to be a whole bunch of uh stuff happening is just going to May set us up for disappointment based on the past few seasons um yeah I guess there’s nothing to do but wait at this point yeah we see you know see if the action picks up around the draft um see if teams are continuing to position to sort of uh get themselves in a spot where they can pick up uh one of the be Hunter you know be in the Deep Waters hunting the biggest fish and see if the Blazers can sort of get involved somewhere there where it can be beneficial as a third team or you know whatever that whatever that might look like I guess timing wise what need are there things that needs to Dan you touched on it really briefly about certain things that would need to happen before the free agency season starts there certain things that would need to happen before um uh draft yeah it’s order of operations I mean it’s the same thing the the Atlanta Hawks have and the Nets are having to deal with right now like crabs trade isn’t actually going to go through until uh the next um fiscal year for the NBA once the calendar rolls over which I think is on the 6th of July um so when when the Blazers are looking at things that in order to get that m they need to be at a certain point beforehand and not not you know not other transactions so a lot of things need to happen between now and free agency starting um they’re going to have to move if you’re going to move a draft pick for this year you need to move it you need it needs to be a fluid situation so a team has the flexibility to take who they want with that pick or it’s got to be on draft night so you’re looking at a very short window uh with which the big decisions have to be made and we’re seeing some of the smaller or not necessar smaller but the uh the teams that that are taking that on the uh teams that are still kind of building there that pool is getting smaller so it’ll it’ll be really interesting to see what the order of operations are for the Blazers because I think it’s going to be really indicative of what they’re they’re they’re goingon to have to kind of signal their interest you know what they’re going to do in free agency because in order to get that full ml again you have to have it done before you go in so we’ll see a move and we’ll know kind of okay well they have the full mle which is you know was it 9.2 Mike something like that yeah it’s like just it’s right around 9 million okay so you got either 9 million or got 5.7 like that’s that’s the difference between you know finding a guy that you you want to give that full mle to or splitting it and getting two guys for you know uh five mil which we’ve seen what o can do with the The Fringe guys on on a cheap deal you know I mean are they sexy are they great not always but they’re you know capable players so I think I mean Nick stalis and Wade Baldwin turned into a dude who won them a playoff game so you know it’s weird there’s weird things that happen when they even when they seemingly uh you know lay a dud there’s sometimes things that that help them down the road as long as they don’t totally botch it yeah I think that’s going to kind of uh be more so that I think than any other time in the last five years is is the what comes out of the summer at bare minimum you can’t hurt yourself anymore because of all of the impending deals that are coming up first of all obviously Dame supermax and then following that CJ mccullum’s deal and that like the what that’s going to do for the Blazers going forward they need to have a workable pallet as it were kind of going into that so they they they’ve they have to balance not falling off a cliff after our Western Conference Finals run and also not screwing it up I think it’s going to be a really really really really dangerous road to walk What would would no I’m not going to even go there I was going to say what what would be a a satisfying free agency for you at this point but it’s too it’s too early to discuss that I think don’t you I I don’t know if it’s necessarily too early but I mean like I I don’t know where where you stand on this mic but I think that if they if they do they can Bots this up without really like doing a lot like not doing enough could be a a problem so much so with nerkach out that if they screw around and if they have a slow start next season like they could viably miss the playoffs um just because of there’s so much uncertainty with with nurkic and then what happens in in the in the wing group but like the big thing for me is like just make sure you’re you’re not overextending yourself again and it’s just the the ramifications from that as we now know that they’re ridiculous yeah or just screw it and never never play free agency again take on a bunch more bad money and assume that your roster and a bunch of overpaid guys can get back to the Western car finals baby well I’m going to go back to dreaming about the dream scenario of the Blazers being the perfect Darkhorse candidate to um be involved in a trade for Anthony Davis you just want you just want Kevin Durant to take the league minimum come play for Portland for a year no no I don’t have time for Kevin Durant on this team okay I’m sure it would be wonderful no I mean I I don’t know I’ve just been thinking about just different one of the questions as I’ve been watching the warriors uh play in the playoffs has what do you think Boogie has done for his stock for uh the upcoming season the Lakers will love him yeah the funniest scenario is that he resigns with the Kings but um I mean it just it just seems like he’s not all the way well you know no obvious and he just isn’t like you know going to be able at least for quite a while to do all those things that made him so special yeah