Some could argue knowing we had no chance at winning and no chance at a difference maker in the lottery for a decade was a long stretch of massively bad seasons
Disagree. You'll need good management to build from a bad team to a winning team. I'm not interested in doing that with Jodi. With Dame we always have a shot. We are already closer than we'll get in a 10 year Jodi rebuild, IMO.
"he makes too much" how much should a top-10ish player make? Dame makes 34% of the current salary cap. The projection for the cap next year still has him at 34% of the cap. 10 NBA players make as much as Dame or more; 10 other players make within 6M of Dame which is still over 30% of the cap. 20 players paid at least 30% of the salary cap while Jokic and Embiid will join them next season as for cap-room....LOL...when has that ever mattered for Portland. The last time Portland had cap-space they spent it on Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, and Festus Ezeli....after striking out on Chandler Parsons Blazers don't have good assets because of shitty management over a decade. Dame had nothing to do with that. But sure, lets make it his fault now to try and rationalize trading him away
This Dame's salary is really confusing for me. So, I've got one question. If we put aside all the discussion about "how much he deserves", "we could only spent it on Evan Turner" and other things... If we put it aside and hypothetically assumed, that he make 20 millions a season. What would change in that situation?
I think you’re right. I recently had my Come to Dame moment. There is no trading this guy. Never have we, nor will we again, have a player like Dame. At this point. If I had to choose between Dame retiring a Blazer and a championship, I’d take Dame. Yeah, I said it. (That doesn’t mean that what’s been happening is okay. The city, and Dame, deserve a competitive team.)
Let's just see what happens both on May 16th and June 22nd before we decide what the future of our franchise is. Regardless of the outcome it should be Dame leading the best roster we can muster as far as it can go but we'll see what happens.
Who is saying it is Dame's fault? I've seen a number of posters reason why perhaps Dame should be traded, but apparently have missed on who said it was "his fault". Personally, I have posted that despite his amazing offensive production, it hasn't translated into Playoff success. That isn't saying it's his fault, but rather just a matter of reality. And since it isn't having an impact on the franchise in terms of being a contender, due to my career, I'm a 'sell high' person. He is coming off the best numbers of his career. Perhaps his greatest value to the franchise is what could be returned as this roster needs a LOT of help....more than just one player can provide. It sucks that it has come to this, but waiting much longer, will bring on more age and diminish his value. You would want to make the best of a bad situation and get as much as you could as a franchise. Would it make a difference? Who knows. What we do know, is he was offensively brilliant.....and we are still 3rd from the absolute bottom in the West. 3 of the last 4 years we are sub .500. Players have change, coaches have change, and management has changed. There is only one thing left outside of ownership, which can't be controlled. Saying good-bye is difficult, but at what point do you move on? Or do you just keep doing the same thing. Sometimes it's not anyone's fault, it just doesn't work out and you have to move on. That is the case in business, marriage, sports, and almost any other example. You have the discussion, and make every attempt to move Dame to a place where he can win, but it almost has to be explored. To give Dame the opportunity to win a ring and to help the Blazer franchise have an opportunity to reset. IF the Blazers somehow luck into Wemby, AND can trade Ant and a pick for another bigger, lengthier piece, AND some vets are willing to sign here on the cheap thinking Portland has a shot to win a tittle.....that is about the only way I see Dame having a shot here. That is a lot of "candy and nuts".
Portland does not have to put together the best team to win a title. Just good enough to win a title. There is a difference. A lot can happen during a season. Look at BKN and PHO. If KD isnt healthy then they blew their wad for nothing. Dallas: shit show with arguably the best player in the world. LAC: shit show. LAL: done.
I would try my best to convince him that trading him for the twilight of his career is best for him and the franchise. If I failed, I wouldn’t trade him, so I can’t say #2. But man would I make a strong, strong case.
We need to put together a team that doesn't totally collapse if Dame misses 10 games in a season. The teams we've had over the last... two decades?? have been extremely brittle. We have no depth whatsoever, and we haven't had proper depth since Batum made a 0.5 second tip-in to win the game. So that's... what... 15 years? All that said, I agree we won't get there by trading Dame. But we won't get there by not trading Dame, either, so we should be looking to stat record books to solidify Dame's legacy now. Let him retire a Blazer, and then rebuild. Jodi or no, we won't be contenders until the 2030's.
Lol. Top producer in the history of the franchise. Smart. BBIQ top notch. Community guy off the charts Loyalty unprecedented Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Trade him
All amazing traits. But no where in that list in anything about TEAM success. And I think that is the reason some people are at least considering looking at moving him while you should be able to get amazing assets back for him. Unless we aren't trying to win, which in that case, just continue to roll along in lower mediocrity.
Unless we amass some real talent in the front office, trading dame would be a complete and utter waste. At least here he's still an asset. EDIT: to add, sports above the junior high level is absolutely not about winning. It's about making money. Teams are businesses, and no business is trying to win games; they're trying to be profitable. If he retires here, the team gets a ton of good press (and avoids fan backlash), a ton of ticket sales from the years they kept him, and they save hundreds of millions of dollars by not taking back contracts in trade.
