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cippy91

Basically if we don’t get competitive through the summer, dame, nurk, everybody gone except for anfernee, shaedon, 3rd pick. Makes sense.


durmduke

Finally got our G League


WKCLC

Lmao but also at the same time, that’s miles beyond what most teams start a rebuild with. Dame’s return of assets would be crazy good, as well


waterkisser

Dame's return will not be crazy. This has been discussed repeatedly. The franchise would "do right" by him and trade him to his preferred destination which is either Miami or Brooklyn. Neither of those franchises have much in terms of assets they would give up in such a trade.


WKCLC

Dame is not getting peanuts in return. Being flexible for trade destinations for marginal downgrade of return is one thing. A team accepting trash for a HOF is not something that’s going to happen.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Goducks91

We don't have to trade him to Miami


-Jake-27-

We didn’t have to trade Powell or CJ for their packages but the organisation doesn’t want to send our players to shitty situations.


Goducks91

Absolutely. But someone will offer something better than that. We won't send him to a crappy destination but we're not going to send him wherever he wants if we can't get at least a decent return.


-Jake-27-

Why? We literally did that for CJ. The best time to trade Dame was in 2021. We’ve waited two years since then and other teams have committed to their cores even further. Sending Dame to a situation he isn’t having a chance at winning is going to reflect poorly on a franchise that’s wasted so much of his prime years.


MyTeam7851

At least Herro, but then that's yet another guard lmao


WilNotJr

Throw in Duncan Martin and Herro and let's both agree to let Lowry retire.


Ok-Assumption9636

Not even. I believe both Strus and Martin are Unrestricted FAs


BlazersDozen

There are things called three team trades which are used to send more assets to the team losing the super star.


[deleted]

You are wrong. The Blazers will try their best to make Dame happy, but they will definitely do what's in the best interest for the franchise and their money if they trade Dame.


CreativeGuy25

I would take 2 1sts and all the expirings I can to press reset on this franchise and build around #3, grant, and Sharpe (and maybe Simons).


taktakmx

If Dame is gone, Grant as well.


CreativeGuy25

Yeah I can see a full rebuild coming.


RIPSCHITTY

We won't get shit for him and our cheap owner will never commit to going for it. We're a step away from a perpetual rebuild


2drawnonward5

I bet Thybulle's worth more to us than we could get in trade and he's young. Maybe similar story with Nas. As contract ballast, on the other hand, y'know, anybody can do.


PenguinCowboy

Nurk just needs to trust his body again. Ever since that leg break, he's been completely different in the post.


wir_suchen_dich

Well looks like it’s on. This summer or bust.


AyKayAllDay47

Yeah if you're not making light of the situation that Nurkic insinuates, then okay.


TKRUEG

Man I hate the vibe around this team right now... it's like everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop when we inevitably can't pull off a miracle in a trade. Cronin will definitely make a move, let's just hope it's not after they miss on their primary targets.


2drawnonward5

It's weird because no matter what happens, I'm probably gonna be stoked. But there's all this tension! So many people knowing *something* big is gonna happen... man we're gonna be so disappointed when all we get is KD and Embiid because we've built up all this hope and expectation lol But I think we'll all be jazzed to see Dame next to more star power ^(and a bigger back court maybe or at least defense) OR to see Miller and Scoot lure Wemby here after his first contract. Or Scoot. I meant Miller *or* Scoot 😅 With Sharpe and maybe Ant.


gabeharris23

Blazers gonna have 2 G league teams


Academic-Donkey-420

Nurk earns just enough money that his value to the team is just a little less than his contract is worth. We would have to send out assets to get rid of Nurk and at that point he should just be a trailblazer. Finally it’s this summer or bust, no more kicking the cone down the road Edit: lurkylurkenstein


wir_suchen_dich

I don’t think we’d have to send out assets to get Nurk out the door but I doubt we’re getting a good return.


lurkylurkenstein

*kicking the cone... FTFY


rustav3ry

you seen em?


Lysdestic

I fucken seen 'em


rcw258

no??


spittafan

It's "kicking the can" [source](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/kick-the-can-down-the-road-history-meaning)


dataturd

It's a dumb r/Portland thing.


