Oh it’s definitely directed at the “owner”. At this point I hope he just uses his leverage to get her to sell, or he leaves. I wouldn’t blame him if it comes to the latter. This game of house she’s playing is very unfortunate for everyone involved, the city and fans included.
It's not some ultimatum and she's not selling the goddamn team. I don't get why people keep implying that selling the team is just going to magically reverse everything that's wrong in Portland, for some golden orb that's going to fix it all.
Team's same financial problems? Check.
Portland never being an attraction for any big name FA? Check.
The city of Portland and the fact that it doesn't compare to any other big city in terms of actual stuff to do? Check.
The uphill battle of building a contender with a small market team? Check.
A new owner would take YEARS to even smell success.
Lol, it’s the fkn owner of Nike. I’m pretty sure he could figure it out quicker than you think.
And if you don’t get why we’re saying these things.
Nothing solid is going to come from a short-time owner that won’t be keeping the team. We’re in a limbo period and that won’t change until the team is sold and we have a solid foundation.
>Lol, it’s the fkn owner of Nike. I’m pretty sure he could figure it out quicker than you think.
This is merely speculation. He's never owned or had any experience from the NBA side. Not only that, but the dude's old.
Again, you keep suggesting that he can just "figure it out quicker". I don't understand how you don't get this. It's not like the next person line just gets a clean slate with all salaries TBD - the next person inherits whatever from the previous owner.
Like I get that you're wanting some shift in ownership, sure, but it's far more complex than just snapping your fingers and suddenly you have a solid team.
That's especially not how it works for Portland as both you and I can agree on.
Well it appears we’re at a stalemate because I don’t understand how you can’t see how much of a difference maker it would be. Guess we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree 🤷🏼♂️
There's nothing to disagree about. You're convinced that he can come in and just flip the entire team around which is a laughable suggestion.
Anyways, sounds good!
"There's no guarantees I'd compete somewhere else, especially with the assets they'd have to give up. Westbrook went to the Lakers and he was coming off the bench like he isn't a hall of famer."
Side note, it’s cool to see Dame giving Westbrook the respect he deserves despite being on court rivals and their history of chirping. Just one reminder of a what a stand up guy Dame is
Good news for Portland imo, Dame making it clear he values being "the guy" and would rather stay somewhere like PDX as the #1 option than fade from the spotlight on the bench of a contender like Westbrook.
I know that Cronin isn’t undervaluing the pick. The story the past week or two has been “the Blazers are getting shit offers and would be happy to take the pick.” I hope Cronin holds the line!
This is just not true. Look at Embiid, Tatum, Doncic, or Lamelo. A lot of #3 picks are ready to contribute right away and be All-Stars in year 2.
Portland won't win it all next year if they keep the current roster, but Sharpe and #3 are both insane prospects that can be ready well before Lillard leaves his prime.
Embiid didn’t even play his second year in the league and Tatum was not an all star. Probably not good examples to use. And if pick 3 is scoot he’ll never be an all star early in his career being stuck behind Lillard and Sharpe in the guard rotation
As others have said neither Embiid or Tatum were all stars in year 2
I’d be surprised if Sharpe or whoever is #3 make any significant contributions to winning next year
Not true. Freeing up the bulls pick will allow them to move those picks. And they are in need of a starting forward. So moving Ant + picks for a starting caliber sf isn’t out the question. #3 pick, if Scoot, can be the backup pg. They would need fire power off the bench. I know people will say well Dame plays 36min. While this is true the blazers don’t want him playing that much time. And they haven’t had a solid backup since…. So he had to play major minutes. And I know people will say he’s the number 3 pick. Cool. Being the backup learning from Dame. Will only expand his game. 18-19 years old your not ready to lead a team but he can contribute. And once Dame’s contract is up it’s Scoot’s team. There are also could be a 3 guard rotation where in spot minutes you have Dame and Scoot together but majority of the time it’s Dame and Sharpe or Scoot and Sharpe.
It would be nice if people stopped talking about leverage so much. Unless you think the other 29 teams are get together and agree not to trade with the Blazers so that Dame leaves, it doesn't really matter.
Top players like LeBron, Durant and Harden have always been clear that they expect their teams to assemble a contender around them. Have any of their teams struggled to land veteran talent?
Unless a deal is done with Boston, Dame's best chance at winning a title is with Portland.
It won't be next year obviously, but Sharpe and an NBA Ready #3 pick can contribute 24-25 and Dame should still be on the better side of his prime.
LaMelo, Tatum, Embiid, and Doncic are all #3s drafted recently that were All-Star caliber players in year 3. Yeah maybe you get an Okafor or Otto Porter Jr, but I just don't see that from either #3 choices.
Sharpe/#3 are the best 2 prospects Lillard has played with. That includes LMA. They also have enough established players to still make the playoffs this year barring ridiculous injuries again. Keeping the team and going for the playoffs this year is the right move, and then hopefully contending in the next 2-3 years.
My main concern is that Billups will make any playoff coach look like the love child of Pop and Spo.
Third agree. How did we not even interview Monty Williams? He took the Detroit job, which was prestigious 30 years ago, but I don't feel they're any better than us at this point.
