Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin isn’t in any rush to deal Damian Lillard, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Cronis has explored the market for Lillard but hasn’t found a suitable deal. Lillard has expressed his desire to be traded, specifically to the Heat.
“I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time and not been impulsive, or the teams that really kept their urgency under control,” Cronin said during a Monday news conference. “So I think that’s how my approach has been with this and will be with this. We’re going to be patient; we’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months.”
Cronin hasn’t had direct contact with Lillard since the perennial All-Star made his trade request on July 1. It came shortly after a meeting between the guard and Portland’s front office, after which Cronin released a short statement that implied Lillard wanted to stay.
The Blazers re-signed veteran forward Jerami Grant but otherwise haven’t done much with the roster since the draft. Cronin selected guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick instead of dealing it for a proven player. He drafted another teenager, Shaedon Sharpe, last year in the lottery.
“Building around Dame has always been the goal all the way, even through the draft,” Cronin said. “The difficult things we ran into were finding the right deals. In the previous two years, we drafted at seven, then we drafted at three. In the meantime we were scouring the market looking for more win now players and what kept happening was those players just weren’t available. … I could see why Dame would look at it and say. ‘Well this isn’t a win-now opportunity as much as, or this isn’t as much of a win-now opportunity as some other places. So from that regard, I mean I understand his position and I respect it and it makes sense to me why he would look to go elsewhere.”
While Cronin respects Lillard’s desire to go to Miami, the GM insists he won’t make that trade unless he gets the right package.
“What the rest of his career looks like matters to us and we care about that,” Cronin said. “At the same time, we have to do what’s best for us and we’ve got to find the right deal and find the right makeup of the team that we’re going to go forward with. So you hope that you can find that perfect situation where that lines up and he goes to a place that he wants to and you get the best return possible. It’s complicated, and usually it doesn’t work out just like that.”
The best solution, according to Cronin, would be for Lillard to change his mind about being traded, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets.
“The goal has always been to have Dame as a Trail Blazer and always will be. We want him to retire as a Trail Blazer,” Cronin said. “So, we’re very open minded to any time Damian wants to be a part of us.”
There’s no rush to trade dame to hear or Haden to clippers! Those crappy offers will be there till the end of time ! The first’ soft artificial deadline is a couple days before media day
Miami offer to Portland is a good enough offer. The best thing that Portland is getting out of the deal is getting out from under Dame’s contract. Bad contracts like Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson come off the books long before Dame. Which means you get to play your young guys, while you HAVE to spend the money anyway. While Dame is still getting paid fatter than ever, you get to spend those dollars in a fresh free agent market in a couple of years to add the final pieces to your rebuild.
You sell the same amount of tickets with or without Dame.
If you trade Dame to anyplace other than Miami, Portland will be hurt as a franchise more than the additional assets will help.
I agree just take Lowry (waive or flip) jovic, 1st pick this year they drafted and every future pick for Lillard. Start start over fresh and do Lillard a favor since you Couldn’t build a contender. Get the cloud out from over Portland
But again there’s no rush to take that offer now ! There’s no expiration date on that offer ! There’s no Off the court distractions going on ( beyond heats constantly refreshing their Twitter feed ) ! Blazers have time to see if dame opens up to more teams or if a third team for whatever gets thirsty for herro
Time is on the side of dame to heat but blazers can still slow play it
“Bad contracts like Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson come off the books long before Dame.”
The only reason they should take either of those bad contracts is if Miami includes even more draft assets, which they do not have.
“you get to spend those dollars in a fresh free agent market in a couple of years”
Portland never signs any big name free agents.
“If you trade Dame to anyplace other than Miami, Portland will be hurt as a franchise more than the additional assets will help.”
This makes less than zero sense. If they get a better package than Miami can offer from someone else, then they will be better off. I fail to see how they would be hurt in any way by obtaining more assets than Miami can offer.
No star free agent has or ever will reward a team in the future for making a bad trade to give a current star what he wanted
The idea that other future free agents won’t go to Portland if they don’t trade Dame to Miami is doesn’t add up to me. It’s not a free agent destination, in order to land free agents they have to overpay. Also very few stars ever make it to Free agency, they sign max deals and then demand trades.
