[Windhorst] “Blazers have started to indicate they won’t trade the No 3 pick. So I checked in with Lillard’s side of things & I was told unequivocally ‘No’. Dame does not want a youth movement. He wants to play with vets. He wants the team to upgrade fast & get vet players that can help him now”
by RipCity56
22 Comments
I would not want to be Cronin right now.
My theory that I’ve posted is this:
Keep the pick, keep Dame.
Dame wanted to trade the #7 pick last year but after meeting Sharpe he decided against it.
I feel like this year could be the same.
The only way I see Dame winning a ring here is if we develop the young talent we have while picking up solid role players in FA. Dame works with Scoot/Miller the same way he worked with Ant and is working with Sharpe and by the time Dame is approaching the end of his contract, we should have a fucking squad.
Otherwise, we trade him to someone and he hopes they can get to the finals, but like he said about Westbrook “there’s no guarantee.”
This seems worded in a very specific way. Like they didn’t ask him if he would be okay with taking the third pick, but instead asked if he’d be okay with a “youth movement”. You can draft 3 and still trade a bunch of young guys away and get older and more vet centric.
Seems not ideal
Start preparing yourselves for Dame leaving. I’m thankful for all he has done, sad that we failed to surround him with better talent years ago, but am excited about the youth and the future. Bingo bango bongo Rip City. 🌹
Absolutely keep the pick and pray big time that Dame asks out. It’s the absolute best case scenario and the only logical way forward for this team. Keeping him here through a rebuild makes zero sense and would only stunt the growth of our youth as well as further disgruntle Dame. He needs to go if we keep the 3rd pick. It’s the best thing for him and for us. More importantly us because team first. Hope Joe has it in him to approach Dame and tell him it’s time to move on. Offer to raise his jersey in the rafters, retire that number, rename the stadium after him, build a statue, I don’t care!!! But whatever it takes to stroke his ego and not burn the bridge while at the same time showing him the door.
If Portland ends up moving on from the Dame era, all I ask is that it’s not to Miami in a deal centered around freaking Tyler Herro. My personal hope is that he stays here the rest of his career but I recognize the man wants to win a ring and he deserves that opportunity.
If we do trade him, let it be to Brooklyn. I’d personally pack Nurk’s bags myself and drive him to the airport if Portland can get Claxton, 3/4 1sts (big on the Dallas 1st they have in 2029 that’s unprotected) for Dame + Nurk. Probably requires we take back Simmons for salary though.
I really don’t know what to believe anymore, we have 2 days until the draft and the winds seem to change every hour. I’m reserving my reactions until Draft day.
Man Cronin has to be in the least enviable position in the NBA right now.
– It’s very clearly in the best interest of the Blazers to keep the pick even if that means Dame asks out. The idea that we can build a contender around Dame given our current roster, assets, cap space, coach, and Dame’s window is ludicrous. Joe is smart; he understands this. However:
– It’s in Dame’s best interest to trade the pick because he’ll be gone by the time young players are good enough to win. So Dame is pressuring Joe to trade it.
– It’s in Jody/Vulcan’s best interest to trade the pick because the franchise’s valuation will go down if we lose Dame and they’ll be gone by the time young players are good enough to win too. So ownership is pressuring Joe to trade the pick.
– Casual fans who don’t understand NBA roster building will be pissed if we trade Dame because they just think “he’s good why would we trade him?” Joe will forever be known as the guy who let Dame walk.
In short, there’s an obviously correct decision that is deeply unpopular and an obviously incorrect decision that is deeply popular. It will take major, major balls to do the right thing in the face of all that. Thursday night will be very interesting.
Portland can draft at 3 and add vets. Trade all future picks, 23, etc. make Chicago happy first obviously
Dame + Nurkic for Claxton + DFS + Simmons.
To make salaries work, BKN have to include Simmons. but we would get Claxton back.
Ant/Sharpe/Miller/DFS/Claxton to start the rebuild
Here’s the thing though. The way this is being framed makes it seem like it’s a choice between Dame or the 3rd pick.
