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Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract?

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Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#1 » by Pattycakes » Sat Mar 27, 2021 3:13 pm

Look, I realize he's worth all $39 million of that... but the man himself tends to prioritize winning and loyalty and all signs point to him being a once-in-a-generation franchise superstar.

With all of the crazy endorsements he gets from Hulu, Adidas and really anything he wants to associate with, why has he COMPLETELY handicapped this team's ability at one, if not *several* chances at a championship by basically forcing this team to also keep CJ at 30 mil a year, leaving absolutely no leverage to offer the rest of the roster deals they're actually worth?

We just got a tremendous asset in Norman Powell that we'll likely either lose, or have to lose other players we *should* be keeping to give him any sort of fair deal whatsoever.

I guess this thought has crossed my mind several times in the past, but now I'm getting excited about Powell and also realizing there's a very strong chance we're going to lose him sooner than later, and if he wants to take a 1 yr/2 yr deal to continue building his value here - it's really out of being a good guy who likes his chances here and not because he deserves to limit his own opportunities.

I LOVE Dame and CJ, but it really feels like they kind of screwed the team's long term opportunities and other guy's pockets by signing the astronomical deals they did, when they did.

Anyone have thoughts?
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#2 » by stanch sabonis » Sat Mar 27, 2021 3:26 pm

Imagine not getting as much as money as possible. That's my thoughts.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#3 » by Brandon-Clyde » Sat Mar 27, 2021 3:42 pm

Personally I think the superman should only count as equal to a regular max towards the cap( though a traded for superman should fully count towards a cap). That would make it easier for small market teams to retain their star players without crippling the franchise.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#4 » by DaVoiceMaster » Sat Mar 27, 2021 4:37 pm

It's not like Lillard is the only player in the NBA getting it. In the past, I've heard players say their higher salary is a sign of respect. I dunno if Lillard see's it that way or not. I know in my job, I want as much money as possible. Granted, I'm not making millions of dollars and I have to work 40 years before I can retire, but even if I were to only work for 15 years, I'd still want as much money as possible.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#5 » by Pattycakes » Sat Mar 27, 2021 5:24 pm

Right, I get all the “get your money” perspective of course, and I’m sure Dame does lots of cool stuff w it, I guess I’m just thinking of all the legends of the last 20 yrs willing to take a discount to help their team win, and I directly align Dame with said legends at this point.

It just seems like if anyone was going to prioritize the needs of their team, it’s Dame... but we couldn’t escape the love of money even in this case, and this team will unfortunately continue to pay longer term for that decision.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t do the same in his position, I just look at him as someone above traditional human ability and thinking ability, but clearly the personal-focused strategy outweighed the team-focused strategy.

He is a bit responsible for CJs deal too imo, and the collective is paralyzing to a franchise, there’s no two ways about it. I think his commitment to championships off the court is just a little overinflated, that’s all.

(This board is pretty dead, I just wanted to start a discussion on something.)
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#6 » by Norm2953 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 6:06 pm

With so many of these players, its a matter of respect for in his own mind, he's worth every penny of his
new contract. So many of these players get massively offended when their team thinks differently but
remember even the smallest slight still gets them offended. Dame's worked very hard to earn his contract
but loyalty goes both ways and if there is a CJ trade out there that will make the team better, he needs to
realize the business aspects of the Blazers overcomes personal friendship.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#7 » by Blazinaway » Sat Mar 27, 2021 7:08 pm

and as far as Dame's Supermax we actually lucked out a bit with Covid driving the cap lower/sideways vs up as I believe his Supermax which begins next yr is based upon this years cap which is near 112 mil project at this time, a few years ago it was projected at 120-125 mil at a minimum
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#8 » by Sinobas » Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:33 pm

I wonder how much of it was the him seeing the kind of crazy money we invested in guys like Crabbe/Turner/Leonard in 2016. Maybe he figured if his money was going to go to that, why bother?
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#9 » by BlazersBroncos » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:04 pm

Dame's worked very hard to earn his contract
but loyalty goes both ways and if there is a CJ trade out there that will make the team better, he needs to
realize the business aspects of the Blazers overcomes personal friendship.


