Portland's Less Boring Press COnference

[kucoach7]

GM Kevin U. Coach VII: Here in Portland we are known for many things, most of them not good things, including dry press conferences. Today I thought I would mix things up with a little power point.

The end of last season and the off-season as told by Batman movies.

The potential effect of my potential tax bill last year, even though we probably weren't going to make the playoffs.


So we traded the big names and cut everyone else to get under the cap. Unfortunately Gary Payton doesn't check his voice mail and still came to practice after we traded him.


Me and my tax bill


Me filling out my RFA bids, offering 5 max contracts


The negotiator when he saw my bids


How I felt When DerMarr accepted my max bid, "Congratulations, you got yourself caught."


When Wig threatened to match unless I gave up a pick.


Negotiating with Wig


When Wig lets me have DerMarr


UFA's when they heard they got an offer from me, "He doesn't have a cent to his name anyway."

SelinaKyle.GIF (91.08 KiB) Viewed 1788 times

Bobby Simmons during his +44 training camp in which he went from D to C in passing from C to B in Drb and Stl.


DerMarr after his +42 camp and going from C to B in Psd, Stl, and Blk and from D to C in Drb!


Well, I think that pretty much sums it up. What questions do you have?

[JNR]

GWR: how did Dirk feel about the moves you made this offseason?

[42PhD]

Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: So, does the tax work?

[Inner_GI]

Lakers HollyWood Reporter: Now that you are back in the tax, do you think a Dirk, Olowokandi, and Demarr is a solid foundation to contend?

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; You were pretty open about your negotiations with Wig. Have you ever gone through a more stressful situation than what was presented when DeMarr accepted to come to Portland and do you see yourself as a playoff team after the offseason?

[NOLa.]

Did you have any buyers remorse towards Demarr before TC?

If you did, how do you feel now with Demarr looking really good?

[kucoach7]

GWR: how did Dirk feel about the moves you made this offseason?

Dirk is really happy to have a young guy like DerMarr that is going to be his wing man for years to come. Those two may not be a killer one two punch this year but the next couple of years they could be one of the best duos in the league. He is also happy that we brought back his buddy Steve Nash. Those two have been friends for a while and Steve and him really played well together at the end of last year. Tony Battie has been helping him develop as a rebounder. I think he really feels that we are building around him and his skill set now.

[kucoach7]

Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: So, does the tax work?

If the purpose of the tax is to keep competition equal by discouraging them from jacking up their cap, then no. I had thought I was going to make the playoffs then I probably would have kept the big contracts and shelled out. However, I saw that the Grizzlies had played a ton of road games and I had played a ton of home games and Cuttino was out for two months so the tax worked in discouraging me from paying 40+ points to be the worst lottery pick two years in a row.

[Xist2Inspire]

Does this accurately describe your reaction to Dirk reestablishing himself as a franchise player and winning MIP?

[kucoach7]

Lakers HollyWood Reporter: Now that you are back in the tax, do you think a Dirk, Olowokandi, and Demarr is a solid foundation to contend?

Honestly, I love our core. . . BUT. . . We fully recognize that we are paying those three guys too much as a whole, especially Kandi (considering his role on the team), so our guards are going to be weak. We're excited to see what these guys can do. It is nice to be in a position where are players are on the up swings of their careers and hopefully we can put in place the pieces around them to make this work.

[kucoach7]

Nick Melon; You were pretty open about your negotiations with Wig. Have you ever gone through a more stressful situation than what was presented when DeMarr accepted to come to Portland and do you see yourself as a playoff team after the offseason?

I wouldn't call that situation stressful. We knew that by offering the big bucks we were going to get someone to accept and we knew that the GM of that player was going to be hacked off that we were stealing away a player they were planning on building around. We also knew that were not going to offer a sign and trade for any of them other than S-Jax. So it was more fun than stressful. The West is a crazy place so I see us the same place we've been the past two years, right on the cusp of the playoffs.

[42PhD]

Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: So, does the tax work?

If the purpose of the tax is to keep competition equal by discouraging them from jacking up their cap, then no. I had thought I was going to make the playoffs then I probably would have kept the big contracts and shelled out. However, I saw that the Grizzlies had played a ton of road games and I had played a ton of home games and Cuttino was out for two months so the tax worked in discouraging me from paying 40+ points to be the worst lottery pick two years in a row.

Sounds like it works. I see the tax as a kind of tax on accumulated League wealth. If you are stockpiling overpaid or poorly fitting pieces, then the reward is not worth the cost. In that sense, it makes owners, at least those who are capable, try to be more efficient. I'd say in your case, that worked.

Framed in that way, would you care to add to your answer?

Also, Powell's Books forever.

[kucoach7]

Did you have any buyers remorse towards Demarr before TC?

If you did, how do you feel now with Demarr looking really good?

We didn't have any remorse before TC because we knew that we were going to overpay to bring in a young wing. That was always part of the plan. However, we would have had buyer's remorse if DerMarr would have had a bad TC. We're very happy that DerMarr is looking like he will become the player we thought he could become and hope that he continues to be #TCblessed (hashtag courtesy of Doug).

[kucoach7]

Does this accurately describe your reaction to Dirk reestablishing himself as a franchise player and winning MIP?

That is actually real footage captured by TMZ at our team Halloween party.

[kucoach7]

Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: So, does the tax work?

If the purpose of the tax is to keep competition equal by discouraging them from jacking up their cap, then no. I had thought I was going to make the playoffs then I probably would have kept the big contracts and shelled out. However, I saw that the Grizzlies had played a ton of road games and I had played a ton of home games and Cuttino was out for two months so the tax worked in discouraging me from paying 40+ points to be the worst lottery pick two years in a row.

Sounds like it works. I see the tax as a kind of tax on accumulated League wealth. If you are stockpiling overpaid or poorly fitting pieces, then the reward is not worth the cost. In that sense, it makes owners, at least those who are capable, try to be more efficient. I'd say in your case, that worked.

Framed in that way, would you care to add to your answer?

Also, Powell's Books forever.

That is a great way of thinking of it. I have usually only thought of it as a penalty for teams that pay to play well but it can also work as guiding hand for teams that are hoarding talent that isn't producing. It worked for me but, then again, I always struggle with being points poor because I don't make the playoffs very often.

[JNR]

Does this accurately describe your reaction to Dirk reestablishing himself as a franchise player and winning MIP?

That is actually real footage captured by TMZ at our team Halloween party.

[ballsohard]

Many fans in Portland say the only conference you can win is the press conference, what would be your response to the anxious fans ?

[kucoach7]

Many fans in Portland say the only conference you can win is the press conference, what would be your response to the anxious fans ?

1. They're probably right.
2. Only 5 of 14 teams have ever won the Western Conference so I don't really feel that bad about it.
3. I'm glad O'Hard is in the other Conference so we don't have to go through him to get to the Finals.