I don't know why the NBA front office would be that concerned about getting this done immediately that it would force the Blazers into taking a bad deal. It didn't do that in the Durant situation. Why would they involve themselves here and take away the Blazers leverage?
Again, future picks are trade gold that can be used whenever. For instance, Jeremi Grant was acquired from Detroit for a 2025 Milwaukee Bucks 1st that Portland held. Days later, the Pistons then used that same pick to acquire Jalen Duren. STOMP
I said, "NBA front offices" as in the front office staff from each team in the league. According to a lot of different reports I've read and not just this year, all general managers and their staffs tend to go on vacation around this time every year.
Ah, OK. Obviously, I thought you meant the NBA front office. Sorry for misunderstanding. That said, I still don't see any need for the Blazers to rush. If Dame wants to be a poor influence for an organization that kept his cousin on the roster for two years, there's no reason not to pay him to stay home while they wait for a better deal to possibly appear. They aren't going to win this year whether he sits at home on the roster or if they trade him for spare parts before the year. The only difference is, in the former case, there's always still a chance something better will arise. The Blazers don't need to rush. They have until the trade deadline. They actually have beyond the trade deadline, if they want.
I agree completely. I just don't think that the Heat have that luxury. So if Joe will take expiring contracts, Jaquez, Jovic and four FRPs (one from a third team that likes Herro)... then I think it gets done before training camp. If Joe wants to put the screws to Miami that's great too. I just think between next week and training camp not only will things start to get intense between us and Miami but I think there could also be some other teams with interest in Dame. I guess we'll see. I do think it's ideal for us to be able to move on from this but like you said, we don't need to rush anything.
I don't agree with your timeline because I don't think Miami will offer that kind of package. That just doesn't seem to fit Riley's M.O. and it could very well be that the Blazer front office has determined that no package Miami can assemble will be good enough. It sure doesn't look good enough to me this is a classic impasse right now, and training camp is unlikely to change that. Portland doesn't like Miami assets; Miami has no urgency in maxing out their offer; and Dame's agent torpedoed Dame's value with the 28 other teams in the league. Right now it looks like a better than even chance Dame will be in Portland's starting lineup when the season begins. The best hope for Portland maximizing value in a Dame trade is for Dame to fire his agent, he opens up to more potential destinations, and begins play next season at the same level as last year.
Dame will get traded when a championship window opens up...in season...for a team that needs his prowess. Or, when a team that is already eyeing a title, loses a player to injury. In the mean time, he is a Trailblazer, love him or hate him.
And I just want to say, if it so happens that Dame is on the Portland roster to start the season, Portland does not need Dame playing 40 minutes a game. They do not need 32+ ppg. If Dame is still on the roster along with Scoot, Sharpe, Ant and Thybulle Portland has the luxury of spreading playing time around. I am not under any illusion that Dame will be reversing course on asking out. And I do not want him to, just expand the list of teams he would prefer from Miami to 3-5 teams. Otherwise he will be a side note to history. The league will be forced to address this situation, along with Hardens as a major problem they did not foresee. I am fine with players making as much as they can, Jordan was never paid his true value on the court. But at some point a contract is just that, a contract enforceable by the player and the team. Maybe they come up with a mechanism for a player to buy his way out of a contract and become a free agent. Just spit balling. Have no idea how that would work. But teams should not be forced to take on another teams dreck to accommodate a player under contract. Portland agreed to pay Lillard, not Herro, not Lowry. It is completely ludicrous. And I personally do not care that Lillard has been with the club 10 years. He has only been with the club for 10 years because they were willing to pay him max, every time he was eligible. He should have never signed the super max. Simple.
I find it interesting that Miami apparently doesn't value Dames services enough to put together a decent package for him. If I was Dame I would be feeling a little insulted about now.
They don't have enough without including Jimmy or Bam. Trade either of them and you no longer compete. So why make the trade at all? The only way for Miami to get Dame is for both Portland and Miami to work hard to get him there. And it'll likely take the help of another team as well. Or for Portland to bend over and spread their cheeks. Costing Cronin his opportunity to ever get an NBA management position again.
To the bolded....I'm curious. I can not think of a single player that would turn down that deal. Not a one. Now....one could argue that it should not have been offered, but that is a different argument.
You are completely correct. Nobody would turn it down. Portland had to offer it. NeO created the mess that Cronin inherited giving away picks and creating a good 6'5 and under team. Cronin had a lot to clean up, but that was after Dame got the extension which was a no brainer at the time. As has been pointed out plenty, optimism was at too high of a level from management. I didn't see sustained success with the roster from the past two seasons. They then lucked in to Sharpe and Scoot. Dame needs to open up his list so that Portland can get something they can use. If not, he sits.
Thanks for clarifying. As far as the bolded....I think Cronin deserves some cred for those selections. They were not the common choices that the fanbase wanted. Most wanted the team to trade those draft assets. But I agree, there was some luck as far as those players falling.
I agree, Cronin deserves credit for the picks, along with the draft guy they signed. His name escapes me now. Hopefully he was involved. Gambling on Sharpe was ballsy. Scoot was a no brainer, but they get the credit if it works out.
There IS a way, but I don't think the Heat have the gumption to do it. That would be to trade Bam. The assets they could bring back from that would give them something else to flip to the Blazers (or another team for something that could go to the Blazers) and perhaps bring enough back in other positions to offset and even get a little bit better by trading him away. I don't think they'd do that. I wouldn't. I think the risk outweighs the reward. It's a Moneyball move where you measure where you could replace him in the aggregate, because he's the one piece they could move that would have enough value with enough other teams to recover more than they were giving up.
Is this realistic? I think Miami will end up doing something like this as the season approaches and I don't buy into the idea that another good workout video from Simmons means he now has a lot of positive trade value. Then we might look to move Ant to Toronto who needs a long term lead guard. I think Ant is worth these young players and expiring contracts both of which (Porter and Young) we would need to waive.
I'd do the Ant to Toronto part 110%. I think Koloko will be a very good role player. I'm not a big fan of Dick, though.
