Zombie Damian Lillard to request trade in coming days (nope, he's not.)

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illmatic99 said:
He has said at every opportunity that he is fully transparent with the FO directly. Yet he posts shit on twitter/IG, or says stuff that just fuels the fire for the media. ESPN didn't just get up one day and decide they're going to drive Dame out of Portland-- his posts/quotes initiated all this.

This isn't as much ruffling feathers as it is driving a narrative.

If Dame wants CJ traded or certain moves made by the FO and has expressed them to Neil, why would Neil not make those moves? Olshey knows his job security is tied at the hip with Dame's happiness. He's not gonna deliberately counter Dame's direction and force Lillard to go public-- Dame is doing that entirely on his own.
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Maybe he's made his offer to Morey, but Morey is holding out to see. This next month should see some movement on the Simmons front.
 
And maybe Dame doesn't want CJ to be traded at all, but understands, great return ain't gonna happen with Mind Tricks. Unless you're Jerry West of course.
 
tykendo said:
Maybe he's made his offer to Morey, but Morey is holding out to see. This next month should see some movement on the Simmons front.
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Morey will not trade Simmons for CJ and effectively end his chances at getting Dame.
 
illmatic99 said:
He has said at every opportunity that he is fully transparent with the FO directly. Yet he posts shit on twitter/IG, or says stuff that just fuels the fire for the media. ESPN didn't just get up one day and decide they're going to drive Dame out of Portland-- his posts/quotes initiated all this.

This isn't as much ruffling feathers as it is driving a narrative.

If Dame wants CJ traded or certain moves made by the FO and has expressed them to Neil, why would Neil not make those moves? Olshey knows his job security is tied at the hip with Dame's happiness. He's not gonna deliberately counter Dame's direction and force Lillard to go public-- Dame is doing that entirely on his own.
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If you're operating under the assumption that Olshey's hands are tied and there's not many moves he can make then I guess this would make sense. Dame has been very honest with what he wants to see from the FO and they've just not delivered. So to expect him to change his stance at this point in time is unreasonable IMO. There are very basic move like spending the TPMLE to have as a salary filler or not getting a TPE for Collins that are just puzzling from the perspective of a team that is supposedly trying to "win it all". These are very low risk moves from a roster standpoint. Sure they may not be worth it from purely a value perspective, but these are all things that winning teams would do just to give them the best chance at winning or making moves down the line. We're not in a position where we should be trying to optimize the reward for low risk moves.

All these things in combination make me question the FO's commitment to winning and Olshey's willingness to make moves, which makes many of Dame's statements in totality make sense.
 
My theory: Dame ignited the fire to create more buzz, to help promote his album #marketing

like how you see actors doing interviews prior to their latest movie being released, articles written about authors before their new book is published.

Just a thought.
 
B-Roy said:
If you're operating under the assumption that Olshey's hands are tied and there's not many moves he can make then I guess this would make sense. Dame has been very honest with what he wants to see from the FO and they've just not delivered. So to expect him to change his stance at this point in time is unreasonable IMO. There are very basic move like spending the TPMLE to have as a salary filler or not getting a TPE for Collins that are just puzzling from the perspective of a team that is supposedly trying to "win it all". These are very low risk moves from a roster standpoint. Sure they may not be worth it from purely a value perspective, but these are all things that winning teams would do just to give them the best chance at winning or making moves down the line. We're not in a position where we should be trying to optimize the reward for low risk moves.

All these things in combination make me question the FO's commitment to winning and Olshey's willingness to make moves, which makes many of Dame's statements in totality make sense.
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Oh lemme be clear, I am fully onboard with the Olshey bashing for this disastrous summer. Snell-McLemore-Zeller is on par with Tolliver-Hezonja-Bazemore in terms of roster "improvements." I'm not necessarily saying Olshey's hands are tied even. I'm more frustrated with Dame going back on his word about supposedly keeping it all in house.
 
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Business Reporting Analyst

Somebody apply to the job above, get in on the inside, then fix this whole thing.

Seriously though, pretty solid job opportunity for the someone interested in working for the Blazers.
 
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Shaboid said:

Somebody apply to the job above, get in on the inside, then fix this whole thing.

Seriously though, pretty solid job opportunity for the someone interested in working for the Blazers.
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might wanna fix your link. Your name is visible via linked in.
 
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B-Roy said:
He definitely said I'm not leaving PDX. There were two words after that I didn't hear too clearly and there's obviously no replay. He's in Vegas with friends and family so it was a bit loud.

EDIT:

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I’m in Vegas too!
 
illmatic99 said:
Oh lemme be clear, I am fully onboard with the Olshey bashing for this disastrous summer. Snell-McLemore-Zeller is on par with Tolliver-Hezonja-Bazemore in terms of roster "improvements." I'm not necessarily saying Olshey's hands are tied even. I'm more frustrated with Dame going back on his word about supposedly keeping it all in house.
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Then you should be able to sympathize with some of Dame's frustrations and his non committal answers. They aren't definitive statements about how he feels about staying in Portland after the ones he made at the beginning of the off-season. He only provided a more candid response when he came out to defend himself against Abbott's report that he was about to demand a trade, or when he was asked a question about the roster moves directly, which was reasonable.
 
