Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

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Which hypothetical Blazers option do you prefer?

Trade Lillard for picks and start over with $49 million in salary cap
9
45%
Keep Lillard and lose in the first round every year
11
55%
 
Total votes: 20
mattc94
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by mattc94 »

Eh. Don't think it really matters. The team isn't going to commit to a OKC type rebuild and are locked into the prime years of Dame's contract at a very high salary. If he was to be traded it would take a team that can move for one of the biggest contracts in pro sports and the picks to get him. But the Allen family seems fine with the Blazers financial profitability and the fan base is watching constant plucky underdogs get destroyed by real contenders.

Win win.

Just wish we had a hockey team or NFL franchise so I had another sport to focus on. One that might actually win something someday.
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Phalanx
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Phalanx »

According to the report, the Knicks are ready to do the deal anytime, and they have a bunch of picks and young players that could be included as well. Whether one likes the idea or not, it appears to be a viable option.

It seems like people are relying on Lillard to lead the team to 50 wins throughout the life of his contract. I think that is optimistic. I expect his game to decline over the next couple of years, at the same time that his salary is rising. Dude is turning 31 in a couple of months and he hasn't even started the new deal yet. If ownership wanted to get out of the deal, this would be the time to do it.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by buckmarkduck »

wepto wrote:How about we trade the Blazers for a MLB expansion franchise, instead.

Portland as a city, deserves a sport that would appear in obscure sports weekly. The majority of Portlanders wouldn’t embrace a real sport like Baseball, Football or Hockey.
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lukeyrid13
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by lukeyrid13 »

I actually think hockey would be well received here
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Boom
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Boom »

This thread is a joke. Lillard is a borderline top 10 player. You don’t trade those guys regardless of the salary. Blazers problem is their next best player is not in the top 30.

Salary is almost irrelevant in the NBA.

Margin for error is razor thin for small market teams and Olshey blew it by drafting Zac Collins.
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StevensTechU
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by StevensTechU »

Boom wrote:This thread is a joke. Lillard is a borderline top 10 player. You don’t trade those guys regardless of the salary. Blazers problem is their next best player is not in the top 30.

Salary is almost irrelevant in the NBA.

Margin for error is razor thin for small market teams and Olshey blew it by drafting Zac Collins.
Nah man. If they trade Lillard, they'll totally get a Big 3 in return via the immaculate draft of all time....
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by buckmarkduck »

The problem with trading for future draft picks in the NBA. Is there is no guarantee what pick that becomes. Even if the team is trash and finishes worst in the nba, you still aren’t guaranteed the top pick.
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Phalanx
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Phalanx »

Boom wrote:This thread is a joke. Lillard is a borderline top 10 player. You don’t trade those guys regardless of the salary. Blazers problem is their next best player is not in the top 30.

Salary is almost irrelevant in the NBA.

Margin for error is razor thin for small market teams and Olshey blew it by drafting Zac Collins.
Actually, thinking that salary in the NBA is irrelevant is the real joke. The Blazers are in the fix they are in because of years of Olshey's salary mismanagement. A small market team MUST manage the cap well in order to compete. The Blazers are giving $75 million next year to two guys, neither of whom can play defense. They just traded away the only decent draft pick they've had in the last seven years because they knew they had no money to re-sign him. I stand by my statement that the Blazers will never win a championship during Lillard and McCollum's new contracts (over the next four years), and I challenge anyone to a bet who disagrees.

So, given that they will not win a championship over the next four years, having saddled themselves with two awful contracts, it is totally legitimate to raise the possibility of a trade that might deliver the team from that situation. Could they get worse? Of course. If Olshey takes that cap space and those draft picks and makes bad choices, the Blazers could find themselves right back among the ranks of non-contending teams, as they are now. But at least there would be a chance to turn it around. Some people watch the Blazers because they love Lillard. I like winning, particularly in the postseason. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's perspectives - except STU, who has been a waste of space here.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by pudgejeff »

Phalanx wrote:
Boom wrote:This thread is a joke. Lillard is a borderline top 10 player. You don’t trade those guys regardless of the salary. Blazers problem is their next best player is not in the top 30.

