Would you trade Lillard?

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

  1. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Hello darkness, my old friend
    That's true and impressive--but we're talking about overall performance and this year. Being one of the youngest to X points and Y assists is pretty cool, but doesn't really impact how he compares this year to a host of other talented guards. And factoids like that never captured overall value (including scoring efficiency, defense, etc).
     
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  2. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    This whole conversation is out of balance in that it's a lot of back and forth about just how good Dame is. What I want to hear in any discussion about trading him is what package are we getting for him? Irving or Thomas? Pass. Durant? 'Bye Dame.
     
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  3. Sarni

    Sarni Well-Known Member

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    We are not getting any offers for him because he is staying. We will be bulding around him not without him.
     
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  4. Wizard Mentor

    Wizard Mentor Wizard Mentor

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    We are not getting from other teams any player that is as good as Lillard, so no, there are no circumstances which Lillard is traded.

    This is not necessarily true for CJ, but it would take a heck of an offer.
     
  5. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Clearly that's what I MEANT to say. (Atlanta/Orlando.)
     
  6. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    a) You don't know we're not getting offers. Blazers FO isn't the Trump White House - it doesn't leak like a sieve.
    b) But as long as Olshey is here, we're sticking with Lillard, for sure. NO has hitched his wagon to his star.
     
  7. Sarni

    Sarni Well-Known Member

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    I really don't see many teams in the league who will be willing to trade a lot for Lillard. All contenders already have point guards who are equally good or better - Warriors, Cavaliers, Raptors. Spurs do not have a point guard better than him but they do not need one anyway and because of how they play, a defensive liability at point guard would not be welcome anyway. On top of that they do not have the assets to trade for Lillard and they also know it. Boston will definitely not be looking at him when they have Thomas. Clippers have CP3 and do not have the assets to take Lillard. Thunder have Westbrook and even Rockets have Harden who has been doing better than Lillard at PG.

    You might look at some of the weak teams as they could trade picks for Dame but none of them will do that when the next draft will have 3-4 point guards with massive potential.

    Basically it'd be easier for us to trade everyone else than Lillard because teams who a) need him, b) have the assets to get it done are few and far between. And I'm not even talking about some immense incredible assets. A well positioned first round pick plus a good player could start the talks but nobody will offer that.
     
  8. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    ! They've won 3 championships with a defensive liability at point guard!
    I've been trying to come up with possible trade scenarios with the Spurs for a while, but their contracts are remarkably sane - shitloads for Kawhi and Aldridge, peanuts for everybody else. The only exceptions are Parker, Ginobili and Green. I don't see them trading Parker or Ginobili, even to make the numbers work, and Green has dropped off considerably. I want SloMo, but I want more for Lillard than just him (OBVIOUSLY).
    ALSO: Lillard and Aldridge reunited? AWKWARD.

    I disagree a little. A team like Philly doesn't want to add a rookie PG, however talented. All the "star" PGs in the next draft are very young - Lillard was good in the NBA from the get-go, but he was a 4-year guy. Philly is one team I think would love to have Lillard, particularly as Lillard is a great shooter, and shooting is a weakness in that team (and in the star PGs in the draft). Again, if they would give up Simmons, it's a no-brainer. But obviously they would much rather offer Okafor. What if they offered Okafor and their pick? I say no, because they're already pretty good and with Lillard they might even make the playoffs, so their pick would be of comparatively low value. Noel and a pick? Still no.

    Orlando is another team that has actually said they still want to compete. Mainly because Hennigan is trying desperately to save his job. But I really don't like any of their players. Maybe a player and TWO picks, unprotected?

    Other teams that could be interested:
    Sacramento
    New Orleans
    Milwaukee (Thon Maker, Greg Monroe and Malcolm Brogdon?)
    New York
    Phoenix (to pair with Devin Booker to make Splash Brothers II)
     
  9. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    "Easier" in what sense?
    Who wants Crabbe and Turner with those ridiculous salaries?
    Who wants Meyers Leonard AT ALL?
    Even CJ is on a poison pill contract. And the rest of our players are, frankly, scrubs. At this point our most tradeable players are probably Harkless (provided people haven't checked his stats recently) and Ezeli, just as an expiring contract.
    I guess someone like the Spurs might be interested in Aminu, too. But is he that much better than Simmons?
     
