Yup Will Barton told a story about that with Dame. How he know he was going to be a star their rookie year
IF...'you' think Ant could replace say, 80% of what Dame produces, and you could get a massive haul for Dame, do you think about it? It's one of the best ways to increase the talent you are woefully short on It would go a LONG way to re-setting a bad cap situation given the record You also then move on from CJ which also helps the cap and should get you a couple more pieces With all the assets in return and in the future, would you really be any worse than you have been in Play-In/#6-8 years? You lose some of your cache' the in community, but there is fresh reasons to grab and grow with the new roster 6th - 2 Playoff wins 8th - 1 Playoff win 3rd - 8 Playoff wins 3rd - 0 Playoff wins 8th - 0 Playoff wins 5th - 5 Playoff wins 4th - 1 Playoff win 5th - 5 Playoff wins 11th - DNQ 23 total playoff wins (takes 16 to win a title) in 9 seasons and counting. Average of 2.5 Playoff wins per season. This is not to advocate trading Dame in the least, but it is a GM's job to consider ALL alternatives and you have to look at the success you have had versus what you can get going forward and taking in to account the cap impact in future years. IF you could get a big haul and you have a better than average replacement option for your franchise player, does it put that franchise in a better position going forward? Most often when a team trades their 'star', they don't have anyone waiting in the wings that would come anywhere close to replacing (at least on the court) the production they are losing. Anthony Davis? Kawai Leonard? James Harden? Kevin Durant? Paul George? There was no immediate backup for any of those players that at least had the possible potential to relatively fill the large departing shoes. The Blazers have won 4 of their last 7. That is their second best stretch this season, second only to a fully healthy starting lineup of Dame/CJ/Norm/RoCo/Nurk. Only one time all season was there a better stretch and that has been done with Ant/Nas/Nurk.....and whomever was left to play. But other things have also been evident. The effort has been greater even if the talent has not been. The scoring/shot balance has been MUCH better which also leads to better effort on the other end. It's tough to be asked to just play defense and rarely see the ball and have no offensive rhythm. Dame has meant a TON to this franchise, but it hasn't translated to higher levels of success. Could his biggest impact be in what he were to get in return? Given where the team is and has been most seasons, it seems like at least something to be explored. It's always hard to let go of someone/something you love, but if it hasn't come close to the goal you have set, what do you do?
If you plan/rebuild with Simons you have to get a defensive minded SG - you can’t have a non-defensive backcourt again and expect things to change/improve from the last decade of Dame/CJ.
Dame and Ant is the same as Dame and CJ, no? You have to pay Ant so Norm probably has to go along with CJ. If you pay Ant you trade Dame, I say.
This. We can't have Dame/CJ 2.0. The Blazers were at their best when Dame had length and defense around him. He just never really had another playmaker. It's why I think Simmons would go so well with either Dame or Ant.
If it's Ant, it would be Simmons' team. I'm not really comfortable with that. The only player Simmons might listen to and defer to, and who might be able to keep his head straight, is Dame. IMO, if we could get Simmons we have to pair him with Dame.
I don't think he gets that. North of 20 mil yes, but still only been a few weeks of play at this level. Not saying it's the same, but this stretch from Ant is a lot like what Linsanity did until he got scouted. (NY didn't match the heavily backloaded contract Morey threw at him as a RFA in 2012).
Dale Davis has long retired and is unavailable. But would you really pass up Ben Simmons or Jaylen Brown or Julius Randle for Simons. If we’re gonna have this discussion, let’s talk about actual players. Who here wants to trade Simons for a “mediocre vet”?
I don't think anyone wants to trade Ant for a mediocre vet. In fact, it's more the possibility that Ant might bring something of significant value that could potentially help acquire something that is a longer, lengthier, more defensive oriented fit with Dame.
Ant is less than 2 years younger than CJ when CJ became the starter next to Dame. It was a bad idea from then on If it's a choice between Dame/CJ with CJ at 33M/year, or Dame/Ant with Ant at 18M/year it's an easy choice....Ant. But that's also a 'been-there-done-that-and-it-doesn't-work' choice Dame is not going to be traded unless he asks out and that's unlikely. So then in the CJ-Powell-Ant conundrum I'd say that at least two need to be traded. Portland has to abandon the length-challenged wing rotation
Let’s not completely undersell the Dame and CJ era. 23 playoff wins is a lot. It is 23 more than Sacramento in the same period. Dame/CJ have more playoff wins than the Lakers in that period. The fact is Dame/CJ have never had the right team around them. And even then, with Mo and Aminu, they reached the WCF with a hobbled Freedom as our only center. Add Paul George or even Harrison Barnes and the Dame/CJ team would’ve gone further. that said….. I agree with this. I love love love Dame but the younger version is right in front of us and should never come off the bench again. To argue the other side, the difference in the Dame/Ant era would be that they are surrounded by better talent than Dame/CJ. In theory CJ/Powell lands us an equal talent at a position of need. Our 4 best scorers right now are guards. Two of them for a Jermaine Grant, Jaylen Brown, or Ben Simmons would make us a way better team than we were with Dame/CJ. This has also crossed my mind. Simons is reminding me of Linsanity. Hopefully, Simons’ success has legs.
