[Woj] Teams have described Sixers asking price for Simmons' as growing...

[Castle Black]

Sixers fans are smart. It's better to let Ben rot than to trade him for trash.

Normally I’d agree with this as well cause I hate giving into prima donna athlete’s demands. But they have a Top-6 player in the league in Embiid, who’s in the middle of his prime. You can’t waste that. You HAVE to try and capitalize on that, even if it’s a discount (which it will have to be — there’s just no way Philly can get fair compensation for Ben Simmons anymore).

Just trade him to a team like Indiana, who can offer a package of Sabonis or Myles Turner + Chris Duarte + Caris Lavert for Simmons and pick(s) if necessary and be done with it. You get 3 players who become immediate contributors for a championship run. The Sabonis fit is a weird but you can make it work, especially since he and Embiid are interchangeable. Worst case scenario, they give you trade pieces to operate this off-season or next year.

This Ben Simmons thing is 100% a distraction to that team and it’s time to move on from this media circus.

[/url

That's a bad deal for the pacers.

A.) That’s why I said add draft picks, and

B.) Indy has already made it clear they’re trying to blow it up. They’re not going to get a better deal than Ben Simmons and multiple Draft Picks for their rebuild imo.

[Raptors Realtor]

Normally I’d agree with this as well cause I hate giving into prima donna athlete’s demands. But they have a Top-6 player in the league in Embiid, who’s in the middle of his prime. You can’t waste that. You HAVE to try and capitalize on that, even if it’s a discount (which it will have to be — there’s just no way Philly can get fair compensation for Ben Simmons anymore).

Just trade him to a team like Indiana, who can offer a package of Sabonis or Myles Turner + Chris Duarte + Caris Lavert for Simmons and pick(s) if necessary and be done with it. You get 3 players who become immediate contributors for a championship run. The Sabonis fit is a weird but you can make it work, especially since he and Embiid are interchangeable. Worst case scenario, they give you trade pieces to operate this off-season or next year.

This Ben Simmons thing is 100% a distraction to that team and it’s time to move on from this media circus.

[/url

That's a bad deal for the pacers.

A.) That’s why I said add draft picks, and

B.) Indy has already made it clear they’re trying to blow it up. They’re not going to get a better deal than Ben Simmons and multiple Draft Picks for their rebuild imo.

Admittedly I missed the part about the sixers including picks. Simmons for Sabonis looks good straight up, if sixers want Lavert to match salaries or whatever, they should include a 1st rounder which would probably be late teens or in the 20s...

If Indiana is indeed getting ready to rebuild, why would they include their 1st rounder from this past draft, I would think that Duarte would be a piece they'd want to begin the rebuild with?

[Triple M]

No trade happens until the off season. I don't see anyone taking the risk of adding Simmons to their teams right now

[John Murdoch]

Atlanta using that Charlotte pick in Simmons trade?

[agkagk]

Sixers fans are smart. It's better to let Ben rot than to trade him for trash.

Normally I’d agree with this as well cause I hate giving into prima donna athlete’s demands. But they have a Top-6 player in the league in Embiid, who’s in the middle of his prime. You can’t waste that. You HAVE to try and capitalize on that, even if it’s a discount (which it will have to be — there’s just no way Philly can get fair compensation for Ben Simmons anymore).

Just trade him to a team like Indiana, who can offer a package of Sabonis or Myles Turner + Chris Duarte + Caris Lavert for Simmons and pick(s) if necessary and be done with it. You get 3 players who become immediate contributors for a championship run. The Sabonis fit is a weird but you can make it work, especially since he and Embiid are interchangeable. Worst case scenario, they give you trade pieces to operate this off-season or next year.

This Ben Simmons thing is 100% a distraction to that team and it’s time to move on from this media circus.

[/url

Yeah...er....Hollinger's Analysis is bang on there.

-15 wins LMFAO

[DusterBuster]

It's dumb that "Analysis" is even included in there. I know it has some sort of advanced calculations going on based on the collective players +/-'s and all, but it's all pretty random and really doesn't add a lot of context / help.

They should just ditch it, but ESPN also probably forgot this page even exists on their site lol.