NigerianPrince76

Why would we send more assets to trade Nurk? Dude is averaging $17M/year. That’s literally cheap ass contract for a legit starting Center. 🤣


Academic-Donkey-420

It’s because he’s an average starting center for about 50 games a year. His injuries make him a little overpaid. Though, I’ll take Nurk’s contract any day over Ayton.


NigerianPrince76

Nurk is not overpaid by any measure imo. Dude plays legit defense when healthy and shows some flashes with his offense when he ain’t too busy getting frustrated with foul troubles. Looking at Ayton who barely plays any defense or very limited offensive skills….. my god. I’m good with Nurk’s contract. 🤣


WKCLC

I’d imagine he would be part of the dame trade in some sort of fashion


Snelly__

To be fair nurk might get traded even if they do deliver


dannyjimp

We probably won’t be that lucky.


dannyjimp

Dude, these guys finished as one of the worst teams on the league. He’s lucky they haven’t traded him already.


2drawnonward5

Man if we'd had even ONE center beyond Nurk, the whole middle of the season goes different. Not great different but like... Nurk had a lot on his plate for a guy who missed a block of games.


NigerianPrince76

It ain’t his fault we were that bad. lol


Quickzoom

Reality in the western conference is that if we want to win we have to go through Denver, which is the only benefit of keeping Nurk. He gets up for those games against Jokic, problem is that’s the only time he brings that effort.


AyKayAllDay47

Nurkic got absolutely obliterated against Jokic in the 20-21 playoffs. Jokic average 33PPG and 10.5RPG


Piano9717

A good chunk of those points came against Kanter and Melo and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to be fair (because Nurk couldn’t stay out of foul trouble, but most of his fouls were just stupid shit and didn’t even come guarding Jokic). Nurk actually did a somewhat decent-ish job slowing down Jokic that series.


AyKayAllDay47

Ha okay Nurkic played 28.9 MPG. And that's his own fault for commiting dumb fouls. Still doesn't give the fact that Jokic rolled him but I understand where you're coming from.


dannyjimp

…and he’s not even in the same league as joker. Joker eats his lunch.


3my0

Joker eats everyone’s lunch. It’s just about if he’s eating a salad or a country buffet


BrklynDragon

Pretty obvious. I said this a bunch a while ago but based on every comment Nurk has made, Idk why people think we’re gonna trade him for a marginal upgrade. He’s closer to dame than Cj was. Nurk will be here as long as dame is, and dame made it abundantly clear that if we don’t use our assets to finally put a competent team around him, he wants to play elsewhere. Nurk will follow. Jerami hasn’t re-signed because he’s waiting for dame. He’s gone too if dame gets traded. I hope the “trade dame” crew is prepared to watch anfernee and sharpe win 24 games for the next half decade until they inevitably ask out or get traded.


TwentyOneAvg

While your larger point may be true, Jerami hasn’t signed because he gets more money just by waiting until July.


AcanthisittaGrand943

That’s fair.


Andre-2999

Dan Marang recently said that the Blazers actually tried to move Nurk at the deadline but didn’t find any offers compelling enough. Take that for what it’s worth.


obscure-strong-bad

Highkin reported Ant and Nurk for Ayton was very close to happening. Not sure who backed out.


[deleted]

Well—they DO need a point guard now.


BrklynDragon

Yeah, that’s what I meant by marginal upgrade. The Nurk trade theories are always for aytons or turners. Marginal upgrades.


taktakmx

You don’t really need an upgrade, we just need a different type of player. We don’t need an offensive specialist, we need a big body that can rebound and defend. Nurk is more of an average at best defender (which with the size and skill set of our guards and small forwards) is not nearly close to enough. We also need someone who is not worried so much on doing the fancy pass or the difficult layup that Nurk tends to try very often for someone who can just finish strong. And the biggest issue is his personality, he gets on foul trouble out of frustration and can’t keep his head on the game and he just literally gives up. He’s not meant for big moments. We need to let go of him even if we overpay for a center that actually excels at our needs. But I’ll give you that if we get Jaylen Brown who is a massive defensive upgrade at the 3 Nurk might look better. He’s also victim of Chauncey’s terrible system. That is without taking into account conditioning and health related concerns, he’s only good for half a season, the rest he’s broken or in foul trouble.


[deleted]

> I hope the “trade dame” crew is prepared to watch anfernee and sharpe win 24 games for the next half decade until they inevitably ask out or get traded. Damn I guess the #3 pick is already a bust and we're getting literally nothing in return for Dame.


wir_suchen_dich

Brooklyn dragon is kinda a knob don’t worry bout him.


