Scoot and Sharpe would have been the worst shooting backcourt in the NBA last season

Yea, I'm being a little hard on them, but I said Scoot deserves a pass. Sharpe does have a little questions about him to answer if you ask me. But it should be mentioned, Sharpe does have a laid back mindset. He seems to be one of those guys that will rely on his skills and not actually improving each offseason or the drive too, and that might be put into question down the road. But I'll admit its too early to say that about him, but this is huge year for him, we SHOULD see improvements.

Scoot seems to have that drive, and seems to be a workaholic so I am not so much as worried about him.

But that's besides the point, guys here seriously have tunnel vision. The don't even want to admit it's a little worrisome, but yes we have time on our hands and we need to give them room to grow.

But some are over protective of certain players here while being overcritical of others, and try to push a narrative and we see it every week. If we are going to point out every fault on players here, every single week, then we should do the same with every player on our team.

 

Must have read Scoot's numbers wrong. Oh well.

Sharpe doesn't have any players on the team as good as Dame for other teams to key on. Here's a secret. It's easier to play with Dame on your team than without him. You have more time to get shots off. You have more lanes.

So anyway, Scoot's shooting improved as the season went on, so I'm good with it.

 

I'm confused. What is accomplished by displaying any stat, and that includes one that rates the players as "Last" in any category, in following a team?

Are we suppose to moan?
Be depressed?
Get angry?
Insult other fans who don't agree?

I like the two players that this thread is about. Am I suppose to change my mind? Would that make some folks happy?
Is it OK for me to enjoy my team and love where they're going?

 

Stop it, I’m voicing my opinion here, nothing else. There is no personal attacks. I’m countering his baseless claims.

that same dude told me I had a hardon for him lol.

 

What’s the accomplishments of being that are negative 24/7 in here? And push a narrative over and over? It’s the same thing, they are now getting a taste of their own medicine, and everyone is having a fit lol.

a few here have agreed with me, so it’s not one way traffic nor anything I said isn’t fact.

I’m also rooting for Sharpe and Scoot as I said. It’s not hate, it’s facts their shooting % is poor.

 

I'll love where it's going once we commit to a path. I think that's what's going to happen... And I like it.

But I hope we don't keep straddling two paths.

 

So you're saying they need to play a lot more if we're going to get Flagg?

 

Trader Joe looking at Scoot and Sharpe

 

If I'm not mistaken this entire thread is just an extension of your posts in other threads that Scoot and Shae haven't shown enough yet for us to give up on Ant. Is that correct?

I don't agree with that but I do think it's a reasonable opinion to have.

 

I don't agree....

 

so true...that kind of outrage should be saved for the in-laws

 

It’s a little bit of both. But I am a little concerned about those two shooting % going forward, and if others can’t admit they are too, then I don’t know what to tell ya.

I’m all for trading Ant, but it’s needs to make sense. I don’t want us to take a step back. Cronin has to do what he did with the Dame trade, hold out for fair value imo.

I’m not buying the notion some push here that Ant is the reason for this team’s faults. Ant is not the reason we sucked as a whole team defensively and not the reason we sucked so bad offensively, especially Scoot and Sharpe, and Sharpe only played 13 games with him last year.

Why are we talking about players faults in here all the damn time while ignoring others?

Is Ant a good defender? No. But a good team defense can mask a poor defender and we suck as a team as a whole. Big Cling being a rim protector should help us as a whole.

Scoot hasn’t shown to be a good defender either, and Sharpe has show some flashes but is inconsistent defensively and has games he coasts.

This was also Ant’s first season as the main guy and the #1 option. He pressed at times, and other times we had such poor players offensively on the floor he was forced to shoulder the load. Same with Grant. There is something called an adjusting period, and Ant will learn from being the main guy this past season Imo.

If Scoot and Sharpe can improve and take a leap next season, it will take the load off Grant and Ant. Their effectiveness will go up. And they can become even more valuable to trade as the season goes on if we decide to go that route and trade them. Im rooting for them Scoot and Sharpe, don’t get it twisted. But as young players they need to be pushed, especially Sharpe with his laid back mindset that can be a fault at times.

This forum has a thing where we make certain players scapegoats and then when they get traded or move on, people turn their attention to others.

Right now it’s Ant mainly as the scapegoat, Grant right there behind him and Billups as the coach. If Ant and Grant are traded I promise you others will find someone else to make a scapegoat. We have seen it time and time again. Stotts was a scapegoat. CJ and Nurk was too. And even Dame at times.

And I think that shit is toxic.

 

Nobody cares if we're good at anything right now. There is no scapegoating. This team is supposed to suck.

