If Dame starts the season as a Blazer… could we be good?

DC_Melo · Post #1 » by **DC_Melo** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 4:08 pm

I apologize if this should go in the Dame trade thread, but I wanted get thoughts on what would happen if Dame actually started the season as a Trailblazer, and I’d like to keep the convo focused on just the basketball and gameplay aspects of the topic and not the trade drama and speculations.

It was reported yesterday (and sorry, can’t remember the source) that Dame said he would report to camp and play if he was still a Blazer to start the year. Assuming it’s in his and the Blazers best interest to generate stock in his trade value, he may actually be incentivized to play well. (Not to mention the chip he’s surely grown from hearing people in the media criticize his age and contract).

He could also mail it in and pull a Harden to really force a trade, but then this topic becomes moot lol.

So my question is: How good would we be at the trade deadline if we started the season with a motivated Lillard? I’d project our rotation would be close to:

Lillard/Simons
Scoot/Sharpe
Thybulle/Little/Murray
Grant/Walker
Nurkic/???

Assuming we use one of our 3 (I think) open roster spots on a back up C (Queta maybe?)… that roster doesn’t look terrible. I could actually see a lot of sets where Scoot runs point and Dame spaces the floor or works off ball.

Could a Scoot and Dame backcourt be effective and catch teams off guard? I know how sick we all are of the 2 short starting guard schtick… but I honestly think that duo could be really fun to watch… and maybe even win some games.

Come the deadline, I’m sure Dame still gets traded, but could the team be good enough that it at least makes us think twice? Note: I’m more concerned about the quality of the team when I ask this than the reasons to or not to trade Dame. My vote is option B in the poll, but I really don’t think it’s crazy to see us sneak into the #6 seed.

m0ng0 · Post #2 » by **m0ng0** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 4:26 pm

Hypothetically if Dame played hard I think we would be high C, or low B category. I guess it depends on how quickly Scoot can pick up the game and what improvements Sharpe, Simons and Walker have made over the off season. Nurks health also is a big factor. Is Reath a legit backup? What about Murray and Rupert? Does Little finally bloom into the player we all hoped he would be? Lots and lots of questions marks.

Norm2953 · Post #3 » by **Norm2953** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 4:32 pm

Team would be competitive but would have to move Simons to hopefully balance out
the roster

tester551 · Post #4 » by **tester551** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 5:32 pm

Norm2953 wrote:Team would be competitive but would have to move Simons to hopefully balance out
the roster

Agreed. This needs to happen.
As it currently stands, Portland still has no rebounding (out side of Nurk). We need size desperately.

BlazersBroncos · Post #5 » by **BlazersBroncos** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 5:56 pm

tester551 wrote:
Norm2953 wrote:Team would be competitive but would have to move Simons to hopefully balance out
the roster

Agreed. This needs to happen.
As it currently stands, Portland still has no rebounding (out side of Nurk). We need size desperately.

Walker is a pretty nice rebounder for his size - but ya our rebounding would suck. We should just go super fast paced this season regardless if Dame is here or not - we wont really be good either way.

Also, if Dame stays we pretty much have to play Sharpe at SF almost exclusively - something like -

G - Damian Lillard / Scoot Henderson
G - Anfernee Simons / Scoot Henderson
F - Shadeon Sharpe / Matisse Thybulle / Kris Murray
F - Jerami Grant / Nas Little / Kris Murray
C - Jusuf Nurkic / Jabari Walker JR

Pretty certain that would be the rotation.

tester551 · Post #6 » by **tester551** » Fri Aug 4, 2023 10:24 pm

BlazersBroncos wrote:Walker is a pretty nice rebounder for his size - but ya our rebounding would suck.

Meh... Walker is average at best in rebounding.

If you are playing him at C - Portland is screwed.

Post #7 » by **DaVoiceMaster** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 12:10 am

The team still lacks a starting small forward.

DusterBuster · Post #8 » by **DusterBuster** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 2:08 am

DaVoiceMaster wrote:The team still lacks a starting small forward.

Or a Center behind Nurkic. As we’ve seen over the past 4 years, betting on Nurk’s health always pays off! /s

This team could be good… who knows…

Dame and Ant would still start 1/2. Scoot and Shae backing those two up. I would see the rotation looking like this…

Dame/Scoot
Ant/Shae
Thybulle/Little
Grant/Walker
Nurkic/…. Me?

monopoman · Post #9 » by **monopoman** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 6:16 am

Nurk and Dame would have to be 100% healthy and bought in to even make a playoff push at all. Scoot also has to fit the team like a glove on day one and start to show signs that he will soon be a top guard in the league.

red_power · Post #10 » by **red_power** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 12:42 pm

That's going to be ugly

ebott · Post #11 » by **ebott** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 3:10 pm

We were really good at the beginning of the season last year. Same starting lineup swapping out Hart for Thybulle maybe we'd be able to recapture some of that magic. But that team fizzled in December and as shallow as they were, this team's bench is even worse. So they might look like contenders in November and be revealed as pretenders in December.

GEE · Post #12 » by **GEE** » Sat Aug 5, 2023 11:59 pm

I would be absolutely shocked to see Dame still on this team, Day One of Training camp. What will be ugly is seeing Dame as the old man, if he were to go head to head with Scoot or Simons. And there would be plenty of video rolling to capture it I'm sure.

HYPOTHHETICAL DANGER for Dame, but I don't think Dame wants to risk any chance this happening, knowing himself that it very well could.

JasonStern · Post #13 » by **JasonStern** » Sun Aug 6, 2023 2:28 am

It depends on Dame's mindset. If he pouts, expects a trade by the trade deadline, and just acts like an uninterested, inefficient chucker, the Blazers are screwed. Another high lottery pick to continue the reboot. If he willingly honors the contract he voluntarily signed, 4-8 in the west range presuming decent health from Grant, Nurkić, and Thybulle.

Post #14 » by **DaVoiceMaster** » Tue Aug 8, 2023 1:55 am

GEE wrote:I would be absolutely shocked to see Dame still on this team, Day One of Training camp. What will be ugly is seeing Dame as the old man, if he were to go head to head with Scoot or Simons. And there would be plenty of video rolling to capture it I'm sure.

HYPOTHHETICAL DANGER for Dame, but I don't think Dame wants to risk any chance this happening, knowing himself that it very well could.

Why would the Blazers let someone come in and shoot video of Lillard getting schooled if they are trying to move him? That wouldn't be too smart.

DC_Melo · Post #15 » by **DC_Melo** » Wed Aug 9, 2023 2:23 pm

DaVoiceMaster wrote:
GEE wrote:I would be absolutely shocked to see Dame still on this team, Day One of Training camp. What will be ugly is seeing Dame as the old man, if he were to go head to head with Scoot or Simons. And there would be plenty of video rolling to capture it I'm sure.

HYPOTHHETICAL DANGER for Dame, but I don't think Dame wants to risk any chance this happening, knowing himself that it very well could.

Why would the Blazers let someone come in and shoot video of Lillard getting schooled if they are trying to move him? That wouldn't be too smart.

Yea… I don’t see anyone on the Blazers being motivated to do something like… plus let’s not act like Dame wouldn’t torch the youngsters back on the other end.

I get Dame has ruffled fans’ feathers through the trade drama, and justifiably so, but the dude has won multiple Citizen and Teammate of the year awards and has close friends on the team. The concept of Dame coming in and being a total malcontent or locker room cancer seems inconsistent with the character and professionalism he has shown over the years.