Yeah, if Dame is getting traded then Grant needs to be a sign and trade to get what value we can get... Unfortunately for those in the trade Dame camp... Dame is going to retire a Blazer so Ant goes and Nurk goes and future and maybe current picks go for a player or players that makes this team a contender.
Who are those players we are getting for a constantly injured center and an inconsistent undersized guard that doesn’t play defense?
nobody knows at this point. Don't even know if Ant & Nurk will be shopped although it sure seemed like the Blazers were at least shopping Nurkic before the deadline CJ effectively fetched Hart, a 1st, and a TPE big enough to absorb Grant....Hart fetched Thybulle, Reddish, and a 1st Simons likely has value similar to CJ and above Hart it was not ever going to be a case of trading CJ for an all-star. Those pipe-dreams were loopy. The same is true for Ant, and even more-so for Nurkic, who I believe has negative trade value relative to his talent. IMO, the best Portland can hope for in trades at this point is adding players who fit better, have better length, along with some more draft capital. Olshey was allowed to empty Portland's cupboard and leave it bare. It's going to take time to fill it again. And of course, the dark cloud hanging over everything is the intentions of the Vulcans. Pretty clear to me the Blazers are at a major disadvantage because of ownership
there seems to be a faith within the trade-Dame narrative that trading Dame is the quickest way to contention. Yes, it's faith-based because it sure isn't supported by history * Denver traded Melo and hasn't come close to contention since. They did make it to the WCF 3 years ago but none of the talent they had was from the Melo trade * Utah traded Deron Williams and have never come close to contention since * Minny traded KG and spent 13 straight years in the lottery; and 16 of the last 18 years. Yep, they have won 3 playoff game in the 18 years after trading KG * Chicago traded Butler 6 years ago and spent 4 straight years in the lottery until they won 1 game in the playoffs last season. And they are 6 games under .500 right now and 11th seed in the east * OKC traded Paul George 4 years ago and have spent three years averaging 25 wins and are 5 games under .500 right now and 12th seed * the Pelicans traded AD 4 years ago, and have spent 3 years averaging 32 wins and are 2 games under .500 right now. And their big payoff this season for trading AD is potentially swapping a 12th pick for a 10th pick ******************************************** the track record of trading away franchise players and quickly becoming contenders doesn't really exist I had a discussion in this forum with a big advocate of "Blazers-have-to trade-Dame-to-contend". I kept asking him what he saw as a realistic timeline between the trade and when the Blazers would contend. He dodged the question several times before he relented and estimated it would take 7 years. I think that was way too optimistic but at least I finally had a practical guess of how long it would take; meaning if Portland traded Dame this summer, they might be contenders by 2030....but might not Danny Ainge found a dumbfuck Russian owner and perhaps the worst modern NBA GM and fleeced the Nets by trading 37 year old KG and 36 year old Pierce for a pick haul. That trade was in 2013. It tool 9 years before the Celtics made it to the finals. And it's one of those trades that is not a template for anything because of how stupid the Nets were ********************************************** here's the thing: about 25 years passed between when Portland had prime Clyde Drexler and prime Damian Lillard. It's a really difficult thing to add a top-10 player. It's even more difficult for a small market team to hold onto that top-10 player. Shaq didn't win a championship in Orlando; KG didn't win one in Minnesota. AD and Chris Paul didn't win one in New Orleans. A player who demonstrates loyalty like Dame has is rare. It should be highly valued by the fan base. we know what it takes for a small market team to contend: they have to have, at minimum, a top-10 player, a top-20 player, and a talented supporting cast. Blazers have the top-10-ish player now in Dame. So obviously the thinking is Portland needs to trade away the top-10 player they have so they can go out and find a new top-10 player AND a top-20 player AND several quality supporting talents. In other words, they need to find two players as talented as the two it took Portland 25 years to find. Easy-peasy. and of course, with Ja Morant, the Blazers have an example of how great it is having a player with the quality of character that Dame has. More high value and the latest rational seems to be that yes, Dame is a top-10 player, but he's the wrong type of top-10 player. He needed to be taller. So then, not only does Portland have to perform the generational feat of landing a new top-10 player, he has to be the right kind of top-10 player.....geeeeeezuz
That made me think of watching Grayson Allen yesterday. Better 3 pt % and efg% than Simons and probably plays better defense. Only one less assist per 36. He makes $9 million a year.
With due respect, this is why statistics are liars. Allen doesn't create shots for himself. The only reason he'd be a better defender is because of the defenders around him. On top of that, he's a total punk. And, finally, he looks like Ted Cruz. I wouldn't have him on my team if he paid me just for the last fact alone.
If Dame is copacetic with being the vet with that much youth, sure he can stay, but if we win a championship, it'll be when Dame is 35-38.
likely not, but that far out there is the question of will he still be playing. (I'd think yes, but I can see a GM and Dame not being confident.)
Dame keeps himself in as good of condition as anything. Barring some kind of catastrophic, fluke type of injury, I'd say the odds are good. That's all you really can ask. If he's up for doing things that way, I have no problem with it. If the team thinks trading him is the better course, I'd be sad, but I'd understand. But, you know, we can't worry about everything. There are all types of possibilities and some aren't good and the odds that he wins a championship anywhere are limited. They aren't for anyone. Seventeen players win rings every year. He's a special talent, though, and maybe even a more special person. I wouldn't bet against him, even when things right now look discouraging.
Or we can keep our superstar and still not make the playoffs, regardless. Blazers supposedly hired some drafting guru’s. I’d roll the dice on a rebuild if it’s clear we can’t make any kind of blockbuster trades this offseason.
