Blazers 2023-2024 Thread

[pezsez1]

Oh no, a conversation? Commence the pearl-clutching!

[Phalanx]

Pfft, you overuse that phrase, and it doesn't apply here anyway. I want him to follow through with his veiled threats. Go find a trade, Dame. Knock yourself out. You'd be doing the team a favor at this point. I'm just pointing out that he has been saying it over and over for a few months now. All of a sudden, he isn't saying it. Funny that.

He was right about one thing, anyway: the conversation is different now.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xuYgT2Vlosc

"I don't have much of an appetite for building and you know, guys two and three years away from really going after it. I’m just not interested in that. That’s not a secret. I want a chance to go for it. And if the route is to draft youth, then that’s not my route.”

I dunno, kinda looks like his route to me.

[pezsez1]

I'm going to laugh at all the national pundits and comment section trolls if Cronin makes no moves whatsoever and Dame stays anyway. He loves the team and city so much, he really just might. They'll still be clutching their pearls about that time he said he'd prefer to have veterans on the roster.

Would that be the best basketball move? Nah, probably not -- but the ensuing meltdowns would be pretty entertaining.

[Phalanx]

....except that he didn't just say he'd prefer to have veterans on the roster. He said not choosing veterans would change the conversation regarding him remaining in Portland. So the only one clutching his pearls right now is Lillard.

Lillard has never been concerned with the best basketball move. He's always been about the Dollas.


https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status ... wsrc%5Etfw

[pezsez1]

OMG, Lillard is such a whiner! He dared to say he was getting older and preferred to play with veterans! Clutch all the pearls!!!

Then he went and had a cordial meeting with Cronin in which he didn't make any demands.

What a diva!!!

[Phalanx]

He IS a diva. He could have said the whitewashed version that you are dutifully trying to spin here, but he didn't. He went to the media and stirred the pot with veiled threats of leaving if he didn't get his way. As the purported team leader, he also could have been first in line to publicly welcome his new teammates. But he didn't do any of that. Instead, he let it be known that he wasn't pleased with the draft, because it didn't fit HIS timeline. It's been all about him all the time. He's the first lady of the stage, and everyone better keep him happy, or else.

[Duck07]

I tend to agree with Jason Quick's take that Lillard needs to just shut up already and that it isn't doing any positive, not even for himself. Dame didn't meet with Cronin alone, he brought his Agent which is purposefully provocative for someone who wants to win in Portland.

Did he ask Jodi if she's willing to spend in the Luxury Tax?
They can't move future 1sts until they deal with Chicago, which is an issue for acquiring a bigger name than what you send out.
Dame says they have positive assets to use (except that FRP). Those are Scoot and Sharpe, a little bit of Murray, Simons and Little and a negative asset in Nurk who prevents the team from playing fast.
He wants Grant re-signed (which means a rebounding problem).

Since he is such an amazing teammate though, I'd love to hear him talk about Scoot being drafted and how he sees him fitting next to him. What seems clear is that there isn't any reflection from Dame on how he has to change HIS game to have a more complete team around him. Instead we get double-speak about how nobody can predict how his new team would do in June if he were to get traded (similar to how he can't predict how his new, young team would do if he bought in...)

The only way that Dame gets a complete team in Portland around him is by letting the last 2-lottery years actually take their time to pay off and for Dame to start playing off-ball more.

If he's serious about his Portland legacy, letting Scoot/Sharpe develop seems like the most prudent option possible for him to find that playoff success.

[pezsez1]

That's idiotic. Lillard never went to the media. The media has relentlessly come to him and continues to do so. The real irony is that these pundits and comment section trolls are breathlessly complaining about this narrative that they created. What they really should do is just shut up and let this situation play out. Dame & Cronin are handling this professionally whether the trolls like it or not.

Stack up all the times Lillard has stated his love & loyalty to Portland vs the handful of times he's said he'd rather play with veterans at this point in his career. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Diva, lol.

[pezsez1]

The only way that Dame gets a complete team in Portland around him is by letting the last 2-lottery years actually take their time to pay off and for Dame to start playing off-ball more.

If he's serious about his Portland legacy, letting Scoot/Sharpe develop seems like the most prudent option possible for him to find that playoff success.

I think there's a real chance of this happening, but we'll have to see. Only Dame & Cronin know what his real intentions are. I wouldn't be surprised to either see him stay and take on this role vs. suddenly leave on a trade pulled off with the same level of discretion as the CJ deal.

It helps though that -- if you're Cronin and want to spin the situation to Dame -- he didn't actually draft a couple of 19-year-olds in the first round, but a 2-year pro and a 23-year-old forward who are both ready to contribute. Dame was also on the record after this season ended as saying that Sharpe wasn't the typical 19-year-old youngin, but that he was "different," i.e. ready to contribute at a high level. That is proof that Dame is viewing this situation with a clear-eyed & open-minded perspective.

Dame has definitely let the organization know what he'd like to see -- and as the team's best player (by far) that's his right and responsibility to do so -- but he has never delivered a steadfast ultimatum, and even as this has played out he has indicated positive steps toward achieving a competitive roster.

