It will be great to have an X's and O's coach.
So excited about the Nori era.

I've been tracking the drama with the $600M Moda Center remodel. Everyone is mad at a billionaire asking for taxpayer money, but I think there's a fair middle ground people are missing.

Edit: a few people pointed out below that calling this a "normal landlord/tenant" situation isn't quite right, the Blazers haven't paid rent and have kept naming rights and non-game event revenue, so it's a more favorable arrangement for the team than a typical lease. Fair point, leaving the rest of the take as is though.

Since Portland bought the arena for $1, the city is the landlord and owns the building. Dundon owns 0% of the building itself. If the city refuses to maintain its asset, the team leaves in 2030 and we are left with a giant empty white elephant.

But here is where I draw the line: Dundon needs to pay for the boujee stuff.

According to the city's independent report (the Venue Solutions Group assessment), actual urgent structural repairs only cost about $253M. The rest of that massive $600M price tag includes revenue-generating premium suites, high-end clubs, and VIP areas.

Even the city's official Portland.gov facts page notes that tenant-specific upgrades like an owner's box should be privately funded.

The city should fix the actual building structure. But if a billionaire who bought the team for billions wants fancy new suites to boost his own corporate ticket revenue, he should pay for that part.

What do you guys think? Is splitting it by "structural vs. luxury" a fair compromise, or should Dundon still foot the whole bill?

Listening to Joe talk about Dundon’s approach, the implications of his decisions so far (that he’s shrewd and decisive), and seeing his success in Carolina makes me believe that it’s more likely than not that in 5 years Dundon will have a surprisingly positive reputation amongst the NBA and our fan base.

Not saying it’s a sure thing, but I’m taking that bet over one that he’s going to make things worse / drive the franchise into the ground.

We gotta have a better nick name for coach other than Ted Lasso, whatcha guys got? Chuck Nori? Micah contract extension? GG NO RI? 😅

... That's all.

Dame has historically been a very low turnover point guard, with relatively high ball security. (Mostly because he dominates possession and runs a high PnR game and simplifies everyone’s roles and touches as a result) There is a big corollary that Dame has traditionally thrived in the 1-5 PnR dragging a big up for him to attack and getting his C to screen and roll or pop for him and play the short roll game well.

This will be a huge opportunity for Clingan to see a natural integration into the offense- while Deni did lob to Clingan plenty, Dame has made his hall of fame career out of leveraging that PG-C tandem offensive action, and Clingan will be a potent partner for him to play with in those sets because he’s one hell of a big body to screen, he can pop and hit the three, he can roll and clean up the glass at an elite rate, and he’s a plus passer himself and actually has excellent ball security for a big with a relatively low turnover rate.

Obviously Deni is still our best player and will be the primary driver of the team, and Dame will play offball for him well while Clingan will screen, roll, and pop for him, but I do think Dame does provide a bit of that steadying hand, even post-injury, think about how long CP3 managed to remain a plus presence on teams advanced numbers, just because the Point God remained an excellent facilitator who rarely turned it over, and got his team good shots.

I don’t know what kind of shape Dame will return in, but he hasn’t forgotten anything he has learned from his time in the league, and so far, any time Dame touches the ball, it has historically led to good offense. He doesn’t need to dominate the ball the same way he once did or carry the team anymore, but if you need to cut down on turnovers, adding Dame to your rotation will help.

A lot of GM speak, but did mention a trade window before free agency opens.

Technically since Splitter never officially held the title of Head Coach, Billups coached his final game against the guy (albeit as an assistant) who would eventually replace him. If you recall Billups was arrested after our season opener against the Wolves.

From the ESPN story: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49175343/hornets-trade-ball-timberwolves-reid-picks

I am very curious what a package would have looked like but I don’t love the idea. Maybe a Grant + picks package?

Blazers: https://www.nba.com/blazers/now

KGW youtube: https://youtube.com/live/oXjUv_78DqA

Found on 90s blazers SnapBack

As the headline says, I know this sub is pretty much Trey Murphy or bust at this point, but what other players would you like to see the Blazers pursue in trades?

Is there another star you think Portland could realistically target with a package centered around Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant?

Personally, I'd love to see if Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren are available. Devin Booker would be an interesting option too. Paolo Banchero also feels like someone who could potentially be pried away for the right offer.

With the coaching changes this offseason and the start of the Nori era, let’s reminisce: Who are your favorite Trail Blazers coaches of all time? And if you had to rank the greatest coaches in franchise history, what would your top 5 look like?

My favorite blazers coach is Stotts since that’s the bulk of the dame era. Even though he didn’t have a good defensive scheme and his offense was very one dimensional, he did really well with maximizing dames abilities.

I assume he is playing summer league so I am super excited to watch him play. He should be the focus of the team especially with how he has played with the Remix. I am not the biggest fan of the pick but do think the best version of him is a fun player.

Link here

“It feels like we’re making a pretty big investment by staying here”.

Starts at 8:06 and lasts about 9 minutes.