Boosted interest for Dame will not come from an uptick in production. It will come from a tight playoff race in the East and/or a major injury in the East. With the next two drafts being categorized as weak, there’s going to be a team that thinks this is their year. Sit Dame at home. Let the East teams beat up on each other as the season progresses. Whoever goes all in on Dame is going to have a fully healthy and rested Dame. He was All-NBA and had his best year just last season and it was widely know that he sat due to tanking, not injury.
I just don't see those weirdo Vulcans cutting massive Dame checks so Cronin can continue play his GM chess basketball game thingy. If there's picks and young talent from Miami, (+ all the money Blazers save by discarding Lillard), that's good enough for the people above Joe, that's all he gets to run with.
Sitting Lillard with phantom injuries preserves value and eliminates most all risk. Playing him means Portland fans get to see him play for a good chunk of the season. Both are arguable courses of action. The Blazers are paying his salary or the salaries of those returning in trade this season, so it's pretty much a wash -- the money gets spent. Any expiring contracts received makes resetting the salary structure of the team a next summer opportunity. That goes for Nurkic as well. If the goal is to strengthen the front court at SF and C, maximizing Lillard is issue 1. The hard core move is sitting him, he doesn't travel, and he just works out.
I want to get the biggest return on any trade if it happens. Not playing Dame means the Blazers are 100% trading Dame for something, even if it's crap. Bad idea. The Blazers should be showing all the other teams that they're fine keeping Dame, and they can happily walk away from any negotiation. Not playing Dame seems like a particularly bad idea as he has requested a trade to one team. What if he never changes that position?
Your argument, despite risk of injury, is the better one, IMHO. Playing him means Lillard can’t dog it or else his reputation goes to crap. It becomes clear Portland won’t take Miami’s offer. Other teams can have him by simply making an offer better than Miami — a starting, promising, youngish player at a position of need.
Durant was actually injured when he was traded. He was 34 years old at the time of the trade. "After being listed out since January 8 with a right knee injury, Durant made his Suns debut on March 1 against the Charlotte Hornets." edit: So even an injury didn't keep the trade from happening and Brooklyn getting what I think most people would consider a good return.
I think the "Miami or bust" position hasn't been acknowledged by many people as being a possibility. They think Dame wants out of Portland no matter what happens or where he ends up. That may not be true. Dame may prefer to stay in Portland if he can't get to Miami. In that scenario, if Cronin wants to keep Dame (which I assume he does) , the chance of a trade this season goes way down.
You guys have been beating this drum for a little while now and we really only have one thing to go off of. "I'm not going to speak on the Blazers there's a lot of love and respect but I won't speak on the Blazers." and addressing the trade request, "I would say there was and I would prefer not to speak on the Trail Blazers." Sorry that just doesn't sound like a guy who is saying it's the Heat or the Blazers it sounds like a guy who is respectfully saying that it's definitely not the Blazers. Now I guess his mind could be changed but I don't see how Scoot as our most valuable acquisition takes this team with Dame as it's best player and Ant likely it's third best to the level where Dame would want to stay. Obviously that last part is just speculation by me but it's pretty obvious by his most recent interview that he doesn't want to even talk about our team, let alone stay on it.
Dame has said almost nothing since his trade request was made. Some vague and cryptic social media posts are about all, and it would be unwise to read much into them, either way Dame's agent was talking, a lot, when this all started. But he's gone silent, probably because the NBA is closely scrutinizing him the point being that none of us have a handle on how he views things right now. Obviously, he'd prefer Miami, but Portland doesn't seem inclined to deal with Miami which does bring up an interesting thought: all the rumors and tea leaves indicate that Pat Riley started off low-balling the Blazers with a crap offer; and hasn't stopped low-balling. So, it's possible (not probable) that Dame sees Miami trying to rip the Blazers off and is wondering just how badly Miami wants him. Maybe Dame's Miami fever has cooled a bit in any event, I think the impasse is at a set point: Dame either has to expand his list of destinations or be prepared to start the season as a Blazer
Dame talked two weeks ago. Those quotes above are directly from this interview starting at like 2:50. Nothing cryptic about I requested a trade and won't discuss the Blazers.
That is a pretty solid bit of evidence that he doesn't want to be here. Also he did request a trade. I believe he might have a list of... 1) Miami 2) Portland 3) Everywhere else He had his agent going to other teams telling other teams he wouldn't play for them. Dame isn't retarded, he knows the "assets" Miami has to work with. He can't seriously think we're going to just give him away to Miami for nothing. If he really wanted out of Portland he wouldn't be sabotaging our ability to trade him.
that Dame requested a trade is not news...we all know that that he "won't discuss the Blazers" can infer just about anything so it is essentially meaningless
That was him confirming the trade request for the first time and what else do you infer from him refusing twice to say anything about the team he is under contract to play for? Do you think somehow this means he wants to be here?
did I say he wants to stay in Portland? the only thing I infer is that he knows the NBA investigated the actions of his agent and probably knows 'no comment' is his best approach to all trade talk let me ask you a question: if Portland doesn't find a trade for Dame before the season, and expects him to play when the season starts, do you think Dame will sit out or play?
IF Lillard is playing on the Blazers (not 36 per game), then the guard rotation is Lillard, Scoot, Ant. Though Sharpe may play some at the 2, he shares the 3 with Thybulle and Little. There's not enough talent at the 3 for Sharpe NOT to be there and not enough minutes for a 4 guard rotation. If Simons was traded in a package for a better SF (or a PF and Grant starts at 3), then Sharpe plays the 2. When Lillard is traded, Sharpe plays the 2. ... Or Sharpe grows 2-3 inches, puts on 20 pounds, and takes SF for his own.
