Is Terry Stotts Untouchable? | Trail Daddy: A Trail Blazers Podcast Hosted by Dave Deckard

Is Terry Stotts Untouchable? | Trail Daddy: A Trail Blazers Podcast Hosted by Dave Deckard

hey sports fans if you want to stay in the know with the latest news surrounding the Oregon Ducks you need to listen to the weekly webfoot review podcast on iTunes and Spotify I’m Jordan Schultz and every week I’ll be here breaking down what’s going on in Eugene and how it affects Oregon’s football and basketball teams so if you want unfiltered news and opinions delivered by a lifelong Ducks fan subscribe to the weekly webfoot review on iTunes and Spotify go Ducks hey what’s up Blazer fans welcome to the Blazers Edge podcast I am terao and bigs joined as always by Blazers Outsider Danny mering Danny how you doing hi how are we doing I’m doing fine you sound a little like not great are you okay I’m I’m doing good I’m just I’m definitely not counting games remaining on the season not not at all are you are you down on the on the Blazers right now I’m well no I’m actually down on the floor curled up in a bowl in a fetal position a mic curled up to my chest please God make it stop we love the Blazers but there is a whole world out there as well that you can go you know take by the horns and and live it Dan you know I understand it was a definitely a rough week for the Blazers yeah yeah I mean to say the least I mean we aren’t going to sit here and berate the the games and beat them to death it’s uh they are what they are they were at M outmatched by the Celtics they I mean inexcusably lost to the Hawks and it’s you know there’s all it feels like every year there’s just an inexcusable loss to the Atlanta Haw yeah I mean we’ll talk about some some obviously some highlights from the game you know uh the arza Trey young situation and you know a couple other things that kind of come out of that game and what we have to look forward to but there’s no reason to go you know possession by possession in in those games it’s just not yeah no and I’ve kind of just burned him out of my memory anyway yeah um so I’m we’re not I’m Not Looking Back for the rest of the season I’m just looking forward and we’re just gonna we’re just going to get all through it um although you brought up the Trevor ARA and Trey young interaction that started with Trey young nutmegging arza and in the middle of itting to I I watched a whole bunch of times and I think it actually did go through his legs right but then he got the ball between his clocked before you got to get on was able to finish it yeah so where where do you where do you uh fall on this uh controversial topic I don’t know if it’s controversial where do you fall on this topic of nut making guys in the NBA uh it it’s kind of like the the old boxing adage when you step in you know in the ring protect yourself at all times and I think both guys kind of were Trey was feeling himself and some guys were yapping back and forth and Tre is one of those guys that this is where I’m going to go a little against him here he’s a bit of a front runner um but also what do you mean by he’s a bit of a front runner if things aren’t going well for him he’s he’s pretty down in the doldrums and and not he’s not showing out he’s he’s a little little little pouty um I he still got to learn I think the the ins and outs of when where who you can do that stuff to um I like the energy I like that he attempted it I like the audacity I I I I love all those things one of those things I was talking about uh a couple weeks ago is uh the idea of like where are the the guys that are willing to get a little risky to have a little bit of fun the Jason Williams the world you know the sub bonuses the behind the back I mean we got biggie out here doing it for you know keeping it alive throwing behind the back R passes but um they’re few and far between and so like I paron me once again like all right Trey I see you but also you don’t do that to a 16year NBA vet like that’s you just don’t do that okay so here’s the thing though why don’t you I mean like okay it’s when when I watch the game I see guy I’m a soccer player first so when I watch the game I see guys with their legs wide open all the time and I think why why doesn’t anybody just dribble right through there because they’re wide open and if you’re going to sit there and expose yourself like that and it’s legal why not do it uh I think it’s it’s again like it’s one of those kind of Unwritten rules thing and I know they getting these kind of arguments all the time when we talk about rules and sports but I think like throwing a pass through somebody’s legs is seen as like okay I I see you that was that was clean I think purposefully trying to Nutmeg somebody outside of an Allstar competition is is seen as trying to show somebody up wait what’s the difference between passing between somebody’s legs and trying to nut make them listen I don’t make the rules ter I just abide by them it’s the same thing right it’s not the same thing oh because you’re saying make a pass as opposed to your dribbling and you go through somebody’s legs while you’re dribbling it’s like an one just mad disrespectful like it’s think about it like and again I think it’s more about showing somebody up than making a a a nice play or you know had a little flare to to what’s going on uh whether you agree with that or not I mean it’s sure that that’s certainly up for discussion um this where I kind of find my feelings mixed to like as somebody who’s quite literally the same age as Trevor um if some like 18-year-old TW tried that on me on 24 I would literally do the exact same thing that he did and I was no nope nope that’s not happening because I think if you take that to like the professional level Trevor’s been in the league for 16 years he’s 35 years old he’s not dealing with that crap he wants to go do that to Dame he wants to try that with Dame or CJ go ahead go right ahead do like how many years it’s about your contemporaries it’s the same kind of thing with like Donovan Mitchell going off about Gary Trent Jr you don’t punch down like you don’t punch down like that’s that’s that’s the rule like if you want to be considered as he was just he was just a starter in an All-Star Game you don’t go after the 35-year-old vet you you think you’re you’re you’re that nice go try that crap on Kawai like you Kawai probably wouldn’t stand there with his legs wide open listen I what I’m saying is you you don’t go after the 35-year-old 16year vet like that’s not the guy you do that to there’s a a a little bit of a respect your elders thing and that’s like the the difference between throwing a pass through somebody’s leg and again meing them and trying to dribble it through their legs it’s like it’s there’s levels to disrespect and I think that’s that’s one of those