Does Dame fit any more?

[HailBlazers]

Oh if Dame fits with what we have going on I want him to retire a Blazer for sure. I think he's going to age really well. That being said Ant has a decade or a little more before his prime will be over and I don't think he has the trade value Dame does. So there's no way I wait very long at all to trade Dame if he doesn't fit in with this personnel and system. I never thought I'd be saying that ever and I'm hoping it's a nonissue because Dame fits in just as seamlessly as the guys we just added.

Dame bought into Chauncey's system more than any of the guys that left and from what I've seen him and Ant play unselfishly well together. Obviously different matchups will cause problems defensively but I think Ant can play the two guard much better than CJ. IMO you won't have to wait long to see how well they'll work together, and be staggered.

 

[swish3]

Let's examine the upside potential of Dame, who is 31 and one of the top 75 in the NBA and an iconic last moment game winner with extraordinary swish3 talent and range. Dame is likely to return after the surgery and physical therapy with talent that continues to ramp up for another 5 years, and further popularizing DameTime. If Lebron and others can be a star at age 37, so can Dame. Dame has been coaching Simons, teaching him talents, and grooming him to play along side and deserves a lot of credit for Simons development.

With the defense added by Hart, Winslow, Nurk, Watford, Brown, and Nas, the Blazers are on a track to develop into a playoffs winner and future contender for the NBA Championship. Dame will now get the chance with a much improved defense, offense, communication, and emerging team energy to lead the Blazers to the Championship. Let's imagine this outcome with Dame's upward trajectory moving ahead for the next 5 years and enjoy it. Go Blazers!

 

[BlazerBeav]

Yes, yes he does.

 

[TBpup]

I think his value decreases every year that he ages. He's 31. He's going to be 32 in a few months. I don't think the league believes that he's drastically worse than he was 9 months ago. I think he still has high value. The difference is that you're equating value with health and output. I'm equating value with team success and perception. If the team comes out flat, there will be once again rumblings that Dame will want out. Or maybe he comes out and he's not the player that he was. Right now there's a chance that he won't be the same player, albeit a very small one. If he were to come out and play poorly next season, it wouldn't be a chance anymore. It would be a fact. So right now a team would trade for him and hope that he's going to be the same guy. I think a lot of teams would take that chance.

Dame is younger than Harden, and look at the haul the Nets just got for him. I hope this works out, but there is a lot of precedent for it not working given their styles, size, and lack of defense. Maybe this will be one of the rare exceptions. Otherwise, Dame is up for $50,000,000/year and that will be a massive amount of the cap even with it going up....as he gets older.

I really want him to win a title hear. That is my heart talking. My head has concerns about how this is going to happen given some of the same duplication issues we've dealt with for years. Perhaps we are able to add a Collins or Grant....that will certainly help. But shot dispersal will have to have a fairly significant change in that case.

 

[illmatic99]

Yes, yes he does.

Nate Jones reposted this on IG.

And GoodwinSports (dame's agency) re-tweeted this.

It's not an accident-- remember what Jones said back in the summer in response to Abbot's hit piece about Dame asking for a trade about how if this was going to happen, they'd all be in Neil's office together to get it done. Those accounts reposting this is intended to get Dame's message out while he's on his social media hiatus. I dunno why Dame feels the need to reaffirm this every two weeks, but getting this message out will do nothing to stop the talking heads on ESPN from continually posting bullshit about how he should leave.

 

[BBert]

Dame will fit just fine in Chauncey's style surrounded by Billups Ball Ballers.

I have not a single doubt.

Dame and Chauncey got this.

 

[wizenheimer]

Nate Jones reposted this on IG.

And GoodwinSports (dame's agency) re-tweeted this.

It's not an accident-- remember what Jones said back in the summer in response to Abbot's hit piece about Dame asking for a trade about how if this was going to happen, they'd all be in Neil's office together to get it done. Those accounts reposting this is intended to get Dame's message out while he's on his social media hiatus. I dunno why Dame feels the need to reaffirm this every two weeks, but getting this message out will do nothing to stop the talking heads on ESPN from continually posting bullshit about how he should leave.

this might be aimed at Blazer fans more than national media. A "not trivial number" of Blazer fans (as seen in this forum) are incessant in their narrative that Dame is over the hill and unwilling to change or adapt. He's simply saying he's committed to the team, which, IMO, means he's committed to Billups, Ant's emergence, and Cronin's management. That's a very good thing

 

[illmatic99]

this might be aimed at Blazer fans more than national media. A "not trivial number" of Blazer fans (as seen in this forum) are incessant in their narrative that Dame is over the hill and unwilling to change or adapt. He's simply saying he's committed to the team, which, IMO, means he's committed to Billups, Ant's emergence, and Cronin's management. That's a very good thing

yup and i want him fully invested before free agency starts so he can go on a legitimate recruiting tour. (never mind that the FAs suck this year, but still... even MLE level guys need reassurance that the team's best player isn't gonna bounce).

