no they didn't get better. You haven't learned the lesson of regular season vs playoffs Nuggets made it to the WC finals with Melo. After Melo was traded, the Nuggets had 3 straight 1st round exits then 5 straight years in the lottery. That's not getting better. Further, the year they won 57 games the 3 rotation players they had from the trade were Gallinari (he was 22 when traded), Wilson Chandler (he was 23), and Kosta Koufos (he was 21). So there were the young players, all role players even though Gallo was a good scorer. And they got a 12th pick in a draft 4 years after the trade. And a #9 for #7 swap 2 years after that. Those were the main parts of what came back to Denver and that's a fairly common return notice that Chauncey Billups was traded along with Melo. At the time, Billups was averaging 17 points and 5 assists. He was the 2nd best player on that Denver team. So, part of that return Denver got was from adding Billups
You just made a Trade Lillard thread 3 weeks ago. http://www.sportstwo.com/threads/trade-lillard-now.372185/
They're clearly different threads. One is asking if Lillard should be traded and the other is demanding that Lillard be traded.
If you want to talk playoffs, Denver got back to the WCF in 2020 and the Knicks didn't. So again, which team got better?
LOL....WTF? that was 10 years after Melo was traded from Denver. There wasn't a single player on the Denver team after the Melo trade that was on the Denver team that made it to the WCF. In fact: Arron Afflalo Raymond Felton Danilo Gallinari Wilson Chandler Nenê Ty Lawson Kenyon Martin J.R. Smith Al Harrington Shelden Williams Chris Andersen Gary Forbes Kosta Koufos Timofey Mozgov only one player on that team is still playing in the NBA. The rest are retired or in Europe I was just recently accused of trolling with negativity. But I see now how to troll with ridiculousness....thanks for the demo
Yes it has to be those three players, Simmons/Maxey/Thybulle. The picks is the issue, they owe a pick to OKC in 2025 with protections impacting future drafts similar to the pick we owe Chicago. I'd want their unprotected picks and swaps in all of 2026, 2027, 2028. Probably easiest to get Chicago or OKC in on the deal to alter the picks owed, or else have complicated conditions on the picks exchanging. Those picks could all be top5 type picks after Lillard/Embiid decline, either the Blazers keep or package for an allstar. The Blazers depth chart after such a trade is stacked 10 deep; Nurk Nance Roco NAS Simmons Thybulle CJ Powell Simons Maxey Plus the Blazers now have 3 extra possible lottery picks. The team could then make a consolidation trade with legit offers for Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, John Wall, etc types of players. If we cant get any value from a CJ, Powell, or Simons trade now; a type of deal like this makes a lot of strategic sense. I'm not sure the organization would explore any idea of trading Dame though.
Aside from the fact that you could get more for Dame from other teams, it would be a horrible idea to trade Dame for Simmons. Can you imagine the expectations from the fans? You just dealt out one of the most popular, if not THE most popular, players in franchise history for a guy who might demand a trade in a year. Just a horrible horrible fit.
Not saying I would do this. Because I wouldn't. But Dame for baby Sabonis and a lot more might stop some of them from a nostalgia aspect. Everyone loved Arvydas.
Its not Dame for Simmons straight up. Maxey and Thybulle are excellent young players, possibly both starters. Then 3 valuable potential lottery picks. If your concerned about Simmons, you could move Simmons in the trade to a third team such as Sacramento for Haliburton, Barnes, and picks. Then package some of the acquired picks for an allstar such as Sabonis. It would be a huge change of direction to move on from the Dame era, and there is risk. But it's very possible it could lead towards the Blazers being a much better basketball team both very soon and long term. The Blazer fans moved on from Brandon Roy pretty quick. DeRozen was beloved in Toronto, but the fans all got over trading him away in a few months. I'm not saying for certain I think that is the best direction or I would make such a move; I'm just saying that there is a very realistic chance it could turn out to have been the best choice. The potential massive Dame haul, the glut of guards, the emergence of Simons, all make this a possibility.
It won't matter though. Simmons would be the centerpiece of that trade, and most casual fans would be merciless if he comes out and isn't stellar from the start. I'm glad you mentioned DeRozan because he was traded for a much better player. I don't like Kawhi, but he's a better player than DeRozan and he produced immediately. A proven better player than DeRozan. I think Simmons COULD be a better player than Dame. He has the talent to be top 5 in the league..... but he's a headcase. I'm willing to roll the dice on his talent, but not for Dame. If we trade Dame to Philly, people will hone in on Simmons. Unless, like you said, Simmons goes to a third team as part of the deal.