things where you’re like no man that’s that’s definitely not happening well as far as content goes it uh it continue to deliver for the rest of the night cuz my favorite part was at the end of the game the video that caught uh Trevor arza like pulling uh Trey young in for a hug but it was like the most like it was such a dramatic like Le violent hug and stuck his nose right in his armpit and he was just like here you go we’re friends that was say don’t ever let that crap happen again Young Buck you hear me I got of love for you but don’t don’t do it to me or anybody like me like yeah like I I looked at arza and like right there in that moment I thought about what if he had tried to do that to Stephen Jackson late in his career what would have happened to him like that like Trey young would have been just dusted just straight ethered right then and there and I’m like I guess the NBA is a little bit a little bit different now I guess in that card but yeah there was that reaction and there was the arza had one with Vince Carter and it was much you could see uh uh old man recognized old man like head nod like back and forth and I I’m I’m nearly certain that was in recognition to like them throwing their heads back you know eyes back in their head like kids right I think that was there was a recognition of like yeah I know so I yeah I I just want to clarify that I’m not saying that arza shouldn’t have reacted arza has every right to act however he wants I’m just saying that if you’re going to have your eyes your legs wide open and somebody tries to dribble through them you can’t act very surprised about it that’s kind of the whole like you know protect yourselves at all times it’s you gota but also but I’m not mad at him is throwing him into the first row so yeah I’m not I’m not mad at him I’m just briefly now that arza has been with the team for a good solid several weeks and we we’ve seen you know enough I don’t think you’ve really talked sort of overall what your impressions are for uh I mean it’s hard to talk about like how he fits with this team right now because this team is just like such a collection of whoever is healthy um but just like you know in terms of like what you thought that he might be able to do as one of the Elder Statesmen in the league um how was he uh fulfilling your expectations or not they’ve needed a jerk since nur’s been out and he’s filling that role like literally he’s getting teed up he’s getting in people’s faces he’s yapping he’s barking he’s instigating and you can see that give Portland a bit of an edge I would say perhaps without Dame out on the floor the last couple games maybe they’ve had a little bit too much Edge yeah uh we we can talk about that a bit later perhaps but uh he’s had a couple big production nights but outside of that I think he’s been like more of what we expected in that he’s competent and that’s not a like everybody we’ll take competent no no that’s the thing like like that word has such a negative connotation in professional sports like the vast majority of guys in every professional League are not competent like competent everyday level players reason no they are if you look at the actual numbers behind it there are guys out there that are across every sport that are Specialists and there’s only certain things that they do above the required competency level I mean would tell any professional athlete that he wasn’t competent that would just be Road I wouldn’t want to tread on there’s a level of Competency no matter where you are in the world I don’t care if you’re learning your ABC’s or a professional athlete your competency of doing a particular thing matters and when we’re talking about a professional sport it matters the easy way to look at it is uh in the numbers and like the the the mark lines for a competent three-point shooter in the NBA it’s 37% you either get it or you don’t you have to be 37% now to be competent I mean that’s that’s your effective thought we were at like 3536 I would say competent is is 37 for your Baseline um I am glad that I do not have to learn my ABCs around you I would never be I’m probably not even competent at this point be able to do my but I mean you you take a look at the lines can move too like you look at baseball how many 300 hitters are out there now versus guys who can hit home runs it it’s being able to get on base versus generate runs is is a different thing now being a competent three-point shooter 20 years ago could have been a 33% three-point shooter like that line can move um but like I think Trevor’s a competent player I don’t think he has like a real hole in his game and I don’t think has uh anything he’s offering Portland that’s out of this world but he’s the most competent forward they’ve had since Batum like you Mo and chief were siloed like we talked about this a million times and with that Trevor can dribble a little bit you can see little little hints of amino in his drives there’s a little bit of chaos happening but it’s still tighter than than amino’s um he’s a uh more in tune and consistent Defender than Harless he’s a Corner three point shoot like he he steps into a three and I just like okay that’s fine like there’s very rarely a moment where he St oh yeah like oh here we go oh God oh God oh you know it’s with Trevor is there’s a track record yeah he’s a consistent three-point shooter um he gets him out in transition he can cover multiple positions like he’s not an all World Defender but he’s again competent or then and then some and that looks strikingly different to what Portland has to offer right now because you know they they’re just short on those kind of guys okay Trevor arza competent NBA player I I will take that let’s transition and start talking about defense um offense doesn’t seem to be the trouble with the Blazers right now defense seems to be where they are really struggling and I I say this saying I don’t want to spend a whole bunch of time on how the starters are playing defense that doesn’t make any sense these starters will not be the starters next season it is it is one of these guys is a starter next year right this is this is not the starting lineup from next year that’s the assumption that I am going on this is basically not the starting line so and frankly when those guys go out that’s when I start paying attention because I’m watching the the younger players right now as far as the defense goes over the years there’s been a really typical pattern Blazers are bad on defense Blazers get slightly better on defense Blazers get even better on defense suddenly Blazers are good at defense new Personnel Blazers are bad on defense Blazers get a little bit better on defense and then it takes a few years of working together till they get to be a competent or better than competent defense and now we were back at the