Haynes: Damian Lillard Requests Trade

[Son Goku 25]

Why people want Lillard so bad when Harden will come at probably half the price and 2/3rds the salary. I don’t think they make that big of a difference.

Also Lillard staying in Portland was less so about loyalty. Once you live in a place for 10 plus years you establish family friends and a comfort in that area. In the NBA as a super star you get paid wherever you are so I could see the preference to just stay in Portland.

If we could get an All-NBA team player Harden it would be great. He’s the kind of scorer the team needs right now to compliment Pascal and hopefully Barnes.

I would also say that teams where the PG is your best player aren’t ideal in the playoffs. The exceptions being when that PG is the best shooter of all time playing with multiple All-NBA teammates like Steph or when the PG is MVP level with the size of a SF like Luka.

Harden is a criminally underrated play maker and smart player tbh I'd be more excited about that than just his scoring which he still shows flashes of. He's just lazy on defense but is low-key good post defender and can be decent one on one when he's focused, with our defensive players around him he'd be alright.

[StopitLeo]

Let's hope Lillard is at least open to the idea of playing here first. I don't get how overrated Herro and no disrespect Lowry plus trash is enough for him. OG is easily better than Herro and we can add more if we really wanted.

If we can get in on this and acquire Herro for trash I would be all over it. He has his flaws but he is a legit scorer and his contract isn’t that bad as a percentage of the rising cap. We need a wing scorer better than GTJ if we want to be more competitive. Otherwise we are relying on Pascal to carry the scoring load even more now with Fred gone (which was something they made Fred less effective IMO).

[HumbleRen]

I think we get in and make a play for Simons. Not for Dame.

Simons might be the worst defender in the NBA. DOnt see much interest.

Do we even have the assets to get dame? (Assuming Siakam and Scottie are off the table). I just dont think we have the proper depth outside of those 2 to land Dame

Idc about defence anymore. Bulls and us had a top 6 defence and we didn’t even make the playoffs.

Get me hoopers, not 6’9 dudes who play like football players at the YMCA.

[HumbleRen]

I think we get in and make a play for Simons. Not for Dame.

I think/hope so as well.

They need to move Simons even if Dame goes. Who comes off the bench between Scoot, Sharpe, and Simons? Two of them need to play to develop and Simons isn’t being paid to sit (and tank any trade value he has).

There was a rumour somewhere around trade deadline that said Simons has fans in raptors FO.

Lessgeddit done Masai

[DangerZone13]

Get it out of your heads folks, Dame isn't coming to T.O. Those who whine about it not happening will be showing they don't live in reality.

Maybe something around the periphery of the deal like swapping some combo of OPJ/Thad/Boucher for a player Portland doesn't want, but I can't see the Raps adding Nurk or Herro, and nothing else really fits. This is most likely a moot topic as far as Raptor involvement is concerned.

[manjusaka]

Portland may use KD trade as the framework, because it is the type of trade fits their time line. It was Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, 4 1st round and a pick swap.

Don’t think our FO is going to trade that many draft picks away while we are not in contention.

[Raptaurus]

Portland will likely want us to give them Barnes and OG for Lillard…..if not, then they will ask for multiple first round picks….

[Tor_Raps]

Portland will likely want us to give them Barnes and OG for Lillard…..

And yet the only meaningful name we've heard being mentioned from Miami's side is Herro lol.

[Los_29]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

[Asif16]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

[Los_29]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

I was thinking that as well. Schroder is probably one of our most impactful free agent signings in a decade (pretty low bar). All it took was for us to lose an important piece to our team.

Getting Herro won’t make us contenders but it would put us in a better position than we’re in now. Herro would be our 2nd most talented scorer.

[Tor_Raps]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

And yet I fully expect complacency because that's what's been going on since 2019 lol.

[execoftheyear]

Let's hope Lillard is at least open to the idea of playing here first. I don't get how overrated Herro and no disrespect Lowry plus trash is enough for him. OG is easily better than Herro and we can add more if we really wanted.

If we can get in on this and acquire Herro for trash I would be all over it. He has his flaws but he is a legit scorer and his contract isn’t that bad as a percentage of the rising cap. We need a wing scorer better than GTJ if we want to be more competitive. Otherwise we are relying on Pascal to carry the scoring load even more now with Fred gone (which was something they made Fred less effective IMO).

why get Herro when we have a cheaper and potentially similar player in Dick? Getting Herro will just stunt Dick's growth

[Asif16]

Who would Portland rather have is the question...Tyler Herro or OG ANunoby? I think Anunoby is a far better fit with the Blazers squad as Herro doesn't make sense for them at all with Scoot/Simons/Sharpe

But OG is also FA next off-season and is due for a hefty raise so that raises questions. But I think it's a no-doubter that OG is a better fit moving forward with Portland's core. But does OG re-sign?

