Jacked Ramsays: A Portland Trail Blazers Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Joe Cronin Gets the Job & Zach LaVine to Portland? May 14, 2022

Show notes

Join Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they breakdown the big news of the day: Joe Cronin has been appointed the General Manager of the Portland Trail Blazers.

In entirely unrelated news, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on the Hoop Collective podcast today that the Portland Trail Blazers might be a landing spot for Klutch Sports client and upcoming free agent of the Chicago Bulls, Zach LaVine. In order to clear such room for the Blazers to sign LaVine, they would need to renounce Anfernee Simons, Joe Ingles and Jusuf Nurkic to even have a chance of creating the necessary room.

Is there any truth to the noise or is this Klutch doing their best to shake free the best possible offers for their client? Could Portland partake in such a ploy to curry favor with the most powerful organization in the league currently?

They’ll hit on that and take a look at the NBA Draft Lottery that is less than a week away and more! Tap in and jump on the show live!

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Draft Preview with Ricky O’Donnell of SBNation May 06, 2022

Show notes

Join Danny Marang live with special guest Ricky O’Donnell of SBNation as they take a look at the upcoming NBA Draft. Together they’ll preview Ricky’s big board - evaluating where he deviates from others, who he really believes in and who he’d rather stay away from.

Does he have a surprise #1 overall pick? Does he buy into Chet Holmgren long-term or does someone like Paolo Banchero or Jabari Smith Jr make for the safer and/or more effective play?

With the NBA Lottery less than 2 weeks away, the Trail Blazers have a 37.2% chance of jumping into the top 4 and a 9% chance of landing the number one overall pick. While it’s great to dream, the more likely scenario is that they’re picking between 6-8. With that, who in that range makes the most sense for right now and/or the future? As guard heavy as Portland is, if the best player available is guard-esque such as Jaden Ivey (unlikely to be there, but still) or Shaedon Sharpe - does Portland need to take the risk of bloating the guard position to make sure they get the most bang for their buck? Or, should the Blazers factor in Damian Lillard’s timeline and look to who’s most ready now - say perhaps Keegan Murray?

Finally, we’ll ask Ricky what he would do if he were in charge in Portland. If the pick landed Top 4 and there was an offer on the table for OG Anunoby or Deandre Ayton - would he rather have the sure thing or the rookie scale option and look more towards the future?

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An Early Look at Potential Free Agents for the Trail Blazers Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague on this episode of Jacked Ramsays Live. They’ll take a look at the upcoming group of free agents as the official offseason moves a step closer.

Danny and Brandon will also discuss the impact of Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets getting swept by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. What does that do to the landscape? Could big changes in Brooklyn cause a domino effect throughout the league that forces teams to change their offseason plans? (Like, perhaps Ben Simmons and/or Kyrie Irving being put on the trade block?)

The Trail Blazers will almost certainly have access to the full Mid-Level Exception (~$10.3m) this summer. What players and/or position groups might they look to target? Invest it all in a back up 5-man like Mo Bamba or Thomas Bryant? Target a 3⁄4 like Kyle Anderson or TJ Warren? Or maybe they split it up and focus on a younger, potential upswing player like Jalen Smith and paying a bit more than a vet minimum to outbid other teams for depth elsewhere?

While the class of free agents isn’t great, Portland is motivated to get back on track after a “gap year” situation. After losing out on the New Orleans Pelicans’ lottery pick there’s less room for error around the rest of the roster. So tap in as the guys go over and debate which way the Blazers could go with the tools at their disposal.

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Where Do the Blazers Turn Now? Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague live as they take on as many questions as they can in this one-hour live show!

Following the New Orleans Pelicans’ playoff berth, the Portland Trail Blazers lost a second lottery pick heading into the 2022 NBA Draft and the 2022 offseason “Great Reshaping” of the Blazers roster. Without that additional lottery pick, where do they go?

Could a deal still be done for Jerami Grant? Could the Blazers cobble together enough with the 2025 Bucks 1st round pick, a young player and Eric Bledsoe’s contract to get Grant or a player at least within range of him in contribution department?

Interim GM Joe Cronin has said that they would evaluate the value of their own lottery pick after they know its standing versus what they could use it for on the open market to acquire a player for. Obviously Grant’s name has been out there — but what about a player such as OG Anunoby shaking free in Toronto? Would a Top 6-7 lottery pick be enough to convince GM Masai Ujiri to let him go?

Toronto has a core of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr, Scottie Barnes, and Pascal Siakam alongside Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. However, Toronto has wanted to add traditional size to their roster. There were rumors around the Portland Trail Blazers and Jusuf Nurkic multiple times over the past year. With Anunoby another player represented by Klutch Sports, could there perhaps be an alliance brewing with the mega-agency?

Tap in, submit your questions, and participate in the first of many live shows this offseason for Jacked Ramsays!

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Jacked Ramsays Live: Jeremy Woo of SI on the NBA Draft Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

Hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague are joined by the NBA Draft Expert for Sports Illustrated, Jeremy Woo, on Tuesday afternoon’s live show to take a look at all things draft related for the Portland Trail Blazers.

We’ll hit on Jeremy’s Big Board, who he has rated as the best prospects, and whether or not his best prospect matches with Portland’s best fit. If Portland lands a top three pick, who does he value most for Portland for immediate impact of the long term: Jabari Smith Jr, Paolo Banchero, or Chet Holmgren?