beginning stages what do you see in these younger players who may you know end up sticking around this they can build on so that they can get better at their defense and so that next year when they are like the bench players they can hold it down I mean you look at guys like Gary you look at ant you look at wnan you look at Nas and you just you can see different platforms and and how they can evolve Gary’s obviously becoming one of better Port Portland’s better Defenders on ball shooting the Gap getting out in transition and somehow turning into the best transition finisher they have which is insane I love okay can I just say I love how he dribbles what is it about the way he dribbles it’s just how tight he keeps it to his body yeah the ball doesn’t get wor no it’s like the it’s like he’s got like an actual string attached to his chest and the ball can only go so far away from his chest and it’s just it he doesn’t get beautiful he does like the difference between him and like ant or CJ who let like leave the ball out way they have that long also yeah like an in particular because he’s got such long arms if you watch him when he goes through the legs like he has to like work it into his compact dribble and then explode out of it Gary’s like always in a compact dribble it’s just he just keeps everything really tight to him and so it it kind of looks like this little you know he has a bit of a a a pitbull kind of build to him when he dribbles even like it’s it it’s definitely unique but it allows we supposed to be talking about defense sorry yeah no it’s fine um but Gary I mean he’s looking like he has the potential to perhaps be a plus defender in the future he still play plenty of mistakes he’s still got to work on a few things uh screen navigation anticipation things like that but that comes with time um but he’s already on a nice a nice stale platform ant needs to learn how to navigate screens um he’s getting better at it and I actually have a a pretty a higher expectation I think of most people have of him or any Prospect who’s you know more offensive oriented and that’s because of his physical profile because he has such long arms because he is so quick I would like to see him be a guy that kind of gambles from time to time because he could he should be let’s be honest an explosive transition finisher but by the way now we’re talking about defense but he damn near murdered an entire arena with that dunk to that Miss dunk I know that was such a because that would have been amazing um I it looked like he was shot out of a cannon kid is real quick and for everybody else who didn’t see this on Twitter ant does a dunk at the end of every pregame warmup with uh Moran tossing him a lob before they went on this road trip he he caught a lob and went 360 through the legs and he just threw it down right in front of me and he made it look so easy he just land and just kind of gave me a head walked away I was like what the hell there’s but when you see stuff like that a lot like when you see physical profiles from a guy like Zion like you like you just want to see those kind of guys get free transes or free chances in transition so as far as def competent yeah yeah just I I want to see him navigate screens better H uh have his instincts you know heightened a little bit and I want to see him maybe get out and Gamble and get some easy opportunities I think it’s the kind of thing that could could get him and a second unit going really well um Wan and how he fits right now actually Wan and this year are both kind of the same mold they’re both high energy guys and I think that there’s a place for both those guys on this roster going forward as switchable long strong effective Defenders on the perimeter helps side Defenders shot blockers rebounders Hustlers like they they both are kind of what you’re looking for in modern defenders in the NBA strong good side to side Mobility multi-positional like both those guys can cover what legitimately two through four and Portland is just has not had those guys outside of you know mo Chief Nick like they just they haven’t been there um and so what are oh go ahead so so what are those guys supposed to do next year alongs whoever’s going to be playing Center because the way that the Blazers you know play their Center is really specific and so like I can see how individual defense develops but what I’m trying to figure out is how they’re going to fit into the system and what that system is going to look like next year because I don’t even know what it looks like when um the bench is in anymore because I don’t even know who’s playing Center when the bench is in anymore I think I think a lot of what especially those two will end up doing will be guys who are tendency and scheme Breakers they get up when you know a point guard like Trey young is starting to feel comfortable you put NS on ball on him and then you trap him with a guy like Wan with his exceptional length and and quickness and size and you bother him you you Blitz screens you Blitz pick and rolls you come up and you and you you switch early on dhos so you can keep the ball on one side of the floor you know those are the kind of things that those guys can do because of their effectiveness and Mobility like Zach’s mobile for a guy his size but he’s still not in that upper echelon of guys at that kind of tween or four like he can cover the bigger guys and step out with you know the longer guys um and I think where he’s better off is is like on a guy like Giannis as opposed to Jason Tatum because they both effectively play the four for long stretches and can see those guys you know or guarding you see Zach guarding both those guys and they’re both very very very very different whereas somebody like Nas or or Wan I think could more effectively guard the smaller guy which I think are the harder guys um to cover for Portland like when it come I’m not saying Giannis is easy to cover by any means the league I’m just saying that Portland has not had a answer for even those those Wing prototypes who swing up to that position and I think those guys are going to be the ones who allow a nerkish to play Closer to the rim and to be that center fielder because of their their physicality their strength their their agility and their ability to switch across the board yeah I wasn’t quite sure if you were saying that you thought when and Gabriel would be better at defending Giannis than Zach Collins or not I was I didn’t think that’s what you were saying no I was saying I’m glad we clarify that but one of the things that I am most disappointed about this season is I really did want to see how Zach Collins was going to be developed and how he was going to be used because you know I I was wondering if they were going to use you know nurkic and Collins eventually the way that they use