Damian Lillard rejects Ringz Culture. But isn't there a middle ground between that and ensuring you experience modest team success at the peak of your career?
I grew up in the UK with Southampton as my local football team and it meant everything to me that Matt Le Tissier never left for a bigger club, even though any one of them would've loved to sign him. I can only imagine the number of kids in Portland who feel the same way about Dame, and the Blazers have seen a lot more recent success than Southampton ever did. I think the organisation is failing him but I'm still glad he's sticking around.
Dame is who and where the universe needs him to be. Dame is already free, it's the rest of us that are looking through bars.
We can 'what if' his situation until Bill Walton's feet find the Fountain of Perfect Metatarsals. What if Denver traded Joker to Portland instead of Nurk? What if Zbo had matured with the team that drafted him? Aaron Gordon comes instead of Jerami Grant. McCullom stays in Portland, Melo comes straight outta NYC instead of his lost seasons with coaches that think buckets only come in threes? Or the Blazers luck into Shai, or OG, or Tyrese?
Let Dame be Dame, chin up, chest out, Oakland blood, loyal and royal. The best champs don't need rings or trophies, just giant-sized, giant-killer hearts.
This is particularly interesting given Dame’s comments yesterday about his frustration with the notion of a rebuild at this point in his career. At some point, moral victories might not be enough to support unfettered loyalty.
It's sad to see Dame loyal to a team that is as poorly run and coached (Stotts was not bad!) as the Blazers. CJ will likely be denied glory on the Pelicans due to the issues surrounding Zion's health, but you can't say that they're poorly run or coached.
did not dame tease philly with attending 76er parties hosted by fanatics owner michael rubin. i don't think his loyalty is as much motivated by loyalty as financial gain.
I grew up in the UK with Southampton as my local football team and it meant everything to me that Matt Le Tissier never left for a bigger club, even though any one of them would've loved to sign him. I can only imagine the number of kids in Portland who feel the same way about Dame, and the Blazers have seen a lot more recent success than Southampton ever did. I think the organisation is failing him but I'm still glad he's sticking around.
The supervillain in Dallas needed to remind the villain of the day that he is not even close to crazy nor hated enough to take his jersey!
Dame is who and where the universe needs him to be. Dame is already free, it's the rest of us that are looking through bars.
We can 'what if' his situation until Bill Walton's feet find the Fountain of Perfect Metatarsals. What if Denver traded Joker to Portland instead of Nurk? What if Zbo had matured with the team that drafted him? Aaron Gordon comes instead of Jerami Grant. McCullom stays in Portland, Melo comes straight outta NYC instead of his lost seasons with coaches that think buckets only come in threes? Or the Blazers luck into Shai, or OG, or Tyrese?
Let Dame be Dame, chin up, chest out, Oakland blood, loyal and royal. The best champs don't need rings or trophies, just giant-sized, giant-killer hearts.
This is particularly interesting given Dame’s comments yesterday about his frustration with the notion of a rebuild at this point in his career. At some point, moral victories might not be enough to support unfettered loyalty.
It's sad to see Dame loyal to a team that is as poorly run and coached (Stotts was not bad!) as the Blazers. CJ will likely be denied glory on the Pelicans due to the issues surrounding Zion's health, but you can't say that they're poorly run or coached.
did not dame tease philly with attending 76er parties hosted by fanatics owner michael rubin. i don't think his loyalty is as much motivated by loyalty as financial gain.