Dame Could Push For Trade Per Haynes

[Waynearchetype]

Butler wasn't a superstar with the kind of pull of a Dame, Harden, AD. Not a 1:1 comparison.

An All-NBA all star game starter isn't a superstar?

Like, thats higher accolades in his last season with chicago than even Dame has gotten.

[DusterBuster]

Butler wasn't a superstar with the kind of pull of a Dame, Harden, AD. Not a 1:1 comparison.

An All-NBA all star game starter isn't a superstar?

Like, thats higher accolades in his last season with chicago than even Dame has gotten.

Honestly, no. He doesn't command the same level of respect as being routinely in the MVP discussion. Those guys get to pick their teams. Butler is much closer to a Paul George level, which have power to an extent, but they don't get that level of treatment. At best, maybe you could say he does NOW with Miami, but when Chicago sent him to Minny (which was your comparison)... no, he definitely did not have that level of weight to throw around.

I also never said they would accept a package worse than Harden. It's pretty hard to find a deal worse than what Houston got for Harden... that bar was set spectacularly low. That said, to believe the Blazers will have their pick of 29 other teams to send Dame to is living in fantasyland. He's gonna do what all-stars do, provide a list of 2-4 teams and the Blazers will have to do their best to extract as much value from that small collection of teams as possible. However, as my whole point was, depending on who those teams end up being (Lakers and Jazz almost a certainty to be on that list), the amount of value just available for them to extract could be pretty disappointing.

[Wizenheimer]

I think there is so much speculation noise around Dame right now, that pseudo journalists (hacks?) like Haynes feel safe adding to the noise.

there's no doubt Dame is unhappy right now. Just a couple of months ago (or less) he said he felt better about this year's teams than past Blazer teams. He thought the talent and maturity were enough for Portland to make substantial noise in the playoffs. Then, Denver happened

then, Olshey fired Stotts and announced it in a press conference while dodging any accountability for Portland failures; it was all laid on Stotts...nothing wrong with the roster, move along. I'd imagine Dame thought it was probably time for Stotts to go, but I'd also imagine that Dame was rankled by how Olshey threw Stotts under the snake-oil bus. Dame's been about accountability since he came into the NBA. He probably doesn't like working for a GM who isn't

so yeah, Dame is disappointed and likely in a 'show-me-what-you-got' mode. He knows there needs to be major changes, but it would be unsurprising if he has little faith that Olshey is capable of delivering. Portland appears to be a real mess right now. Maybe appearances are deceiving, but that's sure the way it looks. Olshey is 100% responsible for all of it. And I'm sure that it isn't helping Dame's mood that Olshey is calling the shots but it's Dame being slammed on social media for the shots Olshey is calling. It would be the nadir of pathetic irony if the author of the situation that might have Dame demand a trade is the same clown that would trade Dame. He spent 9 years driving the Blazers into various ditches...in his 10th try, he could drive them over a cliff

I detest Olshey but at this point, I think Seattle is where real accountability is failing. Olshey should preceded Stotts out of the door

[RTG HD]

Butler wasn't a superstar with the kind of pull of a Dame, Harden, AD. Not a 1:1 comparison.

An All-NBA all star game starter isn't a superstar?

Like, thats higher accolades in his last season with chicago than even Dame has gotten.

I think back in the day people used green text for jokes.

[DusterBuster]

I think there is so much speculation noise around Dame right now, that pseudo journalists (hacks?) like Haynes feel safe adding to the noise.

there's no doubt Dame is unhappy right now. Just a couple of months ago (or less) he said he felt better about this year's teams than past Blazer teams. He thought the talent and maturity were enough for Portland to make substantial noise in the playoffs. Then, Denver happened

then, Olshey fired Stotts and announced it in a press conference while dodging any accountability for Portland failures; it was all laid on Stotts...nothing wrong with the roster, move along. I'd imagine Dame thought it was probably time for Stotts to go, but I'd also imagine that Dame was rankled by how Olshey threw Stotts under the snake-oil bus. Dame's been about accountability since he came into the NBA. He probably doesn't like working for a GM who isn't

so yeah, Dame is disappointed and likely in a 'show-me-what-you-got' mode. He knows there needs to be major changes, but it would be unsurprising if he has little faith that Olshey is capable of delivering. Portland appears to be a real mess right now. Maybe appearances are deceiving, but that's sure the way it looks. Olshey is 100% responsible for all of it. And I'm sure that it isn't helping Dame's mood that Olshey is calling the shots but it's Dame being slammed on social media for the shots Olshey is calling. It would be the nadir of pathetic irony if the author of the situation that might have Dame demand a trade is the same clown that would trade Dame. He spent 9 years driving the Blazers into various ditches...in his 10th try, he could drive them over a cliff

