Why the Trail Blazers Did Nothing in Day 1 of Free Agency & Likely Won’t Make a Splash In the Market

Why the Trail Blazers Did Nothing in Day 1 of Free Agency & Likely Won’t Make a Splash In the Market

in today’s show the Trailblazers don’t make any moves in the opening day of free agency and that should come as no surprise This was always the plan based on what they’ve done so far Welcome to Locked on Blazers Let’s get into it You are Locked on Trailblazers your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day What’s up world it’s your past first point guard and Trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond You are listening to another episode of Locked on Blazers part of the Locked on Podcast Network available wherever you get podcasts and also on YouTube Thanks for making this show your first listen Coming at you each and every weekday Monday through Friday So make it a part of your daily routine Make it your first listen Tell your friends to do the same as Locked on Blazers your team every day In today’s show we’re talking about night one day one afternoon one of NBA free agency where the Blazers did nothing Of course they didn’t do anything If you pay attention to their recent run of moves it was clear that today wasn’t the day to make a seismic change They’ve already made those and the choices they made led to the planned and probably rightful inaction on day one of free agency We’ll talk about the things they didn’t do and why they didn’t do them The gift of roster clarity that they are offering you plus who did make moves in free agency what teams in the West got better and what teams got worse and what that means for the Blazers future We got a lot to get into Let’s just let’s get it rolling Um first of all of course the Blazers didn’t do anything Of course they didn’t do anything because they’ve already done the moves they have made thus far informed the quite frankly probably necessity for an action in free agency Let’s get into all that and what what I mean by that DeAndre Aiden was bought out on the eve of free agency and according to Jake Fiser of Bleach Report and the Stein Line DeAndre Aiden reportedly gave back about $10 million off his $35.5 million salary Gave back to get out of Portland to get to be free to all of those things Um theoretically mutually beneficial for both uh parties Aiden won’t clear waiverss until Wednesday A uh I think the overwhelmingly likely destination for him is indeed the Los Angeles Lakers a team without a starting center And Aiden if um for all his flaws is probably still a starting center in the NBA Um I probably he’s still a starting caliber center in the NBA albeit with with some real challenges as as as what he sort of brings to the table But when the Blazers chose to say like we are not you know I I think it’s a pretty compelling case You say DeArden was the best uh as of Sunday morning uh Sunday even as Sunday afternoon He’s the best center on the Blazers roster but the Blazers when they chose to buy out DA reach a buyout agreement with DA and he gave some money back Um they picked you know they chose to say “Hey we’re going to commit to Klingan We’re going to commit to to Yang Hansen or Yang Hansen We’re going to commit to like you know finding spots for Rob Williams when he’s healthy and available to to how he can contribute and we believe that Dwab Breath can be you know fill in the gaps as needed But they also freed up the non- taxpayer mid-level exception which is a contract that starts at 14.1 I think I said 14 and a half on yesterday’s show 14.1ish million dollars Um it can be up to a four-year deal but that’s it It starts at 14.1 has escalations up to up to there That’s that’s your non they’re they’re out of the they’re free of the tax and Aiden’s biote allowed them that room to use the use the mid-level exception the full midle but what you’re offering with the full midle is like a contract again that like a lot of teams can use or contract like a I should say like a tool a a a free agency tool because it’s not it’s not cap space it’s like um it’s a tool for teams that are above the cap but are not taxpaying teams um a tool like a tool to sign players um that that many teams will have access to right so so you’re offering like a relatively market standard contracts albeit how much you offer is I think is the sort of relative difference But after they made the DeAndre Aton move like what are they really offering think about it What the Blazers in free agency are looking for realistically is like a fourth forward behind Denny Avdia Tumani Kamar and Jeremy Grant a fifth center behind the aforementioned Klingan Young uh DWOP Reef and Rob Williams A fourth guard behind Drew Holiday Scoot Henderson and Shaden Sharp And that is assuming that Matise Thyel doesn’t exist because he could be your fourth guard or he could be your fourth forward Um and Matise Thyel does in fact exist and is at least a very effective defensive player even if he has some um some warts on offense When I would say um a moment here when free agents are choosing where they want to go they’re choosing usually about three things Money role proximity to a championship So first of all how much money can you pay them okay the mid-level exception A lot of teams have about that kind of money So the money might be about even for sort of the level of players that Blazers are bidding for Role What’s the role look like how much playing time do I have do I have an opportunity to start like that matters Money and role Some players are like above money and role but typically in free agency the way it’s worked over the last few years is like you’re signing you’re signing like roish players like you’re not