Damian Lillard Trade Request Part 3

[Zeno]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

Interest in Poeltl was rumored all season long. We didn't want to pay to 2 1sts so we waited and paid 1 and 2 2nds. PJ Tucker trade was also rumored for a while and they waited and waited and waited until the price dropped.

[LoveMyRaps]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

It's been less than 48 hours since the Raptors were officially linked to Dame (by Marc Spears and Marc Stein).

[Elmago]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

Interest in Poeltl was rumored all season long. We didn't want to pay to 2 1sts so we waited and paid 1 and 2 2nds. PJ Tucker trade was also rumored for a while and they waited and waited and waited until the price dropped.

Speaking of that deadline, Ibaka was also a guy we were connected too for a bit before we got him, I remember we were one of the teams interested when OKC was looking to move him. We definitely see moves that come from nowhere, but sometimes the rumours do end up well founded.

[NinjaBro]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

This one's different. You can surely bet that Cronin is taking every offer that any team makes and running it back to Miami to beat it so they can tell Dame they did everything they could to accommodate him. If Miami can't beat it they're talking to other teams to do a multiway. Tyler Herro is being tossed around more than Teanna Trump as we speak.

[NoBias]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

Interest in Poeltl was rumored all season long. We didn't want to pay to 2 1sts so we waited and paid 1 and 2 2nds. PJ Tucker trade was also rumored for a while and they waited and waited and waited until the price dropped.

Speaking of that deadline, Ibaka was also a guy we were connected too for a bit before we got him, I remember we were one of the teams interested when OKC was looking to move him. We definitely see moves that come from nowhere, but sometimes the rumours do end up well founded.

Good points, I looked up Raptors interest in Poeltl, and it dates back to Dec/Jan. Was wrong on that.

But three moves in 7 years that were speculated around the rumour mill (maybe I’m missing more) is a very low #.

[will]

We really going to trade for an old ass one healthy calf Dame?

Oh dear.

Oh damn @will you ain't on the Dame train?

Didn't see that coming.

Sent from my SM-S908W using RealGM mobile app

We will be treading further into mediocrity dealing away building blocks for more mediocrity.

[BBS22]

Sorry guys but I am not sure why Damian Lillard would agree to come here....it's not like he's the last missing key piece for us

In 2017-2018, we were 1st seed and got swept by lebron in the 2nd round.....so we went and got Kwahi to put us over the top the following season.

What make you think we could do it again with Damian Lillard this time? Last year we lost the play in game!!!!
How can we convince Damian Lillard to stay he's getting traded to here?????

I'm confused right now.

2) Taxes. Dame has a zero percent income tax in Florida, a 53% (I heard, haven’t fact checked) income tax. When making 60mil… I get it.

Those reasons would be real for saying no to Toronto for Dame. And honestly Goodwin too. He’s got just as much of a reason to want that zero % income tax. It’s a real reason some teams get players on the regular that others don’t. When Vegas gets a team, they’ll get stars left right and center, just watch.

The next CBA should have some sort of a condition for evening income tax across the league to stop this from being an unfair advantage just because of the state they’re in. Maybe a legal reason they can’t do that?

Of maybe it’s not a major influence factor and I’m just getting old. Idek anymore.

The tax situation is heavily overstated and is mostly a nonfactor for a player coming from Portland to Toronto.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-01/portland-tops-cities-where-high-earners-face-biggest-tax-hit?embedded-checkout=true
Basically when Dame signed that giant contract he already accepted high taxes were being paid out. Not too dissimilar to New York or Cali and yes, Toronto. Not to mention the tax credits/shelters.

Important to remember this is just for home games. Players are taxed for away games in each state anyway.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38492423/nba-survey-league-insiders-weigh-wembanyama-mvp-race-2023-24-favorites

The difference between Lowry and Blake Griffin (Cali) isn't a lot. James Harden (Texas taxes) and Lowry sure but if taxes was a concern for Dame he would have left Portland years ago lol.

But you also have to factor in a 15% max signing bonus the NBA allows which is taxed differently. There's a reason Auston Matthews makes most of his money in a signing bonus in Arizona on July 1st. I would also guarantee his agent has a good tax lawyer for endorsement deals at tax friendly states.

But could Dame make a lot more money going to a Florida team? Sure but going to Toronto would be a wash with the taxes in Portland, Cali or New York.

One thing to also add is that Dame's contract would also be paid entirely in USD. While our housing prices are insane that's a nice 20% USD to CAD discount your money goes to things with a higher purchasing power like partying with Drake, going out to eat, buying strippers or etc.

You can also get into the conversation if (ballpark number) $150 million taxed in Canada/Portland/New York/LA is all that different from $170-180 million taxed in Florida, Utah, Memphis, OKC? Like what does that extra money buy you? After a certain amount of money your quality of life isn't improved that much.

TLDR: the federal taxes comes out to mostly a wash for both countries. The state taxes really only matter for half the season ("home games") and even then there are tax shelters in place.

Now if you said weather, yeah. No doubt we can't compete with that ... but again ... dude is coming from Portland lol.

[will]

We really going to trade for an old ass one healthy calf Dame?

Oh dear.

Oh damn @will you ain't on the Dame train?

Didn't see that coming.

Sent from my SM-S908W using RealGM mobile app

Lmao. Dame has never had a single serious calf injury. Maybe had one, but the only serious injury he’s ever had his is abdomen tear. After surgery and a year off, he had his best season ever.

