Don't know. I'm guessing Trent wanted 2 since that was his number at Duke and took it when the season was over because Baldwin is no longer around. Little took his number 9 instead. I'm not sure if Simons wanted #1 and took it when ET got traded or if he was simply being nice so Baze can have 24.
Just re-watched Simons' final game of the season on League Pass. Lots of fun. A few things that stood out to me this time that I forgot: Stotts had Leonard bring the ball up several times because Yogi Ferrel was bothering him in the back court. Simons had at least two turnovers later in the game that just kind of bounced to the right guy. Don't get me wrong--Simons looked great. But is he ready to bring the ball up the court against Chris Paul? I left the game with more doubts than I had at the start of the game. Simons' shooting form is kind of weird. The shots go in, and the release is quick as hell, but it has this kind of sped-up Shawn Marion-looking thing about it. Lower release and kind of a push. *shrug* He took at least one three from Dame range, so you know he's practicing it. Man he's skinny. There was a shot with him standing next to Dame and it was jaw-dropping how much more jacked Dame was. Just look at this: I saw Dame play live in his first summer league in Vegas, and he was pretty scrawny too though. But look at the length of those arms, and that height. If Simons goes through the transformation Lillard did, he's going to be a beast. Thinking about it more, I suspect Portland will go back to running CJ at backup PG and run Simons at backup SG. He's the same height as CJ, but has a 3in longer wingspan (6'9 vs 6'6). He's got the same wingspan as Klay Thompson at the draft. Given Simons was barely 19 when drafted, it's possible he could've grown a little since then. Stotts tends to put young players in roles where they can quickly see some success. He's been careful with keeping Collins from having to face too many bruising 5's, for example. He gave youngsters like Connaughton and Crabbe roles only after a year or two of seasoning, and never made them do more than catch and shoot and dunk lobs. I think giving Simons backup PG duties right out of the gate might be more than Stotts wants to put on his shoulders. It's more likely when he comes in he'll be given the order to look for his own shot while spacing the floor for Dame or CJ in a backup role. Prove he can play the Crabbe/Connaughton role, and let him grow from there organically.
Yep it doesn't really make sense to me to count on him as the backup PG from day one. You cannot throw him out there and just expect success while last year he never got mins against real competition. We really need a backup PG and i believe we ll get one as CJ is not great on that role as well. Backup PGs are important although we have mostly ignored that to find a role for Turner.
I agree that CJ isn't an ideal backup PG, but frankly I think he's good enough. The real issue we have is that if Dame or CJ goes down, we're putting all our eggs in the Simons basket. I think we need to find a third-string quality PG as an insurance policy. If the guy is too good, he'll take minutes away from Simons. Anyway, I think Portland is going to try to just stay in the playoff hunt while waiting for Nurk to recover. Maybe give guys like Skal, Simons and Little more run than Stotts normally would just to see what we have (and to possibly build trade value).
If you want a backup point guard that calls his own number first, second, third, and sometimes even as a fourth option before passing, well...... I guess CJ is okay then.
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You're not entirely wrong there. Perhaps things change for CJ, though, when he's got a dynamic player he can pass to in Simons. "CJ, you are running the point, but you are going to treat Simons like Dame treats you. Keep feeding him the ball too. You don't have to feed him shots, just feed him touches. He'll do the rest." That's simply not a conversation you can envision us ever having with CJ before this coming year. CJ isn't a clever passer. He can hit the open man on the three point line, and that's often about it. CJ knew that if he passed to a guy like Crabbe or Connaughton, if that guy didn't have an open three the offense was going to stall. So if the kickout wasn't there, he took it himself. Hell, even if it was there, it still might be a better shot for CJ because those guys just aren't that good. It's pretty clear that Simons has a lot more tools to draw on. If CJ kicks it to Simons, Simons can shoot, drive, or pass, and keep the offense moving. Dame and CJ clearly have a lot of offensive chemistry. It's pretty easy to see how CJ and Simons could get that too.
All this Simons talk is starting to remind me of Roddy Beaubois. All the hype is coming from the Blazers side, who have a vested interest in pumping up his trade value. I'm just saying slow down and temper expectations....
Whether the Blazers pump or don't pump, don't make me no never mind no how. Whatever that means. My opinion is based on what I see. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.