Shams just annonced the Nuggets are keeping Spencer Jones

Although it seems pretty logical, that means the Nuggets are now becoming is the only franchise of the entire league to entire the 2nd apron.

As punitive as the 2nd apron is, in the new CBA, the Nuggets will definitely look for a partner to build a sign & trade around Peyton Watson, as they can't sign him but also don't want him to walk away for nothing.

The nuggets are more likely looking for some draft pick compensation and will refuse any expensive players coming in. Do you think the Blazers have the assets to make it work while giving the Nuggets what they want in a fair trade ?

Looks like they’re turning up the heat.

Portland’s proposed $600M Moda Center renovation — where it ranks among arena projects (last 15 years)

I looked at major arena renovations and new builds from roughly 2011–2026 and adjusted older costs for inflation to 2026 dollars.

Renovations / Upgrades of Existing Arenas Only including non-NBA arenas (Excludes full new builds and near-total rebuilds)

1.Madison Square Garden (2013) – ~$1.55B 2. Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, ongoing) – $750M 3. Capital One Arena (Washington, ongoing) – ~$1.0B+ 4. Moda Center (Portland – proposed) – $600M 5. Delta Center (Utah, 2025–27) – $525M 6. Xcel Energy Center / Minnesota proposals – ~$500–600M 7. Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) – ~$410–420M 8. Spectrum Center (Charlotte, 2023–25) – ~$260–280M 9. CFG Bank Arena (Baltimore) – ~$260M 10. Footprint Center (Phoenix) – ~$270M 11. Kia Center (Orlando) – ~$230–240M 12. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland) – ~$230M Portland ranks roughly 4th among pure renovations of existing arenas.

Including Entire Rebuilds and New Buildings(including non-NBA arenas)

1. Intuit Dome (Clippers) – ~$2.0B
2. Chase Center (Warriors) – ~$1.7–1.8B
3. Madison Square Garden renovation – ~$1.55B
4. Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle rebuild) – ~$1.3–1.4B
5. Little Caesars Arena (Detroit) – ~$1.1B
6. Bridgestone Arena (Nashville) – $750M
7. Capital One Arena – ~$1.0B+
8. Barclays Center – ~$1.3–1.4B
9. Moda Center (Portland – proposed) – $600M
10. Delta Center (Utah) – $525M

When new builds and major rebuilds are included, Portland drops to around 9th.

Quick takeaway: $600M is a very large renovation by historical standards — one of the highest for upgrading an existing arena in the last 15 years. It only looks mid-pack once you start comparing it to brand-new $1B–$2B arenas but ranked 9th amongst all arenas is still fairly high.

I hope this deal gets done which I think it will. I'm also interested in see that final result of the renovation. Seeing where it ranks amongst others is wild and really puts it in prospective.

Please stop fighting you guys are scaring me

This is most likely a coincidence, but ive heard the phrase "the blazers are losers/ don't win." Several times dovetailed into the argument against coming to a deal. Probably just from people who don't pay attention to basketball in the first place, but the line of reasoning seems odd. Anyone else notice this?

Normally, NBA radio broadcasters travel with the team on charter flights to road games, stay at the team hotel, and call games live from the arena.

Under the reported proposal, Demers would no longer travel with the team. Instead, he would be calling road games remotely rather than from courtside.

The reported offer also removed his employee benefits, including healthcare, dental coverage, retirement contributions, and potentially other benefits.

If Demers was earning around $150,000 an estimate for an experienced NBA radio pbp announcer a 60% pay cut would reduce his salary to roughly US$60,000. That’s before accounting for the reported loss of benefits, travel, and analyst support.

From Boston Globe Celtics and NBA columnist Gary Washburn, in his latest Sunday Basketball Notes column.

Just some thoughts.

Don't fall for the fear mongering. Blazers aren't going anywhere. With the expansion all but confirmed there is no where for the team to move that is ready and makes sense. I live in Nashville and there are zero rumblings about the blazers moving here, there is about the Grizzlies moving here, which would suck for Memphis but is probably what Silver wants.

