Hm. Players like Kuzma and Caruso don’t become superstars because they go to Lakers. Jordan would’ve been the GOAT playing for us. LeBron started his career in Cleveland and was a massive star right away. Well, he was a star before he even came into the league. It wouldn’t have mattered which team he went to.
I don't think anybody thought that Scoot or Sharpe was going to be Jordan or LeBron. I'm sorry if I didn't spell that out.
I think you may be confused about who you're arguing with. I have not made the argument that Scoot's problems are Ant's fault. That's been said by others, not me. Scoot has generally sucked I'm just pointing out that as bad as Scoot was last season, he performed worst with Simons. And Sharpe performs poorly with Simons too. I think the Sharpe numbers probably reveal more than Scoot's numbers
blah blah blah, your little stats don't mean anything son, get a grip. Sharpe stats were identical last year with or without Ant, did you hear that identical! because I've already been down this road already with another poster. Stop putting the blame on Ant, it makes ya look silly man. Blame Scoot and Sharpe for not improving enough, and the coaching staff for putting them in better situations. It's not on Ant, you guys are ridiculous
Yawns, it's past your bed time son. You're like the other poster, running around in circles and when hit with facts, can't accept it because you have tunnel vision. Rather not waste my time....
Seriously we can't tell where either Scoot or Shaedon are headed until we get rid of Ant and Jerami. If that doesn't happen at or before the trade deadline then those guys' development basically loses another year.
For all the talk about how ball hogging Simons and Grant are the stats this year don't seem to back that up. Simons is shooting 14.5 shots/game... thats fewer than last year or the year prior when he started alongside Dame. It' similar to the 14.0 he shot the year he came off the bench half the season until CJ was traded. Grant is shooting 13.4 shots/game... thats the fewest since he spent a year in Denver where he was primarily a backup. Seems to me there are plenty of opportunities for Sharpe, Scoot, or others with a small bit of talent to go out and initiate some offense. This roster is actually begging for it. We see Banton and Deni go out there and effectively initiate offense plenty. I'm all for moving on from our veterans as there is no benefit to having them here, and I consider it a mistake Cronin assembled those pieces on the roster. But I don't see any evidence their holding back young guys from developing. Nor will I expect a bunch of effective scoring to appear out of nowhere from Scoot/Sharpe if those guys sit.
Outside of CJ's first two years in the league when he didn't play much the fewest shots he averaged were 17.8/game in Portland Dame's fewest were 15.7/game as a rookie on a team that had LaMacus, Wes, Batum, etc all as established scorers. His 4th-11th year in Portland he was always around 20 shots per game. Were seeing none of that 1st or 2nd option shooting volume from Simons or Grant this season. They're basically shooting like 3rd or 4th options as when Melo or Nurkic were here.
I don't expect anything out of Scoot or Sharpe. What has happened to them is exactly what I was afraid might happen if we didn't clear the runway for them. I'm simply hoping they can recover from that if we do give them the opportunity. If their careers are never anything better than what we've seen I will always wonder if it was because they came into a shitty situation. They have both showed the ability to be quality NBA basketball players. If they wind up not being quality NBA basketball players for any other reason than trouble off the court or injury, then it will be partially the fault of this franchise, in my mind.
I just haven't seen any proof of that. They both have potential like hundreds of players have all the time that come into the NBA. Most players with a lot of potential don't become stars, or even starters. Thats what makes draft picks super exciting - but also a big gamble. I still don't understand what makes the Blazers today a "shitty situation" for a high lottery pick in their first three seasons. I'd think this is actually one of the ideal situations for them to realize their potential. No pressure to win, plenty of shots available, plenty of minutes, a coach and GM that are fine with losses. We're seeing other Blazers youth with talent do just fine here in Camara, Clingan, Banton, Deni, etc. Jermaine Oneal was in a shitty situation.
Those young players who are having some success all have a lot more quality college or professional experience then either Scoot or Sharpe That's not a surprise to me.
I think the Blazers and nearly all NBA teams are as good at developing players as college or other pro leagues. I don't think anyone is disappointed that Scoot/Sharpe had a learning curve bigger than say Clingan or Camara with more experience who stepped in effectively from day 1. The disappointment is 2-3 years later we're not seeing any improvements from Scoot/Sharpe. It seems you fault the Blazers with that while I believe it's just Scoot/Sharpe themselves showing us who they ultimately are.
If the Blazers are so great at development why aren't any players actually getting better? They are exactly as good as when they got here. Or in some cases worse. I disagree with you about how good Portland is at development. Simons has even been getting worse.
Because the Blazers roster has very little talent. Ant looked a lot better when he was playing next to guys like Dame, Norm, CJ, Nance, Hart, Melo, Nurk, Brogdon, etc. Thought Scoot/Sharpe might be talented with a lot of potential - but it was just potential talent. Unfortunately we're seeing the potential hasn't turned into actual effective talent to play well in an NBA game.
