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

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illmatic99 said:
I also want to know what triggered this leaking this week. Was there a trade that Olshey would not do?
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I bet he's not the only only NBA player looking at the finals right now and thinking these aren't exactly two powerhouse teams for the ages. That plus being on the big stage of the Olympic team probably has him thinking of bigger things than a 1st round exit.
 
To the point that everyone on social media is adding 2 and 2 and arriving at 1,673,408, some Warriors fans are speculating they could get Nurk or RoCo WITH Dame for Wiseman, Wiggins, Poole and this year's two first round picks because "Nurk said he's gone if Dame's gone."
 
B-Roy said:
yep all those in the past few days, but that’s not “every post”. Blazers post a lot, and he’s not liked a majority of them like the other team members. he’s noticeably more disconnected than in years past. Prob means nothing, but it’s interesting.
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it's a fool's errand to go down this path trying to see his likes, etc. he's generally disengaged in the summer and with how much Amara and Casey post, it's hard to like EVERYTHING.

But if we insist on going down the rabbit hole on IG, there was one post that was concerning. From his fiance yesterday (yes, i follow her, ugh). She was posting a bday message to him with 6 pics, none in Blazers gear. And the message:

"Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams & thank the lord my reality as well. I pray this next year brings you peace from all avenues. & I promise to do my best to be your peace at home. I love you babies.
 
blazerkor said:
These are solid questions. There is a possibility IMO that Dame made demands that this team needed to be a contender by the start of next season or he'd want a trade and Neil said some shit that sounded too slick. Then Neil did Stotts the way he did and said there was nothing wrong with the roster... that would be a hard pill to swallow. Then Neil gave Dame a list of candidates for head coach with two guys on it that Dame really respected but Neil didn't tell Dame about their past. Then Neil acted embarrassingly at the Chauncey presser when he could have handled it with class. Then stuff that the media says should be embarrassing about the team comes out yesterday. He turns 31.

That's a lot of shit to deal with for a guy who had already thrown down an ultimatum that ended with him being traded. I know that's all conjecture but your questions require speculation.
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Those may be small contributors, but clearly the main issue is not putting together a winning team.
 
And dont give me the distraction bullshit. Winning solves everything....and he wont sit out, doubt he's the type
 
illmatic99 said:
it's a fool's errand to go down this path trying to see his likes, etc. he's generally disengaged in the summer and with how much Amara and Casey post, it's hard to like EVERYTHING.

But if we insist on going down the rabbit hole on IG, there was one post that was concerning. From his fiance yesterday. She was posting a bday message to him with 6 pics, none in Blazers gear. And the message:
"Happy Birthday to the man of my dreams & thank the lord my reality as well. I pray this next year brings you peace from all avenues. & I promise to do my best to be your peace at home. I love you babies.
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I've gone so far down the rabbit hole with Dame this off-season, part of me is even okay with a trade. Provided there is a centerpiece, and we get a godfather pick package back. Dame may even return to us after his current deal is over!

But either way, the rabbit hole has just fueled my thoughts that he's not fully committed at the moment, and it's just crazy that some people are realizing it just now.
 
B-Roy said:
Those may be small contributors, but clearly the main issue is not putting together a winning team.
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Yeah, that's what gets him telling Neil to put together a contender this season or he wants out... it's not too far to go from there to... "fuck it just trade me now"
 
Fez Forthright said:
Yeah…

His refusal to trade CJ for Harden.
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I thought about that. Nets traded 8 years of draft control. Yeah, those first few years are worthless, but the tail end of those picks/swaps could be lottery. And the Rockets were clearly not valuing on-court ability. They traded LeVert and Allen for more picks and a broken Oladipo. They wanted to lose to keep their pick this year. Not sure they would have valued McCollum unless there was a third team willing to move some value for him.
 
Phatguysrule said:
Why? As a competing team, wouldn't you rather Dame be in a small market than on a super team?
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Huh? No... I'd rather he be on my team. The number of teams that have ALL the following are EXTREMELY minimal:
1) are competing and are uninterested/don't have the assets to trade for Dame.
2) would be interested in and capable of providing an equal value return for non-Dame Blazers pieces that would produce a better Blazers roster enticing Dame to stay.

I honestly can't think of a competing team that has attractive assts for the Blazers that would want a CJ or Nurk package now knowing that they could potentially make a play for Dame in a month. Maybe a team like Indiana who understands that Dame would never want to go to Indiana? The list is extremely short.
 
blazerkor said:
Yeah, that's what gets him telling Neil to put together a contender this season or he wants out... it's not too far to go from there to... "fuck it just trade me now"
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Yeah, but we are already at the stage Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony etc. etc. were in the past. Looking more and more likely that he will be moved in the near future. That shit is depressing. If he's moved this off-season, he won't even supplant Clyde at the top of the scoring list.
 
B-Roy said:
I've gone so far down the rabbit hole with Dame this off-season, part of me is even okay with a trade. Provided there is a centerpiece, and we get a godfather pick package back. Dame may even return to us after his current deal is over!

