He has been injured and if you look at his nine games since getting treatment and rest for the injury he's been Dame. He wasn't great last night against the Lakers but he's not going to be perfect and never has been. Dame isn't the problem and we better make damn sure we address the real problems before we throw away the best and only loyal superstar we've ever had.
If you look at the post I was replying to it said we've sucked for years meaning that poster isn't cool with our relative stasis over the post LaMarcus debacle that was the majority of Olshey's tenure. For having someone of Dame's caliber we have sucked but again those weren't my words initially I was just willing to let @Bingo Bango have that and move on to the fact that the stasis that he was referring to as sucking has been because of Olshey, the rosters he has constructed around his all nba player but not because of Dame. Edit: Oh and please don't refer to the aberration that was our run to the WCF where we got swept... that fits the kind of mediocre stasis that we've been in.
He has cost us games even since the treatment. Bad threes, horrible FTs, lazy on D. As for loyalty, Sheed was loyal. Never asked for a trade. Loved Portland.
Glad to see you've given up on Dame as well, without ever giving him a chance with a roster that makes sense around him. Great job.
Did I say I’ve given up on him? The truth is he’s been awful this season. I listened to a whole podcast where they discussed who should start on the All Star team and Dame’s name didn’t come up in the discussion. How the mighty have fallen. Even if we get Ben Simmons and Myles Turner, Dame has to play better. It’s not the coach. It’s not his teammates. It’s him. I’m fine with keeping him but we have to be honest.
If you trade him, what are the odds you get a player of his caliber back that wants to stay in Portland. Ben Simmons doesn't want to be in Portland. He has made it clear, at least in the past, that he wants California. So you trade for him, and he leaves as a FA or (shocker) demands a trade. You think he will all of a sudden act like a different guy once he lands in depressing Portland? He would fucking hate life as a blazer. That means you gamble on young talent/picks. Again, what is the likelihood they a) will be all star level in a few years (I say 1 in 10), and b) most importantly, want to stay in portland (I say 1 in 10 again). Even if we are generous and say 25% chance for each scenario, that's still just a bit better than a 10% chance you do as well as Dame if you trade him. 10% chance is generous IMHO. You won't get the talent, loyalty, and character in a single guy. Odds become very very small. You are better off keeping him and using his loyalty to attract players that want to be in Portland. Honor his loyalty, don't fuck him over. He says time and again he wants to be here. Keep him. The odds are, you won't do better than Dame if you deal him.
Then be honest that he has been hurt and since coming back... just look at his numbers. All I am saying is give Dame a chance with more complementary teammates around him on a balanced roster and see what he can do when healthy... and don't give me some bullshit about the mighty falling using twenty nine games in a career where he's proven himself more times than the guy you're calling this season's MVP. (Sorry to cross threads)
I don't want Dame playing in the allstar game this year...he needs to take that time off this year and covid makes that even more important
That’s bullshit. We won two incredibly competitive playoff series. I think the road team has won a Game 7 on the road like about 30 times. We’re one of them. I’m not sure it’s ever been done in Denver’s altitude. We won two fucking playoff series. That was fun. We did get swept in WCF though we had big leads in three of the games. But that doesn’t cancel out what we DID accomplish. We made it to the Final Four. Nets signed Durant and Kyrie three years ago and traded for Harden two years ago and guess how many playoff series they’ve won? ONE. Total. Getting to the conference finals is an accomplishment and it’s not “sucking” or “mediocrity” or “stasis.”
I think the coaches will pick Dame if it's between him and Ja. While this season Ja probably does deserve it a little more than Dame (their numbers are really close but Ja has been more efficient and his team is doing really well) that's just not how all stars have ever been picked by the coaches. When it's even a little close the perennial all star still gets the nod. Maybe Dame would sit the weekend out for rest and give Ja the chance after the coaches select Dame but given how this shit has been awarded historically Dame deserves it due to tenure and him still putting up big numbers.
Most players who play in Portland love Portland. He has never been quoted as saying he wants to play in CA. He can’t leave as FA til 2025.
Nobody wants to come to Portland. How well has Lillard recruited any star players? It won't happen. Simmons has 4 years left on his deal. There is a likelihood he plays for us over Philly. Obviously they would talk to him about their plan for the team and Billups would tell him how he would use him. If he didn't want to play here, route him elsewhere for the highest bidder. Getting him in a situation that he can win isn't dissing his loyalty. If we can't get him a contender here, it is the right thing to do while he has prime years left. To jump start our rebuild and give him an actual chance to win something.
That would be absolute robbery if Dame made it over Ja this year. It isn't gonna happen. Cp3, curry, mitchell, booker, ja will make it over Dame. They won't pick Dame on one of the worst teams in the league, when he isn't even playing well, over Ja who is playing better on a team that is going to be a playoff team around all star weekend. Dame is really gonna have to start playing out of his mind to make the team or the Blazers will need to start winning some games.
That’s not true. Coaches traditionally look at team record when selecting reserves. Remember when Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver made the All Star team? They will favor Ja over Dame. Let’s say 6 guards make the All Star team out West. Curry, Mitchell, CP3, George, and Booker are locks. Ja is having a better year than Dame and his team is having a better year. Also there is Conley, Luka, Edwards, and Westbrook (by your standard, he should make it since he's been an All Star in 9 of the last 10 years and is a Top 75 guy). Honestly, unless we start winning more games, he won't make it. Maybe as an injury replacement but right now I think the coaches would go Curry, Mitchell, CP3, George, Booker, and Ja. Maybe Doncic instead of George who could be in as a front court player instead. There's no room for Dame. He's probably better than Mitchell but coaches will want to reward Utah.
I don't think getting to the conference finals by the skin of our teeth and then getting swept out once we were their is a big enough accomplishment given how great Dame has been for this team. We haven't put a roster around him that has made sense. CJ has always been a terrible running mate for Dame. If you think I'm over estimating Dame and that Olshey did a great job then I guess we have to agree to disagree but I think Dame has been and still is one of the very best in the league and I think Olshey was pure shit and rode Dame's coattails to whatever perceived success you give the team credit for over the last six or more seasons. If we took a team like the Kobe/Shaq Lakers to a game seven in a year the Western Conference Champions were virtually a lock to be the Finals Champions... I would consider that something special. The way it is, this iteration of the team led by Dame and built on a foundation of him and CJ as the cornerstone has not been in contention and with Dame being as great as he is and the lack of effort the front office has put into trying something different around him, that's unacceptable. Our playoff record since CJ has been our second best player of 16-30 is unacceptable. It's also unacceptable to me that so many in here are giving up on Dame at the slightest sign of adversity and without giving him a chance with a proper supporting cast. So, I think that's bullshit.
I guess we'll see but I think star power has a lot more sway than you guys obviously do. Also, I don't know the answer to this but I'm wondering what perennial all stars Teague and Korver made that team over?
