Deni Avdija Introduced In Portland. How Much Will He Improve the Trail Blazers?

Deni Avdija Introduced In Portland. How Much Will He Improve the Trail Blazers?

in today’s show Denny avvia meets the media in Portland we talk about how much and where he’ll help the Trailblazers this season welome lock down 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 past first point guard and Trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond you are listening to another episode of Locked on Blazers part of locked on podcast Network fil every you get podcasts and also on YouTube thanks for making this show your first listen coming at to you 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 lock on Blazers your team every day in today’s show we’re talking Denny AIA Denny in the building turbo makes it to Portland and he meets the media speaks with the assembled media out the treble practice facility he was introduced uh in maybe a less formal way than some other times so we’ll talk about uh Denny’s introduction and then where he’s going to help specifically kind of the the based on what the roster looks like right now the specific ways that Denny AIA will help the tri Blazers the onc court basketball stuff that he can do to help this team and then I want to ask a question to to to end the show how much better are the Trailblazers how much better are the Trailblazers they they’ve made some moves this summer a draft pick and a and a big trade but but uh or you know a big is trade how much better are they that’s what we’ll do to close the show let’s talk Denny though to to kick things off here um to to begin the program Denny meets the media um just as like a a side note it wasn’t a press conference uh it was like a scrum um as a as a as a media person I prefer the scrum I prefer the scrums the press conference you pass a microphone around sometimes you get questions like so have you been to Voodoo Donuts yet um from from people who are like um maybe otherwise not going to ask questions but they get to they get to wait their turn and be have their voice be heard uh the scrum rewards the organized and the uh and the professional and folks who who kind of know the art of of of working a scrum uh that’s like neither here nor there but I’ll just throw it out there um a couple takeaways from Denny’s meeting with the media one he had an interesting tidbit about finding out about getting traded away from the Wizards he was back home in Israel it was 2 in the morning and his people woke him up I guess um he didn’t specify who but like who his crew his family um friends whoever he might be there with woke him up middle of the night in in Israel he he gets it they say hey Adrian wowski says that you’ve been that you’ve been traded you’re headed to Portland no heads up from from uh from the Washington Wizards um you know front office this was sprung on him he found out like you found out via social media that’s weird that’s a weird way to have it have it it sprung on you say didn’t sleep the rest of the night he was kind of processing it and figuring out what’s next for him because um and I think we forget this a lot like these are people right like he was envisioning I I’m about to begin a four-year contract um you know I’ve got a chance you know the Wizards are going to look really different next year they’re beginning this maybe not really different they haven’t done a lot of stuff but different next year and and uh like and I have a chance to kind of step into this major role on the team that in year five of the NBA like no you’re going to Portland going to Portland totally new situation um and I would say that Denny came across in the interview as kind I would say mythed uh with the way it ended in Washington he he believed to hear him tell it that he was a big part of the the organization with the Wizards that he was a big part of you know they drafted him they they grew him for four years and helped him grow for four years he should get some credit too uh helped him grow for four years signed him to a a contract extension and was like you know he was going to be this is what you dream of when you drafted a guy top 10 is that you you you know he he gets better every single year and then you get to sign him to a contract in this case a pretty darn cheap contract for how um good he is and like he’s on the team for eight years and you get to figure out if it’s going his career will continue beyond that and like this is that’s kind of like the whole point of drafting somebody who’s talented and yet they trade him um he seemed a little I’d say miffed not like pissed it wasn’t like and even when pressed on it by reporters I don’t think Denny was like yeah I’m going to crush the Wizards for giving up on me but it was notably like yeah was home that was where my home was and now I’m traded and I have to make a new home the you know I’m going to I’ve been in Portland for whatever 8 hours and now I have to find like a new home I believe he was came in last night but or the or excuse me on Sunday evening but like it’s like he’s got a um you know he’s got to he’s got to figure out what’s next for him it’s like a lot of a lot of change very quickly very suddenly come back to the States and kind of and and you know transition your life all the way across the country he was he was um it was mythed he was a little miffed I think he was you could tell that he was he was surprised and perhaps a little bit hurt by the fact that the Wizards kind of gave up on him in a way but he mentioned something that I liked and I thought it was a notable comment is that he felt sort of um I I don’t have the exact quote in front me I didn’t transcribe it I apologize but um is that he was he was kind of honored like the mentioning that the Blazers gave up a lot to get him and what then that meant that