Exclusive Vote - If Dame is on the roster - where do you want him opening night?

I think it's common sense to have Dame stay home. He doesn't risk injury. It's not like he'll play significantly better than how he balled out last season, so I don't think we'll increase his value. I do think the minutes that he would play would take away from the development of our young guards.

I really guess it depends on how long we're talking about but at least for the first few weeks Dame can stay home. I think it will all be a moot point because I think something gets done before training camp because any team that seriously wants Dame will want him in training camp. I guess like every other unresolved matter that we have no say in, we'll just have to wait and see.

 

I get that it is emotional for some of you. And you have that right. But let's face it, if he is still on the team....he is starting. I personally want him to move on at this point because he wants to.....but again if we choose not to trade him then it is absurd to think we will also tell him to stay home. That will never happen.

 

So you're asking whether I'd want our best player to play/start? Uh, yes... that was easy.

 

There is an argument to be made for not playing him, same reason a trade sooner rather than later might be best: injuries. If Dame, Bam, or Jimmy get injured, what happens?

 

If Dame wants to play then he can play. I don't think the team will prevent him from playing, and that wasn't what I was asking. I meant what would the Blazers and Dame agree is best. The team can push him to stay home or push for him to play. I guess I'm assuming Dame might go along with sitting home if asked; since he requested a trade. If the team pushes him to play he kind of has to play to cash his checks.

I disagree with you that people saying Dame should stay home are only doing it out of pure emotion. Some are arguing one way or the other mostly from emotion. Others are arguing points with logic. There are plenty of logical reasons Dame should not play; there is a risk of injury that greatly lowers his trade value, lack of minutes for the other 3 guards, lack of shots if Dame is involved, less clarity on who the coaches should structure the teams offense around, lack of being the sole PG leader role for Scoot if Dame is playing, not to mention a very awkward team dynamic of such an established star player sort of being here but not committed. Normally in other situations such as John Wall in Houston or last year Jae Crowder in Phoenix players have sat out while a trade is worked on. Eventually it got to that point in Brooklyn where both Durant and Irving sat mid season while trades got finalized at the deadline.

 

My bet is if he has not been traded yet he will have gotten a groin injury or possible hamstring tightness and he will be in street clothes.

 

highest paid assistant coach in NBA history.
Damian Lillard 4 years, 216 million $$!
thanks Jody Allen

 

I don't want him to get hurt because it would hurt his value.

Can't get more unemotional than that.

 

He will start.

 

Of course, if they are close to trading him then you sit him. But that is a little bit different from what you said in the OP. All you said was "Where do you want Dame on opening night if he is still on the roster?" How long do you guys plan on telling him to sit at home? Do you think that if he is not traded by opening night he will be shortly afterwards? What happens if that does not happen? Are you going to tell him to sit at home until the trade deadline? Sure that will happen.

 

As long as it takes. If Dame gets hurt, we're sunk. We can't get any value for him and we have his massive contract eating up our cap space. It's not worth the risk.

 

If Dame sticks with his Miami-only stance there will be no trade this season and he will play for the Trail Blazers.

 

So you would sit him out the whole year? Next year too? Sure those are extremes but any long-term banishment of Dame by the Blazers seems unrealistic to me. It is not going to happen. They would look like idiots.

 

At some point you accept that he's not worth what we thought/hoped he was. If he's still on the team in a year, Joe has failed.

I'm currently trying to sell my old gas range. I posted it for $250. Didn't get any bites. I lowered the price to $200. Didn't get any bites. I'm going to keep lowering the asking price until it sells because I have a newer range and I don't want this thing sitting in my garage any longer than it has to.

 

That's not what Cronin wants anyway, despite what the Dame-first or the trade-Dame camps believe.
I think Cronin wants the Trail Blazers to win now with Dame and his additions over the last two seasons and redeem himself.

 

So my question is when is that point? Seems to me that you set a deadline for opening camp or the start of the season. If there is no trade then you roll with this 2-deep until the deadline. But you don't tell Dame to stay home.

Dame-Scoot
Sharpe-Ant
Nas-Thybulle
Grant-Walker or Murray
Nurk- Brown

Somehow we need more size at PF

 

I just don't see any positives from playing Dame.

He could get hurt.
He will prop up our team so that we win more games than we realistically want to win while rebuilding.
He will keep Scoot from playing his natural position.

What is the point of playing Dame?

 

Dame's style of play does not fit this new roster. So playing him could do more harm with no good upside.

On the bench? Not with his attitude. Same for dressed in stadium.

By default, sadly, let him watch the game from his hot tub at home.

 

Hmm, Dame with a bad attitude on the court and in the locker room. Have we ever seen that?
This is all a moot point because I don't expect him to be on the roster on opening night. But for the record.....I think you guys are all nuts if you actually think Joe, Chauncy, or Jody would go for banishing him from the arena for an extended amount of time.