You may have missed some points.
"I think I'll go into the portal when I have to. I don't think it will be my decision,"
Paint counts on retention and focuses his NIL on that aspect. That’s how he gets old and stays old. He doesn’t feel the need to go into the portal unless absolutely needed and when he has, he has taken fifth year guys.
“At some point, Painter might have to jump into the transfer portal with more regularity. But the fact the he didn't have to during the offseason is a big reason why the media believes the Boilers will "three-peat" as Big Ten champs.”
Painter is considered one of the best coached in the country and one reason that is so is because he doesn’t lose players. When he has lost players it is due to lack of PT.
I get what you’re saying but I also feel you’re not hearing Painter say the things he has said about loyalty and retention being more important than going into the portal. I could also see him grabbing a big this offseason to shore up what will probably be the biggest question mark of next years team. I’m pretty sure however he feels DJ is the starter at the five spot.
No one has said he should stop making recruiting and retention his primary method. NIL is new. He's going to lose players because of it. So yeah in the near future he's going to have to bite the bullet, but no one has missed any points because no one is advocating he do anything other than what he's done literally the last two seasons.
But you've said the same thing we've said, he'll probably need to grab a big in the portal.
DJ is the starter now. I see nothing to suggest he's a guaranteed four year starter. He may turn out that way, but he's played one exhibition game and a few minutes of an actual game. Folks declaring him a four year starter I don't get. And Painter hasn't said it.
So what this is, is a mixture of people who think the team is perfect as is and the portal is the debbil and only brings bad things, and the team doesn't need any help, with people who might agree the team could use some help but think the portal is some evil thing where the odds of finding help are minimal.
And the other side is folks saying Painter should do the thing he's done two seasons in a row. Add a key piece or two in areas of need.
No one is saying Painter is doing something wrong, or Painter sucks, or Painter is stupid, or Painter needs to change. He literally needs to do what he's done the last two seasons. The only tweak is there's no reason to limit it to fifth year players. If there's a good fit who can make it a better team then he should and most likely will go get that player.
Loyalty means building the best team possible and being honest and giving a fair chance to compete. It doesn't mean I'll never bring in a better player than you
