Lillard: I don't want to be a part of a rebuild.

[monopoman]

He does not want any part of a rebuild? Yet he cut the team off at the knees to get paid and extended. That's rich. You wanted Grant so they got him.
Dame is the greatest Blazer EVER, but he is not a leader or possibly even a good judge of talent. Love ya man but you kinda screwed us. Where are we at compared to last year? The time to move him was last off season and we dropped the ball.

Strong words here, I strongly disagree to the part about him not being a great leader.

I do think teams need to not let stars be the gm as that has a tendency to blow up almost every time. Grant isn't worth the money he seeks and him rejecting that offer is enough for me to say meh on him.

And Dame was the one asking for him, so possibly poor judge of talent sticks? He just seems to let the team do what they want, he never seems to be recruiting guys he just lets things happen. With an FO in such chaos you would think he would be calling all of his friends/players recruiting. And maybe he is? What is the holdup? Are we that bad of a franchise? Do people want no part of living in PDX? I understand that completely. Or has he crushed our cap space? I don't know but to me it sounds like a guy who is happy being on the treadmill getting payed huge money.

You are kidding yourself if top tier players are dreaming of playing in PDX, this is probably one of the worst cities in the USA to live in if you are a rich young athlete.

Taxes are pretty damn high here, there are very few places to go for the late night club scene, we also tend to get ignored by the media. So basically all this stuff adds up to making it probably a bottom 5 city to recruit free agents, now we have some upsides a very loyal team that can make a player feel very appreciated. We also have a pretty damn great food scene, especially pre-pandemic.

So for a certain type of player they might really like playing here, but I think many top tier free agents would never consider it. The Lakers were trash for like 8 or 9 years in a row and LBJ signed there, even before they got AD. So the only thing pulling LBJ there was the allure of playing in LA and playing for a team that has won a lot in the past.

We also have no idea how often Dame is talking to top tier players like say KD, just because he isn't letting the media know how much he is doing it doesn't mean it never happens. It does come off as a bit desperate to be blowing up a players phone in texts trying to get him to come here over and over especially if he seems to have no interest in it.

[m0ng0]

Strong words here, I strongly disagree to the part about him not being a great leader.

I do think teams need to not let stars be the gm as that has a tendency to blow up almost every time. Grant isn't worth the money he seeks and him rejecting that offer is enough for me to say meh on him.

And Dame was the one asking for him, so possibly poor judge of talent sticks? He just seems to let the team do what they want, he never seems to be recruiting guys he just lets things happen. With an FO in such chaos you would think he would be calling all of his friends/players recruiting. And maybe he is? What is the holdup? Are we that bad of a franchise? Do people want no part of living in PDX? I understand that completely. Or has he crushed our cap space? I don't know but to me it sounds like a guy who is happy being on the treadmill getting payed huge money.

You are kidding yourself if top tier players are dreaming of playing in PDX, this is probably one of the worst cities in the USA to live in if you are a rich young athlete.

Taxes are pretty damn high here, there are very few places to go for the late night club scene, we also tend to get ignored by the media. So basically all this stuff adds up to making it probably a bottom 5 city to recruit free agents, now we have some upsides a very loyal team that can make a player feel very appreciated. We also have a pretty damn great food scene, especially pre-pandemic.

So for a certain type of player they might really like playing here, but I think many top tier free agents would never consider it. The Lakers were trash for like 8 or 9 years in a row and LBJ signed there, even before they got AD. So the only thing pulling LBJ there was the allure of playing in LA and playing for a team that has won a lot in the past.

We also have no idea how often Dame is talking to top tier players like say KD, just because he isn't letting the media know how much he is doing it doesn't mean it never happens. It does come off as a bit desperate to be blowing up a players phone in texts trying to get him to come here over and over especially if he seems to have no interest in it.

Yep nobody wants to come here...

If anybody wants to beat me up I will be there tonight hahaha. 4th row even

But seriously it's sad we can't get players unless we draft them, we are stuck on the treadmill until the FO faces facts and realizes we gotta let Dame go, there is no other option.

[DusterBuster]

That’s fair, happy to admit I got manipulated by the out of context clip.

Like mono said, we probably just need to wait for Dame to straight out say he wants to be traded. He’s not the quiet type. If that how he feels, he would outright say it.

I still have to wonder though about this summer. That just has to be so demoralizing to have a MVP season and have a roster struggling to crack 35 wins.