[droop10]

As an impartial observer that isn't a Blazers fan, but follows the NBA fairly closely, you 2 are just the complete opposite extremes on the Lillard spectrum, and neither is going to change the other's mind. The extreme dislike for Lillard doesn't make sense, and what he has asked for isn't completely unreasonable. He isn't the main issue plaguing the team, and it's always going to be hard to keep a star in Portland, so it's hard to just scrap him when you do. Even in the best case scenario where Sharpe or Henderson pan out to be a star, there's a very realistic chance they just bolt come free agency for a bigger market. He is one of the best shooters in NBA history, so trying to convey he has no value or holds the team back is a bit ingenuine. He's not the main problem. His contract isn't stopping any marquee free agents from coming to Portland, they aren't interested. Yes, his cost at 35-36 is going to be way more than it's worth. Unfortunately, that's the price to keep a guy around. They'd do better to get off the Simons and Nurkic contracts. They aren't going to a get a ton back for Lillard on the trade market, as there aren't many teams that can take on his contract where he's a fit.

However, on the other side, he is hardly as innocent as pezsez makes him seem. He absolutely has spent the last couple offseasons doing passive aggressive things to indicate he may want out, but he doesn't want to be the bad guy and directly ask out. Just in the last week, he did the IG Live with 'Miami' playing in the background immediately after the draft. He then claims the next day it was just a coincidence. Let's be real, it absolutely was not. His reps definitely are involved in some of the leaks that come out about him being discontent with the direction of the team at times. He certainly brings on some of the drama with the media around him. I don't agree with calling him the model for how to handle this type of scenario.

All that said, at this point, they have to start the season with him and maybe try to trade him at the deadline if another team gets desperate. They'll probably have to overpay to keep Grant around, so we'll see if that happens. Either way, their ceiling is probably a fringe play-in team for the season, unless they somehow finagle some sneaky good trade out of the blue.

[dd10snoop28]

As an impartial observer that isn't a Blazers fan, but follows the NBA fairly closely, you 2 are just the complete opposite extremes on the Lillard spectrum, and neither is going to change the other's mind. The extreme dislike for Lillard doesn't make sense, and what he has asked for isn't completely unreasonable.

However, on the other side, he is hardly as innocent as pezsez makes him seem.

This.

[Phalanx]

I am always reminded of the story about a baseball player coming to one of the old-time managers, I think it was Leo Durocher. The guy asks for a raise, and Leo says, "what place did we finish in last year?". The players answers 'last place', and Durocher responds, "We can finish in last without you".

I started a poll several years ago about whether people would rather keep Lillard or win, and the general sentiment was that they would rather keep Lillard, since winning in Portland is impossible. Well, I don't agree, and I think keeping Lillard at all costs is absolutely the problem with the Blazers. They simply backed the wrong horse. Sure, he's a good shooter, but it hasn't led to winning in the playoffs. Centering the team around him and a supermax contract was a losing strategy, plain and simple, and continuing it for several more years is lunacy. If he was on a contract that made more sense, that left room for getting other good players, then I would say sure, keep him around. But he insisted on a supermax, crazy exploding deal that will preclude the team ever competing unless literally everyone else is a super rookie. It's just lazy to throw up your hands and say 'well, that's how much it costs to keep him, and you have to keep him'. No, you really don't. The same or better record can be achieved without him.

[Duck07]

Even in the best case scenario where Sharpe or Henderson pan out to be a star, there's a very realistic chance they just bolt come free agency for a bigger market.

This is just false and has been addressed in previous CBAs specifically by small-market teams. It will take a long time for a 1st round draft pick to actually leave in unrestricted free agency, at which point if they've become All-NBA and are that adamant they want out at age 27/28, you're getting a haul for them in return.

You have 4 years on the rookie scale with a 1st rounder and then they enter restricted free agency. The shortest contract they can sign with another team is 2 years that can be matched by Portland (and obviously longer deals can be made too) but call it another 4 typically and you just hit 8 years of team control.

[Duck07]

For a different discussion, what player WOULD you trade 1 of Scoot or Sharpe for and let's say 2-3 1sts?

Giannis is about the only player who I think I would make that trade for, which is to say I don't think there IS a trade that could be made to truly tilt the scales for Portland without really overdoing it.

[Phalanx]

Even in the best case scenario where Sharpe or Henderson pan out to be a star, there's a very realistic chance they just bolt come free agency for a bigger market.

This is just false and has been addressed in previous CBAs specifically by small-market teams. It will take a long time for a 1st round draft pick to actually leave in unrestricted free agency, at which point if they've become All-NBA and are that adamant they want out at age 27/28, you're getting a haul for them in return.

You have 4 years on the rookie scale with a 1st rounder and then they enter restricted free agency. The shortest contract they can sign with another team is 2 years that can be matched by Portland (and obviously longer deals can be made too) but call it another 4 typically and you just hit 8 years of team control.

Thanks, was going to address this next. The real issue here will be not having enough money to match whatever offer Sharpe and Henderson can get, which brings us back to Lillard's insane contract.