Rct – I’m assuming it falls under the weak umbrella argument that somehow other players will take note abd get offended in future free agency’s –
Huge fallacy imo , as you state they don’t attract free agents anyways and it’s more about the money today than finding a “ loyal franchise “ for todays players ( they ain’t loyal themselves so it tracks )
* cap space is also severely overated now compared to 5 years ago – Barry failed to calculate that in his post as well
I agree, Human Rain Delay. No player is going to look a Portland and think, “wow, they didn’t acquiesce completely to Damian Lillard’s absurd, specific demands. I’m not going to sign there”.
btw, are you Steve Trachsel or Mike Hargrove?
I think Dame agent coming out saying Miami and no one else took Portland’s negotiating power for a good deal. Portland has no choice but to sit on him till better deals come.
No no it isn’t. Its a insult to Lillard and the trailblazers not to mention the entire nba larry.
This idea that the Trailblazers will be hurt if they send Lillard elsewhere than Miami is a joke. That’s not how it’s going to work and if players are more concerned about getting their money and the Blazers are the highest bidder then it won’t even come up in the conversation. The Blazers already struggle to attract free agents. The idea that they’ll sell the same amount of tickets with or without Lillard is also a joke. Fans will come to see Lillard because his days in uniform are limited. Once he’s gone, yes Henderson can be the new draw but still likely to see some fall off in attendance.
Blazers have to do what’s best for them. Money still has to be spent and if it’s on Lillard’s contract then so be it. Having contacts in equal value that expire sooner than Lillard’s is NOT a better position than to trade for assets like young players or future draft picks with the potential to be in the lottery. Lillard screwed then by making it known publicly that he only wants to go to miami.
Trade Simons Nurkic and Little with picks for a veteran SG SF and C. Or trade Lillard to Miami and get this over with
Can the Blazers blow this situation so hard that all they end up with is Chris Paul and picks for Dame in like, February?? Hahahahah
Better than Herro and picks.
Touche!!
They are not blowing the situation by waiting instead of taking Miami’s trash offer. Dame did the Blazers wrong by making it public that he wanted to go to Miami and killing their leverage. Well, now he has to deal with a situation of his own making and gets to wait and watch as Scoot takes over the show in Portland.
Never forget how great this guy is at basketball… link to m.youtube.com
I admittedly don’t watch basketball anymore but still keep up with news. It seemed like Damian was one of the rare stars trying to give the organization some time to field a championship team instead of demanding a trade every 5 minutes. Good for the game ultimately.
Who’s excited for months of daily dame updates?
They owe it to the fans to hold out and get what they feel is the best deal possible. All they really owe Dame is his paycheck
Agreed, have him stay home until he’s dealt
The Trailblazers owe it to their existing and remaining players to get it done before training camp or not do it until just before the deadline. They need to go in to training camp with whomever is on the roster being set. If Dame’s there who’s going to play SG? Most likely Sharpe with Simons and Henderson coming off the bench. If not do they go with trial by fire and let the rookie cook, or do they start Simons and ease him into the role?
Best solution for now? Package up a draft pick or two with Simons and get a decent SF. With or without Dame there too many starting caliber guards. If they get the right guy maybe Lillard can be talked into staying.
They are rebuilding now they aren’t trying to win they are trying to develop. Dame decided he isn’t going to be part of that so he might as well stay home. The best thing for their guys is to get as much as they can for him.
Why would you not want Sharpe to get as many minutes as possible playing alongside of Scoot???
Anfernee Simons will ultimately be dealt. He is at his best scoring with the ball in his hands which is why he was not a good fit next to Lillard, and did his best work when Lillard was injured. The same problem exists playing Simons with Scoot. Not interested in Simons as 6th man because he still doesn’t fit next to Scoot during the last 5 minutes of tight games. He will be dealt.
If you are Portland …. You WANT to play a bunch of young guys, and be bad, and get a high draft pick, and hope you add another significant piece to Scoot and Sharpe. Keeping Lillard, or adding “quality” veterans to a trade deal could be the difference between drafting Amen Thompson vs. Grady Dick.
You want to open cap space over the next couple of years as quickly as possible. You can then be the “connector” for other teams trades, and scoop up more assets that way. That is not possible with Lillard on the roster.