like stars don’t really change teams in free agency in modern NBA So you’re signing role players So it’s available playing time and what you know kind of opportunity on the roster the money that you’re offering them And then if those things are relatively equal typically the deciding um the deciding factor is proximity to a championship Certainly like warm weather close to family the like the tax situation in Texas and Florida versus like Southern California and Oregon But like money roll proximity to a championship The Blazers have money but they don’t have a realistic role as previously explained like fourth forward fifth center fourth guard um at best Um and and they certainly aren’t selling realistically like proximity to a championship for anyone that pays like real attention to the league So like what are they of course they didn’t make any moves early in free agency because they’re looking for a back half of the rotation player They have 13 players under contract with two roster spots If I had to guess I bet they only carry 14 into the regular season So really you’re offering one roster spot You’re talking like a deep bench guy Deep bench guys sign for the minimum deep bench guys you don’t spend the mid level on Before the Blazers chose to wave DeAndre Aton on Sunday nights I think perhaps making a more aggressive splash in free agency would have been believable albeit with less to work with right they had a lot less um wiggle room below the tax line If you are like rolling forward with these like expensive veteran players on the roster maybe it does make sense to say like well might as well sign someone and just like you know maximize the sort of overall talent level that we’ve got available to us Like let’s let’s sure like maybe we’re creating a log jam and maybe it’s like blocking young players from playing but if you’re going to keep if you’re going to keep eight on the roster and you’re going to move forward into the season there is an argument to be made spend the money in free agency Maximize your chances Go go go Like don’t don’t no half no half measures right well a lack of movement after the DeAndre Aton decision to buy DeAndre Aiden out after waving DeAndre Aiden makes a lot more sense It makes a lot more sense because what the Blazers chose with the Eightton move was to clarify the roster was a decluttering choice I think in some ways the Afrey Simons trade for Drew Holiday can be viewed in the same manner It is a trade to make try to make the roster make more sense and commit to the young um giving clear paths clear opportunities to the young core the young players that they’ve recently drafted No log jams you know no no one like very specifically in the way If Aiden was on the roster he’s gonna play 30 some minutes a night right he’s going to play like 31 minutes a night You’re talking 17 minutes of extra center like center time behind him for eight for for Cllingon who was pretty good in year one and for uh for Yang Hansen who the Blazers like you know went and got right they went they went and got their guy If nothing else the Blazers have given you the gift of roster clarity by not by making the moves they have made to thus far in free agency and through the draft and through the trade market By making the moves they have made thus far they have given you the gift of roster clarity Maybe not the gift of roster excellence That’s something that remains to be seen but at least a gift of clarity of of roles with some caveats Let’s talk about those caveats Let’s talk about the sort of bump still there But I I do believe that not making a move in free agency makes total sense given the bigger picture Let’s talk a little bit more about that in the second segment Join me there won’t you first though let’s talk about FanDuel We got summer sports rolling along whether that’s baseball the WNBA or footy We got the MLS we got the NWSL we got it all here and FanDuel is the best way to make every game every match even more exciting So listen if you’re a sports fan you’re already following the action And if you want to add a little thrill or just a little more interest FanDuel can help you get in on the game while your friends are just chilling on the couch or maybe they’re out doing whatever they are doing and you’re you’re adding some excitement to your sports viewing Um FanDuel makes the FanDuel as an app is super easy to use It’s super clean You’re going to find bets on everything from pregame odds to live betting You can build same game parlays You can you know bet pregame and watch that ride out all the way to the ninth inning if you’re a baseball person or deep into the 90th minute if you’re a footy fan FanDuel can help you be part of the action If you’re new to FanDuel new customers can bet just $5 and get 150 bucks in bonus bets if your first bet wins So open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started All right I mentioned gift of roster clarity By making the decisions they’ve made the Blazers have said “We’re going to priorit like we we don’t want Eightton in the way of of uh of of Klingan and Young and and and Rob Williams should he be healthy right we want we want a clear path for those gentlemen to play.” and they didn’t want to take back multi-year contracts because those not only would it like clog up the books for when extensions would potentially kick in for Shaden Sharp and Tumati Kamar should they sign them um to those extensions uh but like just those players would be on the roster next year They’ve given you that clear path They’ve given you the question remains whether clarity leads to success in the grand scheme The math hasn’t changed for the Blazers ultimate path to success If this is going