Damon CJ you know where they uh switch them in and out and CJ plays like the backup point guard when Dame goes out and I was wondering if they were going to slide Zach Collins over to play the center when goes out but we’re never going to know or we we don’t know we have to just keep waiting yeah I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to work but we actually have a question about Zack Collins so we should we have a lot of questions so let’s get to those let’s get to them okay so first up from burlicious M says I want us to win as many games as possible and go to the playoffs that said if we do not who are some players you see us drafting with a 9 through 12 range lottery pick now have you even had a chance to start I’m sure you have start looking never mind let me just back that question up of course you have you got a list of them under your pillow yeah let me pull my I actually have my project my my projections we have a lot of questions so we’re gonna go cheat yeah let me let me pull my spreadsheet up I guess who should we be watching is there are there people in the are some of them in you know going to be in March Madness um yeah honestly a lot of them are so that’s cool but what’s funny is like top five aren’t that’s that’s are they like European well you’ve got lamelo and oh right Denny who were both overseas wisan is isn’t wisman isn’t playing either so and then Edwards is at Georgia and aoro is at Auburn so you know it’s it’s one of those things but um there this draft is going to be weird and before everybody I want to establish one thing real quick I when I talk about like Lottery and and picks and value and all this just because the Blazers get a pick does not mean I’m sitting here campaigning for the Blazers to draft somebody and keep that player with that pick like the whole point of quote unquote tanking is asset collection and for some people that asset could be an actual player for some GMS that could be the mystery box do you take the boat or you take the mystery box depends on the GM some GMS just can’t help themselves and they want to throw the dice in the mystery box some people want the you know the actual pick that or the actual player and you know that’s how you know that asset Collection comes along so just because I say I want the Blazers to tank I hear that well what do they need what do they need a 19-year-old for it’s like that’s not necessarily the only option that we have at play here that maybe there’s a another team that we know values that and you you attach it to something else and it has more value um but to kind of get back at like some of the prospects that are out there you know ter all those times where last couple years there have been so many wings available that it’s just like wow it would be great if Portland could just get down in the lottery again as would be their luck they get down the lottery and there’s two Wings in like the top 25 it is nothing but bigs and guards the only real wings quote unquote or a CO or Denny and probably if you want to put Obie in there fine Obie’s kind of more of a three four than anything else okay what are their full names and where do they play because I don’t know anything about the draft right now I’m totally behind on that so you got Denny Adia who’s playing over in Israel okay and Steve dwall did a profile on him probably about a month and a half ago okay um then you’ve got Isaac aor what does he play ALB he’s a these are the wings these are the wings okay yeah Isaac aoro at Auburn uh Obi toen at Dayton who’s a guy who I’m very high on who might be in Portland’s range but I think he’s going to go earlier than that and then you get more at these hybrid five or four three fours that are up if you want to compare them to somebody on the Blazers it’s like nir little and that’s when you get uh precious auua who’s at Memphis uh precious was at uh hoop Summit last year and while he shot still needs a ton of development he can take over a game with his athleticism he’s got a little bit of that m mentality uh he very very aggressive and wants to dunk on an entire team regularly very very very headstrong young man uh great kid too got to spent a couple days talking to him he’s he’s a good kid so and he’s like a three four yeah and he’s probably gonna go anywhere from 12 to 16 so that could be a region Portland picks in um Jaden McDaniels is is a is listed as a four but he’s probably more of a four five cuz he’s 610 and doesn’t have the lateral Mobility um so it’s it’s one of those things where if Portland was going to change how they’re going about things or if they wanted to get you know somebody else they would need to probably get in the top 10 or inside the top 10 to get a guy like Obie who is one of the older guys in the draft but he’s also 69 to20 so he would give them a size profile that they really haven’t been able to you know feature at any point in time recently well and the boys are like gu they’ve they’ve had some real success um bringing in small school older guys older yeah I mean he fits the kind of guy Dayton’s not exactly a basketball Powerhouse they they’re a good program but you know their their ability to pluck guys from those situations and says Neil o it does especially when you start talking about picking between you know six and 10 and toin is going to be probably right in that range the places have done pretty well in that range uh one thing I want to uh say is that with Trevor arza having been on the team I have been thinking about how he does really fit the kind of the needed skill set like you’ve talked about before not just being one-dimensional but having a variety of things that he does and it seems to me like if they could find somebody you know like him younger that they can develop that would be um a really useful person on this team yeah here’s the thing I like AR I think he’s he’s a solid player he’s he’s done enough for Portland for to justify them bringing him back or bare minimum to keep him as an asset but he should not be Portland’s opening day starter and that’s not even like if Hood’s healthy kind of a deal like or not healthy it’s he’s not a starter in the league and that’s not it’s not like throwing [ __ ] at him he’s going to be 36 like if you want to be a competent team and and and be pushing towards you know you know a rebound year he can’t be your starting small forward well and you know the likelihood of a rookie coming in and immediately starting to play is not high but if there was a year where they could have some degree of being able to switch in and out people who did like basically the same thing but one is not as good at it and he needs to skill up so he can get as good at it like if they can have sort of that through line of you know basically the same consistent skill sets being utilized they would