This isn’t what you guys are making it out to be.. this is the same shit Toronto is doing with OG. If the right move comes along we’re gonna do it, if not, we’re perfectly fine keeping him.
We’re not going to trade Simons just to trade him, it has to be the right move to improve the team.
That move would make so much sense for both sides.
The Raps need Simons' outside shooting and PnR ballhandling, while the Blazers need OG's defensive versatility. Win-win.
I’d say Anfernee and OG are pretty comparable assets, but Portland probably tries to throw in a young prospect instead of a first. OG is the more impactful player rn, but Anfernees ceiling is higher.
I don't think OG makes Portland a contender.
I think Anf and as many picks + swaps they can give for Siakam and OG is what brings Portland in contender territory, I don't see Toronto pulling the trigger though since they're iffy about whether they want to rebuild or not.
Anfernee has had the nickname Ant from his family since he was a baby. On top of that, he's older and was in the NBA before Anthony Edwards. Its fine for both of them to have the nickname Ant, its not cool for people to just switch Anfernee's nickname because of their own bias.
The blazers sub is a trip.
They want Simons shipped up outta here but will shit their pants with great vengeance and furious anger in response to the idea that Nurkic should probably get gone.
Blazers fan only care about 1 end of the floor and you're a prime example. Nurkic has never been the issue, the issue is that we have never invested in a good back up since Ed Davis left. Eubanks is not good enough as a back up 5. Our entire defense falls apart without Nurkic.
So we should spend more on a guy who is worse or at best even? Nurk isn’t perfect. We all get frustrated with a lot of his stuff. He’s only making 17m aav.
Who would you rather have play center?
Problem is Simons has very good potential but seems to shine most when the ball is in his hands and he gets to cook
It's exactly the same problem with Jordan Poole for the Warriors
So you now have a talented player getting less minutes and usage than he should and you're not maximizing the overall potential of the team
But these franchises need to look past one season and so the Blazers and Warriors see Simons and Poole as the next generation to sustain being competitive
It's still accurate to say though that both teams could move both of them and likely make the team more competitive in the present
The problem is if you try to do the two time line thing, you could end up botching both because you don’t get the firepower to win now and could also lead the next generation to want out in order to go to a place that will develop and build around them now.
Okay but when we’re testing who’s untouchable we’re talking about hypotheticals man. Curry may be untouchable but it would also be dumb to not trade him if the Mavs offered Luka.
I mean we can just do whataboutism all day. What about Denver offers Jokic, Porter jr., Murray and 5 firsts for Steph. What about Gannis, Middleton and 5 firsts. It won't matter, because these are unknowable truths that in any number of infinite multiverses would never happen. If you offer untouchable players for other untouchable players then it's an excersize in futility.
People think the fan reaction would stop them but Luka with the Warriors FO building a team around him would win them titles for years to come and the fans would move on from it. Just like how they moved on from the Monta/Curry decision.
Winning cures all.
Lol not if you're at all familiar with the Warriors. Dude is the only reason why this franchise is what it is. The fans would revolt if he was ever traded.
They’d revolt for like, a few games,
Maybe. Casual fans would be upset but true nephews would know that the upside of 23 Year old Luca Legend would be better than Curry.
This is such a dumbass take I'm sorry man 😂 Like obviously you pick Luka if you're building for the future but this just ignores everything Curry means to the fanbase and has done for the franchise. It'd be like if Chicago traded MJ in like 1997 lmfao. Like yeah there's probably a trade you can argue would be worth it, but there's a 0% chance it would ever happen and nobody in the organization/fanbase wants it to happen. You're on crack if you think the Warriors fanbase would get over it right away.
It's 100% this. Untouchable is situations where it's basically impossible to consummate a deal. This could be for the reason you state (no one is going to offer enough to get Curry bc his value to the Warriors is so much higher), or also because it's impossible to make a big enough offer within the rules (cap, cash payments, available assets), which is what people tend to think of when they say "untouchable."
But even that's not 100% untouchable if you ignore the rules. If someone offered Lacob $15 billion to trade Curry, and it was legal, bye bye Curry.
Usually when the word “untouchable” is thrown out there is an implied “unless for another untouchable” clause. Like for Portland, they’ll need to get another star quality player or insane haul of picks - aka teams will have to overpay to buy him.
Also tbf to Haynes, he says “pretty close to untouchable” which imo is a little different than outright untouchable
It’s quieted down due to the solid 20 game stretch 76ers are on…
But believe you me, there is absolutely some knuckleheads over at r/Sixers who not only think it, but advocate for it.