I agree. Get a solid return within the next month or hold on to him until the deadline.
If he sits, he doesn’t get paid. Simple as that. Dame doesn’t strike me as a holdout threat but then he didn’t strike me as a guy who would green light his agent calling interested teams and telling them he only wants the Heat.
But if he does hold out, he doesn’t get paid and the kids get more playing time which is the goal now anyways. If dude tries to sit til deadline he will be giving up $23m. Yikes!
They have an expensive SF already. His name J. Grant!!!??
They owe it to the fans to get Dame’s future money off the books. Just getting the money off the books is like trading him for available free agents over the next couple of years while your young guys play. It’s a wrap. Trade him to Miami and move on. Nothing left to do here. Fans are ready for Scoot. Give them Scoot. It’s his team now!
“Just getting the money off the books is like trading him for available free agents over the next couple of years”
Please list the top five free agents the Blazers have signed in the last fifteen years. It doesn’t happen. Portland builds through the draft and by re-signing their draftees and through shrewd trading. There’s no other way they do it. It’s like Milwaukee. Even with Giannis, do any big name FAs go there? They don’t.
The best way for Portland to build is through guys like Dame. If he doesn’t want to play for them, the only good return is a young stud and a boatload of picks. Miami isn’t moving Bam and they don’t have the picks. Failing that, they find another partner or ask Dame to honor his massive contract.
* also free agency is not a great vessel for team building , supplementing /getting someone to put you over the top sure , but Por isn’t building a winner via fee agency
It’s Roto baseball type thinking
You don’t have to get the “top” guys. That is what the draft is for! That is where Scoot came from, and that is where Sharpe came from.
Free agency is to add pieces to that puzzle. Free agency also offers the best opportunity other than the deadline to make and facilitate trades. Cap space is gold.
The goal is to be awful this year. There is NO path to the playoffs in the LOADED Western Conference. Be As Bad As Possible! Get as high of a draft pick as possible, and hope you get another hit like Scoot and Sharpe.
You must Get Dame’s money OFF the books. Miami lets you do that with bad contracts that can come off the books quickly. A “better” trade for Dame to a different team will likely require taking back contracts that are on the books longer than what Miami is offering. You want as much cap flexibility as quickly as possible.
Like the Portland GM said , he will wait for the best trade package. Why would he trade their superstar to a bunch of injury prone player? If the Heat really want Dame, then trade Adebayo. Portland asked for him in the first place.
“You don’t have to get the “top” guys. That is what the draft is for! That is where Scoot came from, and that is where Sharpe came from.”
They have Dame, Scoot, and Sharpe now, though. And Grant and Nurkic. You want Dame’s salary off the books to sign who exactly? What guys are bringing the Blazers to contender status with that money, especially since you want Robinson’s $20 million a year deal on the books as well?
btw, you may think the West is stacked this year, but they have Dame for three seasons on his current deal. If Miami is the only place he will go to, call his bluff. Make him sit out three full seasons or trade him to whoever offers the most. Maybe he’s bluffing and will still play.
The Blazers are going to suck regardless. But the picks they get back in RETURN are not going to be very good if they’re coming from Miami. They need a 3rd team to help facilitate a manual l meaningful trade. Just going back expiring contracts and mid-late 1st rounds isn’t exciting
But this assumes free agents would sign with the Blazers. That’s the constant problem for mid and lower market teams. None of the star players ever sign as free agents with Portland.
They’re a team that has to build talent thru the draft and trades.
Free agency is to add pieces not get a superstar. Cap space is also available for trades as well. Get Dame off the books!
Properly building through the draft requires being awful next year to ensure as high of a pick as possible.
The money is still on the books as they have to take back contracts. And if Lillard is gone then they likely won’t be an exciting destination for future FA. If they didn’t want to sign as FA with Lillard there then what’s the likelihood they would sign with him home and the team rebuilding??
