On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Danny Marang is joined by fellow NBC Sports Northwest Blazers Outsiders co-host, Joe Simons to discuss the current events surrounding the death of George Floyd and the protests around it, the return of the NBA and how the Blazers may benefit, the value that Damian Lillard brings to the franchise OFF the floor, Dan Orlovsky not sticking to football, best and worst case options for the league's return, why the NBA should get weird with the tournament and a whole lot more!

Intro - Joe Simons on the show!

Thoughts on current events- protests and solidarity 1:30

The NBA is coming back, probably? 4:30

Thoughts on what the league is doing/not doing and are they getting it right? 5:30

Why can’t they just make a decision and get rolling 7:00

How does the NBA calendar set up going forward? 8:30

What is the reason for the NBA dragging their feet on the restart? 10:30

Can there be a consensus restart for the league? 13:30

Is there any chance the league caps out at 16 teams for the restart and leaves Portland on the outside? 16:30

Yes, small markets are getting a leg up here because they have Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson 

Dame’s leverage play with Chris Haynes 17:00

The value of Damian Lillard and his understanding of his power, pull and reach 18:30

Dame vs Dan Orlovsky 19:30

This is the opportunity to experiment for the league 24:30

Do you like the NBA looking at a NCAA or World Cup inspired tournament play in? 27:00

The return of Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic 29:00

Who starts between Jusuf Nurkic/Hassan Whiteside and Zach Collins/Carmelo Anthony? 33:00

Why starting Jusuf Nurkic makes sense 36:00

Why isn’t Shain Brenden on Blazers Outsiders anymore? 39:00

On-air vs off-air relationships 41:00

Overall takeaway for what the NBA will do, what they should do and how the Trail Blazers will come out? 44:00

Closing comments

Outro

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