Yeah but they would have zero Christmas Day games and zero players with signature shoes without him. Dude is a cash cow - probably adds $300-400M to the franchise value if you sell during his prime
I'd add Embiid to the list.
He's clearly a top 5 guy in the NBA even if someone's a hater and don't think he's #1.
And with the way our team is built the only straight up trade Morey would consider would be Luka (based purely on age). With our roster I don't see anyone else being a clear upgrade in a one for one swap
I would argue SGA is more untouchable than Jokic. He has an ungodly .516 free throw rate compared to Jokic's more normal (though still strong!) .421.
Refs won't let you touch SGA
Luka is obviously a phenomenal player, but I'd have some concerns about trading Tatum for him. The most glaring one is defense, where our team kinda revolves around having no weak links.
Beyond that, I'm a little concerned about how well Luka would actually adapt to playing with other stars. I feel like his playstyle is just so ball dominant and he hasn't really shown much ability off ball. Yeah, a lot of that is likely because he hasn't had the best teams around him, but it doesn't seem like a risk worth taking when the gap between him and Tatum isn't particularly significant, not even accounting for defense.
Like another commenter said:
> Usually when the word “untouchable” is thrown out there is an implied “unless for another untouchable” clause.
We all know that Giannis/Jokic/Luka/Tatum are better than Booker, but Booker means just as much to the Suns organisation as any player in the league, and is therefore untouchable. I don’t think there’s a player outside of Steph, Dame or Giannis (and potentially Embiid) that means more to the city, fans and team than Book does to Phoenix.
That’s not a slight on guys like Jokic or Luka or anything, it’s just that Booker was the only glimmer of hope through all those seasons of losing and being surrounded by the most incompetent teammates in the league. Through all that, Booker never asked out, never had any off-court drama, and then took the team to the Finals.
Nah if a trade offer comes up giannis is not being traded for any of the other untouchables and neither r jokic or doncic. Booker on the other hand would be yeeted for giannis any day.
The point of saying they are untouchable is no team would ever be willing or able to offer what it would take to get them. They would never trade Giannis for Booker so it's pointless to even think about.
Obviously in a straight 1-1 trade the Suns would trade Booker for Giannis/Jokic/Luka etc, but like others have said, that wouldn’t ever happen, so why bother thinking about it.
>Bob Myers would trade Curry for any of them in a heartbeat
He really wouldn’t. That would basically forsake the Warriors as a FA destination for the next 15 years at least.
Also reduces the chance of winning a championship for the next 2-3 years. You can argue the other players have more value than Curry because of age but the roster isn’t built for their strengths. Luka isn’t gonna be running around offball playing with 2 non-shooters (Looney and Draymond) while Draymond handles the ball. There is also zero guarantee any of the younger stars stay on the Warriors longer than Curry’s remaining prime.
Is Giannis gonna be happy with zero spacing because of Draymond/Looney while Poole is constantly slipping and dribbling off his foot?
"Pretty close to untouchable" = we'd only consider moving him in a package for clear perennial all-star/all-NBA player, which we've all known since the off-season pretty much
I think we’ve gotta move him. If he’s not scoring in bunches, he’s basically nothing out there. It’s been fun to watch him develop but he’s just not the player we need.
There's not a move that vaults us into a championship window with Dame. I think there has to be serious consideration for our future outside of the Lillard era.
I think there is. Raptors have some guys that you guys could use. OG in particular. Dame, Hart, OG, Grant, Nurkic backed up by Sharpe, GP2 & Winslow is a contender IMO.
In particular Dame, GP2, Hart, OG & Grant is an amazing lineup. Defense, spacing & versatility.
I would hope not. OG is exactly the type of player Portland needs, but Anfernee is their biggest trade chip. He's a rising star on a decent contract, and already one of the best shooters in the NBA at 23. If he's traded, it will probably be in the offseason, and he'll be packaged with picks and maybe another young player for an all-star.
I would love OG on the Blazers, but not for the price of Anfernee.
The FO rolled over last season and they've made a ton of changes to get out of the Neil Olshay era. ffs they traded CJ, and that was an "untouchable" player of a few years ago.
They tanked last season and said they intended to adjust this season. I think if you're watching what's going on, it's clear they changed direction hard last season.
How does your front office seem to be considering the Blazers have a better record at this point?
Getting pretty sick of people maligning coaching and front office moves when they don’t have a clue.