just be switching in a part that maybe isn’t quite as good yet but you know is gonna get there and that’s again that’s they kept the guy yeah so right um but there’s another part of that question where like the whole idea of chasing playoffs but maybe it’s draft it’s going to have to happen here pretty soon one way or the other where Portland is just going to like you know what we’re just going to bite the bullet and we’re just going to keep trying to get this playoff spot or they’re going to have to flip the switch I mean they’re running out of bodies that’s yeah that the next question is really a comment from uh bmax PDX who says I hate to say it but I don’t think playoffs or Lottery is even feasible question right now yeah it seems like we’re getting real close to I mean like because Damen lard is on this team even though he’s injured right now and on the bench until it’s mathematically impossible we’re never going to think that it’s impossible um on AAR thing a lot less likely especially with you know the Pelicans On The Rise and The Grizzlies you know coming out and having a great game against Lakers the other night it’s just it just Kings and Spurs the Blazers as we record right now here on Sunday night the Blazers are in 12th only only in the west only the Suns tea wolves and warriors have more losses and in the East um well it’s the East the Wizards who are ninth and everybody down so right now if if things stopped right now Portland would pick 11th based on their positioning but there’s there’s a real likelihood that they could get to 10th ninth is probably a little harder but to be honest actually they’re only like two games off the off the Wizards right now God so yeah they they could get to ninth but they would basically need to shut some things down and and shutting things down doesn’t mean not playing Damen Lillard if he’s healthy it means not playing him 38 minutes M and I I don’t know if that gets a if that if that actually happens but I think if there’s a chance to improve your your lottery odds and get a better asset and the season that’s going to be probably the most important season offseason of Damen L’s career um I think you do it I I think you try to find a way to do it and and manage your asset collection best you can I am just so worried about somebody else getting hurt especially CJ considering what a huge load that he is carrying right now I was looking over the weekend for mom’s favorite I was just looking at how much work he’s doing to try to kind of put in context you know the load that he’s carrying right now and it’s just like at the ends of these games he just looks so beat down and not like you know not discouraged or bad but it’s just like what else can he do how many more times can he literally get kicked in the you know what and keep getting up and keep on going he’s just uh and I’m just like so uh I’m worried that uh because they’re so thin and you know the guys who are healthy are carrying such a load that at some point there’s going to be more injuries so let’s knock on with that there’s not going to be let’s talk about one player who’s going to be at some point coming back from injury and this is from Dwayne Peterson at Dwayne Peterson people have high hopes about Zach and his impact with this team should we all really expect him to be a savior of sorts even if it’s next year he hadn’t exactly shown himself to be consistent with play or fouls prior to this year are people building him up in their minds too much I think that’s a great question probably we are because we’re looking for anything that we can be hopeful about right now like I think it’s probably a little bit more fair to say that of like YF nerkish not not that he’s a savior quality I think Dame’s the only guy that really qualifies for that but NK had a little bit down from Savor is yeah nerk definitely is a guy who has lifted all boats like that’s he’s done that before we’re just still waiting for Zach to get through a season of being a starter so I have my my hopes for him but I think my expectations are hopes and and hopes are still pretty far apart uh as as they are sounds like you’re feeling yeah well and it sounds like you’re thinking that from what you’ve heard from fans that uh there isn’t as much pressure that that you’re seeing on Collins is there is on nerk right now yeah and I think sort of the general feeling yeah which may be a good thing for for Zach um and the thing is so everybody knows Zach wants to get back unequivocally he is clawing I I saw some people in some comments that I tried to uh address this the other day there’s a difference between Zach saying he’s coming back and the team saying he’s coming back Zach is going to want to come back he you should all see him before pregame he’s going after workouts like a mad dog like he he he hits them hard you can you can just see him seething to get back on the court which is awesome to see you want want to see a guy who’s just just chomping at the bit to get back out there um but you can see there’s still some things that aren’t quite ready yet and because it’s a shoulder the Blazers are going to take this incredibly carefully because if if he comes back out there and he re-injures it then we’re talking about changing his career trajectory because once those shoulders go they just keep going and going and going and going and uh it’s it’s not worth it to put him back out there if he’s not absolutely unequivocally 100% And there’s no no threat or issue of him you know reinjuring that coming into next season it’s it’s it’s totally clear that how much he wants to come back and and and I have to say I have admired and been impressed at how he engaged he’s managed to be all year because I don’t know how easy that is especially if you don’t know when you’re coming back but he’s just been a solid guy he’s been a solid cheerleader on the bench he’s been just I’ve I’ve just really come to appreciate that about him about his just being a good teammate um in term I mean they’re all good teammates but like his willingness even though he can’t played you know to be out there him and nerk you know to be there like 110% for everybody on every possession and it’s just been it was just a a i I hadn’t seen before um and but one thing that I I think I can’t remember if it was uh in ad Jason quick story earlier this year I’m sorry I can’t remember but at some point I think it was Rodney Hood talked about working out with Zach and saying that Zach was kind of a maniac and I’m like I need followup I want to know what working out is like with Zach because apparently it’s very intense and we have not yet had the followup to that yeah I in the wait room he must be really going at it yeah I mean he you can see him out there like he there he’s he’s dying to get back on the floor and he’s he’s still a