How The Blazers Wasted Away Damian Lillard’s Prime
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- Damian Lillard has always preached loyalty, but the Blazers had so many years to build a competent team around him. Despite his incredible play, his team is still stuck in mediocrity.
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One of the rare supertars whose own fans want him to leave his team because they know it is hopeless 😂😂😂
Shows how respected he is if the fans of the team even want him to leave just so they can see their superstar win like he deserves
I think that's going to be eternal for portland and sacramento
@@GarkKahn FOR AURE
I'm in the middle on this I do and don't
Detroit Lions fans understand this.
Dame is an example of loyalty to his team, impeccable work ethic and one of the best guards of his generation. Although I'm a Grizzlies fan, I respect him immensely.
Stop capping , grizzlys fans don't respect nothing
- Lakers post Dr Buss passing away, that franchise isn't that great either. They attract superstars b/c it's Los Angeles. Yes, they won but Lebron chose to go there. AD forced a trade to go there.
2. OKC? They drafted 3 MVPS (KD, WB, Harden). OKC hasn't won either. So...I actually think POR is a pretty competent franchise overall (neither bad nor great).
I appreciate Dame's loyalty.
i would say we the same in DC but I aint callin Brad Beal a superstar😂
its money bro.. I would say he is loyal if he is willing to make a pay cut
@Ching chong -- loyalty and money are not always mutually exclusive.
Of course Dame wanted to get paid...But he didn't demand a trade soon after.
Vis-a-vis: Simmons landed a $177M contract and KD inked his for $194M but both requested a trade.
The Aldridge-Dame situation is very similar to KG-Marbury back with the Timberwolves
or the andrew wiggins era
zach lavine
The Ricky Rubio/Kevin Love
lmao, and they would have had a chance if it wasnt for those damn spurs teams XD
I'm a Kings fan for 25 years now but Dame is one of my favourite players of all time and I hope he'll win a chip with Portland. Even if he won't he, at least, will still be in the HoF 100%!
Dame ain't winning a chip in Portland but he is HOF bound
mann i wish the kings drafted dame. im happy with fox but still.
25 years?! Well... The first 5 years were nice for you and the Kings had the best crowd. Then 20 years of pain with this year being the first good year after taking power from Golden State
@@blue-phoenix115 Without pain you might just be a band-wagoner... 😀
Anyone is a basketball HOF nowadays
I have been a blazers' fan since the Sonics left but man I wish he could leave to a team that can get him a ring. I am sure nobody is going to blame him for that.
Crazy how Sonics got robbed of Durant , he would’ve brought y’all a ring
@@andresdelportillo9917 Nah, he would've ran to GSW like the current timeline
@@Sterling_holmes thank you people think just because the Sonics went to okc that Durant wouldn’t run to the warriors that’s who he is a snake 🐍 😂
@@Sterling_holmes cap
@@andresdelportillo9917 the response of someone who doesn't have a legitimate argument or mental capacity to make their opinion make sense.
Here are some of the Blazers front office's greatest hits:
Nic Batum for Noah Vonleh
The infamous 2016 free agent class
A first round pick for Robert Covington
Gary Trent Jr for Normal Powell
Refusing to fire Terry Stotts despite him holding the team back
And how about the 2017 draft when they could've had Bam Adebayo or Donovan Mitchell? Instead they ended up with...........Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan.
Neil Olshey is the worst gm to ever exist
Greg Oden.
New coach... same horrible defense
Or a golden classic drafting Sam Bowie over get ready: Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley.
I think this is mostly just an example of how building a team is so hard these days. The blazers made a lot of pretty good moves and not many bad ones, but they were hit with a lot of bad luck and the overall position of being a small market team.