I detest Olshey but at this point, I think Seattle is where real accountability is failing. Olshey should preceded Stotts out of the door

I’ve been willing to give Olshey plenty of passes for blunders in the past. I think some of the criticism he took before was a little overblown… that said… he deserves 110% of the cluster-f of a summer the team has had so far. Just absolutely unforced error after unforced error, and unlike other seasons where he messed up something, there were enough outside circumstances to justify an excuse. Paul Allen forcing matches, the league being drunk on salaries being handed out, etc. At this point, there was nothing in his way or circumstances around the league for the turmoil his moves have resulted it.

He showed Stotts zero respect out the door, took zero responsibility for the team he put together, and he has a LONG history Chauncey, so even if Dame didn’t know the 97 issue, damn sure well Neil did. For him not to protect his star player in the media by telling him… “hey, this might not be who you want to publicly endorse even if we hire him…”. If the team wanted to take the PR hit, fine, but to not protect your superstar (and clearly already upset) players brand… just freaking unacceptable on all accounts.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

And I'm sure that it isn't helping Dame's mood that Olshey is calling the shots but it's Dame being slammed on social media for the shots Olshey is calling

Yeah, I want Damian to stay but if the people above Olshey cannot see the mess he has created and Damian is the one taking all the lumps then it becomes much easier to see why he would want out. Olshey's job is to make Damian's job easier - not the other way around.

[Wizenheimer]

I’ve been willing to give Olshey plenty of passes for blunders in the past. I think some of the criticism he took before was a little overblown… that said… he deserves 110% of the cluster-f of a summer the team has had so far. Just absolutely unforced error after unforced error, and unlike other seasons where he messed up something, there were enough outside circumstances to justify an excuse. Paul Allen forcing matches, the league being drunk on salaries being handed out, etc. At this point, there was nothing in his way or circumstances around the league for the turmoil his moves have resulted it.

He showed Stotts zero respect out the door, took zero responsibility for the team he put together, and he has a LONG history Chauncey, so even if Dame didn’t know the 97 issue, damn sure well Neil did. For him not to protect his star player in the media by telling him… “hey, this might not be who you want to publicly endorse even if we hire him…”. If the team wanted to take the PR hit, fine, but to not protect your superstar (and clearly already upset) players brand… just freaking unacceptable on all accounts.

Yeah, I want Damian to stay but if the people above Olshey cannot see the mess he has created and Damian is the one taking all the lumps then it becomes much easier to see why he would want out. Olshey's job is to make Damian's job easier - not the other way around.

agree with both of you

now, maybe it's my anti-Olshey bias at work here: sure seems like a I remember about 3 years ago Dame actually went above Olshey's head and talked to Paul Allen about the direction of the team. So, at least a few years ago Dame had some doubts about Olshey. And we know, even if Dame agreed it was time for Stotts to go, Dame would still have lots of respect for Stotts. So that rather despicable press conference by Olshey where he essentially blamed Stotts for all the problems just about had to offend Dame on some personal level

my hunch is that right now, just about all of Dame's doubts about his future in Portland swirl around Olshey. And what would make it worse is if Dame sees a lot of the same disconnect by ownership out of Seattle that most of us can see. Olshey in charge and unaccountable

then of course, as we all mentioned, Dame being the target for fan anger and and angst while Olshey runs a master class in CYA could already have Dame teetering on the edge

Powell signing with another team could be the start of a bad summer. And I'll say again: Dame traded to another team while Olshey and CJ remain would just about kill my interest in the team for good

[Matt800]

For people saying that Olshey blamed Stotts for all the problems in that press conference, I've heard that a lot now and its not what I remember from that press conference. I'm all for blaming Olshey for his faults, but either I really missed something or a lot of people are exaggerating.

