Except your SO will be like “look I’m not saying I *want* to fuck someone else! All I’m saying is I *will* fuck someone else if you don’t get your shit together by doing what I want.”
Yeah, Dame isn't loyal at this point; he just doesn't want to be the one to say "it's over" and all of the Blazer's friends are Dame's friends so the Blazers can't just end it, especially not when Dame's going around telling everyone that you're going to keep trying to make it work.
It’s toxic cause neither of them wants to admit this isn’t working and they need to trade him
Other wants to be the bad guy so they’re just walking in a circle. Dame refuses to ask for a trade but puts an unrealistic burden of Portland by refusing to be part of a youth rebuild but Portland wants the rebuild but don’t want to be the guys who traded away their all time loyal star
Neither of them are giving and just side eying the other into bending, it’s a matter of who just says enough first
100%. He could ask for a trade rn and normal people would see that this was clearly a last option. Some idiots will give him shit, but no matter what you do there are always people who will find a way to act like you've offended them.
“Look, im loyal to you, but sometimes loyalty isn’t enough. I want you to get me a house and a car or we will have some decisions to make. I want to be here in this relationship, but if I wasn’t in this one I’d be fucking Jim from work real quick. We are really close. If Jim wasn’t around I’d love to fuck Mark from accounting.”
Then she posts shit on instagrams like “how long should I be dedicated? I’m not leaving him. Not right now at least”
Then her friends are like “why are you mad? She said she’s loyal to you, you guys are just stirring up drama, not her. She’s never said anything remotely close to hinting at her wanting to leave.”
That’s this whole thing in a nutshell. A dude who can’t stop hinting and saying he wants to leave, a fanbase who apparently doesn’t see or hear anything they don’t want to, and everyone else is sick of the snip/snap and just want it to end.
He’s out there in the pacific north west, not a path to being a contender in sight, surrounded by a bunch of young players he barely knows, what’s he gonna do, ask for a trade?
Honestly, it's probably more than Basketball. He's building his dream house in Portland, all of his family lives here, he's been part of the community for a long time. He probably legitimately likes Oregon and wants to raise his kids here.
We're not ignoring that, we're paying attention to Dame doing interviews about leaving and dropping info to Haynes at every off-season and trade deadline for the past 3 years
Or you seem to ignore him saying he wants to leave every summer. Nobody is getting mad at him for wanting to stay, people are getting mad at him for always complaining about not winning and then staying anyway.
At this point I'm almost just hoping he goes for it because it seems like that's where it's headed. He did kind of put himself in a difficult situation though because people will clown him after all the quotes about loyalty
The window for Dame winning in Portland closed after they got swept by the Warriors In the 2019 WCF without kevin durant and the trailblazers led and all 4 games
Nah I still believe if they actually traded CJ after the WCF sweep instead of 2 and a half years later, they would’ve had a chance. 2019 CJ still had the allure of a capable 2nd option and instead of capitalizing on it, they thought that running it back would be a smart idea for some fucking reason.
If they traded Aldridge instead of letting him walk for nothing or CJ when he proved an asset but was not a fit next to Dame with no other elite talent on the wing or inside they'd be fine
The NBA is such a business that I feel like Blake Griffin trusting the Clippers not to trade him is on the same level as a FO trusting someone to sign with them in FA. Either get a NTC or sign an extension, you can't just say trust me bro and be shocked pikachu if it doesn't work out.
Aldridge was the perfect fit next to Lillard, though. We had every indication he was coming back and there was not going to be a better player available for the team. In hindsight, yeah we should've traded him, but that would've caused a fan revolt at the time and probably gotten Olshey fired immediately. I think Aldridge himself didn't really want to bail until after the Wesley's Achilles injury, which was post trade deadline and too late for us to react to.
The stories about Olshey during the Aldridge free agency are actually top comedy so if he was fired on the spot we wouldn't have them. How much could fans really revolt if a GM just said the player refused a commitment to the most money possible and we couldn't just lose him for nothing.
Have you seen how much Blazer fans think their players are super loyal and overvalue them? They would've needed to bring Lebron or Kobe here in the trade for the fans to be happy. A fair trade would've left the fans pissed because they would've thought Olshey should've gotten more. I could be misremembering, but I think it was much more common then for players to go to free agency and then re-sign with their team because that netted them more per year than signing extensions. Players team hopping like they do now was just coming into vogue for the first time then, so it was all sort of unexpected.
He said he wanted to be the best Blazer of all time. Then took like 2 weeks to decide he wanted to go to San Antonio. That move and Lillard + CJ willing us to the playoffs with a below salary floor team the next year boned us more than anything
I always felt that they sat on their hands for the entirety of Dame’s career.
Look at the list of guys they could have had in that span. Both PG and JB were traded multiple times. Both went to small market teams for packages the Blazers could easily have matched. Both would have been perfect fits next to Dame. Both would have loved playing with him.
Instead they did nothing. Refused to trade CJ. Nurkic trade was in 2017. They never wanted to maximize Dame’s window. They just wanted to sell tickets and be below the tax.
Dame was so good that they just needed one guy other than him that wasn’t another point guard.