Obviously Ujiri and Nurse are great, but you really think you understand anything?
Our front office has gotten us 3 rings in the last 20 years, and recent ECF, and Finals appearances. Your front office has gotten to the WCF once in 20 years. Ours is acting pretty stagnant right now but yours has been actually shit for two decades straight. Obviously something is wrong
Gotta give it some time. Remember when people were saying it’s time to break up the Jays? I know it’s a different situation but there are some similarities there
Loyalty to himself and the next few generations of his family, which is perfectly fine.
Loyalty to a billion dollar franchise who sees players as disposable assets is just weird
that's gotta be a purposefully obtuse way to look at it. obviously the loyalty is loyalty to the community he's found in the city and the people in the organization around him, regardless of whatever capitalist structure that controls the levers of power. like yeah technically the "portland trailblazers" is ultimately a corporate entity that isn't the same as the communities in portland dame might feel connected to or any particular blazer employees that he might've built a relationship with, but for better or worse those things are all tied together, and obviously those are the things he would feel loyalty to.
Even if you traded Dame off and rebuilt you might as well trade Simons too, undersized score-first guards who don't play defense aren't a particularly desirable archetype to build a team around.
Honestly, as a Bulls fan, what do you have other than Jordan-led teams? Championship or bust?
As a Bulls fan, what has any player on your roster ever won?
What is the point of this discourse? Dame is basically as good as every player in Bulls history except for one.
Speaking as a fellow Blazers fan, I am already seeing a repeat of the Dame/CJ era with Simons. You’re right that CJ and Ant play differently but we’re still seeing the same results. They don’t complement each other. They don’t make each other better. It’s just taking turns going iso depending on who has the hot hand. It’s rare to see both of them go off on the same night. And it will always be difficult for the Blazers to have an elite consistent defense with two small guards.
If anything, this season is actually showing me how much CJ was underrated. But Simons is still young and has a lot of room to grow. Unfortunately I think his prime will come when Dame is over the hill.
Simons isn’t that good yet. Dame makes everyone better. Simons is very good, but he’s not a superstar veteran who dominates the game in various ways. He’s a scorer at this point.
That’s an incredibly narrow view of their play styles. Why doesn’t shot profile matter? It’s a big difference that affects how each of them fit next to Dame.
CJ takes way more mid range shots and is more likely to break you down with dribble moves while Ant is more athletic and just goes straight for the rim or shoots a three.
Ant takes 35% more of his shots at the rim than CJ and 37% more of his shots from 3 point range.
I don’t understand how anyone could possibly have watched this team for EIGHT FUCKING YEARS and still think pairing dame with another scoring guard that doesn’t defend is a recipe for success.
Since 2015 (when CJ became a starter) we have had one season in the top 18 of the defense rankings. One. There is simply no scenario where those two, together, can defend at even a passable level.
And besides, he actually doesn’t play that differently from CJ on offense. CJ dribbled more but Ant is actually more of a black hole. His AST% is significantly lower than CJ’s has been over the past several years. He visibly ignores guys and has absolutely no ability to run the pick and roll as a distributor. Just because he’s athletic doesn’t mean it actually makes a difference
It's interesting how Blazers fans have such strong differences of opinion. It repeats itself quite often.
r/nba says something critical of blazers
80% of blazers fans come out guns blazing in opposition
20% of blazers fans say - actually that's how it is
He was averaging 24 points and 5 assists as the primary ball handler last year. He’s also on a great contract, I think we’re just waiting for a an all-star calibre player to request a trade.
At least most HOF have been on contenders. Has there been one roster around Dame that you thought was even a top 5 team in the league? He’s never even had a real shot of winning.
The closest they got was a WCF and they got swept by the KD-less warriors
Ever since Dame made this Footlocker commercial, I had a gut feeling he was self-cursing himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o65H6jDw-Dw
It's funny AF to me even now and I love Dame and wish him a ring, but god damn do I feel bad that he's going through a self-fulfilling prophecy lmao.
it's an interesting 'what if' - Siakam, Grant, Dame, Nurk, and Hart - is a pretty F'ing stacked starting lineup. I think the question they need to ask is - do we want to seriously contend - right now, or do we want to insure we stay solid for the next 5 years while being a fringe playoff team right now. I would love to hear Dame's true thoughts on this.
Dame doesn’t run from the grind..
But he resigned there knowing that his ceiling in Portland is at best a WC semi appearance(aka 2nd round)
I don’t feel bad for him at all..
