Dame unfollows the Blazers on IG

Dame is under contract to play basketball for the Blazers. Period. Unless it says in his contract that we must trade our future for OG Anunoby and then didn’t, Dame is bound to be LOYAL to the contract. Trying to force his way out at the detriment of the team that is PAYING him GENERATIONAL WEALTH is about the most disloyal thing he could do. Personally, if it were me, I would NEVER bite the hand feeding me and my family and demand out. And that’s what you need to ask yourself, Bones. If your job was paying YOU $60 million a year, would YOU throw them under the bus? The problem is so many other players have demanded trades that Bones sees it as some sort of normal okay thing to do. It’s NOT. Most of us would be loyal to a company giving us this kind of a contract. Dame is being a dick. Problem is, there are so many dicks in the NBA that someone like Bones can’t even see it.

 

Dame's situation has nothing to do with other players. You're the one making that connection.

Dame's made Portland tons of money. A contract is a two-way obligation. This organization signed him to a contract and now doesnt want him here. He signed that contact under the false pretenses that the Blazers would build around him.

 

Like I said above. Bones has his position. Things we know that support that will be driven into the ground. Things that don't will not be discussed. Because.

He's got his villain and everything his villain does has to be villainous. Facts will be chosen based on value toward pushing this stilted narrative. Even if most of the facts lean the other way. Especially if most of the facts lead the other way.

 

You think that's all there is to Dames side of the story? He just randomly decided to switch up for the hell of it and no other good reason at all? Just for fun?

Man.

 

Thanks for admitting that.

See, Bones? It works both ways. You can do this.

 

You have half the picture and think it's whole. So you claim that anything that you dont see directly in front of you is factually innacurate. You think everything Cronin says is true and fact.

The Blazers went directly against the pretenses that Dame signed that contract under. See? Wait, no you don't.

 

I was like 6 or something so he is a fairytale to me.

 

And there it is! This demanding a trade BS should not be the norm but so many accept it as normal. At some point the NBA needs to address this. Dame demands a trade after signing a super max and Portland has to take on another teams trash just to match salaries as a minimum. Portland doesn't want to pay Herro, Robinson, Lowery or any other crap contract just for the privilege of accommodating Dame. Portland is not a free agent destination so they will not be hurt by Joe holding the line and demanding fair return. Players drafted will sign extensions in Portland because the system is set for the home team to offer the best deals. Portland has to maximize a players abilities in the first 8-9 seasons.

 

It's a lot different. Bones isn't an unlikeable smarmy little balled-faced rabble-rouser.

 

Plus his putting the blame for his brittle body on the team doctors instead of on his refusal to have a steak and a glass of milk once in a while..

 

The Blazers never said they don't want Dame here - Dame is the one who requested a trade.

Dame wasn't under any false pretenses - the Blazers have always failed to build a contender since Aldridge left in 2014. Dame signed those extensions with eye's wide open. Any "false pretense" are Dame not understanding how NBA teams functions.

If Dame wants to request a trade yes he can do that - but the Blazers have 100% met all obligations they had to Dame.

Its also totally fine if Blazer fans are disappointed in Dame, don't root for him, don't like him any more, or feel like he was fake in his comments. They are completely justified in those feelings as it is a direct result of Dame and Dame's official representatives comments.

 

Even Canzano wasn't that at the start.

 

You think you know 100% of the facts? Even if you have some intel from Dame's camp I highly doubt you or any of those people feeding you information were unbiased observers in the room. I'm sure people on Dame's camp can complain endlessly about the Blazers failures just as Cronin and the Blazers could complain endlessly about Dame's failures. This is exactly like a divorce or a very close personal partnership that breaks down. We could spend weeks discussing who is right and wrong but ultimately none of that old history matters going forward.

There are no pretenses to the contract - its a standard NBA contract that hundreds of players are signed under ever year. The player does not control their destination until the contract ends and they are a free agent. It's literally in the contract. Dame chose to lock up more long term money - he thus lost control of where he could play.

Maybe there were some informal casual agreements to take different actions. But those are all thrown out when the relationship breaks down. The Blazers don't have to honor informal agreements. The Blazers only have to honor the contract. If Dame wanted personal casual agreements to be in effect he should've maintained a personal positive relationship in confidentiality with the Blazers. If that relationship is gone by either party then you fall back on the contract. This also applies to all businesses and legal situations. If Dame and his agent didn't understand this its their failure, not the Blazers.

If I have a handshake verbal deal with my buddy I can't end that relationship and expect him to honor those verbal discussions. That's not how any business or professional relationship works. That is literally why we have contracts, so each side knows exactly what they are entitled to.

 

Dame is a player. Dame is doing what other players like James Harden, KD, and Kyrie do.

Dame has also made a lot of money, like Powerball money.

Also, even though I would like a championship team as well, the team is under zero obligation to do anything. Meanwhile, being under contract, the obligation for Dame is legal.

This false pretenses thing is such a hugely subjective thing to say, I'm not sure it even flies. It certainly seemed like--other than Jerami--they were not trying, but resigning Jerami indicates that it's less false pretenses and more an inability to get the other pieces for the right price. I mean, what are you going to do?

So Dame blasts his brand to smithereens and we have an exciting young team (which incidentally would probably be pretty good if Dame was truly a ride or die kind of guy and not a Florida man).

 

These are statements that I would consider a giant stretch.
I don't think for a minute this organization "Doesn't want him here".
I don't think for a minute they didn't try to build around him.

 

The notion that the Blazers would give Dame a ~$200 million plus contract but agree that at any time he could request a trade to any single team in the league and the Blazers would trade him there regardless of the assets or poor value they receive back in return is just unbelievable.

That would be total GM malpractice. If I'm an owner I'd override any such agreement. If I was the players agent I'd caution that it's such an outlandish verbal agreement if the time ever comes we might not be able to count on it being executed anyways. If Dame or his reps didn't understand this; that's on them.

Now the notion that the Blazers would say they would try to accommodate a Dame trade request to the team of his choosing as they did with Norm and CJ is totally different. I could see the Blazers saying this. But in those cases the player or his representatives did not make public trade demand statements, nor demand a single team. That again would make this entire situation much more of Dame's fault than the Blazers.

I just don't see any ways that Dame and his camp can avoid the bulk of the blame, as well as deserve most of the public wrath of Blazers fans in this situation. Happy to consider any good arguments to the contrary, but all I hear is juvenile name calling, the insistence of some insider knowledge nobody else has, or other conspiracy theory type arguments none of which hold any water.