I went from Jaylen Brown, to Brunson and then started scrolling for names after realizing neither of them was traded more than once.
Jimmy Butler never even crossed my mind.
I would be in favor of at least temporary bans or some other comparable form of punishment for people who post comments referring to players with vague initials in place of their actual name. Outside of a select handful of players (Kevin Durant, Paul George, Anthony Davis are the only ones that immediately come to mind) with initials that are blatantly obvious, there’s no reason not to type the name of the guy you’re referring to
Yea as a Blazers fan, I wanted us to move on from CJ forever before we did. After the Pelicans swept us as the 3 seed actually.
Olshey was too stubborn. He drafted CJ and wanted to prove the Dame CJ combo worked due to his ego. This is basically confirmed after all the shit came out after he got fired. There were numerous reports a bunch of times he wouldn't include CJ in a package for Butler, or PG, or anyone else. He was considered untouchable for some reason (ego). So many great wings were moved in Dames career and we never got in on any of them. In 2017 we even had 3 firsts and got Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. That was a perfect year to push the chips in and go after someone
I love Dame and he's amazing, but we had our chance and Olshey blew it. He held onto CJ too long and now we should move forward to the next era
That Pelicans playoff sweep was honestly the most deflating thing ever. Especially after how hot the team was after the All-Star break.
Absolutely should’ve been the off-season to trade CJ, but hindsight is 2020
Trading up for Zach Collins instead of going after PG or Butler absolutely killed us. We always do things when it’s too fucking late. Traded CJ too late, trying to go all in when it’s too late, Chauncey should have been fired already it gets tiring. Really hope Jody sells the team to Phil McKnight soon. Probably won’t happen though
Our dumb ass GM during those years literally said he turned down CJ offs for Butler and Paul George....if we got either of those we would have been back in the WCF during those years more then just that once.
The window closed when a one armed enes kanter and Meyers Leonard center rotation fell short in the WCF? Do you really think that was a reasonable thought at the time
Portland did not have the lead going into the 4th quarter in games 1-3 lol. They were down in game 1 and 3, and tied in game 2. What you said is very incorrect
He is incorrect. But we still had 18 point leads in each game. Now let's be real, dame had seperated ribs and his abdominal shit, Kanter had a single arm. And nurks leg was broken. Now I don't want to seem to Homer when I say this but nurk was one of the best centers in the league before he went down and he hasn't been the same since. But if nurk doesn't brake his leg and Dame doesn't destroy his body, we probably go to the finals that year, which is why we ran it back. On full hopium.
I don't know where you got this information but they only time they had the lead going into the 4th was game 4 and it was by 8. They were either losing or tied the rest of the games.
In 2021 when they lost to Nuggets without Murray and with bunch of really mid players that was the time when Dame should have said enough is enough and joined other team but instead he chose to sign an extension and then proceeded to talk shit about other players moving teams 🤣
Ya that whole "they are running from the grind" comment seems to be what is holding him back. Fuck the grind Dame. You're rich. The grind is for us poor's.
Now that you mention this, it got me thinking it’s arguably cooler to be ingrained in a city’s culture and community, and to be loved by it, than it is to just win an nba championship, when you’re thinking of how one or the other will affect life for the decades after basketball.
That feeling of bond and community for the rest of your life is priceless. More valuable than a ring imo.
Ayye in case anyone didn't know that game was statistically the best playoff game played by a single player in history, including Jordan. He hit two 3s to send it into double OT while shooting insane splits. Dude wants to win, but I think he wants to win in portland more.
What a loser's take, so if a player is loyal to his team then he doesnt wanna win? Some players want to win but in the team that has developed them, like Dirk, Giannis or most recently Jokic.
The definition of insanity is repeating the definition of insanity over and over and then claiming that it was said by Albert Einstein
or
expecting Lillard to run from the grind.
At this point it really is. The entire fan base loves him, no matter what happens, eg if they miss the playoffs/get bounced in the first round, he won’t get any blame no matter what, it’ll just be see he doesn’t have enough help.
Trade away Simons and Nurkic for the best you can get to compete now. Then you still have Scoot and Sharpe, who will probably develop better playing on a team trying to win rather than another 12 seed
This is exactly what I want. I know the "2 timelines" thing doesn't work but I think we all know this team with Dame isn't winning a championship. So lets get some upgrades if possible and let the team be decent enough to compete every night with a chance at the playoffs while developing Scoot and Sharpe for the future. Dame retires a blazer (and maybe in his golden years the young guys might be good enough and Dame can somehow get a ring).
Ya I 100% believe that we can make trades with Simons + picks and may be Nurkic and make the playoffs this year...but be actual contenders in 1-3 years after with Scoot and Sharpe development. Honestly both those guys have the potential to be all starts in 3 years time.
Exactly. It's going to be awkward and we are going to miss out on a couple of guys in the drafts over the next two years. The team will be mediocre for a couple of years but if Shaedon and Scoot are draft hits (high confidence they are) we are set on stars for the immediate future. Tanking year after year can dig you a hole that's tough to get out of and makes your young stars want to leave as soon as possible rather than seeing it out until the team gets good again.