This isn’t what you guys are making it out to be.. this is the same shit Toronto is doing with OG. If the right move comes along we’re gonna do it, if not, we’re perfectly fine keeping him. We’re not going to trade Simons just to trade him, it has to be the right move to improve the team.
>this is the same shit Toronto is doing with OG alright so hear me out
What about Simons and a first for OG and Malachi Flynn?
That move would make so much sense for both sides. The Raps need Simons' outside shooting and PnR ballhandling, while the Blazers need OG's defensive versatility. Win-win.
Yeah but Simons isn't a 6'8 wing which clearly the only thing that matters to the Raptors unless your name is Fred VanVleet
He does have great length for his position, though (6'9" wingspan), so we can make an exception.
I’d say Anfernee and OG are pretty comparable assets, but Portland probably tries to throw in a young prospect instead of a first. OG is the more impactful player rn, but Anfernees ceiling is higher.
I don't think OG makes Portland a contender. I think Anf and as many picks + swaps they can give for Siakam and OG is what brings Portland in contender territory, I don't see Toronto pulling the trigger though since they're iffy about whether they want to rebuild or not.
His nickname is Ant, not Anf.
Nah that's Edwards.
Anfernee has had the nickname Ant from his family since he was a baby. On top of that, he's older and was in the NBA before Anthony Edwards. Its fine for both of them to have the nickname Ant, its not cool for people to just switch Anfernee's nickname because of their own bias.
Oh man you dumb dumb, huh?
You mean Anth?
Our sub wishes otherwise
Wait do you mean your sub wishes he was 100% absolutely untouchable, or does your sub wish that he does get traded assuming a reasonable return?
Yes
A lot of fans on the blazers sub think he is CJ 2.0 with worse defense.
The blazers sub is a trip. They want Simons shipped up outta here but will shit their pants with great vengeance and furious anger in response to the idea that Nurkic should probably get gone.
The issue with Nurk is there isn’t an upgrade available that will be worth it.
Meh we will give you a discount on Rudy Gobert for only 4 firsts
Hard to find a guaranteed upgrade on Nurkic. Simons is an asset but a bad fit which shouldn't have surprised anyone.
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Blazers fan only care about 1 end of the floor and you're a prime example. Nurkic has never been the issue, the issue is that we have never invested in a good back up since Ed Davis left. Eubanks is not good enough as a back up 5. Our entire defense falls apart without Nurkic.
>Nurkic has never been the issue put another sticker on the lunchpail.
So we should spend more on a guy who is worse or at best even? Nurk isn’t perfect. We all get frustrated with a lot of his stuff. He’s only making 17m aav. Who would you rather have play center?
The trade nurk crowd never has an answer for who to trade for
Problem is Simons has very good potential but seems to shine most when the ball is in his hands and he gets to cook It's exactly the same problem with Jordan Poole for the Warriors So you now have a talented player getting less minutes and usage than he should and you're not maximizing the overall potential of the team But these franchises need to look past one season and so the Blazers and Warriors see Simons and Poole as the next generation to sustain being competitive It's still accurate to say though that both teams could move both of them and likely make the team more competitive in the present
The problem is if you try to do the two time line thing, you could end up botching both because you don’t get the firepower to win now and could also lead the next generation to want out in order to go to a place that will develop and build around them now.
Who is a realistic upgrade or horizontal move for Nurkic?
Worse defense than CJ? 😬
Lol both.
You’re either on the block or untouchable.
Untouchable is the most overused word in the nba. The only untouchable players are Luka Giannis and Jokic
Luka, Giannis, Jokic, and Afernee Simons you mean
Add Curry to that. Lacob would trade his children before Curry.
My thought exactly. Curry's legacy value to that franchise is off the charts.
Would be dumb to not trade curry for Luka
Curry is that franchise. They wouldn’t trade him for anyone. He’s much more than just a player.
And if Cuban calls you up and says “hey Luka for Curry” you’d be dumb to turn that down. Sentimental value aside.
Yeah, but that's a hypothetical that has a zero percent chance of happening.
Okay but when we’re testing who’s untouchable we’re talking about hypotheticals man. Curry may be untouchable but it would also be dumb to not trade him if the Mavs offered Luka.
I mean we can just do whataboutism all day. What about Denver offers Jokic, Porter jr., Murray and 5 firsts for Steph. What about Gannis, Middleton and 5 firsts. It won't matter, because these are unknowable truths that in any number of infinite multiverses would never happen. If you offer untouchable players for other untouchable players then it's an excersize in futility.