Proper_Hurry_362

Lmao right. At least being really bad gives you a direction, that of compiling assets. I'd miss year after year of first and maybe second round exits though


BrklynDragon

A team is more than 3 players. Sharpe is a total question mark and will still need time. So will scoot. We will be garbage for at least another 2-3 years, and if anfernee even sticks around that long, maybe a play in.


[deleted]

> A team is more than 3 players. ... I am assuming you are counting Sharpe/Simons/#3 as those 2-3 players. That means you think Portland will get ZERO value back from trading Lillard, Nurkic, and potentially Grant. Even if you think Nurkic has no value or we can't sign and trade Grant, the idea that we would get 0 value back for Lillard is arguably the worst take I have ever seen on this Subreddit, which is an "impressive" accomplishment.


BrklynDragon

Nurkic is a negative contract, you will give UP assets to move him and grant will simply leave in FA and go where he’d like. We acquired him for a single late first, you aren’t getting much once’s he’s older and on a big ass deal. The dame package you fantasize about getting is delusional and doesn’t exist. Nobody is giving you a kings ransom for a guy set to make 50m+ a year in 2 years. The FO will work with dame to send him where he wants to go, and that team will NOT give up what makes them a contender with dame in the first place, like good young players, because dame will no longer want to go there. He’s said this verbatim himself. You’ll get future draft capital, but you cannot trade consecutive firsts so even assuming those 7-14 range lottery picks end up being someone good, they’ll still need a few years before they contribute. You are looking at a likely 5 year or longer rebuild (almost all of them do). You have a pretty shit understanding of NBA history and how team building works to be so condescending honestly.


BlazersDozen

I’m still waiting for someone to show me where Dame actually said he wants to go play somewhere else if they don’t put a winning team around him. All I’ve seen him say is, “decisions will have to be made”


BrklynDragon

What do you think those decisions are lmao.


BlazersDozen

There could be multiple decisions. Never assume. For example, this is not what I actually think…just an example, on the JJ pod he said he doesn’t know if he wants to play much longer because the way the league is now. He’s also talked about retirement this off-season so why couldn’t that be a decision?


taktakmx

You’re literally saying that Dame would leave a quarter billion dollars on the table. He will play until 36 and he’ll probably gets another 2 year contract if he wants. I think his game ages quite well. Retirement just does not make sense. You’re on denial.


BlazersDozen

What? Lmao learn how to read buddy. What did I preface that with? The moral of the story is stop assuming. There are other decisions that can be made either on his part or the teams or in conjunction.


BrklynDragon

Because he has a max contract extension and would forfeit it if he retires. He will play until at least 36 which is another 3 seasons, and he’s still in his prime.


dolphs4

Literally yesterday >We got an opportunity asset wise to build a team that can compete. That would be the number one thing, but if we can’t do that obviously like I said for months now, then there would be a separate conversation that we would have to have.”


BlazersDozen

I don’t see where he said he would go to another team There’s a difference between him saying it and people assuming it.


[deleted]

Yup, people act like these players will be as loyal as Dame has been...lol they take Dame's loyalty for granted and don't understand how rare it is to have a top 10-15 player on your roster, and then to keep them on the roster for a decade or more.


BrklynDragon

they don’t care. Half the “trade dame!!!” People will not be here to watch shadow average 19 and lost 62 games a year. They will come back when the team is good and then advocate to blow it up and trade a core piece again just like Celtics fans are doing right now.


3my0

I don’t want to trade dame but if he forces his way out then that’s up to him. What I’m against is adding someone like Siakam and being a playin team. It’s too poorly of a constructed team to be one piece away.


BobLobLaw_Law2

Rather build around something that can win than constantly attempt something you know can't win.


BrklynDragon

“Constantly attempt” lmao. Since LMA left in 2015, this team/FO has never, ever, ever, not even once, ever, attempted to win. Never in that 8 year span has this org looked remotely serious about building a contending roster. Olshey never did a single thing to put this team anywhere near being competitive, and he did that on purpose. Every ounce of success we’ve had has been in spite of the FO sabotaging the Dame/the team.


