Gun to my head I trade CJ. Lillard's shot selection drives me nuts sometimes, but he gets to the hole, he's got a certain kind of moxie that is very rare; a mixture of irrational confidence and maturity that makes you think every crazy shot he takes is going to go in. So if it was CJ for Noel and Philly's unprotected first. I'd do the deal in a heartbeat.
Considering the amount of practice time during an NBA season, I'd say it's actually quite difficult for NBA defenses to really lock-in on a player who isn't originally the #1 option for that team. I'd say Lillard's presence on the team playing or not, effects how teams play Portland defensively. A team can go into a game saying. "Ok Lillard isn't playing, we have to stop McCollum". But it's just not that easy to switch your defense to key-in on someone else without practice time. Especially considering the different strengths Lillard & CJ have offensively. Also must point to a post you made a few days ago. Level of competition CJ has faced when Lillard is out isn't top tier level. Nor is Portland's winning % without Lillard.
I'll go even further. If you advocate trading lillard: I mock your value system. You also appear foolish to the eyes of others. Past instances in which I professed to like you were fraudulent.
How many more threads are we gonna see about this? it's idiotic. Your fan card should be revoked if you wanna just jump fucking ship and trade lillard or even cj right now. You aren't gonna get Butler for any of the two and even if you could, don't you maybe wanna wait and see how this team plays with a decent fucking frontcourt?? we got guys who aren't starters, starting out there. Dame and CJ try to keep the team on their back averaging 23 and 27 and not even that helps. Put a fucking rim protector out there with dame and cj, as well as another piece and lets see how they play. Tired of people going ape shit when we suck. It's like you panic and aren't thinking clearly. "TRADE DAME, CJ. HELP!!!" Dame is a great leader. Spokesperson for the franchise. The ultimate franchise player. Loyal. Signed a big extension before last season not knowing if last season was gonna be terrible or not and has expressed the whole time him wanting to finish his career here. People close to him have said how damn loyal he is especially when he was at weber state. Stats get better every year. One of the only few players that can pull up from 30 feet and drill it and fuck your whole "Dame time isn't real" stats because I have seen dame time. 3 to 4 threes made in a row on pull up 30 footers like nothing. I will never forget the back to back game winners he had against Cleveland and then detroit. Game 6? need I say more? his start to this season averaging like 30 a game for a while. Just came off an ankle sprain, not playing the best, yeah I don't like his shot selection sometimes either and his defense but fuck that I am riding with Dame on this one. That's a player you don't get rid of. Maybe also consider he hates losing and maybe that affects his play as we have seen with other players. Must be bullshit to see your team mates not live up to their contracts and play like they could. Allen Crabbe had 30 last night. Why can't he average a consistent number? dude can do better. Some idiots on the forum though think Dame just needs to be traded now. You are just gonna bitch about the next star that comes to town so fuck outta here. I wouldn't trade CJ as well. It's obvious this organization put their chips in on CJ and Dame. These dudes are like brothers, close and live here. Families are close. They make each other better on the court and feed whoever is hot the ball as Dame did last night when CJ was feeling it. CJ's ability to split the double and pull up from mid and be crafty is so valuable. Lose CJ on a screen, you are fucked. Also signed a huge extension with us. These are our franchise guys and maybe you need to start pointing fingers at Crabbe, Davis, Leonard, etc for their play and start thinking about getting rid of them for some damn pieces that would actually try and be consistent and good for the team as opposed to lazy and uninspired, inconsistent. Stop with these stupid ass threads, shits annoying. Use your damn head
Don't trade either. They are both badasses. And that's what you need to win. You need players who are just badasses. The more the better. I don't know how to make this team better, but it doesn't start with trading one of those guys.
So you got bored and decided HEY I KNOW A GOOD POST DUUURRR WHAT IF YOU HAD A GUN TO YUR HEAD AND U HAD TA CHOOSE ONE?!?!" yeah lol
CJ is starting to come into his own - just as Lillard did in his first few years in the league. Dame has a lot more experience than CJ, both in the league and at running the team. That being said, even with the massive jump CJ made last season, it's truly impressive (and fun to watch) to see his continued growth as a player. I don't understand people who can't come to grips with the idea that CJ may be better than Lillard. Is it that unlikely that CJ, given the same opportunities and time as Lillard, could be just as good (even better?). Gun to head I'd trade Lillard. CJ is still growing as a player and is just as good right now. IMO, already, CJ is a better shooter, may be more clutch and is a better defender than Lillard. Either way, IF the team decides to trade one of these two - I hope it's based on a basketball decision and not on a corporate or pandering to fans decision (ie. we don't want fan backlash). The better basketball on the court will translate into fan appreciation of it's own accord.
Gun to my head I trade CJ. Only because I've seen Dame lead a team in the playoffs. I'm confident that McCollum could also though.
Lillard is the better pg so no question for me there (he is the better player overall too). To have a good pg is extremely important if you don't have Lebron James on your team so I choose Dame. And for those that might say we ll get a decent pg in the next draft with our picks I doubt we can find a pg that can produce from season 1 and this is what we need unless we want to waste next season too. And to be honest I'm really surprised it's 50-50, it seems crazy!