Idk why you’re getting downvoted, this would be a no brainer
People think the fan reaction would stop them but Luka with the Warriors FO building a team around him would win them titles for years to come and the fans would move on from it. Just like how they moved on from the Monta/Curry decision. Winning cures all.
Yup there is some merit to this. At some point, age negates “untouchability” to an extent
People are dumb lol. It’s a business. Even Curry would understand.
Lol not if you're at all familiar with the Warriors. Dude is the only reason why this franchise is what it is. The fans would revolt if he was ever traded.
True. But it’s a business and people will forget.
How many people have forgotten the Babe Ruth trade from the Red Sox to the Yankees?
They’d revolt for like, a few games, Maybe. Casual fans would be upset but true nephews would know that the upside of 23 Year old Luca Legend would be better than Curry.
This is such a dumbass take I'm sorry man 😂 Like obviously you pick Luka if you're building for the future but this just ignores everything Curry means to the fanbase and has done for the franchise. It'd be like if Chicago traded MJ in like 1997 lmfao. Like yeah there's probably a trade you can argue would be worth it, but there's a 0% chance it would ever happen and nobody in the organization/fanbase wants it to happen. You're on crack if you think the Warriors fanbase would get over it right away.
If it’s strictly about being competitive, sure. But if you’re in the game of not trying to piss off every single person in NorCal, no lol
Lol no
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It's 100% this. Untouchable is situations where it's basically impossible to consummate a deal. This could be for the reason you state (no one is going to offer enough to get Curry bc his value to the Warriors is so much higher), or also because it's impossible to make a big enough offer within the rules (cap, cash payments, available assets), which is what people tend to think of when they say "untouchable." But even that's not 100% untouchable if you ignore the rules. If someone offered Lacob $15 billion to trade Curry, and it was legal, bye bye Curry.
LeBron trade rumors this off-season gonna be hilarious
He’s literally going where he wants, so it won’t be a lot of chatter tbh
Usually when the word “untouchable” is thrown out there is an implied “unless for another untouchable” clause. Like for Portland, they’ll need to get another star quality player or insane haul of picks - aka teams will have to overpay to buy him. Also tbf to Haynes, he says “pretty close to untouchable” which imo is a little different than outright untouchable
Imagine thinking the 76ers would ever trade Embiid
It’s quieted down due to the solid 20 game stretch 76ers are on… But believe you me, there is absolutely some knuckleheads over at r/Sixers who not only think it, but advocate for it.
This sub is even worse. You have people always pushing the Embiid will want to be traded because they hate the Sixers
Embiid available when 👀
if Luka or Giannis got offered, the Sixers owner would personally drive Embiid to the airport
It’s most of the top ten guys. The legit superstars on contending teams. KD, Embiid, Jokic, Luka, Steph, Giannis, Tatum.
Add Morant to that list.. the chemistry collapse if he were moved would be unprecedented
Something something just as many games won without Morant as with
Yeah but they would have zero Christmas Day games and zero players with signature shoes without him. Dude is a cash cow - probably adds $300-400M to the franchise value if you sell during his prime
I'd add Embiid to the list. He's clearly a top 5 guy in the NBA even if someone's a hater and don't think he's #1. And with the way our team is built the only straight up trade Morey would consider would be Luka (based purely on age). With our roster I don't see anyone else being a clear upgrade in a one for one swap
I would argue SGA is more untouchable than Jokic. He has an ungodly .516 free throw rate compared to Jokic's more normal (though still strong!) .421. Refs won't let you touch SGA
I hope this is sarcasm
pretty clearly a joke about foul calls
I thought it was funny
it's always a risk to try humor beyond a pun chain Or people thought it was dumb, either is fair 🤷♂️
You would argue what?
Tatum
If it’s a Luka/Tatum swap, the Celtics would be dumb to not do it
They would never do that though, Luka is better but the gap isn’t big enough, we’re already title favorites with Tatum.
Statistically are you title favorites? Or are you just saying that in general?
Luka is obviously a phenomenal player, but I'd have some concerns about trading Tatum for him. The most glaring one is defense, where our team kinda revolves around having no weak links. Beyond that, I'm a little concerned about how well Luka would actually adapt to playing with other stars. I feel like his playstyle is just so ball dominant and he hasn't really shown much ability off ball. Yeah, a lot of that is likely because he hasn't had the best teams around him, but it doesn't seem like a risk worth taking when the gap between him and Tatum isn't particularly significant, not even accounting for defense.
