Haynes: Damian Lillard Requests Trade

[docholliday99]

Portland really showed their ass when they got the 3rd pick, a pick that historically is high enough to return an allstar, and they ended up drafting Dame’s replacement. On top of that for some reason they haven’t moved Anfernee Simons and it’s just a mess of a roster with no direction but somehow people want to assign 100% of the blame to Dame.

I couldn’t agree more.

Usually I take team or management side in this disputes. But in this situation I feel, based on what information is leaked to the outside, Dame was totally mislead about true intentions of the front office.

Yeah yeah I know he signed the super max extension and he waited the year and asked for a trade immediately, but I have no doubt he truly wanted to compete in Portland and he was told that is what they wanted too. Cronin actions show otherwise.

The word was the pick got no good offers; no stars, no high potential youth etc.

I don’t know how hard POR tried to move it; I’m inclined to believe the FO wasn’t serious about it.

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

[JRoy]

I couldn’t agree more.

Usually I take team or management side in this disputes. But in this situation I feel, based on what information is leaked to the outside, Dame was totally mislead about true intentions of the front office.

Yeah yeah I know he signed the super max extension and he waited the year and asked for a trade immediately, but I have no doubt he truly wanted to compete in Portland and he was told that is what they wanted too. Cronin actions show otherwise.

The word was the pick got no good offers; no stars, no high potential youth etc.

I don’t know how hard POR tried to move it; I’m inclined to believe the FO wasn’t serious about it.

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

[docholliday99]

I couldn’t agree more.

Usually I take team or management side in this disputes. But in this situation I feel, based on what information is leaked to the outside, Dame was totally mislead about true intentions of the front office.

Yeah yeah I know he signed the super max extension and he waited the year and asked for a trade immediately, but I have no doubt he truly wanted to compete in Portland and he was told that is what they wanted too. Cronin actions show otherwise.

The whole supermax excuse never held much weight to me either.

What was the alternative ? He leaves for nothing lol ? He was getting that money regardless of the situation.

The supermax argument definitely does not hold weight. It's not like they had some contentious negotiations and finally relented and gave it to him. 2/3 of the league would have lined up to give him the supermax at that time.

This 100%, Cronin came to Dame with the extension and Dame certainly deserves it. Really, the money and fans Dame Dolla as generated the Blazers and the League pales in comparison to what he actually makes from the Blazers - even at the supermax level in his mid 30's.

[Pointgod]

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[Nebuchadnezzar]

Read on Twitter

What's BDE saying? He's got as much insider trade knowledge as this guy - just more speculation by someone who will flip flop in 2 weeks. And for those who are going to say - It's Marc Spears, he's totally connected! No, I am fully aware of this guy and his work. Not a bad analyst and league temperature taker, but he doesn't have insider trade knowledge (mostly hears things from players and coaches).

[GreatWhiteStiff]

The word was the pick got no good offers; no stars, no high potential youth etc.

I don’t know how hard POR tried to move it; I’m inclined to believe the FO wasn’t serious about it.

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

How did the top 5 of your draftboard look for the blazers?

[Tor_Raps]

Read on Twitter

What's BDE saying? He's got as much insider trade knowledge as this guy - just more speculation by someone who will flip flop in 2 weeks. And for those who are going to say - It's Marc Spears, he's totally connected! No, I am fully aware of this guy and his work. Not a bad analyst and league temperature taker, but he doesn't have insider trade knowledge (mostly hears things from players and coaches).

Has any other team even been rumored by anyone for Dame? Until that happens, Dame going to Miami is the only realistic landing spot whether we like it or not.

[JRoy]

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

How did the top 5 of your draftboard look for the blazers?

Since Lillard didn’t ask out until after the draft it was light on pgs.

[Pointgod]

The word was the pick got no good offers; no stars, no high potential youth etc.

I don’t know how hard POR tried to move it; I’m inclined to believe the FO wasn’t serious about it.