I heard Olshey say that the roster underperformed for its level of talent, which seems fair to say. I think Olshey deflected blame for not having a better roster, but he also gave the excuse that they can only make deals if the other team/player wants to do it. Which is a good excuse. But if Olshey has a poor reputation, (as some have reported recently), and that gets in the way of deals being made then obviously he shouldn't have his job.

It does sound like Lillard and others may be unhappy with at least some aspect of the front office so if that is Olshey then he needs to not have the job. I hope they can actually address it asap rather than let this turn into a bigger problem.

[monopoman]

I will be pissed if Lillard becomes a Laker beyond the natural hatred a Blazer fan has for that team. The trade would be a **** joke on paper, they won't trade AD or LBJ so I see absolutely 0 players I really want from them.

Lillard better open up his list of teams to more than just those two. This city has treated him extremely well, he should do his best to ensure we get a good package for him.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I will be pissed if Lillard becomes a Laker beyond the natural hatred a Blazer fan has for that team. The trade would be a **** joke on paper, they won't trade AD or LBJ so I see absolutely 0 players I really want from them.

Lillard better open up his list of teams to more than just those two. This city has treated him extremely well, he should do his best to ensure we get a good package for him.

I'm so confused, when did Lillard even request a trade - let alone demand to go to only two teams?


We are getting so far ahead of ourselves chicken little-ing this whole thing. Dame wants to be a Blazer long term, we want him to be a Blazer long term, like it may be a rough patch but we can work this out. The team isn't straight up bad or anything, we have some significant issues to overcome to assure we get out of the first round every year, to take a step up to contender. That final step isn't easy, and the wrong move is worse than no move if we are being totally honest and not reactionary fans. That isnt to absolve management, they have had a ton of time to fix the issues and have not, but in this moment we still cannot make a rash move just to make a move. (Yes this logic has been used to reach the current state of stagnation too so I will say at some point **** or get off the pot)


The only reason we will lose Dame is if we stop trying to make it work with him. We know he is a warrior that will continue to battle as long as he feels we have his back and are trying to improve. Olshey, and more importantly the people above Olshey, need a kick in the butt that if they don't keep trying they will lose what they got. That is out of our control over here, but once we start discussing trade options we have given up and have stopped trying to make it work.

[Matt800]

I will be pissed if Lillard becomes a Laker beyond the natural hatred a Blazer fan has for that team. The trade would be a **** joke on paper, they won't trade AD or LBJ so I see absolutely 0 players I really want from them.

Lillard better open up his list of teams to more than just those two. This city has treated him extremely well, he should do his best to ensure we get a good package for him.

I'm so confused, when did Lillard even request a trade - let alone demand to go to only two teams?


We are getting so far ahead of ourselves chicken little-ing this whole thing. Dame wants to be a Blazer long term, we want him to be a Blazer long term, like it may be a rough patch but we can work this out. The team isn't straight up bad or anything, we have some significant issues to overcome to assure we get out of the first round every year, to take a step up to contender. That final step isn't easy, and the wrong move is worse than no move if we are being totally honest and not reactionary fans. That isnt to absolve management, they have had a ton of time to fix the issues and have not, but in this moment we still cannot make a rash move just to make a move. (Yes this logic has been used to reach the current state of stagnation too so I will say at some point **** or get off the pot)


The only reason we will lose Dame is if we stop trying to make it work with him. We know he is a warrior that will continue to battle as long as he feels we have his back and are trying to improve. Olshey, and more importantly the people above Olshey, need a kick in the butt that if they don't keep trying they will lose what they got. That is out of our control over here, but once we start discussing trade options we have given up and have stopped trying to make it work.

I don't know for sure what they are referencing but there was a recent article about 2 teams Lillard would want to go to. Of course it was from a twitter question from 2017. He was asked if he had to pick a different team to play for at that time which would he want to play for. He said if Portland didn't want him, Jazz and Lakers. It has nothing to do with now.
https://thespun.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/damian-lillard-old-tweet-2017-play-for-utah-jazz-los-angeles-lakers

[BlazersBroncos]

Dame isnt demanding a trade, much less to the Lakers.

