Portland Pre-season Presser #34

[kucoach7]

I would love to make this interesting for y'all but I just don't think I have it in me this year. Training camp was a big downer. Zion got destroyed for the second time in three years. He was always supposed to be Jaylen's replacement so it is a big hit to our long term ceiling. Joseph Reading also got beat up. He is supposed to be our starting center for the next 5 years so the ceiling got lower there as well. At least we won't have to pay him a max contract next year in RFA. On the other hand, his best days are already behind him at this point. So, yeah, I'm a little bitter. What about insurance, you say? We chose to insure Frank, Marvin, and Ronnie. We have $330 million promised to those guys. The chose wasn't just easy, it was obvious. If I could go back and do it again, I'd make the same choice. I had to protect the guys I'd already paid. The good news is, with those three under contract, we have a solid core in place that should keep the team good. Because we won't have to pay Zion and Joe Reading big bucks, we'll be able to keep our core in tact without breaking the bank. Will be be contenders? Probably not without some help.

Rant over. Let's talk about the past, as is customary at these sorts of things. Last year we won 51 games, tied for the third best regular season in team history. Is that kind of depressing? The part about it being the third best season in Blazers history is? The part about winning 51 games is not. Ronald Small continues to improve and we still hold that this guy will be a top 5 player before all is said and done. Our young guys made modest improvements. We made the second round of the playoffs for just the sixth time in team history. Even though we probably only advanced because the Kings were super injured, we still celebrate that. The memories of three playoff runs with purple/purple Ron Artest wearing a suit on the sidelines are still fresh for us as is that one where Lavar Ball was hurt. This is one reason we feel fine running back the same squad. You never know, we're only a couple of injuries to the right players on the right teams from winning a championship.

This year we should be better. Marvin Bagley will be a most improved player candidate. We truly think he will make The Leap this year. Frank Jackson could also make a nice step forward after three very consistent years. The locker room is in as good a shape to start a season as it has ever been. We're ready to play and I'm ready for a sandwich. Let's take some questions and wrap this thing up.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com:With Zion Williamson looking like a bust, what are the chances that Jaylen Brown gets a contract offer to stay in Portland next off-season?

[Darth Vegito]

What are your realistic expectations for this season? Think you can grab the 8 seed?

[NickMalone77]

Was there any doubt that you weren't going to bring back Jackson and Bagely during RFA? With having Small and Jaylen around, the idea of this Blazers squad not having Jackson and Marvin back would've been catastrophic to being a competing squad this year ahead.

[kucoach7]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com:With Zion Williamson looking like a bust, what are the chances that Jaylen Brown gets a contract offer to stay in Portland next off-season?

At this point we're not planning on bringing Jaylen back but you never know. I think we'd like to get under the cap next year so we can keep our core 3 around long term.

[kucoach7]

What are your realistic expectations for this season? Think you can grab the 8 seed?

You obviously play in the East. Out here in the west a squad of our caliber should be thinking about home court advantage in the first round as a possibility.

[kucoach7]

Was there any doubt that you weren't going to bring back Jackson and Bagely during RFA? With having Small and Jaylen around, the idea of this Blazers squad not having Jackson and Marvin back would've been catastrophic to being a competing squad this year ahead.

Jackson was probably always going to come back because we figured he would get less than a max and we don't really have a backup plan at SG. We definitely would have been open to a sign and trade for Bagley if the right team had signed him. He's still unhappy here and we have both a solid veteran and prospect at PF outside of Bagley. That said, the Kings signed him, there wasn't really a good fit for a trade there, so we matched.

[Xist2Inspire]

With Small in his prime, is there any worry that your younger talent may not be maturing fast enough to make a serious run at a title with Small at the helm?

[WigNosy]

Do you think Marvin Bagley III will be able to live up to his contract?

[TheSyndicate]

What’s an under the radar strength of your team? Weakness?

[kucoach7]

With Small in his prime, is there any worry that your younger talent may not be maturing fast enough to make a serious run at a title with Small at the helm?

Yes and no. Yes, because Bagley has been so slow developing and Reading is now abruptly done developing but no because we still like our squad and think we can contend for a championship before Small's prime ends.

[kucoach7]

Do you think Marvin Bagley III will be able to live up to his contract?

Absolutely. He'll be averaging 20 and 10 before the end of it. To me, that is worth the money.

[kucoach7]

What’s an under the radar strength of your team? Weakness?

Under the radar strength is Irvin Benjamin. I like having a defense first big I can plug into the starting lineup for certain matchups. The under the radar weakness is depth. I don't like our depth at guard near as much as I did last year with Russ coming off the bench.