no they weren't but do you know how much salary cap Pippen ate up? he didn't get CJ money that's for sure...strangely the Jazz Bulls era had Ostertag and Longley as starting centers...not the most talented guys for bigs at their position and Steve Kerr was one of the worst defenders on his team....they had scrubs and won with Jordan dominating games and Pippen shutting down opposing scorers....good combo...I'm not objective about the Jordan Bulls....I hated that team top to bottom including mr never get ejected or in foul trouble MJ
We're not going to get a player better than Dame unless we luck out in the draft. We need a Pippen for Dame, and a Rodman and Kukoc (can't be CJ).
In the 7 games since his return and prior to last night’s 18 point performance against the Lakers, Dame averaged 32 ppg. I think that’s pretty good.
As much as rebuilds are fun for those inclined to dive into drafts and rosterbate, and for those who like to dream on draft picks turning into stars, rebuilds where you "tear it down" (trade away all your important players) and start over have a terrible record of producing winners unless your team both plays in LA and is called the Lakers. Cap space isn't going to lure any stars or superstars to Portland. Frustrated superstars aren't going to tell their teams to take what they can get from the Blazers because they'll refuse to re-sign anywhere else. Tearing it all down and starting over generally means being awful for a decade--so you'd better be very committed to following the draft to get your sports fun. On the other hand, starting from where Portland is--a star in his 30s, overpaid mediocrity filling up the roster and very little in the way of exciting young talent--is also pretty unlikely to yield a title. However, winning a title takes star power so having Lillard gets you closer than not having Lillard but having a bunch of draft picks. So while neither avenue is terribly exciting or has a decent chance to pay off, I'd reluctantly rather see what (Sleepy) Joe Cronin or his successor can cook up in terms of reshaping the roster around Lillard rather than selling off Lillard for scrap and draft picks. Especially considering that Lillard will likely no longer command a massive haul. He doesn't have a ton of prime years left, he's underperforming and he was never a top-five guy like, say, Harden used to be. And even what Harden got traded for wasn't super exciting once you realize that pick swaps aren't particularly valuable. If Portland was a free agent destination, if players wanted to come to the Blazers, if Lillard was likely to bring in a franchise-changing haul of intriguing young talent and draft picks--I'd say trade Lillard this instant. If Portland were Miami and Lillard was likely to bring in a 2019 Anthony Davis return, go for it. But as the Blazers, with 2022 Lillard--the likeliest path to relevance (likeliest, not likely) probably runs through keeping Lillard and hoping Cronin or someone else turns out to be a savvy GM who can create a stronger, nicely-fitting roster around him.
The Blazers have sucked for years with Lillard. They’re just good enough to qualify for the playoffs, but nowhere good enough to compete for a championship.
The Blazers have sucked for years because of mismanagement by Olshey and in spite of what Dame has done not because of him. So keep pedaling this bullshit because I don't think anyone has the power to trade Dame right now and I can only hope the team tries something drastically different around him before they give up on him like you have.
Not over the last nine games since he returned from rest and treatment for his injury and those first two games he was still getting his legs under him. It's cool that you've given up on someone who has given this team everything and never been given a chance by a competent GM.
Dame’s one of the issues. We’ve lost lots of games where he “takes over” and shoots nothing but bricks. He has been bad, no other way around it.
Wait what? We’ve sucked for years? We have three 50 win seasons in the last 7 seasons. The KINGS have sucked for years. We’ve had a couple disappointing seasons that still provided a lot of entertainment. When our starting lineup was on the floor last season, we were very good. The Wolves have sucked for years. The Pistons have sucked for years (haven’t won a series since 2008, I think).
