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https://www.blazersedge.com/2020/1/6/21054097/haynes-lillard-didnt-sign-up-for-this

Haynes: There will be a move made for sure, it’s hard to, for me to believe that Hassan Whiteside and Kent Bazemore will still be there past the trade deadline ... A move will be made. Look this is Dame’s spot (?), he just signed his supermax this past summer, you know, he didn’t sign up to be on a team like this. nobody thought this is going to be the team but you know, he didn’t sign up for this. So this front office, it’s their call now, it’s their play.

This comment has me wondering if Dame isn't starting to get a bit frustrated with the franchise. Haynes is well known to be really really close to Dame personally, so I'm willing to bet that the source of that comment comes from someone very close to - if not directly from - Lillard.

No one can control for the number of significant season ending injuries. We weren't super deep or talented but no one signs up for an injury ridden season

The franchise is spending money, they made moves to address what looked to be our known injury in Nurkic and we all wanted someone besides Turner. Not saying mistakes weren't made, especially going back to 2016, but it's not like management is phoning it in.

Without a quote from Dame this looks like a reporter basically stating the obvious: this is a disappointing season for all of us.

Yeah, I don't appreciate people trying to put words in Dame's mouth he is probably frustrated with how the team is losing, but until we here it from him he isn't frustrated enough to make a big deal out of it.

I can understand anyone being frustrated with this team to go from a WCF to not even being able to maintain a .500 record, sure we had injuries and lost depth. All things considered though I assume most thought the team would be around .500 until Nurkic came back, even with the injuries.

He didn't sign up for this. The team has been brutalized by injuries and chemistry problems from the massive roster turnover this past summer.

I'm sure Lillard isn't enjoying losing this year as a player just like we aren't enjoying watching them lose.

Lillard didn't sign up to have an undersized Bazemore at starting SF and an undersized and old Anthony as starting PF, with Tolliver as the backup center. For a strength to become a weakness, rebounding on both ends of the court. The lad lacks forsight!

Not much he can do unless he pulls a KAT and starts screaming for a trade after signing his supermax
deal. That would be like eating his cake and still getting to go elsewhere.

Haynes is an idiot - this is not enlightening info

Lillard didn't sign a supermax contract to blame his losses on someone else. He who gets the credit when things are right should get the blame when they go wrong.

d-train wrote:Lillard didn't sign a supermax contract to blame his losses on someone else. He who gets the credit when things are right should get the blame when they go wrong.

Hard to win with 3 starters out no matter who you are

Oden2 wrote:

d-train wrote:Lillard didn't sign a supermax contract to blame his losses on someone else. He who gets the credit when things are right should get the blame when they go wrong.

Hard to win with 3 starters out no matter who you are

I'm not handing out any blame. I'm looking forward to this team putting it together when we are healthy.

Oden2 wrote:Hard to win with 3 starters out no matter who you are

this "3 starters out" excuse is overused and people are leaning too heavily on it. Toronto has been missing 3-4 starters for a while, including their best player, and is 5-5 over those games

Whiteside has been a admirable fill in for Nurkic. He does some things worse and other things better. And with Kanter instead of Nurkic last season, Portland went 17-6 until they ran into the Warriors. But that was a different team. Whiteside is being criticized because he's not as good as the legend of Nurkic. Of course, Nurkic isn't as good as his legend either. Bottom line is that Portland hasn't replaced Nurkic with Joel Freeland, it's been Whiteside (and Kanter); and if everything else about this team had been the same, except for Nurkic healthy and no Whiteside, I don't believe their record would be much different than it is

it's also worth noting that the Blazers were 8-12 with Hood. He wasn't impacting the winning record, but then he's a supporting player. And Melo has replaced Collins.

I'm not sying the injuries haven't had an impact, or that the cumulative effect hasn't been magnified. I am saying there's a lot more 'wrong' with this team than just injuries, and that's actually pretty obvious. The quality of the talent that left is superior than the talent that replaced, and the chemistry was better on last year's team, in no small part because they had been together for years
**********************************************

I'm sure Dame is frustrated; that's what losing does. Maybe he should re-think his opposition to any change in coaching or in a back-court partner.

I'm also a little skeptical about Portland trading Whiteside and Bazemore. More specifically, Portland trading them for any long term contracts. If they did, the repeater tax would be just around the corner and that's a killer. I'd also wonder how strong Jody Allen's stomach is for the thought of paying big luxury tax for a team this far under .500. I don't think it was a coincidence that Turner, Meyers, and Harkless were traded this summer for other expiring contracts

"The quality of the talent that left is superior than the talent that replaced, and the chemistry was better on last year's team, in no small part because they had been together for years
**********************************************." And was it the coaching that caused this situation? Or for that matter, the rebounding differentials,the major difference between last year's success and this year? Or is coaching just a default scapegoating?

And was it the coaching that caused this situation? Or for that matter, the rebounding differentials,the major difference between last year's success and this year? Or is coaching just a default scapegoating?

I get this argument, but I must say, it will be very interesting to see if you remain a contributor to the Blazers forum once Stotts is no longer the coach.

Can you outline 3 issues you have with his coaching? Or 1 issue? I understand someone being a fan of a coach, but you have literally levied zero blame to him as far as I have read over the past years.