you know they really wanted him and why that was meaningful to him you know the Blazers played a relatively Hefty couple first round picks couple second round picks and and and a veteran in and in Malcolm Brogden like this wasn’t he wasn’t a throwin Denny was someone that he clearly targeted if you trade four draft picks and and an NBA player to get him clearly somebody you really want um I think being valued by the Blazers would be something meaningful to Denny and then the that like when asked to kind of describe his game and give give fans an introduction to who he whom he might be on the court um you know he really emphasized a couple iterations of that question couple different versions of that question is is is how much he’s going to be a competitive Force he’s someone who loves basketball loves to win and loves to play hard and then he was asked a question I thought was pretty interesting this one by Casey holdall of trailblazers.com um about like playing in a situation like Washington where the team’s not very good are there lessons you can learn um from that that you can apply to come to Portland and we’ll talk about I think the blers are a little bit better than they were last year I think they’ve improved I think Denny’s a big part of that Improvement but like the Portland’s probably not going to be a team that sneaks into the play in right like they’re also a developmental team they’re going to they you know they want to be young and be in the top of the draft again and then and then make their climb The Following Season or the following Seasons but like they don’t have aspiration they don’t have postseason aspirations next year like let’s just be honest right um and Denny said like part of it is just like one cherishing the wins like cherishing the wins you might win 25 times the year 30 times a year that means you if you win 30 Games it means you had 52 nights where you came to work and lost and that’s a lot that’s that that’ll wear on you that can wear on you so as part of it is just the mentality of being mature of of just like hey this is going to be hard I’m going to cherish these wins and when we when we do get smacked around a little bit because it’s a talent league and and sometimes you just don’t have the talent to compete or or whatever it might be mostly that um it’s like you have to be mature enough to say okay I’m not going to this isn’t going to crush me I’m going to come back tomorrow and like bring it and bring it and be a professional and not not let the sort of Hangover of losing in the challenge of having you know just like you know losing whatever 15 of 20 over the course of a month um not that killed your professionalism kill your work ethic kill your focus kill your your your um you know deteriorate your ability to want to get better and I thought that was a really interesting response um I’m I’m kind of paraphrasing there it was a shorter response than I just explained but like I thought it was really interesting from Denny about the the the the professionalism it takes to play on a team that is still trying to find its way what he didn’t really talk about too much was his specific fit on the roster and how he’ll play off of some of the Blazers players and that might be because he doesn’t know who’s going to be around and I think that’s fair to say like well it’s a little unsettled right now like the roster is full and if they this is the group then you know but like you don’t know if it’s going to be the group and I think um summer league starts this weekend and you get kind of like every NBA team in person in Vegas this much more likely to see some transactions go down particularly kind of uh minor deals and maybe some moderate size deals I think the Blazers are in the moderate size deal camp with a couple of their trades big for them maybe moderate size for other for the rest of the league but you know Denny didn’t went asked kind of various versions of that question about how he fits in his relationship with guys it’s like he he didn’t speak to that too strongly and but what he did say was that he expects to be a big part of this which I think is kind of the unspoken part is like they traded all them picks for me I’m going to start and I think that’s like un like that’s obvious right like I think that’s a very that’s a very obvious thing but how he fits I think I qu quite frankly he might not have really given it some specific consideration because it’s so new and so fresh right it’s like I got traded a couple weeks ago I came back to the States I showed up here and I’m meeting everybody he said he went out to dinner last night like you know they the Blazers met him at the airport and they went out to dinner and they kind of chatted and it’s like I’m sure they discussed their vision and stuff but they probably just kind of got him get him comfortable here’s how we do things what do you like to do here’s what the city is like if you want to you know if you’re looking for a house these are the places that either like we recommend or you know like kind of just like settle in welcome to a new job type of thing and then you get into the basketball shortly thereafter I’m sure they talked Hoops they’re Hoops people that’s what they talk about but Denny didn’t really in his media availability get into the specifics I want to do that here um let’s talk about where Denny helps I think he’s going to be help first of all much like him I expect him to be a starter and a big minute guy like I don’t that’s pretty that’s a fairly fairly obvious one right like um that one is obvious so like where he plays duh but like how specifically on the court he helps let’s let’s talk about that in the second segment join me there won’t you first though I want to tell you that Today’s Show is sponsored by better help whether you are going through an