Then, they will also take a look at tiers, which players fall where, and mixing in with some recent NBA comparisons where available. When looking at the likes of Keegan Murray, AJ Griffin, Shaedon Sharpe and others — where are they now versus where could they be in the near future?

Does Jeremy fall in the best player available camp or does fit carry more weight for the Blazers who want to return to competitive basketball? What will it cost to move up into the top four of this year’s draft if Portland wants to move back?

Got NBA Draft questions? Hop into the comments of the live show: Danny and Brandon will do their best to get a couple in for Jeremy to answer!

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Jacked Ramsays Live: Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report Joins Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Join Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague with special guest, Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report to run down the exit interviews today by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Interim GM Joe Cronin was joined by Coach Chauncey Billups and players Josh Hart and Anfernee Simons as the only members of the franchise made available after their season came to an end Sunday evening, with a record of 27-55 missing the playoffs for the first time in 9 years and cementing the third worst season in franchise history.

The “what now” is what’s on the menu - the NBA Draft Lottery is 35 days away, the New Orleans Pelicans play the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night where a loss will send them out of the play in tournament immediately and increase the likelihood of the pick they owe the Blazers in the CJ McCollum trade conveying.

Once the lottery happens and the Blazers know what they have in their hands to work with - they can take on the task of working the phone lines as potential playoff hopefuls fall out of the race and Portland looks to bolster a squad that was stripped down to nothing.

Brandon, Sean and Danny will take a look at all of the comments made today and look ahead to what’s on deck for the Trail Blazers over the next 60 days.

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Jacked Ramsays: Live Mailbag Q&A Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they answer your questions live on stream!

Whether you’re interested in the NCAA Championship game’s remaining NBA Draft eligible players like Ochai Agbaji or Armando Bacot, we’ll make sure we cover all the angles of tonight’s game as well as what NCAA players made the biggest push up the ladder during the tournament, who fell down and what the Mock Draft Board starts to look like.

Who will Portland take in the draft certainly hinges on where their own pick and potentially one conveyed by the New Orleans Pelicans lands, but if you’re allowing yourself to dream, is it Paolo Banchero or Jabari Smith Jr at number one? Perhaps you favor the bold and want to swing for Chet Holmgren? What if it lands between picks 4-6? What separates Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray and AJ Griffin for the Blazers and do you look for fit or best player available?

The offseason is only a week away for some teams, those headed to the playoffs could be there sooner than expected. If the Utah Jazz fall on their face, it appears they could be headed for a major overhaul - would or should the Blazers get involved for a deal for Jazz center Rudy Gobert if he becomes available? What if Donovan Mitchell is traded to the Miami Heat, could that domino trigger a move for Jimmy Butler to Portland?

It’s time to get weird! Join the guys live and get ready for the offseason that’s only a week away!

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Jacked Ramsays: Sit Down with Casey Holdahl Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

It’s a live show of Jacked Ramsays with hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague - and special guest, Trail Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl!

We’ll talk with Casey about the ups and downs of covering this season. From opening expectations through the rough patches of the early year into Damian Lillard’s injury and forthcoming interview which he detailed to Casey just how bad it had been over the years. Then into the move that led to CJ McCollum being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and his subsequent return to Moda Center last night.

Last but not least, Anfernee Simons’ massive growth post Christmas, the injuries that have piled up, Trendon Watford and Greg Brown III’s wild rookie campaigns, Taking Advantage of New Knowledge and everything in-between.

With only 7 games remaining it’s time to start shifting gears and looking ahead to the NBA Draft - who does Casey like coming out? That and more on this live Jacked Ramsays!

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Jacked Ramsays: Live Mailbag Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

It’s a live Jacked Ramsays mail bag with Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague. Fresh off the heels of the most incredible tank job (perhaps the best in NBA history) by the Portland Trail Blazers, who strung together three of the most awe-inspiring losses in franchise history, including twice to the Houston Rockets and an overtime masterpiece that saw them snatch a loss from the jaws of victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The guys take a look at your tanking questions: Is 5th worst just a mirage? Chasing down the Indiana Pacers looks like the goal — but is it actually possible?

Then it’s time to take a look at the draft. What to do with a Top 4 pick? Has the draft board shifted deep into the NCAA Tournament? Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Mark Williams and more from Duke have a chance to make a run to the title game and show a bit more before the draft, are you buying?

What’s more likely to happen this offseason, Jerami Grant or the field? Hop on now!

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Jacked Ramsays: Live Mail Bag Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

It’s a live Jacked Ramsays Mail Bag wher hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague will tackle as many questions about the Portland Trail Blazers as they can in an hour!

With Shams Charania revisiting the Jerami Grant to Portland 5-alarm fire, there’s a lot of questions about how, why, when and more — that a deal between the Trail Blazers and the Detroit Pistons would get done and what it would mean for both franchises moving forward.

Is it a GOOD idea? What are the drawbacks and potential pitfalls? Where could things go right for the franchise?

With the NCAA Tournament about to get into its second week, numerous Top 10 NBA Draft prospects have proven their bonafides. Ben Mathurin has rocketed up numerous Draft Boards as well as Chet Holmgren creating and answering more questions. Paolo Banchero’s new found point forward role has scouts wondering how much his role during the season wasn’t optimized. How will those developments and more shake up the draft and how much can that impact Portland’s plans?

Hop on in and find out!

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