Salary is almost irrelevant in the NBA.

Margin for error is razor thin for small market teams and Olshey blew it by drafting Zac Collins.
Actually, thinking that salary in the NBA is irrelevant is the real joke. The Blazers are in the fix they are in because of years of Olshey's salary mismanagement. A small market team MUST manage the cap well in order to compete. The Blazers are giving $75 million next year to two guys, neither of whom can play defense. They just traded away the only decent draft pick they've had in the last seven years because they knew they had no money to re-sign him. I stand by my statement that the Blazers will never win a championship during Lillard and McCollum's new contracts (over the next four years), and I challenge anyone to a bet who disagrees.

So, given that they will not win a championship over the next four years, having saddled themselves with two awful contracts, it is totally legitimate to raise the possibility of a trade that might deliver the team from that situation. Could they get worse? Of course. If Olshey takes that cap space and those draft picks and makes bad choices, the Blazers could find themselves right back among the ranks of non-contending teams, as they are now. But at least there would be a chance to turn it around. Some people watch the Blazers because they love Lillard. I like winning, particularly in the postseason. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's perspectives - except STU, who has been a waste of space here.
In the last 40 years 13 franchises have won NBA championships. 11 by the lakers. Acting like it's some sort of equal thing and that the Blazers not winning one the next 4 years would be a travesty. Each year all but one team goes home with the championship, basing success purely on that is a joke and just a sad soap box to stand on while spouting nonsense. The success the blazers have sustained in the market they exist in, while dealing with an NBA where players realize it is detrimental to play in a place like that so they rarely re-sign and almost never join via free agency should be celebrated and enjoyed. I honestly feel sad for you if that's your view on the teams you root for and sports in general.
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Phalanx
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Phalanx »

I started this thread to solicit opinions, so I appreciate your participation. My own position goes something like this:

I think most fans of pro sports would like their team to be in contention once in awhile, even if they don't win it all very often. If their team isn't in contention, I think most fans would like the management of their team to do something about it, rather than just sitting there, happy to be one of the 16 out of 30 teams to make the playoffs. It's just not that great of an accomplishment to reach the playoffs and lose in the first round - it's like making a bowl game in college football.

Just in the last 25 years, 17 out of 30 teams have made it to the Finals, 12 of them on multiple occasions. So it isn't like it's an unreachable goal to get there. The salary cap and the draft have ensured that most teams do in a generation. It's hard to imagine a GM considering himself a success who didn't do it at least once. I personally would rather my team continued trying to accomplish that goal, rather than just assuming that I as a fan will be happy with making the playoffs along with over half the league.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Boom »

Phalanx wrote:
Boom wrote:This thread is a joke. Lillard is a borderline top 10 player. You don’t trade those guys regardless of the salary. Blazers problem is their next best player is not in the top 30.

Salary is almost irrelevant in the NBA.

Margin for error is razor thin for small market teams and Olshey blew it by drafting Zac Collins.
Actually, thinking that salary in the NBA is irrelevant is the real joke.

Cap space doesn't play. The NBA has always been about stars and the Blazers have never had that kind of pull in FA.

Drafting Zac Collins over Bam Adebayo or signing FAs who cant shoot (Derrick Jones Jr) over a nice role player like Jae Crowder is what's going to cost Portland a chance at a title. Not overpaying to keep it's two best players. (Lillard is not overpayed).
Phalanx wrote:The Blazers are in the fix they are in because of years of Olshey's salary mismanagement. A small market team MUST manage the cap well in order to compete. The Blazers are giving $75 million next year to two guys, neither of whom can play defense. They just traded away the only decent draft pick they've had in the last seven years because they knew they had no money to re-sign him.
What fix are they in? Is Denver, Utah, and Dallas in a similar fix?

