The only one that WILL go if either do, is CJ... no way in hell does Lillard ever leave because of a 10 game sample divided by a year. Get out of here with this nonsense.
Not ALL of us were shitty when we first started out (I think my first post was a thread) dont be stern and put a one and done rule on the forum too!
Others have already pointed out the ridiculously small sample size of 10 games, but you also need to look at the quality of our opponents in those 10 games. With Dame out, C.J. has basically been feasting on the dregs of the league. In those 10 games, we have exactly one win over a team with a winning record, and even that game was a gift. We beat a CLE team last season that was actively trying (and ended up succeeding) to get their coach fired. C.J.'s overall numbers in those 10 games: 27.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.7 apg, .505 FG%, .397 3FG% In 3 games against teams with a winning record: 24.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.7 apg, .483 FG%, .313 3FG% In 7 games against teams with a combined won-loss percentage of .377: 29.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 6.1 apg, .513 FG%, .426 3FG% With Dame out, C.J. obviously has the ball in his hands more, which works well for his 2-point game. His biggest strength is creating his own mid-range scoring opportunities. His handle lets him beat his man off the dribble and then his sweet mid-range jumper lets him pull up and hit the shot before the opposing big man can challenge his jumper. However, (again, within the small sample size), his 3FG% suffers, especially against quality opponents who know how to defend the perimeter. Creating his own 3-point looks is not C.J.'s strength. His 3FG% is much better in catch and shoot situations, and that's why his 3FG% suffers when Dame isn't on the court. The defensive attention Dame commands, combined with his ability to drive, collapse a defense and kick out to the open 3-point shooter benefits C.J. That's why C.J.'s 3FG% is higher when playing with Dame than without him. The part in bold is where you completely lost me. It hinges on the one factor you have chosen to ignore - leadership. I'm a huge C.J. fan, but he isn't and never will be the leader Dame is. The ONLY way Cousins to POR makes sense is if Lillard is here to help keep Cousins focused on playing basketball and not feuding with the refs, his teammates, his coaches, the front office and the press. Dame and Cousins are friends and Cousins respects Dame. If you trade Dame for Cousins, we instantly become SAC north. Welcome to loserville baby! Cousins would't be happy here and no way does he sign an extension without Dame here. So, you just traded your franchise player and on-the-court and off-the-court leader for a 3 month rental of a chronic malcontent. The only way you trade Lillard for a big is if it's someone who is a great 2-way player, who is no older than C.J. and is locked up long term, and let's face it, there are only so many Anthony Davises, KATs and Joel Embiids to go around, and nobody is trading any of them anytime soon. Yes, our roster in unbalanced, we have a horribly weak front court, but I believe there are ways to address that weakness, especially on defense, which is out biggest problem, without trading either of our two best players. BNM
CJ is a more efficient shooter. Dame is a better passer/distributor; i.e. a better point guard. I'm still hoping that the Blazers can find a rim protector who makes it possible to cover their defensive weaknesses. I don't want to give up either one of them.
Although Brandon certainly raised Dame's starting point quite significantly, if that makes any sense...
This. Allen Crabbe (+ whatever) for Nerlens Noel (+ whatever) just makes so much sense. It's one of those rare trades that benefits both teams. Noel is an elite defender who is both a great rim protector and great defending the pick and roll. They also have an incredibly imbalanced roster, and their imbalance is the exact opposite of ours. After spending four straight high lottery picks on front court players, they are woefully weak in the back court. This one trade helps balance both rosters. BNM
BTW, Neil needs to make this happen as close to January 15 as possible. No point waiting another 5 weeks until the trade deadline on February 23. I don't want him to give PHI enough time to come to the inevitable realization that Jahlil Okafor is Marreese Speights 2.0 and decide he's the big man they need to be shopping. Like Speights, Okafor is best suited to an instant offense off the bench role. He'd actually make our defense worse. BNM
The more I see trade Dame threads, the less faith I have in the fan base. It's insane first of all. Second of all I am a person who believes Dame and CJ can play together just fine, we just need to get rid of some pieces for quality starters, defense. For what both Dame and CJ lack in defense, they more than make up for in offense. We don't need big time players, just quality players. Harkless can stay, I think they should consider moving plumlee to PF and adding a nerlens noel. I feel like thats a great start. Add Nerlens and move plumlee to PF and that squad is built for fast breaks and would be fun to watch. Easy buckets. At this point consider trading anybody except for Dame,CJ, Plumlee, and Harkless. Maybe Turner too. I hate his contract but his playmaking and defense is pretty valuable. Can go on scoring runs of his own as well. Pretty crafty at the rim/mid.
defender sticks to cj and one sags off aminu so he can catapult a low percentage 3. great plan with 0 holes. cousins has brought his team to how many playoffs series? dame? thanks for playing
Wow, really????? Let's ignore the fact that DEN would need to dump another $22.2 million a year in salary on us to make that trade work, do you really want to trade a guy who averages 26 ppg for one that averages 13 ppg? Also, in your scenario, you move our best bench player into the starting line up. I get that Jokic is young, but that trade makes both our starting line up and our bench worse. Is your goal here to go 5-36 for the rest of the season and hope we win the draft lottery? BNM