Yeah they made good moves but they didn't land a star to help lillard
That's what they lack, another superstar beside lillard
@Jyuuichiro 11 another star doesn't equal success. Look at all the other teams that have tried to team up stars. Almost none of them work. It's better to build a well put together team with good role players and a good culture and coaching staff. Teams that trade for stars usually just end up killing their depth, just look at what my mavs have done 😭
@@jbthestoner5504 I think the mavs need more time to build chemistry for their stars, you already think that the trade is failure while the season is still ongoing, the playoffs didn't even got started
Clearly dame needs help from another star
And the blazers either need to sign someone this offseason or trade for someone without giving up depth
@@jbthestoner5504 every contending teams in NBA nowadays have atleast 2 stars in their teams, if you want a team to compete a ring, the team need 2 stars. The Blazers desperately needs another star to help Dame on the offensive end, look how hard Dame and the Blazers struggle to make the PO now when they don't have CJ, the Blazers need to have a star in the next year Off-season or Dame should consider to leave the Blazers and go to contender team, i know he want to loyal to the Blazers but i will never have a ring if he keeps stay in the Blazers
They ruined the team after 2019. And they are always at the bottom of the league defensively.
2019 was their big chance and the stage of the western conference finals was too big for them.
The Kevin Garnett comparison was spot on. I felt this way with KG back in the day and felt so good when he finally got that ring in Boston with Allen and Pierce who were also starting to get old. I hope Dame does something similar, I don’t think anyone should question his loyalty at this point.
The closest he had in the playoffs was in the western conference finals. The Warriors held off a ton of teams from getting a ring. I think the main issue the Blazer had is they held unto CJ Mccullum for too long he was not good at defense at the 2 and Damian Lillard already had defensive issues, but you can’t have both guards that can’t defend the perimeter.
I agree 100% with this, nobody wants to go to Portland either. Free agency is never good for the Blazers, can’t remember our last big signing.
They’re doing it again with Simons lol they need to reevaluate
Yup, and this was the decision of Neil Olshey, one of the most incompetent GM's in the history of the NBA who just happened to get lucky on picking Dame and CJ.
They had the personal to beat the warriors.... they had the lead in 3 of the games.
The west finals was too big of a stage for the blazers.
@@MegaChallanger not just the lead, big leads. It was hard to watch
I'm neither a lillard or portland fan but i truly respect this guy
so ur a fan lol
@@conrad6639 You can respect without being a fan tho, I dislike Ja and his attitude, but I respect the hell outta his game
Dame is one of the few players in the NBA benefitting from loyalty. Not to mention he is a smart businessman. He's taking advantage of all the Max contracts he's securing.
I can see Dame at the end of his career be like Gary Payton and win a title with another team.
A lot of great players don’t have rings it happens , the basketball gods will give him a ring if he truly deserves one , hopefully he gets one as a vet one day
Payton was traded for being loyal
@@andresdelportillo9917 don't be a basketball pagan.
@@andresdelportillo9917 there are 30 teams, winning a title is very hard, in "theory" you could expect a team winning only 1 ring every 30!!! years. Usually there are only like 5-6 contenders each season, and it is hard to compete against those teams because they have all the stars (who want rings) and money (because they are contenders)
@@andresdelportillo9917 there’s no basketball gods
I’m a Heat fan, but as a cook, I have seen many late night Portland games. Guy is truly a marvel and top 50 player.
People might say Dame won’t have anything to show for his career. But I will always remember his dedication, and loyalty.
Damian Lillard averaged 40 PPG, 6 RPG, 7 APG on 50/42/96 shooting in February!
40 PPG ACROSS AN ENTIRE MONTH! 🤯
Damn Covid!! Didn't even realized that Dame is already in his 10th season
His 11th season; Dame's been with the Blazers since he began playing for them in October 2012.
Portland didn’t waste his best years. It’s a tough a league. Portland is a smaller market, and Lillard is a small guard. Building around a guard and winning championships…it’s been done just twice. With Isaiah Thomas and Steph Curry. And even then, the talent was extensive on those teams.
Certified Andy Hoops classic right here
Watched it for 3x and can definitely say it is Certified Andy Hoops classic
Dame will be remembered like Reggie and Chuck. Two guys that had some great runs, came close but could never get over the top
Still great company and made 500 mill in the process
But he way better than both of them
Reggie and Chuck both at least made it to the finals.
