Portland Pre-season Presser 2029

[kucoach7]

Last season was a bit odd. Honestly, I did some of my finest work as a GM but was pretty busy with IRL stuff and didn't spend a lot of time participating in the league or coaching my team. I think the outcomes really show that. The first thing we did last offseason was add Peter Hartley, who is really great but also on the block (hmu if you're interested). This was a key move because it allowed us to use the mid-level exception to sign Victor Newman, without preventing us from resigning Karl-Anthony Towns. We then traded KAT, a pick, and spare parts to bring in Andrew Wiggins. That was some mighty fine GMing, if I do say so myself. From there we just kind of let it ride out. Ronald Small took a big step back at a really inopportune time. But a starting 5 of Small, Frank, Wiggins, Bagley, and Reading with a solid 7,8,9 of Newman, Hartley, and Garrido carried us to our second highest win total ever, 56 games.

Side note, in my first 32 seasons as the Blazers GM, we won 50+ games three times. Since then we have won 50+ games 4 times in a row. This is a tremendous achievement for a team like the Blazers and a GM like me. But....

Back to the story, last post season was a tremendous disappointment. We had home court advantage and squandered it. We got blitzed by the high flying Hawks. We just weren't prepared. So the season ended with a thud. We've only advanced out of the first round once in our four season 50 win streak. THAT is a disappointment for sure.

That leads to this offseason. We got a guy we really like in the draft but we traded him away with Victor Newman, who we were also really really sad to see leave, and a future pick for Jayson Tatum. Even though Tatum took a big hit in camp, this is team is a dream come true for me. We'll have to prodigal sons in Small and Tatum out there with home grown guys in Frank and Marv. Thrown in Reading, who has been with is almost his entire career, and Wiggins who came back, and it is an exciting time for the Blazers. Are we going to pay a hefty price for this team? Yup. But I am just going to enjoy the ride.

I'm not sure what the rotation will look like to be honest. Tatum and Wiggins are pretty redundant. Right now, I'd say Wiggins is the super sub. We are definitely going to move a big man or two. We had a great free agency and brought in starting quality bigs like Hyman Low and Predrag Saric so we have a bit of a log jam there, especially with Hartley still on the squad. Our goals are lofty. We want to win our first division title, win 60 games for the first time, and make the playoffs for the fifth straight year for the first time in franchise history. Obviously, we want to win our first championship as well, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if none of those things happened. We are the Blazers after all.

[Wombataholic]

Do you think the Blazers are the favorites in division 5?

[MexicanMamba]

You mention a logjam of bigs, so have you actively been taking calls regarding trades for any of them? And what do you feel would be the most important piece(s) for you to add to your roster to maximize your winning potential?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Division 5 is certainly an arms race, and to have a chance at winning, you almost need to spend big there. How do you find a balance between spending big to win this season versus not jeopardizing the next several seasons?

[false9]

Even with your glut of bigs, any chance we’ll see a small ball lineup with Bagley at center and Hartley at PF?

[Xist2Inspire]

Usually when teams rack up huge salary totals, they're expecting to make the Conference Finals at the very least that season. Is this a make-or-break season for you, or is Small's giant deal a signal that you're commiting to competing for years to come?

[kucoach7]

Do you think the Blazers are the favorites in division 5?

No. The Bulls are the reigning division champs and they may have gotten better so they are the favorites to me.

[kucoach7]

You mention a logjam of bigs, so have you actively been taking calls regarding trades for any of them? And what do you feel would be the most important piece(s) for you to add to your roster to maximize your winning potential?

Because the bigs on min deals are not available yet, the phone hasn't been ringing off the hook. I'd say mostly we need points, a legit backup guard, or may we get crazy and expand the deal and bring in a star center.

[kucoach7]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Division 5 is certainly an arms race, and to have a chance at winning, you almost need to spend big there. How do you find a balance between spending big to win this season versus not jeopardizing the next several seasons?

At this point we're not thinking beyond this season. i.e. we are jeopardizing the next few seasons. We have the vague outline of a plan for next season but we're not worried about it right now. As I said, we are really not good at sustaining success.

[kucoach7]

Even with your glut of bigs, any chance we’ll see a small ball lineup with Bagley at center and Hartley at PF?

I've thought about it. I've also thought about getting Tatum some minutes at PF to make sure we're using Wiggins. We've got a lot of options and that is a good thing.

[kucoach7]

Usually when teams rack up huge salary totals, they're expecting to make the Conference Finals at the very least that season. Is this a make-or-break season for you, or is Small's giant deal a signal that you're commiting to competing for years to come?

I wouldn't call this a make or break year but I doubt we keep the crew together another year regardless of the outcome. I think we'll shuffle things up next year even if we bring home the chip and can bring everyone back.

[greepleairport]

Do you think the Blazers are the favorites in division 5?

No. The Bulls are the reigning division champs and they may have gotten better so they are the favorites to me.

You’re making big moves this year, though! Will you make a run at the Bulls? It’s certainly stacked and may be favorites, but from a coaching perspective how might you challenge them for a playoff run?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kucoach7]

Do you think the Blazers are the favorites in division 5?

No. The Bulls are the reigning division champs and they may have gotten better so they are the favorites to me.

You’re making big moves this year, though! Will you make a run at the Bulls? It’s certainly stacked and may be favorites, but from a coaching perspective how might you challenge them for a playoff run?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is a great question and one I hadn't thought of at all. Looking at our teams, I think our best hope would be just to try and overwhelm them on the wings. The Spurs almost went back to back doing this when they had Tatum, Gebhart, and Bower. With three guys like that (or Jackson, Tatum, and Wiggins in our case), teams really just struggle to find an answer for them 4 games out of 7.

[WigNosy]

Considering how much you paid him, does this adequately describe your feelings for Small?