Anyone deriding Dame for injury history is talking out their arse. Or terribly uneducated on why he was set last season

Confirmed that this is not a JRoy burner account of any kind.

Welcome to the Raps board, my guy!

[NoBias]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

This one's different. You can surely bet that Cronin is taking every offer that any team makes and running it back to Miami to beat it so they can tell Dame they did everything they could to accommodate him. If Miami can't beat it they're talking to other teams to do a multiway. Tyler Herro is being tossed around more than Teanna Trump as we speak.

I do think Portland and Miami are playing cat and mouse, whether through specific reporters, “league execs”, etc. There really hasn’t been an instance aside from Paul George and Kawhi, where stars weren’t routed to where they wanted to go. Both eventually made their way to their preferred destination, however.

[will]

You got a good deal on that 1997 BMW M5 with 310K clicks on it, huh?

[sbsat]

Why isnt okc chasing lillard?

Because they are waiting on Giannis and Embiid to be made available.

they could make a play for all 3 if they wanted

Thats my point. They can go for all 3 and getting one increases their chances of getting the other two!

[NinjaBro]

It seems like this may be fluff than anything else. I hope I’m wrong though.

When the Raptors are connected to someone and a rumour comes out, they never take long to finalize it, if true.

We heard about Kawhi, and then a couple days later it happened.

We didn’t hear about the raptors legit interest in Scottie, until 1 week before the draft.

Poeltl trade, same thing.

Whenever the Raptors have been involved in rumours for a prolong period of time, it almost never happens.

Again… I hope I’m wrong.

This one's different. You can surely bet that Cronin is taking every offer that any team makes and running it back to Miami to beat it so they can tell Dame they did everything they could to accommodate him. If Miami can't beat it they're talking to other teams to do a multiway. Tyler Herro is being tossed around more than Teanna Trump as we speak.

I do think Portland and Miami are playing cat and mouse, whether through specific reporters, “league execs”, etc. There really hasn’t been an instance aside from Paul George and Kawhi, where stars weren’t routed to where they wanted to go. Both eventually made their way to their preferred destination, however.

Make no mistake. It's highly likely that Dame ends up in Miami. The only reason why Spears (who's close to Dame) made it public that we're the frontrunners is because we have the best offer and Miami can't currently beat it. They're doing it to put pressure on Miami to get it together. It's a total cat and mouse game and we're being used as leverage.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Miami's offer only gets better if they include Bam, there is no silver bullet for them.

[raptor jesus]

Love me some OG, but imo his value is incredibly overrated. Yeah the defence is great, and the shooting is nice; but his perceived value suggests that teams might see unlocked offensive potential, which I don't get. He can't create for himself or others, and I'm not sure how he fixes that because he doesn't have much skill (e.g. handles, passing) and his balance with the ball in his hands is really bad (leading to more turnovers than assists). If you can get a player of Dame's caliber for a package where OG is the main piece, I think that's a no-brainer.

[TGM]

Lots of talk about Dame and how we are still not contenders.

The really overlooked piece is Jakob. This guy is a glue guy championship piece player. Even if our team was just Dame and Jakob without Pascal and Barnes it would be a 7-8th seed playoff team. When building a winner you need your PG and C. We are getting killed last year due to a lack of a C. Once Jakob arrived our whole team and identity changed. An offensive alpha was what we needed. Not someone who thought they were Alpha in Fred. That’s why Fred being gone is addition by subtraction. If our starting 5 is Dame, Trent, Barnes, Pascal and Jakob. That is not an even line-up to play against. The balance of offence, defended and versatility is insane. Don’t forget Jakob is a good passing Center. Add in Schroeder, McDaniels and a few others as our bench we have a very good team.

Dame is Dame, but Jakob is going to be the one that surprised everyone the most. He will win us ten gsme single handily from his defenders or just composed high percentage put backs and layups when the game is on the line. Imagine if the Lakers have a Jakob. They would be instant top 3 team in the NBA

[Tha Cynic]

You got a good deal on that 1997 BMW M5 with 310K clicks on it, huh?

it just got serviced two season ago. All good.

[sbsat]

You got a good deal on that 1997 BMW M5 with 310K clicks on it, huh?

it just got serviced two season ago. All good.

Totally ignore the insane numbers he put up last year huh?

[gerrit4]

Miami's offer only gets better if they include Bam, there is no silver bullet for them.

If they throw everything in (Herro, two firsts, two swaps, Jovic, Jaquez, Caleb Martin, 2nds), then I think it would be tough to beat while still keeping some depth.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Has Masai traded for Dame Lillard yet

[Kurtz]

Love me some OG, but imo his value is incredibly overrated. Yeah the defence is great, and the shooting is nice; but his perceived value suggests that teams might see unlocked offensive potential, which I don't get. He can't create for himself or others, and I'm not sure how he fixes that because he doesn't have much skill (e.g. handles, passing) and his balance with the ball in his hands is really bad (leading to more turnovers than assists). If you can get a player of Dame's caliber for a package where OG is the main piece, I think that's a no-brainer.

It comes down to the fact that every team in the NBA wants 3&D guys, and OG is maybe the best 3&D guy in the game (Bridges also has a case).

You're right about his offensive limitations in other aspects of his game though.