pezsez1 wrote:I'm all for either trading or keeping Lillard if the right deal presents itself.
Could we possibly build a contender and win now? Highly unlikely, but winning a title is always unlikely. A slew of the NBA's best players (who played on elite teams) never won rings. What I do know is that winning a title requires at least two all-star caliber players. It's hard enough for the Blazers to have one of those players. Right now, we could possibly get a second. If the chance is there, you go for it. And Lillard is the special kind of talent you happily build around -- no drama or baggage like the Embids, Hardens, Morants, etc. of the basketball world. It's easy to sit back and call Sharpe a future star, but we really don't know how he'll turn out. Maybe he won't have the work ethic to keep up his performance once he makes more scouting reports. Maybe he'll never learn to play defense. Maybe his ball skills -- which are already really good -- never rise to match his athleticism. Lots of people also said Ant looked like a future All-Star, but after a year of starting that assessment was a bit overblown. Maybe Scoot or Miller will be that good, or maybe they'll simply be good. We know we have an all-star right now, and that's not something to take lightly.
That said... if the goal of keeping Dame is winning a title, and if the goal of trading Dame is resetting the roster with intruiging young talent, then trading Dame is clearly the easier and more efficient move if the objective is simply reaching a goal. Trading Dame & Ant (no value in keeping Ant if we get Scoot) could bring in a HAUL of assets including a slew of future first-round picks. And hopefully we'd set ourselves up for at least a couple more years of development while having more shots at the lottery. By the time Scoot & Sharpe have had 2-3 years together, we'd have the assets get some bigs and -- possibly under the ownership of Phil Knight -- start making some playoff runs with an all-new window.
I look at this and see two really good paths, both of which will lead to a lot of wins and also at least a couple years of missing the playoffs. Do we want to win now or later? Do we want to miss the playoffs for 2-3 more years now or later? It's a wash for me. Just make the best available move and don't pussyfoot around trying to "thread the needle."
Sharpe is already better defensively than Simons is, and he's shown more athleticism than anyone else on the team not named Lillard. Keeping him should be the number 1 priority.
Unless there is a no brainer trade option that makes Portland an immediate contender I see no reason to mortgage the future, which is just 2 or 3 years away, just to keep Lillard happy. Draft scoot, trade Lillard, and trade Simons. If Henderson isn't available at 3 then trade the pick. Everything in reading about Wilson indicates that he's great against weak competition, and disappears against above average talent.
I can only imagine the haul Portland could get if they traded all 3 of Lillard, Simons, and the number 3 pick. Plus the cap space that would become available from getting rid of those 2 contracts.