@@bobmin1782 And both lost. Losing in finals means first loser.
@@Serbian1985 Charles Barkley is better
I’ve never liked the excuse of not being able to draft high. There are multiple organizations in the NBA who more or less literally never get in the lottery. While often they have great players and championship runs to explain it, they still manage to draft decent players and develop them well.
Not to be too much of a homer about it but my Raptors would be a great example. They’ve developed countless role players and all star caliber players outside of the lottery. It’s all about culture and development, not constantly banking on being bad enough and lucky enough to draft a generational talent.
Dame deserves better, but the fact Portland didn’t suck enough when they were bad is what held him back is nonsense to me. Hire some damn scouts and find some gems. Sure it takes work but this “I need a lottery pick” to change a team trajectory is just delusional BS. Also, half the time those top picks either don’t work out or fall short of the hype and have respectable but pedestrian careers.
He’s just playing for the bag at this point which is fine but let’s face it
He already has his bag - $61M in the final season of his contract.
Hey Andy can you try make a video about the truth behind the 2012 Mavericks? I mean they were confusion about whether it was really their intention not to keep that core group in pursue of a big name free agent but failed.
I second this!
i 3rd this, ANDY I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS
So I pride him for what he does. Its called loyalty folks. He has had great teammates around him in the past, they just havent been able to execute. This just shows how hard it is to win in the NBA.
Damian has always been my favorite player, and I am glad he has stuck to being loyal. Look what happened to Westbrook for example. Once he left his first team, he went from being considered an all timer to someone who everybody thinks sucks. Damian has brought this up himself. He wants to stay because he fears what will happen if he leaves portland. I don't blame him.
I was new to NBA so I was a bit skeptical when he made to the list of 75th best players of all time, but after watching him this season and watch the old games of him carrying the Blazers, I believe he's totally deserved to be included in the list.
try watching some prime dwight howard highlights on offense AND especially defense.. no disrespect to dame but most people that actually watched a prime dwight wont put dame in the top 75 ahead of howard... or even AD ahead of howard. but if you think dame is top 75 then respect to your opinion.
@@shin0012 AD had no business being in there ahead of Dwight. Dwight led his team past a prime Lebron in the east and also won a chip as a decent piece on the Lakers. I'd still keep Dame in there though
@@shin0012 Dwight deserved to make the team, but not over Dame 🤣🤣 Y'all casuals are something else man...
@@shin0012 bro Dwight Howard is nowhere near on dames level stop it!! It’s not even close
@Iamrich95 lol basketball resume and team success as the lone star says otherwise. just more fun to watch dame time.
I feel like I've been seeing this video title every year since 2019
Dame doesn’t leave because he wants stability, something I’d never consider a Nba player to want. Many superstars have moved to many different cities over the years, even the most loyal ones like Rose and Wade. But in all honesty it has been tremendous for him and it created narratives, whether you find them absurd or not is totally up to you, such as “best long range shooter”, “best offensive guard”, “better than Westbrook all time”, “top 10 player”, and many more that I can’t remember but these things have been said about him over the years and continues to live on this season. I am a Gsw fan in the west so I never liked Dame but one thing I like about him is he is intelligent about managing his career. Any other player would have left the team, any other player would form a superteam to increase their chance on the ring, but at this point I don’t think he is chasing a ring, he is chasing street/city glory and his name will never be forgotten in Portland.
also keep in mind mj didn't have much help at the start with the bulls, but when he got scottie, he hit his prime and was able to win. All lillard and portland need is a decent pf and they're good tbh
@@bootleg6595 and how are they getting that player? They’re never bad enough to draft a top 3 pick, and if they did can damn waste any more time waiting until that player becomes great. He is already 30+ years old and they’re not a free agent destination. Ironically his loyalty is holding that team back sadly
@jaguar eagle Rose never wanted to leave Chicago he cried when he found out he was being traded away
Facts.. people barely even mention Clyde drexler and he was a beast. That loyalty shit is overrated.the goal is to win,not be loyal to a team that will trade you in a heartbeat for a better package.
