Minnesota Sports Forum

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:06 pm Hypothetically would you do this trade if both parties agreed in principle?

MIN receives - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

POR receives - Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr and three future 2nd RPs

MIN
Lillard / Milton / McLaughlin
Edwards / NAW / Moore Jr
Anderson / Brown Jr / Minott
Reid / Miller / FA
Towns / Nurkic / Garza

POR
Henderson / Conley
Sharpe / Simmons / Little
McDaniels / Thybulle / Murray
Grant / FA
Gobert / FA

No. I want Jaden's next 12 years rather than Damian's next four. Plus we gave up so much for Rudy, I'm not throwing him in for Nurkic. I also want to keep the seconds for TC to mine gold. I like the team we have and I don't see any Dame trade that makes sense for both teams. I am hoping Dame gets traded soon to another team so I don't have to read any more Dame to Wolves hypotheticals.

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:06 pm Hypothetically would you do this trade if both parties agreed in principle?

MIN receives - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

POR receives - Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr and three future 2nd RPs

MIN
Lillard / Milton / McLaughlin
Edwards / NAW / Moore Jr
Anderson / Brown Jr / Minott
Reid / Miller / FA
Towns / Nurkic / Garza

POR
Henderson / Conley
Sharpe / Simmons / Little
McDaniels / Thybulle / Murray
Grant / FA
Gobert / FA

I think that’s what a superstar costs, so you have to think about it. How close can Jaden come to impacting both ends of the floor like Kawhi Leonard? I just don’t see it, even best car scenario . That doesn’t mean he can’t be really good. Does a core of Dame, Ant, KAT, and Nazzzz Reid have a shot at a chip?

How long does Dame impact the game on the offensive end at a higher level than 95% of the league?

If not, or not for long are the answers, there is no way you give up on Jaden.

Dame and KAT are terrible defenders. Jaden and Rudy are great defenders. I love strong defensive teams. I want Alpha Ant, not him timesharing Alpha duties, with Dame. Plus if Wolves are dumb enough to trade for Dame, karma says Dame becomes injury prone and doesn't age well. Lets not mess with a good thing. The team is well balanced offensively and defensively as it exists now, we have plenty of young talent and if everything clicks we have a chance to chase titles for as long as Ant and Jaden remain Wolves.

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:06 pm Hypothetically would you do this trade if both parties agreed in principle?

MIN receives - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

POR receives - Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr and three future 2nd RPs

MIN
Lillard / Milton / McLaughlin
Edwards / NAW / Moore Jr
Anderson / Brown Jr / Minott
Reid / Miller / FA
Towns / Nurkic / Garza

POR
Henderson / Conley
Sharpe / Simmons / Little
McDaniels / Thybulle / Murray
Grant / FA
Gobert / FA

No

Interesting to see Dame’s agent play hard ball in an all-out effort to get his client to Miami. I recall my reaction immediately after the announcement that Dame wanted to be traded. I wasn’t surprised and I predicted Dame would end up in Miami because Pat Riley always gets what he wants. However, I still don’t see how the Heat can come up with a deal that gives Portland anything close to a reasonable return for Dame. That, of course, is why Dame’s agent is turning the screws. He knows that a lot of teams can easily beat what Miami has to offer so he’s trying to chill the interest of those other teams to level the playing field for the Heat.

If I were Portland’s GM I would stay the course and continue talking with other teams. Dame isn’t going to hold out, especially if he’s traded to a team that can contend. I’d still say the Sixers are the most logical landing place for Dame. They have the assets to provide Portland with a reasonable return and Dame would be a perfect fit there with Embiid and Harris. But the Sixers will have to part with Maxey to make the deal happen. I don’t see another team swooping in to help facilitate a Miami deal. Why would they and how would they benefit?

Let me offer another angle to this saga. I think Dame’s Miami-centric posturing is more likely to keep him in Portland than get him to Miami. At some point, I can see Portland deciding to keep Dame and as part of that decision I see them trading Scoot for a win-now all-star to pair with Lillard. That was always Dame’s first choice anyway before he finally gave in the pressure or temptation to demand a trade. I don’t see any teams out there who have the caliber player Portland would want to help Dame and who’d also be willing to part with that player in exchange for Scoot, Nurkic and maybe a couple future draft picks. So we shouldn’t sleep on the possibility of a Towns for Scoot trade yet this summer. That strikes me as a much better option for Portland than dealing Dame to Miami for a Tyler Herro package. Yuck!

KG4Ever wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:50 pm Dame and KAT are terrible defenders. Jaden and Rudy are great defenders. I love strong defensive teams. I want Alpha Ant, not him timesharing Alpha duties, with Dame. Plus if Wolves are dumb enough to trade for Dame, karma says Dame becomes injury prone and doesn't age well. Lets not mess with a good thing. The team is well balanced offensively and defensively as it exists now, we have plenty of young talent and if everything clicks we have a chance to chase titles for as long as Ant and Jaden remain Wolves.

