Dame all but demanding vet roster

Honestly... I'd rather be a lotto team than a perpetual first round exit team. When you're a perpetual first round exist team, you're just good enough to never get a good draft pick, but not nearly good enough to actually contend.

If you're in the lotto, you have a chance to draft a generational talent, and it's those generational talents who win championships.

LeBron - drafted 1st overall
Duncan - drafted 1st overall
Shaq - drafted 1st overall
Jordan - drafted 3rd overall
Hakeem - drafted 1st overall
Durant- drafted 2nd overall
Curry - drafted 7th overall

With the exception of a few teams, most of the champs had one of those guys on their teams in the last 30 years. You have to be in the lottery to have a chance. Maybe Wemby is one of these guys. I have my doubts, but some people seem to think he's going to be generational.

So how do you get a player of that caliber? Those guys aren't signing here. We aren't trading for them. So we would need to draft them.

 

We've had opportunities to get guys who could help us better contend throughout Dame's career. That's how you do it if you're in Portland. We could have drafted Jokic. We could have drafted Giannis. We could have drafted Donovan Mitchell and later traded him (and countless other drafts we could have done better). We could have traded CJ sooner... There are a lot of opportunities for us to improve. Our management just hasn't ever been committed to improving that way. And I'd much rather make the first round and have a couple of deep runs over 10 years than miss the playoffs every year.

You make sure you have the best talent scouts, the best coaching, the best developmental team, and the most hospitable and healthy atmosphere for the players. We can do all of that here. Our ownership simply chooses not to make those things the priority that would be required to be a championship caliber team.

 

I agree with that and I've said so many times before

the difference is I don't blame Dame at all, in any way, for the level of mediocrity the Blazers have languished in under Olshey. Roster construction was not Dame's job no matter how many time people try to blame him for Olshey decisions

Portland never once tried to build a contender around Dame. I'd like to see them try just one time (without completely mortgaging the future). To be sure, the odds are against it but they sure the fuck aren't 100% against it as some absolutists keep claiming

I actually think there are some paths forward where Portland can add a good veteran or two, AND keep the 3rd pick(or --->6) and almost all of their future picks. And build from there. I want to see Portland try to add win-now pieces that are at a higher level or make more sense than RoCo or Nance...and add another lottery talent. It's a tough needle to thread, for sure, but at least give it a shot

if it fails and Dame asks out, then yeah, tear shit down and go for those really high lottery odds for a few years that come with being a shitty team

 

On this I also disagree. I was at that game. I watched his face change in the minutes they were taking Wes off the floor.
That was a 51 win team. After that injury they went 10-11 and finished the season on a 4 game losing streak.
Aldridge didn't even dress down 2 of the last 4 games.
I truly feel he was done after March 5th but up to that point he could have made the decision to stay if the team played well.
However it was though we will never know for sure.

 

Which is why I used the words "potential". The likely won't, but possibly could.
And I was agreeing there was not the flexibility that was claimed.

 

By the way. Please understand the reason Damian Lillard listed his house in West Linn for sale. It’s because his other house is ready.

 

I'm sick of fact-based reality

 

His other house in Boston?

 

he built a compound apparently somewhere near the PF. He was showing his bball court and everything. Looks insane.

 

Doesn't sound like a guy with one foot out the door.

 

https://clutchpoints.com/inside-damian-lillard-7-million-home-with-photos

 

You should see it in person. It's outrageous.

 

I was thinking that 7M is a lot to pay for a house

then I looked it up....when Dame finishes his current contract(s), he'll have made 440M in salary. And I'm guessing at least 200M in endorsement deals. 7M?...pocket change

 

That's intense. Wonder who this is aimed at.

 

Are there photos of this new place?

 

I speculate Cronin

At deadline. "Let's tank, acquire draft capital to be used to trade for a veteran."

End of season. "It's time to compete at the highest level."

3 weeks before draft: "Equal value is not on the table, we will use the pick"

 

They’re saying Dame was at Scoots workout, but he isn’t in the photos like with the Thompson twins or Shaedon. So it’s like he made an appearance but he wasn’t sitting with management like before. Super sketchy to me.