Demoralizing yes surprising no. Grant is not an impact player at least not the way we are playing him, he can't rebound and is a black hole as a number 2 or 3 option (he should mostly be catch and shoot imo), Simons doesn't fit well next to Dame and Sharpe looks like a better back court partner, Nurk looks to have regressed on average, our back court continues to be one of the biggest defensive liabilities in human history , and on top of all of that we have zero bench.

Grant was who I expected he was. He had me fooled originally to start the year, but by the end of the season, it was pretty clear that he was the same player who I thought it would be crazy to give up anything significant for. I still think the deal Cronin made was fair value for Grant, so unlike some boneheaded moves by the Blazers in the past, this one was perfectly reasonable. My biggest gripe with a Grant trade tho was having to pay for him the year after. I hope the Blazers don’t feel they HAVE to resign him, because the second that ink is dry, he will be looked at as the next Tobias Harris. A decent 20ppg ish player almost fully maxed out and they’ll be stuck with that deal for the next 3–4 years.

Hard to say right now what the Blazers should do this summer, that imo entirely hinges on the lottery results.

[red_power]

Just thought about what the FO is going to do if Blazers land #2 pick and the possibility of taking Scoot

[DusterBuster]

Just thought about what the FO is going to do if Blazers land #2 pick and the possibility of taking Scoot

Yeah, it’s a weird situation if they get the #2 pick for sure. I don’t really buy the Scoot hype myself. I think the most likely situation there is Portland trading down. Whoever gets 1 is locked in for Wemby, but knowing Scoot is available could start a nice bidding war depending who’s below Portland in the draft.

Using a random Tankathon roll where Orlando got 1 and Portland 2, I could easily see a team like Houston wanting Scoot and willing to part with their pick 3-5 along with some NJ future firsts.

[BlazersBroncos]

Just thought about what the FO is going to do if Blazers land #2 pick and the possibility of taking Scoot

Yeah, it’s a weird situation if they get the #2 pick for sure. I don’t really buy the Scoot hype myself. I think the most likely situation there is Portland trading down. Whoever gets 1 is locked in for Wemby, but knowing Scoot is available could start a nice bidding war depending who’s below Portland in the draft.

Would try to flip Nurkic and 2 for Lauri and more personally. Think Utah may see that as hard to pass up given they initially intended to do a full tear down.

Something like this changes the teams identity overnight and both guys are young'ish -

Nurkic + #2 for Markkanen + 2025 CLE FRP
Simons for WCJ
Draft BPA w/ the NYK FRP

G - Damian Lillard
G - Matisse Thybulle / Shadeon Sharpe
F - Jerami Grant / Nas Little
F - Lauri Markkanen / Trendon Watford / Jabari Walker JR
C - Wendell Carter JR / Drew Eubanks / Trendon Watford

Size, defense, enough youth, no mini backcourt anymore. Creation may be an issue though - might necessitate actually getting a competent backup PG finally w/ MLE or BAE.

[DusterBuster]

Just thought about what the FO is going to do if Blazers land #2 pick and the possibility of taking Scoot

Yeah, it’s a weird situation if they get the #2 pick for sure. I don’t really buy the Scoot hype myself. I think the most likely situation there is Portland trading down. Whoever gets 1 is locked in for Wemby, but knowing Scoot is available could start a nice bidding war depending who’s below Portland in the draft.

Would try to flip Nurkic and 2 for Lauri and more personally. Think Utah may see that as hard to pass up given they initially intended to do a full tear down.

Something like this changes the teams identity overnight and both guys are young'ish -

Nurkic + #2 for Markkanen + 2025 CLE FRP
Simons for WCJ
Draft BPA w/ the NYK FRP

G - Damian Lillard
G - Matisse Thybulle / Shadeon Sharpe
F - Jerami Grant / Nas Little
F - Lauri Markkanen / Trendon Watford / Jabari Walker JR
C - Wendell Carter JR / Drew Eubanks / Trendon Watford

Size, defense, enough youth, no mini backcourt anymore. Creation may be an issue though - might necessitate actually getting a competent backup PG finally w/ MLE or BAE.

I hate this trade for Portland. I’m not fully sold on Markkanen. I think he’s more just in a perfect situation vs this is who he is now. I could be wrong, but I want to see him sustain this level of play longer.

If Portland trades down, I would want more future draft capital that could be swung in another trade for a current big name player. Markkanen doesn’t move the needle for the Blazers ability to contend imo.

