Yeah, there's enough here to warrant a thread. FULL VID: First public comments since getting eliminated. Came today at team USA presser. Some really interesting responses here: ^ Doesn't sound like a guy who wants out. At least not now. But does sound like some impetus being put on Neil. On Billups: On trade rumors: On the team: On team USA:
No way dude. Right now it's all very smooth. My birthday is the 3rd. My daughter is the 8th. My wife is the 12th. Dame is the 15th. July is CLEARLY the best month.
I’ve said it before but Chris Haynes is a little snake in the grass and Dame is loyal to a point that he doesn’t even see it. Haynes is completely using that relationship to his advantage knowing full well that everyone thinks he’s his mouthpiece.
I think that would be something you could extrapolate as an implicit message but the much clearer explicit message is that he's already made what he wants to happen with the team known to Neil.
Thats what i get from it. I get a bit more even. Dame is erked that the organization Didnt handle the pr side well combine with dwight jaynes bullshit. I bet jaynes doesnt get much more from Dame and we hear a bit less from Dame because his trust just got fractured. I think he thinks portland media fucked this up too.
Pretty sure word got back to him about me rooting for the name on the front of the jersey and he changed his tune You’re all welcome
It was Chris Haynes, not Dwight Jaynes that floated the rumor about Dame...Dame is here to stay..he has nothing to gain from leaving and he's not replaceable period...this is his hood to stay
people also forget that his supermax hasn’t even kicked in yet. I don’t think he wants to bounce either, but looking at it from a business side, he knows he doesn’t have much leverage for AT LEAST another year, but more like two, maybe even three. Most guys that demand trades are at or near the end of their contracts, or have some sort of option coming.
When I read this while I'm happy for the public clarification I think most of the fans who did not get caught up in all the BS kind of knew this so all I will say is -- nothing to see here for now but next summer might be a different story.
I think most guys who are not invested in the city they play in jump ship without much flak but Dame is heavily invested in Portland on several business fronts and family business fronts...a condo in NYC isn't going to be competitive for raising 3 kids
I think the idea that the Haynes report goes out without Dame's explicit approval is blasphemous. Just based on the way it's worded "could lead to asking for a trade". It seems like it was clearly expressed by Dame to Haynes to write it like this. Haynes doesn't get inside sources on many things, Dame is his one competitive advantage (even Woj doesn't have access to Dame's camp). There's little to no chance he would sabotage his relationship with Dame to put this out behind his back. Who knows why Dame wanted it to go out? There could have been a number of reasons. He was getting a lot of shit at the time for the Billups hiring. It could have been sending out feelers to the fans to chill the fuck out. Or applying public pressure on Neil. Or putting out feelers for other superstar players in similar situations to see if they want to team up. Could be any number of reasons. It's obvious he's been playing the media game a lot more this offseason than he has in the past.