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

[docholliday99]

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

DSJ path

[Pointgod]

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

DSJ path

DSJ had trex arms and knee problems. Scoot is an absolute unit and fluid. The biggest thing for him will be to improve his shooting

[JRoy]

That's cause you gots to believe Scoot is worth it - I have mixed feeling about him but I'm hoping for the best for the Blazers.

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

Again, I hope I am wrong.

I just see a supposed athletic pg who isn’t explosive like real athletic pgs, has a weak left hand and weak shot.

[Ackshun]

I’m not a Scoot believer. At all.

Hope he proves me wrong.

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

Again, I hope I am wrong.

I just see a supposed athletic pg who isn’t explosive like real athletic pgs, has a weak left hand and weak shot.

He’s not even 20 years old. Get a grip JRoy

[dTox]

Our pessimism for our own players has rubbed off on Jroy

[JRoy]

Our pessimism for our own players has rubbed off on Jroy

I have been a pessimist long before RealGM.

[2019nbachamps]

Read on Twitter

Boom.

This is nonsense and Lillard is full of crap.

He had a chance to entertain free agency but took the super max in on a team that:

-was not winning
-did not have a path to win
-hired an inexperienced head coach
-traded their 2nd best player McCollum for nothing
-traded GTJ for Norm and then traded Norm for nothing (as an example of other bad trades they’ve made)

As Woj has reported, top players are now opting into extensions and max deals knowing they have the power to force their way out after. KD, Irving, Simmons, Harden, Beal, etc etc.

Harden is moaning now about Philly not trading him for pennies on the dollar after he discovered there was no appetite for any team to pay him $36m+ a season in free agency.

No one should feel bad for Lillard. Remember this is the same guy who after signing the extension said he was ok with not winning a ring and pundits don’t respect the process anymore. He told us he wouldn’t ring chase. He wasn’t exactly resigning with a team 1-2 players away from contending. If he actually thought they could turn things around then he has no one to blame but himself.

[HumbleRen]

Read on Twitter

Boom.

This is nonsense and Lillard is full of crap.

He had a chance to entertain free agency but took the super max in on a team that:

-was not winning
-did not have a path to win
-hired an inexperienced head coach
-traded their 2nd best player McCollum for nothing
-traded GTJ for Norm and then traded Norm for nothing (as an example of other bad trades they’ve made)

As Woj has reported, top players are now opting into extensions and max deals knowing they have the power to force their way out after. KD, Irving, Simmons, Harden, Beal, etc etc.

Harden is moaning now about Philly not trading him for pennies on the dollar after he discovered there was no appetite for any team to pay him $36m+ a season in free agency.

No one should feel bad for Lillard. Remember this is the same guy who after signing the extension said he was ok with not winning a ring and pundits don’t respect the process anymore. He told us he wouldn’t ring chase. He wasn’t exactly resigning with a team 1-2 players away from contending. If he actually thought they could turn things around then he has no one to blame but himself.

I don't feel bad for him, I'm just explaining the context of the situation.

Dame re-signed because he was given assurances that the ownership would be able to put a contending caliber team around him.

They did the complete opposite and started a stealth rebuild while asking him to sit out games so they could high the jackpot and essentially replace him with said draft pick.

His only fault in this was that he said he only wants Miami.

[will]

How many trades is this guy requesting?!?!?!?!?

Seems like he's requesting a trade daily.

[docholliday99]

You guys are both wrong Scoot is going to be a stud

DSJ path

DSJ had trex arms and knee problems. Scoot is an absolute unit and fluid. The biggest thing for him will be to improve his shooting

You mean when he tore his acl in high school and he had no swelling or soreness, and when the doctors did surgery, they found he had an extra acl? Weird case; back playing within 2 months and supposedly increase his vertical by 8"ins. Played his senior season, was a 5star and his knees were good. As for his wingspan, it's not the dreaded negative like Herro, so I don't see any problems there with a w/s of 6'3".