to be a good team one of either Shaden Sharp or Scoot Henderson has to get really good You know there’s a world in which like Tumi Kamaro takes this massive step forward and becomes Scotty Pippen but like that seems maybe a little bit uh a little bit too far uh too far a foot like Denny Aavia was obviously very good last year um and and and was the Blazers best player but is like does he have like three tiers up and that he could go you know maybe I don’t know maybe right but but like the I think the Blazers best path is banking on one of these dudes who has not celebrated their 23rd birthday yet to take the big leap that’s why you draft guys in the lottery Um the the o the overall math in that instance like hasn’t changed That’s still that’s still their path roster clarity doesn’t necessarily make it any um cleaner for those guys to get really good That probably is the onus is largely on them But roster clarity getting guys out of the way so they have so young players have opportunity to play and there’s no pressure on the coaching staff and no awkwardness about who plays and um you know like oh Afrey Simons is the longest tenure player on the roster and DeAndre’s making $35 million So there’s like it the sort of the political stuff that goes into who plays and when on a on a on an NBA team like that in some ways has been removed Um I think there’s still question marks in general about how exactly Drew fits into the equation Although broadly speaking it’s a relatively minor question because theoretically he fits very well He can play next to Shaden Sharp as a one He can play next to Scoot Henderson as a two He can be an offball guy he can toggle on the ball a little bit like the the in theory Holiday is a much much better fit than Afrey Simons and Holiday of the last half decade has been a much much better player of Anthony Simons albeit he is eight years older than him and is coming off a kind of a down season So like you know if father time is a factor that could be something But like the theory of why Drew Holiday fits with the young guards and fits with the roster is very clean and very obvious and very easy to to sort of um comprehend Theory and practice are are our sweetmates not lovers They do not share a bed They maybe share a room They share like a larger apartment or something but like they can you you know they you can get there right because theory and practice could meet up and share a meal and then anything’s possible You know you find interests that uh that you find shared interests and really a spark could happen Theory practice now now they’re truly in love So there’s questions about where Drew Holidayiday fits Um there’s questions about Jeremy Grant’s role because he is like the most natural spot for Jeremy Grant would be a bench roll right but he is um the Blazer’s most well he’s he’s he’s I was going to say most veteran but I forgot that Drew days is old Um he is he’s you know a veteran player He’s he’s you know paid a bunch of money and paid to be a starter and started the majority of last season when he was available and kind of when they kicked it into gear they moved Jeremy Grant into the starting lineup But like in in like the sort of ideal world for the Blazers Grant is a bench guy right like you start the young guards with Scoot and Shaden Sharp you start Tomani and Denny who are better than Jeremy Grant and you bring them off the bench Um there’s a there’s a question about his comfort I think it was pretty clearly uh reported at least here on Locked on Blazers It’s why you listen to the podcast that Grant had some discomfort about his role last year Um but like part of running a basketball team is managing the discomfort Part of like Chanty Phillips’s job is is massaging egos and dealing with all of those things And part of the front office job is being clear about like we’re giving you $30 million Um like this is your role and like you you will still be getting your 105 106 million bucks over the following three seasons be cool So there’s questions about Jeremy Grant’s role and and and and future and his comfort on the team and like if they do roll with the bigs and it’s and and um with the sort of big forwards and it’s Jeremy and and Denny and two like which guard gets squeezed if they roll with those guys Andrew and both young guards get squeezed that’s weird but like the Blazers have created a path where it is relatively simple for at least one of the young guards in Scoot and Shaden to start both young forwards to start and a young center to get action right they’ve created roster clarity they’ve decluttered ed the roster That that is what the DeAndre Aiden move really signaled was a decluttering It isn’t I I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is picking a direction because as I mentioned the direction will be defined largely by the same thing it was going to be defined by in the past the the general development of the Blazers young players Um if you pick a path and the players aren’t good it doesn’t matter like that doesn’t matter Congratulation you picked a path that doesn’t that didn’t work You need to pick another path now So I wouldn’t say that like okay now they’ve clearly chosen a direction The direction will choose itself What they have provided is clarity and de and a decluttering that allows for this to happen in a way that is smoother easier and simpler Whether it works is kind of another question But I would say what they’ve done is allow for the the the question to be answered in a more simple way I will say this waving DeAndre Aton after trading for him and having him be in some ways the centerpiece at least initially of the Damen Lord trade although I think in hindsight the