Why the Trail Blazers Shouldn’t Even Consider Damian Lillard for Kyrie Irving

When theCleveland Cavaliers交易Kyrie Irvingto the波士顿凯尔特人队为了isaiah托马斯，一个不受保护的人Brooklyn Netsfirst-rounder, and a couple of players, it was the biggestNBA新闻of the summer. When that trade hit the skids because of a sketchy Thomas physical—remaining in limbo to this point—the story went nuclear. In this atmosphere, one of our Blazer’s Edge readers wants to know if an alternate trade involvingDamian Lillard实用，如果克利夫兰的原计划应该落下。

Dear Dave,

随着凯尔特人队和骑士队之间的交易可能爆发，你对PG的PG交换了你的意见是什么？你会兑现Lillard的贸易到克里伊芒的骑士吗？考虑改变McLillard还为时尚早？波特兰会换取欧文的更多互动吗？

总是对可能性开放，所以我只是想知道你的意见。

Draven

Sorry, Draven, barring other compensation, the Blazers would be foolish to do this.

统计上两名球员足够近，美丽最终在旁观者的眼中。一个特许经营者的忠诚者可以为他们最喜欢的优越性做出案例，但它不会是无法形容的。单独的是尼克斯任何直接交易的理由。特许经营使交易进入，不要留下来。财务考虑可能会改变等式。欧文少于Lillard。但差异是缩小尺度的不足。

在大多数情况下，这样的横向移动是一个坏主意。交易扰乱生活和更衣室。他们带来风险。额外人才，更合适的奖励和盖帽储蓄赔偿了这一风险。没有那些存在的时候，没有上行。

Lateral moves are a horrible idea when they involve the cornerstone of your franchise. Getting a tattoo for no good reason isn’t smart, but you can probably live with it. Getting a heart transplant for no good reason is unimaginable. The usual disruption following any trade would be magnified by a thousand as mixed feelings are amplified by, “If they can do that to the franchise ace, who won’t they do it to?” Every player lives with the possibility of being traded, but you’d like to think there are good, predictable reasons for it. A seemingly random trade of a player everyone depends on for no clear gain would destroy morale. Every player in tje locker room would feel like a detached leaf, blowing in the wind. They’d perceive a shocking lack of loyalty and appreciation for the former star. They’d see no further reason to invest loyalty and trust in the franchise themselves.

Speaking of loyalty...even if Lillard and Irving are close enough statistically to call it a wash, there’s no contest in the franchise attachment department. Lillard has said repeatedly that he plans to be with the Blazers for life. Meanwhile Irving wants off of a highly successful,NBA决赛 - 访问, former-championship winner. Even if you justify that by extenuating circumstances, there’s no way Irving could bond to the Blazers like Lillard. There’s no history, no reason. This doesn’t just break the tie between them; it shatters it...at least from Portland’s point of view.

Granted, loyalty is often overrated. Normally only less valuable players possess it; the characteristic is to their advantage. When an acknowledged star evidences it towards a smaller-market team, that team has to take it into account. There’s no guarantee their next trade acquisition or draft pick will feel it, and thus no guarantee that they’ll actually stick around.

I say this with full knowledge that situations change. Whatever Lillard says now, it may be necessary for him to play elsewhere before his career ends in order to fulfill his aspirations. There are no guarantees that his loyalty will bear fruit in the future. Nor are there any guarantees that the Lillard-CJ McCollum tandem will remain viable. I suspect that in the long run, both the Blazers and their starting guards will come to the realization that a change would allow for growth on all sides. But trading away Lillard for Irving now wouldn’t erase that scenario. It’d probably hasten it, just with different names on the back of the jerseys and much more bitterness in the process.

即使骑士队和凯尔特人之间的交易落下，也没有办法在此时应该嗅到欧文。即使你把边缘放在Lillard上 - 这是一个开放的问题 - 支付不会足够高，潜在的成本可能是巨大的。

Send along those Mailbag questions to blazersub@gmail.com!

—Dave / blazersub@gmail.com /@Blazersedge/@DaveDeckard