wait a second that’s not even a dumbass fan idea, that’s Bobby marks?? Hahahahaha no wonder he’s still working for ESPN and not an actual team.
I get it. But, that trade would jump start a rebuild for us. Dame is one of a kind but he isn't getting any younger. I'd like to see him have a shot at winning one and I don't see that possible with us, unfortunately.
I am a Blazers fan, I want to see the Blazers win a championship. I don't see any trade of Dame that gets us closer to a championship.
Why when he is just 31, is that not possible with us? If Dame had been healthy all season then we would be at least a few games above .500. We have pieces in Norm, CJ, Ant, Nas, RoCo, Larry, Nurk and with one simple phone call, all of our picks after 2022 that can all bring value back. Hoping that Cronin has half a brain, he will bring back players that compliment Dame and fit well in Chauncey's system. I just can't understand the people in here, who I assume have been watching the league as long as I have or longer, that can't imagine a plausible scenario in which we make big moves around our superstar who still has a few years left near the top of his game, to get us within contention. It will take a bit of guile and probably some luck but Kobe was in the middle of his prime and not making the playoffs when the Lakers traded (not signed but traded) salaries to match, the rights to a draft and stash that had been taken 48th and two future firsts for Pau Gasol. A trade has nothing to do with destination, it's not like signing a free agent. Kobe and Gasol won the first of their two championships together the next season. Kobe was in his 30s and the year after they won their second title together Kobe won the MVP. I realize Dame isn't as good as Kobe was but there are constantly surprising opportunities in this league. I wouldn't call it likely that we build a championship team around Dame because we haven't come close yet but I have no idea how good Cronin might be. I also have no idea if he is good; what some GMs out there, definitely not all but some, would give up for CJ. His value has just never been gauged by a good GM, just an egomaniac with a CJ fetish. There is a lot of work to do and if we want to win one with Dame as the best player on the team the window is going to be closed in a few seasons. There will still be opportunities to win one with him as a role player if he chooses to keep playing here after his prime but that's even a bigger stretch of the imagination
I want US to win one. I love Dame, he's amazing, but I'm not trading him just so he can win elsewhere. I'm building around him to win here, or trading him to help us win here. We don't need to send someone away to do them a solid because woe is us, and thanks to him for sticking by our little side. Just feels like an odd small town mentality or something, I dunno. I've seen that sentiment a lot. I don't agree.
I wouldn't be just trading him to trade him. Simmons, Maxey, and three firsts is a good jump start to a rebuild. Maxey has really stepped it up this year.
Who are we going to trade for? Ant is gonna cost a pretty penny this offseason. CJ obviously doesn't have big value around the league. How do you know it would be a simple phone call to have the Bulls help us out? They aren't going to do that out of the kindness of their hearts. We would need to give them something. I would love to keep Dame and win one with us. I just don't see how we can get there. If we shut him down and got a top 3 pick in the lotto, maybe we could make a big time deal to get him help. That is basically the only scenario I see it being possible. So do that if we want one last hurrah with Dame.
Not even Dame agrees lol. Funny how everyone seems to think they know what’s best for him, but from everything he’s said it’s literally the opposite of what he wants. Just shut up already. If he wants to leave he’ll let it be known. There will be no sly behavior. He’ll just say it and that’ll be that. I doubt that day will ever come though, he’s too loyal. It’s more likely gonna be a mutual decision if it does, where it’s in everyone’s best interests to separate. But that feels like at least another year away at the earliest.
We don't know what CJ's value is, it's not huge but we need players that fit or to combine CJ with assets to add up to huge value. The question of if the Bulls would allow us to take the restrictions off of the first we owe them is obvious. We are currently a lottery team, of course they would. They'd be in bad faith because we're out of the playoffs right now and they only get the pick in the future if we make the playoffs anyway, so most teams value a chance at a lottery pick as opposed to never. After Dame just put together the two games he did, I don't think we're shutting the guy down for the season without some huge turn of events. Besides if a rotation of CJ, Norm, Nas, Larry, Nurk, Ant, RoCo, Ben, Tony and Cody were to play out the season we would be a low lottery team with little chance to gamble and win one of the top 4 picks (that's what the lotto is for these days). The fact is that Cronin has his dream job, I do not think he is going to trade Dame (I could be wrong but it's not likely). I think his chance to keep that dream job is to make a move or more likely a couple of moves between now and February 10th that make this team a contender that works well with both Dame and Chauncey's system. Otherwise he's either back to being an assistant GM here with little chance that he'll get another GM spot having taken his shot and blown it or he'll be looking for a new job because the new GM won't retain him and he'll probably be moving to work with his friends in Indy as an assistant GM again. I think he's going to take big swings, we'll see.
Maybe if Dame did a solid and decided to have surgery after the trade so that the pick turns out to be good, lol?
Wait what? Dame is way better than Kobe ever was. Dame hits series winning shots. Kobe refuses to shoot in one Game 7 and shoots 6/24 in another. Yes, he won 5 titles, but Dame has never played with players like Shaq and Pau. And when he wasn't playing with either of those guys, he was leading his team to the lottery.
So you want to take the protections off of the pick this year and potentially give up a lotto pick to them for nothing, just so we can trade future picks to try to help Dame? That is ridiculous. Wait until the offseason, keep the pick, and use that with another player to get an upgrade.
If the moves, including taking the protection off of the Chicago pick get us players that upgrade us to a contending team then yeah, I don't wait. If I'm Cronin I'm not waiting on shit. If Cronin waits until the off season then he will no longer be the GM. He has to take his swings now and they have to be difference makers.
That is not good for the future of the Franchise. Giving up a lotto pick to trade multiple future picks is not smart. If he did that you all would get me leading the Fire Joe Cronin brigade.
The gamble for Cronin would be him getting the right player(s) to assure that we're not in the lottery this season... I didn't say he should do it if it barely gets us into the playoffs, I said he should do it if he can get pieces that make us a contender.
They have no chance of getting a lottery pick from us, the pick is protected through 2027 and then becomes a second rounder in 2028. This would be the gamble on their side but it wouldn't be a big gamble at all. They can either have a pick this season that has a slim chance to be a lottery pick or they will have to wait, still take a pick outside of the lottery and current firsts are worth more than future firsts because they can help you now. This is the protection on the pick, so you understand just how petty Chicago would have to be to try to make us give them something to take said protection off: 2022 first round draft pick from Portland Portland's 1st round pick to Chicago protected for selections 1-14 in 2022, 1-14 in 2023, 1-14 in 2024, 1-14 in 2025, 1-14 in 2026, 1-14 in 2027 and 1-14 in 2028; if Portland has not conveyed a 1st round pick to Chicago by 2028, then Portland will instead convey its 2028 2nd round pick to Chicago [Chicago-Portland, 8/28/2021]; Chicago may forfeit Portland's 2028 2nd round pick (see Chicago Outgoing)