acute traumatic event a major trauma in your life or just trying to navigate the challenges and trials and tribulations of everyday living therapy can be incredibly valuable we have a tendency to 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with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com lockon MBA to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com locked on [Music] NBA all right let’s talk Danny how he’s going to help um you know as I mentioned he wasn’t super specific about how he sees himself helping I thought he was much more interesting in the and I think this is always the case with basketball with like getting to know new players on the team it’s like the the emotional stuff how you know how the Wizards trade impacted him where he found out that it happened and like what um you know what kind of what lessons he learned in the first four years in his career but the ex no stuff matters um and I think that is interesting it’s just maybe it’s like a it’s a day it’s a day three conversation as opposed to a day one conversation so here’s the here’s the here’s the the how I think Denny helps on both sides of the ball first of all point of attack defense last year the Blazers basically had one dude who would get all of those assignments one and then eventually Chris Murray but it was tumani kamaro like tumani just got every tough defensive assignment whoever it was it’s going to be you and when you can’t do it tumani it’s going to be a little bit of matis thible and when you can’t do it mati we’ll figure it out from there and then with injuries and you know and just like the fact that you got to switch around lineups other other guys got opportunities chances whatever it might be to kind of you know to to get a crack at it but like the First Choice was tumani kamaro until later in the season then eventually they started giving those opportunities to Chris Murray um and more on this in a bit but like I’m not I don’t think Chris Murray is going to be part of the rotation with if the roster doesn’t change uh fairly dramatically in the next few months like if the if it would start today Chris Murray’s not going to play on night one um so it’s going to be Denny and he’s going to get those opportunities you know I don’t think he’s like um I don’t think he he’s like elite elite against guards but he can like you can the way that you could you could ask tumani to guard point guards you can ask Danny to guard point guards and having that having multiple options of that like when the Blazers played the Wizards if you look back the Denny they put him on scoot they said stop the stop this stop the fast point guard guy right like stop stop the ball take you know stop the action they they put him they put him on the like lead assignments and I so like I he’s probably going to get more of that there and that’s really going to be beneficial because if it’s not just tumani and it’s not just Denny or it’s 48 minutes of either tumani and Denny or you have them together then you get um you’re just just like that your point of attack defense is automatically going to be a little bit better and that helps in a couple different ways it helps because it it doesn’t it’s not like over taxing tman Kamara and danav is like a much better offensive player than Tani kamaro so like you can put a point of attack Defender out there that also can help on the other end more on that in a moment but like it allows matis thel to play in a more in an off ball role where he doesn’t have to sit down and guard and his skills as an off ball like disruptor that’s where you get the best version of matis thel uh Jeremy Grant is not suited as like a as like a primary point of attack Defender he’s a he can be a good help Defender and a good um and a good team Defender but like if you put him in point of point of attack situations a bunch you’re you know you’re going to watch him struggle you’re not going to be maximizing his gifts and another thing this helps The Bigs this helps The Bigs like um the the Blazers are probably going to play a lot of like switch one through four but the fiveman drops like the the fan is not at the level of the screen he drops back so if they set you know one five two five three five screens um that’s then the center be it Donovan kingan or a lot of DeAndre they’re going to be not up at the level of the screen but below the screen playing like a soft drop they don’t play like super super soft but kind of soft and the best drop drop coverages like they do in Minnesota work because the ball pressure they work because the guys chasing the ball handler stay attached work to stay attached and make it really tough to get around screens and get clean and then you have a big person standing in the paint and saying if you do get free you’re in trouble and you kind of Zone up for a second as as as they get back and detached like and having two guys who are capable of that in uh in AIA and and and tar Kamara gives the Blazers a chance to play better functional defense and maximize the gifts of their of their centers like kingan I think you know young guys kind of Might struggle in the league I think foul trouble and and stuff will be could be hard for him in year one but he profiles someone who’s going to be a pretty darn good drop big Defender and and aton’s best the best version of DeAndre Aton is like an active engaged getting in passing Lan not really a shot blocker but he gets some steals um like and just like be big and and and mobile around the rim like get kind of get in the way type of defense and you can play that if you can you can play a better version of that if you have Defenders who stay attached and fight through and drop coverage allows you to switch a little bit because Danny abio is has some positional versatility like he can guard you know one