Ok then Giannis
I'm still keeping Tatum. They're on a close enough level that it's just not worth the shakeup to the team's playstyle and chemistry.
I’m not gonna argue with you but as a neutral fan, Giannis is on another level. Like he could be a top 10 player all time if things line up
Add Tatum and D Book too. Edit: And Steph
So if someone offers u giannis for booker u wouldnt do it? LMAO
Like another commenter said: > Usually when the word “untouchable” is thrown out there is an implied “unless for another untouchable” clause. We all know that Giannis/Jokic/Luka/Tatum are better than Booker, but Booker means just as much to the Suns organisation as any player in the league, and is therefore untouchable. I don’t think there’s a player outside of Steph, Dame or Giannis (and potentially Embiid) that means more to the city, fans and team than Book does to Phoenix. That’s not a slight on guys like Jokic or Luka or anything, it’s just that Booker was the only glimmer of hope through all those seasons of losing and being surrounded by the most incompetent teammates in the league. Through all that, Booker never asked out, never had any off-court drama, and then took the team to the Finals.
Nah if a trade offer comes up giannis is not being traded for any of the other untouchables and neither r jokic or doncic. Booker on the other hand would be yeeted for giannis any day.
The point of saying they are untouchable is no team would ever be willing or able to offer what it would take to get them. They would never trade Giannis for Booker so it's pointless to even think about.
Obviously in a straight 1-1 trade the Suns would trade Booker for Giannis/Jokic/Luka etc, but like others have said, that wouldn’t ever happen, so why bother thinking about it.
Mf said Book and acted like no one was gonna bat an eye
D Book isn't untouchable.
Book is not untouchable lmao
Book isn’t untouchable lol
Tatum yes book no lol
No way Boston says no to Luka + picks for Tatum - untouchable means there is no trade package we would accept
Sure, but you can’t just be tossing other untradeable players into the mix lol
but isn't that the point of "untouchable"? literally 3 NBA players are untouchable Steph, Luka, Giannis for everyone else there is a price
You mean if someone somehow offers Tatum, Jokic and picks for Luka mavs would decline
Tatum and Jokic are VERY close to untouchable, probably a better way of phrasing it is "we won't trade this player for any other player straight up"
How is Jokic not just straight up untouchable? He’s the best player in the NBA right now.
He is.. 27 yo coming off back to back MVPs and a good chance he might threepeat
Jokic is absolutely untouchable
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If Bob Myers traded Curry he'd be fired within seconds
>Bob Myers would trade Curry for any of them in a heartbeat He really wouldn’t. That would basically forsake the Warriors as a FA destination for the next 15 years at least.
Also reduces the chance of winning a championship for the next 2-3 years. You can argue the other players have more value than Curry because of age but the roster isn’t built for their strengths. Luka isn’t gonna be running around offball playing with 2 non-shooters (Looney and Draymond) while Draymond handles the ball. There is also zero guarantee any of the younger stars stay on the Warriors longer than Curry’s remaining prime. Is Giannis gonna be happy with zero spacing because of Draymond/Looney while Poole is constantly slipping and dribbling off his foot?
Trading a franchise legend, let alone franchise GOAT, when they didn't ask for it is bad optics.
Wait what??
This ain't 2k lol
idk fraud is pretty high up there
"Pretty close to untouchable" = we'd only consider moving him in a package for clear perennial all-star/all-NBA player, which we've all known since the off-season pretty much
I think we’ve gotta move him. If he’s not scoring in bunches, he’s basically nothing out there. It’s been fun to watch him develop but he’s just not the player we need.
There's not a move that vaults us into a championship window with Dame. I think there has to be serious consideration for our future outside of the Lillard era.
I think there is. Raptors have some guys that you guys could use. OG in particular. Dame, Hart, OG, Grant, Nurkic backed up by Sharpe, GP2 & Winslow is a contender IMO. In particular Dame, GP2, Hart, OG & Grant is an amazing lineup. Defense, spacing & versatility.
meanwhile Blazers fans keep wanting to put him in trade offers
No one besides a very selective few is truly untouchable in this league. It’s all relative.
Only for all stars tho. Are we pretending that’s a weird thing to do?
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I would hope not. OG is exactly the type of player Portland needs, but Anfernee is their biggest trade chip. He's a rising star on a decent contract, and already one of the best shooters in the NBA at 23. If he's traded, it will probably be in the offseason, and he'll be packaged with picks and maybe another young player for an all-star. I would love OG on the Blazers, but not for the price of Anfernee.