Since I am not a professional coach and also have no access to the communications between the actual coaches and the players and also have no idea what the professional coaching staff see on video and discuss, I tend to not be critical of coaching, not just in Portland or anywhere (although I tend to be so in the slower moving game of baseball). I am amazed often regarding the chutzpah of fans or sports writers who believe they know more than professional coaches.

In the past I was somewhat critical of Stotts for his use of Vonleh, especially in relationship to time given Collins. I am partial to strong rebounders. I have also questioned whether Stotts was forceful enough with the refs. I guess your perceptual screen prevented you from noticing.

But in sum, I side with coaches' choices over those of fans and sports writers. Believing there is a reason for those choices and also realizing that outcomes are not indicative of either intents or transactions. Now if you find my premises wrong or irrelevant to m postings, please contest them. Yet this forfeiting yammering about bias without foundation to premises being inaccurate or irrelevant is but junior highish.

Nobody wants to lose, but Lillard just signed a contract to play professional basketball for 4 years, making close to $200,000,000 in that time span. The same GM that got your team into this mess is the same one that helped sign you to a contract that will set up generations of your family. Deal with it.

For the record, I think Lillard is a smart enough guy to understand the position that Olshey has put the team in.

The Lakers are going to face the same max contract issues with Anthony Davis who turned
down $146/4 now in order to get his expected $202/5 max deal this summer.

These guys who are unhappy and frustrated need to understand how much of a burden these
huge contracts place their teams for even the Lakers would find it burdensome to have to
carry Lebron $153/4 with AD $202/5.

Wizenheimer wrote:

Oden2 wrote:Hard to win with 3 starters out no matter who you are

this "3 starters out" excuse is overused and people are leaning too heavily on it. Toronto has been missing 3-4 starters for a while, including their best player, and is 5-5 over those games

Whiteside has been a admirable fill in for Nurkic. He does some things worse and other things better. And with Kanter instead of Nurkic last season, Portland went 17-6 until they ran into the Warriors. But that was a different team. Whiteside is being criticized because he's not as good as the legend of Nurkic. Of course, Nurkic isn't as good as his legend either. Bottom line is that Portland hasn't replaced Nurkic with Joel Freeland, it's been Whiteside (and Kanter); and if everything else about this team had been the same, except for Nurkic healthy and no Whiteside, I don't believe their record would be much different than it is

it's also worth noting that the Blazers were 8-12 with Hood. He wasn't impacting the winning record, but then he's a supporting player. And Melo has replaced Collins.

I'm not sying the injuries haven't had an impact, or that the cumulative effect hasn't been magnified. I am saying there's a lot more 'wrong' with this team than just injuries, and that's actually pretty obvious. The quality of the talent that left is superior than the talent that replaced, and the chemistry was better on last year's team, in no small part because they had been together for years
**********************************************

I'm sure Dame is frustrated; that's what losing does. Maybe he should re-think his opposition to any change in coaching or in a back-court partner.

I'm also a little skeptical about Portland trading Whiteside and Bazemore. More specifically, Portland trading them for any long term contracts. If they did, the repeater tax would be just around the corner and that's a killer. I'd also wonder how strong Jody Allen's stomach is for the thought of paying big luxury tax for a team this far under .500. I don't think it was a coincidence that Turner, Meyers, and Harkless were traded this summer for other expiring contracts

Don't leave out the fact that the injuries have also affected Portland's depth. Having Hood, Kanter, and Curry coming off the bench was a big boost for us last year.

I locked the other thread due to the misleading title. If you want to discuss Dames possible frustrations go ahead and discuss it here.

I will leave this quote however. Really you should read the whole thing because if you haven't, you don't know Dame and shouldn't be talking about him.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/damian-lillard-loyalty-over-everything

Portland.

My city.

My people.

I’m saying, you think you know how deep this goes, but you have no idea. When I say that I will never, ever switch up on the city of Portland, I mean what I say. When I say that I will never, ever switch up on this organization, I mean what I say.

They might switch up on me. That’s business. That’s basketball. But I will never switch up on the city. I don’t want it easy. I’m drawn to the struggle. When I came here, we hadn’t won a playoff series since 2000. You had so many injuries to franchise guys like Brandon Roy and Greg Oden over the years, and it’s so tough to come back from that. Even going way back, you had All-Stars like Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton who didn’t choose to end their careers as a Blazer.

Well, I’m going to be that. I’m going to carry that. I’m going to bring a ring to this city or go down swinging.

Norm2953 wrote:The Lakers are going to face the same max contract issues with Anthony Davis who turned
down $146/4 now in order to get his expected $202/5 max deal this summer.

These guys who are unhappy and frustrated need to understand how much of a burden these
huge contracts place their teams for even the Lakers would find it burdensome to have to
carry Lebron $153/4 with AD $202/5.

LAL are not in the tax this year - so they will not have to worry about the repeater tax until the '23-'24 season at the earliest.

Portland is staring at that reality starting next season.

tester551 wrote:

Norm2953 wrote:The Lakers are going to face the same max contract issues with Anthony Davis who turned
down $146/4 now in order to get his expected $202/5 max deal this summer.

These guys who are unhappy and frustrated need to understand how much of a burden these
huge contracts place their teams for even the Lakers would find it burdensome to have to
carry Lebron $153/4 with AD $202/5.

LAL are not in the tax this year - so they will not have to worry about the repeater tax until the '23-'24 season at the earliest.

Portland is staring at that reality starting next season.

It would be extremely difficult for Portland to be in the luxury next year. They'd need to hand out something like $35 million in money going into next season.