He is putting the organizations toes to the fire though. If we dont find a way to seriously upgrade the roster, I would expect Dame gone next summer.

[DusterBuster]

I will be pissed if Lillard becomes a Laker beyond the natural hatred a Blazer fan has for that team. The trade would be a **** joke on paper, they won't trade AD or LBJ so I see absolutely 0 players I really want from them.

Lillard better open up his list of teams to more than just those two. This city has treated him extremely well, he should do his best to ensure we get a good package for him.

I'm so confused, when did Lillard even request a trade - let alone demand to go to only two teams?


We are getting so far ahead of ourselves chicken little-ing this whole thing. Dame wants to be a Blazer long term, we want him to be a Blazer long term, like it may be a rough patch but we can work this out. The team isn't straight up bad or anything, we have some significant issues to overcome to assure we get out of the first round every year, to take a step up to contender. That final step isn't easy, and the wrong move is worse than no move if we are being totally honest and not reactionary fans. That isnt to absolve management, they have had a ton of time to fix the issues and have not, but in this moment we still cannot make a rash move just to make a move. (Yes this logic has been used to reach the current state of stagnation too so I will say at some point **** or get off the pot)


The only reason we will lose Dame is if we stop trying to make it work with him. We know he is a warrior that will continue to battle as long as he feels we have his back and are trying to improve. Olshey, and more importantly the people above Olshey, need a kick in the butt that if they don't keep trying they will lose what they got. That is out of our control over here, but once we start discussing trade options we have given up and have stopped trying to make it work.

While I agree that there is a lot of chicken-littling going on as well in Blazer-world right now, I also don't think it's unfair to say that there's some smoke being visible from One Center Court. Something is definitely off with the team right now and the path they look to be on is a very similar path that has happened with a lot of stars before. It's not hard right now to plot out the course this story will take. That's not to say the plot can't change, but once the ball starts rolling down this hill, it's hard to stop it.

I also think things are getting worse. It feels like the team (Olshey?) is playing a bit of a media game with Dame right now. I do believe the franchise was really caught off-guard by Dame's comments about the coaching search so early in the process. Dame has had zero criticisms his entire career, justifiably so as he's been a model superstar in every respect, but that was a pretty major problem / error on his part to do that. That's something that should have been handled privately, not made so public. It kind of poisoned the well for the process from the jump.

However, going back to the ball-rolling-down-the-hill analogy regarding Dame and the organization's relationship fracturing... now it seems like there's a bit of a battle of narratives with the team saying basically, "Hey, this isn't the guy we originally wanted or endorsed and we were surprised our star didn't want that guy, but we did get a coach we both agreed on." :

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/263159/Blazers-Were-Surprised-Damian-Lillard-Supported-Jason-Kidd-Instead-Of-David-Vanterpool

Those feelings are probably just, but again... the fact that this stuff is being handled so publicly is absolutely unacceptable. Olshey is an insanely tight-lipped GM. Nothing gets out publicly he doesn't want. So the ONLY reason a store like the one posted here ever gets to the media is that Olshey wants it out. He's again deflecting blame on the coaching search being a cluster-f, but blaming it essentially on Lillard. Even if there's some legitimate culpability for Dame (and again I do believe there is here, a lot actually), when you have a star who's already frustrated, what good does railroading him in the media as this do? It only servers one purpose, to make Olshey look better.

[Wizenheimer]

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Duster mentioned it above but there's a tweet at RealGM that says Portland's front office was "surprised" when Dame mentioned Jason Kidd as a possible coach.

I mean...c'mon. That's such obvious BS spin coming from Olshey. I don't pay real close attention but I knew Dame had a long term relationship with a fellow Oakland star in Kidd. It's not credible that the Blazer front office didn't know. It does seem a stretch, but I guess it is possible Dame wasn't really clued into the domestic abuse baggage in Kidd's past. Still, that damn tweet, coming from some "source" in the Blazer front office only serves one purpose: deflect any blame from Olshey and put all the heat on Dame. This is classic Olshey subtle strategic-leak-slime-machine at work. I don't think it's fooling anybody; I'm just about certain it's not fooling Dame

I remember the 'reports' that it was Dame who saved Stotts from being fired after the Pelicans playoff disaster in 2018. Maybe it happened. But if it did, how did it become public 'knowledge'? It's pretty certain neither Dame nor Paul Allen leaked that. Who else but Olshey?