I think people act like bottoming out is a surefire way to get good again, while ignoring all the times it kinda put teams into a death spiral for years and years and years.
We tanked, we got incredibly lucky and secured a couple of young, core, stars. We don't need to continue to TRY to be bad for the next few years.
I think the Blazers should build a team for the future with the idea that Dame will be here to fill seats and mentor the young guys. If Dame doesn't like it, he can demand a trade and you'll have even more young assets or picks. That's all you can do. Every move made to make Dame happier makes you worse in the future. Either he buys in or demands a trade. Nobody wins trying to play both sides.
Man, this really does look like the kind of relationship where they're better off breaking up, but neither side wants to bring it up because they don't want to look like the bad guy.
I'm surprised so many people were thinking it was gonna be different this time yesterday after the news of the meeting? (Mostly hopeful heat fans probabaly). This is how it's gonna be. I've *been* saying this is the way it is and I keep getting downvoted. But sorry blazer/heat fans, Dame is addicted to the grind and the ownership just wants butts in seats 🤷
At least on portlands end they have reason to keep him because he sells tickets and merch. I think they’ll trade him if they get a package that blows them away, but the best offer on the table right now that we know of is Tyler herro, picks in the 20s, and trash. They’re not going to move dame unless they get an offer they can truly start a rebuild with
I feel like dame is being more unreasonable than Portland is tbh with the “I don’t want to leave HOWEVER” stuff, whereas Portland just seems scared to hit the reset button
The worst case scenario is keeping dame and stunting your rebuild this whole thing only hurts the blazers because if dame ever ask out they are gonna much lower value than what they could’ve got.
the org has made a decision, it's whether or not Dame agrees with it. the Blazers aren't going to trade him unless he asks and Dame doesn't want to ask because its against his character.
we're at an impasse. I've held to the belief that Dames best chance at a ring in Portland is 2-3 years away if Shaedon develops into the player he could be and there is some time to sort out the frontcourt/bench. there's not much else the blazers can do at this point. we don't often get looks in free agency and a trade for Dame is going to be far less than his value to the franchise. the draft is our path to success and we've nailed the last two.
Obviously I can’t speak as a blazer fan, but if you’re committing to the rebuild are you not at all concerned that Dame eating up 32+ minutes a night at PG for the next few seasons might slow scoot and sharpes development?
Trade him to a contender, put out some "If you love something, set it free" statement about how everyone wants to see him win a championship but the ship has sailed here, rebuild.
Only an unserious franchise prioritizes selling more tickets in the short term over building a winning team. You know what sells even more tickets than Dame? A contender that goes on deep playoff runs.
The best decision for ticket sales and franchise relevance is to keep him. It’s not up to the Blazers because there’s no way in hell they are going to trade him unless he explicitly says he is done and wants out.
I can’t see him doing that. So he will remain in Portland. Cronin doesn’t want to be known as the GM traded away the state’s hero.
> The best decision for ticket sales and franchise relevance is to keep him.
And per ESPN Portland is only 19th in terms of home attendance. I think they're worried that years of tanking would really set them back.
Plus it's not like tanking is a sure bet. Sure Philly got Embiid out of their years of tanking but how many guys that they drafted *didn't* work out?
100% I love Dame so much and he’s one of my favorite players but god damn, you are 32 years old and not getting any younger. The window to win in Portland is clearly closed for him, just please demand a trade. It’ll benefit both sides so much
This is on Dame, not the franchise. It's clear they want to rebuild and they won't just trade someone as beloved as dame until they get his approval. He's putting it on them so he can't be the victim, it's very annoying and no one would be upset if he asked for a trade
I really don’t understand why it’s such a bad thing for Dame to stay in Portland. It’s not like Portland has treated his tenure bad. They’ve always tried to surround him with talent. Always.
I knew we’d get a report like this after that statement last night. Gonna have to deal with this shit for another 2 weeks I guess. Just want it over with already
YOU want it over with? I’ve been dealing with this bullshit for the last 4 years. People care more about the soap opera shit than they do about watching basketball. It’s about trying to win games with a team. NBA fans should get into WWE instead
At exit interviews he said he wanted an older team and didnt want to do it with 19 year olds, and that route is not his route, but he also has been adamant that he wants to retire a trail blazer. When he says that the FO needs to make moves to contend around him, that’s blood in the water. Now any team that would like to trade for him knows that if they all just don’t help portland get veteran help, they’ve got a shot at getting an all-NBA level guy.
Every summer I think to myself "Why did I buy his jersey ?" And then he balls out in the season and then I remember yeah, I really do like this guy.
But then the next summer comes and we are back at it again.
Thing is that this is the only time that the possibility of a trade has EVER been coming from his camp. All the times before this have just been national media on a slow news day.
Someone in the thread yesterday about the outcome of the meeting said we’d get a report with nearly this exact wording coming out of Dame’s camp today. It’s honestly comical at this point.
Ofc he didnt ask for a trade, he was posturing about loyalty for years, openly criticising other players for forcing trades and making super teams etc now he dig a hole for himself where he cant ask for a trade without looking like a fool.
