Zombie Damian Lillard to request trade in coming days (nope, he's not.)

I’m in Vegas too!

 

careful out there. I was at a convention there two weeks ago and got Covid pretty badly

 

Then you should be able to sympathize with some of Dame's frustrations and his non committal answers. They aren't definitive statements about how he feels about staying in Portland after the ones he made at the beginning of the off-season. He only provided a more candid response when he came out to defend himself against Abbott's report that he was about to demand a trade, or when he was asked a question about the roster moves directly, which was reasonable.

 

i think it's fair to be both irate at Olshey and ownership for not making any substantial moves, and annoyed at Dame for the IG stuff.

 

But wait, I thought you said…….. oh fucking nevermind.

 

But I thought Stotts was the problem?

 

I wonder now with social media and access, people have a stronger tie to players. Feel much more connected.

 

I was working down there for a week recently and didn’t. Wear a god damn mask everybody!

 

What’s he hiding from?

 

This situation seems pretty straight forward to me. Dame said he doesn't know where his future would be and said that this roster isn't good enough for him. Multiple reports and teammates say he's all in right now. Dame says he's here, for now. If the team is still mediocre, which they will be and Olshey hasn't made any moves to make us better than mediocre or at least point us in the direction of getting better, Dame will demand a trade probably earlier in the season than even the deadline. Dame isn't being cryptic and I applaud him for that.

At the same time, Olshey hasn't held his annual pat himself on the back/make excuses presser that comes before training camp. So maybe, just maybe, Olshey has a plan to keep Dame. That would mean making a bigger move than he's ever made but we have the pieces to make a move like that and still have an improved team.

We have very talented starters with only Norm being trade restricted and no one would say any of them are overpaid except for those that say CJ is. We have all of our future firsts. We have an expiring contract like DJJ who is young and talented enough for a team to want to give a try out to, which puts extra value on that expiring deal. We have two prospects on their rookie deals in Ant and Nas that other teams might value even higher than a future first. We have the pieces to make a very big deal.

As far as Ben Simmons is concerned, if Morey isn't willing to wade into the shitstorm that it would be bringing Simmons into the regular season with the Sixers then he ain't getting Dame. I don't think Morey is keeping Simmons that long so Dame is off the table for him... he's got to be coming to that conclusion. At the same time there are also other guys out there that can be had that aren't Ben Simmons and aren't even on our radars because we don't work in NBA front offices.

 

for sure..I was wearing a mask but still got it. None of my coworkers did.

 

Well I think so. I would like couple more tweaks to the roster to help Dame tho.

but him answering that question was completely unnecessary. It’s IG live tons of questions are asked that doesn’t get answered. But he decides to entertain that question from all of them?

At this point, he’s just being corny. We wish him the best as blazer fans, good luck to him but he might as well go jump on another team if that’s what he wants so bad

 

Someone wanna summarize?

 

Just listen from 12:30-16:00. He wants to be here, he wants to win here. If the team doesn't improve under Billups and/or a big move isn't made then I think he makes a request within 1-2 years.

 

I think it's funny that people think he'd be talking about it if it was 1-2 years. Why the fuck would he say anything if it wasn't more... urgent than that? Nah, if we're playing at the same level this season as we were last season and haven't made a big trade, I'd be shocked if he is here past the trade deadline. For those saying that Dame understands that it takes time, I've got to ask if you saw how much time it took the Bucks once Giannis said he didn't know if he'd re-sign?

 

Sounds about right. Matches what he's been saying.

This is such a stupid observation but Dame's palms are so pale.

 

Everyone needs to hear the interview from the 12 min mark on. That should effectively close this thread.

"We gotta do better. I have always said I want to play in Portland. I want to win in Portland and I still feel that way. And if we can't get out of the first round, then we gotta do get better. (The pressure) is coming from a standpoint of where I am fully invested, not from a standpoint of where I'm threatening (the franchise). If it does come to me having to move on, then that's what I have to do, but I haven't made that decision yet. The fact remains, I would like to win a championship in Portland. People had never heard that tone from me like they did this summer. So people took that as an opportunity to say 'you should go to that team' or 'Dame will ask for a trade soon.' And the media used that as clickbait to run with the story."

"To me, if that time (to move) does come, it will because I decide it. Not because people that are egging the situation on made me do it . If I do something and move on, and the grass ain't greener, they don't have to live with the consequences. They don't know my family situation. They don't know what I do."

 

Here's a summary.

-He is fully committed to winning here.

-There is no timeline. There is simply pressure to win.

-If Dame doesn't feel like the FO wants to get better, he'll make it clear and get out.

-We're not there yet, and there's no calendar date when that time will come.