WEBVTT - Trail Blazers Beginning A Big Offseason

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about the Blazers getting stomped by the Warriors,

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<v Speaker 1>fifty five points they put up on the Blazer's head

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<v Speaker 1>in the first quarter alone. It has been rough. It

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<v Speaker 1>has been It has been a tough road if you're

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<v Speaker 1>a Blazers fan or somebody that works for the Blazers organization,

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<v Speaker 1>or somebody probably who plays for the Blazers. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that they've had six signings in the last week. Guys

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<v Speaker 1>that were two AA players I had never heard of. Like,

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<v Speaker 1>what was his name again, Spencer Hayes. No, you know

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<v Speaker 1>who I'm talking about, Mays, Skyler Maze. I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm living That was Trendon Watford last year, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>who is Trendon Watford? That's a real name, Right, who

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<v Speaker 1>is Skyler Maze? I think they're both LSU products, which

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<v Speaker 1>is crazy. I think they are. I think they are.

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<v Speaker 1>Scalar May is a bucket, never have heard of them before.

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<v Speaker 1>It sucks. These are the things that you have to

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<v Speaker 1>put up with when your team sucks. Is players who

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<v Speaker 1>suck playing significant minutes for your team. No shade to

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<v Speaker 1>Skaler Mays or Kevin Knox, but those guys getting forty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes in quote end of game or end of season

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<v Speaker 1>scenarios shows you everything that's going on. They've had seven

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<v Speaker 1>wins in the past two combined years after the trade deadline.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me say that again. There is no team worse

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<v Speaker 1>than the Portland Trailblazers post trade deadline in the last

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<v Speaker 1>two years, which is crazy because the Portland Trail Blazers

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<v Speaker 1>weren't even trying to lose this year at the trade deadline.

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<v Speaker 1>They didn't start tanking until three weeks left end of

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<v Speaker 1>the season. Portland has managed seven total wins after the

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<v Speaker 1>break combined, not seven each year combined. So now, what's

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<v Speaker 1>going on the Blazers does some decisions to make Damian

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<v Speaker 1>Lillard is obviously not stoked. People are calling this the

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<v Speaker 1>most important off season in Blazer's history. The biggest question

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<v Speaker 1>will Portland be able to surround Damian Lillard with any

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<v Speaker 1>players who can make this team relevant competitive? Dare I

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<v Speaker 1>say a contendersh Come on? Come on? Lillard came out

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<v Speaker 1>and made some very clear comments about what it is

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<v Speaker 1>he wants and what he does not want. As we

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<v Speaker 1>all know, Portland currently has the ten and a half

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<v Speaker 1>percent chance of getting Victor Wambiama, which I believe is

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<v Speaker 1>fifth in the NBA for the lottery. If Portland doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>somehow get Vic through a Miyama that pick, Damian Lillard

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<v Speaker 1>did everything short of demanding that they move that pick.

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<v Speaker 1>You are not getting another nineteen year old kid and

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<v Speaker 1>putting him next to me, absolutely not think of that.

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<v Speaker 1>Portland is now in a quandary. This is supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>be a historic draft, one of the deepest in memory,

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<v Speaker 1>and Damian Lillard says, fuck them. Kids don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>see him, don't want him on this team. I want

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<v Speaker 1>nothing to do with them. Literally, that's what he said.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not babysitting anymore nineteen year olds. The Blazers, according

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<v Speaker 1>to all the reporting, probably going to end up trading

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<v Speaker 1>out of the lottery to add a star player. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>what Dame said. If you want the quote about adding

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<v Speaker 1>another young player to the team, drafting another young player,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm just not interested in that. That's not a secret.

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<v Speaker 1>I want a chance to go for it. And if

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<v Speaker 1>that route is to draft youth, that's not my route.