Agreed. You need defense to win in the playoffs. It's more intense and physical. A team with all offense and zero defense I don't see making much noise.

Dame for KAT might make sense, but why would Portland really want to do that, other then to move on from Dame. If they were to take KAT for Dame I would do it. Dame is a better more clutch player then KAT has been and I expect that will continue. So I would like our team even if Ant and Dame are both alpha personalities and might clash a bit. Winning kind of cures all and guys like winning.

I love Dame, don't love how he is acting a fool right now though. I would never trade Jaden in a deal for Dame. No way no how. I still would take Dame in the right deal, but I agree that this BS about Miami may make Portland change course and deal to satisfy him. NBA needs to fix this though as the players forcing a team to trade them for whatever is not ok.

KG4Ever wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:19 pm

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:06 pm Hypothetically would you do this trade if both parties agreed in principle?

MIN receives - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

POR receives - Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr and three future 2nd RPs

MIN
Lillard / Milton / McLaughlin
Edwards / NAW / Moore Jr
Anderson / Brown Jr / Minott
Reid / Miller / FA
Towns / Nurkic / Garza

POR
Henderson / Conley
Sharpe / Simmons / Little
McDaniels / Thybulle / Murray
Grant / FA
Gobert / FA

No. I want Jaden's next 12 years rather than Damian's next four. Plus we gave up so much for Rudy, I'm not throwing him in for Nurkic. I also want to keep the seconds for TC to mine gold. I like the team we have and I don't see any Dame trade that makes sense for both teams. I am hoping Dame gets traded soon to another team so I don't have to read any more Dame to Wolves hypotheticals.

Just to be clear I wouldn't do this trade. But I believe this is what it would take to get Lillard.

KG4Ever wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:19 pm

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:06 pm Hypothetically would you do this trade if both parties agreed in principle?

MIN receives - Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

POR receives - Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr and three future 2nd RPs

MIN
Lillard / Milton / McLaughlin
Edwards / NAW / Moore Jr
Anderson / Brown Jr / Minott
Reid / Miller / FA
Towns / Nurkic / Garza

POR
Henderson / Conley
Sharpe / Simmons / Little
McDaniels / Thybulle / Murray
Grant / FA
Gobert / FA

No. I want Jaden's next 12 years rather than Damian's next four. Plus we gave up so much for Rudy, I'm not throwing him in for Nurkic. I also want to keep the seconds for TC to mine gold. I like the team we have and I don't see any Dame trade that makes sense for both teams. I am hoping Dame gets traded soon to another team so I don't have to read any more Dame to Wolves hypotheticals.

I wouldn’t do this ether but if Dame gets traded this offseason only be warriors core 3 have been with the same team for over 10 years. Realistically, Ant and Mcdaniels are probably on the wolves for a max 5 to 6 years more

I was looking at the tradable assets of teams that might be interested in trading for Dame. Any team that pursues Dame won’t pull the trigger unless they can keep their core in tact to play with Dame. Otherwise, there’s no point in acquiring him. For Miami that means keeping Butler and Bam. For the Sixers that means keeping Embiid. The question for Philly is whether they consider Maxey an essential core player to pair with Lillard. For the Nets, it’s Bridges and possibly Claxton. For the Pelicans, it’s Ingram and McCollum. For the Celtics it’s Tatum and probably Brown. The team that gets Dame will be the one who can give Portland enough of what it needs without giving up the core players I mentioned.

Viewing this from Portland’s perspective, they should be focused primarily on acquiring lots of draft capital. Once they’ve traded Dame they’ll be in a full rebuild around Scoot. So if we’re trying to predict which team is more likely to end up with Dame. Miami doesn’t have anything close to the tradable draft capitol necessary to get Dame without giving up Bam or Butler. Similarly, the Sixers are also short of the necessary draft capitol to get Dame without giving up Maxey. The teams with the draft capital to get Dame without giving up any core players are the Nets, Pelicans and Celtics.

The Nets have 8 first round picks and 8 second round picks over the next 7 years. The Celtics also have 8 firsts and 8 seconds over that same period. The Pelicans have 9 first round picks and 2 second round picks over that 7 year period. The Nets can provide ample draft capital without exhausting their draft assets and pair those assets with Simmons for salary match while also including Dinwiddie or Finney-Smith. They’d still have Bridges, Claxton, Cam Thomas either Dinwiddie or Finney-Smith along with Lillard. The Pelicans could provide lots of picks without emptying their draft cupboard in a trade package centered around Zion Williamson, which would leave them with McCollum, Ingram and Lillard. Boston could also include a lot of future picks in a package built around Derrick White and Williams. I’m not sure though how they could pull off the trade without including Brown, in which case they wouldn’t have to provide much draft capital.