But either way, the rabbit hole has just fueled my thoughts that he's not fully committed at the moment, and it's just crazy that some people are realizing it just now.
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Can you blame him? Look at the franchise he plays for. He deserves better
 
B-Roy said:
Yeah, but we are already at the stage Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony etc. etc. were in the past. Looking more and more likely that he will be moved in the near future. That shit is depressing. If he's moved this off-season, he won't even supplant Clyde at the top of the scoring list.
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step back a bit, don't think we're there yet.
 
glazeduck said:
No, you don't. Dame is under contract for the foreseeable future. You do everything you can to get him to change his mind first. It's pretty damn clear that he's taking aim at Olshey and the roster. Fire Neil, bring someone in that Dame likes and that will make bold moves, then reassess.

If, after doing EVERYTHING possible to get him to change his mind, Dame still wants out, there will be 29 teams bidding for him. That kind of market doesn't dilute because Dame wants out. Along those same lines, each of those 29 teams (unless they hire Neil) are also competing to improve their rosters. As such, the "don't help Portland get better" argument is pretty benign as well. If there's a deal that they perceive will help them get better, a hypothetical chance at Dame down the line won't hold that up.

Then again, all of the above is how a well-run, well-led organization would do things. Here... I'm less confident.
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Fair enough. I wouldn't think you'd try to trade him immediately, and you can certainly try to change his mind first. Unfortunately, if people believe you need to trade your star, I do think they are less likely to give significant value for your parts. You'd have to be Pau Gasol-to-the-Lakers lucky... it's possible though I suppose.
 
After reading the Haynes piece, the pressure is Neil to get something done. I believe he will. Whether you like Olshey, or not, he's a prideful man. The way he carries himself. I believe he will do everything in his power to get something done. But Dame also said the pressure is on him, his teammates, the whole organization to be Better. Have to be. I don't feel that WCF run was fools gold. It was soecial, and could have been great if Nurk didn't suffer that injury. Nurk was a dominant force that year who was getting even stronger as the playoffs approached. Nurk has not been the same since. But if HE commits to being that guy again, that would certainly bolster the Blazers chances at success. And Bolster his pocket book as well. I'm not giving up on Dame staying. Today's conference will probably be like taking a fire extinguisher to a forest fire. I don't expect any decision, one way or another, to be made by Dame. It's probably gonna be similar to what he said a week ago. "did it come from my mouth" kinda stuff. I'd love for Dame to come out and say STFU media. Don't see that happening either. But to me, Dame has put the ball in Neil & his Staff's hands to get their jobs done. I always preach patience in here, but i'm not doing a good job of that, AT ALL. Where's the Pepto?
 
tykendo said:
After reading the Haynes piece, the pressure is Neil to get something done. I believe he will. Whether you like Olshey, or not, he's a prideful man. The way he carries himself. I believe he will do everything in his power to get something done. But Dame also said the pressure is on him, his teammates, the whole organization to be Better. Have to be. I don't feel that WCF run was fools gold. It was soecial, and could have been great if Nurk didn't suffer that injury. Nurk was a dominant force that year who was getting even stronger as the playoffs approached. Nurk has not been the same since. But if HE commits to being that guy again, that would certainly bolster the Blazers chances at success. And Bolster his pocket book as well. I'm not giving up on Dame staying. Today's conference will probably be like taking a fire extinguisher to a forest fire. I don't expect any decision, one way or another, to be made by Dame. It's probably gonna be similar to what he said a week ago. "did it come from my mouth" kinda stuff. I'd love for Dame to come out and say STFU media. Don't see that happening either. But to me, Dame has put the ball in Neil & his Staff's hands to get their jobs done. I always preach patience in here, but i'm not doing a good job of that, AT ALL. Where's the Pepto?
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Hard for Dame to call out the media when the leaks appear to be coming from his camp.
 
Unless he comes out at the presser today and says he's gone, the Blazers have two windows of opportunity they need to capitalize on:

1) Mortgage the near term future of the next 5 seasons or so. Put a package with CJ and multiple 1st rounders and pick swaps for Bradley Beal (as an example).

2) If that doesn't produce in 1-2 season and Dame wants out, go into full OKC mode and trade those guys for picks knowing you at least swung for the fences. Like OKC, they might just come out with better picks than before at the end of the process.
 
illmatic99 said:
step back a bit, don't think we're there yet.
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Okay the one major rabbit hole piece that really bugs me, and let me know if you feel the same, is how disconnected he is with CJ this particular off-season (on social/everything). He's always been the closest to CJ. What if he's already told CJ that doesn't want to be here? We know how close they are. Even CJ's happy birthday message to Dame had them both at the draft lottery, not in uniform.
 
gonna mentally prepare myself a bit, but what's the worst case scenario from the PC today?

That he verifies the rumor and will indeed request a trade?
 
Lillard should — as a stand-up guy who has been extremely consistent — end the speculation. If he doesn’t, the speculation will overshadow the Olympic team. Not cool. A simple statement that the story is wrong and anyone “close to” him talking to reporters doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Flat out denial of the story ends it.

If he says all the attention should be on the Olympics. The Finals are going on! His only focus is on playing. …
Then he makes the speculation ramp up. He can’t control the chatter, but he can say the story is crap.
 
B-Roy said:
Okay the one major rabbit hole piece that really bugs me, and let me know if you feel the same, is how disconnected he is with CJ this particular off-season (on social/everything). He's always been the closest to CJ. What if he's already told CJ that doesn't want to be here? We know how close they are. Even CJ's happy birthday message to Dame had them both at the draft lottery, not in uniform.
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OR maybe he's requesting CJ be traded!
 
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