...but Kawhi left after that season and the team sucked two seasons later, would you have made the deal? I ask this because people seem pissed that Olshey won’t make risky moves. But would you?
Zero chance. I'm not a title or bust guy though. I don't like making a move just for the sake of something different. I don't go down to the 7-11 and drop $100 on Powerball for a 1:3million chance at getting rich. Calculated moves that have greater upside, I'm all for it. Strong draft picks, yes please!
I just view Dame differently than I view anyone else in this organization. For me, until he retires (or surprises me by requesting a trade or worse does something horrible to someone else that makes me not want him as part of the team) I think Dame is the Portland Trail Blazers or at least he's an inseparable part of the organization. He says he wants to be here his whole career or as long as the team will have him but that he knows it's a business and teams trade players all of the time. I hope the team never makes the mistake of thinking that it's good business to part ways with Dame. That being said, trading CJ for another proven player who logically fits better with Dame is not risky. Trading other guys for better pieces to go with Dame's game is not risky. I honestly think that if any person that knew the players in this league and I mean basketball professionals or just educated fans tried to put the best team they could around Dame (within the limitations of the CBA) that team would make the playoffs. I honestly think that. That is how much I think Olshey is underachieving. I think anyone could put a team around Dame that does what the teams Olshey has put around him have done on average. That is get into the playoffs and lose in the first round. To answer the question, no I wouldn't trade Dame for a guy that was most likely a one year rental but could guarantee me a championship but let's not pretend that DeMar DeRozan and Danny Green are Damian Lillard. I would trade CJ and Nurk for a one year rental that guaranteed us a ring, in a heartbeat. When we were suddenly on Giannis's list I was trying to sell every Blazer not named Dame to get him here for a year to try and win at least one.
That's a really tough question for me. I love Dame, but I think it would've been worth it to pull out a championship. It's an interesting hypothetical because it gets at the essence of what you define as "legacy." Would you have traded the year and a half of Bill Walton at his greatest (and a championship) for, say, a 14 year career of Charles Barkley (but no championship)? I loved Chuck as a player and as a personality much like I love Dame, but jeez, a ring is a ring. You could ask me tomorrow, though, and I bet I'd change my mind.
Not trading Dame. No way. Having a player and person of Dame's caliber is more important than a championship. If we can't build a championship team around Dame we can't build a championship team.
pointless spinning question since Kawhi AND Danny Green AND cash was traded for Derozan + Poeltl + a 29th pick. He wasn't traded for a top-10 player like Dame so, the real question should be: in 2018 would you have traded CJ + Zach + the 2018 first (Little) for Kawhi and a championship while knowing that just maybe, Dame could convince Kawhi to stay. Who, in their right mind, would say no to that?
In a way, we could make this choice more poignant. What if in 1976 we traded Bill Walton for someone like Rick Barry or Adrian Dantley? Would you trade the 18 months of stratospheric play and a championship (arguably the zenith of any Blazer player) for a decade of All-Star appearances and scoring titles?
Love Dame....incredible player. But if that trade brought a title to the city, the long-suffering fans, and energized the next generation of Blazermaniacs, I'm all in. You play to win the game. Sadly, judging by how much of Portland is starting to look, with graffiti and trash everywhere, simple existance is good enough.
No, I want a journey to a title, not a one year show and it's over. Does that mean losing a chance at a title? Maybe I'm fine with that.
