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

WAKE UP! I'm sorry but anyone that says he should start if he's here is crazy. There are 0 benefits and a whole lot of negatives to him playing and starting.
Dame in the starting lineup on opening night would be the absolute worst scenario possible...and the only thing worse is if he died.
Bottom line, aside from all the negative publicity and questions about the teams direction and leadership, if he were to get injured it would be the second biggest mistake this team has ever made. Right behind Jordan/Bowie. He's already burned the bridges with the front office (and any sane fans) and will never play for us again. Accept it and stop dreaming of some kind of rekindling an old, extinguished fire. No sentimental farewell games. No bridging the gap until Scoot is ready. He's done here and it's just a matter of getting the best trade done.

 

100%. This is the only way he's even near the Moda Center on opening night.

 

Raise the price and let someone talk you down a bit. It gives people a sense of accomplishment for not paying what you wanted and they'll buy it out of pride.

 

I freely admit you could be right, and I could be wrong. But....

My gut says, it takes a lot to get Dame upset. And he has reached the end of his patience. If forced to play here, nothing he has done or said indicates he will play without his bad attitude and hard feelings.

 

Is anyone in this thread saying they want "some kind of rekindling of an old, extinguished fire"?
I for one said I don't want to see him back. My point is you are all nuts if you think Dame would be banished from the arena for an extended period if no deal was on the table.

As for Jordan/Bowie ....who do you think we are actually going to get for Dame in a trade that could possibly warrant that type of comparison?

 

I’m glad at least 15 of us are thinking rationally

 

doing the same thing with my boat. Started at 8k thinking id tKe 7k( very comparable to other used boats for sale)Its now listed at 4k now that summer is about over and still no serious offers. Just tire/bow kickers
. I just want it gone at this point before i have to pay to winterize it again.

wanna buy a boat? Great deal!!!

 

Can your boat play backup PG on a rebuilding NBA team?

 

You might be on to something… We could use another PG.

 

It has been on the market for three weeks. I want it gone. Just not getting any interest.

 

Sadly I have no place to put one. Maybe one day.

 

How is it rational? What is the benefit of playing Dame?

 

Not playing Dame signals the Blazers NEED to trade Dame.

You lose leverage by not playing a healthy Dame.

 

Nobody is going to fall for that charade.

Everyone knows we are rebuilding. Everyone knows we just drafted a stud point guard. Everyone knows that Dame requested a trade. Who are we gonna fool by playing him?

 

Gee gosh urrrrrrrrr, I don’t know… I think he’s purdy good at basketball.

What is the benefit of Dame staying home?

 

A couple valid reasons I could think of are to not risk Dame getting injured. To not stunt Scoots growth. To not create potential synergy issues that could affect the mindset of the rest of the players like Grant.

Sorry. that was three.

 

I'll trade ya this box for it. You never know. There could be a boat in the box!

 

#1 I guess I was metaphorically speaking. Obviously nobody said that, but having Dame play/start the season has absolutely no plusses, all negatives. Those are the people letting their emotions cloud their judgement.
#2 I'm not implying that the trade they make for Dame will be on the level of the Jordan/Bowie draft. I'm saying that if they play him and he gets hurt and it affects the trade return, it will be considered a huge mistake.
The only reason to play him at the beginning of the year is to maybe win a couple more games. Which won't affect their playoff chances, but a couple extra wins could affect their draft status quite a bit.
They have no plans to make the playoffs next year. Dame and Cronin have been lobbing (vailed) insults back and forth through the media. Dame has requested a trade. The new face of the franchise plays the same position as Dame. An injury to Dame in the time he has left in Portland would be catastrophic. Which of those circumstances hints at Dame being the starting point guard to start the year?

 

The waiting for that call can suck.

 

I'd say Dame should stay home until he is willing to fully commit to the Blazers for the entire rest of the season. If he gets to that point then the team can work him into the starting lineup for the rest of the season.

If the team gets to December when most players in the league trade restrictions end and Dame's still here that would be the time to start those discussions. If the team and Dame feel a trade might happen soon then keep him at home. If not they could discuss bringing him back to the rotation.

If Dame commits to thr whole season at opening night yes I'm fine with starting him. I'd assume he won't be ready for that yet as it is probably way too soon from his trade request.