I'd be surprised if Dame takes less than a max contract. It is a sign of being an elite player, and a status symbol among players. I think Dame cares about that type of stuff, unfortunately.
THANK YOU. It's unbelievable seeing the amount of over-confidence in building a team from the soccer moms and armchair GMs in here. In reality the majority of these posters are completely inept in evaluating talent, blinded by hatred for certain players (the LMA hate is ridiculous) or a combination of both. Most of the posters screaming the loudest about wholesale changes are the same posters who: 1) wanted to dump CJ 2) wanted to dump Meyers 3) thought AAA was on par with Matthews 4) wanted to trade LMA for Love 5) forgot what it was like to win 20 games 6) think if we just get rid of everybody we can easily rebuild to make the finals Posters like this look ridiculous.
Agreed. A lot of the guys that were on the 1 and 2 bandwagon now want to let LMA walk and trade Batum.
Every GM in the league would offer LMA a max contract if they could. One word that best describes LMA’s career is “consistent”. He has consistently produced night after night for nine seasons. During those nine seasons as a Blazer, he consistently developed his game. Every season LMA improved his game over the prior season. So what happened to LMA in the playoffs? I could speculate on several reasons for his poor showing, including several reasons not mentioned before. But the truth is, I do not have a clue, and neither do most, if not all, posters on this board. Anyone that knows is not talking. Does LMA’s poor showing in these playoffs justify letting him go to another team. NO! Think back to how he destroyed the Rockets in last season’s playoffs. Something was not right with LMA in the Grizz playoffs. I hope whatever the problem is that caused LMA's poor playoff showing against the Grizz is fixable. I also believe that LMA has too much pride in his game to not come back and give his best, as he has done for nine prior seasons. LMA has earned the super max contract from the Blazer.
That article doesn't mention Tim Frazier (still quick as a hiccup) our newly acquired PG who is quicker than Dame.
The criticism of Afflalo is equally unfair though. We gave up a heaping pile of crap to get him. He never got a chance to mesh with the team, and he played hurt in the playoffs.
LA is certainly the foundation of this team but that might be a problem. He is a very good player but IMO, not a guy that leads you to a title. He is more of a #2 and to spend the 'SuperMax' on that type of player who would be 30-35 during that contract does not seem like good value. He has 1 playoff series win in 9 years and that took a miracle shot from his young PG. Yes, he had two historic games against Houston but since those first two, in the 14 games since, he is shooting under 40% with a very low efficiency. That is not to take away what he means to Portland but I just don't thing he leads you to a title in downside of his career which is what is coming. If Blazer fans are okay with 50-55 wins and a first round exit or possible one series win once in a while, then that is fine. If winning a title is the goal, I just don't think LA is the direction you go for that kind of money. It is part of the reason I wanted Wiggins + players back when it was available. It would have been a step back and there are no guarantees it would have made us better but after 8 years, you know what LA is and what he is not and that just doesn't seem title worthy so if that is the goal, another direction is needed. What would a young core of Meyers Leonard, Andrew Wiggins, Tristen Thompson, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum with tons of cap room and a few vets sprinkled in look like. Not a 50 win team this year but going forward I like that potential more than where we are now.
Attack the post(s) and not the posters. ;-) Again with the "hater" label. People have different opinions of our players, big deal, let it go.
Agreed on this! At least he went to "haters" instead of continuing to call people "mother fuckers". Now that was messed up. Maybe it is some progress....
Dude... I'm gonna say WTF I want. If I see a hater I'm calling one. Having a differing opinion is WAY different than hating. Use it in context.
LA is the 7th best player in the NBA based upon this year's MVP voting. Are we saying that's not worth a max deal?
We've given the max deal to players who have done far less for Portland than LA has. Why is this even a question? He played basically with a broken wing for the 2nd half of the season. He should get the max based on his sacrifice for this team (dviss1 - I know your question was rhetorical). I think the better deal for him would be a 1-year deal so he could be in play for the super-max after next season. He'll get it if he stays healthy. Team owners have dipped into their pockets and went over the cap to win. I think PA is willing to do that again to surround our core with players who will contribute... at least I hope. He's tasted success the last 2 years and has a great core - it would be silly to break this team up with so much potential still here.
Sigh you just don't get it. This is a message board about basketball and you continue to make it about the poster....