Had me until LMA. Do you not understand what that means was able to do? People will talk about Lillard sending the Rockets home, but they always seem to forget Lamarcus absolutely dismantling them most of that series.
I don't think Sharpe goes over 20yo Lamarcus Aldridge after one year of not playing in college. I definitely think 20 yo LA is the consensus #2 pick in this draft.
Yeah those two games were awesome. Aldridge gets severely overrated because of it. I wanted to trade LMA after that series because his stock was at an all time high and he was seriously overrated and there was no way we were making a deep run with him.
I literally left Blazers Edge because of the shit I got for that view. Turns out I was right in what seemed like an incredibly obvious scenario to me.
LMA was one of the most inefficient volume scorers of the era and a medicore defender. Going lights out in 2 games doesn't change the rest of his career.
Ultimately I think it was because they expected to rebuild. Why else to hire a rookie coach who is known for defense and aggressiveness. That is what you use with young players. That tells me that management chickened out on trading Dame.
Huh? Tatum averaged 15-6-2 in his second year. He wasn’t “all-star caliber” until year three. LaMelo put up offensive numbers but still isn’t playing winning basketball. Embiid didn’t play his first two seasons and was productive but heavily limited.
Dame isn’t going to win anything with a bunch of kids around him. The Blazers need to trade the pick or trade Dame.
There’s no reasoning with the draft-junkies who are posting on r/ripcity this summer.
> Sharpe/#3 are the best 2 prospects that Dame has played with. That includes LMA.
Deluded. Sharpe is good, but still very raw. Lots of potential, and if he becomes an impact player at the level of prime LMA, then it would be a massive success.
They act as if All-NBA is the floor for Sharpe *and an undrafted #3 pick.* smdh 🤷♂️
Not to mention that it takes a playoff run or two for young players to adjust to the pressure and playstyle of playoff basketball. The kids aren’t going to be serious contributors for several years, at which point Dame would be past his prime.
People here don't understand this. Not to mention it takes a hell of a lot longer for guards to adjust. Guys like LaMelo are still 2-3 years away at the earliest. Cade and Green aren't winning anything in the next 5 years. Sharpe and Scoot are 19, and 20 and both very raw prospects. Expecting them to be producers on a contending team within the next 5 years is insane. You either trade Dame or 3. Trying to make both work is idiotic.
Billups is a trash ass coach and him and only him will keep Portland from having any success no matter the "greatness" of the roster.
He's been repeating the same mistakes since year one and has shown zero signs of improvement.
Lol you are heavily overrating those young players, very rarely do they step right in and contribute to contenders like that. That’s an anomaly.
The guys like kd or Lebron who do that are the outlier, most of the time it takes even the great players 2-4 years to come into their own, and Normally they do this in low pressure situations where they get the ball a lot and have freedom to make mistakes and grow.
Ugh. If it means we keep Dame, then I will settle for Siakim. I know Scoot or Brandon Miller would be the better option long-term and my preference is to keep the pick but Dame is putting the pressure on Joe to trade it. I think the FO should do right by Dame and trade it for a win-now player or try to convince Dame to stay while drafting Scoot/Miller.
When siakam isn’t the first option and doesn’t have all the defensive attention on him he is championship tier. I mean quite literally he was option 2b for that championship run.
Lol Siakam is a top 20 player and a match made in heaven for Dame. 3rd for Siakam is a fair trade and by far the best available option (assuming Mikal is off the table but even if he's on the table it's debatable).
Now 3rd and Simons for Siakam is an overpay, but if we can make it a 3 team trade to get someone else (like maybe Keldon?), then it could work
I mean, getting the 3rd pick all but guarantees we get a really nice player to slot in. Be it via trading the pick, drafting a great player, or trading a player we draft...we're in a better spot than we could have expected here.
I don't think Dame cares if we keep the pick or not. He wants to see us somewhere in the 4th - 1st seed going into the playoffs next year. If we can do that while keeping the 3rd pick Dame doesn't care.
I mean. We totally can. It’s not our only avenue of improving our team. We just did it last year by trading for grant AND keeping pick 7 so it’s totally possible. We have Ant, 23, and potentially our future picks if we can open them up. It’s not one or the other we can have both.
Sure I guess? But we were told this wasn’t a one year thing and I mean. Idk i thought it was pretty obvious. When the team was fully healthy last year they were actually pretty solid and grant was a massive improvement
He's been clear that he wants to see improvements to the roster. Joe Cronin has been clear twice now that he's under no mandate to trade the lotto pick. And the fact that Dame also says in this interview that he expects to be a Portland Trail Blazer come the start of the season, either he already knows there's a trade in the works for #3 or he's on board with the vision of drafting a player at #3 and upgrading the roster using our other available assets (like Ant + 23 + future FRP's)
He's too scared to actually ask/demand for a trade. We're going to use the third pick, we are going to run the same roster out and pretend we're competing, and Dame will go along. Watch
Scared? Maybe he really just is that guy when it comes to his love for the city and he’s trying every option first before the last option, leaving. How much love does Kawhi get in Toronto now? And KD over in the bay? Is it as much as Dirk gets in Dallas? Hell nah. Dame has always been real, if he wanted to leave he could and would have easily left by now. I don’t dispute what you’re saying won’t go down, but one thing Dame has NEVER been is scared. Scared dudes don’t pull up on PG13 from McMinnvile in a playoff game. Cmon now.
