What jumps out is how efficient they are as a group. Even a franchise killer like Tatum is still a hair better than the NBA average. You almost have to be trying to find the one guy that really hurts you.
Hopefully the defensive genius of Herbert Jones (and Valanciunas) can help them hold it together.
As a Blazers fan I knew this was coming, but still disappointed Portland couldn't consolidate the returning talent a bit more. Maybe NAW will magically learn to shoot consistently in Portland. At least they got some picks.
Wow, that's a steal for the Pelicans. In some other universe where Zion hasn't died and Graham looks like he did in Charlotte, Graham-McCollum-Jones-Ingram-Zion is a terrific lineup.
Edit: I don't actually know if McCollum is still good, and I know he has a huge contract, so my knee jerk reaction based on who CJ McCollum was the last time I paid attention to him may be incorrect. Seems like an ideal Zion offensive complement though.
Pelicans started 1-12, a stretch which Ingram missed more than half of the games. Since then, they've been a pretty solid team. I kind of think they've shown enough growth to warrant a move like this (if only Zion wasn't dead, like Pants said).
Worth pointing out that Nance is also in the deal. He was pretty useless in Portland, but he was a damn good defender and stretch big in Cleveland.
Dame is gonna have to want out, right? What the Blazers have gotten back for their best assets is pretty pathetic, imo. And it certainly makes them a lot worse right now. Not sure Dame is excited about playing with Banchero.
Yeah, I have to imagine it's a full rebuild. I can't tell what the strategy is otherwise. They should be able to clear cap room to sign a free agent this summer or something, but I don't even know who they'd go after. Kinda sucks, but it's the natural consequence of a miserable last off-season. Which they had gotten rid of their GM earlier, and empowered someone else to make moves last summer.
How many teams have to strike out on signing star FAs before they realize if you're not Miami/LA/NY then you're probably out of luck? Boston can't do it, Dallas can't do it, don't think Portland can either. Unless you overpay for a distressed asset and get lucky, like Phoenix with Chris Paul, at best you're going to overpay for 2nd and 3rd tier "stars".
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