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

Don't recall that. What was the incident?

 

Damian Lillard: Blazers didn't get who they 'would have liked' in free agency

Portland star Damian Lillard says the Trail Blazers weren't able to get "some of the guys" they would have liked during free agency as he discussed his role in recruiting players with reporters Friday.

"When you go into free agency and things like this, you never know what happens," Lillard said during a media availability at the Tokyo Olympics. "You never know where guys are going to end up and why they go there. You just try to have conversations and convince guys to be a part of our team.

"And obviously, this go around, we wasn’t able to go out there and just get some of the guys that we would have liked, and you go down the list and you go through the guys that are out there that you like who haven’t committed to a team or was a part of your plans in free agency and you get the ones that want to be a part of what you’re doing. And I think that’s what we did."

 

LOL…Dame, nobody wants to go to Portland

just demand the trade already and get it over with

 

Maybe nobody wants to go to Portland to play with Dame lol

 

that would be quite the plot twist

 

Lol, Dame asks the FO to put together a team for a deep playoff run and they end up with:

Tony Snell, Cody Zeller, and...Ben Mclemore.

Seems like both sides are just saying and doing things for optics. Dame wants out. Blazers want Dame out.

 

uh oh...

 

trent traded coach fired team around him not good enough...

 

In other words, I’m not satisfied and if nothing presents itself, trade me to a team where I can contend. Simmons has no leverage so I can see a Sixers trade happening. Problem has always been the backcourt combo, even if media loved them, CJ should’ve been on the table to be traded for a forward. Nurkic always injured, should’ve been on the block etc.

 

This is why you have to be careful on who you front to be. Lillard now is struggling to maintain his front. Demanding a trade will be like breaking character. The next front he'll have to break will be him accepting a secondary star role. Tough.

 

I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It's something that I don't think can be fixed.



Here’s what I’m hearing and what I’m thinking about the Trail Blazers’ offseason…

What is up ahead

The Blazers still have the tax-payer midlevel exception ($5.9 million) but do not have any urgency to sign any of the players left on the market, so they likely won’t use the TPMLE immediately, keeping their roster at 13 for the moment. The Blazers intend to go into the regular season with 14 players, but are keeping spots open right now in order to maintain flexibility in trades (taking back more players than they send out).

And that’s where the rubber meets the road in this offseason for Portland: trades.

The big offseason swing many expected from the Blazers was never going to come in free agency. Portland had limited tools – only the TPMLE – which wasn’t enough to lure Nicolas Batum back for a second tour as a Blazer (he went to the Clippers for the minimum). They also couldn’t convince Kelly Oubre to take the TPMLE, even though Damian Lillard told me he made a pitch to him at the end of the regular season.

“It wasn’t anything deep other than would he be open to it, and he said he was,” Lillard told The Athletic. “I liked Oubre as a complement to other guys I thought we would be able to get. We didn’t get them.”

That’s nothing new. Attracting free agents has been an issue in all 51 years the Blazers have existed. If Portland isn’t up against limited cap space, restricting what they can offer, they are also fighting the reluctance of players who want to play and move here.

That’s why it was somewhat of a coup for the Blazers to secure unrestricted free agent Norman Powell this week with a five-year, $90 million deal. In the history of the organization, the top free agent signings have been Rod Strickland in 1992, Kenny Anderson in 1996, Brian Grant in 1997 and Andre Miller in 2009. All four of those free agents made an impact, and when it’s all said and done, if Powell continues his career arc, he could rise above them and be the best free agent to sign in Portland.

That brings us back to trades as the vehicle to elevate Portland into the echelon of teams that can contend for a title, which is more or less the marching orders so explicitly stated by franchise star Damian Lillard.

The obvious and easiest path to acquire talent is trading shooting guard CJ McCollum. Not only can his $30.8 million salary bring back a player, or players, of value, but Portland already has his replacement in Powell, who is a natural shooting guard. That would allow Portland to explore landing an upgrade at small forward or power forward (Robert Covington can play both forward positions).

But it sounds like Portland is not actively shopping McCollum. I don’t know whether that is because Portland doesn’t agree with how teams value McCollum, or whether Neil Olshey is overly infatuated with him, but the general tone I’ve heard is the Blazers won’t move him just to have a different look next season. The trade has to make them better, and so far other teams haven’t met that bar.

There is still time to make an offseason deal, but it is looking more and more likely that Olshey will run back the same starting five with an improved bench and then assess where the Blazers are at the February trading deadline. In the past, Olshey has said it’s easier to find a willing partner at the trade deadline than the summer because in February there are 10 teams trying to chase a title, whereas in August, there are 25 teams thinking they have a chance.

So let’s take a look at where the roster stands now in case Olshey stands pat.

The moves

As Olshey has so often done during his nine seasons in Portland, he excelled this summer in getting quality role players at bargain prices.

He signed center Cody Zeller, 3-and-D wing Tony Snell, and guard Ben McLemore to minimum contracts.

So the second unit could feature Anfernee Simons, Snell, Nassir Little, Derrick Jones Jr. and Zeller, or variations with McCollum at point, Simons at shooting guard and some interchangeable wings. But it feels like Portland needs another forward, preferably one that can play 3/4 or 4/5.