Billups is not a good coach. We'll need a better one eventually.

Ant has proven he's not good enough to build around if you eventually want a contending team. So has Grant. But they are both good enough that a team looking to improve might take a risk on bringing them in. Their best value to us is in the draft capital they can bring back.

There is no toxicity right now, except for the ISO ball we keep defaulting to and lack of defensive effort. That can be toxic to a developing team.

You're getting all wrapped around the axle for no reason. I don't think anybody has a dislike for Ant or Grant. Or even Billups. People just don't see them as part of this team's future.

 

But has Sharpe and Scoot shown yet we can build around them?

I mean, is there any reason to dump Ant right now? The only thing you can say, is trading Ant to give Scoot the keys to the team. That's the only thing I agree with. But not at the expense of just trading Ant and not getting fair value back.. Value for Ant is what others disagree on too, so we can agree to disagree on what value is for him.

But what if Sharpe's shooting stats are the same next season? Will you get a little concerned then? I know Scoot is a workaholic. I think dude has the grit, heart, and drive to keep improving each off season. Sharpe I'm not so sold on yet.

What is Sharpe doesn't turn out to be a cornerstone for us, but rather a good piece on a team, like Ant is right now?

 

I am sure how to break down each statement like you did lol, so I'll just address it in points.

1. Yes, we can have different opinions on what value is for Ant. Some want to trade him for draft capital, which to in itself is risky imo because we cant predict what pick or who we will pick from this far out, and it could be just trading Ant basically for nothing in the end. I want value back for him, right now, that potentially help and build with Scoot and Sharpe. Yes, there is a risk Ant value doesn't go up and we end of getting less value for him, but I rather risk that then trading him for draft capital, which it itself is also risky imo.

2. I agree Ant is best suited at the 2, and play some spot mins at the PG spot when Scoot is resting. Who else do we have at the backup PG spot? That will also give Scoot more keys to the team as the starting PG. So Sharpe will be the one more effected. But Sharpe is fine coming off the bench, he still has to prove himself in certain aspects, and the guy can still get tons of mins on this team. IF, Sharpe really takes a leap next season, then yes that more likely means we will get rid of Ant shortly after. But there is no rush imo. let Sharpe show us some improvements next season first imo.

3. Well, some do think Scoot and Sharpe are good defenders if you have seen some of the responses. Sharpe is probably the best out of the 3 imo. But he coasts at time, offensively too. Billups has had to light a fire under his ass a few times. and to me, defense comes down to mainly hustle, grit, pride and heart. Scoot seems to have that, as I said I'm not as much worried about Scoot and dude is playing the PG spot at young age which is hard to do. Sharpe, needs to be more consistent and I would rather have a gritty passionate guy on my guy that someone laid back like Sharpe imo. We need gritty dogs on our team, Sharpe clearly isn't a dog lol.

4. Yes, I have stated it's too early to pin point those things on Sharpe and Scoot, they still need more time. So, why I said its big year for both coming up so show us improvements, and more so Sharpe since he regressed in his shooting % by a wide margin. Some want to claim he was hurt, but his numbers in the month of November when he wasn't hurt mirrored his overall shooting stats for the year, so it's mainly on him to improve in that area.

5. The last part, yes I'm leaning towards Ant being a piece more than a cornerstone. But he still has a small window to show us that, as being 25, his first season as the guy on a team that was quite poor offensively., I'm not ready to wave the towel and dump him for draft capital. He should learn from last season to pick his spots better now, be more mature, etc. How about let Scoot and Sharpe show us a leap in improvements first before we trade him? I don't think that is asking much. Scoot and Sharpe can also turn out to be a 'piece' on a good team and not cornerstones either. More times than not sadly, players turn out to be a piece and not a cornerstone when it's all said and done.

and last part, yes I'm rough around the edges and generally a intense person in anything I do or discuss lol, so I know how that can come across at times. But don't take anything I said personally, I'm not trying to attack people either. all in good discissions. I don't mind people firing back at me, all in good laughs my man.

 

This isn't choosing Scoot and Sharpe over Ant. It's saying Ant isn't what we need (he's the wrong kind of player to keep if you're doing this reset) and we need to keep looking until we find that.

If Scoot or Sharpe wind up not being good enough then we'll move off of them as well. We haven't had enough time that I'm ready to move off of them.

There isn't much room for growth with Ant. We've already seen him for long enough to know that he isn't going to be a top piece to a championship team. You don't start building with your bench. You start building through the draft. You fill in the bench later. It'll be easier then, because better players will be willing to accept a lesser role for the opportunity at a championship.

Right now is just not the time for Ant in Portland. We'd be better off trying again with another pick.