On the Simmons/Russillo pod this morning

For me it comes down to how well he can handle the ball. I would not mind seeing a 3 man rotation in the back court. More than enough minutes.
I said before that I was willing to offer him up for AD (and that our package was as good as the Lakers because of him) but that ship has sailed. Who is the next target? (That is not a free agent)

 

Defensive attention notwithstanding, CJ has been a better playoff performer than Dame in the aggregate.

How quickly we forget.

Edit: checked the stats, ooff never mind. CJ is close, but not better. Still not sure we can discard CJ for Simons.

 

Thats just my opinion, i guess he could be on the team until the trade deadline, but im convinced he will not re-up with us. Quote me

 

Only because Dame exists.

If Dame did not exist and CJ was our number one option, he would be getting all the defensive attention and it would be CJ that looks like absolute crap every year.

 

check my edit.

 

Remember how Toronto guarded curry after Klay and KD went down? That’s how Dame gets guarded all the time. That’s why we need to forget Aminu and Harkless (and Turner but he’s gone) and find more dynamic offensive players.

 

It was infuriating watching CJ shoot us into and then out of games in the playoffs. He’s like roulette and you’re watching the little white ball bouncing between “win” and “lose.”

 

No one should be shocked if Ant blows up. He's incredibly gifted naturally. He has a very pure, soft shooting touch. He can jump out of the gym. He has good size for a guard.

When talent works, it's hard to beat. When talent that works hard has good leadership (Dame, CJ), it becomes special.

 

One thing I am glad about having both Dame and CJ around for Ant's development. Both are good at working on their handles. CJs drills are insane. I think Ant has always copied CJs game a bit, just with more athleticism. If Ant can get close to CJ handles then he will be unstoppable.

 

Man CJ is an absolutely ELITE midrange shooter and shot creator. We literally JUST saw his value in the playoffs. He makes some dumbass decisions sometimes, but he is an unbelievable resource to deflect defensive attention away from Dame. Throw some respect at my man's name

 

PG was the one who first came to my mind as well. KAT, Devin Booker (maybe), and Beal (kinda meh on him) were the others that might fit...

 

I work with a lot of young players. I always show them CJ's handle and midrange game. He's a great example of how someone who might not be the biggest or most athletic player can become an elite shot creator just by working hard and being extremely tight in their footwork and dribbling skills. He creates good shots for himself in close quarters better than anyone in the NBA right now.

Ant couldn't have had better role models.

 

I'm not big on Paul George. The way he just sunk into being Westbrook's No. 2 ... I don't see that as the personality that fits in our culture. Booker or Beal would be terrific Blazers, IMO. Booker never's had the chance to play with talent around him, and he's such an explosive scorer. Beal is just so good and so enjoyable to watch when he's on ... such a beautiful shot. And he already knows how to co-exist with a superstar point guard.

 

I have absolutely no critique of CJ's game on the offensive side of the ball--except that maybe he could take a cue from Dame to see if he can find others when his shot isn't falling.

My only real critique of CJ is on the defensive end and primarily because he is next to Dame. There are still major questions about the pair of them defending teams that have a tall SG who can shoot. And I will still hold out that NO NBA TEAM has ever won a title with two starting guards who are not tall, where at least one isn't a plus defender. Maybe Portland will be the first, but the only teams I find with a short backcourt have at least one of them being a plus defender. Dame has improved in this area, but neither are plus defenders. I'm not sure Ant can be one either though. I hope he can, but haven't seen it yet.

 

Agreed. Don't see Phoenix letting Booker go, and he may be a worse defender than CJ. I'm also meh on Beal.

 

So as we have been saying for years...surround both he and Dame with another scorer and you don't have to rely on either to shoot you in or out of games.
The more options the better. CJ had one of the best playoff runs by a Blazer...... ever. This while averaging 40 minutes a game just a few weeks after spraining his knee. I don't think that gets mentioned enough.

 

Interesting perspective on PG -- I woul think of that as a positive. This team is Dame's, without question. A guy coming in and trying to change that would be detrimental to the overall culture. I saw PG's insertion into OKC as being the consummate professional and team player. Isn't that exactly what we'd want???

 

Yeah I'm 'meh' on both, but there's not exactly a ton of great players on terrible teams, so this entire "what if" is playing with a short deck to begin with...

 

he also seems to take on the personality of a leader. Typical follower. But perfect next to Dame.