I think Blazers fans need to watch MIL with baited breath and really hope they get bumped early in the PO's. It may cause panic and make them open to a big move, and CJ + for Middleton would be about as good as we can hope for IMO.

With Drummond likely going to LAL and the BRK superteam, there really isnt much point though. The current state of the NBA, specifically the AD demand to LA and the BRK video game squad is just making this whole thing more pointless than it already was.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#10 » by JasonStern » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:13 pm

If the Blazers aren't winning with Dame, they certainly aren't winning without him. He's played like a top 5 MVP candidate for stretches of the season when healthy. What "tied this team up" was CJ's extension. That duo alone is going to be making $86M in 2023-24, which makes it tough to fill out the roster with above average complementary players.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#11 » by Showdown » Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:50 pm

He want to have everything, winning, money and role on the team and this is why he don't want to go to some other team where he wouldn't be the best player, first option on offense or franchise player drafted by his team and he want to win by being paid at the same time. He doesn't want to sacrifice anything, doesn't want to sacrifice money or role for a ring and he is competitive so he wouldn't sacrifice winning to get more money. He thinks that he is good enough so he can win it the way he wants but except guys like Bryant and Duncan who were in perfect situation since they entered the league because they were drafted in best organizations for a young star , every other star had to sacrifice something to win a ring.

Another question that is important for this discussion is would this team be a legit contender if you swap Dame with a player that is better than him and does player that is in top 10 players in the league deserve to get supermax contract or should that kind of contract be reserved for top 5 players in the league ?
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#12 » by d-train » Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:48 pm

Lillard should sell his labor for the most money he can get. Jody can open up her checkbook and pay what the players cost.

Why should players or fans care how billionaire owners decide to split their profits? Luxury taxes are nothing more than owners splitting their profits. I'm concerned that labor laws are being used by the NBA to disincentivize billionaire owners from fairly negotiating labor contracts with players.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#13 » by PDXKnight » Mon Mar 29, 2021 4:38 pm

d-train wrote:Lillard should sell his labor for the most money he can get. Jody can open up her checkbook and pay what the players cost.

Why should players or fans care how billionaire owners decide to split their profits? Luxury taxes are nothing more than owners splitting their profits. I'm concerned that labor laws are being used by the NBA to disincentivize billionaire owners from fairly negotiating labor contracts with players.


i’m with ya actually. There needs to be a way for a better player to get what they’re worth without crippling a team’s cap. Like others have said that’s more an issue of adjusting the cap hit from a player more than blaming someone like lillard for getting his value on the open market. Owners make plenty on their teams
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#14 » by Norm2953 » Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:18 pm

BlazersBroncos wrote:
Dame's worked very hard to earn his contract
but loyalty goes both ways and if there is a CJ trade out there that will make the team better, he needs to
realize the business aspects of the Blazers overcomes personal friendship.


I think Blazers fans need to watch MIL with baited breath and really hope they get bumped early in the PO's. It may cause panic and make them open to a big move, and CJ + for Middleton would be about as good as we can hope for IMO.

With Drummond likely going to LAL and the BRK superteam, there really isnt much point though. The current state of the NBA, specifically the AD demand to LA and the BRK video game squad is just making this whole thing more pointless than it already was.


It does seem pointless to think any team outside of the super teams (other than injury) has much hope in winning a title.

