This may not go over well, but Ive been wondering. Other than his late game heroics and clutch shooting, combined with his superb personality, Is he overrated? He has had some incredible historic games no doubt, but he is not consistent. He doesn't play defense and he is in a comfort zone it seems. Dont get me wrong, I love Dame, but I think the kinks in the armor have never been more glaring than now. His kinks? Too much loyalty. With Dame being our franchise player, is he leading us down a path of mediocrity with his unconditional support of Stotts? Is it just that he needs help? Another all star or two? If so, he also needs to recognize this and stop being loyal to players less than capable of being an all star. Does he want to win? Or just float along as a .500 team and never win? Franchise players have alot of pull and he could be pulling hard, but has not and never has. I'm done listening to the talk, lets see some walk....
I've seen this more and more from fans in a variety of venues. It's not that they don't love Dame, but they question his abject loyalty to a coach that hasn't adapted to their biggest Achilles heel. Also, for being such a great leader, Dame isn't demanding more on defense....starting with himself. He has done a great job as a scorer, and no one can doubt his work ethic (on offense), but he has yet to impact the team in much of a measurable way other than mostly year after year medicrity and enbabling his best friend to basically be just like he is....all offense, little defense.
looks like a lot of this is simply shifting blame to Dame from Olshey. Dame isn't the GM; he hasn't brought championships to Portland so he doesn't have Lebron's cache...or his size or talent Dame's 'loyalty' didn't prevent Barton or Plumlee being traded when those trades suited the designs of Olshey. It's not preventing any needed moves right now it's disgusting how Olshey is allowed to skate around the treadmill he designed with little accountability. He's ridden Dame's talent to 40-50 million dollars in paychecks, and now, in the minds of some Blazer fans, Dame is apparently shielding Olshey for blame Olshey richly deserves
I don't know if he is over-rated; but he needs to realize he needs to get out of his comfort zone and make another leap up as a player.
I don't think anyone is blaming Dame for Olshey's inopportune ineptness at times. However, Dame is not likely entirely blameless in this whole thing either and that is what it seems is starting to pop up. Before, it was blasphemy to even suggest. But when your leader, and supposedly the best leader in all of the NBA, is the reason you still have a highly suspect coach in some areas, or that his BFF is allowed to to basically anything he wants without playing defense and doesn't get called out for it by that BFF/leader, there is certainly a right to at least ask questions given the performance against teams you will face in the Playoffs.
When Dame made the comments that winning a Championship is not his biggest priority, from that moment we basicly knew he will never win a Championship in Portland. Because that means, Stotts will forever be his Coach and CJ will forever be his teammate, and you won't win shit with these two. It feels like Dame has given up. To fight for keeping Stotts in 2018 was Lillard's most crucial mistake in his Career
I think he's playing hurt. I think teams are swarming him. I think our coach is unable to make adjustments to help him out.
I believe all of those are true. That he is fighting for and enabling the coach who can't devise any even remote improvement to those traps with CJ, Powell, RoCo, Nurk, DJJ and even Nas who has shown himself to be a quite capable and willing passer, is being belief. That he has enabled or accepted a defense that is 29th regardless of the personnel is disheartening. We are worse than teams with much less talent and nothing to play for. That is unacceptable on so many levels.
Here's an unrelated question though, at what point do we decide that we won't be able to put a contender around Dame and decide to either trade him to give him a shot at winning, or just ride out his career and have him retire a Blazer? Keeping in mind that if we choose option two, his contract will massively hamper any kind of rebuild. Example - Kobe's contract kept the Lakers from rebuilding for I'd say at least 3-4 years.
seem like you're just ignoring what I said. What the hell is Olshey's job if it's not to see things more objectively than any player?...even the franchise player? Looks like you guys are trashing Dame for defending the coach after the Pels series. And why is that? It's because of the "reports" that Dame went to Paul Allen and talked PA out of firing Stotts. I wonder where those leaks came from...? who do they really serve and who's ass is covered when the principals were Dame and Paul Allen? Who is left standing in front of the firing squad? and who is hiding behind the curtain? Dame isn't the GM and he's not the coach. He's not supposed to always be able to see the forest thru the trees. Sometimes that's impossible. What Dame needs is a new GM and a new coach
Not ignoring that point at all. But there has been plenty of people taking issue with Neil (you and I included) for quite some time. But to question Dame has been taboo. However, if you are the team leader, and supposedly the best leader in the NBA, it seems fair to at least question him on some things given what has basically been stagnation for a number of years.
yeah, it really very very bad that Dame shows such loyalty to the city, franchise, and team that he would be willing to accept not winning a championship. Too bad he isn't an asshole like Durant or Kyrie or Melo in Denver. this thread is people blaming Dame for Olshey not acting like a GM or the Vulcans not acting like owners. When was the last time people trashed Olshey for not sinking a three or making an assist?
That doesn't seem to be the case at all no matter how many times you keep saying it. No reasonable person is letting Neil off the hook. Instead, for the first time, people are starting to at least question Dame's part in the success or failure of the team. Star players have the ability to keep a coach or get them removed....we have seen that over and over again. Questionning Dame's role in keeping what seems like an often inept or overmatched Stotts seems like a fair question. Now if the continued response is that 'Dame is being blamed for Olshey not acting like a GM', well, all the best.
Dame's going through a rough patch, obviously. And he's forcing things. Just before halftime last night, the team had cut the Heat lead to two and had a fastbreak where there was a Blazer player right under the Heat's basket, but Dame pulled up and bricked a three pointer, which triggered a Heat fast break score. He then proceeded to do the same thing the next couple of times down the floor and we were down double digits in no time. I can't help but think Nurk has that sequence in mind in some of his comments.
ok then...what you want is for Dame to have the same view on Stotts that you do. Should Dame come out and say Stotts should be fired?
It is on the ownership & GM then if they dont make needed changes its seems to come down to the team star to flex his influence. Just my opinion.