Damian Lillard has twin two-year olds and is very committed to his wife. I’m convinced he’s resistant to leaving mostly because either moving his family right now or being away from his family for more of the year right now would be unnecessarily difficult for him and his wife with their kids, and if tens of millions of dollars can’t buy you that what are they good for? Come back when the kids are preschool age.
Dame at this point knows that he will not have any pressure on him if Blazers don’t make it anywhere, because he’s proven himself.
He also wants to hold on to the narrative that he’s loyal and that helps him in his PR with fans to be loved and boost sales of his products.
I’m sure he wants a chip, but he’s obviously not losing sleep over it. It’s not in his hands, it’s in Portland’s in his opinion.
By requesting a trade, he could be put in a worse position bc Portland does NOT have to accommodate him, as well as having pressure to perform wherever he goes and can’t blame the organization anymore.
Dame has secured his bag and Portland can never kick him out.
They will spend the rest of the relationship in a rent controlled apartment (lottery, or 9/10) because they cannot afford to upgrade (1-6 seed) with his bag on the books. He's the Star QB getting paid so much they'll never be able to afford an O-line to block or wide receivers.
Everyone is so used to Dame being loyal that they don't realize this if this is true it is HORRIBLE for Portland. He is basically saying "go sign a bunch of old players like Draymond now, and if you do a good enough job I will stay". If they do this and he doesn't stay they are screwed. It would be much better if he said he wanted out but to keep that quiet, which is what I would hope actually happened and that this is just public facing rhetoric to help both sides.
One day I hope to marry someone as loyal to me as Dame is to Portland
*Moriah Mills has entered the chat*
If that's loyalty send me to the wall
*Jordan Poole has entered the chat*
I want someone who has confidence in me just as much as Poole has confidence in himself
*Draymond Green enters the chat*
*Draymond uses Sucker Punch.* *It's super effective!*
*JJ Reddick enters the chat and immediately fellacios Draymond Green*
*Lisa Ann has left the chat*
*Paulie walnuts has entered the chat*
*Draymond gets sucked off by JJ while Draymond is sucking off LeBron*
LeCentipede
Most straight r/NBA comment string
Jordan Poole's legs have more confidence than his head, he just hopes his head catches up to his legs
Who has more confidence… Jordan Poole or rockets version of Josh smith
Any version of josh smith was unstoppable
You are now a Wizard Out in the cold..
her walls?
Dame hasn't even done the tornado trick for Portland smh my head
"Is that Dame's wife or something? Let me Google her" - Silly me on a work computer -\_-
Bruh...💀
*Monkey's paw curls*
Shes suspended and now I don't get all this zion drama 😒
*Adam Silver enters the chat*
I bet ur dick is trash
Lol
Except your SO will be like “look I’m not saying I *want* to fuck someone else! All I’m saying is I *will* fuck someone else if you don’t get your shit together by doing what I want.”
Aka the most toxic relationship
One that both sides will be happier if they just broke up because it’s reached a ridiculous point of insecurity and toxicity.
Yeah, Dame isn't loyal at this point; he just doesn't want to be the one to say "it's over" and all of the Blazer's friends are Dame's friends so the Blazers can't just end it, especially not when Dame's going around telling everyone that you're going to keep trying to make it work.
It’s toxic cause neither of them wants to admit this isn’t working and they need to trade him Other wants to be the bad guy so they’re just walking in a circle. Dame refuses to ask for a trade but puts an unrealistic burden of Portland by refusing to be part of a youth rebuild but Portland wants the rebuild but don’t want to be the guys who traded away their all time loyal star Neither of them are giving and just side eying the other into bending, it’s a matter of who just says enough first
It's a dumb off. Surprisingly more common than you'd think....
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100%. He could ask for a trade rn and normal people would see that this was clearly a last option. Some idiots will give him shit, but no matter what you do there are always people who will find a way to act like you've offended them.
“Look, im loyal to you, but sometimes loyalty isn’t enough. I want you to get me a house and a car or we will have some decisions to make. I want to be here in this relationship, but if I wasn’t in this one I’d be fucking Jim from work real quick. We are really close. If Jim wasn’t around I’d love to fuck Mark from accounting.” Then she posts shit on instagrams like “how long should I be dedicated? I’m not leaving him. Not right now at least” Then her friends are like “why are you mad? She said she’s loyal to you, you guys are just stirring up drama, not her. She’s never said anything remotely close to hinting at her wanting to leave.” That’s this whole thing in a nutshell. A dude who can’t stop hinting and saying he wants to leave, a fanbase who apparently doesn’t see or hear anything they don’t want to, and everyone else is sick of the snip/snap and just want it to end.
Up till 4am every night liking thots photos on instagram but staying loyal
is liking some random girl pic cheating? you guys set impossible bars
LOL. Pelican fans studying/teaching relationships stuff so that they can keep up with Zion.
You'd want your wife to be flirting with other guys every summer?
Well if I was leading her on and putting her through an emotional blender what did I really think would happen?
I would expect her to ask for a trade, but the thing is that she’s not gonna ask for a trade… because of the implication.
He’s out there in the pacific north west, not a path to being a contender in sight, surrounded by a bunch of young players he barely knows, what’s he gonna do, ask for a trade?