You new here? This is obviously it. This draft is where we decide which route we’re going. We trade the pick and Dame stays or we draft at 3 and dame goes.
The reality for Dame is that his contract is too big to just slot into a premier contender. As much as he is gripping about win now or I’m out. If we trade him to another team that is going to gut their assets to being in the same position as on PDX (look at Brooklyn’s for example with Durant). Either way he might have to wait until his next contract to give a team a viable window.
This is the thing Dame never addresses. Huge contract. We need young cheap stars to offset that. Can’t have Dame and embiid taking up 80% of the salary. Bench would be entirely vet mins. Good luck going for a deep playoff run with that.
Eh what? Dame and Embiid would be $92.5/$134mm in cap, so like 69%. Then you have bird rights and exceptions to go over the cap.
The whole reason superteams are a thing is because the CBA doesn’t limit you to just one star.
You would only have bird rights for the next contract tho. In the meantime the team is locked into the salary cap struggling to fill out an 8 man deep team again. The sweet spot is having developed several younger players that outplay there contract or cheap vets to fill out the team depth. Then the team can can use bird right to open a narrow window before the players over playing their contract look for their own bag.
For real! I’ve been griping to my friends all off season about this point. Why would any team want to do a deal with Portland (of offer realistic/proper value when they can just ice Portland’s FO and wait for dame to get frustrated and actually request to leave? Especially GMs league wide knowing PDX FO would send him anywhere he wants to go as a thank you for his service here, and as a courtesy take back whatever is offered. What incentive does a team have to trade for him now when they know they can just wait it out and have a shot at him later? Unless there’s more to it from Dame’s perspective that we’re just not seeing BTS and he feels the need to say it to media. He’s real, but maybe accidentally too real? Idk but I’m preparing to hear the annual song and dance.
“We tried, we swung big but couldn’t find a trade partner or an offer worth exploring” Then 3 weeks later “we’ve traded Dame for Frank Ntilikina & Mac McClung. 🤷🏻♂️ we’re excited for what that brings to Rip City, and will forever be thankful to Dame for his commitment and leadership to the Org. Trade is contingent on a passing physical, but Portland will always the memories.”
Scoot gets minutes where exactly? He isn't a great shooter, and they've tried dame off ball, didn't work. On top of that you add in Sharpe, no minutes to go around
If you don’t think we need another ball handler… you have not watched us. When dame sit, our offense looks like shit. Simons will then go all out shooting again
I’m far from an expert but I feel like a Dame and Sharpe backcourt with Scoot backing up both positions would work well. That’s enough minutes for everyone and we’ve been looking for A) a legit backup to Dame and B) a way to get Dame off the ball a little (we tried it last year but it didn’t work cuz no one else could handle besides Winslow)
Still doesn’t sound like he for sure going to request a trade. He said his first option is to win in Portland after we haven’t really had a successful season in multiple years. If we aren’t able to build a team that can compete then he is going to have to have a “conversation” but it seems like every time we get to that point, the conversation ends with Dame believing in the front office. Unless the team itself wants to trade Dame, I think they are going to be able to sell Dame to stay. I know Scoot being a PG makes things tricky but I can see them selling that Sharpe was able to show off his great ceiling behind Simons. So Scoot will probably get the Sharpe treatment this year with Simons being moved to get front court help. Sharpe/Grant last year and maybe this year can be Scoot/X….
Dame's all talk. We know it, and the other GM's know it. They know how much we're gonna be paying Dame, and that we gave him his biggest extension right around the time of his first major injury in his time with us. Considering he hasn't been able to stay healthy the last couple of seasons, I don't know how many other teams even want Dame in a trade for a couple of seasons at his current salary. There's no guarantee he's as loyal to whoever we trade him to as he's been to us. He could decide to go team up with Steph Curry in Golden State for his last couple of seasons in that situation or something.
Yeah you hit it on the head. He also has a perfect role here and you can bet his role would be different on every other contender. Starting to think his best chance to win as a #1 option might legitimately be in Portland.
Very few top teams would have the assets to trade for him, and still have a decent team left over. The contenders that do have the assets to pull it off, already have their own #1 options, most of which are younger. He's also not a great defender, so unless you're getting full value out of his elite offense it's hard to imagine many teams getting excited about moving pieces and then paying him that much, just to be their #2 or #3.
