Portland Pre-season Presser Number 33

[kucoach7]

We've all been doing this for a while so, yeah, it is getting a little stale. It is especially stale if you happen to be a Portland Trailblazers fan. We lose for four years, we win for a maximum of four years, and then we lose again. This is how it goes.

I really just want to share one statistic from last year. 23-17. That was our record last year after trading for Benjamin and when Reading was healthy. That is a .575 win percentage. Not amazing but definitely playoff worthy. So last year was a bit of a letdown but not because our team really underperformed or because we put together a bad team. When Reading went down we went 4-15. Yeah, that hurt but we still ended only one game away from getting the opportunity to play the Nuggets, who we beat twice in the regular season, including in Denver (pay no attention to their injuries at the time).

Honestly, that was okay with me. When I put this team together it was always built to compete not last season or even this season but next season and the next. So looking at this year. We had a solid camp. Sure, Joey Spann died, which was weird considering a lot of our projections actually had him going blue potential but that's just the Blazer way of life. Overall, our team improved a lot just by being young. Small had a great camp. We honestly think he'll be an MVP candidate eventually. Joe Reading had a really nice camp. His defense improved a ton. This year he's going to be a two way threat. Frank Jackson continues to do Frank Jackson things. As for the elephant in the room, Marvin had a really strong camp. His defense is now up to playable levels but with Benjamin around he could still be splitting time because Benjamin is an elite defender. That will probably keep him unhappy.

With that, we'll open things up for questions.

[Wombataholic]

Do you think the Blazers can compete with the Nuggets for the division title this year?

[kucoach7]

Do you think the Blazers can compete with the Nuggets for the division title this year?

I don't think we can compete with them for the division but I do think we could beat them in a playoff series.

[JNR]

GWR: The most talented players on your team are all under 30. Who do you count on to provide leadership for this team?

[ballsohard]

Next offseason is big for you. You lose a lot of guys with 1 year left on their deals and you also have a couple of free agents. What do you have in place to manage the future?

[kucoach7]

GWR: The most talented players on your team are all under 30. Who do you count on to provide leadership for this team?

This is Ronald Small's team. He runs the offense. He leads the team in scoring. He leads the team in the locker room.

[kucoach7]

Next offseason is big for you. You lose a lot of guys with 1 year left on their deals and you also have a couple of free agents. What do you have in place to manage the future?

Next offseason is big but we feel prepared for it. Obviously we are going to retain Bagley and Jackson. We also have Bird rights to Garrido so we'll do our best to bring him back as well. We'll have Bird rights to Span as well but his TC made retaining him less likely. We'll have bird rights to Benjamin as well so we'll consider bringing him back. Other than that we might make a trade before RFA. In short, we're going to try to keep the gang together.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You have a nice, strong developing lineup with a lot of good veteran role-player pieces around them. Is there an area where you think your team needs improvement?

[kucoach7]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You have a nice, strong developing lineup with a lot of good veteran role-player pieces around them. Is there an area where you think your team needs improvement?

When I look at our team, the part that worries me most is Jaylen Brown's defense. We'll need to figure out a longer term more reliable solution at the 3.

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: With quite a few guys in their contract year, is this considerd a critical season in the Blazers' development process?

[kucoach7]

Random Reporter: With quite a few guys in their contract year, is this considerd a critical season in the Blazers' development process?

I think they are highly motivated to perform but I'm realistic. Guys like Reading, Bagley, and even Jackson are not in their primes yet. They're going to do their best to go out and earn a max though.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: With 6 seconds left in the game, what brought about the ruthless actions of the Jail-blazer mentality to return against the Pelicans and injure Ekbert Winkler for a majority of the regular season?

[drkavarga]

Will any members of the Antifa be protesting outside of the arena during this week’s games or are they just saving that for the local universities?