centerpiece of the Damian Lord trade turns out to be Tumi Kamara But like it’s not exactly like a deft maneuver Um this isn’t like the best asset management right this isn’t like um perfectly structured moving on you know taking a uh you know trading a a paperclip and making it into a Learjet or whatever This is kind of just like realizing that your Learjet needs more repairing than you can afford lighting it on fire and leaving it in someone’s uh parking lot Like just like “Yeah this didn’t work out Let’s get out of here.” I think there is something to be said for making a decisive choice in saying like this is the clarity that helps us find out what’s next This is the path that will give us the easiest way to know what we have This is the way to declutter the roster make a decision make those decisions and get where you need to go this particular podcaster the the young man that you are listening to um increasingly less young every day the the young man you are listening to or watching on YouTube depending on how you consume this here podcast has been crying and whining about the Blazers picking a direction and clarity And so like while I I I still reserve the right to be somewhat skeptical of the sort of overall what’s on the other side making a clear path choosing ch saying like this listen this is how we get there We don’t know what’s over there but this is how we get there I can’t I can’t hate on that And that brings me back to the free agency part adding a free agent particularly a big money free agent would have just added more clutter to this thing Like certainly and I didn’t even mention Ryan Rupair and Chris Murray and my sort of like math about who plays and when because like if the Blazers are fully healthy those gentlemen are probably out of the rotation to begin with But like what the Blazers need in free agency is probably like a shooter that can play a little bit but like you don’t have a clear role for them So what are you offering the Luke Canards of the world guess what he’s already gone Um and like and they probably could use an emergency point guard type but an emergency point guard like a fourth point like a a end of the bench point guard for like insurance purposes is just not a player you target in day one of free agency And because the Blazers made these moves to give themselves more space and less clutter and and the sort of more clarity of of sort of roster and roles not making a move made sense in light of all of the other choices That doesn’t mean it’ll work That doesn’t mean it’s a necessarily good plan but at least it is a choice And as someone who has whined about their sort of like one foot in one foot out what are they doing and I think even in light of the initial Drew Holiday trade my my main reaction was like “Yeah Drew Holiday might be really good but like what are they doing i don’t understand it.” I think I have more I think I have a better understanding of what they’re doing I’m not going to I’m not going to say that that you aren’t allowed to be skeptical and you have to like all hail Joe Cronin or whatever nonsense Like I don’t believe that What I believe is that this is these are choices that allow for easier evaluation and that the evaluation will probably give you the final judgment on what whether it works But if you don’t create a space that allows for evaluation you’re just you’re not doing yourself any favors The Blazers have given you a gift of roster clarity Now you figure out whether this clarified roster makes any sense Speaking of making sense speaking of like being talented enough to take off I think the Blazers are decent They could put out some really good defensive lineups and um may struggle to score every single night they take the floor Um but I want to look at other moves that happen around the Western Conference and talk about where the Blazers stack up Um I think they’re still a play in hopeful um at best but let’s talk about the moves that did happen on day one of free agency and where the Blazers are in the pecking order Join me in that third segment won’t you still a pass first point guard I’m still Mike Richmond and you are still listening to Locked on Blazers Let’s just run down the West We’ll do it in the order of the standings that ended the year and talk about who did what and where the Blazers might stack in the pecking order of day one of free agency I I I waited until like 11:00 p.m to record this out of respect for how news works in the NBA So if I do miss anything just know that it happened like you know after after 10:30 on on Monday evening here out in Portland Uh Oklahoma City they won 68 games last year They’re still freaking good That’s that’s how this one is going to work They’re still good Houston I think everyone is going to call Houston the big winner of the day And probably rightfully so They added Dorian Finny Smith who left the Lakers That’s important and end and ended up in Houston They also added Clint Capella because every team needs three good centers I guess Um Shenon and Steven Adams and Clint Capella Um that’s a lot of centers but I but Clink Capella is at least in in theory a very useful backup and and that’s uh helpful Uh Houston also retained like all of their ancillary pieces Aaron Holiday Jeff Green JH Tate like everybody’s back in the pool They probably have too many dudes but they’ve got a lot of talent added next to um Kevin Durant So that team’s still very good The Lakers I think they got worse because they didn’t end up with a center They’re like seemed like extremely destined to sign DeAndre Aen in free agency once he clears waiverss Um but I think they’re certainly worse They lose Dorian Finny Smith who’s like such a crucial part of