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

[PDXKnight]

I suspect any talks will instantly go to shaedon. I dont think anf will be enough to bring back an all star level player if we want an elite talent the major question will be whether we are willing to trade shaedon with that pick and some future firsts as well imo. Personally I don't think even adding embeiid gets us to the top 3 in the league as I don't think we have the pieces to complete a contender even in a pipe dream scenario where we get a top 20 player to pair with Dame. Even if we got giannis somehow (never gonna happen but let's just imagine for the sake of argument) can you honestly say dame and giannis and the zero role players after we've emptied the cupboard wins a title? Giannis is the one player who maybe maybe gets us even close and even then its a stretch to say wed contend with that roster given other holes wed continue to have. So narrowing it back down to remotely pie in the sky realistic options like jaylen brown Beal lavine etc etc I just don't see us taking home the ship and thus sacrificing Any major assets is pointless in my eyes. I wish we could've won a title with Dame but I hope cronin doesn't try to chase teams with a stupid offer and instead has a heart to heart with Dame if it looks like we have to give up a gobert sort of package to add star number 2. Don't get me wrong if we can pull off a big 3 maybe we should be willing to part with shaedon and the entire cupboard of firsts after dealing the knicks pick to Chicago. But all stars don't grow on trees and I don't think we have the assets for that scenario anyhow quite frankly

[Jsun947]

Ya, I don’t think Dame’s comments really change much outside of giving each other an out on PR regardless of what happens.

[PDXKnight]

Ya, I don’t think Dame’s comments really change much outside of giving each other an out on PR regardless of what happens.

Yeah the league knows full on pdx doesn't have a direction. we could always just posture as if we won't go nuclear unless we get an offer so compelling it'll sway us toward dealing dame

[Jsun947]

If we do trade Dame what teams are realistic?

Knicks
Nets
Toronto
Pels

Seem to make the most sense as far as trans that can use him & still be competitive after a trade where we receive enough back to make it worth it.

Depending on how the lottery shakes out maybe something else will present itself too

[BlazersBroncos]

Pels have the best ammo IMO. Youngsters on rookie deals, tons of picks. They could ship CJ somewhere else as the salary ballast (Dont think he has much of a market, he has been pretty crap this year).

TOR is only interesting if Barnes is on the table - and he wasnt for KD so that isnt likely.
NYK doesnt really have youngsters that I am too interested in - their pick ammo is mostly protected (IE picks they own from other teams) and I dont want RJ on that contract.
BRK might be interesting, they own a few picks - but not sure on the salary matching (I dont want guys like Dinwiddie coming back personally).

[DusterBuster]

If we do trade Dame what teams are realistic?

Knicks
Nets
Toronto
Pels

Seem to make the most sense as far as trans that can use him & still be competitive after a trade where we receive enough back to make it worth it.

Depending on how the lottery shakes out maybe something else will present itself too

Nets and Knicks seem most likely I think. With Dame saying he wants to play with Bridges, I think it’s more likely that happens with Dame in a Nets jersey vs Bridges in a Blazer jersey. They also have the assets to make it happen I think post-Durant trade.

Knicks also have some assets that I think would interest Portland, but I would think a 3 team would be needed. I would guess if Dame is going to the Knicks, Brunson would be out, but I doubt Brunson would be happy going back to a rebuilding Blazer team. Maybe some sort of 4 team deal, Mavs S&T of Kyrie somewhere to get a big TPE, Burnson back to Dallas, Dame to Nets, TPE and a metric ton of first rounders to Portland?

[JRoy]

3 way deal; Lillard to MIL, KM and MIL pieces to team 3,
MIL draft assets and team 3 draft assets, expiring contracts to POR.

[DusterBuster]

Pels have the best ammo IMO. Youngsters on rookie deals, tons of picks. They could ship CJ somewhere else as the salary ballast (Dont think he has much of a market, he has been pretty crap this year).

TOR is only interesting if Barnes is on the table - and he wasnt for KD so that isnt likely.
NYK doesnt really have youngsters that I am too interested in - their pick ammo is mostly protected (IE picks they own from other teams) and I dont want RJ on that contract.
BRK might be interesting, they own a few picks - but not sure on the salary matching (I dont want guys like Dinwiddie coming back personally).

