Damian Lillard Appreciation Thread

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Trailblazers76 said:
Forgive me if this has been posted but here's a bit from Dame's goodbye letter to Portland. He really is a class act. Thanks for the memories Dame!

He concluded his letter by reflecting on how special his time here was, saying he leaves “with nothing by love for the fans and this city.”

“Even in this moment I feel sad that we never accomplished what I so badly wanted to. I don’t cry much, but I know my love for you is real because I am for sure dropping some tears right now,” Lillard said. “Rip City you know my heart and where I stand because I’ve stood there for over a decade so to have to move off my square hurts my heart.”

Saying the show must go on with or without him, the Letter O bid Blazers fans goodbye while instilling the slightest, aching glimmer of hope for the future.

“I do believe a day will come where I put a Blazers uniform on again, and hopefully by then I’ll be forgiven for breaking your hearts along with my own.”

Damian Lillard writes long, heartfelt letter to Rip City: ‘Dame Time has run out’ - oregonlive.com
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One of the cool things about the letter is that you know Dame wrote, not his agent.
 
RonBrewer said:
This is a fair take and i don't disagree with it at all. But man, regardless of all of that, i am crushed that he possibly had a change of heart and there wasn't a spot for him. Perhaps he was run by his agent. Maybe he never wanted to go as far as they went with it. Dame hasn't really said much at all other than he wanted to go to Miami. He's not really even dogged the staff until now and that wasn't even really dogging them.

I just hate it for the guy i loved for so many years. I have a big heart. A lot of these fans wanted him gone regardless and i was good either way. I just can't stand it that this is where the relationship ended up
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It ended more contentious than it needed to it seems. Much of that may be on Goodwin, but he doesn't do that without Dame's permission.

But the waffling had been going on for a couple of seasons. What was the direction? There may have to be some discussions. I want to be where I can compete. That wasn't going to end if he stayed here. He was doing constant interviews for the passed couple of of seasons that did nothing but raise questions.
So the natural next step happened.... and to an amazing opportunity for him. Always liked the Giannis version of the Bucks and will even moreso now.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
One of the cool things about the letter is that you know Dame wrote, not his agent.
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Really? I thought the opposite. Dame put in the thank yous, then Goodwin's office cleaned up the grammar and syntax. As for the last page, it seems a bit calculated to me. That doesn't mean it wasn't heartfelt (it got me, absolutely), but it was too smooth to be from Dame only.

My guess is that farewell letter was worked on like a State of the Union speech.
 
maxiep said:
Really? I thought the opposite. Dame put in the thank yous, then Goodwin's office cleaned up the grammar and syntax. As for the last page, it seems a bit calculated to me. That doesn't mean it wasn't heartfelt (it got me, absolutely), but it was too smooth to be from Dame only.

My guess is that farewell letter was worked on like a State of the Union speech.
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It was written in All Caps so clearly it was written by one of you older folks :devilwink:
 
Natebishop3 said:
No. He would not get fined if he publicly rescinded his trade request. Or said that he tried to rescind it. They were warned not to tamper with other teams.
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Good point. I just think after that, all talks went private, regardless. Reports coming out seem to indicate this as well.
 
Perhaps a bit off-topic, but Joe Biden eulogized Dianne Feinstein's passing by calling her "a trail blazer and a friend". I immediately saw the parallel. Fare thee well, Dame.
 
maxiep said:
Perhaps a bit off-topic, but Joe Biden eulogized Dianne Feinstein's passing by calling her "a trail blazer and a friend". I immediately saw the parallel. Fare thee well, Dame.
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At first glance I thought you said Joe Biden EUTHANIZED Dianne Feinstein... had a different tone :lol:
 
I’m going to miss the big shots.

I’m going to miss the games where he goes nuclear and cannot be stopped.

I’m going to miss having dame rep our city.

We are going to miss his leadership and mentoring.

I’m not going to miss the rap.

I’m not going to miss the cryptic tweets.

I’m not going to miss the treadmill.

I’m ready to turn the page and I hope he wins in Milwaukee.
 
andalusian said:
Didn't make it for a couple of years with him, so it was time to rebuild.
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We didn't make it because we tried not to. If Dame were given the green light at the end of either season we would have made it in at least to the play-in and I don't think anyone would ever want to face Dame in a winner take all. That being said we weren't beating any playoff caliber team in a 7 game series. So I guess it was good to get off the treadmill and oh boy does this take the pressure off of Joe and Chauncey for at least a couple of seasons.
 
I also appreciate that Chris Haynes will now be bothering the Bucks. He’s gonna be at their media day.
 
THE HCP said:
I think I’ve asked this on here a few times…….So you think we didn’t make the playoffs BECAUSE of him?
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Partially, yes.

Small guard, suspect defense, huge salary and a collection of bad roster decisions influenced by him over the years.

It's hard to build a contender when this kind of player is your best player, only team in recent history that managed this is gsw, they had the benefit of an even better player on both sides of the floor in Curry, started to build that contender when he was on much smaller salary and could build a roster around him, made some ruthless roster decisions and are willing to pay way more than most given the market they are in.

To pretend otherwise is silly.

Asked and answered.
 
THE HCP said:
I think I’ve asked this on here a few times…….So you think we didn’t make the playoffs BECAUSE of him?
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No... but because of style of play, size of contract for the lack of defense and size, how far the team went was going to be limited as well.

Incredible offensive player, but almost without exception, no team is leading a team to an NBA title with the type of player Dame is a their best player. Historically, it is stuck an anomaly. With the Bucks, he will be the 2nd best player while being the clutch guy and a team leader and will be much more successful.
 
With long-time and intense fans like those in this forum, Dame's shortcomings are highlighted and those attributes that make him special are minimized. We take for granted not only his willingness to take the big shot, but his coolness under pressure. The way he shouldered the burden of this franchise.

Rebuilding will be exciting, but I would rather have lost with Dame always in a Blazer uniform than rebuilt without him. I know that sounds silly, but there was something romantic about a superstar embracing our community and wanting to be here. We are unlikely to see that again in many of our lifetimes.

We're back to being a quiet backwater in the NBA.
 
It shouldn't matter, but now that we seemed to have gotten a decent haul for Dame, his and his agent's behavior at the end is mitigated for me.

I am now hoping he gets Mark Mason's home introduction and the fans give him a long-standing ovation. What he does to us on the floor doesn't matter. Furthermore, I hope we give him a nice post-game interview/thanks (pre-game he'll be too focused).

Had he gone to Miami for that excrement sandwich they had offered, I would have been more bitter.

It shouldn't be that way. My feelings toward Dame shouldn't be impacted by the return we got for him, yet they are.
 
It was crazy seeing Lillard in a Bucks jersey. Shocking to hear him talk about great players he could pass to. Much different atmosphere.

Usually we hear from Dame all the things he wants to do on the court. Never has Lillard been the Bishop on a chess board. He's always been the King surrounded by pawns.
 
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