[Brandon-Clyde]

as time goes by his value may increase because players around the league may start getting disgruntled and demanding trades. Or G.M.s feel pressured to make a splash to keep their jobs. Or new G.M.s may feel emboldened to make a splash. Or a team with championship aspirations deals with injuries.

Any GM that trades for Simmons is putting their job in jeopardy unless it is an obvious steal of a deal. Trading away a star player on a risky proposition such as Simmons is a guaranteed way to get fired if it doesn't work out.

[Mr B]

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Who's Dallas gonna trade for Simmons, assuming Morey's asking price? None of this makes much sense which is why stars usually get traded for pu pu platters, unless maybe two teams swap disgruntled stars.

I don't think Sixers sitting and waiting is hurting them too much, but it's probably not going to help them much either in terms of scoring that killer deal they apparently want.

That’s just it, I don’t think Dallas is willing to pay what the Sixers are asking for. From the looks of things it doesn’t look anyone is willing to pay the Sixers asking price. Based on the sounds of it they are likely asking for something like KP, Brunson, and multiple 1st round picks which obviously would hurt Dallas more than help them, especially if they are having to also take on Harris’ contract. That would handcuff them from being able to make any future deals.

The speculation is that unless the Sixers come down on their asking price Simmons is likely a part of their team until they do.

[sacking123]

What do people think about the report that Simmons could be 2-3 weeks away from playing once he gets traded? Which is realistic to get prepared.
Let's say the Kings finally budge and give a haul for Simmons a couple of days prior to the deadline. That would mean he wouldn't play until March, which would give him 19 games. How would that even be viable for the Kings to make a push for the POs?
That doesn't count for how the Kings would win without Simmons and whoever they traded (let's say it was Fox in this scenario). How are the Kings going to win games from February 8 through to March 1 with that roster? That is 8 games. It could also be 8 losses. In actual fact it would likely be at least 5 losses anyway in that stretch.

Some believe the Hawks will make a play too given the Reddish trade. Again though, if they wait until the deadline and using the same scenario as the Kings one, the Hawks would have 22 games left from March 1. They do have a lot more depth than the Kings, but taking, let's use Collins for this scenario, out for the 7 games from February 8 to March 1, how much ground are they going to make up when they're already in 12th place.

It makes me think teams will need to deal for him sooner, rather than later, otherwise any real benefit (this season anyway) will be taken away by getting prepared and then integrating him into the team.

[Richard4444]

I wonder if the Sixers are getting hopeful about a future Lillard trade.

Until the beginning of the season, I laugh about a potential Lillard trade. No mid-market team would trade a superstar talent to start over with Ben Simmons plus low draft picks. At last, Portland would begin the season fully healthy and I wonder if they could be a contender. Nance was a good addition. Even meh players like Afernee Simmons, Little were playing much better.

But Lillard's injury is very scary for his trade value. Probably, he will cure this abdomen issue. But he is getting old and these issues could become a tendency. Besides, other factors could have explained his shooting issues.

Furthermore, the team was awful. I don't know if Lillard in his superstar condition will be enough to make the team a wild card contender.

To make things worse, the Blazers cap situation is very concerning. Lillard is asking for a scary SuperMax Extension. The contracts of Afernee (RFA), Nurkic (UFA), and RoCo are ending and they will demand a raise. Lillard + CJ + Norman + Nance already totalizes 100M+. Probably the roster will be downgraded next season.

The Blazers must tank this season and see if they can trade the pick for a star. But the rebuiding way can be tempting.

The Sixers might offer a crazy package around Simmons to get Lillard. Morey will make anything to sell the narrative that he won the trade and got his star.

[Sportfan73]

What do people think about the report that Simmons could be 2-3 weeks away from playing once he gets traded? Which is realistic to get prepared.
Let's say the Kings finally budge and give a haul for Simmons a couple of days prior to the deadline. That would mean he wouldn't play until March, which would give him 19 games. How would that even be viable for the Kings to make a push for the POs?
That doesn't count for how the Kings would win without Simmons and whoever they traded (let's say it was Fox in this scenario). How are the Kings going to win games from February 8 through to March 1 with that roster? That is 8 games. It could also be 8 losses. In actual fact it would likely be at least 5 losses anyway in that stretch.

