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DusterBuster wrote:Yin Porzingod wrote:Scoot under the tutelage of Lillard
Lillard and Holiday... Scoot either is gonna bust out spectacularly or gonna go into year 4 as a monster... there's no real other option.
KGtabake wrote:Good for everyone.
For him, for the Blazers, for the Bucks who get 5mil lower on the dead cap for the next 3 seasons.
Nice story, wishing him the best, he has always been a likeable person.
What Dame gets and what hits the cap sheet are 2 different numbers.Effigy wrote:KGtabake wrote:Good for everyone.
For him, for the Blazers, for the Bucks who get 5mil lower on the dead cap for the next 3 seasons.
Nice story, wishing him the best, he has always been a likeable person.
Is that true? Why wouldn't Dame just sign for the minimum if he isn't getting any extra money? I'd think he's getting his full Bucks paycheck plus $42 million from the Blazers?
JujitsuFlip wrote:What Dame gets and what hits the cap sheet are 2 different numbers.Effigy wrote:KGtabake wrote:Good for everyone.
For him, for the Blazers, for the Bucks who get 5mil lower on the dead cap for the next 3 seasons.
Nice story, wishing him the best, he has always been a likeable person.
Is that true? Why wouldn't Dame just sign for the minimum if he isn't getting any extra money? I'd think he's getting his full Bucks paycheck plus $42 million from the Blazers?
Dame is getting his $70 million this season.
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/07/bucks-to-receive-cap-benefit-from-lillards-new-contract.html
Capn'O wrote:All this handwringing over Scoot.
He's in his third year. If he plays like a guy who was worthy of the #2 overall pick in a stacked draft then he keeps the job and the Blazers move Holiday - there's always a way to move guys. If he plays like Scott Henderson then you admit the experiment failed and have stopgaps in Lillard and Holiday ready to step in.
Young guys don't get infinite rope. Scoot has all the resources to thrive this year if it's ever gonna happen.
The real question to me is what they do with Grant.
Pattycakes wrote:Capn'O wrote:All this handwringing over Scoot.
He's in his third year. If he plays like a guy who was worthy of the #2 overall pick in a stacked draft then he keeps the job and the Blazers move Holiday - there's always a way to move guys. If he plays like Scott Henderson then you admit the experiment failed and have stopgaps in Lillard and Holiday ready to step in.
Young guys don't get infinite rope. Scoot has all the resources to thrive this year if it's ever gonna happen.
The real question to me is what they do with Grant.
Was the #3 pick but otherwise fair. I think they’ll keep Grant. He was only acquired per Dames request. He just needs to learn how not to be a black hole and remember how to play defense.
doogie_hauser wrote:Yeah great decision.
Hope this move kick starts the struggling Blazers with some positive energy and momentum going into next season despite Dame not available next season.
Capn'O wrote:Pattycakes wrote:Capn'O wrote:All this handwringing over Scoot.
He's in his third year. If he plays like a guy who was worthy of the #2 overall pick in a stacked draft then he keeps the job and the Blazers move Holiday - there's always a way to move guys. If he plays like Scott Henderson then you admit the experiment failed and have stopgaps in Lillard and Holiday ready to step in.
Young guys don't get infinite rope. Scoot has all the resources to thrive this year if it's ever gonna happen.
The real question to me is what they do with Grant.
Was the #3 pick but otherwise fair. I think they’ll keep Grant. He was only acquired per Dames request. He just needs to learn how not to be a black hole and remember how to play defense.
I just feel like they're in a weird place with him. He's not a star and the team is probably better with Camara starting going forward but he's good enough and paid high enough where he should be starting and should be putting up high level numbers.
I'd love to see the Blazers go after Kuminga. They'd probably have to attach some draft capital to Grant to make that deal work but the Blazers need primary options going forward and he seems more like that than the other young guys they have, many of whom I like. Maybe he and Sharpe could become 1/1A. That lineup is lacking a bit in shooting but relentlessly attacks the rim.
I like Grant for GS too. He can go back to being more of a role player which, as you suggest, is a better spot for him.
DusterBuster wrote:doogie_hauser wrote:Yeah great decision.
Hope this move kick starts the struggling Blazers with some positive energy and momentum going into next season despite Dame not available next season.
Genuinely, even from hundreds of miles away from Portland and just listening to sports media, the vibe of that city is off the charts right now. No one is under any illusion that this means championships (or even playoffs), but just the feels alone are crazy. You have some media guys nearly in tears (admittedly, the one I'm thinking of is actually close friends with Dame and kind of made his career of that like a poor mans Windy) and my 75+ year old mother who couldn't give two **** about sports even texted me less than an hour after news broke to tell me about it.
People really poo-poo on what players mean to cities a lot. The Booker extension for example... crazy contract, almost impossible that deal is gonna be worth it on the court, but man, when you got a really great player who is a community staple, you give that dude whatever he wants, he for all intense and purposes runs the city.
In COVID days, Portland was one of the strictest cities and Oregon the strictest states in the country with their restrictions. WWAAYYYY worse than California to extreme levels. People I met from around the country in states like Utah and Idaho at that time took pity on us saying "you guys are doing COVID rough", and they were right! I bring this up to say, Dame actually helped the city loosen those rules because he wanted fans back in the arena and the city started making some exceptions. During the Floyd protests, Dame was front and center of the protest lines going across the bridge, whatever your politics, it was a **** iconic scene at a major historical moment for the city.
So what Dame means to Portland just as a city and outside of basketball is more than most people truly understand (and even some Blazer fans who are purely focused on cap and scores/wins).