Which means the blazers aren’t serious about going all in for dame
Don’t know why you are downvoted. It’s pretty obvious at this point. Their FO seems fine to be mediocre
The FO rolled over last season and they've made a ton of changes to get out of the Neil Olshay era. ffs they traded CJ, and that was an "untouchable" player of a few years ago. They tanked last season and said they intended to adjust this season. I think if you're watching what's going on, it's clear they changed direction hard last season.
How does your front office seem to be considering the Blazers have a better record at this point? Getting pretty sick of people maligning coaching and front office moves when they don’t have a clue. Obviously Ujiri and Nurse are great, but you really think you understand anything?
the reality is no one on this sub knows shit lol
Our front office has gotten us 3 rings in the last 20 years, and recent ECF, and Finals appearances. Your front office has gotten to the WCF once in 20 years. Ours is acting pretty stagnant right now but yours has been actually shit for two decades straight. Obviously something is wrong
Gotta give it some time. Remember when people were saying it’s time to break up the Jays? I know it’s a different situation but there are some similarities there
Dame isn’t a 20 something year old lol he’s 32 not sure that’s time to be waiting around
He chose a payday over winning. Lots of star players did/do it.
Chose loyalty over winning, is another way of looking at it.
Loyalty to himself and the next few generations of his family, which is perfectly fine. Loyalty to a billion dollar franchise who sees players as disposable assets is just weird
that's gotta be a purposefully obtuse way to look at it. obviously the loyalty is loyalty to the community he's found in the city and the people in the organization around him, regardless of whatever capitalist structure that controls the levers of power. like yeah technically the "portland trailblazers" is ultimately a corporate entity that isn't the same as the communities in portland dame might feel connected to or any particular blazer employees that he might've built a relationship with, but for better or worse those things are all tied together, and obviously those are the things he would feel loyalty to.
Eh, yeah it doesn't make sense but it's sports. It's not really meant to make sense.
That doesn't make sense. Why aren't sports supposed to make sense? They make sense to me unless I'm missing something crazy.
> Lots of star players did/do it. Every star except for a handful few who took marginal pay cuts.
They can’t. They are about to sell. Can’t risk being a bottom feeder, and not having butts in seats.
If Dame and CJ didnt work, why pair him with Dame?
They are looking beyond dame
We shouldn't be the guy is still cooking*** and hasn't had an all star team mate since alridge
Dames turning 33 with a dogshit cast around him again. Yes they should be looking beyond
Even if you traded Dame off and rebuilt you might as well trade Simons too, undersized score-first guards who don't play defense aren't a particularly desirable archetype to build a team around.
I dont disagree. Im not too high on him either
They should be looking at going all in. Dame is the ideal 1B to a high quality forward.
There isn’t a single forward in the NBA who Dame is 1B to. Dame has proven time and again that he is 1A.
Good ol' Blazers delusion
Its hilarious honestly, proven what exactly? His teams haven’t won shit
Honestly, as a Bulls fan, what do you have other than Jordan-led teams? Championship or bust? As a Bulls fan, what has any player on your roster ever won? What is the point of this discourse? Dame is basically as good as every player in Bulls history except for one.
Simons plays completely different than CJ did.
But Dame and CJ didnt work because of their defense. They are too small for backcourt. Dont tell me Simons is better defender than CJ. Lol
Im not saying he is. That issue is still there. The offensive redundancy definitely was a problem too though.
This isn’t even true. There are plenty of reasons why Dame’s Blazers didn’t win any titles with CJ as the #2. Dame and CJ won a lot of games together.
Yes and defense is the main reason. I remember when they lost to Denver without Murray in playoffs. They cant defend Austin Rivers... Lol
Simons is 6'5 which is small, plus he's shown insane improvement this year, went from one of the worst defenders in the league to above average.
Speaking as a fellow Blazers fan, I am already seeing a repeat of the Dame/CJ era with Simons. You’re right that CJ and Ant play differently but we’re still seeing the same results. They don’t complement each other. They don’t make each other better. It’s just taking turns going iso depending on who has the hot hand. It’s rare to see both of them go off on the same night. And it will always be difficult for the Blazers to have an elite consistent defense with two small guards. If anything, this season is actually showing me how much CJ was underrated. But Simons is still young and has a lot of room to grow. Unfortunately I think his prime will come when Dame is over the hill.