Dame Lilliard / Dennis Schroder
Gary Trent Jr. / Gradey Dick
Scottie Barnes / Otto Porter Jr.
Pascal Siakam / Jalen Mcdaniels / Precious Achiwa
Jakob Poetl / Christian Koloko / Precious Achiwa

On Paper thats a solid fit. But does Dame see it that way?

[Los_29]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

And yet I fully expect complacency because that's what's been going on since 2019 lol.

I hope after misreading the market and losing an important piece to their team that they become a little more aggressive. Might be wishful thinking.

[TGM]

Why people want Lillard so bad when Harden will come at probably half the price and 2/3rds the salary. I don’t think they make that big of a difference.

Also Lillard staying in Portland was less so about loyalty. Once you live in a place for 10 plus years you establish family friends and a comfort in that area. In the NBA as a super star you get paid wherever you are so I could see the preference to just stay in Portland.

If we could get an All-NBA team player Harden it would be great. He’s the kind of scorer the team needs right now to compliment Pascal and hopefully Barnes.

I would also say that teams where the PG is your best player aren’t ideal in the playoffs. The exceptions being when that PG is the best shooter of all time playing with multiple All-NBA teammates like Steph or when the PG is MVP level with the size of a SF like Luka.

Harden is a criminally underrated play maker and smart player tbh I'd be more excited about that than just his scoring which he still shows flashes of. He's just lazy on defense but is low-key good post defender and can be decent one on one when he's focused, with our defensive players around him he'd be alright.

Exactly!

However the only way this happens or makes sense for us to make a run is if we still have Pascal. Therefore restructuring Fred to an S and T is critical. We could probably give Harden two year max extension if he was willing to extend. My only concern is if we do a S and T I think it impacts our cap holds. Not sure by how much.

[Asif16]

I’m not a huge fan of him but if the Blazers aren’t interested in Herro I wonder if we can get involved in some way. Adding Herro without giving up anything substantial would help this team.

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

I was thinking that as well. Schroder is probably one of our most impactful free agent signings in a decade (pretty low bar). All it took was for us to lose an important piece to our team.

Getting Herro won’t make us contenders but it would put us in a better position than we’re in now. Herro would be our 2nd most talented scorer.

Even adding Mcdaniels as well I would say. I think McDaniels and Schroder might be our two best free agent signings in a every long time

Fred deal truly would've handicapped us. Masai needs to stay active

[will]

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

I was thinking that as well. Schroder is probably one of our most impactful free agent signings in a decade (pretty low bar). All it took was for us to lose an important piece to our team.

Getting Herro won’t make us contenders but it would put us in a better position than we’re in now. Herro would be our 2nd most talented scorer.

Even adding Mcdaniels as well I would say. I think McDaniels and Schroder might be our two best free agent signings in a every long time

Fred deal truly would've handicapped us. Masai needs to stay active

McDaniels was fun to watch on that Hornets team.

[StopitLeo]

Let's hope Lillard is at least open to the idea of playing here first. I don't get how overrated Herro and no disrespect Lowry plus trash is enough for him. OG is easily better than Herro and we can add more if we really wanted.

If we can get in on this and acquire Herro for trash I would be all over it. He has his flaws but he is a legit scorer and his contract isn’t that bad as a percentage of the rising cap. We need a wing scorer better than GTJ if we want to be more competitive. Otherwise we are relying on Pascal to carry the scoring load even more now with Fred gone (which was something they made Fred less effective IMO).

why get Herro when we have a cheaper and potentially similar player in Dick? Getting Herro will just stunt Dick's growth

If we are trying to compete (whether we should be is another discussion) then we need to upgrade the scoring talent. It would be excellent value to get Herro for lesser role players. I can see the overlap with Gradey but I think there is room for both. The Heat have successfully played Herro and Robinson together (not that Gradey is the exact same player). I trust Darko would be able to foster Gradey’s development with Herro on the roster.

[Los_29]

I was thinking that too. Gettin involved here and stealing Herro could be sneaky good move (much like how Cavs stole Jarrett Allen in the James Harden Deal)

Not signing Fred Vanvleet has finally forced Masai and Bobby to get active and creative again. Masai needs to get in on both the Dame and Harden trade requests and see what he can do

No time to be complacent anymore

I was thinking that as well. Schroder is probably one of our most impactful free agent signings in a decade (pretty low bar). All it took was for us to lose an important piece to our team.

Getting Herro won’t make us contenders but it would put us in a better position than we’re in now. Herro would be our 2nd most talented scorer.

Even adding Mcdaniels as well I would say. I think McDaniels and Schroder might be our two best free agent signings in a every long time

Fred deal truly would've handicapped us. Masai needs to stay active

I’m glad Masai wouldn’t budge on Fred’s deal. They had a number that they wouldn’t go over and they didn’t. They misread the market though. Houston emerged as a candidate once Udoka got hired. At that point, nothing could really have been done.