To be clear, I think the two timeline thing was stupid. Either go all-in around Dame or rebuild around Scoot and Shae. The problem is that going all-in would have meant trading Shaedon. The only way we win a ring with Dame is if we get a second star. Joe even said it. He was trying to find someone as good as Dame, or even someone 80% as good as Dame. What's the point of wasting assets on someone like OG who wouldn't even realistically get us past the first round? We didn't have enough time or the assets to go all-in and that's 100% on Neil. This breakup is in the best interest of everyone. Dame can go play for a team that has a legit shot and we can hopefully rebuild the right way around Scoot and Shae. The fact that we're breaking up the marriage is not the problem, it's the WAY we're breaking it up that's unfortunate and sad.
Dame is fine to ask for a trade. I don't think Cronin lied, it's just the plan didn't work and he had to do whats best for the team long term. Blazers didn't have any way to contend with Dame. Plans change. Cronin sucks at PR/speaking/selling.
This all is fine. But the notion that Dame was biding his time just to make a loud trade demand while secretly killing any opportunity for us to trade is laughable.
Dame tanking our leverage to force his way out is really no more laughable than Joe secretly rebuilding while lying to Dame's face about trying to make trades. We don't know if either one is true, or more likely than the other. I said this in another post, but Occam's Razor seems like the best way of looking at this. The simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex. Dame was already getting frustrated with the team for asking him to tank, he wasn't excited about the idea of mentoring another 19 year old rookie, and he vented to the media. Intentionally or unintentionally, his comments hurt our leverage. Joe genuinely wanted to keep Dame, and was doing his best to go out and get players that he thought would help the team win. But as Joe said "whether even internally if we thought that well, hey we’re going in the right direction here, we can get there pretty quickly… if he didn’t feel that it was still a failure on my end.”
I'd say no, it's too late. Dame wants to move on and Cronin/Vulcans do as well. The Blazers would prefer cap relief and good picks to Dame returning at this point. They want to transition the team to Scoot. If the Blazers didn't have Scoot then maybe a reconcilation would be possible. Lakers never had a generational player waiting to take over for Kobe.
Reverse that. I don't think Dame can be the alpha on a title team. He needs to play with a bigger star. He should be Robin to another Batman.
Agreed, I don't think there was any evil motives by either party, it just didn't work out. I expect eventually a trade will be done and everyone will talk positively about how it all eventually worked out as best it could.
I agree he does but there is still the concern that he will be a free agent next summer. I wish we could get Scotty Barnes instead.
Has anyone shared who will have cap space next year? Without huge cap holds of players like Siakam that means they won't really have cap space?
I'd guess Spurs Charlotte Orlando OKC yeah Toronto if guys walk. Cap space just doesn't matter much now though, player get extensions then demand trades. It's really only uncompetitive rebuilding teams that would have space and they'd ideally use it to take on a bad contract for a pick. As annoying as the Dame 1 team list thing is at least we will get assets back unlike LaMarcus.
cap-space is a lot more tricky under this new CBA. Teams HAVE to be at 90% of the cap by the start of the season, or they get penalized. And the penalty isn't just financial; if they are under that 90% floor at the start of the season they are prohibited from making any trades than bring back less salary than they send out for the rest of that season my hunch is that we will start seeing some ridiculous 1 year deals for a lot of scrubs
