Dame all but demanding vet roster

Say we got the #3 or #4 pick and OG made it clear to Toronto he wanted to leave, is filler (Nas, Keon, and Knox, + 3) for OG something that Dame would be excited about. If we were able to sign a more mobile big that could shoot 3s with our MLE i could see this team being pretty good, but it’s all health dependent.

Lillard, Sharpe, Ant, OG, Thybulle, Grant, Nurk, MLE big, Watford.

Last years team sucked at rebounding and perimeter defense the most. That team would be be improved and Jerami wouldn’t have to be chasing guys out on the perimeter as much.

In principle, i think Nurk and Ant can still work in a rotation with Dame and Sharpe l, but Ant would need to come off the bench as Jamal Crawford or Nurk would need to come off the bench and beat the shit out of second units. I think Nurk is valuable as a pick n roll partner for Dame or Ant when only one of them is out there and there’s a good perimeter defender out there too, but he shouldn’t play when they’re both in.

Also, i think Thybulle makes Nurk a lot more valuable because he’s the best perimeter defender in the NBA at disrupting pick n roll handlers in drop coverage.

I think the team would have a punchers chance of being top four in the west, but they would have to be healthy and gel quickly

 

Dame, with the help of quality additions is the BEST chance for this team to contend in the now. There are no Hauls out there. Good teams would send middle tier players in return with mediocre, end of 1st round, draft capital. Teams with great capital are in a youth movement. They Don't need Dame with the path they're taking. The Blazers have a superstar who is all in on getting it done here. Let's get it done and bring him some real help. Because once he's gone, there's a huge chance the next great player might not be all in on Portland.

 

OG ain't worth 3 picks. He's not that good. Mikal Bridges, YES!

 

The question is, does the rest of the League think Ant is as good as some of you fans do. I hope so.

 

I don't see why Brooklyn, after moving Irving and Durant, would turn around and trade for Dame. But regardless, Ben is an albatross contract, for a guy that maybe doesn't play again? I'd need 2 of those picks to take on Ben. So then we get picks 4+ years out only as the HAUL in a Dame trade? Sell the fan base on the thought of some 8th grader being our Dame replacement. And that gets us closer to a title?

 

I think they meant the number 3 or 4 pick in this draft, not 3 or 4 picks.

 

Id rather have Spencer Dinwiddie over Ben Simmons.

 

So the Blazers should give up their loyal, franchise player for a bad contract and the equivalent draft picks we traded to get Robert Covington and Zach Collins?

Yikes

 

We should get Gobert too while we’re at it.

 

The thing about Dinwiddie is he has had multiple ACL injuries and he will be a free agent after next season. I like him as a player, but I am not trading Dame for him

 

If you trade Dame your going to the rebuild strategy and collecting draft picks. Players coming back in the trade is going be mid tier type of players. Teams not going give up there top tier players. On Grant not going sign back to the Blazers until he knows what going happen to Dame. I would say about August the Dame saga will start getting interesting.

 

Gobert or Kat are targets

 

And Ducan Robinson.

If you took on those 3 contracts, you should able to get double digit future firsts and you'd certainly be in the lottery for a few years!

The forever rebuild!

 

I actually think the Dame saga will be over by draft night. If we can't get a trade put together that allows the team or teams we are getting the immediate high caliber help from, the ability to draft the guy that they want then I think that we will have to draft for ourselves and at that point I would think you might want to have that conversation with Dame before the draft so you can start shopping him on draft night.

I for one think Joe will make a trade before draft night (maybe it isn't announced until draft night) that brings in an all star and probably a role player or two that make sense with where we're trying to go.

If this shit takes until August to start then we're even more fucked than most of us think right now. I'm saying that because Joe needs to be able to tell on draft night whether he is building a young team for the future or a team that is trying to contend right now... he definitely needs to know that June 30th at the very latest. By August the drama will almost definitely be over and we will know the direction of the team or it will already have been a shit show saga for over a month.

 

That's want I am saying you know the direction the team and probably the 1st week of FA know if Cronin has did anything to improve the roster. Due to that the better FA usually is gone in that 1st week of FA. Then you go have to look at trades after that so I say August we will know the direction of this team or with Dame saga.

 

as much as i love Dame, he is my all time favorite player before Dirk Nowitzki, i can not see a scenario where the Blazers can become a legitimate Contender this off-season. And it would be completely irresponsible for a franchise like the Blazers to trade young players and multiple future first round picks for a two year window to compete without being a true legitimate contender. Dame is a top 5 offensive player, maybe top 3, in the Playoffs, it's all about defense. Unless the Blazers surround him with elite defensive players from 2-5, that team will always be fun in the regular season, but will be limited in the Playoffs when it really matters. I'm sorry Dame, you deserve much much better, but i do think it's best for both sides if they go two different directions

 

I'm talking about how any team is going to want Sharpe included in a trade if they're sending us a star player... that has nothing to do with Dame's opinion of Sharpe, making me wonder what the fuck you're talking about.

 

Lillard should ask for a trade if he isn’t happy with the direction of the Trail Blazers. Nobody would fault him for that.

If I understand correctly, Lillard would be very happy with another Jerami Grant on an expiring contract, but not happy with a 19-year-old on a rookie contract.

He would take another Jerami Grant over another Shaedon Sharpe every day of the week.

It’s obvious how horribly bad that could be for the Portland Trail Blazers.

If I were Joe Cronin, I would tell Lillard, the Blazers will consider anything that makes the team a true contender to win the conference.

Anything less than that would not be worth the possible cost, which could be at worst, franchise-altering.

 

If they can't have Sharpe and we're offering a better package than anyone else with up to 5 first round picks (one of which will be mid to high lotto this draft), I think they still make the trade.

 

Aaron Fentress had this quote from Dame:

“When asked if he would want to see the team land another young player like Sharpe, taken with the No. 7 pick in last year’s draft, Lillard made it clear that the Blazers need veteran, proven winning players now.

“I don’t have much of an appetite for bringing in guys two and three years away from really going after it,” Lillard said. “I think we get Shaedon at 19 and he’s just different. Just being around him, his disposition, how he listens, his frame, his natural talent and his ability. I think, that’s enough 19-year-olds. You probably won’t find one that will come along the way he has. I’m just not interested in that.”

So, he’s not saying anything bad about Sharpe or that he doesn’t want to play with him. He’s just saying that what Sharpe has is rare in a 19 year old. Dame has said that he wouldn’t mind playing with Wembanyama, if the Blazers get the no. 1 pick. Other than that, he wants the Blazers to use all of their assets to acquire veteran talent. Since his goal is to compete next season, what he says is right as far as Dame’s goals go. You win with vets. Joe has to decide if he’s on the same page and can make it work. If not, it’s time to part company.