Portland Trail Blazers Offseason Moves Stalled + Deandre Ayton Gets Closer to The Olympics

Portland Trail Blazers Offseason Moves Stalled + Deandre Ayton Gets Closer to The Olympics

in today’s show we talk about the Blazers off season which is in a bit of a holding pattern plus DeAndre Aton and the Bahamas are inching closer to an Olympic birth welcome to lockdown Blazers let’s get into [Music] it you are locked on Trailblazers your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s up world it’s your pass first point guard and Trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond you’re listening to another episode of Locked on Blazers part of the locked on podcast network available wherever you get Podcast and also on YouTube thanks for making this show your first listen coming out to each and every weekday Monday through Friday so make it a part of your daily routine make your first listen tell your friends to do the same it’s lockdown Blazers your team every day in today’s show I guess we’re going to talk about the Lakers a little bit I promise some real relevance to Jeremy Grant the Blazers and kind of where the off season stands at the moment then we’ll talk about da and the Bahamas DeAndre Aon is in Spain an inching closer to a showdown Sunday in Valencia against host Spain with a chance to make the Olympics on the line I have watched DeAndre aton’s games this week and I’ll tell you what he looks like in the second segment plus we’ll close the show talking Justin manah the Blazers two-way player back again on another two-way deal and the Blazers are running running it back we’ll talk about where they stand and what what’s the deal in the third segment join join me there but first let’s let’s talk about the Lakers I guess uh the way that the national media covers the 10th or 11th best team in the Western Conference can be a little bit exhausting um I understand the Lakers have the best player that I’ve ever seen the best player of his generation I’m not old enough to remember Michael with hair um LeBron’s the best player I’ve ever watched play basketball I’m very comfortable saying that but he gets covered in a way that is a little bit much and now his son’s on the team and this a little bit much so I don’t mean to inundate you with here’s what the Lakers are doing but what the Lakers are doing is relevant to what the blers are doing so let’s start there um on you listening to Thursday July 4th show and on Wednesday morning the Lakers and LeBron James agreed to a new contracts where LeBron will get a OnePlus One deal which means he gets a Max contract for this year and the ability to a player option for The Following Season he can opt out and resign another one you know he’s going to it’s what he does he also got a no trade clause he’s now one of two players in the league with a no trade clause the man has the power and he’s going to use it here’s the thing though if the Lakers give LeBron the full Max contract they’re capped at the second apron which means they’re done dealing and that’s where the Blazers come in the Lakers have been reportedly interested in Jeremy Grant first reported by Yahoo sports last week and covered right here on this very podcast what I mentioned on the on on that very podcast was that like a deal in basic construction is very very easy to put together ruy haimura and Gabe Vincent makes the money work with Jeremy Grant it’s very very simple and but the Lakers do two picks that they owe a a swap with with New Orleans that they owe as well as a as well as a top four protected pick to the Utah Jazz part of the Russell Westbrook deal they can only trade to Future first because they have some encumbered first and there’s rules about trading picks in consecutive years they can trade two future first so all they’ve got to give in in trades is is two is is those two picks uh and some money to make it work but if they’re at if they’re hard capped at the second apron which means that they can’t really they basically can’t make trades you cannot they cannot take back more money than they send out and they cannot aggregate players so you couldn’t what aggregating would mean in this case is that using the combined salaries of ruy haimura and Gabe Vincent together aggregating those two salaries to equal Jeremy Grant’s salary in order to make illegal trade you just couldn’t do that at the second apron uhoh so while the deal is relatively simple on its face it gets a little bit tricky if LeBron James has signed a contract and it’s been reported by multiple Outlets uh that the Blazers are that the Lakers are interested in Blazers forward Jeremy Grant Jeremy Grant of course represented by clutch Sports clutch Sports of course in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers um so it’s it could get a little dicey for the Lakers but it’s it’s it’s not that easy it’s it’s relatively simple for them to get around it if LeBron James and it’s reported by Adrian wowski who broke the news of the of the contract agreement first early this