Does Lillard want out, and what would it take to get him?

[SelbyCobra]

I love this Knicks team as presently constituted. This has been the most enjoyable winter/spring of basketball for me in years and years. I have a soft spot for almost every player on this team. I'm blown away by RJ's unprecedented progress, Julius' unprecedented ascension, and IQ's seemingly limitless shooting efficiency potential.

Dame Lillard is a true superstar monster efficiency player. If you can keep one of IQ/RJ (or somehow both), then I have no problem with him being the "all-in, every 1st rounder" type trade an NBA team can make once a decade. He's that good, and even at 31 he's got enough time left for a legitimate 3-4 year run. Julius in his present form will be the best player Dame has ever played with. Thibs is the perfect coach to help cover his defensive shortcomings.

I love the Knicks as presently constituted. I also think Dame is a HOF PG - with the perfect mentality for this coach, team, and city - who is in the middle of his prime.

If he was the choice I'd recognize the potential downside, but would totally understand and be excited.

[NewKnicks]

The comp is ridiculous.

1) Suns didnt have to sell their core to get CP3. They trade only a lesser PG, a role player like Oubre (UFA next season) and protected pick. Its was a calculated risk.

2) Suns have ketp their young core. Booker/Ayton/Mikal/C.Johnson.

3) Getting a 33+ player is a risky move. Every player loses agilily and gets more suscetible to serious injuries. Risky moves have to be calculate. You cant use a winner risky move as parameter and ignore the failed ones. Hindsight 20/20.

Except Dame is 30, not 33. That point is kind of important. And his best skill is his shooting, which will not be going away any time soon due to age. It's not like he'll wake up on his 34th birthday and not be able to shoot anymore. He's one of the best shooters in the history of the NBA, and also a clutch player. The more I talk about it, the more I think it's a move we should consider.

All that said, we're all b*tchin and moaning over nothing. It's not happening. If Portland dumped Dame, they would be going for a full rebuild, and they'll want better picks than picks in the 20s.

31 in a month, has hit his ceiling, and has nowhere to go but decline. If its for Frank and Knox great, any other moves that might include pics, or players that will be assets for another decade would be the stupidest thing this FO could do. What would be the point of giving away our future for a couple season rental that jams up our cap space and cant compete with much better teams like PHI, GS, LA, BRK, PHO, UTA.....Its just f'n stupid.

If you're going to be critical about his age, you might as well get it right. He was born on July 15th, which is exactly 2 months and 11 days from now. At least do a quick google search before posting.

Nowhere to go but decline? You're delusional. I'm not even going to respond after reading that. And for Frank and Knox???

[Butch718]

at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

[vallen]

Except Dame is 30, not 33. That point is kind of important. And his best skill is his shooting, which will not be going away any time soon due to age. It's not like he'll wake up on his 34th birthday and not be able to shoot anymore. He's one of the best shooters in the history of the NBA, and also a clutch player. The more I talk about it, the more I think it's a move we should consider.

All that said, we're all b*tchin and moaning over nothing. It's not happening. If Portland dumped Dame, they would be going for a full rebuild, and they'll want better picks than picks in the 20s.

31 in a month, has hit his ceiling, and has nowhere to go but decline. If its for Frank and Knox great, any other moves that might include pics, or players that will be assets for another decade would be the stupidest thing this FO could do. What would be the point of giving away our future for a couple season rental that jams up our cap space and cant compete with much better teams like PHI, GS, LA, BRK, PHO, UTA.....Its just f'n stupid.

If you're going to be critical about his age, you might as well get it right. He was born on July 15th, which is exactly 2 months and 11 days from now. At least do a quick google search before posting.

Nowhere to go but decline? You're delusional. I'm not even going to respond after reading that. And for Frank and Knox???

wow off a month. rush me to the burn unit. add 12 year old lil girl emo's.

[vallen]

:lol: at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

[rajajackal]

:lol: at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

dame is one of the few players in this league worth paying a briefcase for. we're just not in a position to pay anyone a briefcase right now

[DaGawd]

:lol: at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

You’re definitely bugging out if you wouldn’t immediately jump on getting Dame for only Knox Frank and some picks.. Knox is a certified bum and Frank is shaping up to MAYBE being a nice role player on a loaded squad at the height of his potential but nothing special as a stand alone piece.. Dame is a perennial top 10 player in the league and probably still has a good 4-5 years of MVP level production before declining.. Knicks instantly become title contenders if they can miraculously keep RJ Mitch and IQ and gain Dame

[vallen]

:lol: at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

dame is one of the few players in this league worth paying a briefcase for. we're just not in a position to pay anyone a briefcase right now

No 31 year old that wont net any returns is worth a briefcase. Any basketball fan with IQ understands that.

[vallen]

:lol: at getting Dame for Knox, Frank and draft picks.

