Good Morning It’s Basketball - Dame over
Good morning. It’s Sunday! Let’s basketball. The Sower With Setting Sun; Vincent van Gogh; 1888 On Saturday, Damian Lillard asked the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him. Specifically, according to multiple reports, Lillard asked the Blazers to trade him to the Miami Heat. So he wasn’t just actually listening to Will Smith solo work! Apparently, the Blazers have agreed to trade Lillard but won’t guarantee him his preferred landing spot.
The biggest question around all of this is why Dame waited until Day 2 of NBA free agency — after the Blazers had already handed 29-year-old forward Jerami Grant a $160 million contract — to break the news. Some wisdom from The Athletic’s Sam Amick:
Retaining Grant never looked like enough — the Blazers finished seven games out of the play-in, as far away from contention as you can get without tanking. Per Amick’s reporting, it appears Lillard was willing to see if Cronin could work some real magic in the early hours of free agency. But if Cronin never intended to mortgage any amount of future for Lillard’s present, why did he sign Grant to that massive deal? In the new NBA salary cap environment, is that a movable deal? Or does Cronin believe that whatever he gets for Lillard, plus Grant, plus Scoot, plus Shaedon Sharpe, plus what else the Blazers cobble together will be a decent team soon? Anyways, we’re about to see how militant Lillard will be about his preferences. ... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Good Morning It's Basketball to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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A stable, mostly surprise-free start to NBA free agency
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Either the leaks were all high quality, or the status quo reigns in the league.
Hard out
Friday, June 30, 2023
James Harden opts in to opt out. What now for the Big Fella and the Sixers?
NBA trades are not competitions
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Trades in the NBA don't have to result in winners and losers, because "winning" trades is not the point. Winning games, now or later, is the point.
Is that all Marcus Smart meant to the Celtics?
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Set aside sentimentality and gaze in wonder at how Boston decided what guard to move. And for what.
What the Spurs do now
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
With Victor Wembanyama en route, San Antonio's biggest need is at point guard. Is patience or boldness on the menu?
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