  10. Rhal

    Rhal Well-Known Member

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    Rasta didn't you want to trade Lillard for the #2 pick two years ago because Russell was going to be oh so much better then Lillard
     
  11. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    You can apply this logic to just about any trade, and conclude that no trade will ever happen.
    Of course every team wants to "win" a trade. But the trick is to find a team that is overloaded at one position, and ideally has a player who they aren't using right or fear they will lose anyway. Also, we would trade for a player that isn't as good as Lillard yet (although better at defense I would hope) but has the potential to end up at least as good.

    BUT ALSO:
    Suppose we don't. Okay, then we crash. But it might be better to crash now rather than hover in mediocrity for years getting crappy picks.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2017
  12. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    The George Karl allstar snub FU tour may have had the opposite effect on Dame....let's hope not. There aren't many players I'd trade him for. I love the Greek Freak though...that kid is going to rock the NBA and is really young
     
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  13. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Damn - somebody with a good memory on the board.
    Okay, here's my defense:
    1. I was going by what everyone was saying. I didn't actually watch Ohio State. And people RAVED about Russell.
    2. I didn't say I wanted to do it, I just floated the suggestion. (You could call that suggestion "a floater".)
    3. I would never say that now. (Not just because Russell isn't good - he's actually improving at a steady rate, although he'll never be a good defender - but he just seems to be a self-satisfied dick.)
     
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  14. Nikolokolus

    Nikolokolus There's always next year

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    Milwaukee would hang up in a heartbeat.
     
  15. Wizard Mentor

    Wizard Mentor Wizard Mentor

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    No.
    The top 10 players in the league aren't going to be traded, period.
     
  16. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    So that doesn't apply to any of our players, then.
     
  17. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    How about injuries?

    How about shitty teammates?

    Was Westbrook no longer one of the top 10 in the league when he was out with an injury? When Michael Jordan was coming back from retirement and he was rusty, was he not one of the top 10 shooting guards in the league?
     
  18. Schilly

    Schilly Well-Known Member

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    The simple answer is no. There are multiple reasons, the 1st is of the players I would trade him for the Team on the other end wouldn't be be overly open to making the deal, not because Damian's value is low but because we are talking about face of the franchise guys who typically just don't get traded unless they ask to be moved. The next thing is, Dame is just about the epitome of today's NBA PG. You aren't going to fix they undersized aspect of our backcourt by trading the PG, unles you bring back a 6'5"+ PG to play alongside CJ somehow, because IMO CJ is not long term PG. The flaw I see is not in trying to use Dame and CJ together, it's in trying to have our own "Draymond" aka a SF who can play PF. I think swapping Plumlee for Nurkic will be a nice step in the right direction but several more steps are needed.

    IMO we still need a backup PG, preferably a taller one, Rubio came to mind briefly, he's not a shooter, but his defense is better than advertised. If you can bring him off the bench at the point and let Dame and/or CJ play sg alongside.... Also would have to run Layman out there for shooting. It's a thought, and its not a sexy one, I imagine most in here will say hell no, and I'm not sold myself, but it's intriguing, especially if Turner is the starter.
     
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  19. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Hello darkness, my old friend
    I addressed shitty teammates in my initial response to you (as a credit to Lillard). Injuries can certainly reduce a player's ability--but that's just unfortunate, it doesn't change the reality of how he's playing. And the truth is, he's actually not playing worse this season than last. He's actually scoring more efficiently this season than last and his turnover rate is down. But his defense is worse, balancing that out. If you want to attribute his worse defense to a persistent injury that isn't holding him back at all offensively, you can.

    The point is, I think you can easily argue his relative positional ranking this season between around 5 and 11 without being a hater or a homer. Maybe his defense will improve next year and he'll push himself clearly to #5 or higher. That would be fantastic. I like Lillard a lot.
     
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  20. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Apparently Stan Van Gundy is getting pissed off at both Drummond and Jackson. Now, I hate Jackson's game (and so do a LOT of Pistons fans) but what if we could somehow get Drummond by giving up Lillard? Would people go for that? Because Drummond was the ONE guy picked after Lillard that people say might possibly have been a better pick.

    How 'bout this? (the rare 3-way trade where everybody is worse off!)
    (Incorporates a rumored Jackson-for-Rubio swap as a way of redirecting Jackson. But Detroit would be kind of hosed here. EXCEPT: they finally free up big minutes for their star-in-waiting - BOBAN - and Van Gundy is not afraid to just walk away from players he doesn't like (see Josh Smith - who at the time was actually considered a good player)
     

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