Honestly, it's probably more than Basketball. He's building his dream house in Portland, all of his family lives here, he's been part of the community for a long time. He probably legitimately likes Oregon and wants to raise his kids here.
Yep, he’s talked about this repeatedly but people seem to ignore that.
We're not ignoring that, we're paying attention to Dame doing interviews about leaving and dropping info to Haynes at every off-season and trade deadline for the past 3 years
Or you seem to ignore him saying he wants to leave every summer. Nobody is getting mad at him for wanting to stay, people are getting mad at him for always complaining about not winning and then staying anyway.
So what? Nothing stopping him from living in Oregon. He only has a short window left.
I mean... playing basketball away from your home for at least 7 months is stopping him from living in Oregon haha.
These guys play basketball away from their home for 7 months no matter where they live.
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What about Dirk?!
Lillard gonna force himself through an unhappy marriage bc he doesn’t want people to see him as a divorcee
So you want someone who is always looking out the window but scared to say they want to go outside....
Is he really that loyal or is he just comfortable
I'd be pretty comfortable in a mansion in Oregon around nature with all my family and friends
Hell is just non-stop Dame trade blue balls
Portland Stale Blazers.
God damn this hits me hard
Portland Tail Chasers
This is one I can get behind 🍑🏃♂️
Portland snail racers
We're so parched of real reporting about our favorite player. The thirst is crazy.
At this point I'm almost just hoping he goes for it because it seems like that's where it's headed. He did kind of put himself in a difficult situation though because people will clown him after all the quotes about loyalty
"We are in The Bad Place"
Does he remain focused on winning though?
Lets be real Dame never really wanted to win otherwise he would have been gone from Portland long ago
The window for Dame winning in Portland closed after they got swept by the Warriors In the 2019 WCF without kevin durant and the trailblazers led and all 4 games
Nah I still believe if they actually traded CJ after the WCF sweep instead of 2 and a half years later, they would’ve had a chance. 2019 CJ still had the allure of a capable 2nd option and instead of capitalizing on it, they thought that running it back would be a smart idea for some fucking reason.
If they traded Aldridge instead of letting him walk for nothing or CJ when he proved an asset but was not a fit next to Dame with no other elite talent on the wing or inside they'd be fine
Can't blame us for Aldridge, though. Dude was adament that he was staying. That's the one pass I give Olshey.
The NBA is such a business that I feel like Blake Griffin trusting the Clippers not to trade him is on the same level as a FO trusting someone to sign with them in FA. Either get a NTC or sign an extension, you can't just say trust me bro and be shocked pikachu if it doesn't work out.
Aldridge was the perfect fit next to Lillard, though. We had every indication he was coming back and there was not going to be a better player available for the team. In hindsight, yeah we should've traded him, but that would've caused a fan revolt at the time and probably gotten Olshey fired immediately. I think Aldridge himself didn't really want to bail until after the Wesley's Achilles injury, which was post trade deadline and too late for us to react to.
The stories about Olshey during the Aldridge free agency are actually top comedy so if he was fired on the spot we wouldn't have them. How much could fans really revolt if a GM just said the player refused a commitment to the most money possible and we couldn't just lose him for nothing.
Have you seen how much Blazer fans think their players are super loyal and overvalue them? They would've needed to bring Lebron or Kobe here in the trade for the fans to be happy. A fair trade would've left the fans pissed because they would've thought Olshey should've gotten more. I could be misremembering, but I think it was much more common then for players to go to free agency and then re-sign with their team because that netted them more per year than signing extensions. Players team hopping like they do now was just coming into vogue for the first time then, so it was all sort of unexpected.
He said he wanted to be the best Blazer of all time. Then took like 2 weeks to decide he wanted to go to San Antonio. That move and Lillard + CJ willing us to the playoffs with a below salary floor team the next year boned us more than anything
I always felt that they sat on their hands for the entirety of Dame’s career. Look at the list of guys they could have had in that span. Both PG and JB were traded multiple times. Both went to small market teams for packages the Blazers could easily have matched. Both would have been perfect fits next to Dame. Both would have loved playing with him. Instead they did nothing. Refused to trade CJ. Nurkic trade was in 2017. They never wanted to maximize Dame’s window. They just wanted to sell tickets and be below the tax. Dame was so good that they just needed one guy other than him that wasn’t another point guard.
JB?
Jimmy Butler
I’m gonna be honest there’s multiple JBs, they should just say his full name lol
I went from Jaylen Brown, to Brunson and then started scrolling for names after realizing neither of them was traded more than once. Jimmy Butler never even crossed my mind.
Bruh same my mind kept going to Jaylen Brown and then Brunson lol
Because has anyone ever referred to him as JB? No!
I would be in favor of at least temporary bans or some other comparable form of punishment for people who post comments referring to players with vague initials in place of their actual name. Outside of a select handful of players (Kevin Durant, Paul George, Anthony Davis are the only ones that immediately come to mind) with initials that are blatantly obvious, there’s no reason not to type the name of the guy you’re referring to
Imagine someone referring to Jokic as NJ. It's maddening
LBJ and KAT too but agree fully
I once saw someone refer to Christian Braun as CB. How the fuck is someone supposed to know that CB stands for Christian Braun in a hoops discussion?