through four relatively easily um you know he’s not going to like he’s not going to lock up every single position but he’s like a capable Defender at guarding all of those spots and and having more of those type of guys is going to be valuable um so you’re still switchy you get of another point of attack option other than Tani kamaro who doesn’t take as much way on def on offense and you kind of maximize some of the skill sets of your other players that’s helpful that in that way Danny abdia will help on offense it’s a little bit tricky and in part because of a Blazers Personnel like the very basic thing is shooting Improvement like is that avdia will continue his you know last year was the best shooting season of his career propped up mostly by hitting basically half of his Corner three-pointers didn’t shoot above you know above League average above the break he was a below League average shooter above the break but in the corners he was money and that means he can play an off ball role and make three and like make teams pay or particularly you put him in the weak side it’s like that dude makes half his Corner threes you don’t want to help that far off of him and that keeps the defender out of the paint that keeps guys more engaged on the backside so you can so drivers can get in the paint like his threat should be helpful and I think that’s really key is like the IDE the the threat of a guy in the corner again 40 according to cleaning the glass Danny ABIA shot 48% on Corner three that’s crucial in an off ball role crucial in an off ball role is like the is fear right get that volume up a little bit higher and continue to you know he doesn’t need to make half but if he shoots 40% you know and the plus 40% on on Corner threes that’s that’s starts to be really really helpful uh obia mentioned that one of the ways that he didn’t hasn’t changed anything mechanically in his shot but last summer heading into his fourth year in in the league with the Wizards he focused like primarily on shooting that was the number one he said I’ve got to have to be I have to be a better shooter and he had the best shooting season of his career if that continues like if he regresses a little bit that’s kind of natural with NBA players then like we’ll kind of figure it out as we go when the season starts and we’ll kind of talk about how it works but but if he’s like in that General range of what he shot last year really really helpful he talks about like his focus and it’s just like maturity level is to like tell yourself I am a good shooter and be and have that confidence and play with that confidence and know that you put the work in like that’s that’s what you want from a young guy say like I what I learned is you work your butt off and then you trust the work you put in and you have the maturity to keep playing through it and Trust the work you put in I mean that was one of his sort of stronger answers in terms of basketball x’s and O stuff it’s like it’s that he said mostly for shooting for him was a it became a mental thing like a mental hurdle that he that he kind of was able to overcome and shoot well and you build your confidence when you build your confidence it’s it just it all flows from there I think that helps right and I so like the shooting is the big thing for Denny and I I mention mention that because like when if he’s going to play next to scoot Henderson he can’t have the ball in his hands all the time like I think there’s a version of him which gets a some point forward duties and I think particularly when he shares the floor with with just anrey Simons and shadon sharp assuming the roster is the same then you can give him the ball and let him be like a true point forward but with scoot he’s just not a good off ball player the way you’re going to get the most out of scoot is kind of give him the ball and let him be a decision maker so you so Denny has to kind of morph and that’s going to be some of his value on offense can he shift between offb role when he’s playing with this non- shooting playmaker point guard like Scoot and and you know be a shooter in the corner and keep you know keep the floor spaced and be valuable for for Scoot and then make decisions on the second side scoot Drive kick Danny now you’re ball in your hands but not like the the initial uh primary Creator when he is when he when you share the court with anrey Simons like when when when he shares the court with anre Simons and Shaden sharp having him be the primary Creator so Shaden Sharp plays an off ball role that he that he’s he’s shown to be pretty good at in terms of uh reading screens and like you know just like working pin downs and athrey zons who sometimes like the pressure of bringing the ball up the court can kind of take him out of what he wants to do and he’s a really good offall player kind of have him be a in like continue in an off ball role but you know and him kind of toggle between primary and and secondary creator with Denny and maximize um you know maximize everybody’s skills I think that really that versatility helps in theory um it really helps in theory I I think um you know it’s it’s probably and I’ll mention I want to talk about this in the the second SE in the third segment to close the show but it’s like Denny has some skills and some boxes to check particularly with the shooting that like really really would be helpful I think the defense and the versatility there is going to be really useful I think the offense is a bigger question mark But if he hits his like if he hits the high notes with everything if he hits the ceiling with everything really useful for a variety of pairings and his versatility on that end Super Key super key because then you can just say like here’s what we need can you do it and Denny can be an answer in the way that the Blazers other Wings simply