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<v Speaker 1>We Scooby, does that mean? Dame says, Hey, that's not

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<v Speaker 1>my route, meaning if that's your route, then me and

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<v Speaker 1>you gotta go separate. Routes not my route. Immediately, Joe

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<v Speaker 1>Cronin was like, yeah, yeah, Dame's right, We're not doing that.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna get some stars. Yeah, Dame, We're good. He

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<v Speaker 1>goes out publicly. Him and Chauncey Billupson said we don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to go through this anymore either. It's time for

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<v Speaker 1>us to start winning basketball games. Billups said, yeah, this

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<v Speaker 1>is very important to me. Billup said, yeah, We've done

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<v Speaker 1>the tweak thing a few times. We've got to be

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<v Speaker 1>much more aggressive than the tweak thing. If we want

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<v Speaker 1>to do right by the best player in the history

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<v Speaker 1>of the organization, we have to be aggressive. The million

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<v Speaker 1>dollar question for a Blazer fan is how do you

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<v Speaker 1>fix it? How do you fix this team? I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>They are among the smallest roster in the NBA. They

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<v Speaker 1>have only two players taller than six eight. In terms

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<v Speaker 1>of depth at talent, they ended the year starting a

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<v Speaker 1>guy named Genathan Williams. That's not a typo, not Jonathan.

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<v Speaker 1>His name is Jonathan Williams with two e's. He got

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<v Speaker 1>forty one minutes along with Skylor Mays. So what does

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<v Speaker 1>this mean. It means that the future draft capital means

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely nothing until you move those for some players who

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<v Speaker 1>can play. Right now, the target group is good. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>just say that because Dame believes that somebody can come

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<v Speaker 1>here and move the needle, and they want to. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a matter of whether Portland can get them here.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the list that they're reporting. Jalen Brown. God, let's

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<v Speaker 1>just sit there and imagine for a second. Jalen Brown,

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<v Speaker 1>Damian Lillard and Shaden Sharp and Jeremy Grant. That's better

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<v Speaker 1>than Boston. Right now, here's another player, Ogannaobi. I'm less

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<v Speaker 1>intrigued than I am with Jalen Brown. Still very good.

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<v Speaker 1>Pascal siakam Oh sounds good. Michale Bridges, that's the number

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<v Speaker 1>one on my list. They're already calling him Brooklyn Bridges though,

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<v Speaker 1>So I feel like I feel like the nets are

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<v Speaker 1>kind of ready to keep them. I feel like the

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<v Speaker 1>nets are saying he's an untouchable piece. All three four

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<v Speaker 1>of those whatever it is, are difference makers. All are

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<v Speaker 1>defensive minded players. They can all score. Of course, JB's

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<v Speaker 1>the first choice. He can do so many things in

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<v Speaker 1>the court. To me, the perfect scenario is this, So

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<v Speaker 1>we've got some coaching firings. One of those firings. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know if you call it a firing, they're calling

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<v Speaker 1>it a promotion. Is Dwayne Casey, Dwayn Casey is out

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<v Speaker 1>in Detroit. He is done coaching those young kids. Jade

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<v Speaker 1>and Ivy has drove him officially insane. He is now

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<v Speaker 1>in a front office position. Chauncey Billups, take your ass

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<v Speaker 1>back to Detroit. We now have an open spot and

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<v Speaker 1>we can say, e may U Dooka, It's time to

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<v Speaker 1>come home, brother, time to come on home to Portland

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<v Speaker 1>where you grew up. And then Jalen Brown, the guy

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<v Speaker 1>who sang from the rooftops for you to be the

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<v Speaker 1>head coach of the Boston Celtics. Now you, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>like you're fired. So maybe Tampa now before you get

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<v Speaker 1>the head coaching job and bring him to Portland, get

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<v Speaker 1>him to force his way there. Another issue that Dame

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to settle is that one hundred percent, Jeremy Grant

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<v Speaker 1>is coming back, no matter if it puts us in

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<v Speaker 1>the poorhouse, because what other options do we have. Dame

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<v Speaker 1>says he's coming, So I guess he's coming. Problem is

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<v Speaker 1>Jeremy Grant is represented by Rich Paul and Rich Paul

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<v Speaker 1>is the David falk of this modern era. He is

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<v Speaker 1>going to falk Us for everything that he can. He's

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<v Speaker 1>going to squeeze the Blazers for every penny. He did

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<v Speaker 1>this with Nirk is one of the most overpaid, overrated centers, overpaid,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll call him overpaid centers in the league. Grant likes it.

