Dame all but demanding vet roster

Dame was at the PF at 6am this morning and then got another workout at that gym in Tigard all before 9 am. He posted it all on his IG.

This kinda work ethic is so easy to take for granted when guys throw out Dame trades left and right.

 

He's almost 33 man. The sands of time are running out. I love Dame but he isn't 26 anymore. Dame has an expiration date.

I would love to see him get us a ring. I really would. I just don't see how that's going to happen in the next 3-4 years while he's still very good.

 

The Recipe:
- Sharpe realizes his potential sooner
- Cronin makes moves this summer worthy of executive of the year
- Ownership willing to pay tax
- Luck

 

This ownership is crap and I have yet to really see anything from Cronin that would lead me to believe that he's capable of pulling off the kind of trades that we would need to catapult us into contention.

 

Me neither but i give him the benefit of the doubt due to state of team when he took over

 

Contention is two players away. Just got to get the right mix and that 4th ingredient is very important.

 

Here's the thing though.... yes the team was mediocre, but Joe sent out all our contracts, so now we don't have hardly any money to use to match salaries. He put us in a situation where we HAVE to trade Simons if we want to bring in someone with a big contract. There was really no reason to trade Norm. That was arguably his worst move so far. Signing GP2 was stupid, and it hamstrung us, but at least we got some value out of the blunder. I have yet to see any value out of the Clippers trade.

Winslow? Can't stay healthy
Keon? He's going to be out of the league in a few years.
Bledsoe? Paying him to not play for us.

Meanwhile Norm put up 17 ppg on very efficient shooting in only 26 minutes per game for the Clips. He's on a very affordable contract. He's only 30. Trading him was flat out stupid. I would have loved to have his contract to offer Boston right now. He's exactly the kind of player that they would love to put with Tatum.

 

What does Spo know other than he is considered by many to be a top 2 if not the best coach in the NBA.

 

If Dame was 25 I'd keep him no matter what. His work ethic is great, his leadership is awesome, his dedication to Portland is top notch. I haven't heard any fans saying otherwise.

The problem is Dame is turning 33 and it seems extremely unlikely the Blazers can put a contender around him in the next few years. Seems very logical to consider going in a younger direction. Just for the due diligence I'd say Cronin needs to explore those scenarios, even if the Blazers ultimately continue trying to win with Dame now.

 

Yeah not having tradeable contracts really hurts the Blazers chance to contend. They are forced to send out Ant or Nurk or both even if the other team just wants salary filler. When you don't have a 5 man rotation - much less the 7-8 needed to contend its a big hinderance to win now. The Blazers will only get the marginal upgrade from Ant or Nurk to the player that is brought in. So it needs to be well more than all star level players. If instead the Blazers could keep Ant/Nurk they wouldn't need such a high performance (and high cost) acquisition to win now.

There were so many posters claiming how Cronin doing those moves was giving the Blazers "flexibility" to improve the roster. It actually did the exact opposite. If the Blazers just sat on Norms deal they would have much more flexibility to improve the roster to build a winner this summer; even if you view Norm as a complete zero on the court.

 

It does SEEM logical, but it isn't. Players are more likely to show loyalty to teams that show loyalty to them. Here are some of the things that are more likely to happen by keeping Dame:
Our own FAs for the next 10 years are more likely to re-sign with us (including Sharpe).
Other FAs are more likely to sign with us (Hometown + Dame was the reason Grant asked Detroit to send him here).
We stay relevant from both a winning perspective and a national media perspective.

Of course, there are other factors to consider (like Dame's outrageous salary), but these shouldn't be forgotten....

 

Yeah but if they kept Norm they don't tank.

 

@WesleyMatthews ... agreed. I don't see that 'flexibility' that was referred to. We do have some potential cap space, but it is a terrible FA class. Maybe an unbalanced trade, but what fits making us a contender?

 

This has never been a thing, and until Grant signs on the dotted line we can't use him as an example either.

 

I wouldn't want him starting in Portland. So I can't see how he would start in Boston....unless you are talking about a 6th man role.
But even with Brown gone they still have White, Brogdan, and Smart who are also listed at 6'4".

 

I disagree that Norm couldn't have been a perfectly fine starting shooting guard. He was not a small forward, and it was stilly to play him at that position.

Isn't Brogdon and Smart point guards?

 

I think Norm could have started last year at SG as could of Hart. But moving forward I think we need Sharpe in that spot.
As for Brogdon and Smart, I think that is Boston's problem.......they are not true PGs....but play the position.

 

Honestly, Norm's fit on our roster to me would have been irrelevant. He was an asset that we basically just heaped on the trash pile. His contract was/is reasonable, and he's a very solid player for the money. Is he a star? Not even close. He's just a very good role player.