Some believe the Hawks will make a play too given the Reddish trade. Again though, if they wait until the deadline and using the same scenario as the Kings one, the Hawks would have 22 games left from March 1. They do have a lot more depth than the Kings, but taking, let's use Collins for this scenario, out for the 7 games from February 8 to March 1, how much ground are they going to make up when they're already in 12th place.

It makes me think teams will need to deal for him sooner, rather than later, otherwise any real benefit (this season anyway) will be taken away by getting prepared and then integrating him into the team.

I think we get a deal this week or next for that reason. Rich Paul was literally just in Philly and everything. All the news has heated up. I bet it’s honestly close. Because Philly will want to see if they want to tinker with anything else at the actual deadline as well. I still think it ends up being around Fox

[sacking123]

I wonder if the Sixers are getting hopeful about a future Lillard trade.

Until the beginning of the season, I laugh about a potential Lillard trade. No mid-market team would trade a superstar talent to start over with Ben Simmons plus low draft picks. At last, Portland would begin the season fully healthy and I wonder if they could be a contender. Nance was a good addition. Even meh players like Afernee Simmons, Little were playing much better.

But Lillard's injury is very scary for his trade value. Probably, he will cure this abdomen issue. But he is getting old and these issues could become a tendency. Besides, other factors could have explained his shooting issues.

Furthermore, the team was awful. I don't know if Lillard in his superstar condition will be enough to make the team a wild card contender.

To make things worse, the Blazers cap situation is very concerning. Lillard is asking for a scary SuperMax Extension. The contracts of Afernee (RFA), Nurkic (UFA), and RoCo are ending and they will demand a raise. Lillard + CJ + Norman + Nance already totalizes 100M+. Probably the roster will be downgraded next season.

The Blazers must tank this season and see if they can trade the pick for a star. But the rebuiding way can be tempting.

The Sixers might offer a crazy package around Simmons to get Lillard. Morey will make anything to sell the narrative that he won the trade and got his star.

I think the Blazers would be fools to trade Dame. People were wondering what happened with Dame and why was he not shooting as well as in previous years, was it age? Was it the ball? Well, it was what everyone thought, it was the abdominal injury that he had been carrying since the Olympics. I don't know the specifics of the injury, but in all likelihood, this isn't going to be a factor moving forward and if anything it will freshen him up after a large schedule over the last few seasons.
Honestly, I think the Blazers are in a great position to hit the reset button with Dame and go through a rebuild. Sure it probably ends his hopes of a championship with the Blazers, but I believe he gave his blessing to a rebuild.

[Richard4444]

I wonder if the Sixers are getting hopeful about a future Lillard trade.

Until the beginning of the season, I laugh about a potential Lillard trade. No mid-market team would trade a superstar talent to start over with Ben Simmons plus low draft picks. At last, Portland would begin the season fully healthy and I wonder if they could be a contender. Nance was a good addition. Even meh players like Afernee Simmons, Little were playing much better.

But Lillard's injury is very scary for his trade value. Probably, he will cure this abdomen issue. But he is getting old and these issues could become a tendency. Besides, other factors could have explained his shooting issues.

Furthermore, the team was awful. I don't know if Lillard in his superstar condition will be enough to make the team a wild card contender.

To make things worse, the Blazers cap situation is very concerning. Lillard is asking for a scary SuperMax Extension. The contracts of Afernee (RFA), Nurkic (UFA), and RoCo are ending and they will demand a raise. Lillard + CJ + Norman + Nance already totalizes 100M+. Probably the roster will be downgraded next season.

The Blazers must tank this season and see if they can trade the pick for a star. But the rebuiding way can be tempting.

The Sixers might offer a crazy package around Simmons to get Lillard. Morey will make anything to sell the narrative that he won the trade and got his star.

