The Lillard Blazers peaked 2 seasons ago

That's part of 'managing the cap'.
It takes looking 2-3 years down the road & having a plan on how to be able to retain talent.

 

I think it works for shooters.

 

So he should've never traded for Hood? So he should've never signed Curry? So he should've said no to Kanter wanting to sign in the buyout market? So he should've let Meyers Leonard be the starting C with Nurkic hurt?

 

This makes no sense. He couldn't plan years in advance for Nurkic's injury. How could he plan years in advance for Kanter wanting to come here?

 

if the best you can do is a team that falls apart in 1 year, then you're a shitty fucking GM

 

It shouldn't have fallen apart. Dame/CJ/Hood/Collins/Whiteside was a solid starting 5 and consisted of maybe the four biggest contributors from our 2nd round win the year before. Bazemore has been a solid rotation piece everywhere but here (due to Stotts' system being shit for him) and Trent grew into a rotation piece last year as well. He whiffed on Hezonja. It was a position where he get some great deals on very solid role players the year before but sadly didn't have bird rights and then had to try and retool the roster without Nurkic.

 

The only way we win with Dame, is if Dame isn't the bests player on our team. If you can land Kawhi or someone, do it. otherwise, just get maximum value for Dame.

Dame with Lavine, PG or Butler aint beating a healthy Nets, Clippers, Lakers or even Suns....lets just be real now.

 

I did not think they’d be back after 1992. They were clearly worse in 92-93 and we’ve never been that close since. But that team had already been to Finals twice. I believe Dame still has a Finals in him.

 

This thread is pretty bad to say the least.

 

I agree if the statement this thread is trying to make is that we overachieved by the most we will by getting to the conference finals with this roster. This roster has a lot of talent that does not fit together. I actually think on a well balanced team that CJ could be the second option on offense but that team would not include Dame. So, yeah this iteration of Dame's Blazers peaked at that conference finals but another roster with a lot of the pieces that are here right now could win a championship. It's just that the pieces that need to be moved would be those that were seen as foundational before right now.

 

If Lillard was traded, you’d have to fire Olshey first.
I have no faith in him getting the appropriate return.
Also, I stand by my stance that you tell Dame to shove it if he demands a trade. Don’t care about optics or blowback or players not wanting to come here (they already don’t come here so who gives a shit.) You play it NFL style.

“Unless we get equivalent or MORE value for you, you’re staying here. And I’m not talking future picks.”

And then if he goes all Harden mode, I start fining him for conduct detrimental to the team.

Then the last year of his contract I’ll trade him.

 

So: to summarize:
1. Dame just wants to compete for a title.
2. Dame knows that we don't have the roster for that
3. There is literally nothing we can do with this roster to improve it enough to make it a contender.

Seems like, even if Dame is a Blazer to start the next season, he won't want to finish it as one.

 

You sound like someone that's too used to Neil Olshey. Bucks got Holiday and (almost) Bogdonavic last off season, with little to no tools, just a shit ton of picks.

 

Yeah, good for them. Watch it not happen to us. I will bet you anything.
Besides which: pretty sure the Bucks don't make it to the Finals in the West.

 

I'm just sad at the idea that we mortgage our future for nothing. Picks are golddust for franchises like ours and you all want us to sell our future down the river for a shot that isn't going to come.
The only way the Lillard-era Blazers contend is if we draft better (Giannis, Donovan Mitchell, etc.). We blew it then and fucking things up worse isn't going to save us.

 

If it doesn't happen it's cause Neil didn't empty the bank. Then we can all be happy watching Anfernee Simons put up 20 shots a game and getting the 4th pick in the draft.

Cool, let's try and get another Damian Lillard in the draft. I'm sure with Neil's excellent track record we'll find the next one in no time.

 

ALSO: Olshey already tried this last year and got us RoCo. Good move, but it cost us a shot at Saddiq Bey/Xavier Tillman LAST year and maybe somebody even better THIS year.
ALSO: Giannis + Middleton >> Dame + CJ. Maybe you could make an argument that they're about equal OFFENSIVELY (mayyyybe) but defensively? Lol squared.