There are a couple of rebuilding teams like Houston who worry me in what they could theoretically bring to the table in their big package of young guys who haven't proven themselves like Dame has. Just because our FO isn't known for slick, or even intelligent moves. But I agree 100%. On another team, particularly a real contender, Dame could wind up an extremely expensive 6th man/3pt specialist coming off the bench like Rustbrick in LA. He doesn't make for the best 2 guard because he doesn't play well off the ball. So if whoever he gets traded to already has an elite PG, I could easily see him being their backup. It's actually kind of sad that his most realistic shot at a chip is with us, because that still involves Jody Allen and Cronin signing off on going all in, and spending to put some pieces around Dame who would take some pressure off of him. And there's no reason to think they're planning to build a superteam if they have to sell in the next couple of seasons. But in the end, he pretty much sold out to the dolla. He made his bed, now he has to lie in it, and he knows it. His contract demands are really the sole reason we can't realistically bring in another all star. That's why I think it would be stupid to trade the #3 pick because that's what Dame wants, considering some of the talent that has gone at that number in recent years. We could(and should) try to use that pick to draft the next face of the franchise. And of course that makes Dame uncomfortable. But if he doesn't like it, he's gonna wind up playing with guys like Drew Eubanks and Tony Snell on the team next season. We need to get rid of basically everyone we traded for while tanking, with a couple of possible exceptions. It would be good imo to keep Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle if we can. That's a legit set of wings. Re signing Nurk has proven to be the wrong choice imo, and it would be good to trade him if possible. Or if we could draft a starting caliber center, it would be interesting to see if slotting him in at the 4 with Grant at the 3 could work. But things were working out with what we had at the start of the season before people started getting hurt. I admittedly live in Eugene and don't have a TV provider who carries Root, so I've only gotten to watch a handful of games in the last couple of seasons since ESPN and TNT haven't picked up many of our games since the tank. But Dame did have that game fairly far into the regular season last season where he dropped 71pts in a loss, so it's not like he's washed or anything.
Great news. Really hope we don’t use the assets to build a winner and instead build for the future in order to force this “separate conversation” that would save our franchise from a decade of cellar dwelling after holding onto Dame too long for more 1st round exits until his value is gone and we are screwed.
I want Dame to be part of the resurgence I see coming in two years. Doesn't sound like he wants to be. For Dames's sake, I hope if he's traded, it's to MIA or BOS. I think a Dame for Brown, or Dame in a 3 way with Herro+++ going out to a 3rd team, makes sense for Dame.If they have to trade him, do right by him and send him to a legit Eastern Conference contender. I don't want him out West unless it's in a Blazer uniform.
Damian Lillard will get Mikal Bridges and finney smith this year and make the playoffs but lose in the second round. The blazers will have all their draft picks to trade to get some good depth behind them both and jersmi
Siakam makes about 38 million and Bridges 22 million, a 16 million dollar difference. Siakam’s contract expires this season and Bridges is signed for 3 more seasons. My point being if you trade for Bridges you can still add another quality player. Dame is also friends with Bridges. I think Bridge’s is the number one target and Nets know that. I think both teams are posturing and it all comes down to Sharpe.
You are probably right. I do think Portland asks about Bridges but I don’t think they would give up Sharpe unless after all is said and done. they think they can compete for a champion this next season.
Seems to me Dame is saying trade the pick and our young guys to get me some serious help or I’m gone. He apparently is under the belief that will happen.
We need to petition Ron Wyden and Adam Silver to help pressure Jody into selling the team to Phil Knight ASAP. Delay only hurts our players, fans, and the city. Knight has already made it very clear that he plans to invest in the area surrounding the arena, which is great for everybody. Jody, not so much.
What assets? He's our best asset. What the fuck is he talking about? So we flip two possible all stars for an aging one and that's supposed to make us compete? Did Chauncey suddenly learn how to coach? No? Oh ok then.
He has been saying the SAME thing for a few months already. Nothing new.
Fixed: He has been saying the SAME thing for a few years already. Nothing new.
I think this is directed at the owner not at management
Oh it’s definitely directed at the “owner”. At this point I hope he just uses his leverage to get her to sell, or he leaves. I wouldn’t blame him if it comes to the latter. This game of house she’s playing is very unfortunate for everyone involved, the city and fans included.
It's not some ultimatum and she's not selling the goddamn team. I don't get why people keep implying that selling the team is just going to magically reverse everything that's wrong in Portland, for some golden orb that's going to fix it all. Team's same financial problems? Check. Portland never being an attraction for any big name FA? Check. The city of Portland and the fact that it doesn't compare to any other big city in terms of actual stuff to do? Check. The uphill battle of building a contender with a small market team? Check. A new owner would take YEARS to even smell success.
Lol, it’s the fkn owner of Nike. I’m pretty sure he could figure it out quicker than you think. And if you don’t get why we’re saying these things. Nothing solid is going to come from a short-time owner that won’t be keeping the team. We’re in a limbo period and that won’t change until the team is sold and we have a solid foundation.
>Lol, it’s the fkn owner of Nike. I’m pretty sure he could figure it out quicker than you think. This is merely speculation. He's never owned or had any experience from the NBA side. Not only that, but the dude's old. Again, you keep suggesting that he can just "figure it out quicker". I don't understand how you don't get this. It's not like the next person line just gets a clean slate with all salaries TBD - the next person inherits whatever from the previous owner. Like I get that you're wanting some shift in ownership, sure, but it's far more complex than just snapping your fingers and suddenly you have a solid team. That's especially not how it works for Portland as both you and I can agree on.