I think the Blazers would be fools to trade Dame. People were wondering what happened with Dame and why was he not shooting as well as in previous years, was it age? Was it the ball? Well, it was what everyone thought, it was the abdominal injury that he had been carrying since the Olympics. I don't know the specifics of the injury, but in all likelihood, this isn't going to be a factor moving forward and if anything it will freshen him up after a large schedule over the last few seasons.
Honestly, I think the Blazers are in a great position to hit the reset button with Dame and go through a rebuild. Sure it probably ends his hopes of a championship with the Blazers, but I believe he gave his blessing to a rebuild.

Do you think they can keep Dame and rebuild with young players? This would be foolish. To not be a contender, it makes no sense to keep Lillard.

Lillard is supporting a retooling expecting a roster upgrade. But it will be hard and risky to try to upgrade the roster. Its a seller's market and the Blazers do not have a lot of assets (excepting the next pick). If they are keeping Lillard and getting another star, their future picks should be low.

[Pointgod]

You are missing half of the point. Yes teams would ideally like to get Simmons for some random pieces and a protected pick. But the Sixers would also like to get an upgrade for Simmons. A trade requires two willing part. The Sixers will wait until they find a team that is forced to trade their star, or they might be forced themselve to trade Simmons for wahtever reason. They are not going to willingly take players like CJ, Russell etc unless they get enough picks to trade for a star shortly after.

Morey's plan might fail but i dont get why people here, non SIxers fans, are so fixated with Morey making (and losing) a trade now. Other teams have pressure and are not doing well too but people dont write post after post blaming their GM for not making a bad trade.

I’d agree with your analysis of Morey’s plan if Simmons was playing right now and in good standing around the league. But Simmons has asked out, teams aren’t stupid and they know Simmons has asked out. What exposed Morey’s bluff is that Simmons is apparently a crazy **** that’s willing to sit out and burn millions of dollars.

Let’s go back through the history of the NBA. When has an allstar player who’s asked for a trade gotten a better player in return? Go back and look at the major trades over the past 10 years, 20 years. It doesn’t happen because GMs aren’t complete idiots, they know once a player has publicly made a trade demand, the team trading them loses some leverage. I’d say the Simmons has even less value because he’s on track to not play the whole year and there’s a risk he could pull the same stunt with whatever team trades for him. If I’m trading my best player it’s to either rebuild and get assets like the Harden trade or get a lesser player that keeps me competitive and assets like the Kawahi trade. What Morey is trying to do is get 1.50 on the dollar for a guy who’s literally refusing to play for you. Complete insanity.

What's your point here?. That Morey should willingly lose the trade because other teams (not all, maybe not most) in the same situation were forced to make a bad trade?
I am not even sure what people are arguing for. That Morey had some reasonable offers but he did not take them because of his pride or because he wants to win every trade? I find that view a bit naive. Or that he should accept his fate and make a bad trade because a team in the past was forced to do it? Every situation is different, the Sixers still have their main star so they are not looking for a rebuild but to actually get better (attaching some picks to get an upgrade likely). Maybe it works, maybe it doesnt. I am not sure what purpose a bad trade serves right now. For the Sixers waiting is still better than making a bad trade.

Also Simmons value is really irrelevant with whether he is playing or not. He is still young and everyone knows what he (and cant) do, everyone knows that this "physicological issues" are not really real. Teams just thought that the Sixers would be forced to make a trade and were looking to fleece them so that they could improve their team. Which makes sense but the Sixers dont have to take their offers. If/when a team is forced to make a trade they will have to value Simmons properly and thats what Morey is waiting for.

It’s not a binary choice either win or lose. That’s just what Morey and Sixers fans have deluded themselves into believing. Basically what Morey should have done was to trade Simmons when his value was the highest (around the draft or during free agency). He easily could have gotten a trade that keeps the Sixers competitive in the short term and also gets them assets to make a big trade down the line. I’ve seen the rumours of the proposed offers for Simmons, most teams weren’t trying to fleece the Sixers, it was Morey that was the unreasonable one which this article backs up.

[VDT]

I’d agree with your analysis of Morey’s plan if Simmons was playing right now and in good standing around the league. But Simmons has asked out, teams aren’t stupid and they know Simmons has asked out. What exposed Morey’s bluff is that Simmons is apparently a crazy **** that’s willing to sit out and burn millions of dollars.

