Would you trade Lillard?

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Rastapopoulos, Dec 28, 2016.

  1. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2008
    Messages:
    37,387
    Likes Received:
    21,980
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Ballin'
    So. The team is in a massive funk. Our worst problem is defense, especially perimeter defense (judging by how easily teams are shooting 3s against us). Our two best players are very similar: defensively-challenged, score-first combo guards. CJ is actually shooting much more efficiently recently, and is also currently pretty much impossible to trade (unless you involve Philly somehow). He's also been playing SG mostly, and small, defensively challenged SGs are not at a premium in the league (particularly given our shitty record). By far our best asset is Lillard. So: would you trade him?

    Advantages: you might get a really good player in return, preferably a frontcourt player.
    Our defense would almost certainly improve.

    Disadvantages: trade the player who's been MOST loyal to this small market? Who's said he wants to be here indefinitely? Who's been the face of the franchise? NOT a good look. And there's about zero % chance Olshey would do it, so you'd probably need to bring in a new GM if you really wanted it to happen.
    And Lillard has played nothing but PG. Could CJ really take over as PG? (More likely: start him and the also-pretty-much-untradeable Evan Turner together and have them share PG duties.)

    So - would you do it? Well, of course the answer is "it depends", so perhaps the better question would be "who would you agree to trade Lillard for?"

    (I know it's very very very very unlikely to happen, but this team sucks ass, so what else are we going to talk about?)
     
    BBert likes this.
  2. EL PRESIDENTE

    EL PRESIDENTE Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2010
    Messages:
    50,346
    Likes Received:
    22,528
    Trophy Points:
    113
  3. KeepOnRollin

    KeepOnRollin Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2010
    Messages:
    11,468
    Likes Received:
    5,628
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    North Idaho
    While it isn't going to happen there are a few players I would trade Lillard for.

    They are:
    Westbrook (yes he is a dick but triple-double threat every time)
    Davis (injuries make it scary but the dude puts up superstar numbers when healthy)
    Durant
    Greek Freak
    Kawhi
    LeBron
    Curry

    Short list and the other teams aren't likely interested so he stays which is just fine with me.

    Some big names I wouldn't trade him for:
    Harden (no D just like Dame plus I would puke watching him play)
    Cousins (he is very good but SAC isn't dealing from a position of strength - an overpay)
     
    BBert and Darkwebs like this.
  4. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    May 24, 2007
    Messages:
    72,957
    Likes Received:
    10,620
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Never lost a case
    Location:
    Boston Legal
    I'd rather trade CJ if I had a gun to my head.
     
    Nikolokolus likes this.
  5. trailblazer18

    trailblazer18 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2014
    Messages:
    4,067
    Likes Received:
    4,954
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Iowa
  6. julius

    julius Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2008
    Messages:
    42,404
    Likes Received:
    30,000
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    singer songwriter
    Location:
    Washington
    I think I'll give him a chance to show he is willing to improve on his defense first. I think that a new coaching staff/emphasis on defense will have a better impact on the team than trading Damian would.
     
    blue9 likes this.
  7. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2008
    Messages:
    37,387
    Likes Received:
    21,980
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Ballin'
    That would be interesting indeed. I think the Bucks have a similar situation with Giannis and Jabari Parker that we have with CJ and Lillard (i.e., they overlap more than they obviously complement each other). But Giannis is probably as much the face of the franchise there as Lillard is here, and they're just starting to reap the benefits. I think they'd say no if it was suggested. But I'd be down.
     
  8. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2008
    Messages:
    37,387
    Likes Received:
    21,980
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Ballin'
    I think that ship has sailed.
     
    Binx and Nikolokolus like this.
  9. BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94

    BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 AWOL

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2013
    Messages:
    21,056
    Likes Received:
    10,366
    Trophy Points:
    113
  10. UKRAINEFAN

    UKRAINEFAN Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Messages:
    13,539
    Likes Received:
    10,874
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    un-retired
    Location:
    Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine
    The only guys I would trade him for have GM's who would hang up the phone if we called, so.......
     
    KeepOnRollin likes this.
  11. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2011
    Messages:
    29,346
    Likes Received:
    27,156
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I will FIND Olshey myself if he does!

    Fan is short for fanatic!
     
    tykendo, illmatic99 and riverman like this.
  12. Orion Bailey

    Orion Bailey Forum Troll

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2015
    Messages:
    26,285
    Likes Received:
    21,506
    Trophy Points:
    113
    NO

    And wasn't this already a thread?
     
    dviss1 likes this.
  13. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2013
    Messages:
    66,304
    Likes Received:
    64,442
    Trophy Points:
    113
    No....trading Lillard is a dumb idea in my book..pairing him with 3 or 4 guys who give you 20 pts a night and defend would be the go to move
     
    stampedehero likes this.
  14. SheedSoNasty

    SheedSoNasty Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2008
    Messages:
    4,215
    Likes Received:
    4,576
    Trophy Points:
    113
    3 or 4 guys who can give you 20 a night? Seems like extremely wishful thinking.
     
    Binx likes this.
  15. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2013
    Messages:
    66,304
    Likes Received:
    64,442
    Trophy Points:
    113
    tell that to the contenders...they all have that
     
  16. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2008
    Messages:
    37,387
    Likes Received:
    21,980
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Ballin'
    Cleveland has Kyrie and Love and...?
     
  17. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2012
    Messages:
    10,729
    Likes Received:
    7,169
    Trophy Points:
    113
    If it was ONLY a basketball decision, then yes - I'd consider trading Lillard. Why? Because he's a very good PG in a league FULL of very good PGs. For as much as I like Lillard I don't think he'll ever be Top 5, so it boils down to the fact that he probably isn't good enough to be considered untradeable. But because of this, I don't think we can trade him:

    It's kind of an unfortunate position to be in. We have to weigh character (ugh!) more heavily than talent when it comes to our marquee player. However, I'd like to see us worry less about character with our supporting players.
     
    BBert and Orion Bailey like this.
  18. Sarni

    Sarni Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2016
    Messages:
    3,324
    Likes Received:
    2,782
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Kraków, Poland
    Nope. He is the face of the franchise, very likeable and has performed well. He needs to be surrounded with better players, put Curry or Westbrook in his place and Portland would still be doing badly.
     
    BBert likes this.
  19. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2013
    Messages:
    66,304
    Likes Received:
    64,442
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Golden State says hello
     
  20. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    116,223
    Likes Received:
    114,265
    Trophy Points:
    115
    If I was Olshey this is what I would do:

    I would call each player one at a time into my office. Sit them down and tell them that I've decided that the team needs to tank the rest of the season. That means I needs players to not play hard or care about winning for the rest of the season.

    The players that tell me to fuck off I keep.

    The players that agree to not care I would immediately try to trade, and that includes Lillard if he's in the agree not to care group.
     

Share This Page