It may be tin-foil-hat or my anti-Olshey bias, but I'm beginning to believe that Olshey really wants to trade Dame. If all the reports are true that the Blazer organization was set on drafting Lillard at #6 in 2012 before Olshey was hired, then Olshey wouldn't have the same blind loyalty to Dame that he has to CJ or Simons. And if he feels secure in his job, then all these leaks and rumors coming out of the Blazer front office that absolve Olshey of blame and deflect it onto Dame only fits a situation where Olshey wants to trade Dame and his super-max contract. I guess it could just be incompetence, but it just looks so much like a deliberate spin-war with a increasingly obvious agenda

the fallout and damage from this season's ending just keeps getting bigger and as long as Olshey is in charge the damage will grow.

[Roy The Natural]

Read on Twitter

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Duster mentioned it above but there's a tweet at RealGM that says Portland's front office was "surprised" when Dame mentioned Jason Kidd as a possible coach.

I mean...c'mon. That's such obvious BS spin coming from Olshey. I don't pay real close attention but I knew Dame had a long term relationship with a fellow Oakland star in Kidd. It's not credible that the Blazer front office didn't know. It does seem a stretch, but I guess it is possible Dame wasn't really clued into the domestic abuse baggage in Kidd's past. Still, that damn tweet, coming from some "source" in the Blazer front office only serves one purpose: deflect any blame from Olshey and put all the heat on Dame. This is classic Olshey subtle strategic-leak-slime-machine at work. I don't think it's fooling anybody; I'm just about certain it's not fooling Dame

I remember the 'reports' that it was Dame who saved Stotts from being fired after the Pelicans playoff disaster in 2018. Maybe it happened. But if it did, how did it become public 'knowledge'? It's pretty certain neither Dame nor Paul Allen leaked that. Who else but Olshey?

It may be tin-foil-hat or my anti-Olshey bias, but I'm beginning to believe that Olshey really wants to trade Dame. If all the reports are true that the Blazer organization was set on drafting Lillard at #6 in 2012 before Olshey was hired, then Olshey wouldn't have the same blind loyalty to Dame that he has to CJ or Simons. And if he feels secure in his job, then all these leaks and rumors coming out of the Blazer front office that absolve Olshey of blame and deflect it onto Dame only fits a situation where Olshey wants to trade Dame and his super-max contract. I guess it could just be incompetence, but it just looks so much like a deliberate spin-war with a increasingly obvious agenda

the fallout and damage from this season's ending just keeps getting bigger and as long as Olshey is in charge the damage will grow.

I don't overly love Olshey either at this point... However, this is a completely baseless and absurd thing to levy at Olshey.

[DusterBuster]

Read on Twitter

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Duster mentioned it above but there's a tweet at RealGM that says Portland's front office was "surprised" when Dame mentioned Jason Kidd as a possible coach.

I mean...c'mon. That's such obvious BS spin coming from Olshey. I don't pay real close attention but I knew Dame had a long term relationship with a fellow Oakland star in Kidd. It's not credible that the Blazer front office didn't know. It does seem a stretch, but I guess it is possible Dame wasn't really clued into the domestic abuse baggage in Kidd's past. Still, that damn tweet, coming from some "source" in the Blazer front office only serves one purpose: deflect any blame from Olshey and put all the heat on Dame. This is classic Olshey subtle strategic-leak-slime-machine at work. I don't think it's fooling anybody; I'm just about certain it's not fooling Dame

I remember the 'reports' that it was Dame who saved Stotts from being fired after the Pelicans playoff disaster in 2018. Maybe it happened. But if it did, how did it become public 'knowledge'? It's pretty certain neither Dame nor Paul Allen leaked that. Who else but Olshey?

It may be tin-foil-hat or my anti-Olshey bias, but I'm beginning to believe that Olshey really wants to trade Dame. If all the reports are true that the Blazer organization was set on drafting Lillard at #6 in 2012 before Olshey was hired, then Olshey wouldn't have the same blind loyalty to Dame that he has to CJ or Simons. And if he feels secure in his job, then all these leaks and rumors coming out of the Blazer front office that absolve Olshey of blame and deflect it onto Dame only fits a situation where Olshey wants to trade Dame and his super-max contract. I guess it could just be incompetence, but it just looks so much like a deliberate spin-war with a increasingly obvious agenda

the fallout and damage from this season's ending just keeps getting bigger and as long as Olshey is in charge the damage will grow.

