Portland Tardy Presser

[WigNosy]

A black-and-white camera comes into focus on the shape of a cat wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora. He stands in front of a window, with rain dripping down the window and a soft backlighting of street lights silhouetting his head. While the cat's lips don't move, a film noir-type voiceover rolls.

"Another year, another failure. I was getting kind of tired of this act. People will say, 'Wig, you won the Pacific.' Yeah, well we didn't win the whole thing.

"San Antonio was a bad beat. Another year, another run-in with the same team finishing us. Same old story.

"What could be done? Could I follow the Spurs' lead of adding a bunch of stars in the offseason while my own stars' contracts were expired, then lock them back up thanks to RFA and supermaxes?

"Apparently not. We did a lot of shopping around the league, trying to add salary during the rookie draft when we had cap room. Nobody wanted to play ball with us. We wound up entering Free Agency with more cap space than just about every other team in the league. That was a disaster.

"Johnny Newman got offered a max by the Sonics. Rightfully so, and of course they're chasing us and trying to blow us up. We had to match.

"So then we sailed into UFA exactly where we didn't want to be - with no Tom Chambers-type trade, one of the top Free Agents who would be the first domino to fall, and a roster that wasn't good enough to go deep into the tax to keep. The only hope was to hope we could use our open cap on another superstar before James made his decision and our cap space evaporated... and we almost did it."

The camera tightens up as Wig's lip curls in a sneer and his eyes narrow.

"The plan was working... Eddie A. Johnson took our money - then Worthy stuck a knife in our back. We offered him more money than he could get anywhere else, and he chose to depart for Seattle. By the time the Kings signed LaSalle Thompson, it was clear we were screwed.

"Losing Lester Conner in Day 2 was rough. We offered him what we thought was a more-than-fair deal for a player of his clearly declining skills. But the Knicks outbid us. So now 60% of our starting lineup was gone.

"We've heard from greeple about the Two-Timeline-Blazers. Guess it's time to pivot to the new timeline.

"We had made some moves we really liked in the draft to pick up Elden Campbell and Lionel Simmons. They were supposed to be depth and would be given time to season behind Thompson and Worthy. Instead, they're going to be thrown into the fire."

The cat's eyes brighten and he grins a bit.

"So here we are, in a reloading year. Not by choice, but we'll try to make the best of it.

"Buck Williams is still solid as a rock. Johnny Newman will be asked to step up. This has to be a next man up team. Charles Smith, get ready to get minutes at center. Michael Williams, you get to be the point guard...

"We protected what we saw as our key pieces in TC. Guess Charles Smith was offended... either that or he looked into an alternate dimension and saw Game 5 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. Disgusting.

"So what's the plan this year? Pivot to youth. The Sonics were on our heels last year when we had Big Game James. Now they're the hunted and we're the hunter. What have we got? Eddie A. is doing a decent Worthy impression. Now we just need Charles to get his head in the game and pretend his name is LaSalle. Also, we need to hammer, hammer, hammer our opponents the way we always have... make people fear to come into Portland.

"Salt. We're going to be powered by salt. I'll show them all that they may have all the flash, but we are still the BluntForceTraumaBlazers and that I'm willing to trade absolutely anyone if the price is right. Yes, the players will all learn to fear me. But make no mistake, this is a pivot and our older stars can be had for a true rebuild package - think multiple picks and/or players - but we're building for the future in Portland again."

[BigDaddyd8720]

Picks Emmington, SLOE Gazette,

With your team now going into reload mode, as you said, do you see Johnny Newman becoming the focal point of this team moving forward or do you think you're still looking for that player to build around?

[WigNosy]

Picks Emmington, SLOE Gazette,

With your team now going into reload mode, as you said, do you see Johnny Newman becoming the focal point of this team moving forward or do you think you're still looking for that player to build around?

Right now, Buck Williams is clearly the focal point of the team. But I think given Johnny's recent max contract, he has to be ready to pick up that mantle when the time comes. If you can't be a focal point, you shouldn't be given a max.

[IamQuailman]

Was this off-season the most frustrating of your Portland Trailblazers tenure? Does the departure of some key pieces leave you teetering on the edge of doing something crazy?

[WigNosy]

Was this off-season the most frustrating of your Portland Trailblazers tenure? Does the departure of some key pieces leave you teetering on the edge of doing something crazy?

No. Last season's interminably slow draft was the most frustrating offseason.

Define "crazy."

[Eazy P]

Is your late presser submission a way to get back at those who hold up the lottery?

Also can Eddie Johnson fill the role of Worthy?

[WigNosy]

Is your late presser submission a way to get back at those who hold up the lottery?

Also can Eddie Johnson fill the role of Worthy?

No. I've had some pressing concerns in the alternate dimension "IRL" that have kept my focus away.

I sure hope so. I chased him with the thought of adding him to James, but given how FA shook out, now he'll have to do his best to replace.