kid so yeah this is this is all knows and not being able like to you know to take that away from a young guy like that it’s you know for the first time his career he’s you know had it taken away from him so yeah I mean he could be down and morose about it but he seems there’s probably where those happen and we just don’t see them but you I can tell you this the kid wants to get back out there and that’s awesome okay next question is from Jeff Workman at jwks who says personally I wouldn’t mind seeing swanigan return do you see a scenario in which this happens if I squint if I squint I see it I think if if it comes down to it and the Blazers have to decide at the end of the roster between him and Wan I think they look at Wan I think he’s more of your modern style player that especially that Portland’s been missing uh I know him and KD look like they’re built in the same lab with their legs um but wuns wn’s his motor set at a thousand at all times not that big he’s not um but Wan can cover more ground get to that first and second jump quicker his defensive profile and who he can cover with his lateral quickness and just his agility in general I mean you if you’re comfortable with him basically on one through four uh on switches like I swanigan does have that nice ability to create here and there that’s I was just gonna say the the difference where it comes particularly down the offensive end and that’s where where biggie comes in um biggie couldn’t finish is first two years in the league and that was his biggest problem that was what basically led to him being Expendable uh when he got sent to Sacramento the first time um was the inability to finish over really anybody and over the last couple weeks not only is he you know working as a playmaker but his postf foot work his confidence is kind of returned he’s finishing at The Rim that little movie he had the other night in Atlanta was it against Collins I think it I think it was against Collins he backed him down that little bit got him to the got him to lean inside and hits him with the reverse spin back finishes oh yeah it was really C it footwork is really tight the balance was good coordination was good got his shoulder into them and finished over and that’s kind of more of the biggie that we saw uh in college and we saw it again against IND he had a good game against Indiana too was able to with bang with sabonis and Miles Turner and those guys and uh again I if I squint I can see them looking at Caleb over Wan but I think Wan’s more of what the modern um tweener big kind of guy is is what what teams are looking for so but I I I wouldn’t be against them bringing back biggie okay so next up Jenny at Berg Gina b r g j n a says I kind of think the load management is answering itself we don’t have to load manage because players are already resting due to injuries and I would pretty much agree with that I I do in a sense and I think that most people would probably feel that’s probably what kind of how things are working out but I think more of what I’m looking at is when guys come back when Dame comes back if ant misses any time when ant comes back you know not that ant needs to be load manag just how do you who do you give minutes to how do you give them you know you give a guy a night off do you what do you do how do you do it and you know does it become a full commitment to it um there’s still plenty of people who are just like no keep if Dame’s healthy play him every minute you can play him and I’m just I feel like CJ’s earned a little bit of uh time off yeah again gu working so hard I just I I look at him and I’m like ah maybe he could have an night off like yeah maybe CJ could only play 30 minutes instead of yeah you know and and the thing is like you look at the standings right now as bad as the things have been for the Blazers I think if like one thing goes sideways tonight or tomorrow excuse me before the Blazers play uh I think if the Suns win I think is what it is yeah if the Suns win the nine through like 13 will be a game and a half apart and that’s you know what two games back uh or excuse me three games back of the eight seed so it’s still feasible but seems like every night it’s just getting a little bit F away we’re starting to run out of games here guys all right we got two oh Oh no you’re fine okay ready so we got two questions coming up from where at where the hoop at J Mari uh first one is Terry st’s Untouchable currently the concerning part of his coaching is when he drops the big the first few games against Steph Curry in the playoffs twice and James Harden adjustments don’t come until desperation sets in uh Terry st’s Untouchable I think there’s probably only like three coaches maybe four in the league who were Untouchable uh SPO Bud pop doc five Stevens doc yeah Stevens and Stevens beyond that Terry’s like right there and what makes him Untouchable is is Dame like I don’t don’t know if Neil is tied to him I don’t know if ownership is tied to him Dame is certainly tied to him unabashedly when you look at like SPO the players are tied to him the organization’s tied to him Pat Riley looks at him like a son like everything goes through him yeah and and Mickey Arison is is was with Pat and SPO so that’s like a direct line same with with uh pop and Bud is now the the BFF of the best player in the NBA so you you can’t touch him and docs got rings and the respect of all his guys and he’s not going anywhere there so um Terry’s like if he’s not tier one he’s tier onea he’s he’s right well and what can they do when he doesn’t have his players nothing that’s the thing like that’s not just a a like a you know a feeling that’s that’s what’s happening there’s there’s that people I’ve talk to locally nationally it’s the same feeling that nobody looks dos like be better like yeah no he he got dealt a really crappy hand and there’s just no there’s no managing a mash unit it doesn’t happen and I think we forget is this team wasn’t set even when it was healthy coming into this year because the plan was always to move on from guys like basemore and H and because of all of the circumstances this year we still don’t really know what the roster composition is going to look like now next year so it’s it’s going to be interesting yeah well part two from J Mari at where the hoop at is if Stan Van Gundy said give me the Blazers what are y’all doing okay my answer for that is just because every just because weed is legal in Oregon doesn’t mean that we’re all gonna smoke it and say come on Stan Van Gundy I just don’t think it would be a good fit I especially over Terry dots listen if you if you if St wanted to work for Terry and particularly work on the defensive end and build a blanking wall yeah be my guest baby I I am all for it 100% And honestly him being the Brash Zealot you know that’s that’s