The truth is, Dame staying or leaving isn’t dependent on that. It’d dependent on weather or not we are winning most the games we are playing next year. If we trade the pick and go 0-25 to start the year, Dame is going to want out. He won’t care that we just burned a giant asset to appease him. The team sucks, he’s not going to want to stick around. If we keep the pick and go 25-0 to start the season, Dame is going to want to stay, youth or not.
It’s not what we do with the pick that matters, it’s how we play next year that matters. There’s both the possibility of keeping the pick and playing well AND the possibility of trading the pick and playing poorly.
For the love of god can we get a new coach.
So tired of this
My current guess is that if Scoot is available, we seriously think of trading for Zion. If it’s Miller, we may not have a sutor who values the pick as much as we do and end up keeping it.
We’re just not on the same page as Toronto with the value of the 3rd pick. ideally, Scoot is available and we try to get the best deal between the Raptors and Pelicans for Siakum/Zion, but (according to reports) Masai is only interested in lopsided trades.
If Charlotte takes Scoot, we very well may end up with Miller and focus on trading the 23rd pick to grab a veteran. Less than ideal and may lead to a *rough* off-season next year.
If we don’t get a package that makes us immediate contenders, I think keeping the pick is the right move.
If that forces Dame to request a trade, then we should trade him.
If Dame wants to leave, trade him. If he doesn’t, keep him. It’s that simple.
Maybe it’s smokescreen, but it’s beginning to feel like the summer when LA left.
I love Dame but it’s time to go full rebuild. If we still have him on the books when the new harsher salary cap takes effect in 1-2 years, our franchise will be crippled for 10 more years.
Trade Dame to Miami and involve some other teams like Utah, Houston, etc. who have high lottery picks and cap space for days, to get one or two more top-5 picks while shedding at least $75 million in salary to get ready for the new CBA.
Utah needs Simons a lot more than we do, and Simons’ talents have so far been wasted in Portland. He’d be an All-Star in Utah. We can probably get their #9 pick for him and Nurk, then draft Derek Livey II or Leonard Miller or Jarace Walker to shore up our front court and avoid having to drop $30 mil on Jerami Grant.
We might even be able to get the #2 pick from Charlotte for Shaedon Sharpe. Before all the Sharpe people downvote this, consider that prolly lets us get Scoot Henderson, who scored 37 points in the NBA G-League *as a 17-year-old* and had been playing there for 2 years now, dominating against grown men. If there is a way to get Scoot *and* Brandon Miller, that is like getting two #1 picks in most drafts. We’d be stupid not to at least try, but it would have to be a multi-team trade since I doubt we’d want to commit to such a big shift in a piecemeal fashion.
Windhorst goes on to actually state what everyone here should know already: The blazers can add vet talent without getting fleeced on the 3rd pick. The pulled quote is there for you all to stay freaking out.
So go sign a veteran or two. Just don’t throw away the third pick in the draft on some mid level player.
I think they should just draft at 3 and try using 23 and maybe a 2nd to get their pick back from Chicago. Bring back Grant. Try to address some depth needs in FA to build a borderline playoff roster, then wait for the trade deadline to make a move. See how Sharpe and the new rookie are doing to decide needs going forward.
I have a feeling there will be some good players available at the deadline. Given Washington looks like it’s going full rebuild, I could see them paying Kuzma and KP for now, then moving them mid season when they can be traded easier. If Portland has all it’s picks back it’s not hard to see a Nurkic+filler and a FRP deal possibly working for KP or an Ant and maybe a pick for Kuzma swap.
Same goes for Toronto if they can’t move OG or Pascal this off-season, unless the Raps look better than expected, I could see one being available for more affordable than now.
Anyway a lot can happen and around the deadline there should be plenty of options available. Hell, if a mega trade became available they could also have Grant to deal.
Also if the Blazers do move the 3rd pick it makes more sense after the draft since the salary can be included in a trade. Only way a trade happens pre-draft is in a trade down which isn’t the worst idea if they can still stay in the top 10 and aquire an additional FRP.
How would you guys feel if they kept the pick and drafted Miller, resigned J.Grant & then traded Simons + Nurkic for Porzingis and kept the two timeline thing going?
SMOKESCREEN!!! If everybody is guessing what you’re up to then they won’t know what you’re doing until it’s too late!
Lol man. Windy is killing us with this update. Fuck. I don’t know if I believe this…..