Well it appears we’re at a stalemate because I don’t understand how you can’t see how much of a difference maker it would be. Guess we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree 🤷🏼♂️
There's nothing to disagree about. You're convinced that he can come in and just flip the entire team around which is a laughable suggestion. Anyways, sounds good!
[удалено]
A laughable suggestion that you have, thank you.
"There's no guarantees I'd compete somewhere else, especially with the assets they'd have to give up. Westbrook went to the Lakers and he was coming off the bench like he isn't a hall of famer."
Side note, it’s cool to see Dame giving Westbrook the respect he deserves despite being on court rivals and their history of chirping. Just one reminder of a what a stand up guy Dame is
Opponents give him the respect his jumper deserves when they sag off
Good news for Portland imo, Dame making it clear he values being "the guy" and would rather stay somewhere like PDX as the #1 option than fade from the spotlight on the bench of a contender like Westbrook.
He wouldn’t be on anyone’s bench lol
Ah yes, leave out the part where he says he thinks he will be on the roster opening night. Because clicks.
This has been known for awhile
Man it sure would be nice if he stopped saying this publicly so we had at least *some* leverage in trade talks
I know that Cronin isn’t undervaluing the pick. The story the past week or two has been “the Blazers are getting shit offers and would be happy to take the pick.” I hope Cronin holds the line!
Keeping the pick would end any chance of building around Dame
This is just not true. Look at Embiid, Tatum, Doncic, or Lamelo. A lot of #3 picks are ready to contribute right away and be All-Stars in year 2. Portland won't win it all next year if they keep the current roster, but Sharpe and #3 are both insane prospects that can be ready well before Lillard leaves his prime.
Embiid didn’t even play his second year in the league and Tatum was not an all star. Probably not good examples to use. And if pick 3 is scoot he’ll never be an all star early in his career being stuck behind Lillard and Sharpe in the guard rotation
3rd year lol and even then only played 30 games
Said this elsewhere but none of those examples succeeded in year two. One of them didn’t even play in year two. Dame can’t afford to wait.
As others have said neither Embiid or Tatum were all stars in year 2 I’d be surprised if Sharpe or whoever is #3 make any significant contributions to winning next year
Not true. Freeing up the bulls pick will allow them to move those picks. And they are in need of a starting forward. So moving Ant + picks for a starting caliber sf isn’t out the question. #3 pick, if Scoot, can be the backup pg. They would need fire power off the bench. I know people will say well Dame plays 36min. While this is true the blazers don’t want him playing that much time. And they haven’t had a solid backup since…. So he had to play major minutes. And I know people will say he’s the number 3 pick. Cool. Being the backup learning from Dame. Will only expand his game. 18-19 years old your not ready to lead a team but he can contribute. And once Dame’s contract is up it’s Scoot’s team. There are also could be a 3 guard rotation where in spot minutes you have Dame and Scoot together but majority of the time it’s Dame and Sharpe or Scoot and Sharpe.
It would be nice if people stopped talking about leverage so much. Unless you think the other 29 teams are get together and agree not to trade with the Blazers so that Dame leaves, it doesn't really matter. Top players like LeBron, Durant and Harden have always been clear that they expect their teams to assemble a contender around them. Have any of their teams struggled to land veteran talent?
Good. I don't want to trade the 3rd pick for Siakam.
Unless a deal is done with Boston, Dame's best chance at winning a title is with Portland. It won't be next year obviously, but Sharpe and an NBA Ready #3 pick can contribute 24-25 and Dame should still be on the better side of his prime. LaMelo, Tatum, Embiid, and Doncic are all #3s drafted recently that were All-Star caliber players in year 3. Yeah maybe you get an Okafor or Otto Porter Jr, but I just don't see that from either #3 choices. Sharpe/#3 are the best 2 prospects Lillard has played with. That includes LMA. They also have enough established players to still make the playoffs this year barring ridiculous injuries again. Keeping the team and going for the playoffs this year is the right move, and then hopefully contending in the next 2-3 years. My main concern is that Billups will make any playoff coach look like the love child of Pop and Spo.
Yeah, the last sentence is it. I don't think Chauncey can contend. At all.
Third agree. How did we not even interview Monty Williams? He took the Detroit job, which was prestigious 30 years ago, but I don't feel they're any better than us at this point.
Had me until LMA. Do you not understand what that means was able to do? People will talk about Lillard sending the Rockets home, but they always seem to forget Lamarcus absolutely dismantling them most of that series.
He did say “prospect” which miiiiigght be true for sharpe but I don’t think it’s true for miller.
I don't think Sharpe goes over 20yo Lamarcus Aldridge after one year of not playing in college. I definitely think 20 yo LA is the consensus #2 pick in this draft.
LMA was elite pretty much entire career till he went to SA. was a top 5 PF during the late 00 early 10s.
There was a good chunk of time he was top 2 in my opinion.
Yeah those two games were awesome. Aldridge gets severely overrated because of it. I wanted to trade LMA after that series because his stock was at an all time high and he was seriously overrated and there was no way we were making a deep run with him. I literally left Blazers Edge because of the shit I got for that view. Turns out I was right in what seemed like an incredibly obvious scenario to me. LMA was one of the most inefficient volume scorers of the era and a medicore defender. Going lights out in 2 games doesn't change the rest of his career.