cannot like he checks a box that none of the other dudes on the roster do that’s really valuable but it brings me to the question I want to close the show with how much better is this team Denny abdia is an upgrade on the wing how much better are the Trailblazers let’s answer that question to close the show join me in that third segment won’t you first though I want to tell you that Today’s Show is brought to you by fan duel America’s number one sports book listen Sports slow down a little bit in the summer but they 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is better than the other options that the Blazers otherwise would have had starting at the forward spots also I want to like obvious caveat here the roster is probably going to change between now you are listening to Tuesday July 9th show um between now and the fall even of a minor change I don’t know if I would be shocked if the roster is identical but it seems pretty unlikely right like I think they’re going to do something so with the caveat that the roster might change if the roster stands as it is today I think your starting lineup night one is scoot Henderson Anthony Simons Denny abdia Jeremy Grant DeAndre Aiden Off the Bench matis thel Shaden sharp tumani Kamar and Donovan kingan that’s your top nine then 10th is Robert Williams and and Jabari Walker like alternating Williams would be the obvious 10th guy but I’m I’m uncertain about his availability and and all of that right but he would be the obvious 10th guy uh chony buls likes to play nine but I think if Rob Williams is healthy and ready to go they’ll probably play 10 to begin the year and then they’ll figure it out that would move Jabari Walker to 11th and then you’ve got a drop down to backups like he’s not going to play 11 no team like can consistently play 11 shout out to Monty Williams he played 11 in the first quarter a bunch of nights for the Pistons but like 10 is even a deep rotation in the NBA nine is really fairly normal nine and a half has been a pretty typical um bips uh bips rotation where you play n you play 10 guys in the first half and nine in the second half um so like you know you play a 10th guy but he plays seven seven total minutes in the game um it’s like jabon Walker’s out of the rotation on night one Chris Murray’s out of the rotation on night one Ryan ruper du breath Delo Banton that’s the end of your bench right but and and I don’t think even though like and this is for for another day if a s is on the roster he’s going to start get over it um but like with that group I I think the the starting I think the starting lineup makes some sense the guards are small and that’s a problem for the future but that’s like just that’s their plight right now but I think one of the questions with how much better does are the Blazers is like they lost their best three-point shooter um you know anre time is probably their best like o overall three-point shooter in terms of shooting threes off the dribble and the difficulty of threes and catch and shoot guys but just like perc raw percentage wise Malcolm brogen was their best three-point shooter last season like he’s really good and he’s he’s been like he has a body of work to suggest he’s a much better three-point shooter than Danny AIA they’re different players but like but I think that is one question it’s like the Blazers were the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA last year missing a a really solid shooter will hurt a little bit but what you’re really banking on here is not that you run it back with the exact same results it’s that there’s internal Improvement it’s that scoot Henderson who was like really bad to begin the year and DeAndre aen was really bad to begin the year but he he ended up being like good and Scoot Henderson ended up looking like okay I can kind of squint and see what the future is but I don’t think he was like ever had a stretch where it was like yes this dude’s going to be a star whatever um not that da either did either but very different right like in terms of like levels of production and consistency da incredibly consistent on offense scoot like flashes of what might be right you’re really banking that scoot takes a step forward you’re really banking that Shaden Sharp back healthy and is consistent his highs have been really good they’ve been shortlived you want consistent production if those two dudes pop and are significantly better that changes the whole trajectory right like that that is that that changes the whole thing and so much of are the Blazers better hinges on those two youngsters um taking this team to to to a level that they weren’t able to get to next season but like I don’t think the Blazers are worse than they were last year uh I think just swapping out like clinging and and maybe little Rob Williams for for the Moses Brown doop wreath minutes and wreath is still on the team so he can still play but like swapping out those backup center minutes might add some more value and I think what Denny really does and this is his value is that he balances the lineup you’ve now got big forwards um in your in your starting lineup that have that can play both ends offense and defense as opposed to the Blazers who were running you know toggling in forwards who just were negatives on offense which jaari Walker and Chris Murray and Tani kamaro you know they they were fun easy to root for but they were negatives on offense like I think that’s undeniable Denny is way better than them that is a big serious upgrade the shooting remains a question mark for across the whole team and Denny’s shooting is a big question mark like if he can if he can maintain it if he does it really lessens the blow of losing Malcolm brogon but even if he doesn’t just the ability like more ball handling another guy who can really pass another good decision