Part of the problems I’ve had with a lot of posters criticizing of Olshey in the past is that a lot of “filling in of the gaps” (or tin foil hatting) tends to happen where if something isn’t totally publicly known, then the most negative/biases gap filler is used by posters to create their narrative. I don’t agree with that particular methodology and just tend myself to accept there’s just behind the door stuff we will never know and not assume I can figure that out with any certainty.

For example, the "blind loyalty to CJ" line that gets trotted out a lot on this form is a bit overblown imo. We truly don't know if he's never offered up CJ in deals. According to Quick (which means nothing to many people here), that's not true and CJ was offered as recently as this winter in a Harden deal and the Rockets turned the Blazers down. Yes, Olshey has made some "untouchable" comments in the media, but how much is that true, and how much of that is covering publicly so that players don't get upset that their name is in the rumormill? We'll never really know.

What I do think is clear with Olshey trades is that he really fails at going big. Say they did offer a CJ for Harden deal, if the Rockets wanted 6 FRP's and Olshey wasn't willing to match that... that's a problem. I do think he's too conservative about deals and he really should have done a "throw it all out there" deal like the Clippers did or the Lakers have as well. Tell a team to name how many picks they want and go for it. He clearly is not willing to do that, which is a big mistake and I think probably has cost them on some deals. It also is probably too late now to really take that swing if Dame is not going to stay longterm.

Thhhhaaaatttt said…. I agree with your whole post. I think the interpretation of the article (or at least how I took it) however is not that they were blindsided by Dame wanting Kidd, but blindsided that he went out to announce it so publicly. That I do believe caught the organization off guard and I don’t believe is something Dame should have done. Even so, there are ways to handle that and play damage control a bit there… Olshey has seemingly done nothing but throw kindling on the fire at every turn based on what we publicly know and what keeps coming out…. It couldn’t have been handled worse and the ass covering that’s now going on is just beyond the pale.

[Case2012]

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Duster mentioned it above but there's a tweet at RealGM that says Portland's front office was "surprised" when Dame mentioned Jason Kidd as a possible coach.

I mean...c'mon. That's such obvious BS spin coming from Olshey. I don't pay real close attention but I knew Dame had a long term relationship with a fellow Oakland star in Kidd. It's not credible that the Blazer front office didn't know. It does seem a stretch, but I guess it is possible Dame wasn't really clued into the domestic abuse baggage in Kidd's past. Still, that damn tweet, coming from some "source" in the Blazer front office only serves one purpose: deflect any blame from Olshey and put all the heat on Dame. This is classic Olshey subtle strategic-leak-slime-machine at work. I don't think it's fooling anybody; I'm just about certain it's not fooling Dame

I remember the 'reports' that it was Dame who saved Stotts from being fired after the Pelicans playoff disaster in 2018. Maybe it happened. But if it did, how did it become public 'knowledge'? It's pretty certain neither Dame nor Paul Allen leaked that. Who else but Olshey?

It may be tin-foil-hat or my anti-Olshey bias, but I'm beginning to believe that Olshey really wants to trade Dame. If all the reports are true that the Blazer organization was set on drafting Lillard at #6 in 2012 before Olshey was hired, then Olshey wouldn't have the same blind loyalty to Dame that he has to CJ or Simons. And if he feels secure in his job, then all these leaks and rumors coming out of the Blazer front office that absolve Olshey of blame and deflect it onto Dame only fits a situation where Olshey wants to trade Dame and his super-max contract. I guess it could just be incompetence, but it just looks so much like a deliberate spin-war with a increasingly obvious agenda

the fallout and damage from this season's ending just keeps getting bigger and as long as Olshey is in charge the damage will grow.

