Damian Lillard meets with owner Paul Allen over team direction

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Who knows what of that is actually true, but I didn't see any votes of confidence in Olshey being listed...

barfo
 
Now we know why they were interested in Jordan. I bet with the recent Kevin Love thing his name will be mentioned too.
 
This doesn’t sound good for Olshey. He’s gotta be on thin ice.

The three point wing part screams Mirotic.​

https://t.co/faRcAajPDi?amp=1

Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard met with team owner Paul Allen to gather an understanding of the organization's direction, league sources told ESPN.

The two met discreetly for approximately one hour in Allen's office at Moda Center prior to hosting the Indiana Pacers last Thursday, sources said. It was the first home game Allen attended in 2018.

Lillard, who turns 28 on July 15, requested the meeting in part to reaffirm his commitment to the only professional franchise he has ever suited up for, but also to gain assurances that the organization was just as devoted to expeditiously crafting a title-contending team, sources said.

According to sources, the meeting was held without knowledge of anyone else in the organization. Allen notified the Trail Blazers' basketball operations and business branch afterward.

In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Allen feared Lillard would request a trade, sources said, but a trade request was not made. The two-time All-Star made it clear, though, that he has championship aspirations and wanted to fulfill those lofty goals during the remaining years of his prime window.

Portland, winners of three of its past four, is currently 25-22 and stationed seventh in the Western Conference standings. The 2012-13 Rookie of the Year has led his team to the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, but has yet to advance past the second round.

It's not unprecedented for Allen to meet with marquee players of his franchise. He is also the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and frequently has sit-downs with some of the key players, a source said.

This was the first time Lillard and Allen have spoken in such a capacity, however. The meeting, which sources described as a productive, open forum to share opinions and express concerns, could also lead to more sit-downs in the future.

During the gathering, Allen also sought answers.

Allen acknowledged the roster imbalance, but questioned why the team had suffered through an inconsistent first half. Lillard issued a heartfelt vote of confidence for head coach Terry Stotts, sources said.

They also discussed players to target. The New York Times' Marc Stein recently reported the Trail Blazers are one of the teams trying to engage in trade talks with the LA Clippers for big man DeAndre Jordan, but the Clippers haven't had any serious offers.

In addition, Lillard sought an explanation from Allen as to why Will Barton was traded to Denver in February of 2015, sources said. Lillard made it known he didn't agree with the move. Barton is a penetrating, spot-up shooter -- the type of player Portland could use on the wing.

Three years ago, the Trail Blazers were under enormous pressure to prove to LaMarcus Aldridge that they were all-in on acquiring proven talent to help make a championship run. The power forward was an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014-15 season and ended up signing with the San Antonio Spurs.

Barton was traded along with Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver and a protected first-round pick in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The 3-point ball is essential in today's NBA game, and it's an element the team lacks.

Portland is one of the lower-tier 3-point shooting teams, ranked 19th in the league in makes (9.8) and 22nd in attempts (26.1). Lillard and CJ McCollum account for 50 percent of the team's made 3s this season, the second-highest duo percentage of their team's 3-point field goals. Only Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriorscombine for a higher percentage of their team's 3s at 53 percent, and the defending champs are equipped with personnel that dominates in other departments. With a lack of threats in Portland, opposing defenses load up on Lillard from pick-and-roll traps to all-out ball denials in an effort to force others to beat them.

The team's identity has fluctuated to the defensive end with a superior 104.2 defensive rating that's good for seventh in the league.

The Blazers currently have the fifth-largest payroll in the league at around $123 million, largely due to the summer of 2016 in which the billion-dollar television revenue deal kicked in. However, they are miles from being in the same class as championship contending teams.

Evan Turner, Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard are three of the five highest-paid players on the Trail Blazers. Turner signed for four-years, $70 million, Harkless re-signed at four-years, $40 million and Leonard re-upped for four-years, $41 million. But Turner has drastically underperformed, while Harkless and Leonard are out of the rotation altogether.

