Dame with possible Achilles tear last night. With him turning 35 that might be just about career ending.
Yeah... that's rough. It was a good career he had though. I'd love to have him back on staff after he's had time to process it. I think he could help Scoot turn into something special.
I don't see Dame as being willing to let this injury be the thing that sets his endpoint as a player. I expect him to rehab and be ready to play sometime next season. Will he have the same quickness and ability to blow by people? That seems unlikely at his age. Depending upon how it heals, he may have to change his game to more of a role player, but there's always a demand for guys who can hit a three-ball the way he can.
I wouldn't be surprised if the bucks tried to get Dame back for a playoff run next season. He could be back to "full" speed after by playoffs. Achilles usually takes 4-6 months to get back to normal activity. I'm sure he'll have lost a step, though.
I don't doubt what Dame will want to do or workout for. I doubt what his body at that age can handle. Wes had as much heart and determination as anyone while being only 28 when he tore his Achilies. He was a shell of himself after that tear. Yeah Wes got a big contract and started some games but went from a PER of 16.1 with exceptional D to far below average PER between 10.3-11.9 his next 4 years - along with far less defense. At 33 he was in single digit PER where he stayed as an end of the bench scrub for his final seasons. Kobe is another example - again no lack determination, but ultimately a shell of what he was prior to the injury. Same age as Lillard too when it happened - 34. Lillard was a bad defender at his athletic peak, I can't imagine how he's going to be defending anyone in those next playoffs when he is nearly 37 years old coming off a bum Achilles. Dame's days of being a starter on a contender are over. Maybe Dame can play on an NBA roster again. I also question if he can handle the mental part of accepting a lesser role. More likely he follows Klay Thompson being "disrespected" last year when the Warriors would only pay him $100 million or whatever. 99% of NBA starts just don't accept lesser roles in their mid to late 30's. Vince Carter was one of the very few exceptions.
Father time is pretty much undefeated (Lebron is a freak of nature). Hope Dame recovers soon. I think he will try to come back and play but I don't see him being anywhere near what he was doing. Maybe a shooter off the bench for instant offense.
He’s going to try to come back; that $58 mil player extension is too good to pass up. This is good for us because it might convince Milwaukee not to rebuild until it’s too late.
Thanks for explaining that; I thought it was still left to resign. He's Milwaukee's Raef Lafrentz now
Dames for sure is MUCH more severe. Thousands of athletes come back from ACL 100%. Can count on one hand the NBA players that were a good starter after an Achilles. I can't think of any besides Durant/Dominique. Klay is maybe borderline a good starter but nothing like he was pre injury.
Look at some of the guys who never were the same and most much younger with the Achillies injury; Brandon Jennings 25 DeMarcus Cousins 27 Elton Brand 28 Wesley Matthews 28 John Wall 28 Mario Chalmers 29 Christian Laettner 29 Klay Thompson 30 Rudy Gay 30 Mehmet Okur 30 Kevin Durant 30 Anderson Varejao 32 Isiah Thomas 32 Kobe Bryant 34 Chauncey Billups 35 Durant is basically the only player to return to an allstar level, and he is hardly a common NBA body type or skillset.
Dame will try though, because he believes in himself and (conceptually) bets on himself more than any other player I've seen other than Durant. And he could do it. He's got a lot of mental fortitude to push through the worry about re-injury (which I think blocks a lot of players from returning fully).
Oh I'm sure Dame will try, I don't doubt that. I doubt that as a 36 year old he will succeed. Do you think Kobe Bryant and Wesley Matthews lacked that mental fortitude? I'm just not buying it. All three of these guys are insanely competitive, determined, willing to put in whatever amount of work and effort they can up to the edge of breaking. I'm not sure I'd actually put Durant in that group - he's just physically gifted in a way those guys aren't. Durant might be a legit 7 footer.
I realize this is terribly disrespectful, but I do think Dame has more mental fortitude than either player mentioned above.
I would think advances in medicine and surgeries would help Dame’s odds. I still think 85-90% Dame is a possibility.
