A heretical thought / And something about Orlando

ORL has no interest in Dame.

 

why would they? Their best player is like 20 y/o. Match him with a supermax 32 y/o???

 

Incorrect

 

Correct

 

This is the kind of thing that weakens everything you say, because it’s so obviously untrue. No one on this board hates Lillard. I certainly don’t. I love the guy and I’m grateful for everything he’s done for Portland. But I’m also a realist, and I don’t see any trade out there that can make Portland a title-contender next season.

 

I usually stay out of these back-and-forth's, but I have to disagree with this. I don't hate Dame by any means, but I don't see how he can lead a championship team and for a couple reasons. His salary being one and his style of play being another. He is much like Harden in the fact he needs the ball in his hands from one end of the court to the other. It is really hard to get role players to play in that system, but it is even harder to get top level players to do so and he needs that around him like most stars do in order to win it. More of a perspective than hate I would say...and least in my case.

 

How about this idea from Orlando's aside if things??

 

I'm in on either, but ideally the one with Harris.

 

There isn't a single trade for a single player that can make us a contender next season.

I don't think anybody is saying there is.

 

but posters are advocating trading for Embiid, which would take the #3 plus emptying the roster of most everything of value but Dame plus several future 1sts... are they taking that position in hopes the team is mediocre?

Regardless, add an s to the end of trade in the post you quoted and you no longer need to split this hair.

STOMP

 

oh please. At the very least in this case it's needlessly inflammatory language trying to demean those he disagrees with about building around Dame as overly emotional and not reality based.

There is no player ever without weaknesses. Pointing to a weakness of a great player instead of pretending it doesn't exist isn't hating on the guy, it's realistically looking at them and what they bring to the team. In the end it is a team game and you need multiple talents that mesh to win, guys who compliment each other & cover weaknesses. For me anyway, the whole point of participating in a forum is to have discussions about what I'm interested in. I'd much rather the back and forths be reality based instead of personal attacks.

STOMP

 

I think there are multiple trades we could make which could make us a contender with Dame, depending on the development of some of our younger guys. We'll have to do everything just right... but it's not impossible.

But I've heard this "there is no trade that makes Portland a contender next season" argument a lot, even at the national level. And I'm not sure why. Nobody has said it needs to be a single trade, and nobody has said we need to be a contender next season.

 

I don’t understand why this argument about “building around Dame” is even a thing. There is no argument that it’s going to be the course the Blazers are taking this summer. Cronin said with no uncertainty in his interview after the deadline that the team is committed to building a contender around Dame. He said Jody is committed to it. He said that they are going to push all of their chips in to make it happen. We can, and do, have varying opinions about whether that’s smart or whether it’s likely to succeed. We can have varying opinions about exactly what that means, especially given the fact that the Blazers’ draft position has been enhanced since the time Cronin said those things. But, this endless debate about trading Dame is stupid. It’s not happening unless he lets it be known that he wants out. From everything he’s said, that’s not happening unless the team does an about face and moves towards a total rebuild.

 

Translation: "I believe the official line implicitly and I don't like you straying from it"

 

Don't make me watch that video to know what the idea is.
I kinda like the idea of getting the #6 pick and drafting both Thompson twins...

 

It is funny how many "talking heads," thought that one trade could make Phoenix and Dallas both contenders.....
but one trade can't make Portland a contender? Not sure I see much of a difference between Dame, Doncic, or Booker. Those teams gave up too much for an older piece of the puzzle. We need to make sure we don't.

 

I’ve never said either of those things.