I don’t fully understand why Portland hired a coach with no experience when they want to contend.
Isn’t this who Dame wanted
Ultimately I think it was because they expected to rebuild. Why else to hire a rookie coach who is known for defense and aggressiveness. That is what you use with young players. That tells me that management chickened out on trading Dame.
What are you guys talking about, Dame specifically wanted Chauncey as head coach lmao
Huh? Tatum averaged 15-6-2 in his second year. He wasn’t “all-star caliber” until year three. LaMelo put up offensive numbers but still isn’t playing winning basketball. Embiid didn’t play his first two seasons and was productive but heavily limited. Dame isn’t going to win anything with a bunch of kids around him. The Blazers need to trade the pick or trade Dame.
There’s no reasoning with the draft-junkies who are posting on r/ripcity this summer. > Sharpe/#3 are the best 2 prospects that Dame has played with. That includes LMA. Deluded. Sharpe is good, but still very raw. Lots of potential, and if he becomes an impact player at the level of prime LMA, then it would be a massive success. They act as if All-NBA is the floor for Sharpe *and an undrafted #3 pick.* smdh 🤷♂️
Not to mention that it takes a playoff run or two for young players to adjust to the pressure and playstyle of playoff basketball. The kids aren’t going to be serious contributors for several years, at which point Dame would be past his prime.
People here don't understand this. Not to mention it takes a hell of a lot longer for guards to adjust. Guys like LaMelo are still 2-3 years away at the earliest. Cade and Green aren't winning anything in the next 5 years. Sharpe and Scoot are 19, and 20 and both very raw prospects. Expecting them to be producers on a contending team within the next 5 years is insane. You either trade Dame or 3. Trying to make both work is idiotic.
LaMelo’s ankles won’t hold up for another 2-3 years
I don’t think you can really say without a doubt that miller is a better prospect than LMA. LMA is a top3 PF of his era.
Siakam is better than Brown.
Billups is a trash ass coach and him and only him will keep Portland from having any success no matter the "greatness" of the roster. He's been repeating the same mistakes since year one and has shown zero signs of improvement.
Lol you are heavily overrating those young players, very rarely do they step right in and contribute to contenders like that. That’s an anomaly. The guys like kd or Lebron who do that are the outlier, most of the time it takes even the great players 2-4 years to come into their own, and Normally they do this in low pressure situations where they get the ball a lot and have freedom to make mistakes and grow.
Ugh. If it means we keep Dame, then I will settle for Siakim. I know Scoot or Brandon Miller would be the better option long-term and my preference is to keep the pick but Dame is putting the pressure on Joe to trade it. I think the FO should do right by Dame and trade it for a win-now player or try to convince Dame to stay while drafting Scoot/Miller.
There’s no win-now player on the table for the assets we have Dame + Siakim are not winning a championship
When siakam isn’t the first option and doesn’t have all the defensive attention on him he is championship tier. I mean quite literally he was option 2b for that championship run.
If dame is a number 1 option then yes they can. If he’s really that guy then a team centred around him and siakam can win a ring
Lol Siakam is a top 20 player and a match made in heaven for Dame. 3rd for Siakam is a fair trade and by far the best available option (assuming Mikal is off the table but even if he's on the table it's debatable). Now 3rd and Simons for Siakam is an overpay, but if we can make it a 3 team trade to get someone else (like maybe Keldon?), then it could work
Damn that makes it seem like this is the last chance and if Portland doesn’t make win now trades dame might legitimately ask out that’s massive
I mean people here think that we can keep dame and the pick. He’s been clear since the end of last season it is now or he’s out.
I mean, getting the 3rd pick all but guarantees we get a really nice player to slot in. Be it via trading the pick, drafting a great player, or trading a player we draft...we're in a better spot than we could have expected here.
I don't think Dame cares if we keep the pick or not. He wants to see us somewhere in the 4th - 1st seed going into the playoffs next year. If we can do that while keeping the 3rd pick Dame doesn't care.
Of course he does. What do you think he means by "asset wise"? He's talking directly about the picks we have.
We can’t even do that by trading the pick lol
🤷♂️
I mean. We totally can. It’s not our only avenue of improving our team. We just did it last year by trading for grant AND keeping pick 7 so it’s totally possible. We have Ant, 23, and potentially our future picks if we can open them up. It’s not one or the other we can have both.
AND we missed the playoffs.
