Jacked Ramsays: A Portland Trail Blazers Podcast

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report joins host Danny Marang for a special Jacked Ramsays where they take a look back over the transition for the Portland Trail Blazers from the beginning of the season until now and then look ahead to what’s next.

Setting the table of where and when discussions around CJ McCollum began, the possibility that Portland could have received Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart last summer (or even the deadline before) and why the Blazers did what they did in the end, sending McCollum and Larry Nance Jr to New Orleans for essentially Josh Hart, a protected 1st round pick and salary relief.

Beyond that, where does that leave Portland now? While Jerami Grant was pursued rather heavily up to the final buzzer of the trade deadline, what does it mean now - where will Portland turn in the summer? Is Grant the only name out there? Jaylen Brown and Aaron Gordon were names in the past and the present that Damian Lillard has mentioned - could landing one top end wing to the roster make another player want to join that previously wasn’t in the mix?

Finally, where does Jusuf Nurkic sit in the Blazers’ plans going forward. Hop on in and get a view from the outside as we take a look over the timeline for what will likely be the most important offseason for the Trail Blazers in two decades.

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Join Danny Marang as he takes a look at the Portland Trail Blazers’ 3rd straight loss of 30 points or more with Wednesday night’s defeat coming at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, 120-90.

Long story short, this is what you can expect for the remainder of the season. The Blazers don’t have the talent (purposefully) right now to compete. It’s very clear that the team is looking to get the best odds possible to get into the top 4 of the NBA Draft.

However, in every night there will be glimpses to enjoy. Normally, it will be the play of Anfernee Simons - pulling up off the bounce, getting down hill and hitting an unreal floater or ripping a one-handed pass to the second-side corner.

Other times, like tonight, you’ll see Trendon Watford put together a stat line; 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists that makes you raise an eyebrow about what he could be down the road. Then there’s the much more in your face example of Greg Brown III absolutely banging on JaVale McGee that makes you want to tune in for GB3’s every minute.

So tune into the Jacked Ramsays and make sure you’re covered each and every game!

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Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they answer as many of your questions as they can, live!

Questions about how Keon Johnson projects as a player for the immediate and the long term?

How do you approach the draft and who do you view as the top prospect in this class? Beyond that, how do you see the Blazers utilizing their picks? Trade them both? Keep both? Send one out and keep the other? There’s so many ways things can go! Who would you trade a draft pick for - Jerami Grant? Is there another player out there that could be had?

There’s also the big question that has reared it’s head once again, garnering national attention - what’s next and what should be next for Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers?

We’ll address that and Jason Quick of the Athletic’s piece after talking with interim GM Joe Cronin.

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Join Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they take a look at Sunday night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets that saw the Blazers fall 124-92.

All in all, it was a very similar tale to previous outings with the starting unit setting the tone: getting out in transition and playing a revved up version of the new Blazers. However, their shooting waned (even from Anfernee Simons) and with ZERO margin for error, the veteran Nuggets picked apart Portland possession by possession.

Without Jusuf Nurkic to anchor the middle the size of the Nuggets was often too much to overcome. Even though Nikola Jokic scored only 8 points, Denver hammered home 62 points in the paint as Portland just didn’t have the size to deter drives or contest post-up opportunities.

Portland now embarks on what should be one of their toughest road trips of the season, playing the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves twice, and then the Utah Jazz - all teams with significant size advantages that Portland likely won’t have an answer for.

Hop on in and talk about tonight’s game, what’s coming up and have eyes toward the NCAA tournament right over the horizon.

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On a special 1 On 1 edition of Jacked Ramsays, Danny Marang is joined by Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons to take stock of where... well everything sits as it pertains to this version of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anfernee talks about the backing of the Trail Blazers organization and how after much change, he’s finding himself in new and exciting territory.

The discussion shifts to what Simons is looking to focus on post all star break - while he discusses; playmaking, defense, all the normal parts of development he also points out a larger adaption that’s taking place for him right now.

From there it’s about taking on the mantle of primary option every night and every obstacle that an opponent throws at him every night. How is he adjusting and what is he looking at going into the summer to get to the next step in his development. There he highlights wanting to read the floor like Chris Paul - where it’s second nature and you see everything.

One of his signs of development over the last year has been his ability to get to the rim - but even more the addition of one of the most lethal floater games in the NBA. Ant talks about applying feedback from the coaching staff regarding getting to the rim instantly.