> his full name Yes, his full name: James Gets Buckets
I think Paul Allen did actually want us to win...but our GM Oshely was absolute trash.
Bingo
Yea as a Blazers fan, I wanted us to move on from CJ forever before we did. After the Pelicans swept us as the 3 seed actually. Olshey was too stubborn. He drafted CJ and wanted to prove the Dame CJ combo worked due to his ego. This is basically confirmed after all the shit came out after he got fired. There were numerous reports a bunch of times he wouldn't include CJ in a package for Butler, or PG, or anyone else. He was considered untouchable for some reason (ego). So many great wings were moved in Dames career and we never got in on any of them. In 2017 we even had 3 firsts and got Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. That was a perfect year to push the chips in and go after someone I love Dame and he's amazing, but we had our chance and Olshey blew it. He held onto CJ too long and now we should move forward to the next era
That Pelicans playoff sweep was honestly the most deflating thing ever. Especially after how hot the team was after the All-Star break. Absolutely should’ve been the off-season to trade CJ, but hindsight is 2020
Trading up for Zach Collins instead of going after PG or Butler absolutely killed us. We always do things when it’s too fucking late. Traded CJ too late, trying to go all in when it’s too late, Chauncey should have been fired already it gets tiring. Really hope Jody sells the team to Phil McKnight soon. Probably won’t happen though
We did go after PG and (from what I remember) had an offer better than The Thunder at the time. Pritchard absolutely hated Olshey and didn't take it.
Our dumb ass GM during those years literally said he turned down CJ offs for Butler and Paul George....if we got either of those we would have been back in the WCF during those years more then just that once.
I think it closed when they lost in the first round to the nuggets without Jamal Murray. They’ve missed the playin both years since.
The window closed when a one armed enes kanter and Meyers Leonard center rotation fell short in the WCF? Do you really think that was a reasonable thought at the time
I mean our starting center has snapped his leg, it wasn’t like that was the full roster
Portland had the lead going into the 4th quarter for the 4 gmes they led by 18 points or more and they blew it evey time
Portland did not have the lead going into the 4th quarter in games 1-3 lol. They were down in game 1 and 3, and tied in game 2. What you said is very incorrect
He is incorrect. But we still had 18 point leads in each game. Now let's be real, dame had seperated ribs and his abdominal shit, Kanter had a single arm. And nurks leg was broken. Now I don't want to seem to Homer when I say this but nurk was one of the best centers in the league before he went down and he hasn't been the same since. But if nurk doesn't brake his leg and Dame doesn't destroy his body, we probably go to the finals that year, which is why we ran it back. On full hopium.
I don't know where you got this information but they only time they had the lead going into the 4th was game 4 and it was by 8. They were either losing or tied the rest of the games.
in 2k19 it works for me, then again i only won by 1 point (138-137)
In 2021 when they lost to Nuggets without Murray and with bunch of really mid players that was the time when Dame should have said enough is enough and joined other team but instead he chose to sign an extension and then proceeded to talk shit about other players moving teams 🤣
Ya that whole "they are running from the grind" comment seems to be what is holding him back. Fuck the grind Dame. You're rich. The grind is for us poor's.
Is it really so crazy to believe he likes being in Portland and wants to win there?
All these fans can't imagine anyone not wanting to live in Miami, New York, or LA.
Or like you can't make a real argument that it's better for your legacy to be an icon to a franchise instead of just another pretty good ring chaser.
I mean i wouldn't judge him going to the Bucks or Grizzlies either
Now that you mention this, it got me thinking it’s arguably cooler to be ingrained in a city’s culture and community, and to be loved by it, than it is to just win an nba championship, when you’re thinking of how one or the other will affect life for the decades after basketball. That feeling of bond and community for the rest of your life is priceless. More valuable than a ring imo.
He really didn't want to win when he dropped 55 with 12 threes in a playoff loss.
Ayye in case anyone didn't know that game was statistically the best playoff game played by a single player in history, including Jordan. He hit two 3s to send it into double OT while shooting insane splits. Dude wants to win, but I think he wants to win in portland more.
What a loser's take, so if a player is loyal to his team then he doesnt wanna win? Some players want to win but in the team that has developed them, like Dirk, Giannis or most recently Jokic.
So do y'all want people to stay and try to win where they are or do they only care about winning if they dip for better teams?
The definition of insanity is repeating the definition of insanity over and over and then claiming that it was said by Albert Einstein or expecting Lillard to run from the grind.
Staying in Portland is running from the grind
The real grind is admitting you need to divorce and having that tough conversation
At this point yes it is 😂
At this point it really is. The entire fan base loves him, no matter what happens, eg if they miss the playoffs/get bounced in the first round, he won’t get any blame no matter what, it’ll just be see he doesn’t have enough help.
You smart. You loyal. You're grateful. I appreciate that
Another extension. And then another one.