[BlazersBroncos]

Yeah, it’s a weird situation if they get the #2 pick for sure. I don’t really buy the Scoot hype myself. I think the most likely situation there is Portland trading down. Whoever gets 1 is locked in for Wemby, but knowing Scoot is available could start a nice bidding war depending who’s below Portland in the draft.

Would try to flip Nurkic and 2 for Lauri and more personally. Think Utah may see that as hard to pass up given they initially intended to do a full tear down.

Something like this changes the teams identity overnight and both guys are young'ish -

Nurkic + #2 for Markkanen + 2025 CLE FRP
Simons for WCJ
Draft BPA w/ the NYK FRP

G - Damian Lillard
G - Matisse Thybulle / Shadeon Sharpe
F - Jerami Grant / Nas Little
F - Lauri Markkanen / Trendon Watford / Jabari Walker JR
C - Wendell Carter JR / Drew Eubanks / Trendon Watford

Size, defense, enough youth, no mini backcourt anymore. Creation may be an issue though - might necessitate actually getting a competent backup PG finally w/ MLE or BAE.

I hate this trade for Portland. I’m not fully sold on Markkanen. I think he’s more just in a perfect situation vs this is who he is now. I could be wrong, but I want to see him sustain this level of play longer.

If Portland trades down, I would want more future draft capital that could be swung in another trade for a current big name player. Markkanen doesn’t move the needle for the Blazers ability to contend imo.

Ya, guess I am just super high on Lauri. His fit next to Dame offensively is near ideal and he is very underrated defensively. Think he is more attainable than established guys too. MIA isnt rebuilding and will keep Butler, BOS wont want a pick package for Brown, Masai will want the world for Pascal. Things are fluid but I think Lauri is one of the most attainable needle movers out there. If this year is legit, he would be the best player Dame has ever played with. Especially considering fit on offense.

Lauri was miscast as a simple floor stretcher his entire career. It hurt his development being asked to sit at the 3PT line and camp. He is much more dynamic than that. But I understand people not buying into a single year of elite production. I have always been high on him so I expect next year to be of similar quality.

I think its likely that anyone taken at #2 never puts a year up as good as Markkanen just did.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I don't watch college ball, but there was a lot of talk about Miller being the #2 pick as a point forward. If the Blazers trade Simon's, they will need a backup PG when Lillard sits. Could Miller be that guy? Again, I've not seen him play at all so I have no clue about him. It's just what I've read.

[Wizenheimer]

I was pretty sure this whole thing was based upon semantics

that's not to say that Dame won't ask to be traded. He may be leaning that was a little more after the way the season has gone. But it's still high odds he won't

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Optics wise, I think its not so good to "shut a player down" for the season, especially when its a star player. Milk the injury report for sure on road games but play some home games for the sake of the fans. We all know *wink wink* what is going on but there is something to be said for still showing up for the base.

[Pattycakes]

Jaylen Brown in the event he embraces the challenge of growing a core of young talent, isn’t the worst idea. That plus some solid young center prospects is what this team realistically could use. Love you Dame, but your max contract and timeline imprison us.

[Wizenheimer]

Jaylen Brown in the event he embraces the challenge of growing a core of young talent, isn’t the worst idea. That plus some solid young center prospects is what this team realistically could use. Love you Dame, but your max contract and timeline imprison us.

c'mon man...."imprison"....really?

there are 10 NBA players who are paid the same or more than Dame. There are another 10 NBA players who make within 6M of Dame. So then, 20 NBA players make over 30% of the salary cap while Jokic and Embiid will join them next season. Dame makes 34% of the cap. Nest season, the NBA is projecting a 134M cap so Dame will still be making 34% of the cap. The only NBA contender that doesn't have somebody making at least 30% of the cap is Boston, and that won't remain so when Tatum & Brown get their extensions, providing Brown doesn't force his way out of Boston

Dame's next extension starts in 2025. Coincidentally, that's the season that the new NBA media contracts will start. The player's union will almost certainly oppose smoothing, like last time, so it's likely it will just be another massive jump in the cap, like 2016. I've seen projections of a salary cap from 175-190M for the first year of those new media deals (that will be really supercharged by streaming rights, including international streaming rights)

because Dame signed an extension of an existing contract his salaries in that extension are locked by CBA maximum raise rules. If the cap is 180M, Dame will be making 32% of the cap. At 175M, it would be 33% of the cap