Outside of wingspan, I'd say DSJ and Scoot were quite similar coming in the league, both 6'2", both very explosive (DSJ 48" vert, Scoot 46" vert), both physically strong, both about 200lbs (DSJ 205, Scoot 195), both are really good defenders (though I give that edge to DSJ but potential to Scoot with his w/s) and both have similar styles and stats.

Stats coming into the league...
DSJ - 32 games ACC, 18.1/4.6/6.2 on 45.5/35.9/71.5 splits - efg .520, 1.9 spg, 23 per, ws 4
Scoot - 19 games GL, 17.6/5.1/6.6 on 42.9/27.5/76.4 splits, efg .455, 1.1 spg

So for myself, they really are quite similar coming in, even the hype.

As for DSJ, I liked him, felt he got a bit full of himself when in Dallas but the year after they drafted him, they drafted Luka, so DSJ was dealt to a dysfunctional NY team for Porzi in 2019 but NY really wasn't committed to him; DSJ resurged in Detroit, then tore his ucl in his shooting arm in Portland. Has been a terrible long range shooter since, but his on ball defense and team defense is really stellar - basically the reason he's still in the NBA. Kinda odd to think he's still 25y.o.

[docholliday99]

Read on Twitter

Boom.

This is nonsense and Lillard is full of crap.

He had a chance to entertain free agency but took the super max in on a team that:

-was not winning
-did not have a path to win
-hired an inexperienced head coach
-traded their 2nd best player McCollum for nothing
-traded GTJ for Norm and then traded Norm for nothing (as an example of other bad trades they’ve made)

As Woj has reported, top players are now opting into extensions and max deals knowing they have the power to force their way out after. KD, Irving, Simmons, Harden, Beal, etc etc.

Harden is moaning now about Philly not trading him for pennies on the dollar after he discovered there was no appetite for any team to pay him $36m+ a season in free agency.

No one should feel bad for Lillard. Remember this is the same guy who after signing the extension said he was ok with not winning a ring and pundits don’t respect the process anymore. He told us he wouldn’t ring chase. He wasn’t exactly resigning with a team 1-2 players away from contending. If he actually thought they could turn things around then he has no one to blame but himself.

Whoa whoa whoa, hold the mayo there. That is not quite what happened and Dame was never close to FA to explore anything; if you want to bash Dame, that's cool but I think your dates are out of alignment.

- 18/19 - Portland has a great year but gets knocked out of the WCF
- Summer of 2019, Olshey offers Dame a 4 year supermax contract extension that kicks in for the 21/22 season and locking Dame up till 2025.
- 19/20 season - Portland gets bounce in the 1st round
- 20/21 season - Portland gets bounce in the 1st round, Billups hired in June, 2021
- 21/22 season - Dames extension that was signed in 2019 kicks in. Olshey gets fired in December 2021 due to reports of creating a toxic workplace environment and Cronin takes over and starts a retool/rebuild
- February 2022 - on the 4th, Powell/Covi traded to Clippers, on the 8th CJ/Nance traded to NOP and Zeller was waived, on the 9th NAW/Juancho redirected from CJ trade to Utah, Feb 10th Dame shut down, Feb 16th DSJ tears his UCL and was waived on Feb 21st
- June 2022 - Portland drafts Sharpe
- July 2022 - Cronin comes to Dame and offers a 2 year extension on his existing deal, turning his remaining 3 years into into a 5 year max. Cronin, Billups and Dame hold presser about the 2 year extension and how the team was committed to building around Dame and being competitive
- 22/23 season - Portland trades Hart in February, Dame sits again
- Summer of 2023 - Portland lucks out and gets the #3 pick. Trade ideas run rampant, Dame speaks about trading the #3 pick to upgrade the team. Speaks about wanting to stay and being competitive in Portland.
- June 22, 2023 - Portland drafts Scoot, holds meeting with Dame. Afterwards, Cronin comes out and states that they won't be trading Scoot or their youth.
- July 2, 2023 - Lillard asks to be traded.
- Both sides making a PR mess of it but nothing acrimonious being said from either side.

I don't feel bad for Dame at all, but I certainly do understand why he's wanting to move on given where both parties are at.