I don’t see the Pelicans fit. I think that team is closer to a rebuild than making a play for Dame. They aren’t good enough as is and Zion is entirely not dependable in any way. He’s not a good franchise cornerstone due to his injuries and seeming lack of any competitiveness. He’s basically Ben Simmons West imo. Also, like you said, I think there is zero trade value for CJ right now.

Toronto I’m in on if they’re ready to move Barnes. I know they weren’t willing to move him for KD, but Barnes also didn’t take the leap they were hoping. Some picks and Barnes for Dame to pair him with OG and Siakam… maybe.

As mentioned with Knicks, I think it would have to be a pretty big multi-team deal to work with Brunson going out to a third team since I don’t think he would want to come to Portland.

[BlazersBroncos]

Barnes would be an ideal get for Dame - really like a future of Sharpe and Barnes. Unfortunately, the salary matching w/ Dame to TOR is basically impossible.

I wonder if Houston does some weird win-now pivot if they sign Harden - Dame for Smith JR, fillers and some future FRP looks nice.

I prefer Barnes for intangible reasons but Jabari has a ton of talent (Even if he had a rough rookie year).

[Norm2953]

Will the second tax apron force a team like Miami to move on the Butler for far less than as expected?

I'm against sending major assets to add another 34 year old to Portland but if it can get done without
sending out SS or 5, by all means..

[BlazersBroncos]

Will the second tax apron force a team like Miami to move on the Butler for far less than as expected?

I'm against sending major assets to add another 34 year old to Portland but if it can get done without
sending out SS or 5, by all means..

We have very little to offer outside SS and 5. If we take those assets off the table another team 100% can beat our offer for Butler.

If we are worried about moving #5 for a guy of Jimmys caliber due to age we should simply trade Dame. We arent getting a better player for #5.

[tester551]

Will the second tax apron force a team like Miami to move on the Butler for far less than as expected?

I'm against sending major assets to add another 34 year old to Portland but if it can get done without
sending out SS or 5, by all means..

We have very little to offer outside SS and 5. If we take those assets off the table another team 100% can beat our offer for Butler.

If we are worried about moving #5 for a guy of Jimmys caliber due to age we should simply trade Dame. We arent getting a better player for #5.

Agreed.

If Portland could make it a 3-way with Orlando, there could be some significant $ savings for Miami.

This would have to occur after August 1 for it to work (30 days after signing the Rookie deal):

Orlando
Suggs ($7.2M) + Harris ($13.0M) -> Simons ($24.1M)
They get the backcourt scorer that they need/want.

Portland
Simons ($24.1M) + Little ($6.3M) + #5 Pick (Signed to Rookie deal ~$7.5M) -> Butler ($45.2M) + Suggs ($7.2M into the GPII TPE)
I view Simons as equal value to Suggs, although Suggs is a better PG to pair with Sharpe in the future.
Portland gets an all-star for Little + #5. Great value here.

Miami
Butler ($45.2M) -> Harris ($13.0M) + Little ($6.3M) + #5 Pick (Signed to Rookie deal ~$7.5M)
Miami gets immediate tax savings (~$20M payroll deduction) and they get youth to retool for the future. I think Orlando could cut Harris before 7/1 and just open up enough cap space to make this deal -> which could give Miami another $13M payroll deduction. The issue is the trade has to wait until 8/1 to process.

[Norm2953]

The thing is, nobody knows what player 5 will be.

In 2022, Portland drafted Sharpe at 7 whom everyone thinks is going to be a great player in a solid draft
with Mathurin, Ivey, Jalen Williams and Sochan also available. In 2021, Suggs went fifth but other guys
like Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey were also available at 5.

There always seem to be really useful player available when a team picks closer to the top. Whether
those guys will end up being of Jimmy's caliber remains to be seen but Jimmy is going to be 34 in
September and like Dame has only a few years left in his athletic prime before his game begins to
drop.

It then comes back to whether the second tax apron will force teams into making changes, if those
teams are not really a playoff contender.

[tester551]

Agreed.

If Portland could make it a 3-way with Orlando, there could be some significant $ savings for Miami.

