How's everyone feel about Smokin' Joe Cronin now?

The only info we have is from sources you refuse to accept--Goodwin--claiming Joe pursued few if any deals. Another liar on Dame's side, yeah?

 

Understood. It's hard to argue with logic.

 

Dame has feelings. So do fans.....and so does Cronin.

 

That was rude. My fault.

 

Why did anyone have to give their side of the story? Why couldn't Dame just take this amazing opportunity that was given to him in Milwaukee and say his goodbyes? Why did anyone need to toss gas on the fire?

 

I'm sorry, but that 10 years plus of goodwill went both ways. Dame exerted more influence on this franchise and the moves it made while he was here than any team in the NBA. I'd go so far as to say he had more say on what the Blazers did than LeBron's had with any of his teams. We kept players who weren't particularly good fits because Dame liked them personally. We overpaid for marginal additions because Dame pushed for veterans he liked. We kept his cousin on the roster for two years when his cousin belonged in a rec league.

Dame became a national brand, has one of the most lucrative contracts in the NBA and was largely immune from criticism. A lot of that happened because of Dame, but a lot of that happened because the Blazers gave Dame the platform to make it happen.

And I don't think seeing Dame's warts in this and admitting the stuff he did in this was as detrimental or more detrimental than what the Blazers did makes anyone pro-Cronin. I can't think of any reason off the top of my head why any Blazers fan would take Cronin's side just because they like him or feel they owe it to him, especially with Dame's history here. I think it's more a matter of, at least for me, having to look at what we absolutely know and using deductive reasoning to fill in the blanks and just arriving that the "Dame was done dirty" requires an awful lot of conjecture and absence of reason. It doesn't mean he wasn't really the angel in all of this, but, from what we know and how his people have conducted themselves, that doesn't look likeliest.

 

I had the same thought the second someone sent me the link.

 

I don't trust Goodwin at all. I'm talking about, supposedly, unbiased sources. Not someone in the employ of Dame.

 

"Urgent" definitely is a better word.

I don't know that we can continue to defend Dame's position by continually saying we didn't know who was available. We have several names that have been dropped by reputable, connected NBA beat writers and insiders. We have several scenarios.

I haven't heard one yet, not one, that accomplished what Dame purportedly wanted.

We have names, we have teams and we have possible deals, but we don't have any that would have worked, so why should we keep acting like there might have been some other superstar out there that we could have acquired out there just to keep a purely speculative argument on life support?

 

So, since we aren't discussing this over a beer, I am coming off REALLY one-sided. But it's hard, there's incoming fire from all directions!

I agree the relationship was good for both parties. Very good, in fact.

And honestly, I think at the heart of this is that Dame got too big for his britches. This is just a power struggle wrapped in a drama.

 

Yeah, and I apologize because I promised to make one reply to you for that very reason and I think this is my fifth. I think I've said what I felt I needed to add and will leave you at least one direction without fire.

 

Nah, I got carried away. I don't deal with loss well, it seems. Thanks for listening, guys.

 

I love you guys. Go Blazers!

 

By the way, I'm still extremely excited to see what Joe gets done with Jrue so far this trade (I won't consider it complete until Jrue is moved) has been an absolute masterpiece.

 

I got chippy with you as well, so I'm going to join this hug, if that is ok.

 

Ayton in town, everybody get over to that thread now, pronto!

 

I never said anyone had to give their side of the story, this is continues to be your focus when assigning blame, not me; I don't care about that factor. You have yet to say the Blazers should be at fault if they broke a league rule, you want to put the blame on Dame.

Based on your stance, if you read a story about a drunk driver hitting someone, and when the cops came, the passenger told the cops the driver was drunk, you would blame the passenger for the driver getting in trouble, not the driver himself. The passenger didn't have to say something, they could've just walked away, but instead they gave their opinion, therefore they are the bad guy!

 

Why was it Cronin's responsibility? If Miami would have wanted Dame so badly, he could have been had. Deliver an offer we couldn't refuse. It's not like they couldn't have let us know, even if we weren't returning their calls.

My guess is they were leaving voicemail messages and Cronin was listening to them. If at any point Miami said something akin to "Hey, let's stop the posturing and get a deal done, we're willing to negotiate", Dame would be in Miami.

 

Exactly right. Miami overplayed its hand. If I had to guess, the Heat did really want Lillard, but they were only going to pay so much for him. Their discipline cost them a shot at Dame. I bet they make a nice offer for Jrue. Riley's a prick, but he's not stupid.

 

Come on man.... really? Comparing this to physically harming someone?

So the Blazers tanking the final 10 games of the season harmed Dame? How so?

How many teams tanked last season? How many teams have tanked in the past 40 years? This isn't drunk driving. This is a standard practice for bad teams to throw in the towel and try to get a better asset at the end of the year. Nobody benefits from drunk driving. It's a ridiculous analogy. But winning meaningless games when your team is already bad can make a huge difference in what kind of pick you get and the future of your team. Dame is crying over spilt milk because he thought they'd use the pick to help build a winner and instead they drafted his replacement.

Did Dame complain publicly when they started tanking? No?

Did Dame stand to gain from the tanking initially? Yes?

Using your own shitty analogy, it's more like Dame was a drunk ass passenger in the car with a drunk driver. The car flipped, he got hurt, and now he blames the driver. He was COMPLICIT in breaking the rules. He didn't have to sit out. He could have played. He could have told the team to piss off.