morning on the west coast if if LeBron James were to take a salary a slight salary cut a slight reduction in salary and we’re talking very slight about a little over a million dollars on a $50 million deal according to Keith Smith of of spot track.com the Lakers with a full Max for LeBron James would be $1.2 million over the second apron and thus hard capped at the second apron basically unable to make any more moves for the remainder of the offseason so they can just they can either you know they could um the very simple move is is is either wait and you’re hard capped or Lebron takes a pay cut and then you make the deal and you’re hard capped like you’re they’re going to get there eventually the money is going to is going to happen to them hard cap to the second apron and and unable to improve which might mean that the Lakers are less inclined to make a deal and I think this is where the Blazers come in the like the Lakers have not got any better right they they have not improved they’ve made a draft pick they have um they’ve lost some players in free agency tan Prince they brought back their best player who thought LeBron was going anywhere come on um they but they you know they they made some draft picks Dalton connects and LeBron James Jr um they’ve uh you know they’ve retained their biggest star and and signed him to a new deal but they haven’t made they haven’t improved they’re not a better basketball team they’re probably a little bit worse without toian Prince although I don’t know he he didn’t have he had some stretches where he wasn’t great but like they you know losing in NBA players probably probably just overall on hole probably makes you a little bit worse or about the same right they they’re they’re a team that is unimproved so there is some urgency for them to make a deal and hence they’re be interested in Jeremy Grant according to Adrian wowski of ESPN the Lakers are not in the market for quote a dramatic deal for the Lakers to quote here’s the quote there’s not a dramatic deal for the Lakers to do out in the marketplace so like they’re not going to trade for a third star also how the now I won’t swear cuz it’s a family show but how the heck how the heck with the stuff they have to trade are the Lakers going to trade for a star quote unquote capital S star player they’re not they’re not so like that part is just like why this like this breathless coverage of the Lakers kind of exhausts you they can’t do that stop covering them like they can do that they’re an old mediocre team with a ex immense star power and a very popular Jersey big Global brand uh but like according to W what’s left is minimum contracts and moves on the edges does that does does Jeremy Grant qualify as moves on the edges I would say he’s not a total Move On The Edge he’s certainly not a minimum contract he’s making $30 million a year so like either the way to read W’s reporting is that the Jeremy Grant deal is still in the cards because that’s the type of move they’re only able to make or the Jeremy Grant Deal’s dead because they’re looking they’re just looking at a different caliber of player and more minor moves and they’re not going to make trades because they don’t want to put their the only picks that they have to trade and basically that that is the value that they’re trading I to to the right team D’Angelo Russell Blazers point Lakers point guard has some um has some value but he does not have any value in Portland it’s a Tyler hero Redux where it’s like yes that’s a that’s a pretty good player but this particular franchise has no use for that particular particular player I think D’Andre Russell actually ended up being after the trade deadline ended up being a pretty good NBA player for the for the final 25 games of the of the season um it’s and I’m not really a ruy haimura Believer but I don’t think he’s bad I just don’t think he’s good um so like the Lakers just don’t have a have a package to get to get players they also they have a package to get Jeremy Grant but as as as sort of and I don’t think you need this is like a big thing that I say on the show all the time let me reiterate it here I don’t think you need like he you don’t if you are heavily sourced you can kind of find these things out from people in the know but I think for something like this this was just the logic I teased out immediately when it was reported by Jake fiser of Yahoo sports 10 days ago that the Lakers were a week ago I guess uh just before the draft eight days ago uh when when the it was reported that the Lakers one of their interested targets was Jeremy Grant heading into heading into draft night the Lakers only have two picks to trade and one pick is probably not enough for the Blazers to say yes and two picks is probably too much for the Lakers to say yes because that’s all they have to trade and that’s going to be the thing that ends up making the deal really hard to really hard needle to thread and here we are the Lakers are kind of maybe haggling to keep the possibilities for deals