All that could be true. Dame could have given it a year or the trade deadline to see how it went. If it stunk, he could ask out. Players as GMs don't always work out. I think they had a good chance of making the playoffs with Dame and Scoot and the others.
If Dame were a free agent, this would be a totally different narrative...he's under contract and a huge contract
We were ride or die with you Dame and you turncoated just like LMA. You said you wanted to win here. You said (or at least something to the affect of) you'd rather finish your career here than to win elsewhere. You said you didn't want to join a super team and do it easy. You listened to talking heads and forced your way out. You made it public that it's only Miami, handcuffing us. You screwed us on the way out. And, I'm really trying to take the high road on this myself.
Still my favorite Blazer ever, BUT I have to say he's diminished a bit in my eyes, and I wish that wasn't the case. The underdog story, constantly talking about loyalty, the grind, not taking the easy way - all that is what always set him truly apart for me as a fan. One of kind. He threw all that out the window and became just another super-star not content making only a quarter billion (before endorsements) to play basketball for a living for a fanbase that worshipped him. No, a year after signing the contract and committing he asks out a day into free-agency (if not before) and wants to go play for the eastern conference champions and become just another ring-chaser like the rest of them. That's his right, but if he's asking how he misled fans, well that's how. I'm not going to defend Olshey/Cronin, their moves the past decade clearly didn't get it done, not even close. But it seems like they tried to give Dame everything he wanted, from the obscene contract to signing Blevins. You name it, they tried to give it to him. I really think the road to this point was paved in good intentions and they didn't want Dame to leave, I know some disagree. I'll keep loving Dame, unless he starts going after the fans or team on social media, but his legacy has completely changed unfortunately. What made him unique among super-stars is gone. It's not that he turned his back on PDX, it's that I feel he turned his back on what made him special as an individual, in my worthless opinion.
I'm with you but seriously everything turned from Miami being his preferred destination to "Miami or bust" based on one report by Sam Amick. The only things I can find from Amick he says Miami is Dame's first choice and Brooklyn is his second. https://www.nba.com/watch/video/sam-amick-with-the-latest-on-damian-lillards-trade-request look at his twitter https://twitter.com/sam_amick The funniest part about this is I just looked at the Athletic article where Amick actually wrote "or bust" but it wasn't Dame he was talking about, it was Miami who is saying it's Dame or bust. https://theathletic.com/4657894/2023/07/01/damian-lillard-heat-rumors-free-agency/ People should do some research before they condemn the superstar who has been the best to us in the history of our team. Shaking my fucking head!
Yeah I think they were. I think there is a lot of bullshit going around. See my post right above this. Miami said Dame or bust not the other way around. People are taking a lot of liberties right now with this story and fans of our team who should know Dame better are lapping up tweets instead of doing their research before deciding that Dame has done some heel turn like a pro wrestler.
Dame requested a trade to a team he knows lack assets and wouldn’t at all help the Blazers in any way. FUCK him
Here's why it hurts: And I know this is silly... We live in Eugene, sort of a shit hole, tbh. Dame was the one thing the state of Oregon had that put us on the sports/entertainment map. Silly I know, but I was proud Dame chose to live in oregon. Now that's gone. I feel abandoned. Silly I know. But seeing a Modelo ad with him was cool cuz he represented us, in a small way. Ah identifying with a sports team...
So Joe lying through his teeth gets more respect from you than what Dame has done. I can't believe what i'm seeing from you & River. It's Joe who should be getting all your venom. Joe freakin' drafted Dame's replacement. If you were as great at your job and your boss brought in your replacement , you'd just take it with a grain of salt?
I normally agree with all of your posts. Do you think we would have Re-upped on Grant had we known Dame would ask out a day later?
Scoot was who was available at #3 in a 3-man top tier Draft. Who else was he supposed to take? And was he supposed to trade #3, Sharpe and Ant just to get some semi-above average vet? Teams knew Joe wasn't in a position of leverage, and of coure Masai always wants Durant level type of compensation. I'm glad he didn't give in to getting fleeced with such a valuable asset.
Eugene / Springfield is not the greatest. My 2 years there were ,meh. If you're all about the Ducks, it's fun. But it was Hell as an asthmatic, and not as friendly as a city that size should be. Too many Good Ol' Boys run biz down there. And they don't listen to new ideas.