I loved watching GTJ, but Norm Powell is the better player and better fit to play when both CJ & Dame are on the court.
Phalanx wrote:So, given that they will not win a championship over the next four years, having saddled themselves with two awful contracts, it is totally legitimate to raise the possibility of a trade that might deliver the team from that situation. Could they get worse? Of course. If Olshey takes that cap space and those draft picks and makes bad choices, the Blazers could find themselves right back among the ranks of non-contending teams, as they are now. But at least there would be a chance to turn it around. Some people watch the Blazers because they love Lillard. I like winning, particularly in the postseason. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's perspectives - except STU, who has been a waste of space here.
This should be plane as day... Trading Lillard will not get you closer to a championship.
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Phalanx
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Phalanx »

Boom wrote: This should be plane as day... Trading Lillard will not get you closer to a championship.
Yeah it will, closer by about four years. The rebuild is inevitable, but at the moment, we are waiting for Lillard to make his $200 million first. While we wait, Olshey is trading away draft picks, past and present, for temporary players. The team just gets older and older - and nothing is being invested in the future.
Boom wrote: What fix are they in? Is Denver, Utah, and Dallas in a similar fix?
Utah and Dallas are two of the 12 teams I mentioned as having made it to the NBA finals multiple times in the last 25 years. The Blazers haven't made it since the glory days of Drexler, Porter, etc. I guess we are about to find out what shape Denver is in. Losing Jamal Murray hurt, and the Blazers got a break by drawing them in the first round. When they are at full strength, they are a contender with a bonafide MVP candidate, unlike the Blazers.

I am not talking about 'Cap Space' I am talking about spreading the dollars around to have a deeper team. When you pay two guys $75 million, there isn't much money to fill out a team with good players. I'm not sure why this is hard to understand. Lillard clearly can't win by himself - he's tried it enough times now, but for him to whine that he has no help is a joke - his own contract is one of the biggest reasons why they can't get a good team around him.

What are the chances Powell sticks around after this season? Should be interesting to see what kind of free agents Olshey can get with no cap space. I hear Meyers Leonard can be had on the cheap, so there's that.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by lukeyrid13 »

The problem solution for about 3-4 years now has been super simple actually. Trade CJ for another star player.

He won't get a player like: Ben Simmons, Bam Adebayo etc but a close equivalent would do wonders for this squad. We don't need a guy who can get 23-24 ppg. We need a 2 way player that gets 15-18 ppg and is a lockdown defender or an amazing playmaker. Until that happens, we will just see the same results of trying to make 20 3s a game and hoping to just outscore the competition.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Boom »

lukeyrid13 wrote:The problem solution for about 3-4 years now has been super simple actually. Trade CJ for another star player.

He won't get a player like: Ben Simmons, Bam Adebayo etc but a close equivalent would do wonders for this squad. We don't need a guy who can get 23-24 ppg. We need a 2 way player that gets 15-18 ppg and is a lockdown defender or an amazing playmaker. Until that happens, we will just see the same results of trying to make 20 3s a game and hoping to just outscore the competition.
Completely agree, but that trade hasn’t been there. Ideally they resign Powell and someone panic trades for CJ this offseason.
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Re: Should the Blazers Trade Lillard?

Post by Duck07 »

Boom wrote:
lukeyrid13 wrote:The problem solution for about 3-4 years now has been super simple actually. Trade CJ for another star player.

He won't get a player like: Ben Simmons, Bam Adebayo etc but a close equivalent would do wonders for this squad. We don't need a guy who can get 23-24 ppg. We need a 2 way player that gets 15-18 ppg and is a lockdown defender or an amazing playmaker. Until that happens, we will just see the same results of trying to make 20 3s a game and hoping to just outscore the competition.
Completely agree, but that trade hasn’t been there. Ideally they resign Powell and someone panic trades for CJ this offseason.
Jimmy Butler and Damian Lillard don't realize how much they need each other.
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