We start in Portland … I mean in Utah, where the Jazz just announced Danny Ainge as not only alternate governor, but as CEO of the team.
According to Woj:
I have two things to say about this.
One? I told you so. Celtic Fans you OWE ME AN APOLOGY. Remember when you came after me online for weeks because I had the temerity to say that, uhm, Danny Ainge wasn’t retiring, he was quitting before he got fired?
Where you at???
I mean, read the replies to the above tweet.
This guy’s been “retired” for six months. Now he’s CEO of the Jazz. And all you Boston fans who were like … oh yeah Trader Danny is never going to work again.
HAHAHA GTFO.
This is what Danny said when he left the Celtics.
“When I had health issues two years ago in the playoffs, I started thinking about – You’re surrounded by your six children in the hospital and they’re saying, ‘hey, you need to quit doing this for work. It’s causing you too much stress.’ And that’s probably when I started thinking about it,” he explained.
He said his health was more important and he needed time to be with his family.
Danny continued:
Then these last two years have been tough. In the bubble and all the rules and scrutiny and protocols that we've had to go through has not made it as much fun. I trust my instincts. My instincts told me a couple of months ago that it was time for me to move on. I don't know what my future holds. I don't have any plans.
So reading between the lines it meant to me this was not the last we would see of Trader Danny. My danger radar was ULTRA high about him leaving Boston because I had a feeling he might head to the Rose City, where he played, where he grew up, where he had ties.
But thankfully, religion, and specifically the Mormon faith, is stronger than anything else.
So Danny has returned back to his roots and all I have to say is this.
THANK GOD.
We now know that Danny Ainge is not coming to Portland. There were a lot of rumors that DA would be taking over for Neil Olshay, even before he got his ass fired. Which would have been a DISASTER. He’s no longer the Danny Ainge known for being this great deal maker. Hasn't been for a decade. And his drafting, outside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, has been abysmal. He traded for Evan Fournier. His moves have not been good.
And the best news is that Dame told Jared Greenberg of TNT last night that he prefers that Interim GM Joe cronin take over and become full time GM.
This is the tweet he put out last night:
WHEW.
The haters are sick. The news breakers rooting for chaos are absolutely in shambles right now. Because let’s be honest. The business wants Portland to become a dumpster fire and Dame to force a trade. Look at ESPN right now – literally right now – AFTER Dame has gone on the record for the umpteenth time to say he wants to stay in Portland:
"Five big Damian Lillard trades we want to see the Portland Trail Blazers pursue."
The NBA is more fun when superstars are asking out of their small market franchises to team up on superteams so that we can ultimately question their loyalty and grit as players, like we did Kevin Durant when he went to Golden State.
Is Damian Lillard less of a competitor now that he is a Los Angeles Laker? Next on Undisputed.
And the first step to getting Dame to ask out is to rip out the foundation around him of everything he knows. If the coach, GM, all of the staff that were there when he was drafted, the barber, and all of his close friends on the team, and SOON the owner of the team, are gone – is it really disloyal for Dame to ask to be traded? And if a new GM comes in, that means all of the staff that has been there the entire time Dame has been a Blazer will be gone too…
Pretty much everyone will be new.
That’s why people like Woj are leaking things like Damian Lillard wants $200 million per year until he’s 50 when that’s not true. Make Dame look unreasonable, so you can trade him.
And listen. I get it.
Portland getting a superstar like Dame is like when the Vikings had Randy Moss, or OKC had Durant and Harden and Russ. Everyone wanted to see them go somewhere else. They always do when a superstar emerges in an unlikely spot. The national press calls them “Small Market” teams with a sneer and then expend a metric ton of ink about how whomever they are writing about would be better as a Laker, a Yankee, or on the Patriots.
Screw them.
Giannis changed everything when he won in Milwaukee, and besides, Dame has consistently said he only wants to win in Portland and is happy not getting a chip – but only as long as he has a CHANCE for a title. Joe Cronin is the best chance for that to happen in Portland, not Danny Ainge or Tayshawn Prince or anyone who isn’t intimately familiar with Dame and what he wants.
Because here’s the truth.
If Dame has to start over in Portland? It’s no different than starting over anywhere else, and that’s what the media (and fans of 29 other teams) all want.
But now that Danny Ainge is in Utah and not in Portland, I can sleep just a little bit better at night.
And so can Dame.
There’s a new episode of the Heat Check up on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube, and don’t forget to follow us on TikTok at @TrystaKrick and @ThisHeatCheck.
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