2022 Blazers Presser: A Fresh Start with KuCoach

[kucoach7]

The press gathers in lawn chairs in Washington Park, surrounded by a rose garden, Mount Hood in the background. Portland Blazers GM, Kevin U. Coach VII sits in a lawn chair facing the media.

GM KuCoach: Welcome! Welcome! Everyone find a seat. I apologize for cancelling last year's preseason press conference. As you all know, I was on hiatus last year. I spent the year living life to the fullest. I lived in a lean-to on Mt. Hood for weeks, until the park rangers found me. I kayaked up the coast to Vancouver Island. I trained as an itamae of sushi in Japan. I lived off of nothing but goat milk for three weeks in Mongolia. I worked as a hit-man for the Russian mafia. I blessed the rain in Africa. I spent five nights in a Turkish prison. It was truly a purifying and life-changing experience. Now I have returned to my post as General Manger of the Portland Trailblazers and I am ready for a fresh start. It is a blank slate for me. Truly a new beginning. The past is behind me. All the losing. All the winning. All the disappointment. All the losing. All the impatience. All the losing. it's all behind me now. I am new GM. I am a new man.

My goal for this offseason was to get the Blazers on the same page. A fresh start. A new beginning. We were well setup for a new start except for Lavar Ball, who was about to turn 27 and really just entering his prime. We met with Lavar and decided that it would be best for both of us if we parted ways. The lotto left us at 7, which was okay but it seemed to us like the top six was where it was at so when we had the opportunity to trade up one spot, we jumped on it. We were excited to draft Frank Jackson. He's long and athletic like a wing but with the skills of a guard and we think that one day he'll be able to play three positions. Then we found the right match for Lavar in Marvin Bagley III. Bagley was number two on our draft chart so we were thrilled that he fell to 5 and that Bucks were willing to part with him.

Then we brought in a lot of interesting young players in free agency, including Fausto Garrido, who we think could be a really great addition to our future. We also resigned Kimbrough Slice to a four year deal, so we're excited to see what he can do as a veteran leader on a young squad. We had a great camp, especially Moses Barger, who really improved as a rebounder and perimeter shooter in the offseason. With three great power forward prospects in Barger, Bagley, and Gilbert, we'll consider moving Bagley to center at some point, He may spend this year in the G league.

The plan for the future is a slow rebuild. We plan on competing again in about four year and to win a championship within the next 6 years. That's our goal. We have a very clear five year plan and we will stick to it. There have been a lot of rebuilds over my time here. Except for one they have usually be partial and/or accelerated at some point. This time that wont be the case. As I said before, this is a new start for me as a GM. This is a new day for the Portland Trailblazers. I'll now answer any questions you may have.

[false9]

You've got your eye on the future- will there be a concerted effort to move Derrick Rose?

[Xist2Inspire]

What excites you the most about this fresh start after what some would call a slow, lengthy decline?

[kucoach7]

You've got your eye on the future- will there be a concerted effort to move Derrick Rose?

The plan is to keep Derrick around as long as possible. Now, if we get offered a pick or a prospect we really like, we'll have to do what's best for the team. We'll take calls but we're not making any calls and we're not just going to dump him to lose more games.

[kucoach7]

What excites you the most about this fresh start after what some would call a slow, lengthy decline?

I don't feel like the decline was all that slow. Three seasons ago we had arguably the best team we've ever had and just got decimated by injuries. On to the question. I'm excited to get prospects and watch them grow. This is something I've always enjoyed but haven't committed to. We'd get a pair like Bradley and Mashburn and then let Mash walk in FA. We got Blake and Rose and traded Blake. Dirk and Manu and traded Manu. Those trades led to great runs but this time we want to make great runs more organically and sustainable.

[ballsohard]

What have you learned from your last rebuild and how will you apply it to this one?


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[JNR]

GWR: You mentioned Bagley briefly, but I want to give you an opportunity to really gush about him. What about his game do you like? Do you see him as your franchise player of the future?

[NOLa.]

I really love your forecast articles when they come out, so how would you grade your team's forecast for the upcoming 5 seasons if your plan ultimately comes together?

[WigNosy]

Who do you see stepping forward as the leader of the next generation of Trailblazers?

[garbageman]

With plenty of cap space left, and a pretty full roster under contract for the next two seasons, is there any goal to consolidate some of those contracts into more talent this year, or are you more likely to take on expiring contracts for points and picks for the further future?

[kucoach7]

What have you learned from your last rebuild and how will you apply it to this one?


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The biggest thing I learned was just to keep options open. Last time I kept a prospect in my back pocket (Tatum, Ball, etc) that allowed me to plan for the future, whether that ended up being building around them or trading them while their stock was still high.

[kucoach7]

GWR: You mentioned Bagley briefly, but I want to give you an opportunity to really gush about him. What about his game do you like? Do you see him as your franchise player of the future?

At this point I'm unsure about his potential as a franchise player. There are a lot of young guys around the league that look an awful lot like him and I'm just not confident he'll end up being a true star that sets us apart. At the same time, I think he has the potential to be a Buddy Pedraza or even better (with a little training) and that is an exciting prospect. In short, the guy is a strong two way player. In the end he'll be able to post up, rebound, block, and handle.

[Darth Vegito]

So you basically are the first GM to officially use the "Cruise Control" status that was sarcastically suggested by myself many seasons ago. DO you think this should be a legit thing in this league and that we should make rules for it? Or can you see how allowing GMs to ghost the league for seasons at a time could be harmful to the league as a whole?

[kucoach7]

I really love your forecast articles when they come out, so how would you grade your team's forecast for the upcoming 5 seasons if your plan ultimately comes together?

Including this season, I predict the following:

Rain
Rain
Cloud
Sun
Sun

Before TC we were planning on

Rain
Rain
Rain
Cloud
Sun

But with Moses's progress as a stretch four, there is a possibility that we'll have to play big bucks for him in RFA so we may speed things up a bit so we're competing while these young studs are all still on rookie contracts.

[kucoach7]

Who do you see stepping forward as the leader of the next generation of Trailblazers?

You know, it just isn't clear at this point. Bagley may be that guy but it isn't like in the past when it was clearly Rose, Dirk, Bradley. Right now I think it's Bagley but we don't know who is walking through that door next year.

[kucoach7]

With plenty of cap space left, and a pretty full roster under contract for the next two seasons, is there any goal to consolidate some of those contracts into more talent this year, or are you more likely to take on expiring contracts for points and picks for the further future?

We're not planning on acquiring more developed talent at this time. Right now we need to keep our eye on the future so taking on expiring contracts for points/picks fits that vision. Speaking of which, Melvin McCall is available day 60 if anybody is interested.

[kucoach7]

So you basically are the first GM to officially use the "Cruise Control" status that was sarcastically suggested by myself many seasons ago. DO you think this should be a legit thing in this league and that we should make rules for it? Or can you see how allowing GMs to ghost the league for seasons at a time could be harmful to the league as a whole?

Let me start by saying that it was a really good thing for me. It allowed me the break I needed, got me excited about the league again, but I didn't have to risk losing my team or really do too much damage to my team. That being said, there were some things I did that made it work well and we might consider rules around those things. 1) I only took one season off. Allowing for more than one season off might not be a great idea because it can cause damage to the teams that is a pain to clean up. 2) I had two stewards from the other conference who had very specific and transparent roles to prevent conflicts of interest. 3) I didn't do trades. This is kind of annoying for active GMs if they want one of your dudes but it made it simple. Anyway, those are my thoughts.