Dame Lillard "I'm too solid for this weird azz era"

Is this a serious question regarding Hakeem?

• Dismantling of MVP David Robinson in the same game in which he was awarded the MVP
• Completely outplaying David Robinson in the entire series while posting monstrous numbers
• Finals Game 6, game winning, and championship clinching, block on John Starks in the final play of the seconds
• Taking a 6th seed team all the way to a ring while not having HCA in any series
• Having won a championship with just role players
• Winning several elimination games along the way in the same final series while posting impressive numbers. You could rely on Hakeem in clutch moments, on offense and defense
• Coming back from 1-3 in a best of seven and from 1-2 in a best of series and winning the series clinching game on opponent's HC
• Never been outplayed by anyone in the playoffs against someone that played the same position he played. If you were beating Hakeem it was because you beat the Rockets team, you were not outplaying him at his position.
• Outplaying a number of All time counterparts, some of the best centers/forwards to play the game (Ewing, Robinson, Malone, Barkley, Shaq)
• Taking down an all time team, Lakers, as a second year player
• Monstrous games against the Sonics in 92-93 playoffs
• Elevated stats in playoffs vs regular season

If you are looking for one moment from the above, most people will talk about his performance against David Robinson.

Also, why is this in this thread??

 

edit..

 

Kidd waiting on Vogel to leave.

 

We were talking signature moment meaning like a last shot which Dillard gets credit for.

Harden has had great series performances as well which is my point.

If you read the previous post you will see why its in the thread and its not denigrating Hakeem.

You are actually making my point for me, look at the entire picture instead of focusing on a signature moment.

 

I thought the Oakland connect would have made Kidd the leading candidate

 

Never thought any casual NBA fan would need to question Hakeem's signature playoff moments/performances let alone a clutchfan member.

I forget some posters may have not even been born when Hakeem played and perhaps have zero clue. It would explain a lot...

 

„Im too solid for this weird azz era” proceeds to ask for homestic abuser, dui guy as a hc. Oh yeah thats realness. Just as i thought Dame is an idiot

 

This is the issue in a nutshell. Lillard is a really bad defender and for a team to be great, having a star player that is terrible at defense requires putting other defenders around him that can cover for him. The Warriors have largely avoided that problem because they have surrounded him with elite defenders.

The Blazers just don't have that. CJ and Lillard are both poor defenders. They have tried to address the issue adding Covington, but adding one guy isn't enough. They also are soft inside.

The Blazers should have taken a step back and attempted to draft or develop talent to surround Lillard with. They did not, they instead tried to do a lot of quick fixes and it isn't enough. Some of the moves they have made were solid additions, but you really cannot build on a foundation of Lillard and McCollum IMO.

 

If he wants to be traded, he will be traded. This is a superstar driven league.

Duncan was 10 minutes from signing with the Orlando Magic and Kobe Bryant demanded a trade.

Like Hakeem? He sat out while wanting to be dealt and called the owner a *****.

Except he will. He is already running his mouth. It isn't anything personal. Do you think Harden really wanted to leave Houston? No... these guys at the top are hyper competitive and want to win a title.... they ultimately will go to where they have the best chance to win. It is easy to call Kobe and Duncan and Dirk and others loyal when they won titles. Even Karl Malone left Utah trying to get a title. It is just the reality for very competitive people. There are a few VERY rare outliers like John Stockton, but that was many years ago as well.

 

What can they do? Blazers should ask themselves this question, how can they improve the team without trading Dame so that they can surround him with talent?

CJ will be 30 at the start of the next season, not exactly old, and his game is skill reliant so I'd think (ignoring possible major injuries) he'd have a good 4-5 years left, but he's not getting back a major superstar to pair with Dame. I could see a team like Charlotte trading for him, a team that wants to be where the Blazers are basically, playoff mainstays but not real contenders...but what can Portland get from a team like that that would make them contenders?

Maybe the best situation? Pelicans. They need shooting, they need a guard like CJ...but say best case scenario(For Portland), they give up Ingram...does that make them a contender?

Portland is in a spot where the window is closed and now its shut. They are in the same situation the Rockets found themselves in when the Lakers kicked them out. They could have either continue to milk Harden for a few more empty playoff appearances (which Harden wasn't for obviously) or move forward and eventually they were forced to move forward.

I honestly don't see a move out there that makes them better, they might make a move to give Dame a 'reason' to remain loyal if that's what he really wants, just a reason to stay...but barring something unforeseen like them drafting a Giannis like talent later in the draft or something, that championship window is closed.