their already kind of questionable defense They add a Jake Lavia a nice bench piece like like Lavia is certainly better than I thought he would be in the in the pros Um shout out to the former Wake Forest standouts but yeah the Lakers are worse I think that’s helpful for the Blazers and anyone and true Lakers haters out in the world Uh the Nuggets who were the fourth seed in the West last year they traded Michael Porter Jr for Cam Johnson Cam Johnson famously went 11th in the draft Cam Johnson went 11 That’s love bro Um Cam Johnson’s good He’s not he’s probably overrated Like Cam Johnson’s my guy dude Go Tar Hills but like probably a little overrated with how impactful he is right now but I do think pretty darn helpful for the Nuggets Adding Cam Johnson and a reunion with Bruce Brown That’s good stuff In Denver the the Clippers added Brook Lopez cuz they are interested in being old Deeply invested in having gentlemen who have already celebrated their 35th birthday They’ve retained James Harden They still employ Kawi Leonard Now they’ve added Brook Lopez to the bench I do think they need another center like they always played funky small lineups when they weren’t uh when my man Zoo wasn’t in the game but like yeah Brooklyn was 37 At some point that matters Uh the Timberwolves I think they’re still one of the very good teams They chose to retain Nas Reed and Julius Randall and they let Nikil Alexander Walker go He heads to Atlanta Kaka the Hawks Everyone’s going to say they’re cooking too Every what you’re going to read tomorrow or maybe you’ve already read by the time you’re listening to this you’re making this your first listen I appreciate it is like Houston and Atlanta had good days They’ve had good free agent runs and they have They’ve had really nice off seasonason so far Shout out to the shout out to both of those organizations for for putting it together But the Wolves they retain Nazri They retain Julius Randle That’s still a team that’s going to win a bunch of games Warriors haven’t done anything TBD on Jonathan Kaminga Uh they did lose Kavon Looney to the Pelicans Sure Uh the Grizzlies boy did they spend they spent a lot of money today and still have to shed some money to make all these moves even official Um they re-uped Steering Jackson Jr for a ton of money They got Santi Alama back They’re going to add Ty Jerome They’re going to wave Cole Anthony who they acquired in the Orlando trade to in order to make all of that happen Um this is probably good business It’s a ton of money for Jiren Jackson Jr but he’s a very good basketball player and that’s kind of the point of having a team Uh Santi Alama is someone I really like because of the passing and the the sort of off the dribble game Um he’s he’s interesting He can play like small forward and gigantic lineups a little bit like in part because of like what Jiren does Um and he can also play a little bit of like tiny ball five Um he’s a four but like he’s I like Aldama He’s he’s a Mike Richmond favorite Um Cole Anthony hope you hope you get a new job Ty Jerome um they’re betting on him and the shooting and off the dribble stuff and the and the strides he made in Cleveland translating to the for the Grizzlies I think that I think that helps Um the Kings reportedly added Dennis Shruder although I I think that deal’s not finalized cuz they may end up sending out Bleak Monk in the process And they’re also probably in the Russell Westbrook business adding Shruder and Russ Um the Kings are so weird adding mid-level free agents to that particular team It’s like the Kings are going to Kings Um the Mavs they got DLO they got D’Angelo Russell long reported by the Stein by Mark Stein of the Stein line uh that D’Angelo Russell was going to end up there Like they’re just it’s if Kyrie Irving isn’t available for the first 55 or 65 games of the season the Mavs aren’t very good If Kyrie Irving is available before that and ready to ride like coming back off an ACL injury um they’re going to be good If not I think they’re not very good Um the Suns they’re chilling They had Colin Gillespie and and uh Euro League standout and former Wisconsin great Shout out to uh Frank Kaminsky and Sam Decker Nigel Hayes Davis joins joins the Suns That’s meaningless Those those are I maybe meaningful but those are not those are not big ones Like I think the takeaway from night one of free agency The Blazers don’t do anything right they don’t do anything Is pretty much everybody’s trying to be competitive in the West except for the Jazz Shout out to the Jazz Uh when Austin H took over the job he said there won’t be any more roster manipulating We’re not going to you’re not going to see that again So you know what he did he just waved Jordan Clarkson and then traded Colin Ston to hell That’s also known as Charlotte North Carolina Um where uh where the uh Hornets have not won a playoff series since George W Bush was in office That’s real Um that that’s a real timeline My goodness Like it’s like no like we’re not going to do any of that You’re not going to see any of that roster manipulation stuff I believe was what Austin says Like you won’t see that this year Yeah because they’re going to trade their vets so they don’t put themselves in awkward positions The Jazz are going to be bad naturally not by um instead of by hook or by crook last year when they got like in trouble for just like holding veterans out of the game out of the lineup Like they’re not going to do that this year They’re not going to they’re not going to get into that mess Instead they’re just like not going to have good players on the roster That’s how you tank baby You just don’t have a roster good enough to play But the other 14 teams in the West are