Zeller will probably be the best signing of the group – if he stays healthy. And during his eight seasons, that has been a big if. In the 2014-15 season he missed 19 of the final 20 games with a right shoulder injury that eventually led to surgery. In the 2017-18 season, he tore the meniscus in his left knee, causing him to miss 45 games. The next season, that same knee caused him to miss 16 games because of swelling and pain. From 2019-2021 he has missed games because of hip issues and last season he broke his left hand in the season opener and missed the next 13 games.

But when Zeller plays, he has been solid (9.4 points, 6.8 rebounds last season) and he looks to be an upgrade from Enes Kanter, particularly defensively.

Snell is intriguing, and I feel like he’s the type of player Blazers fans fall in love with because he does a lot of little things that help a team win without needing to take a lot of shots or have the ball in his hands. He shot 56.7 percent on 3’s last season, with only 109 attempts (for context, Derrick Jones Jr. attempted 136 last season) but for his career, Snell is a 39.7 percent 3-point shooter. He has also made his last 47 free throws, and hasn’t missed from the line since March of 2019. He is also a very good lob passer, something the Blazers haven’t had since Andre Miller left in 2011.

I don’t know what to make of the McLemore signing. Feels like an Olshey taking another stab at rehabilitating a career, much like he did with Maurice Harkless and Shabazz Napier.

What does it all mean?

It feels like there could, or at least should, be more to this offseason.

The objective to this offseason, if we are under the assumption the franchise wants to keep Lillard engaged, was to elevate Portland into a contender. That obviously has not happened. Not even close. This looks like a 44 win team that finishes seventh or eighth in the West. As of today, this roster is not better than the Lakers, Clippers, Utah, Phoenix, Denver, Golden State and maybe not Dallas.

Yet, Portland’s analytics team believes the Blazers’ starting lineup of Lillard, McCollum, Powell, Covington and Jusuf Nurkic ranks among the league’s best. Last season, that lineup played 745 possessions and had a 117.4 offensive rating and a 104.1 defensive rating. The net +13.3 was bettered only by the starting five of Brooklyn, the Clippers and Philadelphia.

Where Portland suffered was the bench, particularly defensively, where Kanter and Carmelo Anthony were carved. And by the end of the season, Jones Jr. was benched, depleting an already thin bench.

So if a trade doesn’t materialize, Olshey will be banking on the success of a 28-game run at the end of last season with Powell and Nurkic in the starting lineup, and the idea that Zeller, Snell and a better version of Jones Jr. will bolster the bench. And that new head coach Chauncey Billups is indeed a difference maker on the sideline.

It’s a big ask from Olshey, and one that will likely be contemplated by Lillard during his long flight back from Tokyo this weekend. Lillard has been kept informed on the Blazers thinking and moves, but this week he said he has been focused more on Team USA and the pursuit of the gold medal than his future.

Once Lillard touches down in Portland, the real offseason begins. When he arrives, he will find a franchise at a crossroads, and three signs pointing in different directions.

The first sign points to Olshey delivering a trade that changes his view of the Blazers’ trajectory.

The second sign points to Olshey convincing him that running it back, and being patient, is the best route.

The third sign points to Lillard asking for a trade out of Portland.

Only Lillard knows which sign he will follow. In the meantime, a franchise and a region holds its breath.

 

Let's settle 3 imminent moves at once:

PHI
Dame / Shake
Thybulle / Poole
Covington / Green
Harris / Kurkmaz
Embiid / Drummond


GSW
Steph / Seth Curry
Klay / Moody
Otto PJ / Iggy
Draymond / Wiseman
Simmons / Looney


PORT
Wiggins
Kuminga
Maxey
2 FFRPs (top-5 protected) - one apiece

Jumpstart the inevitable teardown with 2 exciting young players and a couple of B+ future picks

 

Dame is talking eerily like Harden did last year. Hmm, I thought he was too solid for that.

 

The Damian Lillard story. We’ve seen this play out before firsthand. I think we know how this tale will ultimately end. *Spoiler Alert!

Yes yes, I sense the frustration level is rising. There is a darkness growing inside of you.




You’ll never win a championship here with these scrubs and this incompetent front office. Demand a trade!



We’re just not good enough. Chemistry wise, talent wise. This situation is crazy. I don’t think it can be fixed.

 

Thanks for the link. Honestly I didn't read anything negative or disrespectful in what he said. "He or the team" were not able to convince free agents to sign with Portland. He thinks the team didn't do enough to be considered a contender but he is not shaming anybody. Only normal to want to win a championship but not forcing anything.

Valid points about CJ and Nurkic maybe to his downfall, though CJ is his boy Dame should've spoken up and force the organization to make some tough decisions. I just think Dame is a ride or die kinda guy.

 

Dude bout to pull a harden. Can’t even get melo to play with him

 

Damian Lillard Not Currently Available, Hasn't Requested Trade

Damian Lillard is not currently available for a trade and he has also not requested one from the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.

A trade of Lillard, if it does happen during the 21-22 season, is widely expected to come down to the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks.

The Knicks are almost entirely out of a two-team trade scenario for Lillard until Dec. 15 when players signed during the offseason can be traded. The 76ers, meanwhile, can match salary and have a proven All-Star available in Ben Simmons. But the 76ers are on the clock for trading Simmons, who they have signaled they intend to trade.

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This is kind of a wild thing to say. He's under contract for 4 years.

Star players don't view contracts as something that binds them to their team anymore in the age of player empowerment I guess.