 

[TBpup]

this might be aimed at Blazer fans more than national media. A "not trivial number" of Blazer fans (as seen in this forum) are incessant in their narrative that Dame is over the hill and unwilling to change or adapt. He's simply saying he's committed to the team, which, IMO, means he's committed to Billups, Ant's emergence, and Cronin's management. That's a very good thing

Who are "not trivial number" of Blazer fans who are incessant that Dame is over the hill, unwilling to change or adapt? Haven't seen anything like that. Have seen some saying he is at the peak of his prime and the inevitable downhill portion is getting closer. (seems true enough, especially given the money that is coming) Have also seen people showing legitimate concern about how he will fit into something that is entirely different than what he has done his entire career, but not incessant that he is unwilling to change or adapt.

Must have missed those posts. I would take issue with those as well.

 

[wizenheimer]

Who are "not trivial number" of Blazer fans who are incessant that Dame is over the hill, unwilling to change or adapt? Haven't seen anything like that. Have seen some saying he is at the peak of his prime and the inevitable downhill portion is getting closer. (seems true enough, especially given the money that is coming) Have also seen people showing legitimate concern about how he will fit into something that is entirely different than what he has done his entire career, but not incessant that he is unwilling to change or adapt.

Must have missed those posts. I would take issue with those as well.

it was from a tweet...by Richman I think

and LOL, some of those "concerns" you've seen people express...was that from reading your own posts?

relax...I'm just giving you a hard time

 

[Mr. Robot]

this might be aimed at Blazer fans more than national media. A "not trivial number" of Blazer fans (as seen in this forum) are incessant in their narrative that Dame is over the hill and unwilling to change or adapt. He's simply saying he's committed to the team, which, IMO, means he's committed to Billups, Ant's emergence, and Cronin's management. That's a very good thing

of course you didnt mention nurk, you hater (and little, while were at it)

 

[wizenheimer]

of course you didnt mention nurk, you hater (and little, while were at it)

is there any question about Dame's connection to Nurkic?

 

[Mr. Robot]

is there any question about Dame's connection to Nurkic?

no, but you said "ants emergance" and nurk also took his game to another level and so did little

he also must be encouraged with hart & winslow

 

[wizenheimer]

no, but you said "ants emergance" and nurk also took his game to another level and so did little

he also must be encouraged with hart & winslow

I know you are seeing insults to Nurkic's greatness in every post that doesn't praise him, but even allowing for that bias, that take is a real stretch. Why would there be any question about Nurkic going beast mode and Dame not supporting it? When Nurk went beast mode in 2017-19 it was fueled by Dame empowering Nurkic by lots of feeds in the PnR and feeds to him in the low post. In fact, I think Dame had more assists to Nurkic in that period than any other combo in the league

I mentioned Ant because Dame and Ant play very similar roles and Ant could theoretically take touches and shot opportunities from Dame. That Dame seems just fine with that is a real positive sign

 

[swish3]

We haven't yet seen recovered healthy Dame playing next to improved Simons with the improved energy added by Hart and Winslow and Nurk. Let's look forward to it and cheer them on. A string of wins is ahead!

 

[TBpup]

We haven't yet seen recovered healthy Dame playing next to improved Simons with the improved energy added by Hart and Winslow and Nurk. Let's look forward to it and cheer them on. A string of wins is ahead!

I look forward to it.....next year. Unless the improved play and Dame coming back means we can take down Phoenix or Golden State in the 1st round, it seems we could use a high Lottery pick more than yet another 1st round dismissal. Making the Playoffs and getting beat does give us control over future Draft picks again, but is that more valuable than losing now and getting a Top-5 pick with a legit shot at getting into the Top-3?

 

[wizenheimer]

I look forward to it.....next year. Unless the improved play and Dame coming back means we can take down Phoenix or Golden State in the 1st round, it seems we could use a high Lottery pick more than yet another 1st round dismissal. Making the Playoffs and getting beat does give us control over future Draft picks again, but is that more valuable than losing now and getting a Top-5 pick with a legit shot at getting into the Top-3?

I'd say, with how the Blazers have been playing and the lightness of their schedule. Portland will definitely be in the play-in. Meaning that if they did get beat in the play-in their pre-lottery slot would fall in the 11-14 range. Meaning about the best they could do is an 8% shot at a 1-4 pick. If they are 13th a 6% chance; 14th a 2.4% chance

those aren't good odds at all. A 'miracle' could happen I suppose. But honestly, assuming the Pels pick is 8th for instance, I'm not sure what would be better: an 8th pick + 13th pick with all future 1st's still locked away; or an 8th pick + all future 1st's