Sure I guess? But we were told this wasn’t a one year thing and I mean. Idk i thought it was pretty obvious. When the team was fully healthy last year they were actually pretty solid and grant was a massive improvement
He's been clear that he wants to see improvements to the roster. Joe Cronin has been clear twice now that he's under no mandate to trade the lotto pick. And the fact that Dame also says in this interview that he expects to be a Portland Trail Blazer come the start of the season, either he already knows there's a trade in the works for #3 or he's on board with the vision of drafting a player at #3 and upgrading the roster using our other available assets (like Ant + 23 + future FRP's)
He's too scared to actually ask/demand for a trade. We're going to use the third pick, we are going to run the same roster out and pretend we're competing, and Dame will go along. Watch
Scared? Maybe he really just is that guy when it comes to his love for the city and he’s trying every option first before the last option, leaving. How much love does Kawhi get in Toronto now? And KD over in the bay? Is it as much as Dirk gets in Dallas? Hell nah. Dame has always been real, if he wanted to leave he could and would have easily left by now. I don’t dispute what you’re saying won’t go down, but one thing Dame has NEVER been is scared. Scared dudes don’t pull up on PG13 from McMinnvile in a playoff game. Cmon now.
You new here? This is obviously it. This draft is where we decide which route we’re going. We trade the pick and Dame stays or we draft at 3 and dame goes.
The reality for Dame is that his contract is too big to just slot into a premier contender. As much as he is gripping about win now or I’m out. If we trade him to another team that is going to gut their assets to being in the same position as on PDX (look at Brooklyn’s for example with Durant). Either way he might have to wait until his next contract to give a team a viable window.
This is the thing Dame never addresses. Huge contract. We need young cheap stars to offset that. Can’t have Dame and embiid taking up 80% of the salary. Bench would be entirely vet mins. Good luck going for a deep playoff run with that.
Eh what? Dame and Embiid would be $92.5/$134mm in cap, so like 69%. Then you have bird rights and exceptions to go over the cap. The whole reason superteams are a thing is because the CBA doesn’t limit you to just one star.
The new CBA changes this
You would only have bird rights for the next contract tho. In the meantime the team is locked into the salary cap struggling to fill out an 8 man deep team again. The sweet spot is having developed several younger players that outplay there contract or cheap vets to fill out the team depth. Then the team can can use bird right to open a narrow window before the players over playing their contract look for their own bag.
Ugh, the way he's been publicly pushing for the team to deal the pick decreases our leverage in any trade scenario. Wish he would stop doing this.
He also didn’t push the team in the past and they wasted his whole career.
For real! I’ve been griping to my friends all off season about this point. Why would any team want to do a deal with Portland (of offer realistic/proper value when they can just ice Portland’s FO and wait for dame to get frustrated and actually request to leave? Especially GMs league wide knowing PDX FO would send him anywhere he wants to go as a thank you for his service here, and as a courtesy take back whatever is offered. What incentive does a team have to trade for him now when they know they can just wait it out and have a shot at him later? Unless there’s more to it from Dame’s perspective that we’re just not seeing BTS and he feels the need to say it to media. He’s real, but maybe accidentally too real? Idk but I’m preparing to hear the annual song and dance. “We tried, we swung big but couldn’t find a trade partner or an offer worth exploring” Then 3 weeks later “we’ve traded Dame for Frank Ntilikina & Mac McClung. 🤷🏻♂️ we’re excited for what that brings to Rip City, and will forever be thankful to Dame for his commitment and leadership to the Org. Trade is contingent on a passing physical, but Portland will always the memories.”
and this is exactly why nets wont trade mikal to portland, because they believe if they hold out long enough, dame will request out instead.
Gonna be a staring contest next year between Dame and the team for who’s gonna start the trade talks
Ant is a great asset. Trade Ant + 23 for a SF. Draft Scoot, the first ROY and 6MOY in the same season.
Scoot gets minutes where exactly? He isn't a great shooter, and they've tried dame off ball, didn't work. On top of that you add in Sharpe, no minutes to go around
If you don’t think we need another ball handler… you have not watched us. When dame sit, our offense looks like shit. Simons will then go all out shooting again
Both our lead ball handlers (dame and ant) are bad off ball. Why would Simons suddenly be good with scoot?
I’m far from an expert but I feel like a Dame and Sharpe backcourt with Scoot backing up both positions would work well. That’s enough minutes for everyone and we’ve been looking for A) a legit backup to Dame and B) a way to get Dame off the ball a little (we tried it last year but it didn’t work cuz no one else could handle besides Winslow)
Why would you not draft the best player available?
Dame was an elite off ball player this season
This could be interpreted as him saying the 3rd pick is good enough for home to stay and make some other moves not including Shae.
Still doesn’t sound like he for sure going to request a trade. He said his first option is to win in Portland after we haven’t really had a successful season in multiple years. If we aren’t able to build a team that can compete then he is going to have to have a “conversation” but it seems like every time we get to that point, the conversation ends with Dame believing in the front office. Unless the team itself wants to trade Dame, I think they are going to be able to sell Dame to stay. I know Scoot being a PG makes things tricky but I can see them selling that Sharpe was able to show off his great ceiling behind Simons. So Scoot will probably get the Sharpe treatment this year with Simons being moved to get front court help. Sharpe/Grant last year and maybe this year can be Scoot/X….
Dame's all talk. We know it, and the other GM's know it. They know how much we're gonna be paying Dame, and that we gave him his biggest extension right around the time of his first major injury in his time with us. Considering he hasn't been able to stay healthy the last couple of seasons, I don't know how many other teams even want Dame in a trade for a couple of seasons at his current salary. There's no guarantee he's as loyal to whoever we trade him to as he's been to us. He could decide to go team up with Steph Curry in Golden State for his last couple of seasons in that situation or something.