Furthermore, the contracts of Andrew Nicholson ($2.8 million annually), Anderson Varejao ($1.9 million annually) and Festus Ezeli ($333,333 annually) are stretched out to 2024, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The team did manage to unload Allen Crabbe's four-year, $75 million contract after trading him to the Brooklyn Nets last summer, the very team that extended the guard the offer sheet before Portland matched. With that move, the Trail Blazers are now around $3 million under the luxury tax threshold, according to Bobby Marks

Still, the roster is filled with position redundancy and minimal attractive assets. Aside from Lillard, McCollum and at times center Jusuf Nurkic, players have struggled to carve out a productive, consistent niche.

Lillard desperately yearns to bring a championship to Portland, which is why he inquired about the organization's plan off attack to accelerate the process. He has four years remaining on a deal that owes him $115 million.

The sixth-year guard is one of four NBA players averaging 25-plus points, 4-plus rebounds and 6-plus assists this season. The other three are LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden.

On Monday, Lillard was named the Week 14 Western Conference Player of the Week after leading his team to a 3-0 record and averaging 29.3 points while shooting 53 percent from the field to go with 8.0 assists.
 
So we know a few things from this.
1. Lillard did not request a trade
2. Lillard was unclear and frustrated by the lack of direction it seems the team has

Those are what I took away from that article and since most of what is in it is what Haynes assumes they talked about but doesn't give us facts
 
Rhal said:
So we know a few things from this.
1. Lillard did not request a trade
2. Lillard was unclear and frustrated by the lack of direction it seems the team has

Those are what I took away from that article and since most of what is in it is what Haynes assumes they talked about but doesn't give us facts
Click to expand...

Lillard has been reading this board too much. Nothing will ever change, doesn't he know that?
 
Rhal said:
So we know a few things from this.
1. Lillard did not request a trade
2. Lillard was unclear and frustrated by the lack of direction it seems the team has

Those are what I took away from that article and since most of what is in it is what Haynes assumes they talked about but doesn't give us facts
Click to expand...

Dame specifically brought up the Barton trade and why was he traded? If that is any way true, you don't have to be fucking Yoda to figure out what Dame is suggesting.
 
ripcityboy said:
Dame specifically brought up the Barton trade and why was he traded? If that is any way true, you don't have to be fucking Yoda to figure out what Dame is suggesting.
Click to expand...

What is he suggesting? We get Barton back? Lol
 
Scalma said:
What is he suggesting? We get Barton back? Lol
Click to expand...

The single worst trade in Olshey's entire career here in Portland. He could have just said, "Why didn't we draft any decent wings this last offseason?" Oddly random thing to mention in the middle of discussion about the team direction.
 
ripcityboy said:
The single worst trade in Olshey's entire career here in Portland. He could have just said, "Why didn't we draft any decent wings this last offseason?" Oddly random thing to mention in the middle of discussion about the team direction.
Click to expand...

No way is that trade worse than the Batum one. At least it made sense at the time.

I know Dame and Barton were close. That probably had something to do with it.
 
Fuckin good. This roster has been fucked for years, there needs to be major changes and no one knows this more than Dame and he’s not willing to fuck around in ‘ho hum’ mediocrity during the prime of his career. Balls in your court, Neil. Put up or shut up.

Also, I wouldn’t be suprised if this forces Neil to trade Collins and/or Swanigan along with picks to get the players we need to contend sooner rather than later.
 
AFully22 said:
Fuckin good. This roster has been fucked for years, there needs to be major changes and no one knows this more than Dame and he’s not willing to fuck around in ‘ho hum’ mediocrity during the prime of his career. Balls in your court, Neil. Put up or shut up.

Also, I wouldn’t be suprised if this forces Neil to trade Collins and/or Swanigan along with picks to get the players we need to contend sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...

Might mean our first is up for discussion as well. I just hope it’s not for Mirotic. Love the guy but not that much.
 
Scalma said:
No way is that trade worse than the Batum one. At least it made sense at the time.

I know Dame and Barton were close. That probably had something to do with it.
Click to expand...

Still a weird time to mention it. What three years after it happened?
 
Scalma said:
Might mean our first is up for discussion as well. I just hope it’s not for Mirotic. Love the guy but not that much.
Click to expand...

You’re right, Mirotic isn’t worth that nor is he the caliber of player that’s going to excite Dame or the fan base. I think the move made will have to be much bigger than that.
 
It might be time to think about putting every valuable asset the block, McCollum, Collins, Nurkic, Napier . . . ummmmmmm . . . ?
 
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