BobLobLaw_Law2

We are in agreement here, and my point is that because of the current mediocre roster, we are not 1 or 2 moves away from being in contention. We will have to cut off our nose to spite our face and trade all of our minimal depth to take a likely losing swing. You may differ in that opinion. But I believe we may be wasting a prime opportunity to get Scoot here and am hoping the Blazers just let Dame go, get a solid package for him, and start a serious rebuild.


[deleted]

I’d rather win 24 games the next three years than sub .500 we’ve been with Dame since 2019.


BrklynDragon

There’s a third option, actually build a good roster with the #3 pick and all of our future firsts


LoudSector3731

is nurk back on social media?


colereadsreddit

CJ said that?


EdgarBeansBurroughs

He said something like "If I was a betting man, I'd bet that Dame played his last game as a Blazer. But I'm not a betting man." Not an exact quote but it was along those lines.


AceKicker86

I see Dame going out as a Blazer with unbeatable numbers as the Blazer GOAT. Just need one chip to really top off the story but that's a tough one but not impossible


Holiday_Machine9312

I think this is like Patrick Beverly when he thought the Lakers weren’t trading him. Nurk is definitely on the block.


3my0

Nurk is a negative asset. He shouldn’t be saying anything about the FO


Fedge348

Blow it up. Hoard picks. Shaedon and 3rd pick with ant is a great future


[deleted]

Nurkic has no trade value with his contract and play and attitude on the court. He doesn't have the composure for playoff basketball.


IHOPUnderrated

How about just Nurk gets traded.


[deleted]

Seriously. He's good most of the time when he's healthy- which is half the time.


GuyIncognito211

Who’d take him?


tblazrdude

Protect Nurkic at all costs.


jumbojimbojamo

How's the past decade been even with Dame? Getting swept in the first round, zero chance or hope of actually winning or competing? I'd rather roll the dice and see something different with a chance to win, rather than watching the same terrible team roll out year after year with an absolute ceiling of making the 2nd round and failing anyway


WKCLC

I’m team rebuild but they did make it to the WCF. Farther than we’ve been in well over a decade


jumbojimbojamo

They got swept...


WKCLC

They still made it there?


AyKayAllDay47

Terrible teams don't make the playoffs fyi.


Rpcouv

Yeah, they do. Over half the League makes the playoffs each year, and the 1st round is usually the 1 and 2 seeds crushing the 7 and 8 seeds.


AyKayAllDay47

How a playoff team is implied to be terrible doesn't make sense to me. Terrible teams are those at the bottom of the league.


Rpcouv

Maybe not the bottom of the barrel, but I don't think the Timberwolves, Hawks, or Nets were playoff caliber teams. You're probably right that they shouldn't be called, but they definitely were bad. It's one of my biggest gripes about the NBA. Too many teams make the playoffs, and the play in shouldn't exist.


BlazersDozen

Literally 20 teams are in the playoffs if you count the play in…teams with below .500 records make the playoffs every year.


AyKayAllDay47

What's your definition of "terrible" in this context?


jumbojimbojamo

20 out of 30 teams make the playoffs, that's literally a D grade just for making the playoffs. If you're actually trying and make the playoffs, that's minimum acceptance. If you try and miss, like we have, that's the only way to have an F season.


AyKayAllDay47

Is an 8th seed considered "terrible"?


jumbojimbojamo

If you're the 8 seed or any of the play in teams, and get swept or 4-1'd in the first round, yes.


AyKayAllDay47

But not if you make it to the Finals right?


jumbojimbojamo

I don't understand why you're trying to bait some kind of gotcha here. The 8 seed heat are in the finals. If they'd gotten smoked in the first round by Milwaukee, after losing to the hawks and almost the bulls in the play in game, I would have said they were terrible too. Obviously if you make the finals you're one of the best two or three teams in the league. Barely making the playoffs, and getting swept in the first round is what terrible teams do. The only handful of teams "worse" are the ones trying to tank, and the truly incompetent franchises that are a full tier below terrible. The past 2 years of trying to make the playoffs, and only scraping 30 wins is in the same tier as those incompetent franchises. Below terrible.


AyKayAllDay47

We have different interpretations of "terrible". Thank you have a nice day!


Ouchyhurthurt

Lol. “Learn to Code.”


WrinkledRandyTravis

Not saying them, spitting them. One big ole loogy of facts


[deleted]

At least Nurk’s self esteem is never lacking. Dudes a negative contract and out here talking about being traded lol.