Let’s go back through the history of the NBA. When has an allstar player who’s asked for a trade gotten a better player in return? Go back and look at the major trades over the past 10 years, 20 years. It doesn’t happen because GMs aren’t complete idiots, they know once a player has publicly made a trade demand, the team trading them loses some leverage. I’d say the Simmons has even less value because he’s on track to not play the whole year and there’s a risk he could pull the same stunt with whatever team trades for him. If I’m trading my best player it’s to either rebuild and get assets like the Harden trade or get a lesser player that keeps me competitive and assets like the Kawahi trade. What Morey is trying to do is get 1.50 on the dollar for a guy who’s literally refusing to play for you. Complete insanity.

What's your point here?. That Morey should willingly lose the trade because other teams (not all, maybe not most) in the same situation were forced to make a bad trade?
I am not even sure what people are arguing for. That Morey had some reasonable offers but he did not take them because of his pride or because he wants to win every trade? I find that view a bit naive. Or that he should accept his fate and make a bad trade because a team in the past was forced to do it? Every situation is different, the Sixers still have their main star so they are not looking for a rebuild but to actually get better (attaching some picks to get an upgrade likely). Maybe it works, maybe it doesnt. I am not sure what purpose a bad trade serves right now. For the Sixers waiting is still better than making a bad trade.

Also Simmons value is really irrelevant with whether he is playing or not. He is still young and everyone knows what he (and cant) do, everyone knows that this "physicological issues" are not really real. Teams just thought that the Sixers would be forced to make a trade and were looking to fleece them so that they could improve their team. Which makes sense but the Sixers dont have to take their offers. If/when a team is forced to make a trade they will have to value Simmons properly and thats what Morey is waiting for.

If you believe that teams already know what Simmons can/can't do, why would any team trade a better player for him? Why would any team that is desperate not just trade for the players that the Sixers are so desperately trying to trade Simmons for (i.e. Beal, Lillard)?

People keep saying "why should Morey accept a bad deal" or "why should other teams be able to fleece the Sixers"... why exactly should the Sixers be allowed to fleece another team? Trading Simmons for a guy like Fox or Russell isn't a bad deal, it's close to fair value. Which is why everyone keeps harping why it's so ridiculous that this drama is still going. It's entirely Morey's fault for overvaluing his own asset and treating the rest of the league like they are stupid.

Russell is garbage, he doesn't have a place on a good team. Probably the same for Fox. I am not even sure why non Sixers fans care about this " drama". I dont see any Sixers fan complaining here.

The Sixers dont have to fleece anyone, they could add some picks to balance the trade. The key though is to find a team that doesnt want to compete but is forced to trade their star and rebuild. Despite what people may think, you can have a balanced trade if two teams are going the opposite directions. It is very hard to have a balanced (or any really)major trade between two teams that want to get better.
The Sixers are in the weird situation that they have a star that asked out but their main star us still on the team. As a result, the Sixers are looking to get better, which why i dont see them trading with any team that also wants to get better. They are waiting to find a team that is forced to rebuild so that they can trade with them.

[sacking123]

I wonder if the Sixers are getting hopeful about a future Lillard trade.

Until the beginning of the season, I laugh about a potential Lillard trade. No mid-market team would trade a superstar talent to start over with Ben Simmons plus low draft picks. At last, Portland would begin the season fully healthy and I wonder if they could be a contender. Nance was a good addition. Even meh players like Afernee Simmons, Little were playing much better.

But Lillard's injury is very scary for his trade value. Probably, he will cure this abdomen issue. But he is getting old and these issues could become a tendency. Besides, other factors could have explained his shooting issues.

Furthermore, the team was awful. I don't know if Lillard in his superstar condition will be enough to make the team a wild card contender.

To make things worse, the Blazers cap situation is very concerning. Lillard is asking for a scary SuperMax Extension. The contracts of Afernee (RFA), Nurkic (UFA), and RoCo are ending and they will demand a raise. Lillard + CJ + Norman + Nance already totalizes 100M+. Probably the roster will be downgraded next season.

The Blazers must tank this season and see if they can trade the pick for a star. But the rebuiding way can be tempting.