 

He gone

 

This. Like, Lillard and Steph are pretty much the same type of scorer with the same type of defensive liabilities. The difference is when the Warriors were on a championship run Steph had an above average defender in the backcourt with him in Klay. Having CJ is like doubling down on having Lillard but a derivative version. Honestly, they should trade CJ to the Sixers for Thybulle or Maxey if they want to keep Lillard happy and in Portland.

Then you have the Melo conundrum. Sure he can put points on the board for you but he's another defensive sieve.

 

Are you saying Dame is likely to be traded soon? Because my post that you quoted was "Dame is unlikely to be traded anytime soon imo." I agree the NBA is a superstar driven league. I also agree that IF Dame wanted to be traded the likelihood of it happening changes. Also IF Dallas offered Luka for Dame, he'd be gone or IF Dame suddenly retires/sit out due to a passion for combat sports, the likelihood of any team trading for his contract would be close to zero. A lot of different IF can change the likelihood of things.

Yes and I thoroughly enjoyed the drama of Duncan's FA chase and Kobe's radio interview. I would've been intrigued by a Duncan/Hill pairing + Tmac in Orlando, hell I probably rooted for it at the time. Nevertheless it doesn't take away from being able to appreciate/admire them being playing their entire career with a single organization. You can enjoy KG and shaq changing teams and enjoy dirk, duncan staying with one. It's not mutually exclusive.

Yeah like Hakeem. I don't personally hate/blame NBA players for wanting to change teams or even asking to be traded. But act like Hakeem and Kobe and play hard for your team and fans until you do get traded. Yes Hakeem called the owner a **** and wanted to sue him. The disagreement over contracts was bitter. Hakeem felt he was underpaid, then felt management accused him of faking a hamstring injury. He demanded a trade. You want to believe that he was faking it, I'm believing Hakeem. Despite all that, Hakeem still went out there and performed admirably the following year. From LA times interview 1992
“I’m not coming back for them (management),” Olajuwon said Monday. “It’s for my teammates and the fans, but I would not like to play for the Rockets next season. It’s so obvious after all that’s happened.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-31-sp-231-story.html
Be like Hakeem and don't be an *******.

You left out the last sentence in my post "At least for now.", which would've made most of your response unnecessary.
Dame is a blazer and will likely be one for the near future. Will he demand a trade soon? Is he running his mouth? Until I see it reported by shams, Woj etc I'm not believing it. Self-profess "NBA insiders" on twitter and elsewhere not included.

If Dame does requests a trade - As long as he doesn't disrespect his coaches, teammates and fans or expects to get paid if he holds out - I wish him & portland fans luck, since it'll be a tough (uneven) transaction for one of them.

As for calling players or organization's loyal... nba is a business and entertainment... loyalty is nice but not usually relevant. That's why the outliers like Stockton, Dirk etc are often celebrated. Doesn't mean one is better than the other tho.

 

CJ for Porzingis who says no? Like I've spelled out before, CJ is possibly the worst fit with Dame because literally the only thing he does well is score which is what Dame does as well. They already have Norman Powell to fill that gap if he's moved and Porz gives them a stretch 4 and shot blocker. CJ gives Luka a decent 2nd option who can create his own shot. I'd prefer trading Porz straight up for PJ Washington and then using the cap space to sign someone but this kinda works for both teams.

 

probably dallas. The mavs already have their own version of CJ in THJr and he plays better defense

 

I don't know who's to blame but they surrounded Dame with a bunch of bad defenders.

 

CJ is a better playoff performer and less streaky then Tim. Defensively, I agree with you 100%. My idea behind Porzingis/CJ swap is the following:

• Porzingis is going to be a hard contract to trade.
• Portland is likely going to shake up things this summer and CJ is just not a good fit with Dame due to defense. Porzingis would not be a bad option to look into.
• This allows Dallas to look for better defensive wing alternatives / centers to fit with Doncic, rather than overpay for Tim, who I don't believe should make more than $15M, but will likely get that due to limited market FA market.
• Dallas will have some cap space this offseason. They should probably waive WCS, trade Josh Richardson if he opts in, potentially trade Dwight Powell.

CJ is not a fit with Luka defensively, but between Porzingis and CJ, I'd definitely trade him for Porzingis. They've ran the experiment 2 years in a row now and Porzingis just does not seem to be a good fit with Luka.

Not saying Portland will trade CJ to Dallas, but you never know. I'd definitely try it if I were Cuban.