Portland hoping it will be a case of I like this new guy and will now play. Like Durant wanted out of Brooklyn then pulls back on his request as get closer to season. He did eventually get dealt. Harden maybe Embid can talk him into staying. But Harden was dealt from Rockets by Morey then he was canned I guess. But I really did not see Rockets doing much with Silas as coach either way if Harden and Westbrook had stayed. But Lillard I can see him wanting out. He is not getting any younger. Portland will not reach playoffs for a good bit. Probably when LeBron gone from Lakers and Curry gone from GSW. Miami is a good team and a chance of getting to playoffs and perhaps deeper. But do agree the right deal needs to take place. He could decide to play and maybe something at deadline could happen. Harden really tired of
Serious question is Harden to the Blazers while keeping Grant and Dame possible?
Harden to the Blazers???? Does Scoot get to touch the ball??? If Harden can’t get out of the 2nd round of playoffs with Embiid … Does Portland even make the Playoffs in the West with Harden??? Harden is washed! He is just registering personal stats at this point.
Double double and led the league in assists. Larry you are so dramatic.
Like I said …. Harden is washed and is just registering personal stats at this point. What Playoff seed were the Sixers?? Did they get past the 2nd round of the Playoffs??
There is a reason why Harden had to opt in to the final year of his contract rather hit the open market. An open market where the Houston Rockets had $60+ million to spend. They chose to give Van Vleet $129 million.
Which was a huge mistake by the woe begotten rockets.
Only if Harden gets re-routed to a third team in the deal.
Lillard was a faithful player to the blazers and the team now doesn’t care what he did for them, not rush to trade really means the blazers are not grateful to him. Too late Lillard request the trade inmedialy and move forward both team and player in different ways.
The blazers are so ungrateful they gave him a super max and the opportunity to request a no trade.
You are exactly right. This is the price Lillard must pay for asking for and receiving the incredibly generous contract that Portland gave him (4 year / $176,265,152).
One can make the argument that by paying him 40 million a year they were being “faithful” to him. Organizations owe more to their fan bases then they do to individual players
There is no rush now, but wait until Lillard pulls a harden and tanks his value by showing up out of shape and giving up on plays.
The thing is he’s spent so much time building up his brand as the loyal, reliable superstar. If he does this, he destroys that image. Sure, some of his diehard fans will always remain in his corner, but everyone else will likely be turned off by his act.
In other words, I’d gladly call that potential bluff if I’m the Blazers.
I doubt that’s in a Lillard’s dna. Despite being unhappy Durant never pulled anything like what Harden did.
If the Heat is really serious, then trade Adebayo. Portland asked for him in the 1st place. You can’t trade some injury prone or old player to a superstar period. (-_-)
Exactly why would Lillard want to go a Miami team without Bam? Because without him, they have zero shot at competing.
Needs to get done before the season starts. For both teams. Seems Herro is not valued around the league. Otherwise it’d be done already.
Translated: “I’m being bent over the table by Lillard, his agent and the Miami Heat. Can I at least have this done to me nice and slow with plenty of pacifying instead of this being done to me hard, rough, panful, and with no regard for me and my needs?”
Abella Danger is already in Miami
You know. At least get them a nice, soft pillow, some lube and an Uber lux home.
Again I ask, what offer has Miami actually made?
None, because MIA has got nothing, which means there’s no way Dame ends up in South Beach but for vacation, right?
People still doubting the Miami Heat.
If it takes months the season still will not have started.
Cronin should delay the trade as long as possible.
Who knows, someone could have a freak slip in the shower event like John Wall when he was rehabbing, and create a need that suits both Lillard and the Blazers.
Miami just doesn’t have the assets, and are also not emptying both barrels trying to acquire Lillard.
Why would Portland accept this? A sub-par offer of quality in assets, and quantity.
Duncan Robinson is horrible, and so is his contract.
Lowry looked as bad as I have ever seen him in his entire career. At 38 its not likely to get better even if his contract is expiring. He is worth a vet minimum according to last season.
Portland needs cap space like a hole in the head. I can’t remember the last quality free agent Portland signed. I remember some bad ones, but not any good ones. (Evan Turner taught Portland some deep lessons)
“I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time”
Haha, what is this dummy talking about? What team has done well waiting? Philly? Ain’t nobody wait longer than them to trade Ben Simmons? How well did that work out? Haha.
The problem waiting, is teams start to lose interest and move onto different directions. Fans would like to see the best deal, but they also don’t want to see Liliard sitting on the bench all season.
Just tell the Heat you want a bunch of Firsts and move on. Ain’t nobody got time for this nonsense