I don't like this, because it sounds like Olshey's been working to win him over. It makes sense, and I'd do the same thing if I were Olshey, but it means Olshey can say "look, you know we tried, right?" and Lillard understands, so won't hold his feet to the fire. On the other hand, if he knows Olshey did the best that could be done in Portland, that might make Dame's mind up that it's time to go somewhere else.
I think Batum was clearly up there, Quick said it and someone else hinted at it too. But either way, I don't think Dame/Neil are being very realistic if they think FAs was going to be a major tool.
If Dame truly believes using our minimums and exceptions is the "best we could have done", I question his thought process.
My biggest positive slant on the Athletic piece is that Dame was involved. You're not gonna go on recruiting pitches for free agents if you're planning to leave. here's the rest of his media availability .
I really though by now we would have had a star FA come to Portland and say "I came here to play with Dame Lillard" I wonder why it hasn't happened?
It's the brains that actually remember what Neil has and has not done for 9+ years. It's the not even including CJ in conversations for opportunities to get a legit sidekick for Dame. It's a track record of completely overvaluing CJ and then ending discussions. Hopefully this time is different. Historically, not in his favor, but at the same time, one could say he is WAY overdue.
On a semi-serious note, if you want ring chasers to come, build a front runner. If your team is competing for a title, ring chasers will come no matter how small the market is. Milwaukee has proven that. No ring chaser or coveted vets see our team as a true contender, because why the hell would they? So of course we get McLemore and Snell.
Aside from hardcapping ourselves, what does Markannen do for us? Poor defensive player that will just become a spot up shooter.
Zach Lowe is saying the Spurs would like to trade Thad Young for a late first. I think that’s the easiest move for us to make, DJJ+first for Thad. It’s an obvious upgrade, if not a fancy one.
These were their free agents last off season: Bryn Forbes, Bobby Portis, DJ Augustin, and Torrey Craig. Portis was the only substantial piece. And his numbers and impact in his career are fairly similar to Zeller's. I wouldn't exactly classify these guys as ring chasers. (also sidebar, Tony Snell started ~70% of his 229 games that he played in Milwaukee)
Portis took significantly less to go to Milwaukee last year, it was talked about in-depth. That has never happened with us. But there haven't been many small market contenders outside of Milwaukee the last few years.
i mean zeller taking the minimum was unexpected. i never saw people flocking to San Antonio in free agency when they were contending either.