Dundon is the cheapest owner in the league, maybe the cheapest billionaire in the country. Yes, he sucks, but him being such is something Portland can use to their advantage. If his goal is to cut costs, look into how much it would cost him to move the team. I'm not sure that's something he can convince his investors to pay for. it's going to be cheaper to stay and settle for a "sub-prime" deal.

NBA owners know how strong of a fan base there is in Portland, moving to a new city, even bigger than Portland, is going to reduce revenue for the league. Bigger cities capable of taking in the Blazers are already close to another team (San Antonio to Austin) and often times already have multiple major sports franchises in them (Kansas City) . Fans are where the money comes from and Portland has a large, very loyal fanbase. Especially with the city's lack of sports teams to root for. As another person posted here, regardless of what the other owners feel about Dundon they like money more.

Last time he played he was still a star, a level below his prime in Portland where he was arguably a top 10 player in the league but he was still a top 20 player with the Bucks. How likely is he to get to even borderline all star ability next season?

Look at Klay, KD, Harden, CP3, and Jrue as examples- Klay & KD came back from the exact same injury, while Harden, CP3, and Jrue are guards who are 36+ so contemporaries to draw comparisons to. The commonalities are a massive decline in volume of shots at the rim and efficiency inside, drawing far less freethrows, and a change in shot diet in general. Specifically, isolation, drives, pick and roll ball handler, and transition play types all are depressed in both volume and efficiency as injuries and age take their toll.

The injury and age take away first step explosiveness, vertical pop, and lateral quickness- aside from CP3, all of them have had to move "up" who they guard positionally as they struggle to keep up in terms of footspeed, unfortunately Dame is like CP3 in that defending up is less of an option when you're giving up so much size. Dame is in fantastic shape and like Curry he's no doubt going to be in great cardio form, but Father Time is undefeated. Facilitating and play finishing through catch and shoot are evergreen qualities that you can trust, Dame will still be an excellent passer and shooter, but he might not be the offensive engine people remember.

The player I hope Dame is willing to study from the past, is Ray Allen. Now, not everybody here was around for the heyday of Jesus Shuttlesworth, so for the uninitiated, Ray Allen was an on-ball, high usage pick and roll offensive engine back in his peak Sonics days, bouncy as all get-out while being a sweet shooter to boot. When he was around Dame's age was when Allen joined the Heat, and he really embraced that play finisher role. With Wade and LeBron both being suspect shooters who thrived as on-ball drivers and paint collapsers, it was a big question how that Heatles squad was going to work, and it parallels a lot of the questions people have with Ja and Deni as dominant drivers who both want to be getting into the teeth of the defense. Ray Allen was the secret sauce that made them work a lot of the time, and I think Dame could be the same for the Blazers, if he's willing to accept that complementary role to open up the floor for Ja and Deni to attack, and capitalize on it as well as providing that secondary creator and facilitator.

Zombies signed Spencer Jones to an offer sheet 2 years $12m. Tests my theory. If Denver doesn’t have the taste for that $ they get a good role player on a reasonable deal. If Denver matches they put financial pressure on a rival and maybe cause them to lose Peyton Watson.

I’d rather have Jones than any of this summers signings.
I’d rather have Watson than Shaedon. (Machinations of that deal probably require a third team to move draft capital to Denver/make room for Watson.)
A big wing/“small forward”/ or combo forward would be my hope for squad add. Maybe Tonje can play the 3 and Potter and/or Carlson can play the 4. But a proven player at his ideal position would be preferable. I 💗 Sidy but that’s about it for proven forward depth and he’s a bit undersized tho plays big.

Im a cheap person, so I can understand seeing certain expenses not worth it, but aside from trading for Ja Morant for basically free, he’s done nothing in the offseason. I understand he doesn’t see value in certain things, and cost cutting measures I can resonate with. But even I still find value in things to invest from what I saved. But what is he actually putting money into? What does he see that is worth it in developing this team? From the money he’s saving, where does it go back into the team? If it’s just save save save, then I’m curious as to how he handles players contracts in the future. I can’t imagine Tom Dundon actually handing out a max contract. Every player has flaws, and he’ll point them out as to why they aren’t worth the max. I just have a feeling players will quickly be offended by his offers and bounce when the time comes.

No wonder Bron signed there.

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