The Sixers might offer a crazy package around Simmons to get Lillard. Morey will make anything to sell the narrative that he won the trade and got his star.

I think the Blazers would be fools to trade Dame. People were wondering what happened with Dame and why was he not shooting as well as in previous years, was it age? Was it the ball? Well, it was what everyone thought, it was the abdominal injury that he had been carrying since the Olympics. I don't know the specifics of the injury, but in all likelihood, this isn't going to be a factor moving forward and if anything it will freshen him up after a large schedule over the last few seasons.
Honestly, I think the Blazers are in a great position to hit the reset button with Dame and go through a rebuild. Sure it probably ends his hopes of a championship with the Blazers, but I believe he gave his blessing to a rebuild.

Do you think they can keep Dame and rebuild with young players? This would be foolish. To not be a contender, it makes no sense to keep Lillard.

Lillard is supporting a retooling expecting a roster upgrade. But it will be hard and risky to try to upgrade the roster. Its a seller's market and the Blazers do not have a lot of assets (excepting the next pick). If they are keeping Lillard and getting another star, their future picks should be low.

I believe Lillard said would still stay with the Blazers if they want to rebuild. That is a unique thing in pro sports these days.
He is also supporting a roster upgrade too so he understands this roster can't work. He is wanting them to pick a direction and go full on into whatever that may be. It seems, no matter what that is, he wants to be part of it.

The Blazers can get rebuilding pieces for CJ, Nurkic and Nance. Potentially can flip the expiring of Covington and they would just need to find a suitor for Powell which might be a little more difficult.
CJ could just bring back a nice asset and Nurkic, Nance, Covington, average assets.
The Blazers can head into next season with potentially a top 5 draft pick along with a number of other assets and some cap space to take on salary for more assets.
If a player of Dame's stature wants to stay with the Blazers for his entire career then you do it IMO. If he wants to go for a ring late in his career with someone else then you facilitate that.
Don't forget a lot of people wrote off CP3 a few years ago and he is still collecting checks and getting it done. He has had a way more injury-riddled career than Dame and he is on a championship contender at the moment, aged 36.

[VDT]

I’d agree with your analysis of Morey’s plan if Simmons was playing right now and in good standing around the league. But Simmons has asked out, teams aren’t stupid and they know Simmons has asked out. What exposed Morey’s bluff is that Simmons is apparently a crazy **** that’s willing to sit out and burn millions of dollars.

Let’s go back through the history of the NBA. When has an allstar player who’s asked for a trade gotten a better player in return? Go back and look at the major trades over the past 10 years, 20 years. It doesn’t happen because GMs aren’t complete idiots, they know once a player has publicly made a trade demand, the team trading them loses some leverage. I’d say the Simmons has even less value because he’s on track to not play the whole year and there’s a risk he could pull the same stunt with whatever team trades for him. If I’m trading my best player it’s to either rebuild and get assets like the Harden trade or get a lesser player that keeps me competitive and assets like the Kawahi trade. What Morey is trying to do is get 1.50 on the dollar for a guy who’s literally refusing to play for you. Complete insanity.

What's your point here?. That Morey should willingly lose the trade because other teams (not all, maybe not most) in the same situation were forced to make a bad trade?
I am not even sure what people are arguing for. That Morey had some reasonable offers but he did not take them because of his pride or because he wants to win every trade? I find that view a bit naive. Or that he should accept his fate and make a bad trade because a team in the past was forced to do it? Every situation is different, the Sixers still have their main star so they are not looking for a rebuild but to actually get better (attaching some picks to get an upgrade likely). Maybe it works, maybe it doesnt. I am not sure what purpose a bad trade serves right now. For the Sixers waiting is still better than making a bad trade.

Also Simmons value is really irrelevant with whether he is playing or not. He is still young and everyone knows what he (and cant) do, everyone knows that this "physicological issues" are not really real. Teams just thought that the Sixers would be forced to make a trade and were looking to fleece them so that they could improve their team. Which makes sense but the Sixers dont have to take their offers. If/when a team is forced to make a trade they will have to value Simmons properly and thats what Morey is waiting for.