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

You’re definitely bugging out if you wouldn’t immediately jump on getting Dame for only Knox Frank and some picks.. Knox is a certified bum and Frank is shaping up to MAYBE being a nice role player on a loaded squad at the height of his potential but nothing special as a stand alone piece.. Dame is a perennial top 10 player in the league and probably still has a good 4-5 years of MVP level production before declining.. Knicks instantly become title contenders if they can miraculously keep RJ Mitch and IQ and gain Dame

That would never happen so no buggin needed. But I still wouldnt give away any pics for someone who wont net any returns. 4-5 years?? Christ, imagine being stuck with a 35 year old max cat. yikes. The problem is this board can only see what has already been shiny and used, and does not have the ability to scout what players will be the top PG's in the league for years to come. 4-5 years lol.

[rajajackal]

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

dame is one of the few players in this league worth paying a briefcase for. we're just not in a position to pay anyone a briefcase right now

No 31 year old that wont net any returns is worth a briefcase. Any basketball fan with IQ understands that.

your opinion that he would net no returns isn't supported by the facts lol he has been consistently competitive and clutch, including in the postseason, carrying his teams in the west. hard to imagine he "wouldn't net any returns" with julius randle and tom thibodeau in the east. again, not advocating for trading RJ, IQ, etc for dame. just saying, he is definitely as valuable as that package

[vallen]

dame is one of the few players in this league worth paying a briefcase for. we're just not in a position to pay anyone a briefcase right now

No 31 year old that wont net any returns is worth a briefcase. Any basketball fan with IQ understands that.

your opinion that he would net no returns isn't supported by the facts lol he has been consistently competitive and clutch, including in the postseason, carrying his teams in the west. hard to imagine he "wouldn't net any returns" with julius randle and tom thibodeau in the east. again, not advocating for trading RJ, IQ, etc for dame. just saying, he is definitely as valuable as that package

Whats the return? If you were to trade RJ, IQ and pics and say it is definitely as valuable, how? Does it win us a championship? He has had better supporting cast and never made it to the finals while in his prime years. How would that be "as valuable" as keeping pics, cap space, and players that have another decade at least left in their careers? How??? Facts are hes never done it before so thats one supported fact. Facts are hes hit his ceiling and has nowhere to go but down. As factual as any player in the league. Facts are losing those players and pics to gain an aging PG who hit his ceiling wont help against loaded super teams. Facts.

[rajajackal]

No 31 year old that wont net any returns is worth a briefcase. Any basketball fan with IQ understands that.

your opinion that he would net no returns isn't supported by the facts lol he has been consistently competitive and clutch, including in the postseason, carrying his teams in the west. hard to imagine he "wouldn't net any returns" with julius randle and tom thibodeau in the east. again, not advocating for trading RJ, IQ, etc for dame. just saying, he is definitely as valuable as that package

Whats the return? If you were to trade RJ, IQ and pics and say it is definitely as valuable, how? Does it win us a championship? He has had better supporting cast and never made it to the finals while in his prime years. How would that be "as valuable" as keeping pics, cap space, and players that have another decade at least left in their careers? How??? Facts are hes never done it before so thats one supported fact. Facts are hes hit his ceiling and has nowhere to go but down. As factual as any player in the league. Facts are losing those players and pics to gain an aging PG who hit his ceiling wont help against loaded super teams. Facts.

you're so aggressive bro. lol. damian lilliard at his ceiling is a top 15 nba player. a recent dip in play does not mean that his prime is over. maybe it's just the beginning of his decline, but it seems unlikely to me that would happen all of a sudden barring a gruesome injury. once again, i am not advocating for trading the farm for dame, because i think it's too expensive a move for the situation we're in. all i'm saying is that damian lilliard in 2021 is absolutely still worth that much in transactional value around the league

[DowNY]

Is there a capologist here? How much cap would we have if we traded both 1sts, our 2nd, IQ, Obi, Knox & Mitch ? Enough to entice Kawhi?
If not, I’d offer that but insist Derrick Jones is in the deal

Dame
RJ
Jones
Randle
Noel

Interesting

[DaGawd]

Is there a capologist here? How much cap would we have if we traded both 1sts, our 2nd, IQ, Obi, Knox & Mitch ? Enough to entice Kawhi?
If not, I’d offer that but insist Derrick Jones is in the deal

Dame
RJ
Jones
Randle
Noel

Interesting

Much rather keep RJ at the 3 and maybe even bring back bullock at the 2. Bullock has been great for us this season

[Richard4444]

Is there a capologist here? How much cap would we have if we traded both 1sts, our 2nd, IQ, Obi, Knox & Mitch ? Enough to entice Kawhi?
If not, I’d offer that but insist Derrick Jones is in the deal

Dame
RJ
Jones
Randle
Noel

Interesting

I dont think its possible

Dame 44
Randle 20
Derrick Jones 10
RJ 8,5
Noah Corpse 6,5
Roster Charges (8) 8
Total Payroll: 97M
Cap Space: 15-18M
Leonard Max salary: 39,5M

[NewKnicks]

Paul is the exception not the rule. Expecting a 30 year old to all of a sudden pickup defending just cuz he's here is a fool's errand and that's not even including the fact that there's no way that he'd be able to handle rj's minutes on a stripped team.

Making such a trade would at best make us fourth in the east and given that we'd have little to no assets to pick up another star, we'd be screwed.