Wade left cause they offered him a disrespectful contract and he felt like he was worth more
At least Dame didn’t join a 73-9 team that he lost to to win a cakewalk ring 🤔
Agreed. Dude did what made him happy regardless of if he will win a ring ( which is maimly for validation
He didn't say he wasted his prime... It's just the team who didn't deliver
He's getting paid, while being loyal is cool and all, if you didn't start on a team that can put together a competent roster then you gotta go somewhere that can. But just playing and collecting millions is cool also. But you gotta have a good mix of stats and hardware to really get the recognition you deserve.
Goofy , dray called up KD while crying in the parking lot after G7 , KD avg 35 ppg on 55% fg and 47% 3Pt including the dagger on lebrons head in G3 , dame overrated asab
History will show that kd has a ring, and dame got... well nothing
That’s what you call dedication, a real player who doesn’t care about the spotlight just loves the game and the city!! Mad respect and props!! Dame Time!!
If Dame finishes his career in Portland it will be so rare nowadays example of devotion to the team. I think the fact that he has already become PTB GOAD, the fact that he will have his jersey retired weighs much more than a chip. It's much harder to complete than enlisting 73-9 team for instance. After he steps down he will as venerable in Portland as Kareem in LA. I hope he won't change a team and Blazers management will find a way to contend eventually.
Singing Evan Turner, Allan Crabbe, Myers Leonard, trading Batum. That's how it went. 11 years top 75 talent
Portland should make the trade while dame is still of high value they will get tons of assets for him.
You didn’t mention Garry Trent Jr. who you could say grinded his way all the way from the g league into that two way wing they needed, only to subsequently be traded to the raptors for a broken norman powell
It’s on Dame. I get it. You want to be loyal and win with the team that drafted you but the reality is that the front office doesn’t care about winning as much as you do. Why put up with that, year in and year out? Why continue to waste your prime years on a team/franchise that isn’t going anywhere? If he deserves better, he needs to make that known.
I don't think you have a good read on the situation. The front office cares about winning but they have some disadvantages that were mentioned in the video. Also Dame has made it known that joining a super team to get a ring isn't his perogative. And it's not like that guarantees a ring anyway. I think Dame likes being a big fish in a small pond and he's cool with that. He wants a ring for sure, but doing that in Portland would make him a god. You take Gary Payton's ring in Miami. It doesn't mean anything. GP is a legend without it.
@@FranzFerdinand76 I never said he should join a super team in order to get a ring. It’s been proven that super teams doesn’t always mean automatic championships. I’m saying he needs to be apart of an organization that prides themselves on winning and finding the right pieces to build a contender. Yes Dame is a legend with/without a ring. But I would hate for a guy like that with the amount of talent and heart he possesses to never even make it to the Finals or be stuck with a poverty franchise that hit its ceiling almost a decade ago. I absolutely want him to get his ring, when it’s all said and done. Whether that’s with Portland or not. But he’s running out of time.
You are 💯 spot on it's on him loyalty will get you nowhere!!!!
As a blazer fan my whole life. going from b-Roy to Dame it’s been hard to see an amazing a guard barely fight for a playoff spot his whole career. I know if dame ever gets the chance to get real help like a KAT or a guy like that he would make the most.
This sucks man!! But he’s a legend no matter what!! Can’t take that from him!!
May be Legend in on the Blazers team
Nope
NO one will question Dame being in the Top 75 All Time
He's probably the only player in the NBA,that nobody would complain about when asking for a trade...The loyalty thing is beyond me. Dude has generation wealth...Why not try to win???
Wants to finish hit career with dignity, unlike Westbrook’s journey the past few years
I was assuming someone was gonna cover this in the future. The blazers need to help him…
I'm rooting for dame to win.. he's one of the most loyal, humble and pure ball personality in the league..