It’s not a binary choice either win or lose. That’s just what Morey and Sixers fans have deluded themselves into believing. Basically what Morey should have done was to trade Simmons when his value was the highest (around the draft or during free agency). He easily could have gotten a trade that keeps the Sixers competitive in the short term and also gets them assets to make a big trade down the line. I’ve seen the rumours of the proposed offers for Simmons, most teams weren’t trying to fleece the Sixers, it was Morey that was the unreasonable one which this article backs up.

Morey and the Sixers want to win the title. I am pretty sure that if they got an offer that turned them into contenders he would immediately agree to that. The reality is probably that the only offers have been from teams that want to improve themselves, offering mediocre/bad players for Simmons. I would do the same but the Sixers dont have to accept their offers.

Also, i dont think that Morey cares about winning the trade per se. He cares about getting an upgrade and building a contender, meaning that he could add some picks to bridge whatever value gap. The Sixers want to improve which is why it is almost impossible to find a reasonable deal with other teams that want to improve. It is a zero sum game. Morey is just waiting for a team that is forced to trade their star and rebuild.

[srhcan]

I seriously hope Ben get out of that hellhole ASAP, very toxic

[Richard4444]

I think the Blazers would be fools to trade Dame. People were wondering what happened with Dame and why was he not shooting as well as in previous years, was it age? Was it the ball? Well, it was what everyone thought, it was the abdominal injury that he had been carrying since the Olympics. I don't know the specifics of the injury, but in all likelihood, this isn't going to be a factor moving forward and if anything it will freshen him up after a large schedule over the last few seasons.
Honestly, I think the Blazers are in a great position to hit the reset button with Dame and go through a rebuild. Sure it probably ends his hopes of a championship with the Blazers, but I believe he gave his blessing to a rebuild.

Do you think they can keep Dame and rebuild with young players? This would be foolish. To not be a contender, it makes no sense to keep Lillard.

Lillard is supporting a retooling expecting a roster upgrade. But it will be hard and risky to try to upgrade the roster. Its a seller's market and the Blazers do not have a lot of assets (excepting the next pick). If they are keeping Lillard and getting another star, their future picks should be low.

I believe Lillard said would still stay with the Blazers if they want to rebuild. That is a unique thing in pro sports these days.
He is also supporting a roster upgrade too so he understands this roster can't work. He is wanting them to pick a direction and go full on into whatever that may be. It seems, no matter what that is, he wants to be part of it.

The Blazers can get rebuilding pieces for CJ, Nurkic and Nance. Potentially can flip the expiring of Covington and they would just need to find a suitor for Powell which might be a little more difficult.
CJ could just bring back a nice asset and Nurkic, Nance, Covington, average assets.
The Blazers can head into next season with potentially a top 5 draft pick along with a number of other assets and some cap space to take on salary for more assets.
If a player of Dame's stature wants to stay with the Blazers for his entire career then you do it IMO. If he wants to go for a ring late in his career with someone else then you facilitate that.
Don't forget a lot of people wrote off CP3 a few years ago and he is still collecting checks and getting it done. He has had a way more injury-riddled career than Dame and he is on a championship contender at the moment, aged 36.

1) I am not saying Lillard is washed. But there is a risk he can be washed sooner as most people think. The Front Office has to manage that risk.

2) Make no sense to keep Lillard while rebuilding. Lillard will disrupt the tanking and the odds to get a high pick. Portland will consolidate as a treadmill team.

3) Lillard wants that Supermax contract. He will push for it.

4) Portland will not say publically they want to trade Lillard. It would only reduce his value and harm the relationship with Lillard. Especially when teams keep calling them offering trades...

[alevirfe]

makes me think about the long term effect this situation will have on the league

it's certainly not the first time this has happened - recently with Anthony Davis or years back with Dwight Howard

BUT in recent years, the star player has gotten his way and been able to force a trade to a more desirable team, despite being under contract (think Paul George signing a max deal and successfully pressuring a deal to LA a year later)

in some ways, Philly/Morey are putting up a fight that might make players think twice and help smaller market teams that are forced to deal with no leverage