We've needed a GM who can make things happen for years. Lack of execution can always be excused one way or another. Hopefully next time is different.
I don't believe there's any spite from Dame or the Blazers front office..Dame has said he has nothing but love and respect for the Blazers and Joe has said that he failed Dame publicly and that he needed to be patient in order to make the Blazers better. Chauncey has said he talks with Dame, I'm sure the business and the so called vitriol are not the same issue that's being played out in the media. I just can't see it. Goodwin I think they have some issues with. Joe refused to put Sharpe into any trade deals which was a sticking point in dealing with Toronto and Boston early in the off season. I heard everyone wanted Sharpe and not so many wanted Ant. Joe had to take that into consideration and whatever triggered Dame's camp is pointing to his agent in my view.
don't forget to act stupid when not being aggressive Cronin draft day - "We’ll see how Chauncey decides to use Scoot year one, but I could see it being… {brainfreeze engage} ... y’know, I don’t know how he’s going to do it, if he’s going to use him as a backup or use him as a starter, or swing him, I don’t know how he’s going to do it."
The least risk averse path? Keeping CJ and running it back yet one more time would have been easy. Both Sharpe and Scoot could be failures. Getting a mediocre return for them to keep Dame happy would have been the safe bet. Taking a flyer on a high price guy that can leave within a year (if ownership even would be willing to entertain that) and make Dame disgruntled and ask out again is a risk that is not worth having. Every decision has to be a combination of risk/reward. Giving 2 high-ceiling, low cost assets for a 1 year of J-Brown is a risk that is not worth taking, imho. If he could not get a championship next to Tatum and the roster Boston had - he was far from a slam dunk in a team with a roster that included Dame, Grant and spare parts. There is risk taking and there is jumping of the bridge thinking the water 100ft below will not be as hard as concrete at the moment of impact.
He stated he was willing and obligated to be aggressive in building around Dame. If he then wasn't aggressive in building around Dame and chose to a completely different direction, how is that not a lie?
That's your opinion. In my opinion, asking Dame and others to sit 2 seasons in a row to tank was aggressively attempting to improve the team. Also in my opinion, the Blazers may have struck gold in both drafts. This wasn't the way Dame wanted to improve, but again in my opinion, Cronin probably improved the team more than he could have in a trade, while at the same time not selling out the future.
There's a difference between a "lie" and an attempted failure. You have just drawn that line in the sand throughout this whole ordeal Torey. I've never bought into that narrative that Joe forced Dame out at all. Quite the opposite. I think something nobody talks about is more than likely to have led to Dame's request and it's less roster oriented and more coaching oriented...last two years we gave Dame a rookie coach and Spoelstra in my view is the best coach in the league. Dame is not dumb and I'm sure Jimmy and Bam have driven that point home. If you want a chip soon it's not a stretch to go with the guy who consistently gets to the dance. Listening to Dame's new music there's a lot about money and paying millions in taxes...I'm pretty sure that's another thing that affects Dame's decision making. They don't call him DOLLA for nothing
I'm willing and extremely committed to be very aggressive in getting 20k subscribers next year. If I ultimate end up with 9k subscribers would I be a liar?
This 100%. In both drafts the Blazers did what’s best for the franchise. The trades weren’t there for the picks. Toronto overplayed their hand with the 7th pick in 22’. Joe made all the right decisions for the team’s future. Nobody lied, Joe tried, it takes 2 to tango and teams weren’t willing to step up. Joe made the right moves with what he had.
Depends. Did you actively avoid actions that would have been likely to increase your follower count? If so, then one could reasonably conclude that your commitment claim was overstated.
What deal did Joe reject that would have netted a better return than Sharpe, Grant or Scoot? I sure didn't hear about any...
probably any deal that was available, or offered/suggested, was one that would deplete the blazers of any youth. I.e., Ant, Shaedon and #3 for Brown, who could just leave at the end of the year. Or those 3 for Bridges, which would be an insane and massive overpay and really was based on 20 something games he played for with the Nets. Or those 3 for OG, which would be a massive overpay too (and he could leave after the year). So all in all, each of those trades could be franchise crippling, and depleting the only young talent they have that could usher in the next "generation" of Blazers.
None of that would have gotten the Blazers closer to a title though... seriously. Would any of those deals have made us any more competitive at all?
MORE competitive, yes. But 4-5-6 at best, and most likely 5. Not worth, imho, mortgaging the future for at best more of the same mediocre results. I think Damian had an unrealistic expectation of what they could do to appease him (I mean ffs, he thought Keljin was an NBA talent).
I’ve asked this question 1000 times and only got crickets. I’ve also asked what is Miami’s actual offer……still waiting
