Brandon had multiple issues before his big contract. It was known by management "his wheels were coming off" before his big contract. I heard that exact phrase from insiders, before his big contract. He certainly had to know it if the team trainers did. His contract was a reward for his contributions to the team and to the franchise, plus I think they expected to get at least a couple more years out of him than they did. He also used the media to coerce the team into capitulating. I can't blame him for cashing in, I suppose, especially knowing his career was probably going to be a short one. It's all water under the knee now.
Dame's a keeper. I feel pretty strongly we couldn't get any player back that would mean as much to the team, to the franchise, and to the city. So...yeah...no. Nothing wrong with asking the question though.
Well we're doing that right now, so. . . Dame/ CJ/ Stotts - somethings got to change, else it's definition of insanity time.
Another point to consider is longevity. Dame has an explosive first step and his game is predicated on athleticism. At 27 it's only a handful of years till his early 30's where that speed may start to diminish. CJs game is based on skill moves. I could see Cj having a Jamal Crawford type timeline - where his skills facilitate a lengthy career.
Hmmm and it has to be one of the three? It cant be a combination of... Leonard/Crabbe/Turner/Harkless/Davis/Vonleh/Layman/Aminu/Napier/Expiring Ezeli/Draft Picks? to net us the RIGHT players to surround Dame/CJ/Stotts? Maybe NO, TS ANd PA all knew going into this season it would be a struggle because they plugged holes the first year, signed their assets the second year and for year three then trade those assets for position players that will fit better? Trades are easier to get that guy than FA. We had to sign who we could, but we can now seek out the right guys and trade for them. Sounds simple and its not, but there is a long term plan here. If anyone really thought that NO and Stott's had the roster to win and didn't know they would need to make changes/improvements, then you don't know much about basketball. Owners spend millions on these guys. They aren't gonna put chump, short term thinkers in control of their millions of dollars. However, since the NBA is static and ever changing, you cant say last year what the next step is for this coming year without going through this year. Follow me? We all want answers. Those answers are unknown to even them until time elapse and weakness are dissected and the right player in the league is found and scouted and then gone after. NO had more than one plan for the LMA FA Glam ride, and I guarantee you he entered this season with more than one option depending on how things go. Patience my friends... patience....changes will come, however major or minor. We are on a good position to go several ways and that's a GM's job in an ever evolving world.
Absolutely the shite play of the support cast is a major difference this year. But in the NBA talent level of your starters is so important (comparatively to other team sports). You can't have 40-60% of your starter minutes playing sub NBA average defense and expect to compete at the top tier. Simple as that. Till that changes we'll see similar results. Plugging role players in and out wont change that. Ergo we need to make a change to our most prominent players/coach as at the moment (even last season with everything going right) as currently constructed this team is not going anywhere.
Do you then think that With the right coach Dame and CJ could win together? If not, then Stotts isn't the issue, correct?
Possibly. Dame would be a force under a coach like Pop. He would reign Dame in, cutting out the undiscipled shots, would run him off the ball more for set shots and would demand better performance on defense. Dame and Cj together? I don't know if any team can survive that defensive deficit.
Wrong. Currys shooting is historically elite good - which majorly offsets his defensive deficiencies- much more so than Lillards. Also, Curry is a much better defender than Dame.
I'd probably have to consider a trade for Kawhi Leonard ...I keep forgetting about him but I think he's the best 2 way player in the game
of course i'd trade him for the right price. Durant/Curry/Davis/Lebron 1 for 1 otherwise it would be Simmons+unprotected pick or imbiid, Towns+wiggins, something like that is what it would take for me to give up on Lillard.
On the first point, it would be shame on the Blazers. On the second point, he was amnestied. He couldn't come back (nor is it reasonable to expect it).
Or some people who thought last season was a bit of a fluke and haven't totally bought into the idea that this team is even close to contention. With that said, I thought we'd be on pace to beat last season's record by roughly 5 games, but still not good enough to get past the 1st round without some serious help.
Totally agree with you here. This - rather than basketball ability - is what makes Dame untouchable, in the parlance of BGD.
Straw man. I don't think anyone is saying Dame is the problem. If they are, then yeah, they're an idiot (Tunchi, I'm looking at you ). But as a thought exercise, it's an interesting discussion regarding Dame/CJ. At some point one of them can't be in the starting line up. I don't think the change needs to happen immediately, but it will happen at some point. If CJ won't by our super-sub, then one of them will need to be traded, and unfortunately that probably means CJ will be traded. Hopefully it works out for the best.
I would love to hear about a trade that flies in the face of this. I can't come up with one, but I hope one of you NBA history majors can. However, sometimes the team getting the star doesn't win - NYK/Melo, NJN/Williams come to mind. So, the question is then did DEN/UTH come out ahead? With UTH, I think the answer is yes.