but also maybe he’s showing that he’s a good teammate and people who will buy in on the uh the talent coming around when he’s healthy and see that he’s U maybe all the things that stereotypes about him are untrue so maybe he’s maybe he’s making himself a little money back but yeah I mean he’s a huge injury concern and he’s a uh he has not been good since he was very very good briefly it happens you want to you got any other I mean there’s a lot of questions about free agency and everything but we kind of need to sort of no no let’s let’s wrap this up I mean this is this is kind of like the free agency primer primer because we’ll know I think more probably in the next week we’ll start hearing some things around yeah I mean we’re 10 days out from the draft we’re 10 days out it’s the stuff is going to happen in these next 10 days Blazer’s going to have three two or three more draft workouts so you get to see kind of what lowlevel prospects are coming through Portland and it just we just found out another one that’s coming through in uh uh was it jayen um the check he’s coming through and that’s another second round guy so they’re they’re continuing to bring in yeah it kind of yeah there’s a lot of indications that looks like they’re trying to trade out of that draft pick um it’s we’ll know it’s it’s all going to happen in the next 10 days like by draft night or by the end of draft night or whatever I think we’ll have a much clearer view of maybe what they’re going to aim for this summer so loading up on two second round picks instead of one first round pick is going to be cheaper I mean it’ll still it’ll s two second round picks still will be owed more than one first round pick but it’s two bodies get closer to that minimum roster size I’m so stressed out about that no it it it makes sense honestly because you have non-g guaranteed money you can split things up there’s there’s pay scales to it you don’t have to pay you know scaled amounts all the way through um there’s there’s a lot of things and really like we talking about with the draft like there are guys that a lot like with uh Steve had the the profile on the website today of a guy named Admiral shofield from Tennessee who’s who’s a kid I love and I’ve heard him mocked as high as 20 and as low as as as 42 so I mean if if you’re you’ve got that much variance uh from guys you know you can take those opportunities to to pick him up late on the cheap and I mean like like I said I’ve had my quals with Neil developing second round picks isn’t exactly a problem for this franchise right on well let’s go ahead and wrap it up then Mike thank you so much for joining us and yeah thanks for having me you got any things that you’re working on for us to look forward to this summer or should we just you know turn into Instagram to see pictures of you Mo on your lawn what’s what what do we uh my Instagram is mostly pictures of my cat and yeah um but uh I don’t know listen to lockdown Blazer uh wherever you get podcasts wherever you got this podcast just also go get Listen to Locked on blers how often will that be on during the summer time I do it a couple times a week at a very minimum so um it could be it could be as many as five if things really heat up around the draft but yeah I do it twice a week um the first one Mondays usually Thursdays but uh sometimes scheduling and news gets in the way so yeah lock down Blazers wherever you get it and will you be also doing stuff for NBC Sports Northwest over the summer or will that be kind of on Hiatus until the uh training camp and everything starts up again yes that’s what I’ll say perfect and how can people find you what are your what are your handles on social media I’m on Twitter at mik gich um don’t follow me anywhere else all right sounds good Dan what do you have coming up um stuff know usual thing uh no obviously we’ve got off day or off week offseason Outsiders on Tuesdays and Thursday nights Joe Simon shamber and I will be on Thursday nights uh we move to 6:30 New time slot for the summertime just make things a little bit easier for everybody else um only half hour episodes during the off season um otherwise you can find my writing here obviously at Blazers Edge and uh I I may be around for the podcast here next week perhaps not but uh yeah I’ll I’ll be gone for a few weeks in the summer and then probably off the summer league so hey hey fun times yeah we’re still working out our schedule for podcast in the summertime we’re going there will be at least one podcast coming to the Blazers Edge podcast feed every week during the summertime sometimes there will be two um I’ve got some really fun guests coming up for the women’s hoops and talks podcast and uh also like if people um you know have ideas about people that we should talk to who haven’t been on before I think it would be interesting to find out what’s on people’s mind and what they want to hear us talk about and who they like us to reach out to uh you can find me at TCB bigs on Twitter and I think that about does it for us this week for Dan and Mike thanks everyone for listening and we will catch you later [Music]
The off season is underway and we’re waiting to see what the Trail Blazers will do. Will they make a trade to get off of one of their larger contracts? Will they slide under the tax line to unlock the full MLE? Will they go all in to trade for a disgruntled super star? Or will they make moves around the edges to shore up their roster leading into next season? Tara and Dan are joined by Mike Richman (@mikegrich) of NBC Sports Northwest and the Locked On podcast to talk all about what is coming up next for the Trail Blazers.
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/20041728?utm_source=youtube
