Yeah I had often thought the purely strategic way to get us the most talent in return is trading Lillard. Just don't see how it is possible being the face of the franchise for only a few months. The team wants to have some stability. CJ and Lillard also are so tight on a personal level there is nothing similar to the OKC Reggie Jackson situation Rasta is trying to fabricate. Next season we will be rebuilding. But after that we will be looking at getting ready for the 2017-18 season and Lillard will be 28. If we are still multiple moves from contending it may be time to think about going in a different direction. The NBA is so very unpredictable long term though. Look at the greats from 5 years ago most of them are scrubs now. No reason to seriously consider a solution to a non existent problem. I'll just enjoy the CJ/Lillard show.
Sort of. It's not so much a "trade Lillard" thing as it is a matter of asking the right question to minimize the chances of ending up with the wrong answer. If you jump straight to "trade CJ" because of the long-term issue of how to manage two such similar players, with their redundant strengths and magnified weaknesses in conjunction, you've missed an important step. 1) Does a trade of either Dame or CJ need to be made in order to produce a successful team? 2) If the answer is yes, then you have to ask which player will bring back the most in a trade and which you can best build around moving forward. Personally, I think the answer to #2 is pretty unclear right now. The assumption on many people's part that CJ has to be moved before it's too late is just plain foolish, because he may well be the wrong answer to the largely unasked question. I agree with Draco that we haven't had long enough with CJ in a featured role to know for sure he can be the long-term answer. But, given his steady progression last year, culminating in a spectacular showing against a great Memphis defense, and picking right up this season where he left off, does anyone really have any lingering doubts about the sustainability of this level of play? The one question a few weeks back that I think was a fair counter is whether he can be the team leader that Dame has proven himself to be. My opinion was "yes," but I had no data points to back that up with. Well, CJ has done everything possible to put that concern to rest with his recent play sans Lillard!
CJ is legit..I think that you have to get a needle mover to trade him at this point like Paul George. Nobody is untradeable if it's for the right guy..Olshey has shown that in the past.
I would love this (he would be murderous off the bench & unquestioned perennial 6th man of the yr. IMO) but... he won't accept going back to the bench, he's gotten a stater role & he'll never mentally accept anything < that role; he'd ask for a trade IF he went to the bench. I think it best to trade him while his value is so high; making a deal for PG or Jimmy Butler (I think it actually might be possible now bc Bulls have some question marks as to how competitive they can be now/in the near future. i.e. I like Portis a lot but strong chance Gasol leaves). I like CJ & his scoring ability & BBIQ r legit but no matter how hard he works, his physical/stamina limitations on defense will always be a glaring weakness for him/us.
You're right - they'd never give us Boban. He just shot 7-7 and scored 17 points in under 15 mins to add to his already league-leading PER.
A top 6 or 7 SG shouldn't come off the bench. We have another borderline all star and y'all wanna trade him because of this hypothetical problem with playing them together that doesnt really exist. Last year we wanted to play Blake and Lillard some so Lillard could play off the ball. Now it's the opposite. Lillards also improved his defense this year, and CJ isn't as bad on that end as people say. I honestly think they're an average defensive backcourt, and if not they'll improve and will be in a couple years. People want to fret about CJ getting posted up, but how often do you get beat because the other teams SG was posting up? Hardly ever.
Hell I say package Crabbe, Vonleh, filler, picks, and take on Morris' and/or Chandler's contract so we could go get Bledsoe to bring off the bench at PG and SG. We'd have the best backcourt in the league top to bottom.
And for anyone suggesting to trade Lillard, we finally have a HEALTHY superstar that's a great leader, good with the fans and community, bought into the franchise and doesn't want to leave and you guys are suggesting that we trade him. Unbelievable.
he tore his meniscus, which Brandon did repeatedly. The usual procedure to correct this is to trim away the torn portion of the cartilage. The problem is when you have no more left to trim & you end up bone on bone. I'm not aware of how Bledsoe is doing in that regard. STOMP
Ironic that you would post that during the first stretch of games he's missed in his career. But hey, four posts before that you called CJ/Dame an average defensive back court, so I guess anything goes... Seriously, though, you reiterate everyone's response to the suggestion of trading Dame, but seemingly no one wants to acknowledge that CJ checks all the same boxes currently.
I actually gave him props in another tread. If any team consistently plays the guy 26-28 minutes a game on average though he is going to lose his effectiveness and be out of the league due to injury (probably from the feet up) in no time. So for CJ yes, it is, wow, just wow. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like him on the team though.
When Olshey is done wheelin' and dealin' this team is gonna have perfect prototype basketball players at every position with zero weaknesses, super human size and strength, and ridiculous upside. Oh yeah and we need lock down defenders at every position too. Gonna be so sick!
Ironic? Over the course of his career he's been healthy.. Do you not agree because he's missed a couple games recently? And have you not seen how Lillards improved defensively? And do you think CJ is really that bad? And if CJ checks all the same boxes as Dame then we shouldn't be talking about trading him!
Tell me this; if the Blazers had two Steph Currys, would you suggest trading one for a better-balanced lineup? I'm not saying that Dame or CJ are Curry-level players (yet), just asking a hypothetical . . .