Dame's age and salaries are NOT 'imprisoning' Portland. What is doing that is a decade of malpractice and mismanagement by Neil Olshey that left the Blazers with the poor collection of trade assets the Blazers have right now. Dame doesn't have anything to do with that. The last time Portland had cap-space they used it on Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, and Festus Ezeli....after being rejected in their max offer to Chandler Parsons.

from 2016 to now, Portland wasted 6 first round picks on Aaron Afflalo, Zach Collins, Caleb Swanigan, RoCo, and Nance; and they still haven't conveyed their first to Chicago...but that have an obligation on that first that prevents them from using any of their first round picks as trade leverage. And they'd have to pay in order to reduce that obligation; maybe even pay with a lottery pick

I have a serious question for those people who keep saying trade Dame: If Dame wants to stay in Portland should the Blazers trade him anyway? Is that how they should reward Dame's loyaty?

[GEE]

Dame should know by now, not to be saying such things in front of the mic, knowing a hack like Marang may stir up some isht. Regardless, I find it highly unlikely Dame wants to get traded and was just playing up the, I'm not about tanking talk for the media.

It is a real issue for Dame though I'd imagine, wanting to win a championship, but also not wanting to leave. Thing I figure is, this very issue must have been discussed between Dame and Cronin before inking that extension. Dame must know that a rebuild IS happening, that it takes time, and things may not always go his way, but I think there is a chance that Cronin and Chauncey can continue to build something great wih both Dame and Simons on the roster.

I see it as a luxury having both Dame and Simons, but Chaucey still will need to find the correct on floor splits which shouldn't be too hard, if only he can convince Simons to come off the bench. Equally key IMO would be convincing Dame to eventually with time, switch roles with Simons and agree to play out his last couple years as the 6th man. An eventual changing of the guard.

Olshey sucked for sure, and he hurt our future a bit, but Cronin is now sitting fairly pretty with the finances and assets. I think we are very close to being very good very soon, but Cronin will need to have an awesome summer. He will be very busy for sure deciding who stays and who goes, while addressing the obvious weakness in the roster, hopefully with the use of the draft picks he's acquired. I'd trade them all for one really good big man.

[The Sebastian Express]

It wasn't Marang who stirred it up. It was people looking for hits on twitter. MArang came out with the full clip to show the context.

[DusterBuster]

Shams stirring the pot today.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[BNM]

Shams should stick to reporting trades and stop attempting to read other people's minds. His comments are based on nothing more than speculation. He literally has zero idea what Dame is thinking, but acts like he does. He jumps from "you have to wonder" in one sentence to "I expect" in the next.

[The Sebastian Express]

Shams should stick to reporting trades and stop attempting to read other people's minds. His comments are based on nothing more than speculation. He literally has zero idea what Dame is thinking, but acts like he does. He jumps from "you have to wonder" in one sentence to "I expect" in the next.

Yes. The only one I'd take any grain of salt from in this is if it was from Haynes.

It's not going to be Shams, Woj or anyone else. It'll be Haynes.

[Sinobas]

Unless the Blazers win the #1 overall pick this year, we have no realistic change of significantly improving.

I think it'll be in the best interest of both the Blazers and Lillard to part ways. Damian so he doesn't have to spend the last few years of his career on a crappy team, and the Blazers, because Damian will hold back a rebuild with his contract and will eventually become like an old Kobe Bryant. May as well try and get something for him.

[DusterBuster]

Sean Highkin, a pretty reasonable beat reporter for Portland was on 1080 discussing the Blazers summer. Sounds like the team does believe that a number of big name players will be available this season for that “all-in” move they keep talking about being ready for. Seems like Jalen Brown is one name to keep an eye on he also acknowledged that this is a real make or break off-season. This team can’t be ran back as-is. If they don’t get lottery night luck and don’t get a all-in move made to pair someone with Dame, than the third option for both sides is likely to start seriously looking at moving Dame.

To me, that’s where I’ve been believing this is all headed as well. As much as Dame wants to be in Portland and retire here, the reality is that another year like this is not in Dame’s best interest and it’s a bad look for the franchise to keep wasting a HOF players prime like this. He can still live in Portland, retire a blazer on a bet min deal and maybe be a part owner one day, but to keep wasting his prime for a team that can’t put a competitive roster around him is just unacceptable.