Even just a one superstar man smh
Literally tho I feel so bad for Damian Lillard for real , ever since trading away CJ McCollum and apparently he okay’d this , it hasnt been the same
Hell I wouldn’t be surprised if he does leave Portland , to go get a ring at this point
Its Dames own fault. Even Kobe knew when it was time to give them an ultimatum and forced either a trade or a massive roster improvement
Let be honest. Dame is the guy that lebron and kd is searching out for but never got together.
No drama like kyrie.
Stats is as good as it suggest. Unlike westbrook.
Get dame some help please.
Nobody want to play in Portland bro
Portland is trashest among trash bruh
What a joke. Lebron already had a better dame called Kyrie.
@@mrpopo5097 In case you're salty over something. Im not at all a lebron fan.
Dame > kyrie please.
Kyrie did nothing after he left lebron.
Celtics was better when kyrie went down wirh injury.
Got worse when he came back.
Once again gotten better when kyrie left.
Lebron still sweeped the craptor by himself and made the finals.
Without kd. It was just kyrie 1 man iso show and they couldnt win games.
When kyrie went down again.
The nets became better and made the playffs.
Nets got better when kyrie left.
Mavs got worse when they gotten kyrie.
So. Nah. The only reason dame not in the finals because he shared the same conference with gsw.
Dame> kyrie
Dame chose to stay. He wasted his own prime.
Exactly.
Same with Bradley Beal with the Wizards.
I’d like to waste my way into $400 million
It’s a two way street I think
these videos get made every year😂
he'd rather shoot from halfcourt than win a ship' ..... 71 pts against a tank team vs 25pt vs the Warriors is his own problem not the trailblazers
I just hope they can sign some free agent allstar at the end of the season or something. Dame is such a great teammate to have, and you know he isn't going anywhere, so it actually shocks me no one has been interested in trying to play in Portland just cuz it's a smaller market.
Dame underperformed in many play off series. its not crazy to say they could of won it all in 2019 when KD was hurt.
Won it all ? Kawhi would’ve slapped Dames ass in the finals.
Just sad😭
Finally somebody said it. Thanks brother
Put simply:
- For almost his entire time with the Blazers, he's been in mediocre defensive teams despite some of those teams being good on offense
- Said offense however mainly devolved to a Lillard or McCollum iso or are rather heavily reliant on both of them to score or create for others
- While Lillard has his moments in the playoffs, he's also had his fair share of lowlights. Same with McCollum
- The Golden State Warriors (the 73-9 team in 2016, KD team in 2017, and the original trio plus a bench full of "g-leaguers" team in 2019) existed
Can't blame Dame for being loyal to Portland. That's why I kept insisting he needs a change of scenery because it's not good for him to waste his best years or let alone his career on those Blazers teams that haven't done a good job giving him the legit help he needed.
He’s loyal to Portland but they’re not loyal to him being successful on a team level
Dame want waste him time in Portland wanted to leave then when portland give him bag yh im all good
@@lebronjamesfan5583English please?
GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS
Possible bad take: I’m super big on Sharpe, and I think if Portland can actually get him minutes and bring him in with Dame and Simmons they will end up being one of the top offensive teams if Dame doesn’t leave in like 2/3 seasons
Like many western conference contenders in the mid-late 2010s, Dame's blazers were just unlucky to ran into the Warriors
I think the main issue now is portlands inability to get any stars to Portland other than through drafting. Even then people like Aldrige just straight up left after a while
I feel like Brandon Roy would have been the star but Injuries messed it up
@undergroundoutsiders00 yeah that's one of the key examples of injuries ruining a career
Aldridge left because he was salty
@brothaclutch984 if that's true my opinion of him is dropped significantly
@@wrought-ironheroEMIYA he was mad after everyone said it was Dames team now (2013?) when he hit the buzzer beater on Houston. If Aldridge stayed they could’ve done a lot more, especially with CJ starting the following year. There might be still news reports about it
Lmao I don’t need a ring I’ll take the Dame, Bradley Beal route 😂💵
How does Dame get compassion for being on a horrible team but we can't quit talking about Lebron going to Miami or KD going to GSW??