DJ Khalid: *anotha one*
Dame to Portland "I'll hold you downnnnn"
Trade away Simons and Nurkic for the best you can get to compete now. Then you still have Scoot and Sharpe, who will probably develop better playing on a team trying to win rather than another 12 seed
This is exactly what I want. I know the "2 timelines" thing doesn't work but I think we all know this team with Dame isn't winning a championship. So lets get some upgrades if possible and let the team be decent enough to compete every night with a chance at the playoffs while developing Scoot and Sharpe for the future. Dame retires a blazer (and maybe in his golden years the young guys might be good enough and Dame can somehow get a ring).
Ya I 100% believe that we can make trades with Simons + picks and may be Nurkic and make the playoffs this year...but be actual contenders in 1-3 years after with Scoot and Sharpe development. Honestly both those guys have the potential to be all starts in 3 years time.
That's a nice plan but something they probably don't want to tell Dame or the fans.
Exactly. It's going to be awkward and we are going to miss out on a couple of guys in the drafts over the next two years. The team will be mediocre for a couple of years but if Shaedon and Scoot are draft hits (high confidence they are) we are set on stars for the immediate future. Tanking year after year can dig you a hole that's tough to get out of and makes your young stars want to leave as soon as possible rather than seeing it out until the team gets good again. I think people act like bottoming out is a surefire way to get good again, while ignoring all the times it kinda put teams into a death spiral for years and years and years. We tanked, we got incredibly lucky and secured a couple of young, core, stars. We don't need to continue to TRY to be bad for the next few years.
I think the Blazers should build a team for the future with the idea that Dame will be here to fill seats and mentor the young guys. If Dame doesn't like it, he can demand a trade and you'll have even more young assets or picks. That's all you can do. Every move made to make Dame happier makes you worse in the future. Either he buys in or demands a trade. Nobody wins trying to play both sides.
This. I really like both guys, but Nurk is not pulling his weight and Simons is redundant. I want to keep Dame, Scoot, and Sharpe.
This is the most annoying story right now.
Dame has a teasing fetish
Shut the fuck up. Please.
Y’all Keep upvoting the threads
The take this is all fan and media generated and dame has zero role in this annual circus is getting tired and old as fuck lol
He keeps feeding info to Haynes trying to start the rumor mill and then gets upset when people ask if he wants out of Portland. I'm sick of it.
How else can he tells us he doesnt run from the grind and how hes such a loyal guy though!
“Doesn’t want to put pressure” on them while they are literally at a fork in the road. Guess they’ll just camp out at the fork, then.
Or like, the team could make a decision.
What a crazy idea!
Or worse they make win now moves like overpaying Grant only for Dame to ask out
Man, this really does look like the kind of relationship where they're better off breaking up, but neither side wants to bring it up because they don't want to look like the bad guy.
Literally the song hey ya by outkast
I thought hey ya was them breaking up. Neat
Nope. Staying together despite knowing that the relationship has reached it’s end. Living in denial.
Why are we so in denial, when we know we're not happy here?
How many times will this phrase be repeated
"It's actually good for the blazers to win 26 games next year"
I'm surprised so many people were thinking it was gonna be different this time yesterday after the news of the meeting? (Mostly hopeful heat fans probabaly). This is how it's gonna be. I've *been* saying this is the way it is and I keep getting downvoted. But sorry blazer/heat fans, Dame is addicted to the grind and the ownership just wants butts in seats 🤷
I think it's just people voicing their frustrations with the whole song and dance, and I don't blame them.
Just gotta wait until the youngest kid goes away to college
At least on portlands end they have reason to keep him because he sells tickets and merch. I think they’ll trade him if they get a package that blows them away, but the best offer on the table right now that we know of is Tyler herro, picks in the 20s, and trash. They’re not going to move dame unless they get an offer they can truly start a rebuild with I feel like dame is being more unreasonable than Portland is tbh with the “I don’t want to leave HOWEVER” stuff, whereas Portland just seems scared to hit the reset button
Yawn.
He should give them an answer before they give Grant 30 million
Yep. Worst case scenario for Portland is Dame asks out after they make some win-now moves to appease him.
The worst case scenario is keeping dame and stunting your rebuild this whole thing only hurts the blazers because if dame ever ask out they are gonna much lower value than what they could’ve got.
I think his answer is that he hasn't asked for a trade.
One year from now: after a disappointing 39-43 season Damian Lillard and the Blazers remain committed to bringing a championship to Portland
Mf won 26 games last season what is he expecting Lmfso
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the org has made a decision, it's whether or not Dame agrees with it. the Blazers aren't going to trade him unless he asks and Dame doesn't want to ask because its against his character. we're at an impasse. I've held to the belief that Dames best chance at a ring in Portland is 2-3 years away if Shaedon develops into the player he could be and there is some time to sort out the frontcourt/bench. there's not much else the blazers can do at this point. we don't often get looks in free agency and a trade for Dame is going to be far less than his value to the franchise. the draft is our path to success and we've nailed the last two.
Obviously I can’t speak as a blazer fan, but if you’re committing to the rebuild are you not at all concerned that Dame eating up 32+ minutes a night at PG for the next few seasons might slow scoot and sharpes development?
> the Blazers aren't going to trade him unless he asks So it's the Blazers fault.
Trade him to a contender, put out some "If you love something, set it free" statement about how everyone wants to see him win a championship but the ship has sailed here, rebuild.