either that deal or a deal like that alive but you can just see why there would be a hold up straight up if I’m the Lakers I’m not trading two two first round picks for Jeremy Grant and if I’m the Blazers one one pick from I mean that 2029 Lakers pick that is Juicy like I will bet on the Lakers being bad uh in a few years um I think they have they like they don’t have a lot of their own draft picks and they’re old like and they might like swing for it in the next couple years like you know just like continue to to try to um finish eighth and not 10th with LeBron James like give me that 2029 pick maybe that alone under fully unprotected 2029 it’s like okay that’s that’s that’s intriguing but like one pick you know a more a pick in the more recent future than that like it’s is that’s is that super appealing that the the you know like I think it’s 28 and 28 pick and then 30 it’s like I don’t know a single one of those picks it’s like is that is that really that is that what you want like is that what you want from them I I think you would want more you would ask for more and they don’t have way to give you much more they don’t have young intriguing players like they don’t um it just it seems like it’s going to be a hard for it to go down and I can see why the Lakers would say no to two picks because that’s that’s the ammunition they have to improve at any point Jeremy Grant would obviously help them um how much I think is in the eyes of the beholder but he’d obviously help them I think um he’s he’d be he’d be pretty useful for for what what they’re after okay that’s enough Lakers talk this kind of explains why the Blazers are where they are though um Portland’s roster is full they signed Justin Mani to a two-way contract but even before that by guaranteeing Delano banson they’re at 15 they’re not going to make moves in free agency and they never were like that was the move and they had to they just like his guaranteed date came and they picked it up picked exercise the team option but like um they you know they never were going to be players in free agency their their their movement is going to come on the trade market so it like the trade market is at a little bit of a stall across the league I think at least reading my man Keith Smith of spot track his guess is that trade will heat up once teams kind of figure out once the moratorium ends on July 6th kind of who stands where and how to expand other trades and like make sure that they can um you know teams particularly expensive teams figuring out how to maneuver and finagle and do all of those things because that might be the the free agent Market may have mostly dried up and now we’re into the trading portion of the off season so I think the Blazer just part of that holding pattern might be three you know might be next week before things heat up again and the Blazers will probably likely continue to explore deals for some of their veterans um we’ll see we haven’t heard even word one on ay Simons and we may never hear it they might be just running this dang thing back okay but the Blazers aren’t really doing anything but you know who’s doing stuff DeAndre Aon he’s hooping for the Bahamas as they inch closer to a potential Olympic birth they’re headed for the semifinals of their qualifying tournament for the Olympics and I watched DA’s first two games uh in in this Olympic qualifying tournament I want to tell you what I saw from da that’s what we’ll do in the second segment join me there won’t you first though I want to tell you that Today’s Show is brought to you by game time it’s the place for last minute tickets if you’re looking to do something this weekend it’s going to be hot um it’s very hot in Portland but you could maybe get a whole bunch of water and get some seats in the shade in fact you can sit upstairs at Providence Park for $32 if you go to the game time app right now and go see the Thorns the Portland Thorns take on the San Diego wave 32 bucks to get in the building give yourself a little something fun to do make sure you hydrate take care of yourself and be safe and watch a little fooie while you do it the last time it was Triple digits in Portland I went to that very stadium and watch uh watched the timers match it was hot but I still had a whole bunch of fun uh I didn’t use game time because I didn’t know about it back then but if I did I certainly would have because it’s a spot for last minute tickets up to 60% off when you’re buying last minute tickets on every sporting Adventure looking for so take the guesswork out of buying tickets use go to game time down excuse me go to gametime.co or download the game time app and then enter that promo code locked on NBA you got $20 off your first purchase that’s super simple and let me get it for you right this time here’s what you do you download the game time app you use the redemption code locked in NBA that’s l c k d o n NBA and you’re going to get $20 off your first purchase game time last minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed [Music] all right I watch deand dton play two basketball games this week um first against Finland then against Poland and his his team the Bahamas 2 and0 and headed to the semifinals of their Olympic qualifying tournament group they will play the winner of Angola and Lebanon on Friday and if they win that one which they will be favored to win that one if they if they win they will move to a sun Monday game likely against host Spain for a winner take all spot in the Olympics da hoopin um I’m excited to watch basketball games my you longtime listeners will know my favorite part about basketball is basketball I do enjoy the offseason I find it fascinating it’s it’s an interesting time but like I like the squeaky sneakers I like the ball bouns and I like the tactics and the X’s and O’s and I like I like to see the ball go win and and da was making the all go in he’s played two games he had 19 points nine boards three assists and a steal against Finland in their opening game this one was pretty funny uh literally the first touch of the game DeAndre gets the ball the to the key and turns it over in a dribble handoff and I was like oh oh no I watched it on record I’m watching these games on Courtside 1891 basketball it’s it’s a website that uh run by FIFA uh excuse run by FBA not FIFA another major maybe problematic Global entity FBA um that’s Courtside 18911 1891 basketball you pay 30 bucks for an annual subscription I know that’s like everything costs money the whole world is a subscription now but if you really want to watch it and you you can and you still have two more games you pay about 15 bucks a piece you can pay cheaper and just pay uh $117.99 and watch just for this tournament if you’re into it so that might be the move I um I I opted in for the whole thing baby um you can also sign for a free um I I mentioned I’m saying this now because I mentioned I would tell you how to watch these games on on a past episode uh Doone that’s da AZN which is pronounced Doone amazingly I love American branding it’s very stupid uh but denone also has them and you can sign up for a free one-month trial of Doone and watch the games but they’re not live um you you watch them as they’re shown on denone so you don’t I I found that um Courtside 1891 is a little better for my personal schedule I’m able to watch them live and then they’re immediately um they’re immediately capsuled so you can watch them On Demand and they also have if you just sign up for free on Courtside 1891 basketball you can sign up for a free account and you can watch a 10minute capsule of the game so they have like just like a little quick 10-minute version of the game if you don’t want to if you’re not going to sit down and re-watch all of Finland versus the Bahamas I totally understand uh that’s how you watch it I was able to watch these games I’m lucky enough to have some have some uh banked time to spend my evenings obsessing about basketball um it’s a good thing about committing to this podcast is that uh my family understands the obsession um against Finland like he he did turn the ball over in his first touch and was like oh no but he he dominated that game um he was they had no one who could match with his physicality he only took three shots outside the paint um he he just dominated in the paint eight of 12 inside in on all all makes inside the paint um hit three of his four free throws uh you know dunked the ball in transition caught it down low and dunked on a little when he CAU was hanging out in the dunker spot like semi-routine Jersey and just is like MJ he’s just he’s like well I’m one of the 15 best players in the world let’s go I think in some ways like uh Rudy Fernandez was like this when he played in Spain he was like better in Spain I think Billy Hernan Gomez has been better when he plays in the Spanish for the for the Spanish team uh than when when he certainly when he plays in the NBA like it’s just some some dude like Davis Berton like he he’s the go-to guy for lvia and he’s just like playing a totally different role he’s like Davis we need you to put the ball on the deck and score and da gets a little bit of that they’re running a lot of um to get like a little bit nerdy like delay action which is uh like the best way to explain it is the is guys two guys in the corners two guys in the wings and the center is at the top of the key and there’s a couple reads you can make at the top of the key but so da gets the ball catches it outside the three-point line at the top of the key and has some sort of dribble handoff decision-making responsibilities and he kind of triggers the action there’s a bunch of different stuff and the Bahamas runs that a lot and with da getting to dribble and I like that he’s doing that more the Blazers run that a little but he doesn’t um not to the extent that he’s getting that ask with the Bahamas um he looked like in game one against Finland da looked like da for the Blazers like and also like the bombs kind Sleepwalk through the second quarter of this game and found they