going for it Like I don’t think the Suns are very good I don’t think the Mavs I think the Mavs just healthwise are dicey I think the Kings are pretty mediocre Um the Pelicans are obviously an absolute mess They signed Kavon Looney Their roster makes zero sense I was texting with a friend today I was like I really like free agency because I think like the most one of the most fun parts of of the NBA is like building a roster that makes sense right you build a roster that’s complimentary This guy fits We are allowed to play different shapes Like I think like the fun part of why Houston is so good is cuz they can play like super big They can play smaller lineups with all wings They can play lineups where Kevin Durant is like functionally the center They can play lineups where Kevin Durant is functionally the shooting guard right like it’s they’re just they can play so big so small so many different like throw so throw me so many different looks at you I think that’s one of OKC strengths is so many different ways Like the parts fit and they fit interchangeably and they allow you to to do different things and play up and play down um or the Pelicans roster that just makes no sense And I was texting with a friend I was like I like I like free agency because you can build you get to see teams build smart rosters that make sense together and then you get to build see like the other half of the league build rosters that make almost no sense together Uh and that’s equally fun and I feel like that’s what that’s what going on in New Orleans So like the Jazz are the only team in the west that clearly is not interested in winning The Pelicans just traded their freaking lottery their first round pick unprotected next year So like theoretically they’re invested in being good because like they’ve given away that draft pick Yikes Um so uh even like let’s let’s just say the Pelicans stink cuz they probably do right that’s they’re probably like a 30 win team The Jazz they’re bad too The Suns like they’re worse talent-wise cuz they lost Kevin Durant but they won 36 games last year and if you were like “Hey the Suns are going to win 35 games this season.” I say “Yeah that’s about that seems fine.” And so like I don’t think they’re materially worse than their record was a year ago Although they’re just not very good That’s three teams that are probably when you just kind of like look at the Blazers roster that you could say like yeah Portland’s better than Utah better than Phoenix better than better than New Orleans Sure Probably I think Phoenix could be peskier than maybe I’m giving them credit for right now but I I just don’t love their roster The Kings are a mess You could talk the talk yourself into the Blazers being better than them Although I think like right now they have more talent Talent and success are not always one to one correlations But I I think you’re I think those are the teams and the Mavs are like such a question mark just with their health Everyone else like some of those like I said the California teams have have some downside The Clippers and Lakers are old Uh the Warriors are are just like old and and and we’ll see where they end up Like but I think when you look at where the Blazers stand they are a team that’s like in the playinish range They’re somewhere between the 12th and ninth best team in the West depending on how aggressive you want to be There’s an upside world where they jump to seventh There’s a downside world where they fall to 13th But they’ve given you the gift of roster clarity They’re going to play They they they they have a plan in place to have a clear evaluation space And for me personally and from my perspective I’m not invested in the Blazers being a playoff team next year I don’t think they should care about um being postseason and all that stuff And I would say their moves thus far in the offseason have allowed them to cleanly both not care about that and evaluate their young players And I think that’s for me that’s about as much as you could ask for Whether it works is a question that we will decide down the line But giving yourself a space to figure it out and not chasing like okay we got to be the eighth best team in the west for whatever reason That’s there’s much more value in just giving yourself yourself a clean path to know what you have as opposed to a determined path to find out if you can indeed be the eighth best team in the west for two seasons before uh being the 11th best team in the west for six consecutive seasons after that because you just you get caught in the middle and they get caught in the sort of downswell of of chasing the middle The Blaze didn’t do anything on night one Eventually they’ll have to do something Either expand the Drew Holiday trade or make a minor move in free agency But if you’re expecting them to use that big old taxpayer mid-level exception non-taxpayer mid-lecept exception excuse me the full MLE don’t They’re not going to do that because if you look at the moves they’ve made just doesn’t make sense with the roster Success is a little bit different than plan The plan is clear Whether the plan is effective remains to be seen That’s going to do it for today’s show Come back for tomorrow’s show We we’ll talk about whatever happens in day two of free agency and look ahead to the future of the Blazers What we do five days a week wherever you get podcasts also on YouTube I appreciate you listening I’ll talk to you soon

The Trail Blazers have made plenty of splashy moves to begin the offseason. But once they hit free agency they went quiet. Let’s talk about why that was the plan based on the choices they have made thus far.

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