Simons goes on to talk about his emotional investment, adding things to his game immediately, how his father was shocked by his passing growth, his relationship with coach Chauncey Billups and a whole lot more.

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With the NBA All-Star break right around the corner, hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague are switching it up a bit: instead of a taped mailbag show, we’re getting a live mailbag show!

On this live show, the guys will dive into as many questions as they can about the immediate future of the Portland Trail Blazers.

What makes a better team, one with top end talent or one with pieces that fit together for a system perfectly? What would or could that look like for the Blazers?

If the Basketball Gods smile upon Portland and they land in the top of the NBA Draft where a pick of Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith or Paolo Banchero is there, does that change the thought process for Portland pursuing Jerami Grant?

Was this new version of the Blazers underestimated? Do you feel like the tough schedule coming up maybe isn’t AS tough after their performance against the Milwaukee Bucks — even without Giannis Antetokounmpo?

That and more on this LIVE Mail Bag show! Tap in!

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Call an ambulance...but not for the Trail Blazers!

The Portland Trail Blazers, er baby Blazers, er the new look Blazers... whatever you want to call them went into Milwaukee and handed the Bucks a big ol’ loss - 122-107. The first win for the Blazers in Milwaukee since 2013!

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they take a look at what be the victory of the year for the Blazers - considering all that has transpired. Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a bum ankle, the Bucks still have most of their NBA championship team with two pillars in Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton active and healthy - yet the best player on the floor tonight was 22 year old Anfernee Simons who continues to show that he’s ready to be a star in the NBA.

What, if anything does a 3-game winning streak mean for the potential of the Trail Blazers to “tank?” Is this a couple of decent wins with one against the Bucks that perhaps the opponent overlooked? Or have the Blazers truly found who’s next in the pantheon of Blazers superstars in Anfernee Simons?

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Oops.

The message that the Portland Trail Blazers are supposed to be tanking and dropping games hasn’t hit home yet as the Blazers win their second game in a row, defeating the New York Knicks in come from behind fashion, 112-103.

Join Danny Marang as he takes a look at Satuday afternoon’s game that saw the Blazers go down 23 points at one point but then outscored the Knicks 35-11 in the 4th quarter. Behind another monster performance from Anfernee Simons (30 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) and the addition/arrival/debut of wing Josh Hart (23 points, 2 assists) the Blazers outscored the Knicks 53-21 over the final 16:55 of the game.

After wins against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers and lowly New York Knicks, the Blazers take on an absolute gauntlet over the next 5 games - the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Girzzlies, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. Thankfully for the Blazers, they have the All Star break sandwiched in between to break things up - but it’s probably safe to say after a couple of wins that Portland likely falls back in the standings in short order.

Doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy the wins when they come so hop on the show and have fun!

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Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they take a look at what was an incredibly busy NBA Trade Deadline Day. While the Portland Trail Blazers weren’t active, the league as a whole was - the Ben Simmons saga came to an end with a trade to Brooklyn Nets for James Harden.

Multiple reports had pegged Portland as a potential landing space for Simmons if the Philadelphia 76ers were able to pursue Harden in the offseason as a free agent - as the Blazers would have the cap space to absorb Simmons without needing to send back matching salary.

The Blazers were also linked by multiple sources to pursuing Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistsons before the final bell, but the asking price of two first round picks was too excessive for the Blazers - and any other suitors at this time. While coming up shorthanded right now, those same sources expect talks to resume around trading Grant this summer around the time of the NBA Draft.

Following the deadline closing, Interim GM Joe Cronin, President Dewayne Hankins and Coach Chauncey Billups hosted a press conference laying out what the goals were, how they achieved them and what the loose hopes and dreams are going forward.

Hop on the stream and take it all in, it’s going to be an exciting ride - the Blazers have options, and the guys are going to lay them all out for you!

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Join Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they go over Wednesday night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers... a game that saw a healthy Lebron James and Anthony Davis get outplayed by a built on the fly, young scrappy Portland team, who earned the 107-105 win.

After an abysmal first half from Anfernee Simons, he came out ROARING to start the third quarter, dropping 25 points the final two frames and 29 points on the evening, Simons will get top billing but the role players, heck the deeeeeeep role players, pushed up in their pecking orders due to trades; CJ Elleby, Greg Brown III, KELJIN BLEVINS. All delivered some of their best performances as young pros.

Beyond a fun win over the Lakers, join the guys to take a look at the upcoming trade deadline that’s only 14 hours away.

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