So you don't want a 30 year old superstar because he doesn't play enough defense? Does Harden?

Again, I'm not saying we should make this move. But the bottom line is Dame is great, and he's far from being on the downside of his career. IF you want to make this move, we'll have to empty the roster. That's the going cost for a superstar in the NBA. We would end up with Randle/Dame and fillers. But that's what teams do when they acquire great players. Look at the Nets and the Lakers and what they gave up. If we were somehow able to keep RJ, I do the trade immediately, but Portland would not a deal with us if he wasn't included.

In the end, Portland will find a much better deal out then what we could offer.

Once again emptying out the cupboard for a "superstar" approaching his downside and trying to rebuild on the fly is a fool's errand. It's almost as if yall werent around when we did something similar with Melo.

Yes, Dame not playing defense is a huge issue if he's coming here to play for thibs. Its almost as if people dont know who's coaching this team.

What part of "Again, I'm not saying we should make this move" don't you understand

[NewKnicks]

even thats steep for a guy who will net us absolutely nothing. dumbass idea but thats how this board operates.

You’re definitely bugging out if you wouldn’t immediately jump on getting Dame for only Knox Frank and some picks.. Knox is a certified bum and Frank is shaping up to MAYBE being a nice role player on a loaded squad at the height of his potential but nothing special as a stand alone piece.. Dame is a perennial top 10 player in the league and probably still has a good 4-5 years of MVP level production before declining.. Knicks instantly become title contenders if they can miraculously keep RJ Mitch and IQ and gain Dame

That would never happen so no buggin needed. But I still wouldnt give away any pics for someone who wont net any returns. 4-5 years?? Christ, imagine being stuck with a 35 year old max cat. yikes. The problem is this board can only see what has already been shiny and used, and does not have the ability to scout what players will be the top PG's in the league for years to come. 4-5 years lol.

I think this poster is 12 years old. Or is challenged in some way. Some pretty hot takes, though. Keep em coming!

[NewKnicks]

No 31 year old that wont net any returns is worth a briefcase. Any basketball fan with IQ understands that.

your opinion that he would net no returns isn't supported by the facts lol he has been consistently competitive and clutch, including in the postseason, carrying his teams in the west. hard to imagine he "wouldn't net any returns" with julius randle and tom thibodeau in the east. again, not advocating for trading RJ, IQ, etc for dame. just saying, he is definitely as valuable as that package

Whats the return? If you were to trade RJ, IQ and pics and say it is definitely as valuable, how? Does it win us a championship? He has had better supporting cast and never made it to the finals while in his prime years. How would that be "as valuable" as keeping pics, cap space, and players that have another decade at least left in their careers? How??? Facts are hes never done it before so thats one supported fact. Facts are hes hit his ceiling and has nowhere to go but down. As factual as any player in the league. Facts are losing those players and pics to gain an aging PG who hit his ceiling wont help against loaded super teams. Facts.

I really want to play your facts game, but I don't want to lose any more brain cells communicating with you.

[Oscirus]

So you don't want a 30 year old superstar because he doesn't play enough defense? Does Harden?

Again, I'm not saying we should make this move. But the bottom line is Dame is great, and he's far from being on the downside of his career. IF you want to make this move, we'll have to empty the roster. That's the going cost for a superstar in the NBA. We would end up with Randle/Dame and fillers. But that's what teams do when they acquire great players. Look at the Nets and the Lakers and what they gave up. If we were somehow able to keep RJ, I do the trade immediately, but Portland would not a deal with us if he wasn't included.

In the end, Portland will find a much better deal out then what we could offer.

Once again emptying out the cupboard for a "superstar" approaching his downside and trying to rebuild on the fly is a fool's errand. It's almost as if yall werent around when we did something similar with Melo.

Yes, Dame not playing defense is a huge issue if he's coming here to play for thibs. Its almost as if people dont know who's coaching this team.

What part of "Again, I'm not saying we should make this move" don't you understand

The part where you're arguing for it while at the same time using that lazy statement to have it both ways. Either commit to one side or the other, dont be a fence sitter

[Montmorencie]

Dame is the most protected by the media player in the history. For his reputation, all them ads and overall praise he is getting, to never be in NBA finals is a damn failure. He and Cj are considered the second best back court for years. Nurkic is one of the best centers in the league. They've always had good supporting cast, always, because they are extremely overrated and people want to play with them. They've had players like Ariza, Melo, Whiteside, Kanter, Powell, Covington... and the core have been playing 8 years for the same coach.

And nothing. 1 conference finals appearance, two lucky game winning shots in meaningless first round series and this is it. The West was outside of their league for 3 years - KD years. What is the excuse for the other 5 years? Why are they always getting swept or gentlemen swept? 4-1 Lakers, 4-0 Warriors, 4-0 PELICANS (:lol:), 4-0 Warriors, 4-1 Warriors, 4-1 Grizzlies(:lol), 4-1 Spurs. How is a legit superstar, mvp contender, the clucthest player in history, 7 years with a great Robin, with same coach and good rosters, how is he getting humiliated so many times????