Bro what kind of L take is that
He should really come to the Knicks definitely would be great to see
Not in a million years
Hopefully Dame doesn't end up like Tracy McGrady at the end of his career. Ring chasing at the end of some team's bench
They didn’t waste his prime, Dame time took the money every time, just like Melo and other players before him. He took THE MONEY a decision he made himself
It’s one thing to be loyal to a team and it’s another thing to be loyal to a team that just isn’t even tryna put a championship team around you. Portland has had the talent and picks to go out and trade for another superstar type player but they’ve stayed pretty much the same team since Dame been there.
#FreeDame
5:02 nice foreshadowing!
The 2016 off-season set them back so many years. And then doubling down on the 2019 squad instead of improving it hurt as well
Thanks for not just saying “blazers front office sucks!” This is a great video and earned a sub fs
Dame chose this. With the power superstars have in this league, he'd have a better roster around him if he wanted. He's content with putting up great stats in a mediocre team.Loyalty is just an excuse to avoid the pressure of expectations
Great video, You think you can do one on Bradley Beal? Just asking.
The small market thing sucks. It rains a lot in Portland. It has the longest flights of any team in the league. The only way to build is through the draft and Dame is too good for the team to be shitty enough to get a top pick. Here's hoping Shaedon Sharpe pans out.
Honestly, I kinda thought Lillard had a chance to leave Portland sooner. A couple years earlier he signed a deal from the Trailblazers when he could’ve played for another team. Having your career wasted from a team that just can’t win isn’t an ideal thing to happen during a sports career.
Andy is back at it ....Dope!
And to add on, dame done hisself a disservice because he can’t ask for a trade now, especially with his openness about being loyal and how the grass isn’t always greener and how he doesn’t want to team hop. He talked about it so openly that it would look crazy for him to ask for a trade all of sudden. Reggie miller said his biggest failure as a player is not winning a championship, Barkley also has reiterated that same sentiment. I believe dame will too when it’s all said and done.
We can't blame anyone but him same with Beal they chose to stay with a franchise that wasn't contending nor building around them I'm saying join a stacked team but at least leave to form a contender
Lillard has made it farther than Beal in terms of team success. Beal is definitely just there for the money at this point
At least lillard gets to the playoffs consistently. Beal on the other hand......
@@richborn6700 I get that I mean in terms of staying with the same team
@Hugh Missiamey ik i meant in terms of loyalty to a team cause any contending team would've offered him good money
Exactly
They also happened to have their best rosters when the warriors hit their prime
Clyde Drexler won a championship with the Rockets, so Damian Lillard should move to another team and win a championship ring.
Basketball is a team sport
never forget this
Lillard is famous for dropping 50's and his Blazer team still loses.
It's insane. Blazer fans became numb to Dame playing amazing, and everyone else on the team looking like poo-doo.
After hearing that jealousy thing with Aldridge, all I can say is that was just immaturity. If I'm an all-star and having a rising star on my side, our team's future will be so bright that I want this rising star to grow more and together we'll be dominant in more years or even win more Title.
If he somehow won a ring for Portland and never switched teams he would be a top 5 point guard ever in my eyes
Dame needs to request a trade ASAP. No one would fault him for doing it.
Eh in hindsight there will be people saying all his "loyalty" talk was for nothing if he just request a trade. More than likely portland would part ways with him towards the end of his prime
Like they did with clyde drexler
I feel you Portland. I saw my Detroit Lions waste Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, and Matt Stafford. When Stafford led the Rams to the Superbowl win in his first year there, we were all rooting for him
I won’t jump to this conclusion until the trade they make this off season and how it will translate on the court. If they don’t make a great trade and sign a free agent this summer and it doesn’t pan out this next season it’s definitely over for Dame. It’s really sad but I’m glad he was willing to stay with portland. Best Blazer of all time
Bill Walton still holds that title. Literally. Can’t nobody rank higher than someone who’s actually gave the franchise their ONLY championship glory. His records will only stand the test of time because any sensible player knows not to stay in Portland their entire career.
