I think in a case like this, there's kind of like a sine wave of value with one crest. The apex of Dame's value might be in 2-3 weeks. It might be now but as this drags on and more negative shit comes out, most of it made-up or false by the way, Dame's value will decrease, and so will Portland's leverage. If it turns into a pissing contest between Portland and Dame's camp, the Blazers are going to lose, and lose where it matters most and that's their leverage and value they can extract from a Dame trade right now it's just a divorce. If it becomes a messy divorce, Portland loses, big time. Dame may lose too but that's irrelevant for Portland. I know some want to be vindictive and not give Dame what he wants or say 'hold the line', but Portland's good options are really limited right now, and Dame can torpedo them at any time. Yeah, it would trash his image, but it's still Portland suffering the damage
I don't see how Dame's value can drop at all, honestly. The Heat package isn't going to get any worse.
That's actually a fantastic point. This ownership group can burn every relationship in the name of maximizing value. Then when they sell, the new ownership group will have a tabula rasa.
I disagree. Dame is one of the marquee players in the League. His value is sky high. Portland can point to the Durant and even the Gobert deals and say "we are willing to work with any team to get fair value, but teams are lowballing us." If Dame tries to dictate where he goes, that makes him and him alone look terrible. I think we make a statement and set a bar on the return we want. And if it pisses off his agent, all the more reason to go with expiring deals with players we don't want (for cap filler), young players on long deals (or where we have Bird Rights) and draft picks (where we control them for at least five years). If we're going to piss off the agent class, we need to get players back where we have some measure of control. All will be forgotten with the agents in 5 years or so, but in the interim, we need to protect ourselves.
Look what Utah got for Donovan Mitchell. September 3, 2022: Traded by the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ochai Agbaji, Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, a 2025 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2026 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2027 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2028 1st round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2029 1st round draft pick ( was later selected). Cleveland also received a trade exception 2025 1st-rd pick is CLE own 2026 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2027 1st-rd pick is CLE own 2028 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2029 1st-rd pick is CLE own
Exactly. And Kawhi wanted LA and not Toronto. I'm shocked (maybe I shouldn't be) about how many examples the national media omits in trying to make their point. Then again, #media.
Yeah but everyone loves Dame, and wants to be on his good side when he goes to his new team. Mitchell and Leonard both had detractors or at least people who only thought of basketball when they thought of them. Dame has a personality that people just follow.
Probably should be its own topic, but I'm interested to see how Dame handles the new landscape in terms of the media and fandom. Miami has several really large news outlets competing with each other to cover the Heat. If he or the team struggle for a few games, he's going to get grilled with questions about his ability to handle the spotlight, if he plays enough defense to elevate the team, if he's worth his contract, if he can play with Butler ... if he doesn't like Jason Quick, imagine having to deal with five Jason Quicks on steroids all season, not including the national media that'll be looking to tear Dame down now that they've gotten him out of Portland. He's going to be in a much bigger spotlight and held much more accountable even when it isn't all his fault. The other things about Miami and most of the other contenders to land Lillard are they are cities with multiple top-tier professional sports franchises. Even if the Heat win the championship, the Heat always will take a backseat to the Dolphins. If the Dolphins are doing well, people will be talking and reading about that. If the Dolphins are losing, the top story on the sports section or sports broadcast will be "What's wrong with the Dolphins?" And no one is going to Damian Lillard Toyota when Dan Marino Mazda and Mike McDaniel Nissan are right up the road.
The Portland media is incredibly soft. Go the East coast and see what it's like. I'm sure Dame can handle himself, but it won't be near the cakewalk it has been here.
Yeah. This guy played at Weber State and in Portland. He was the only star in town most of his playing career. He's in for an eye-opening, IMO. I've listened to the press conferences. Full disclosure, I also cover a Division I college basketball program. It's a small one, but still, I think I ask tougher questions than a lot of the stuff I've seen Dame have to field.
It's like what Michael Jordan was to Adidas and Converse in the movie "Air." They weren't going to give him a piece of the pie or break rules to make his shoe. (If this part of the movie is fictional, the fictional comparison still applies.)
Back-to-back great posts. The Mitchell return and Cleveland not being a preferred destination. That team missed the playoffs 4 seasons in a row. A young team wanting to win now.
Joe has to also realize that, if he goes with MIA, media leaks of offers he passed on will shock, piss off, and dismay media and POR fans alike. Everything I am hearing from media that (I think) is pretty knowledgeable is that anything MIA offers is a lowball. Sam Mitchell pointed out Dame should be flexible because POR is going to get some killer offers. Herro averaged 22 on 43% shooting. Not bad. You know how many other players did that? 50! Herro is absolutely 100% above average, and that's it.
I was on the Penn State football beat for about 20 years. Every game, you'd have 100 or so media in the pressroom from all over the state -- papers and TV from Philly, Pittsburgh and all in between -- looking for a story to differentiate themselves from the other outlets. Things could get pretty testy. Some members of the press were eager to challenge Joe Paterno (this was pre-Sandusky scandal) on the most frivolous of subjects just to get an angle, and Paterno probably could have won PA governor in a landslide in the 1980s or 1990s. That team was expected to compete for national championships. If there was a hint or rumor of something being off, Paterno and the QB would get grilled mercilessly. This is what Damian Lillard is signing up for.
