illmatic99
formerly yuyuza1
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Please tell me the GP2 signing was not a Blevins special.
Amick:
On Gary Payton II to Portland and the Damian Lillard ripple effect
The Payton deal with Portland — three years, $28 million, per our Shams Charania — has all kinds of layers to it.
Now for the Portland angle.
While it has been widely assumed Lillard will accept the two-year extension offer worth more than $100 million that is expected to come his way, sources say the Trail Blazers still needed to have a strong offseason to persuade Lillard to sign on through the 2026-27 campaign (when he’ll be 36). The deadline here isn’t until the start of the regular season, and I’m being told this is not a sure thing just yet.
The Jerami Grant addition (via trade with Detroit) this offseason was a major step in the right direction on this front, as Lillard’s desire to play with the 28-year-old forward was no secret. They’ve thrived as teammates before, of course, having won the gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Team USA. Grant’s defense is sorely needed too, as Portland finished 27th, 29th and 29th in defensive rating for the past three seasons, respectively.
The draft was much more of a question mark, as Blazers general manager Joe Cronin’s choice to take mystery man Shaedon Sharpe out of Kentucky with the seventh pick was a long-term play. The Anfernee Simons deal is yet another positive, although the price tag was curiously high (four years, $100 million) for the fourth-year guard who had a breakout year when there wasn’t much meaningful basketball being played in Portland (Lillard, of course, only played 29 games because of his abdominal surgery, and Portland went 27-55). Big man Jusuf Nurkic is returning as well, agreeing to a four-year, $70 million deal that keeps the Lillard favorite in town.
Yet when it comes to Payton, this is the kind of move that will surely make Lillard smile. Not only does he desperately need elite wing defenders at his side, but Lillard is close with Payton’s father, Gary Payton, the Hall of Fame point guard and fellow Oakland, Calif., native who has helped mentor him for years now.
What’s more, Payton II, his father and Lillard have all been repped by the same agent, Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management. There’s the Northwest tie-in for Payton II too, as he was beloved in his two years at Oregon State (2014-16).
The Warriors’ loss, in other words, is the Trail Blazers’ gain as they attempt to keep the Lillard era alive.
Amick:
On Gary Payton II to Portland and the Damian Lillard ripple effect
The Payton deal with Portland — three years, $28 million, per our Shams Charania — has all kinds of layers to it.
Now for the Portland angle.
While it has been widely assumed Lillard will accept the two-year extension offer worth more than $100 million that is expected to come his way, sources say the Trail Blazers still needed to have a strong offseason to persuade Lillard to sign on through the 2026-27 campaign (when he’ll be 36). The deadline here isn’t until the start of the regular season, and I’m being told this is not a sure thing just yet.
The Jerami Grant addition (via trade with Detroit) this offseason was a major step in the right direction on this front, as Lillard’s desire to play with the 28-year-old forward was no secret. They’ve thrived as teammates before, of course, having won the gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Team USA. Grant’s defense is sorely needed too, as Portland finished 27th, 29th and 29th in defensive rating for the past three seasons, respectively.
The draft was much more of a question mark, as Blazers general manager Joe Cronin’s choice to take mystery man Shaedon Sharpe out of Kentucky with the seventh pick was a long-term play. The Anfernee Simons deal is yet another positive, although the price tag was curiously high (four years, $100 million) for the fourth-year guard who had a breakout year when there wasn’t much meaningful basketball being played in Portland (Lillard, of course, only played 29 games because of his abdominal surgery, and Portland went 27-55). Big man Jusuf Nurkic is returning as well, agreeing to a four-year, $70 million deal that keeps the Lillard favorite in town.
Yet when it comes to Payton, this is the kind of move that will surely make Lillard smile. Not only does he desperately need elite wing defenders at his side, but Lillard is close with Payton’s father, Gary Payton, the Hall of Fame point guard and fellow Oakland, Calif., native who has helped mentor him for years now.
What’s more, Payton II, his father and Lillard have all been repped by the same agent, Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management. There’s the Northwest tie-in for Payton II too, as he was beloved in his two years at Oregon State (2014-16).
The Warriors’ loss, in other words, is the Trail Blazers’ gain as they attempt to keep the Lillard era alive.