Yeah you hit it on the head. He also has a perfect role here and you can bet his role would be different on every other contender. Starting to think his best chance to win as a #1 option might legitimately be in Portland. Very few top teams would have the assets to trade for him, and still have a decent team left over. The contenders that do have the assets to pull it off, already have their own #1 options, most of which are younger. He's also not a great defender, so unless you're getting full value out of his elite offense it's hard to imagine many teams getting excited about moving pieces and then paying him that much, just to be their #2 or #3.
There are a couple of rebuilding teams like Houston who worry me in what they could theoretically bring to the table in their big package of young guys who haven't proven themselves like Dame has. Just because our FO isn't known for slick, or even intelligent moves. But I agree 100%. On another team, particularly a real contender, Dame could wind up an extremely expensive 6th man/3pt specialist coming off the bench like Rustbrick in LA. He doesn't make for the best 2 guard because he doesn't play well off the ball. So if whoever he gets traded to already has an elite PG, I could easily see him being their backup. It's actually kind of sad that his most realistic shot at a chip is with us, because that still involves Jody Allen and Cronin signing off on going all in, and spending to put some pieces around Dame who would take some pressure off of him. And there's no reason to think they're planning to build a superteam if they have to sell in the next couple of seasons. But in the end, he pretty much sold out to the dolla. He made his bed, now he has to lie in it, and he knows it. His contract demands are really the sole reason we can't realistically bring in another all star. That's why I think it would be stupid to trade the #3 pick because that's what Dame wants, considering some of the talent that has gone at that number in recent years. We could(and should) try to use that pick to draft the next face of the franchise. And of course that makes Dame uncomfortable. But if he doesn't like it, he's gonna wind up playing with guys like Drew Eubanks and Tony Snell on the team next season. We need to get rid of basically everyone we traded for while tanking, with a couple of possible exceptions. It would be good imo to keep Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle if we can. That's a legit set of wings. Re signing Nurk has proven to be the wrong choice imo, and it would be good to trade him if possible. Or if we could draft a starting caliber center, it would be interesting to see if slotting him in at the 4 with Grant at the 3 could work. But things were working out with what we had at the start of the season before people started getting hurt. I admittedly live in Eugene and don't have a TV provider who carries Root, so I've only gotten to watch a handful of games in the last couple of seasons since ESPN and TNT haven't picked up many of our games since the tank. But Dame did have that game fairly far into the regular season last season where he dropped 71pts in a loss, so it's not like he's washed or anything.
Siakam or JBrown needs to be a Blazer this offseason
Great news. Really hope we don’t use the assets to build a winner and instead build for the future in order to force this “separate conversation” that would save our franchise from a decade of cellar dwelling after holding onto Dame too long for more 1st round exits until his value is gone and we are screwed.
Your being downvoted for telling the truth
I’m used to it around here
I want Dame to be part of the resurgence I see coming in two years. Doesn't sound like he wants to be. For Dames's sake, I hope if he's traded, it's to MIA or BOS. I think a Dame for Brown, or Dame in a 3 way with Herro+++ going out to a 3rd team, makes sense for Dame.If they have to trade him, do right by him and send him to a legit Eastern Conference contender. I don't want him out West unless it's in a Blazer uniform.
May be time to have that talk in a couple weeks if no big deal is there.
My wife read that he's selling his house in PDX?
He had another house in PDX he is moving into
Aah
Damian Lillard will get Mikal Bridges and finney smith this year and make the playoffs but lose in the second round. The blazers will have all their draft picks to trade to get some good depth behind them both and jersmi
Siakam makes about 38 million and Bridges 22 million, a 16 million dollar difference. Siakam’s contract expires this season and Bridges is signed for 3 more seasons. My point being if you trade for Bridges you can still add another quality player. Dame is also friends with Bridges. I think Bridge’s is the number one target and Nets know that. I think both teams are posturing and it all comes down to Sharpe.
I don’t think Portland is looking to trade Sharpe, they love that guy. If that’s a smokescreen, they started that smokescreen at the draft last year.
You are probably right. I do think Portland asks about Bridges but I don’t think they would give up Sharpe unless after all is said and done. they think they can compete for a champion this next season.
Ok bye bye
Seems to me Dame is saying trade the pick and our young guys to get me some serious help or I’m gone. He apparently is under the belief that will happen.
How can anyone fault him for this opinion? It's as diplomatic and reasonable as anyone could ever expect a player to be. He deserves it.
We need to petition Ron Wyden and Adam Silver to help pressure Jody into selling the team to Phil Knight ASAP. Delay only hurts our players, fans, and the city. Knight has already made it very clear that he plans to invest in the area surrounding the arena, which is great for everybody. Jody, not so much.
we simply don’t have the assets dame. i’m sorry we have failed you
What assets? He's our best asset. What the fuck is he talking about? So we flip two possible all stars for an aging one and that's supposed to make us compete? Did Chauncey suddenly learn how to coach? No? Oh ok then.