Thank you! I never really know how to feel about these shorter, more feelings-driven works that are outside my usual scope, so I'm glad to hear it resonated with you.
I find the concept of a team optimizing “happiness” fascinating. Obviously a championship is the ultimate satisfaction for everyone involved (players, front office, fans, etc), but realistically that’s not going to happen for most teams most of the time—when is the last time Portland was a legit contender? 25 years ago? In a stacked West, I’m not sure they’d have a path to make much noise in the next two or three years anyway.
I agree that the Dame signing may not translate directly to more wins or get them closer to a championship—though there’s always a case the mentorship could prove invaluable down the line too: look at what a year of Chris Paul did for Shai—but the vibier math of the happiness equation may justify it. How many wins is the catharsis of his first post-rehab logo three back in Portland worth? What marginal boost in title odds would equate to the thrill of an all-time closer checking in for crunch time in this young Blazers team’s first playoff series?
I loved your framing of this “self-defeating pursuit of happiness” (I’m always a sucker for a good movie analogy), and you’re probably right about the hit to financial flexibility hindering their future team building efforts. For me, seeing if their expensive nostalgia play pays off might just be more interesting than a couple of mid-40-win seasons without it.
Thanks for this and look forward to reading more like it!
Thanks for reading, and yeah -- I think prioritizing short-term happiness is a perfectly reasonable path forward, given the statistical unlikeliness of Portland actually competing for a championship anytime soon. Arguably, more teams should do that.
It's one of the reasons I'm less concerned than most about the Bucks stretching their Lillard misery into the next five years to stay quasi-relevant during the end of Giannis' peak. There's a lot to be said for maximizing memories vs. increasing championship odds from, like, 2% to 3%.
(I still expect that Dame would've come back for Portland anyway even with a less generous offer, but what do I know?)
To expand on this a bit, now that I have time to (I was about to run out the door to take care of some business when I commented earlier):
At BEST when Dame comes back, his best role for this team would be as a microwave scorer off the bench and, as you mentioned, being a mentor for their young guards. Even this is assuming he returns with even a modicum of his old shooting touch. If he comes back and his shot is like Kobe Bryant's post-Achilles... well, in that case he makes NO sense in an on-court role. The difference between Dame (and most NBA players) and Dominique and KD is that those two were such freaks of nature that even in their diminished post-Achilles state they were (or in KD's case are) STILL far ahead of most of their peers. Dame, in terms of pure athleticism, never was THAT guy.
Like I said before, great for Dame -- you've got to give a guy credit for being so loyal to a community and fanbase that clearly loves him, as well as to his family. For the Trail Blazers as an organization, though, this almost certainly WILL come back to bite them in the ass, and that, for that team and city, is a shame.
Yep, I think that's all fair. The only saving grace is that perhaps that player option becomes a good thing -- instead of paying him 14 million in that last year, perhaps they can give him half as much over two years or whatever. We're in a weird spots where player options have become significantly more team-friendly than they used to be.
As long as the player and his representatives are realistic -- like, for example, Fred VanVleet in Houston -- then yes, the player option can work out well for the team. Given what we've seen from Dame, I would like to think he'd do right by the Blazers if it comes to that.
Perfect analogy.
🎵 And here’s to you, Big Dog Robinson 🎵
I just needed to let you know that this is one of your best works. Very well written.
Thank you! I never really know how to feel about these shorter, more feelings-driven works that are outside my usual scope, so I'm glad to hear it resonated with you.
Comparing the ending of the graduate to the Dame Lillard reunion is genius.
Warm, fuzzy feelings with a bleak future likely to emerge immediately.
*tips hat* appreciate you!
I find the concept of a team optimizing “happiness” fascinating. Obviously a championship is the ultimate satisfaction for everyone involved (players, front office, fans, etc), but realistically that’s not going to happen for most teams most of the time—when is the last time Portland was a legit contender? 25 years ago? In a stacked West, I’m not sure they’d have a path to make much noise in the next two or three years anyway.
I agree that the Dame signing may not translate directly to more wins or get them closer to a championship—though there’s always a case the mentorship could prove invaluable down the line too: look at what a year of Chris Paul did for Shai—but the vibier math of the happiness equation may justify it. How many wins is the catharsis of his first post-rehab logo three back in Portland worth? What marginal boost in title odds would equate to the thrill of an all-time closer checking in for crunch time in this young Blazers team’s first playoff series?
I loved your framing of this “self-defeating pursuit of happiness” (I’m always a sucker for a good movie analogy), and you’re probably right about the hit to financial flexibility hindering their future team building efforts. For me, seeing if their expensive nostalgia play pays off might just be more interesting than a couple of mid-40-win seasons without it.
Thanks for this and look forward to reading more like it!
Thanks for reading, and yeah -- I think prioritizing short-term happiness is a perfectly reasonable path forward, given the statistical unlikeliness of Portland actually competing for a championship anytime soon. Arguably, more teams should do that.
It's one of the reasons I'm less concerned than most about the Bucks stretching their Lillard misery into the next five years to stay quasi-relevant during the end of Giannis' peak. There's a lot to be said for maximizing memories vs. increasing championship odds from, like, 2% to 3%.
(I still expect that Dame would've come back for Portland anyway even with a less generous offer, but what do I know?)
I have to agree -- it's great for Dame, but for the team it really doesn't make much sense.
To expand on this a bit, now that I have time to (I was about to run out the door to take care of some business when I commented earlier):
At BEST when Dame comes back, his best role for this team would be as a microwave scorer off the bench and, as you mentioned, being a mentor for their young guards. Even this is assuming he returns with even a modicum of his old shooting touch. If he comes back and his shot is like Kobe Bryant's post-Achilles... well, in that case he makes NO sense in an on-court role. The difference between Dame (and most NBA players) and Dominique and KD is that those two were such freaks of nature that even in their diminished post-Achilles state they were (or in KD's case are) STILL far ahead of most of their peers. Dame, in terms of pure athleticism, never was THAT guy.
Like I said before, great for Dame -- you've got to give a guy credit for being so loyal to a community and fanbase that clearly loves him, as well as to his family. For the Trail Blazers as an organization, though, this almost certainly WILL come back to bite them in the ass, and that, for that team and city, is a shame.
Yep, I think that's all fair. The only saving grace is that perhaps that player option becomes a good thing -- instead of paying him 14 million in that last year, perhaps they can give him half as much over two years or whatever. We're in a weird spots where player options have become significantly more team-friendly than they used to be.
As long as the player and his representatives are realistic -- like, for example, Fred VanVleet in Houston -- then yes, the player option can work out well for the team. Given what we've seen from Dame, I would like to think he'd do right by the Blazers if it comes to that.