This would have to occur after August 1 for it to work (30 days after signing the Rookie deal):

Orlando
Suggs ($7.2M) + Harris ($13.0M) -> Simons ($24.1M)
They get the backcourt scorer that they need/want.

Portland
Simons ($24.1M) + Little ($6.3M) + #5 Pick (Signed to Rookie deal ~$7.5M) -> Butler ($45.2M) + Suggs ($7.2M into the GPII TPE)
I view Simons as equal value to Suggs, although Suggs is a better PG to pair with Sharpe in the future.
Portland gets an all-star for Little + #5. Great value here.

Miami
Butler ($45.2M) -> Harris ($13.0M) + Little ($6.3M) + #5 Pick (Signed to Rookie deal ~$7.5M)
Miami gets immediate tax savings (~$20M payroll deduction) and they get youth to retool for the future. I think Orlando could cut Harris before 7/1 and just open up enough cap space to make this deal -> which could give Miami another $13M payroll deduction. The issue is the trade has to wait until 8/1 to process.

To follow up on this, the rest of Portland's off-season would look like this:

1) Trade #23 to Chicago for Portland's future picks returned
2) Resign Grant ($30.25M) & look for an opportunity to trade him (with '24 +'26 picks) to Toronto for Siakam ($37.8M)

Roster:
PG: Dame, Suggs, Mays
SG: Sharpe, Thybulle
SF: Buttler, Winslow, Reddish
PF: Siakam, Watford, Walker
C: Nurk, Eubanks, Badji

[tester551]

The thing is, nobody knows what player 5 will be.

In 2022, Portland drafted Sharpe at 7 whom everyone thinks is going to be a great player in a solid draft
with Mathurin, Ivey, Jalen Williams and Sochan also available. In 2021, Suggs went fifth but other guys
like Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey were also available at 5.

There always seem to be really useful player available when a team picks closer to the top. Whether
those guys will end up being of Jimmy's caliber remains to be seen but Jimmy is going to be 34 in
September and like Dame has only a few years left in his athletic prime before his game begins to
drop.

It then comes back to whether the second tax apron will force teams into making changes, if those
teams are not really a playoff contender.

Despite being 34 - Butler is still an elite player.

#2 in the league in WS/48 @ 0.277
#4 in VORP @ 5.8
#6 in PER @ 27.6
#4 in BPM @ 8.7
#18 in TS% @ .647
#2 in FTr @ .625
#3 in STL%
#18 in fewest TOV%

As good as Dame is, Butler has better advanced stats across the board outside of AST% and USG%.

[Curtis Lemansky]

Would a Sharpe + Nurkic + 1st in 2023 (if it falls outside of top -3) for Mikal Bridges and Claxton make sense?

[red_power]

It would have some but I think it will be very unlikely that Blazers FO would be willing to pay that much. Especially in light of the fact that Claxton is going to get a major salary bump in the 2024 offseason.

[The Sebastian Express]

Would a Sharpe + Nurkic + 1st in 2023 (if it falls outside of top -3) for Mikal Bridges and Claxton make sense?

I would.. be incredibly tempted. I love Bridges. Absolutely love him. Think he has real potential to be a number two and is certainly a number three with DPOY abilities and talent, skill.

I would of course want to try to do Ant Nurk + any pick that is 2+ and future firsts rather than Shaedon, but I get why the Nets might balk.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

im really leaning towards the idea of trading dame lillard and tanking for a season or two, not more

wed certainly trade dame to the team of his choosing and that would most likely be phila or boston (could be few others on his wish list, but i cant see them offering nothing of interest to us) and im looking at tyrese maxey, as he would be a really good piece to build around alongside sharpe and we have this years pick, so if its a good one (hopefully), wed have three guys to build around, so we could have a quick rebuild... id keep simons for another season, let him build his value, then trade him

were not winning championsip with dame lillard, that is clear and id like to see him play his entire career in rip city, but i like the team more than i like dame lillard, so the future of our team comes first and we could have a nice future if we do the right things

ps im not really sure our fans know how good of a player tyrese maxey already is and hes 22 years old

[DusterBuster]

Would a Sharpe + Nurkic + 1st in 2023 (if it falls outside of top -3) for Mikal Bridges and Claxton make sense?

In a nanosecond. Why would the Nets do this?