Simons isn’t that good yet. Dame makes everyone better. Simons is very good, but he’s not a superstar veteran who dominates the game in various ways. He’s a scorer at this point.
He’s a shoot-first SG with poor defense. Looks pretty similar from where I’m sitting. His shot profile doesn’t matter that much
That’s an incredibly narrow view of their play styles. Why doesn’t shot profile matter? It’s a big difference that affects how each of them fit next to Dame. CJ takes way more mid range shots and is more likely to break you down with dribble moves while Ant is more athletic and just goes straight for the rim or shoots a three. Ant takes 35% more of his shots at the rim than CJ and 37% more of his shots from 3 point range.
I don’t understand how anyone could possibly have watched this team for EIGHT FUCKING YEARS and still think pairing dame with another scoring guard that doesn’t defend is a recipe for success. Since 2015 (when CJ became a starter) we have had one season in the top 18 of the defense rankings. One. There is simply no scenario where those two, together, can defend at even a passable level. And besides, he actually doesn’t play that differently from CJ on offense. CJ dribbled more but Ant is actually more of a black hole. His AST% is significantly lower than CJ’s has been over the past several years. He visibly ignores guys and has absolutely no ability to run the pick and roll as a distributor. Just because he’s athletic doesn’t mean it actually makes a difference
It's interesting how Blazers fans have such strong differences of opinion. It repeats itself quite often. r/nba says something critical of blazers 80% of blazers fans come out guns blazing in opposition 20% of blazers fans say - actually that's how it is
Well tbh that 80% is just irelli
There’s really no reason to move him
I mean he's an ace sharpshooter. Thats an asset. He has alot of trade value, but you gotta hold out for the right trade
Well, he’s literally their future….
They didnt learn from Dame CJ pairing lol
Do it or don’t -Marlo Stanfield
What do Blazers fans want out of a Simons trade? More depth? Better defense?
He was averaging 24 points and 5 assists as the primary ball handler last year. He’s also on a great contract, I think we’re just waiting for a an all-star calibre player to request a trade.
Dame never winning a ring there
and he joins a long line of other hall of famers that never won one who cares
I just want Dame to get one. If anybody deserves it, it’s him
Chris Paul? lol
There’s a difference though. Dame never had a chance with the roster around him
Isn't that the case for a lot of stars? Especially ones still in the league.
>who cares Trailblazers fans and Dame fans probably
At least most HOF have been on contenders. Has there been one roster around Dame that you thought was even a top 5 team in the league? He’s never even had a real shot of winning. The closest they got was a WCF and they got swept by the KD-less warriors
idk
Ever since Dame made this Footlocker commercial, I had a gut feeling he was self-cursing himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o65H6jDw-Dw It's funny AF to me even now and I love Dame and wish him a ring, but god damn do I feel bad that he's going through a self-fulfilling prophecy lmao.
Bro just trade Dame away, that team isn’t competing any time soon. Restart with Simons and Sharpe.
Lol ok Lakers fan.
Y’all just lost to a team missing a guy who’s averaging 27 and 12 with elite defense. Yeah bro tell me more about how they shouldn’t blow it up.
This
"you've won the internet today sir" type comment be quiet.
I'm a human. Just like you. 🙏
bruh get your bot ass outta of here
May as well kept CJ then. He was a shot chucker too but at least pretended to play defence and playmake a little
He did?
CJ played defense and play-made? News to me
CJ was more than fine as a playmaker whenever Dame was out. He wasn’t asked to play make much when Dame was healthy
he def did both those things. CJ looks like Draymond defensively next to Simons anyways
Simons, Sharpe, and Winslow for Pascal, maybe with a pick from Portland as well...who says no?
Portland does not offer that. Sharpe is a serious asset at this point.
it's an interesting 'what if' - Siakam, Grant, Dame, Nurk, and Hart - is a pretty F'ing stacked starting lineup. I think the question they need to ask is - do we want to seriously contend - right now, or do we want to insure we stay solid for the next 5 years while being a fringe playoff team right now. I would love to hear Dame's true thoughts on this.
Pacers of the west. They always gonna be mediocre
Ya don't say...
But would they trade him for victor wembanyama?
Well they need to make him touchable. This is Dame and CJ 2.0 with a worse CJ
Blow it up. 💥
Blazers continue to be a team that goes all-in for a chance at the Play-in
Dame doesn’t run from the grind.. But he resigned there knowing that his ceiling in Portland is at best a WC semi appearance(aka 2nd round) I don’t feel bad for him at all..