preaching you know a basketball gospel while Terry’s like hey man you know you just do what you do you know be little MCC listen he’s not replacing stats no he’s not replacing him honestly like I would love love love love love love love love if SVG was on on the bench of STS like I think that would be a a fantastic marriage little yin to the Yang I can I I can see that I don’t I guess I can see but I would I would very much you know what maybe he’ll be one of those guys that’s like hey turns out Portland is cool Melo said it was cool I thought I’d come try it too also not being the head coach and dealing with all the crap uh is cool hey look I’m the assistant coach I get none of the blame you know so like that part of it could be kind of cool all right well we’ll see what happens okay we got a couple more questions to get through Brad street racing at Bob Brad street says do you think the Blazers being so quite on a Time Quiet on a timeline with nerk has anything to do with what happened between the Spurs and Quai meaning just let nerk come back when he’s feeling good and ready with no timeline so there’s no bitterness between them okay it’s not a one for one here but something I did want to bring up because the something that people are tending to forget um nerk is managed by clutch now so that that’s a real thing and they dictate terms that’s that’s how it goes Rich Paul and LeBron James have built an Empire where they dictate terms two teams um and that kind of happened for the first time when the Blazers when news leaked that nerk may or may not be you know gearing up towards a comeback then all of a sudden sources say that nerk is not coming back until after the All-Star break those sources were straight out of clutch that’s that’s his agent that’s their representation that’s where the sources came from um and that’s them basically saying you can talk about him returning all you want but he ain’t returning until he’s ready to go after the All-Star break now I don’t think that’s necessarily playing a part right now it’s just something to keep in the back of your head when you look at this situation and particularly any situation that involves a clutch client as of right now I think they’re downplaying this because the excit that came around when Dame leaked that nerk was in practice and then he gets the calf injury and now you had all this build up a no payoff now I think they’re basically saying no we’re just going to go ahead and say not a damn word and do our usual stuff which is very standard operating procedure for the Blazers and then one day nerk just going to appear on the active chart I think that’s how they’re treating it like instead of you know giving a timeline giving this that way if he does or doesn’t meet something I mean the Warriors said Steph was going to play today and he didn’t make that day and then you had all of the blown 3-1 Jokes which Bravo Twitter Bravo I know that was really good that was those were really really good okay but I don’t quite I don’t quite get what you’re not saying about clutch I feel like there’s like lines I should be reading in between but I’m not getting them about him being a clutch sport person are you saying that they they will they will be the one who will be working they’re going to be the ones to determine when nerk is getting back so like the team might say okay we’re waiting you know we think that he’s ready when he says that he’s ready and then nerk will work with his managers to decide what ready looks like for him I think they’re always going to be there because that’re what they’re doing and in essence it’s it’s a fantastic thing is they are 100% unequivocally looking out for their client’s interests that’s that’s their job not the team they do not care about the team nor should they and I think that’s always going to be there at the Forefront where a lot of times in the past those things were handled very much behind the scenes you know that’s that’s that’s the good old boys club of like hey you know you scratch my back I scratch yours hey he’s not ready he’s not feeling ready um what can we do to kind of maybe string this out for a few more days you these are just the the kind of not necessarily coded but definitely uh messages are pushed out there they’re like hey it’s cool you guys are talking about him uh coming back but he’s not coming back until you know he says and we say he’s ready to come back this is just them flexing their muscle right well and the comparison to the Kawai example was that they the team thought that he was ready to go and he did not feel like he was ready to go him him and Uncle Dennis and again it’s it’s it’s different but it’s the same kind of relationship where it’s like no we say we’re ready when we say we’re ready uh as to when the team says they’re ready and um I don’t with the Blazers I think that’s just the that was just clutch kind of flexing a little bit of muscle that’s all and even more than that I think they’re downplaying everything right now so there are no baselines or or you know guidelines for when and where he’s going to come back it’s when it’s when he’s ready so you kind of think both sides are being deliberately quiet because they don’t want neither side wants to put out expectations that are not there’s nothing to gain yeah there’s nothing to gain here got it okay our last question of the Night comes from Jasper at n’s best uh do you think if we lose Melo Hass and ARA next year we’ll still have a chance at contention also if we were to have that happen what would we do at small forward uh I think meelo’s as good as gone anyways and and both arza and Whit Sider if they bring them back they’re they’re bench players um I there’s just not a world that exists that I can see Yousef nerkish coming off the bench and coming out for another pick I just very very hard for me to even fathom that right um I don’t think that Aza if he comes back is the answer is a starting small forward you’re still going to work in uh nerk and Collins and I think that they need something more explosive at that position uh and this is why I talk about this being the most probably important offseason of of Damen Lillard’s career as far as roster formation goes because they get something wrong here they’re they’re pretty much stuck and we kind of hit on that last week but I they already have coming back they have nerk Collins hood Dame CJ they’ve got Simons and Trent and still have a very very very big hole they still need a wing and that’s the most prominent position in the NBA right now look at every top team in the league every single one of them save the Denver Nuggets who were the the kind of outlier here but they have the outlier big they have something that’s different has a there there’s a premier wing on every single one of these teams and and Hill Portland