He did it to himself. I never genuinely saw him winning anything in Portland. Portland is one of the worst ran franchises in the league. His “loyalty” (hefty contract) is what’s really screwing Portland from getting over the hump. Can’t afford any help with his contract alone. If they develop their current roster, they’ll get better when he leaves
He most definitely gone be a Hall of Famer but he gonna be ringless if he dont leave
A fan for dame's game. I agree w/ the part that Blazers management is not getting dame enough help, but I would not say that the management did not try. They did get him some solid/good players, but it was just not enough. And I think some pieces were just not good fit. Dame also made it pretty far in playoff, unlike many other stars in the past. Lastly, he chose to stay with this franchise and respectfully earned a big paycheck so there's no regrets or shame at all. Good luck to him.
Dam has just been so good for so long. Id rather see him win than cp3. Damn imagine if KD went to the blazers.
What if Damian Lillard doesn't want to leave Portland because it's a low expectation team in a small market? He's not going to win a championship, or MVP so, by those standards there's no real pressure.
Dame’s sense of loyalty wasted his prime
Overall decent explanation but you completely left out WHY the Aldridge problem was so big. This effected the blazers for YEARs and still does to this day. Aldridge basically pulled a Kyrie explaining that he was going to stay in Portland however he refused to sign an extension. At this point keep in mind Portland had basically given him everything he wanted. Now we arrive to the off season and Aldridge isn't very happy about being a second fiddle to a fourth year "kid" In Portland. He continued to tell the same story that he was going to re-sign but come the off season he decides to go join his buddies in SA. The big problem with this is that the blazers were highly speculated to be willing to trade Aldridge anywhere he wanted to go if he didn't want to re-sign, as a thank you, but also a way of getting back a couple draft picks or a player or two to pair up with Lillard. Aldridge DESPISED Lillard and he's said it time and again (now that he is old and failed at ring chasing.) That he regrets how he left Lillard and wishes he was more mature at that point. Aldridge basically lying to Portland was his way of fucking over Portland and Lillard and keeping the team he wanted to go to (Spurs) whole, he didn't want them to get WORSE just to add him, he wanted to hop in and have the best chance at a ring. Unfortunately we know what happened with Kawhi and his whole plan fell apart. People might say this is all speculation but this is practically a known truth around blazers fans. We know what Aldridge did and that's why the majority of fans hate him. Since he left he destroyed the chances of Portland contending for years to come as they didn't get any assets back for losing their superstar. This made them have to rely heavily on CJ development, and that 2017 draft lotto ticket they got in Zach collins (who became extremely injury prone and there were other clear players to pick up Dame FLAT OUT STATED he wanted Donovan Mitchell drafted and the surprise of how good Donovan was from the start most likely would have lead to CJ being traded at his peak value early 2018-2019. That other Donovan being traded out for a superstar. Those two mistakes (Trusting Alrdridge and not listening to Dame's draft request) doomed the blazers, and their third major mistake which was not trading Nurk at peak value prior to his major injury and not trading Cj after his amazing performance in the playoffs vs denver the year they went to the WCF finals is what sealed their fate and thats how they missed their window to contend. They still have a route avaliable to get better but its going to require tanking this year, using that pick and all the picks they got this year and either Anfernee, nurkic or Sharpe and nurkic to upgrade get a star center or wing.
Theres more to it than that. Here is the whole story. In detail from a diehard Blazer fan.
The 2014/15 was the team. They were on a near 60 win pace and playing their best basketball... then, Wes Mathews Achilles snapped. Wes was the heart and soul of that team and its best defender. Losing him was massive gut punch to that team. They limped into the playoffs and got the worst possible matchup against the defensive juggernaut Git grind Grizzlies and fizzled out. That and a few other factors led to Aldridge, Mathews, Afflalo, Lopez and Batum all walking for absolutely nothing.
Getting nothing for pretty much the entire core of a playoff team was the killer. They never had the assets to build a team around Lillard. They needed to bottom out for a couple years and get a few top 5-10 talents but, even with a team of scrubs Dame kept the team to good to be in the lottery. Hanging around 40 wins a year.