I’ve been saying all this stuff for a few days now and I’m glad in a way other people are seeing this too. I’m genuinely concerned about the pathology of Portlands GM. He’s a textbook narcissist and will do anything to cover his ass. I’ve never seen him exhibit anything but disdain towards anyone with the slightest criticism towards him and his decisions. At this point I truly think Olshey will outlast Lillard, if it means Olshey keeping his job in PDX. I mean, it’s hard to blame a man wanting to keep his job, but it’s clear he puts his own interests above that of the city and organization, which does not make for good management.

Jody Allen needs an intervention from someone to help her realize what kind of person is running her organization.

If anyone more eloquent than myself would like to prepare a few objective but pointed paragraphs as to why Olshey should be fired, I will launch an online petition for his removal. I have a decent social media following I would be happy to utilize. I’m not a big fan of cancel culture, so don’t conflate this with that. Desperate times are upon us and the organization has a responsibility to it’s fans and to listen to them if they want to continue putting butts in seats. I will find it almost impossible to support a team that prioritizes their FO over their star players. Like i said before, if Olshey is here after Lillard’s current contract, I won’t support the team.

[Wizenheimer]

Thhhhaaaatttt said…. I agree with your whole post. I think the interpretation of the article (or at least how I took it) however is not that they were blindsided by Dame wanting Kidd, but blindsided that he went out to announce it so publicly. That I do believe caught the organization off guard and I don’t believe is something Dame should have done. Even so, there are ways to handle that and play damage control a bit there… Olshey has seemingly done nothing but throw kindling on the fire at every turn based on what we publicly know and what keeps coming out…. It couldn’t have been handled worse and the ass covering that’s now going on is just beyond the pale.

wow....I figured you'd call me out for my tin-foil, and I guess you did a little

but something significant has happened if we agree on Olshey. I do agree with you, a little, that Dame should have handled it a little differently. He could start by never talking to Chris Haynes again....say no to hacks.

at the same time, Dame has been criticized for years now for being too comfortable with status quo and not taking public positions on what Portland needs to change. He got a lot of crap for supporting Stotts over the years. So, in response, he makes a rather innocuous comment about a couple of candidates on a list the Blazer FO sent him and has been flamed hard on social media ever since. And the same FO that sent him that list has done nothing to protect their franchise player or his brand. Just the opposite

I suppose this could all be due to incompetence, but to me it just seems more calculated

[DusterBuster]

Listening to the Press Conference, and one of Olshey’s comments backed up my theory about his biggest problem with his trades. Not that he has blind loyalty, but he’s unwilling to go big for a star. He said something about how “just having a lot of stars doesn’t mean everything is solved”, then went on to use Billups’ example with the Pistons when they beat the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe.

That’s a fundamentally flawed viewpoint imo. Someone can create a success business from the ground up, but it’s a whole hell of a lot easier starting with a large loan to get things off the ground. Same goes for roster building. Stars don’t guarantee a ring, but it makes getting there a lot easier…. If you have two or more stars, making the “team” is a simple process because those good players will come to you for cheaper because you have the talent to win.

So yeah… that’s a major problem in philosophy imo.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

It may be tin-foil-hat or my anti-Olshey bias, but I'm beginning to believe that Olshey really wants to trade Dame. If all the reports are true that the Blazer organization was set on drafting Lillard at #6 in 2012 before Olshey was hired, then Olshey wouldn't have the same blind loyalty to Dame that he has to CJ or Simons. And if he feels secure in his job, then all these leaks and rumors coming out of the Blazer front office that absolve Olshey of blame and deflect it onto Dame only fits a situation where Olshey wants to trade Dame and his super-max contract. I guess it could just be incompetence, but it just looks so much like a deliberate spin-war with a increasingly obvious agenda

the fallout and damage from this season's ending just keeps getting bigger and as long as Olshey is in charge the damage will grow.

I don't overly love Olshey either at this point... However, this is a completely baseless and absurd thing to levy at Olshey.

IIRC one of the stated reasons for hiring Olshey was that they asked him who he liked in the draft and he was on the same page about Lillard as the franchise. Again, could be PR spin or maybe just Olshey knowing what the franchise wanted him to say but his excitement about building around Lillard was established fairly early on and I really haven't seen anything until recent (maybe, I don't YET buy this tin-foil that he secretly wants to get rid of Lillard but I'm listening) to discount that narrative was true in 2012.