Portland Trailblazers fans: What are your thoughts on Damian Lillard?

[NYK-Mentality85]

First and foremost I'm an NYK fan who comes in peace.

I'm just confused while looking for advice and opinions.

Is Damian Lillard @ 31 years old worth a team giving up all of their talented youth and future draft picks during a trade?

Opinions on his Defense?

I'll be the first to admit that I don't want to trade for Dame and no, not because of Dame as a player; but because I absolutely love finally featuring homegrown talent such as....

(PG) Immanuel Quickley (22 years old).
(SG) R.J Barrett (21 years old).
(PF) Obi Toppin (23 years old).
(C) Mitchell Robinson (23 years old).
(PF) Julius Randle as our FA (26).

+

5 1st round draft picks (throughout next 3 years).

+

A+ Available Salary Cap space.

Etc.

I just feel we're finally building our team the right way for the first time since dating back to our 1990's under Patrick Ewing and the last time we made a big time trade we got absolutely ripped off by Denver for Carmelo Anthony and poor Melo (loved him) never had a chance to win because of mostly crap teammates. It was hard for me to watch as a longtime suffering Knicks fan.

My question is this:

Put yourself in the shoes of a Knicks fan. You guys know way more about your Damian Lillard then I could ever pretend to know.

"Do you guys trade the likes of Immanuel Quickley, R.J Barrett, Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson along with multiple 1st round picks in return of a 31 year old PG your Damian Lillard?"

PS: Thnx you in advance for any type of insight and knowledge that you'll be sharing with me as an NYK fan.

[valleyman33]

I believe Point guards are able to play well into their late 30's. You don't have to go far to see a great example. Look at the high level that Chris Paul is playing. I may be a bit of a homer, but if Dame was playing on a big market team he would be a nationwide super star. Pair him with a great big and the pick-n-roll would be unstoppable. You can see that at times with Nurkic, and it used to drive me nuts that the Blazers would not make their main attack. I think the player Dame gets compared with most often is Stephen Curry. I think Curry may be a better scorer (but not by much!), but Dame is a better all-around player. He is not a great defender, but he is better than Curry. So yes, If Dame was availabIe (i don't think he will be!) and I was the NYK's GM. I would trade anyone except Julius Randle.

[JRoy]

Would rather continue building a team around Lillard and compete for a title.

Not really excited about any of those assets.

NYK should continue building their team the right way and avoid these get rich quick schemes.

[ebott]

Dame isn't getting traded to New York.

[NYK-Mentality85]

Dame isn't getting traded to New York.

I don't know man when there's smoke there's usually fire.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10006829-rj-barrett-trade-rumors-knicks-interested-in-packaging-sg-in-deal-for-lillard-beal.amp.html

Etc etc and the list of stupid rumor articles go on and on.

I hope for the sake of us both the trade doesn't happen. I don't want you guys to lose your beloved Dame and I don't want my Knicks to lose our youth especially RJ Barrett this kid is super special man.

Many people don't realize @ only 21 how truly special RJ Barrett #3 pick out of Duke truly is @ 6'6 (see below).

Statistically speaking...

RJ had a better Freshman year @ Duke than Jordan had as a Junior @ UNC.

• RJ had a better 2nd NBA year than Dame's 2nd NBA season.

• R.J had a better 2nd NBA year than Kobe's 2nd NBA season

• RJ is now having a MUCH better 1st Olympics than Le'Bron's 1st Olympics.

(See for yourselves below).

Throughout 8 games LeBron James combined for (2004 of his first Olympics)

92 minutes played.
43 points.
13 assists.
8 rebounds.
9 turnovers.
19/32 (FG percentage of .593%).
1-1.

Vs.

Throughout 2 games R.J Barrett combined for (2021 of his first Olympics)

56 minutes played.
38 points.
8 assists.
8 rebounds.
3 turnovers.
9/15 (FG percentage of .600%).
2-0.

(12 minute's of future NBA GREATNESS)!

Watch on YouTube

Only 21 years of age? Wtf. I swear Portland fans if my Knicks trade away my favorite player since #33 Patrick Ewing (Pat will always be my childhood #1) I will completely quit on the Knicks and walk away from NBA basketball forever this kid is too special to throw away @ only 21 years of age. I'll just enjoy NCAA Basketball moving forward.

[Dame Lizard]

I'm confident Dame will be an elite player for the next 3-4 years, and will continue to be very good after that.

He's obviously a win-now move. If you're NYK, I would probably only make a blockbuster trade if you think it'll help lure another star to NYK. Given New York is an attractive place to be for athletes, this could be instrumental in a marquee free agent signing.