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<v Speaker 1>He says he's comfortable here. He says he likes the

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<v Speaker 1>players and the team and the organization and probably the money. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a bigger issue, which is to bring in a star,

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<v Speaker 1>you not only have to give up a high draft pick,

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<v Speaker 1>you've also give up players. The beat writers for Portland

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<v Speaker 1>think it's either Shaden Sharp or it's Anfrity Simons Ant

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<v Speaker 1>or Shaden. You have to imagine that it's gonna be

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<v Speaker 1>It's gonna be Simons, and you can't trade Shaden Sharp.

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<v Speaker 1>Shade Sharp is the future. One guy makes rookie scale.

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<v Speaker 1>One game makes twenty five million a year. One guy

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<v Speaker 1>has one of the worst defensive ratings in the league.

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<v Speaker 1>One guy has upside in terms of his defense. Sharp

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<v Speaker 1>is probably the one bright spot on this team right now.

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<v Speaker 1>To be honest, he's averaging twenty four to six and

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<v Speaker 1>four with the steel per game. In last ten he

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<v Speaker 1>is asking for thirty minutes per game. Welly, actually, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's Chauncey who thinks he can get thirty, and

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<v Speaker 1>then Shandon is asking to start. So what is GM

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<v Speaker 1>Joe Cronin have to say about picking between Shadon and Simons?

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<v Speaker 1>He says, well, I think that's something we have to

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<v Speaker 1>look at. I look at it as a great problem

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<v Speaker 1>to have, but you have to figure that out. How

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<v Speaker 1>does the fit work, how do the minutes work? Are

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<v Speaker 1>there other holes that you need to fill instead? Pause?

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<v Speaker 1>Woo that part? That part, Yes, you know that there

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<v Speaker 1>are what are you fucking talking about? You know that

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<v Speaker 1>there are holes other than shooting guard to fill. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>it's an exercise we're going to have to go through

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<v Speaker 1>and evaluate. No, we're not. You already know what the

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<v Speaker 1>answer is. But on an individual level, I love both guys.

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<v Speaker 1>I think they're both omega talented and I'm thrilled that

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<v Speaker 1>we have them. By Anthrony see you later, enjoy Boston,

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<v Speaker 1>have a good time with all of the beans and

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<v Speaker 1>the racism. Last year, the Blazers acted like they were

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<v Speaker 1>gonna make money moves and they got Gary Payton. And

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<v Speaker 1>didn't they get a Cody Zeller. Yeah, they did. That

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<v Speaker 1>was our move. We got Tony Snell and Cody Zeller,

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<v Speaker 1>Gary Payton, Jeremy Grant. Well, thankfully we get the opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to overpay Jeremy Grant now that he wouldn't extend with

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<v Speaker 1>us for a reasonable salary. So good for us this year.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think Dan's putting up with Cody Zeller. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>getna guarantee you that's not the veteran he wants. They

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<v Speaker 1>must make money moves, and who do I think that

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<v Speaker 1>they get. I think it depends on the outcome of

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<v Speaker 1>the lottery. If the Blazers have the number two overall

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<v Speaker 1>pick and they can move that piece, maybe another young

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<v Speaker 1>guy like Anthony Simon's for a guy like Pascal. That's

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<v Speaker 1>a good look. I think that Toronto is gonna be

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<v Speaker 1>rebuilding pretty fast. I'm not sure the Bridges is a possibility.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure that JB is gettable. It is certainly

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<v Speaker 1>worth a try. You try and try all you can.

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<v Speaker 1>All I know is that if you are a Blazer

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<v Speaker 1>fan and you see the Blazers pick a player in

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<v Speaker 1>the lottery this year, just no dame is gone, and

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<v Speaker 1>we are in trouble. Trouble, trouble, trouble,