One would have to think about barring all teams that are over the tax line from adding one of these buyout players. There
has to be a solution..
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#15 » by DaVoiceMaster » Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:30 pm

Brooklyn has 3 players making a combined $114 million and some are upset that Lillard is making a supermax contract? If other teams can figure out how to make it work, so can the Blazers.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#16 » by DaVoiceMaster » Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:32 pm

So they allow teams to sign a player to a supermax contract to enable them to be able to keep that player, but then some are upset because it ties up too much of the salary cap. Having said that, does Brooklyn now have 2 supermax contracts with Durant and Harden? I dunno if Durant is a supermax contract or if he just makes a buttload of money.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#17 » by Norm2953 » Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:43 pm

Oden2 wrote:
d-train wrote:Lillard should sell his labor for the most money he can get. Jody can open up her checkbook and pay what the players cost.

Why should players or fans care how billionaire owners decide to split their profits? Luxury taxes are nothing more than owners splitting their profits. I'm concerned that labor laws are being used by the NBA to disincentivize billionaire owners from fairly negotiating labor contracts with players.


i’m with ya actually. There needs to be a way for a better player to get what they’re worth without crippling a team’s cap. Like others have said that’s more an issue of adjusting the cap hit from a player more than blaming someone like lillard for getting his value on the open market. Owners make plenty on their teams


We're not going to see the NBA equivalent of the NFL's franchise player unless the union agrees to it.

I'm all for a player getting paid but think about Brady and the Patriots manipulating their cap so that he could
win 7 NFL rings while the Aaron Rogers of the world never give up a penny of their salary. Those teams who have
the opportunity to pay these supermax players need to understand the way they build their team determines whether
their team has a chance at winning rings. It's the CJ's (and Middleton (Bucks)) of the world who are really good players
that cripple their team's salary structure. The Bucks like the Blazers need to move Middleton who is making $112/3 while
paying the Freak and those two guys take up 80+% of their team's cap. Need to stock your team with a bunch of players
on good contracts for it would be ideal to have three guys making $10 Million with your supermax player as opposed to
a single $30 million player
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#18 » by d-train » Thu Apr 1, 2021 5:15 pm

Norm2953 wrote:
Oden2 wrote:
d-train wrote:Lillard should sell his labor for the most money he can get. Jody can open up her checkbook and pay what the players cost.

Why should players or fans care how billionaire owners decide to split their profits? Luxury taxes are nothing more than owners splitting their profits. I'm concerned that labor laws are being used by the NBA to disincentivize billionaire owners from fairly negotiating labor contracts with players.


i’m with ya actually. There needs to be a way for a better player to get what they’re worth without crippling a team’s cap. Like others have said that’s more an issue of adjusting the cap hit from a player more than blaming someone like lillard for getting his value on the open market. Owners make plenty on their teams


We're not going to see the NBA equivalent of the NFL's franchise player unless the union agrees to it.

I'm all for a player getting paid but think about Brady and the Patriots manipulating their cap so that he could
win 7 NFL rings while the Aaron Rogers of the world never give up a penny of their salary. Those teams who have
the opportunity to pay these supermax players need to understand the way they build their team determines whether
their team has a chance at winning rings. It's the CJ's (and Middleton (Bucks)) of the world who are really good players
that cripple their team's salary structure. The Bucks like the Blazers need to move Middleton who is making $112/3 while
paying the Freak and those two guys take up 80+% of their team's cap. Need to stock your team with a bunch of players
on good contracts for it would be ideal to have three guys making $10 Million with your supermax player as opposed to
a single $30 million player

I guarantee you the players union would agree to any provision that excludes any amount paid to players from counting as salary paid to players. The owners will not agree to this provision.
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Re: Why has Dame tied this team up with his contract? 

Post#19 » by Soulyss » Thu Apr 1, 2021 8:33 pm

Dame didn't create the CBA, and he certainly didn't hold a gun to the Blazers head. Based on the CBA he's getting what he deserves, it is up to the team to make the CBA work (as other teams are) to put a team around him.

And when they struggle, he leads... He's frankly underpaid given the intangibles he brings compared to others on similar contracts (Harden, Durant, etc..).

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