Dude, you need to give the "Damian Lillard" poster thing a rest.
I have a little knockoff Lego Damian Lillard in my office, not a poster in my bedroom. And I work from home, so don't need a lunchbox. So BAM, chew on that.
Back to the actual topic, there's not a chance in hell Dame is leaving Portland again. He learned his lesson. He's here for good thanks to Milwaukee stretching his salary through 2030.
Love Jru, but he's not the glue. Deni is the glue. With Deni on the floor we're a completely different team. Jru definitely makes his presence felt, but to call him the glue is getting a bit high on our own supply. He's expendable, and he's old, and we should trade him while other teams might still want his bad contract. We got a ton out of him this season, but Dame and Scoot can carry the load next year. Dame is our starter, and Scoot is his successor. That's a great situation. Let's roll with it and not force Jru Holiday to spend the rest of his career playing out of position.
NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
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pezsez1
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Re: NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
Willie Taggart is a dick.
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Phalanx
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Re: NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
Whenever I want to predict what Lillard will do, I generally think of the most 'me-first' money-grabbing option he has available to him and that is a pretty good forecaster. I predicted that he would wait to ask for a trade until he squeezed the last max extension he could out of the Blazers, and he executed that maneuver right on schedule. I did not predict that he would have his agent play hard ball and try to force the Blazers to take Miami's awful offer in return, simply because my mind was not devious enough to imagine that outcome. I did, however, predict that as soon as Toronto got involved in the trade offers, he would suddenly drop his 'I will only play in Miami' tantrum and see his way clear to go to another city that didn't tax him so much.
In this case, he has a player option for the '27-28 season for $14.1 million. If he plays well at all next season, he will certainly opt out and then he will sign with the highest bidder or the team that will get him a ring the easiest. If that is Portland, he will act like there were higher bids that he declined, but it will be baloney. That is my prediction and you can pull this post up in a year or two and see if I was right. If he sucks next season, he might stay in Portland and bleed the $14.1 million that he couldn't get anywhere else. Just like he is doing this season.
Deni is the star, Jrue is the glue. Did you see that play where Deni was whining after he made a basket that the refs didn't call an and-one and Jrue had to pull him out before he got a technical? To me, that is a microcosm of what Jrue does for the team. He sets the mood, keeps them focused, and picks them up when they encounter difficulty. Anyone can see the effect he has had on the team's general attitude about playing defense compared to prior years. They would not be in the playoffs without him. Maybe the new owner comes in and wants to get rid of the largest salary on the team, but I think the best move at this point is to hold on to him and use his presence to get a little tough in negotiations with Scoot.
In this case, he has a player option for the '27-28 season for $14.1 million. If he plays well at all next season, he will certainly opt out and then he will sign with the highest bidder or the team that will get him a ring the easiest. If that is Portland, he will act like there were higher bids that he declined, but it will be baloney. That is my prediction and you can pull this post up in a year or two and see if I was right. If he sucks next season, he might stay in Portland and bleed the $14.1 million that he couldn't get anywhere else. Just like he is doing this season.
Deni is the star, Jrue is the glue. Did you see that play where Deni was whining after he made a basket that the refs didn't call an and-one and Jrue had to pull him out before he got a technical? To me, that is a microcosm of what Jrue does for the team. He sets the mood, keeps them focused, and picks them up when they encounter difficulty. Anyone can see the effect he has had on the team's general attitude about playing defense compared to prior years. They would not be in the playoffs without him. Maybe the new owner comes in and wants to get rid of the largest salary on the team, but I think the best move at this point is to hold on to him and use his presence to get a little tough in negotiations with Scoot.
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pezsez1
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Re: NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
Dame didn't demand a Trade until Cronin used p3 to draft a project player to maybe someday replace him. (Going into Year 3 and Scoot still isn't there yet.) And that was after years of Cronin pledging to go all-in and get veteran help. I know your true feelings about Cronin's competence, and if you're frustrated then imagine how Dame felt.
Dame is staying put. Only way he goes is if Dundon forces him out, but I don't see any reality in which that happens. We can pull up posts in a few years and see who was right.
Dame is staying put. Only way he goes is if Dundon forces him out, but I don't see any reality in which that happens. We can pull up posts in a few years and see who was right.
Willie Taggart is a dick.
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Phalanx
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Re: NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
Yeah right, Lillard insisting on that third year being a player option is just a coincidence. 
Lillard was already whining to the media and threatening to leave well before Cronin decided to commit the offense of not letting Lillard also be the team GM and decide what to do with every pick. And this was after several years of giving him ridiculous influence over personnel decisions. They brought Grant in at his request, they hired Chauncey at his request. They let him sit in on player evaluations and sign off on Sharpe as a draft pick, heck, they are still paying this year's first-round pick because of a stupid trade they did to appease Lillard's demand for more players on HIS timeline. They are literally still making the last interest payments on the awful Lillard years.
This argument was over when he went to Milwaukee and instead of helping them continue to win, he also made a wreck of that team. Lillard is radioactive and hopefully nobody gets traded simply because he decided to come back to Portland to do his rehab work. If he is able to come back to form, he is going to opt out. Bank on it.
Lillard was already whining to the media and threatening to leave well before Cronin decided to commit the offense of not letting Lillard also be the team GM and decide what to do with every pick. And this was after several years of giving him ridiculous influence over personnel decisions. They brought Grant in at his request, they hired Chauncey at his request. They let him sit in on player evaluations and sign off on Sharpe as a draft pick, heck, they are still paying this year's first-round pick because of a stupid trade they did to appease Lillard's demand for more players on HIS timeline. They are literally still making the last interest payments on the awful Lillard years.
This argument was over when he went to Milwaukee and instead of helping them continue to win, he also made a wreck of that team. Lillard is radioactive and hopefully nobody gets traded simply because he decided to come back to Portland to do his rehab work. If he is able to come back to form, he is going to opt out. Bank on it.