Also, for what it's worth, if I'm Portland I'd prefer to get Barrett + Salary + more Picks, rather than Barrett + all the players OP listed (Robinson etc) + less Picks, as simply put, I would want a clean and full rebuild if Dame left.

[Village Idiot]

It's a year early to have this conversation. If the Blazers fail again this season, after signing a coach Lillard specifically asked for, then he might actually want out.

Bleacherreport is a pretty bad source for drawing any conclusions. Anybody can write for them.

John Hollinger and David Aldridge actually addressed this yesterday on TheAthletic and this was their intro:

We begin with the obvious: There’s currently about a 0.000338 percent chance the Blazers deal Damian Lillard any time soon.

Currently.

Time — the remaining four years of Lillard’s max contract — is on their side. And new coach Chauncey Billups surely worked up a plan of engagement with his superstar, detailing his vision of a Lillard-centered team before taking the gig in Portland. Billups and GM Neil Olshey will be in lockstep trying to sell the six-time All-Star that real help is coming.

Hollinger does review the Knicks as a potential destination though but feels New Orleans and Golden State provide Portland with better assets.

[DusterBuster]

Really depends on your teams circumstances, but as the Suns are showing, trading for a HOF level PG can pay huge dividends. So yes, it is worth selling the farm for. Dame still has at least 5-6 years of super high level production imo.

[Wizenheimer]

trading for Dame is not worth selling the whole farm. It's worth selling part of the farm. You still want to leave the barn and some of the livestock

for the most part, Portland has significantly overachieved regular season expectations for the last 8 year. That wasn't because of coaching, or multiple all-stars. Dame hasn't played with an all-star since Aldridge left, and Aldridge was mostly of a fringe all-star. Dame can carry a team to the playoffs. But Portland's failing is that they don't have another equivalent talent on the team to deflect defensive focus from Dame once the playoffs start. In the last 7 years, dozens of all-stars have been traded and the Blazers didn't have the assets, or were unwilling to move the assets, that would have paired dame with one of those all-stars

if NY could pair Dame with Randle, they'd already be a step ahead of any team Portland has rolled out since Aldridge left. But they'd still need more of the farm to add to the mix

it's all academic anyway because Dame hasn't asked for a trade and almost certainly won't till Portland tests themselves in next year's playoffs.....assuming they get there

[BlazersBroncos]

Dame isnt getting moved but if he did I actually like NYK's assets more than any other team. Give me picks starting in 2024 w/o protections and RJ + smaller assets. I have posted this before but I would demand:

Barrett
IQ
#19
#32
2023 DAL FRP (Protected 1-10)
2024 NYK FRP (Top-3 Protected)
2025 NYK FRP SWAP (Unprotected)
2026 NYK FRP (Unprotected)
2027 NYK FRP SWAP (Top-3 Protected)
2028 NYK FRP (Unprotected)

Those picks coming in starting 2023 put Dame at 33 and Randle at 28. By the last pick, Dame will be 38 and Randle 33. Those are the types of picks I want. Not some immediate picks that are going to be in the 20's due to Dame being Dame and basically ensuring a PO team.

[Blazers98]

No, that is a why a team might sell some cattle and future cattle for a stud bull.
If you sell the farm, what is the lone stud bull going g to do?

[JasonStern]

Argued with Texas Chuck about this on the T&T board.

No. New York should not trade all of their young prospects and future picks for Dame.

Would Dame make the Knicks better short-term? Likely.

Would Dame, Randle, and a depleted roster get New York past Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.? Maybe if the Knicks are healthy and the other teams suffer from injuries.

Realistically, the Knicks would be at-best a 4 seed, 1st/2nd round playoff fodder. That's what Dame has here in Portland and is complaining about.

"But what if they brought in a third star?" - If the Knicks could easily bring in additional stars, why haven't they already done this? And with no picks or prospects left to trade, you'd be betting everything on free agency. And this is a weak year for that. Kawhi is unlikely to opt out. Chris Paul is likely staying in Phoenix and would be somewhat redundant with Dame. So who do you target? A second PG in Mike Conley? A second PF in John Collins? DeMar DeRozan? Norman Powell?

Knicks are best off not doing anything stupid this off-season and being patient until a better opportunity arises.