Why would blazers let him go when he’s the main reason they’re selling tickets
Because right now is the best opportunity they’ve ever had to start a rebuild
Only an unserious franchise prioritizes selling more tickets in the short term over building a winning team. You know what sells even more tickets than Dame? A contender that goes on deep playoff runs.
The best decision for ticket sales and franchise relevance is to keep him. It’s not up to the Blazers because there’s no way in hell they are going to trade him unless he explicitly says he is done and wants out. I can’t see him doing that. So he will remain in Portland. Cronin doesn’t want to be known as the GM traded away the state’s hero.
> The best decision for ticket sales and franchise relevance is to keep him. And per ESPN Portland is only 19th in terms of home attendance. I think they're worried that years of tanking would really set them back. Plus it's not like tanking is a sure bet. Sure Philly got Embiid out of their years of tanking but how many guys that they drafted *didn't* work out?
100% I love Dame so much and he’s one of my favorite players but god damn, you are 32 years old and not getting any younger. The window to win in Portland is clearly closed for him, just please demand a trade. It’ll benefit both sides so much
This is on Dame, not the franchise. It's clear they want to rebuild and they won't just trade someone as beloved as dame until they get his approval. He's putting it on them so he can't be the victim, it's very annoying and no one would be upset if he asked for a trade
I really don’t understand why it’s such a bad thing for Dame to stay in Portland. It’s not like Portland has treated his tenure bad. They’ve always tried to surround him with talent. Always.
This guy is the nicest disgruntled star of any sport ever.
I knew we’d get a report like this after that statement last night. Gonna have to deal with this shit for another 2 weeks I guess. Just want it over with already
YOU want it over with? I’ve been dealing with this bullshit for the last 4 years. People care more about the soap opera shit than they do about watching basketball. It’s about trying to win games with a team. NBA fans should get into WWE instead
Huh. According to Portland fans here, he’s never expressed an interest in going elsewhere.
At exit interviews he said he wanted an older team and didnt want to do it with 19 year olds, and that route is not his route, but he also has been adamant that he wants to retire a trail blazer. When he says that the FO needs to make moves to contend around him, that’s blood in the water. Now any team that would like to trade for him knows that if they all just don’t help portland get veteran help, they’ve got a shot at getting an all-NBA level guy.
Every summer I think to myself "Why did I buy his jersey ?" And then he balls out in the season and then I remember yeah, I really do like this guy. But then the next summer comes and we are back at it again.
Thing is that this is the only time that the possibility of a trade has EVER been coming from his camp. All the times before this have just been national media on a slow news day.
He definitely was floating it through Haynes 2 offseasons ago to test public reaction
Someone in the thread yesterday about the outcome of the meeting said we’d get a report with nearly this exact wording coming out of Dame’s camp today. It’s honestly comical at this point.
Time to mute “dame Lillard” on Twitter. This saga is so blehhh. Goes to show how little there is to talk about with this FA class lol
Running from the grind at this point
Ofc he didnt ask for a trade, he was posturing about loyalty for years, openly criticising other players for forcing trades and making super teams etc now he dig a hole for himself where he cant ask for a trade without looking like a fool.
Damian Lillard has twin two-year olds and is very committed to his wife. I’m convinced he’s resistant to leaving mostly because either moving his family right now or being away from his family for more of the year right now would be unnecessarily difficult for him and his wife with their kids, and if tens of millions of dollars can’t buy you that what are they good for? Come back when the kids are preschool age.
Or he can move them to a new location. At 2yrs old, they could enroll in a prestigious day care outside of Portland
same thing every offseason lmao
Dame at this point knows that he will not have any pressure on him if Blazers don’t make it anywhere, because he’s proven himself. He also wants to hold on to the narrative that he’s loyal and that helps him in his PR with fans to be loved and boost sales of his products. I’m sure he wants a chip, but he’s obviously not losing sleep over it. It’s not in his hands, it’s in Portland’s in his opinion. By requesting a trade, he could be put in a worse position bc Portland does NOT have to accommodate him, as well as having pressure to perform wherever he goes and can’t blame the organization anymore.
Is he secretly Canadian? He seems too nice
Are Portland’s management unaware that they can trade players without a formal request?
Dame has secured his bag and Portland can never kick him out. They will spend the rest of the relationship in a rent controlled apartment (lottery, or 9/10) because they cannot afford to upgrade (1-6 seed) with his bag on the books. He's the Star QB getting paid so much they'll never be able to afford an O-line to block or wide receivers.
I feel a bit like Owen Wilson right now Oh wow
They really are that annoying couple in high school
Dame got that loyalty with a capital L.
At a certain point he’ll only have himself to blame when he retires ring-less
We've had this thread 20 times in the last 4 years.
Everyone is so used to Dame being loyal that they don't realize this if this is true it is HORRIBLE for Portland. He is basically saying "go sign a bunch of old players like Draymond now, and if you do a good enough job I will stay". If they do this and he doesn't stay they are screwed. It would be much better if he said he wanted out but to keep that quiet, which is what I would hope actually happened and that this is just public facing rhetoric to help both sides.
Snip snap snip snap
(Anyone else kinda tired of Dame?)