were down double digits to a team without NBA players uh and then they just like kind of out talented them in the third quarter I think Buddy Hill hit 6 threes um six threes in the game but like four of them in the third quarter and they just like went nuts and they started their def they kind of turned up their defense and and really um it was over the other big thing about watching the Bahamas is that VJ Edom who’s a five-star recruit he’s like a two fivar athletic two guard headed to Baylor that dude’s an NBA player he’s going to be a lot of repick next year he’s really good um I’ve been joking watching these games texting a few friends I’m like I’m watching current Blazer DeAndre Aton and future Blazer VJ edcom he’s he’s been fun he’s been the most fun part about watching these games uh the Bahamas doesn’t have a point guard they play with Eric Gordon and Buddy heeld on the court and buddy heeld just kind of like hijacks possessions he shoots a lot and um is not a natural playmaker but but he’s a bucket he’s absolutely a bucket um so they like they kind of need da to get into the playmaking stuff but against Finland he just had a such a physical Advantage there was no no hope um Poland was a little bigger they had Jeremy Sohan um an NBA player and they had they had a big guy number 11 in the middle I’m not going to I’m not going to venture out to say his name because I don’t want to screw it up but they just had like a they had more size they had a true seven-footer to sort of a to play against aen was way more skilled than him and was fine so you know 199 three assists in game one against Poland in game two DeAndre had 18 points nine boards an assist a steal and two blocks um he to he was finished 7 for 12 from the floor he took four three-pointers and on his first touch against Poland he hit a three he hit a three they ran that same kind of delay stuff uh went into a dribble handoff he sets a screen and then kind of like pops out and this kind of a broken action but he ends up easy catch and shoot shots he’s he’s a little line drivey from three he like it’s clearly not a comfortable shot for him yet um but you’re talking to me I love watching d8 pop 4 threes in 30 minutes if he’s going to live off a steady diet of 22 Footers he can live off a steady diet of 23 Footers like he takes so many 19 Footers like it’s back up a little bit it’s not like I’m begging a dude who lives in the paint to take threes I’m begging a dude who lives far away from the rim to back out a little bit further and make the shots worth 50% more um he took four threes he made his first Miss his last three uh you know I I think in the game against Finland I think um they they sleep they slept walk a little bit Poland they didn’t they like the Bahamas basically had a double- digit lead for the majority of the game a couple times it got close um I think they cut it to single digits in third quarter and cut it to like six or with 3 minutes left under just under three minutes uh Poland did but it wasn’t really ever in doubt it wasn’t in Jeopardy and and um VJ edgecam hit a big jumper to kind of ice ice the say no hit a pull up to ice the game and then then a three-pointer to for the final margin um da was good in this game I thought he was good um again more more of that that uh dribble handoff action that delay stuff leads him to the top of the leads him to maybe taking some three-pointers he wouldn’t and otherwise in sort of the the way he’s used utilized in the NBA but he does most of his damage in the paint still like um he’s still he you know he he’s taking those like 15 16 foot jumpers he’s you know scrounging for loose balls and taking jump hooks he’s using his athleticism to just be faster stronger than other dudes his size um he was good on offense I will say I get a little frustrated sometimes cuz I feel like there are moments on defense specifically where a is just a passenger it’s just like he’s watching and it’s like I just wish he revved a little bit hotter and would jump up in the mix and not be a spectator um that’s nitpicking a little bit because I thought I thought he played well against Poland but I like I’d be lying if I didn’t watch that fourth quarter and be like da come on dog come on like there was a couple times just like straight up just straight up watching guys you know there was an offensive rebound it’s like he’s kind of looking around another play where he’s like hands down in the paint as someone drives it’s like just just be just a little more active um but like he he’s been good he’s been good and he’s doing a little bit more and that’s all like he’s been really good on offense and he’s been doing a little bit more on offense which is like really what you want to see when guys play in the international games and they’re kind of their he you know he’s he’s their star right he’s their guy who has to who has to be productive um side note Jeremy Sohan incredible turnovers in this game if you if you do end up they’re not going to show it to you on the highlights