Haynes: Damian Lillard Requests Trade

[JRoy]

I expect a deal that I will hate. Superstars rarely pull equal value.

Superstar? Former superstar sure. Kinda. That term is used way too loosely these days.

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

[changes]

this portland dude has appointed himself as some kind of representative of the organization, taking his craft seriously accepting and declining deals

[HumbleRen]

Superstar? Former superstar sure. Kinda. That term is used way too loosely these days.

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

So why isn’t anyone offering up anything of value for him ? Don’t say it’s because of the Miami thing because Dame still has 3 years on his contract, he has no leverage.

[JRoy]

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

So why isn’t anyone offering up anything of value for him ? Don’t say it’s because of the Miami thing because Dame still has 3 years on his contract, he has no leverage.

He should have shut his big mouth and it would be done.

But he didn’t and here we are.

[TGM]

People comparing Dame to Lowry is ridiculous. Same was hooping like a top 10 player and top five offensive player in the nba. Lowry was never in that tier.

The price for Dame honestly is not that bad. Cause if he doesn’t work considering you have him under contract for another 2 or 1 and a half season you can still get back several first for him. So the delta and price you pay to take this gamble is not that bad.

[WaltFrazier]

The article saying he'd only report to Miami was quickly followed by this one saying he'll report to whatever team acquires him. Damage control

https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2023/09/damian-lillard-would-go-wherever-traded-despite-report-but-would-rival-team-risk-it.html

[MoneyBall]

Superstar? Former superstar sure. Kinda. That term is used way too loosely these days.

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

Yeah at the age of 32, not 35.

[JB7]

Superstar? Former superstar sure. Kinda. That term is used way too loosely these days.

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

[JRoy]

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

He was injured that year.

Lillard is a pro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him age gracefully.

[OakleyDokely]

Lillard is amazing and more teams should get involved in acquiring him regardless of what he says. But so many teams are so risk-adverse and are more than happy being stuck in the middle instead.

[Pointgod]

Superstar? Former superstar sure. Kinda. That term is used way too loosely these days.

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

The year that Dame just had was in 58 games though and he hasn’t played more than 70 games since he was 28. It’s not the next two years that front offices are worried about it’s those last two when Dame is 35 and 36 that limits the market for him.

[Fairview4Life]

He literally just had the best year of his career.

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

He was injured that year.

Lillard is a pro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him age gracefully.

He was also "injured" for tanking purposes, wasn't he?

[JRoy]

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

He was injured that year.

Lillard is a pro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him age gracefully.

He was also "injured" for tanking purposes, wasn't he?

Vroom vroom

[JRoy]

And he's got a lot of mileage on him too. Lowry's production dropped like a rock at around 35. If you want to compete with Dame as your best player, you have one, maybe two years. And then he'll be owed more than 120 million over two seasons after that.

I'm not giving up one of the best prospects in franchise history for that.

He literally just had the best year of his career.

The year that Dame just had was in 58 games though and he hasn’t played more than 70 games since he was 28. It’s not the next two years that front offices are worried about it’s those last two when Dame is 35 and 36 that limits the market for him.

I’d be worried too. That’s a lot of money.

[JB7]

He literally just had the best year of his career.

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

He was injured that year.

Lillard is a pro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him age gracefully.

I don't question that Lillard is a pro, and keeps himself in peak physical condition, but age is age. None of us can out run it. And the performance numbers for aging guards are not good. His drop off could be dramatic, due to another injury, like his age 31 season.

A player like Durant can continue to play at a high level at age 34, because while he might be slowing down, his game is his shooting, which is aided by his length. So his quickness and speed are not as much of a factor as is his height.

[Tha Cynic]

He literally just had the best year of his career.

He also had his worst year, since his rookie season the year before that. So at age 31 one of his worst seasons, due to injury, and age 32 his best year. How does the end of his career play out at age 33, 34, 35 and 36? Injuries and age are a significant factor, especially with smaller guards.

If I were Masai, I wouldn't touch him. Any team that pays a lot for Dame is probably going to regret it.

He was injured that year.

Lillard is a pro. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him age gracefully.

I think he has already aged gracefully. He's beyond that now lol. Dude will be 34 when the season ends. After this, even the best decline. He's not Steph Curry who relies heavily on best of all time shooting and constant motion to keep at top levels even today

Lillard is at best a #2 best player on a great team (probably for one more year) and Pat Riley doesn't seem to be all that desperate to trade for him.

Also with his best season ever, what did Portland accomplish?

[dTox]

do not want

[Pointgod]

He literally just had the best year of his career.

The year that Dame just had was in 58 games though and he hasn’t played more than 70 games since he was 28. It’s not the next two years that front offices are worried about it’s those last two when Dame is 35 and 36 that limits the market for him.

I’d be worried too. That’s a lot of money.

Pretty much any team taking on Dame is banking on a two year window where he plays at an all-nba level and the last two years could be what we’re seeing with older PGs like Lowry and Chris Paul. That’s why it never made sense that there’s a huge market for Dame. All the play-in and bottom tier playoff teams aren’t going to unload all of their assets just to make the second round or conference finals over the next two years.

[MoneyBall]

The year that Dame just had was in 58 games though and he hasn’t played more than 70 games since he was 28. It’s not the next two years that front offices are worried about it’s those last two when Dame is 35 and 36 that limits the market for him.

I’d be worried too. That’s a lot of money.

Pretty much any team taking on Dame is banking on a two year window where he plays at an all-nba level and the last two years could be what we’re seeing with older PGs like Lowry and Chris Paul. That’s why it never made sense that there’s a huge market for Dame. All the play-in and bottom tier playoff teams aren’t going to unload all of their assets just to make the second round or conference finals over the next two years.

I agree. The only thing that would get me to reconsider is if Masai has a second deal up his sleeve (Gradey, picks, expirings) to get another big name (not Harden).

[canz55]

Lillard is amazing and more teams should get involved in acquiring him regardless of what he says. But so many teams are so risk-adverse and are more than happy being stuck in the middle instead.

Am I out of order suggesting that Dame is Fred 2.0?

He's another "bet on yourself guy" that doesn't care about anything outside of himself. If he cared about his teammates he'd mentor Scoot and work with him to try and do something.

@JRoy you're always welcome here and you haven't offended anyone. You're also not getting Scottie Barnes because Lillard isn't worth that my man.