B-Roy said:
Then you should be able to sympathize with some of Dame's frustrations and his non committal answers. They aren't definitive statements about how he feels about staying in Portland after the ones he made at the beginning of the off-season. He only provided a more candid response when he came out to defend himself against Abbott's report that he was about to demand a trade, or when he was asked a question about the roster moves directly, which was reasonable.
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i think it's fair to be both irate at Olshey and ownership for not making any substantial moves, and annoyed at Dame for the IG stuff.
 
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AldoTrapani said:
Absolutely but shit the way he’s going about it is annoying. Like there was no reason to answer that question on IG live. At this point what is he waiting for ? This team isn’t going to get better
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But I thought Stotts was the problem?
 
tykendo said:
I'm not gonna lie, it would be a giant kick to the jewels. Personally, I would be heart broken. He's my favorite player ever for the Blazers. I wasn't happy when Clyde was traded, but it didn't break my heart.
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I wonder now with social media and access, people have a stronger tie to players. Feel much more connected.
 
This situation seems pretty straight forward to me. Dame said he doesn't know where his future would be and said that this roster isn't good enough for him. Multiple reports and teammates say he's all in right now. Dame says he's here, for now. If the team is still mediocre, which they will be and Olshey hasn't made any moves to make us better than mediocre or at least point us in the direction of getting better, Dame will demand a trade probably earlier in the season than even the deadline. Dame isn't being cryptic and I applaud him for that.

At the same time, Olshey hasn't held his annual pat himself on the back/make excuses presser that comes before training camp. So maybe, just maybe, Olshey has a plan to keep Dame. That would mean making a bigger move than he's ever made but we have the pieces to make a move like that and still have an improved team.

We have very talented starters with only Norm being trade restricted and no one would say any of them are overpaid except for those that say CJ is. We have all of our future firsts. We have an expiring contract like DJJ who is young and talented enough for a team to want to give a try out to, which puts extra value on that expiring deal. We have two prospects on their rookie deals in Ant and Nas that other teams might value even higher than a future first. We have the pieces to make a very big deal.

As far as Ben Simmons is concerned, if Morey isn't willing to wade into the shitstorm that it would be bringing Simmons into the regular season with the Sixers then he ain't getting Dame. I don't think Morey is keeping Simmons that long so Dame is off the table for him... he's got to be coming to that conclusion. At the same time there are also other guys out there that can be had that aren't Ben Simmons and aren't even on our radars because we don't work in NBA front offices.
 
THE HCP said:
But I thought Stotts was the problem?
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Well I think so. I would like couple more tweaks to the roster to help Dame tho.

but him answering that question was completely unnecessary. It’s IG live tons of questions are asked that doesn’t get answered. But he decides to entertain that question from all of them?

At this point, he’s just being corny. We wish him the best as blazer fans, good luck to him but he might as well go jump on another team if that’s what he wants so bad
 
B-Roy said:
Someone wanna summarize?
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Basically he said him saying the team needs change is not out of "I'm threatening y'all" but becasue he's fully invested and wants to win in Portland and was upset how they lost to Denver. Also said if he does decide to leave if the team can't put a winner around him then it will be his decision and nothing having to do with outside forces.
 
Blazer Freak said:
Just listen from 12:30-16:00. He wants to be here, he wants to win here. If the team doesn't improve under Billups and/or a big move isn't made then I think he makes a request within 1-2 years.
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I think it's funny that people think he'd be talking about it if it was 1-2 years. Why the fuck would he say anything if it wasn't more... urgent than that? Nah, if we're playing at the same level this season as we were last season and haven't made a big trade, I'd be shocked if he is here past the trade deadline. For those saying that Dame understands that it takes time, I've got to ask if you saw how much time it took the Bucks once Giannis said he didn't know if he'd re-sign?
 
Blazer Freak said:
Just listen from 12:30-16:00. He wants to be here, he wants to win here. If the team doesn't improve under Billups and/or a big move isn't made then I think he makes a request within 1-2 years.
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Sounds about right. Matches what he's been saying.

This is such a stupid observation but Dame's palms are so pale. :biglaugh:
 
B-Roy said:
Someone wanna summarize?
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Everyone needs to hear the interview from the 12 min mark on. That should effectively close this thread.

"We gotta do better. I have always said I want to play in Portland. I want to win in Portland and I still feel that way. And if we can't get out of the first round, then we gotta do get better. (The pressure) is coming from a standpoint of where I am fully invested, not from a standpoint of where I'm threatening (the franchise). If it does come to me having to move on, then that's what I have to do, but I haven't made that decision yet. The fact remains, I would like to win a championship in Portland. People had never heard that tone from me like they did this summer. So people took that as an opportunity to say 'you should go to that team' or 'Dame will ask for a trade soon.' And the media used that as clickbait to run with the story."

"To me, if that time (to move) does come, it will because I decide it. Not because people that are egging the situation on made me do it . If I do something and move on, and the grass ain't greener, they don't have to live with the consequences. They don't know my family situation. They don't know what I do."
 
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Here's a summary.

-He is fully committed to winning here.

-There is no timeline. There is simply pressure to win.

-If Dame doesn't feel like the FO wants to get better, he'll make it clear and get out.

-We're not there yet, and there's no calendar date when that time will come.
 
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