but if you watch the whole game he is he is wicked loose with the ball um really special okay so the Bahamas they play Friday uh Friday afternoon Portland time and then if they win and they and and they’re they’ll be heavily favored against Lebanon or Angola whoever wins that game that’s on Thursday uh and then they will if the Bahamas win they’ll play Sunday 1130 a.m. Portland time like very likely against Spain Spain will play the winner of Finland and Poland in their semi-final they’re both both Spain and uh and the Bahamas are 2-0 this was the expected match up the two best teams in this qualifying tournament coming in especially without Lowry Markin D um Sunday 11:30 a.m. in Valencia 11:30 a.m. our time but in in Valencia against host Spain for a shot at the Olympics on the line that’s GNA be fun I I I will um I’m gon watch that game I probably live pretty close to live it’s actually a relatively good time for the way I do things but uh Sunday show if da is in or Monday show if da is in the Olympics you’ll hear about it if he’s not you will also hear about it but uh yeah I I I will cover those two games tell you what what I’ve seen uh let’s close the show talking a little bit Justin manah he is back on a two-way contract the Blazers are running it back and it is admittedly a little bit weird join me in that third segment let’s talk about [Music] it still a pass first point guard I’m still Mike Richmond you are still listening to lock on Blazers the news this week the Blazers you know not making moves but the move they did make and announced made it the team made it official earlier this week that Justin maniah is back on a two-way contract uh 25-year-old 65 two guard you know Wing 65 Wing uh spent last season on a two-way contracts appeared in uh 34 games for the Blazers he also played in four games at the end of 2223 when they were just um super super dup super duper tanking and he had he was on the team and then they brought they he came into camp and they got he got a two-way contract and spent some time with the g- league played in 20 games with the Rip City remix where he averaged 13.7 points 6 and a half boards four assists one half Steals and and a block um shot 43 in the g- league shot 44% from the floor and 34 4% from the three-point line I don’t think two-way contracts are the things to get bent out of shape about I don’t I don’t um I don’t get this one but I don’t think it’s like they’re just so fickle and they’re so temporary and they’re and they’re largely um they’re they’re just they’re just impermanent right like you can get waved off a two-way contract at any time the two-way contracts don’t count against a team’s cap space there’s just you just give a dude a contra a two-way deal and you come into camp and if someone beats him out for for one of those spots in Camp or you see someone in the remix who you like better you can just W you can just wave Justin manay at literally any point and add someone else to the two-way deal like it is it is not um there are there is just no reason to freak out about it that said Justin Mania is not an NBA player we’ve seen enough of him um I thought it was a I wasn’t like super high on it last year either I wasn’t like nice Justin manah like I didn’t get it last year either and then he plays you know he ended up playing almost half the games for the Blazers appearing in half the games for the Blazers playing about 11 minutes a night as spot minutes um playing like the backup Wing minutes and he plays because he’s a good Defender right he’s a good dogged Defender but he’s not this high level NBA Defender he’s not locking people up he’s just like good competitive good individual Defender Good Team Defender knows where to be doesn’t make the Stakes on that end plays incredibly hard you know you can count on him you know bips was playing him particularly over Ryan ruper at some point in the season because ruper was going to make a bunch of mistakes on offense and defense and Justin manah wasn’t and coaches love guys who don’t make mistakes that’s who plays like even even even in developmental teams like it just coaches are just you know they’re creatures of habit and also like their mental health needs to not see someone like tell them what to do go in the game and screwed up right um and it took a while for ruper to kind of earn that like you can go screw it up type of minutes because Mani just played over him because he wasn’t going to make mistakes akes but he’s just he’s not an NBA player he’s not um I feel very comfortable after watching him say that I think he might play be like a long-term Pro right like he’s he was he’s effective in the G league but in his g-league stats like across the regular the G league has a split season they have like a showcase then you play in the Showcase in in Vegas and then then or it was somewhere else this year it was like in I forget like Montgomery Alabama I think off the top of my head it was somewhere it was somewhere not Vegas this year and then but and then they come back