[tacos]

Dame isnt getting moved but if he did I actually like NYK's assets more than any other team. Give me picks starting in 2024 w/o protections and RJ + smaller assets. I have posted this before but I would demand:

Barrett
IQ
#19
#32
2023 DAL FRP (Protected 1-10)
2024 NYK FRP (Top-3 Protected)
2025 NYK FRP SWAP (Unprotected)
2026 NYK FRP (Unprotected)
2027 NYK FRP SWAP (Top-3 Protected)
2028 NYK FRP (Unprotected)

Those picks coming in starting 2023 put Dame at 33 and Randle at 28. By the last pick, Dame will be 38 and Randle 33. Those are the types of picks I want. Not some immediate picks that are going to be in the 20's due to Dame being Dame and basically ensuring a PO team.

Instead of selling the farm this would be considered mortgaging the farm right?

[BigLurch92]

Portland is not trading Dame unless he demands a trade. Simple as that. All this hysteria that he is readily available by the media and fans of the big markets teams is laughable.

[Norm2953]

Interesting there is a picture of Dame and Lebron hanging out at a WNBA game fueling a lot of
speculation that in their words, the stars are aligning for Dame joining the Lakers.

Unclear if the Lakers could put together a legal trade for Montrez Harrell and Dennis Schroeder are
in the last year of the contracts and have no draft picks and whether a team with 3 max contracts
and everyone else a minimum deal could win for those 3 and 12 ring chasers would put a mockery
of the NBA salary cap rules

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/lakers-fans-speculate-after-damian-lillard-and-lebron-james-attended-sparks-vs-aces-game-the-stars-are-aligning

[BlazersBroncos]

LAL has nothing near the assets we would demand in a Lillard trade. Nothing. They may be the most asset deficit team in the league. It would take a total character anomaly from Dame to get there, up to threatening to and acting upon a refusal to suit up or play anywhere else. And that isnt Dame.

[monopoman]

The entire sports world wants to blow this issue up to drive more traffic bro.

The #1 thing that drives traffic to sites like ESPN and other sports sites is a disgruntled star that may want to be traded. Notice Lillard has not come out and made these claims publicly so all we have is a few journalists that say it might happen. Though some journalists in the Oregon area have claimed the exact opposite.

I also will point out this is a huge deal because they always speculate these players to big market teams. I see tons of pics of Lillard in a Lakers jersey lately when they have about 0 assets we would really want.

[Norm2953]

LAL has nothing near the assets we would demand in a Lillard trade. Nothing. They may be the most asset deficit team in the league. It would take a total character anomaly from Dame to get there, up to threatening to and acting upon a refusal to suit up or play anywhere else. And that isnt Dame.

It'd be interesting to see if Dame went to the mattresses to get to LA if Portland just called his bluff and told him to
pound sand.

[Jax_Tiger]

The problem is not just talent, but the right mix. You're not going to win a championship without a top notch point guard. You also need the right balance of veteran leadership (what Chris Paul gives the Suns that Devin Booker does not), and young talent.

These kids like Barrett and Quickly will force you to make a decision - do you hitch your wagon too them and hope they bring you a chip, or do you trade assets for elite talent like Damian Lillard. If Barrett, Quickley, et al, get you to the conference semis, but aren't enough to put you over the top, you're going to end up having to pay them when their contracts expire. You can't keep all of them forever, so once your window with them on rookie contracts ends, you decline. Your best bet is to get a veteran superstar while keeping as many of your young pieces as you can. You can't have it both ways, though.

The Timberwolves and the Sixers were both in that type of scenario in the past few years, where they had a plethora of 1st round picks and great young talent. The T-Wolves got Wiggins and Towns, but they still sucked, so they got rid of Wiggins and now they have Edwards. The Sixers got The Process and Simmons. They are having trouble getting the right pieces around them. Both of those teams pretty much tanked in order to get multiple top 3 picks, something the Knicks didn't do. If the Knicks had tanked this year, they would have gotten another top pick on a rookie contract.

The Knicks problem is that they are too good right now and their picks for the foreseeable future aren't going to be that good. They will have to give up twice as many picks to get Dame because having Dame and Randle all but assures that those picks will be in the bottom part of the first round, and therefore less valuable in a trade.

It probably makes sense to trade one or two of the young pieces for a superstar that is a sure thing - like Damian Lillard. The only way I see that happening is if the Blazers can't keep Normal Powell and they are unable to sign a decent free agent to replace him. They need a lineup of Dame/Powell/Nurk/stud SF/RoCo to compete for a chip.

[Jax_Tiger]

BTW - Barret did not have a better second season than Damian Lillard. Lillard had the clutch gene and the intangibles even back then. He averaged 21 points and 5.6 assists in his second year. Barret is a nice player, but he is not that guy who can carry a team like Lillard or Randle. Maybe someday, he will be, but he is not on the same trajectory that Dame was on at that point in his career.