maker and another point of attack Defender just it gives you so much more balance like it it like I mentioned in in the second segment it puts T in a better role it puts Jeremy Grant in a better role it puts it puts Less on tumani kamaro’s plate so he can have a much narrower ask and really like give you what he does at at at in a um you know like tumani as a energy defense guy who can like you know play 20 minutes but really go all out is like probably a lot more valuable than like we need 30 minutes of you guarding the best players in the world like you know I think um it just gives you so much more optionality the way this team gets better is not Denny but the floor is raised by the balance that Denny brings right like Denny’s gonna help it’s going to help a is going to help because of the because of the versatility that I mentioned because of I think what he does on defense particularly in helping I’m not sure he’s like this crazy home run that some people are are painting him as but I do think he’s an upgrade I it’s undeniable he’s an upgrade um like and if that that versatility alone and that upgrade alone there on defense and and the versatility that he adds to the offense the sort of balance that he adds to their offensive attack if that is coupled with a big step forward by scoot Henderson and a big step forward by Shaden sharp the Blazers are better undeniably like there’s no way they’re worse I think they’re better today it’s just how much better are they and that’s kind of hard for me to say um it’s a classic Mike Richmond way to end a podcast is to pose a question right at the top of the show and answer it with I don’t really know but here’s what I’ll say I think the Blazers are better but I’m not sure that their record will reflect that for a couple reasons one the West while teams got teams got worse the Clippers got worse the Warriors are worse um like I think that the nuggets are a little bit worse those teams are still far enough ahead of the Blazers that it’s like the overall impact on Portland in the standing seems relatively unlikely Memphis is going to get better uh Houston is likely to get better although they’re they’re Houston’s a candidate to take a step backwards or or or have like a a lateral year um say San Antonio is probably going to be a lot better Blazers finished 15th in the west I’m having a hard time seeing them Leap Frog five teams to even finish 10th much much less higher in the in the play in but that doesn’t mean they won’t improve they might end up like somewhere between the 13th and 15th best team in the Western Conference yet again right like I think that’s like a totally reasonable spot for them to be so measuring their Improvement is probably not like did they win a 34th game and do you feel really good about them because it’s like they avoided a 50 LOF season or whatever um sure that would be fun it’s more fun when teams win I think like um tanking is a real scorge but um I don’t think the Blazers improved dramatically enough to hop up into the postseason picture I don’t think the team Harbors that belief either and if you do good on you for optimism um but like I think they can take real steps in terms of like this lineup these lineups make sense this this Denny AIA helps our young players play the best version of themselves this works and we can move with this and then have improved if the record doesn’t improve if the like the process by which they lose games gets them to a better spot because they’re doing they’re playing lineups that that that are more complimentary to the young to the skill sets needed for their young core players to do the best to be the best version of themselves and if Denny not only helps you know Scoot and Shay uh do that and but also proves to be a very obvious part of their young core players that are improving um at his age like this is going to be a this is going to be a season where you say the blazes are way better than they were a year ago way better way more fun way more enjoyable and all those things and they still might be the 14th best team of the western conference right they still might be they still might end up with one of the five worst records in the NBA I think that’s a totally reasonable totally reasonable outcome that it could feel good and look the same and here’s the other reason it’s like how much better are they you know this franchise will brazenly lose games like like they they’ve showed that they’re like totally Shameless in their ability to say we’re going to lose like you know 14 of 15 to close the season so help us uh so like I don’t want to predict like oh they’re going to make this massive leap in wins because I actually think the team will like at some point in March and April say we’ve won too many games everybody get out of here and we’ve seen them do it like it’s like they’re one of the most like Brazen post Allstar losers that we’ve seen over the last few seasons in the league So like um it’s all about it’s all about fit and form and function in the first half of the season and like not like don’t get caught up in the final record because I think the Blazers can improve a lot in how they go about things even if the overall record doesn’t reflect it in the overall sort of end of the season ends up with one of the worst records in the league I think you can still probably you’ll still probably be able to sit here and say the Denny trade worked here’s why it worked this team is better because of it that’s how Denny helps and I think how much the bles have improved is some it’s some it’s some okay that’s going to do it for today’s show uh that’s what we do 5 days a week 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Deni Avdija met the Portland media on Monday. How much will he help the Blazers?

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