answers that question in a way that’s more successful than Trevor arza I think that ceiling’s pretty pretty solid they’ll be a good team there’s no doubt about that when healthy this is a 50ish win team like that’s a good team but it depends on what your level of competitive is like if you’re saying competitive is like being in the playoff hunt yes unequivocally there Damien Lillard unequivocably this is that’s gonna be the title for this episode unequivocal une I can’t even say that word unequivocally unequivocally competent this is an unequivocally competent episode but yeah that’s that’s kind of like like the floor with a healthy Damen Lillard and again competent players is probably like 45 wins he’s just that you start throwing in other guys and you get up to 50 51 52 um but I don’t so losing those guys does I don’t think it really hurt doesn’t set him back no here’s the thing like Portland only reason they signed Melo is because it was desperation the only reason they traded for a reason was because of desperation the only because they the only reason they moved for whide was because of desperation like none of those moves happen none of them none of those moves happen without injuries so it’s hard for me to see them being a huge picture as far as when they’re like planning for the Rost roster building going forward well who whatever whatever ends up while we’ve been talking I’ve been sketching on my little pad and I wrote down I wrote down Outlet passes hard screens and dunks and I drew hard around it that’s what that’s what I would like to see uh the blaz those are like little those are little holes that I see that would bling a lot of enjoyment for me and I think also would um add good elements to the game but because like when I like because I was going back and looking like well if all those guys are gone and everybody else is healthy yeah I don’t feel like it loses anything but there’s still a gap and it’s that Wing that you’ve been talking about so if either through the draft or through trade they can find somebody who’s really good at Outlet passes who sets hard screens and dunks and is also you know a wing who can shoot three and play defense I think they should sign him don’t you yeah that would be wonderful I would very much all for that from from from your lips to God’s ears that’s from my mouth to God’s ears all right let’s do it well Dan we made it through all the questions okay WP we managed to have uh we I don’t want to talk about these games I I don’t want to talk about these other games I don’t want to do it no we’re just we’re taking it one game at a time and we’re going to just enjoy what there is to enjoy and not dwell on not dwell on things that there’s we don’t have any control over anymore Orlando games coming up tonight yeah just don’t don’t even look just like wake up in the morning surprised at who you get to watch look it’s Orlando yay all right yeah I wonder if CJ is gonna talk to for at all I going to um Phoenix for the game so I’m excited to go check out Talking Stick Arena later this week worst name arena in sports yeah well I don’t know Smoothie King Hey listen once you have a Smoothie King you’ll understand okay oh yeah well well I’ll anyway I’m excited to go down there and and check that out and see what happens yeah like the expectations it’s not that like I have low expectations I just have no expectations and so expectations no no expectations all right we should wrap it up here uh you can find my stuff at TCB bigs on Twitter you can follow the hoops and talks podcast also at hoops and talks you can find Blazers Edge podcast wherever you get your podcast and you can follow Blazers Edge on Twitter at Blazers Edge Dan why don’t you go ahead and take us out of here all right folks as always you can find me on social media at Danny morang on actually on Twitter on and everyone else at d merang as well as on NBC Sports Northwest following every Blazers game with Joe Simons uh we’ve got a couple things we have planned coming up for the final you know quarter of the Season here the the home finish um and then uh you know whether the Blazers make the playoffs we might have some other things that’s that’s still in the works because we have to plan for everything uh however unlikely numerically ruled out however unlikely and uh then we’ll kind of go from there but uh thanks to the ride so far this season uh the everything you know all the feedback we’ve gotten all the questions all the comments and uh we actually should have an update here I know a lot of people have been asking about a online live kind of feed like we used to have with Facebook live I think we’re going to have an answer for that kind of going forward so kind of looking forward to to unveiling that in the next couple weeks other than that for terara I’m Danny we’ll catch you guys all next week bye hey sports fans if you want to stay in the know with the latest news surrounding the Oregon Ducks you need to listen to the weekly webfoot review podcast on iTunes and Spotify I’m Jordan Schultz and every week I’ll be here breaking down what’s going on in Eugene and how it affects Oregon’s football and basketball teams so if you want unfiltered news and opinions delivered by a lifelong Ducks fan subscribe to the weekly webfoot review on iTunes and Spotify go Ducks

On this week’s episode of the Blazer’s Edge podcast Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at where the Blazers are and how to rationalize the season, the unwritten rules of basketball, the growth of the deep bench, early looks at draft prospects, how safe is Coach Stotts, the return of Jusuf Nurkic and more!

Intro
Opening comments
Trae Young, Trevor Ariza & the unwritten rules 3:00
How has Ariza looked in a Portland uniform? 8:00
Competence is not a bad word! 10:00
Taking a look at the young guys and their defensive issues/growth 13:00
Nassir Little and Wenyen Gabriel and what could they turn into? 18:00
Listener questions! 21:00
Who are some players the Blazers could look at between 9-12 in the Draft? Obi Toppin, Onyeka Okungwu, Deni Avdija 22:00
Why a pick matters more than just drafting a young player 23:40
Looking ahead to Zach Collins and his return- are we maybe building up too many expectations? 32:00
Deciding between Gabriel and Swanigan for a deep roster spot next year 36:00
Load management is happening whether we want it to or not. 39:00
Is Terry Stotts untouchable? 41:00
Do you think that the way the Blazers have handled the timeline for Nurkic’s return has anything to do with being aware of how things went with Kawhi and the Spurs? 44:30
Looking at the possible returns of Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza and Hassan Whiteside 49:00
Closing Comments 52:00
Outro
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/121512?utm_source=youtube