A heretical thought / And something about Orlando

All-Star level. OG is a killer defender. DDR still has game. And the “etc.” means those are examples and not an exclusive list.

Damn.

 

Not sure why you’re responding like this. I said I would love to see your scenario come to pass. I wasn’t being sarcastic.

 

Somehow you got 9 pages out of this one?

 

yes, he was this season, and last season...two years in a row when he averaged 26-5-5 with a PER around 22.0 and a .590 TS%.

between DDR, Bridges, Siakam, and Brown, DDR had the best PER, TS%, winshare, and winshare/48 marks and was 2nd to Siakam in BPM. Brown was last in all five categories

 

Well there you go.

 

Is the compromise to pick the guy at #3 that most resembles Sharpe's peripheral's (demeanor, willingness to listen, talent level) to appease Dame and build for the future? Who is that guy?
I don't see that guy at #3. I still think the best compromise is moving Ant for #6, #11 and a vet or two...Harris, Isaac, Okeke?
If they select Scoot at #3, something big will follow. There's no way they pick Scoot and keep Dame or Ant unless there are absolutely no other options.

 

The best player of all time didn't have to. He had a championship caliber team within a few years.

 

Many years ago I was banging my head against the wall while this board cheered Neil rearranging the deck chairs with one pathetic offseason after another wasting the window of opportunity with Dame. Here we are today where I view it as the longest of longshots for them to put together a contender with him and yet most of the board still largely wants to do short term sell offs. To contend with Dame all they need is big upgrades at Center, one forward spot and for Sharpe to improve exponentially.

Sad? For me that ship sailed a while back. I'm hoping to move forward with a plan, plant some quality seeds and someday be in the mix again

STOMP

 

Yeah, I've been yanking the DDR idea out of my colon, but I just think he's actually a realistic target (as the Bulls seemed prime to tear it down), still a really good player with versatility and wing ability, a veteran that will satisfy Dame to a large degree, a trade that could get all of Portland's picks back and the only future mortgaged would be Ant (a needed change), and would allow the Blazers to add a player at 3 increasing future upside. Kind of a win all the way around in my view

 

Sorry, I thought that you were being sarcastic. My bad.

 

If so, I would want Caruso as much as anyone else on that roster.

 

LMAO. Try replacing "we" with "I" or "me" and that paragraph wouldn't work.

Nice try though. I was very clearly speaking of my opinion when I opened by saying it doesn't bother "me".

And where is the evidence Dame demanded any of that? There is none. it's not Dame's job to pick players. You just keep him in the loop.

They were just shitty moves by a shitty GM trying not to look like he was wasting the career of a superstar. Which is exactly what he was doing.

And that's exactly what I've said I think we'll do as well. If a great trade can be worked out, great.

But either way, we're better with Dame than without him. We're not going to get an offer that replaces Dame's production anytime soon.

 

And there are deals out there that can deliver those. Can Cronin get those deals? Can he do it while retaining a bench?

Don't know, but it'll be fun finding out.

 

I made this point recently, and I do think there’s some truth to it. There’s a reason why no top level player has joined Lillard in Portland in the last ten years. Cronin may be able to get one in a trade, but you won’t see one come here as a free agent, or ask to be traded here.

 

Not sure how long you’ve been a Blazer fan, but this franchise has made many questionable moves over the years. Walter Berry, anyone? LaRue Martin? Sam Bowie? Greg Oden? A gargantuan trade for Kiki Vandewegh? My point is, Portland fans are so used to these screwups that they have a very deep tolerance for anything, and I don’t think they would be that upset if Lillard were traded for a package of high draft picks and some promising young players. Besides, the Blazers are the only game in town. Fans have nothing else to do but keep showing up.

 

Nice try? whatever dude. Thats how it reads... but you do you. It's always sad when fans in talking about the team refer to them as We. As far as representing your opinion, you have nothing to do with them or anyone else. You're just you, watching them. We aren't consulted. We're just talking.

"This offseason after Lillard turned 30, he met with Blazers’ top executive Neil Olshey and urged him to “go for it” in the team’s pursuit for a championship. That mentality played a role in Olshey trading two first-round picks for Robert Covington, trading for Enes Kanter, and signing noted defender Derrick Jones Jr."

https://theathletic.com/2428871/202...d-bradley-beal-trail-blazers-wizards-loyalty/

That pressure from their star was found after literally 3 minutes of digging... the google machine still works. Players available when those picks came up included Tyrese Maxey, Jayden McDaniels, Desmond Bane & Herb Jones. You are only kidding yourself if you don't think the guy Olshey constantly referred to as the guy he was building the team around wasn't regularly consulted on team moves throughout his time in PDX.

With a healthy Dame balling out last year, the Blazers sucked again. That they didn't/don't have nearly enough talent was laid bare, but lets do the same thing and expect different results? On improving the team, I'm not stuck to one view point like you clearly are. Hell, I'm open to Shaedon trade talk. I'm definitely for trading the #3 for the right price too. The obvious issue with Dame and the Blazers going forward is the conflicting timelines. Historically best route to adding talent is hitting on draft picks, but thats not easy either and a team usually has to exercise some patience while Dame Time is running out. Not knowing the particulars of whats available in the trade market, I see many talented players in this draft...

STOMP

 

None of the ORL "vets" are impactful. I was big on Isaac but he's no longer worth the headache. Okeke's not even good. Harris would be able to contribute but isn't worth moving down from #3. Any trade down with ORL needs to include WCJ at a minimum.

 

I don't know, 6 & 11 for 3 would be very tempting to me.

STOMP

 

Been a fan since the beginning, so yeah, I remember the good and the bad.

I think you misunderstood my post. I was saying that the Blazers have nothing to gain by being misleading about their intentions about a rebuild around Dame. Cronin didn’t have to say anything about his plans going forward at the post-deadline interview. He could have just said something to the effect that all options are under review. He went out of his way to say that the team was fully committed to aggressively rebuilding around Dame. I don’t see anything to be gained by misleading fans and the league that way if the actual intent was going to be to dump Dame off for a big haul of assets for a rebuild.

I get that many folks want a full rebuild. Most others would understand the need to pivot that way if Cronin had said that he just doesn’t have the assets to get a competitive team reload around Dame done. But he went out of his way to say just the opposite. No reason to do that unless he means it.

I do find a bit of irony in your post, which seems to favor the rebuild, in that you point out a bunch of past roster mistakes by the organization. Why do you have faith in them to manage a full rebuild? Dump arguably the best player in team history, screw up the rebuild with dumb picks and trades, and the fans who are so in favor of the rebuild will be the first in line around Cronin’s house with torches and pitchforks.