But they had a chance. They lucked into Nurkic who played like a future star center when he got to Portland. Around this time is when the architect of Portland's demise Neil Olshey (disappointed you didn't mention him Andy) blew 2 major opportunity offseasons to build a winner.
In summer 2016 they had a massive amount of cap space. Olshey struck out on Hassan Whiteside, then proceeded to hand out over 300 million dollars in contracts to the likes of Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, Mo Harkless, Meyers Leonard and Festus Ezeli. Betting against himself to cash strap the franchise to a roster of scrubs.
Then, in summer 2017, he had 3 1st round picks to get some help. He traded 2 picks for Zach Collins and used the 3rd on yet another scrub named Caleb Swanigan. When they could have walked away with Bam Adabayo and OG Anunoby.
Then they refused to clean house and fire Olshey or coach Terry Stotts after the 2018 1st round sweep debacle.
Then Nurkic broke his leg during the stretch run of his career year in 2019 and was never the same again.
They also refused to trade CJ McCollum for years despite it being obvious he and Dame didn't fit together.
And they allowed Carmelo Anthony to sabotage the 2020/21 playoff team with his inefficient, black hole offense and turnstile matador oley! Defense because Melo "earned the right" to start over others despite actively hurting the team. Leading them to lose a series to a Denver team using their 3rd string backcourt.
The whole thing is mostly the fault of Neil Olshey colossally mismanaging the precious few assets they had and catering to Melo's ego and to Dame's preference to keep his friends on the team.
Also the teams longtime devoted owner Paul Allen died in 2018 and the team, now owned and run by a trust ran by Allen's sister who is disinterested in basketball and allowed Olshey to keep his job about 4 years too long. Allowing him to dig the franchise's hole even deeper. Trading 3 1st rounders for a washed up Robert Covington and Larry Nance.
Point being, in sports, often you need to rip off the bandaid fast and early. They needed to rip it off sooner at every turn.
They needed to blow it up from the start and trade Aldridge, Wes and Batum for a giant stack of picks.
They needed to trade CJ much sooner for a forward that fit with Dame.
They needed to fire Olshey and Stotts in 2018
They needed to admit it wasnt goona work in Dames timeline and trade Dame for a massive package of assets a year or 2 ago. But, they let it fester far too long as always and now the relationship is toxic and they will likely get screwed in the eventual trade for Dame.
Here's hoping that they do better with Scoot and Sharpe.
I believe the blame is on the blazers and Lillard they haven't done him any favors with the roster and dam should have been left
I love this sad intro music
People should stop feeling bad for sportsmen who get paid like 25 mil per year to play basketball as if they've had it tough
“What more can I do”? Restructure your contract to be way below max so your team can afford premiere free agents.
“Lillard wasn’t the same player he was back then.”
I don’t even have a guess for that one.
Always dropping bombs in content Andy. Always watch your vids and am subscribed. Keep it up. Dame needs to go to the Hawks. Lol
I’m a Damian Lillard have and I got a Damian Lillard jersey and I gotta support him and I would be so sad if he left Portland
Being a fan here in Portland is pain.
5:39 ayo what, why Klay do him like that 😂😂
The problem is that is loyal to a fault that is a problem no matter how you look at it because the team and the organization is not doing the best to get his any good players to play with he need to stop being loyal for a minute and sit down and look at his NBA career for a moment and see what is best for him.
As a basketball fan in general Don't understand why no other All Star or superstar has ever wanted to go and team up with dame in Portland.
Don't nb wanna live in Oregon lmao. Not when states like cali ny Florida Georgia and Texas exist
Have you seen Portland? It's a complete shithole
@Jui$e Tha King I've been to all those states except Georgia and rather go to Oregon than any of the others except maybe NY but there's way too many people there
@Nighthawk ya but other parts of Oregon are pretty nice I use to drive through to visit family in Washington state I always thought it was a nice drive
Damian Lillard: A Legacy of Pain