All this to say, there are some legitimate questions to be asked here from a roster construction standpoint. It's completely fair to say... this makes no **** sense... and it doesn't. You can squint and see sommmmmeeee logic in it. They clearly wanted leadership and felt that was a major hole in the roster. They got rid of a guy who clearly wasn't all bought in with Ayton. They got rid of Simons who was talented and a good dude, but is not and never will be any sort of lockerroom leader. He's just not that guy. Then they bring in Holiday and Lillard, arguably some of the best lockerroom leaders of this past generation.
You can also take this as a sign they still believe in Scoot but see a clear issue that he lacks maturity and knowhow for being a professional, and in that respect, they're going all-in for him with the best possible mentors he can ever wish for. So this sure seems like a "Hey dude, we're giving you all the parts, a full IKEA instruction booklet AND a YouTube tutorial... If you cant put together this desk with all this help, we're gonna find someone who can" kind of year for FO to Scoot.
But outside of those items, this roster is kind of a mess and all over the place if you're just looking at it logically and objectively. The books are clean though, not in the tax for any real reason, only one really bad contact with Grant and all expire before young guys extensions kick in. And for a team for sale, Cronin has injected just about as much interest and passion humanly possible to excite new owners. He didn't blow up the asset chest for a star like Zion, he's got now an entire country of China hanging on every game if Yang stays healthy for the season and they got a franchise legend returning that's going to get national media attention.
Pattycakes wrote:Green89 wrote:Might be the dumbest career arc I've ever seen in sports.
Only a lame would think this was anything but legendary
DusterBuster wrote:Capn'O wrote:Pattycakes wrote:
Was the #3 pick but otherwise fair. I think they’ll keep Grant. He was only acquired per Dames request. He just needs to learn how not to be a black hole and remember how to play defense.
I just feel like they're in a weird place with him. He's not a star and the team is probably better with Camara starting going forward but he's good enough and paid high enough where he should be starting and should be putting up high level numbers.
I'd love to see the Blazers go after Kuminga. They'd probably have to attach some draft capital to Grant to make that deal work but the Blazers need primary options going forward and he seems more like that than the other young guys they have, many of whom I like. Maybe he and Sharpe could become 1/1A. That lineup is lacking a bit in shooting but relentlessly attacks the rim.
I like Grant for GS too. He can go back to being more of a role player which, as you suggest, is a better spot for him.
After the moves they've made this offseason, Kuminga feels like the total opposite guy they would target. They seem to be purging the less-than-maximum effort / professional type of guys with just straight dumping Ayton and moving Simons for an older, injured and more expensive - but clearly lightyears better leader in Jrue. Spending big money on Kuminga who cant get consistent playing time for a professional coach like Kerr and a serious franchise like the Warriors?... that doesn't seem to align with what's going on in Portland's current FO thinking.
Capn'O wrote:DusterBuster wrote:Capn'O wrote:
I just feel like they're in a weird place with him. He's not a star and the team is probably better with Camara starting going forward but he's good enough and paid high enough where he should be starting and should be putting up high level numbers.
I'd love to see the Blazers go after Kuminga. They'd probably have to attach some draft capital to Grant to make that deal work but the Blazers need primary options going forward and he seems more like that than the other young guys they have, many of whom I like. Maybe he and Sharpe could become 1/1A. That lineup is lacking a bit in shooting but relentlessly attacks the rim.
I like Grant for GS too. He can go back to being more of a role player which, as you suggest, is a better spot for him.
After the moves they've made this offseason, Kuminga feels like the total opposite guy they would target. They seem to be purging the less-than-maximum effort / professional type of guys with just straight dumping Ayton and moving Simons for an older, injured and more expensive - but clearly lightyears better leader in Jrue. Spending big money on Kuminga who cant get consistent playing time for a professional coach like Kerr and a serious franchise like the Warriors?... that doesn't seem to align with what's going on in Portland's current FO thinking.
I've followed him for Build A Franchise (the Knicks' board's dynasty league) because I picked him up there.
I can see that though I would argue that he's raw more than unprofessional. The classic case of a guy who didn't learn how to play in a five man system at a young age but can do a lot on his own. I've gotten the impression that he works hard and is a good kid but there's still a steep learning curve on both ends when it comes to system basketball, and Kerr's a heavily systems oriented coach. When guys like Byron Scott talk about incredibly gifted players who get to the NBA and have never run a three man weave, he's who they're talking about and so you're building a grown man back up from scratch. On the flipside, when he got his career high earlier in the season his teammates (particularly Draymond, who plays the same position, and Steph) were jumping off the bench and celebrating with him. A lot of really good pros on that squad are in his corner and it's partially that they like him but also partially because if he does get it together he can be a really high level player who could have leveled up that team.
This isn't an Ayton situation but it certainly carries risk that he never quite gets there. He's another Scoot moreso than Ayton.
Asianiac_24 wrote:Why would you sign him at 3/42? I’d imagine league minimum would be enough given his Achilles injury.
DusterBuster wrote:The only way I can see the Blazers taking a swing on Kuminga is if the Warriors take back Grant.
In COVID days, Portland was one of the strictest cities and Oregon the strictest states in the country with their restrictions. WWAAYYYY worse than California to extreme levels. People I met from around the country in states like Utah and Idaho at that time took pity on us saying "you guys are doing COVID rough", and they were right! I bring this up to say, Dame actually helped the city loosen those rules because he wanted fans back in the arena and the city started making some exceptions. During the Floyd protests, Dame was front and center of the protest lines going across the bridge, whatever your politics, it was a **** iconic scene at a major historical moment for the city.
So what Dame means to Portland just as a city and outside of basketball is more than most people truly understand (and even some Blazer fans who are purely focused on cap and scores/wins).