in the regular season is is after that and and played in 20 games in the in the Showcase in the regular season for the in the g- league like 20 total games across the full season for the G League he turned the ball over 48 times it’s like it’s not like he’s he’s doing and he’s like he’s he’s shooting 34% from three in the g- league and like under 50% from the field it’s not like he’s crushing efficiency in the g-league and like looking really good on offense and if he just turns around like he’s he’s a dude who puts up good defensive numbers in the G League I like totally get why he’s he’s an NBA athlete he’s he’s like the NBA size and physicality he’s just not a pro he’s not good enough on off offense to be a pro he shot you know uh in his two two NBA Seasons he shot under 25% from three combined like he hasn’t shot well in the G like he just I’m not I don’t think it’s a time to get Ben out of shape but I don’t I don’t get it I don’t get why he’s like the sort of two two-way contract should either be like depth at a position of need right you just like bring in a point guard you bring in like an Ashton Haggin type it’s like listen this team just doesn’t have point guards Haggin is not an NBA player but he’s like competent enough to like bring the ball across the floor and pass um and like and play some and play some competitive defense and like even though he’ll probably be an overall negative like he kind of feels a specific need the Blazers don’t need like a pretty good defensive Wing they’ve got they’ve got too many of those as is right like um you know Sean hiken of Rose Garden report has reported several times and I should say reiterated several times probably reported it once and reiterated several times that he believes that IBU baji will be back in a two-way deal baji like I’m not a baji Believer either like I don’t I don’t really see it with him I know some people really see it with him and I’m I’m gonna let you see what you see I see what I see but like at least it’s easy to like talk yourself into baji it’s like he’s really new to the game he’s really raw he does one thing really well which is block shots if you can do some other stuff like there’s just not that many dudes with his athleticism and his size and his motor that you know like it’s easy to talk yourself into it I don’t get it with Mania that said who cares it’s so temporary like it’s it’s just not a thing to get bent out of shape I think it’s weird it’s strange and it follows this trend right now like I think the Blazers are going to make trades so I don’t think this is like a thing that’s going to stick but it’s a thing that I’m like I’m putting a little star next to here on July 4th it’s like this team is looking very similar very similar basically adding two new players uh Malcolm brog in for Denny AIA then bringing AIA and Moses Brown out and Donan kingan in you’re adding two new players to the mix bringing 13 players back from last year’s roster and two of the same two-way guys what what is I like I just don’t get that I I I just don’t get it um I think it’s going to change I think they’re going to make trades I think the roster is going to look different um I think two-way two-way contracts are so impermanent and so temporary that it’s just like I’ll wait until freaking November and they might have a new guy on a two-way deal and it’s like great fine um but I I can’t help but notice how similar the roster looks to last season and I can’t help but be a little bit frustrated by that the the part of me that just desires change for the sake of change and because the team wasn’t very good last year and then like even so it’s like I know that they could be better just with Better Health but to just bump up against the same ceiling again because you feel like you weren’t healthy enough to get enough data seems silly to me you only have so many chances to improve the team and change the way things look um if they were to run it back with this similar of a roster I think it would be a mistake and probably just malpractice I that might be too harsh of a word but I will say bordering on malpractice to run back an ident a nearly identical roster plus Denny abdia ABIA is a nice find I think like he’s that’s a nice pickup but like come on come on uh so hopefully they do something and um we can talk about it here we I will have a show for you Friday I am going to record um sometime in the evening of July 4th or perhaps very early ring on July 5th but um look look for in your feeds I’m planning on recording sometime on on on the 4th um so you’ll have five this week that’s what we do 5 days a week rev get Podcast and also on YouTube come back for tomorrow’s show tell your friends about the program I appreciate you listening I’ll talk to you soon [Music] n [Music]

The Trail Blazers are in a waiting game in the early stages of the offseason, and Deandre Ayton is pushing The Bahmas towards a spot in the Olympics. Plus, Justin Minaya is back…. okay!

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