Science Ant is legit and we need to really wrap our minds around what that means

I just watched the Hawks game and two things came to mind, the Hawks broadcasters are Classy AF. Dominique Wilkins is a surprisingly good analyst and super fair to the other team.

Also my second and more important thought was, I think it would be a huge mistake to trade Simons. Like I'm getting worse than Jermaine O'Neal-type vibes. Ant looks like he could be top 5 in scoring in a few years if we give him the green light. I think we have to keep him now. He's Dame's Protege and I am terrified of what he might become on another team and giddy at the prospect of him taking over for Dame someday.

He has the absolute perfect mentality for this game. Ant is somehow even cooler than Dame. He also has a deadly snake kinda vibe that's a bit different from Lillard who is cool until he's not. Ant is almost passionless it's wild he just feels like an Assassin. He's been insanely good in this recent streak and he has seemingly no-ego right now. He's a super willing passer and clearly listens to Billups. His court vision and playmaking is way, WAY better than I realized/saw and he's only 22. This kid looks straight-up legit to me and has the right vibe/mindset to be supremely deadly. I don't think I want to trade him anymore. I think he's closing in on untouchable status. I know it doesn't make sense to keep him when we have Dame but this kid is the real deal.

I can't, I just can't countenance trading Dame he's the heart and soul of this franchise and the perfect face of the team. He's a living Legend of a Blazer and I just can't trade him. Just ask him if he'd consider a deal structured in such as way as to maximally benefit the team while making sure Lillard Gets Paid (TM). I am no cap wizard and not sure how we could do that, but I think there are ways we could do it.

The problem isn't Lillard's Cap impact it's CJ's. Lillard is in contention for the title of best PG in the league. He's only overshadowed (when healthy) by the transcendent generational talent of Steph Curry. CJ on the other hand is a talented player but grossly overpaid for his production/impact. We need to trade him and other potential/current cap space hogs. We need to keep Simons I really believe that. I'm thinking it would have to be an almost 1-1 with cap filler for a Star in their prime and nothing short of that. I'm even ever so slightly leery of trading him for Simmons now which is a testament to what I'm seeing in Ant.

Someone else linked this first and I can't remember who, but feel free to let us know in the comments and I will give you props it's a great find. Forget for a minute that this Sixers fan wants to steal Simons from us and how mad we all are at Morey (those of us who want Simmons I mean). Instead, just listen to his breakdown of Ant. Even if you turned this off after a few minutes before because of these sorts of reasons, I'd recommend giving it another chance. This guy Sixers fan or not really understands basketball and his breakdown and admiration for Ant are really quite awesome. If you haven't watched this you should.

I listened to that guy and then watched the Atlanta game which I had missed and I was like damn! Simons is so freaking composed in the game. He controls the tempo and I felt absolutely comfortable every time he had the ball in his hands. The minute it left his hands I felt nervous. I know this was a career night for Ant (so far and he's only 22!), but it was just an incredible game and he did a lot to answer Trae Young who also had a career night. If you can find it or have it recorded it's such a great game, one of the best of the season for sure. Ant and Trae both having career nights.

Anyways, listen to this guy's analysis of Ant. We can't trade this guy, we just can't. I think we might even want him next to Dame and trade CJ and Powell for a star and have McLemore off the bench for cheap. Imagine if/when he learns how to defend with that speed and wingspan. He looks like a future All-Star and threat for scoring title-level guy. Just watch all the January games and it's not like he's not getting defensive attention. He got doubled a lot recently and still played extremely well.

 

Agreed. We gotta find a way to allow for Ant's growth and getting the best out of the end of Dame's prime. Recognizing that they don't complement one another especially well (other than spacing the floor for each other when one is on a heater), we need a 3rd guard that complements both of them really well. The traits I'm thinking are as follows:

point of attack defender, strong (can switch up to 3s fine), good in the open court/pushing the pace, good rebounder, doesn't need a lot of shots, decent finisher.

The guy I'm thinking of (who may be available) is Marcus Smart, and he's played well next to ball dominant 1s. Too bad he's not a better floor space, but then he'd be a CJ compensation type of guy ($30M). I think there are probably plenty of other options (Dort would be great, Davion Mitchell is intriguing but small), but not sure any are available.

 

Can't trade Ant. Can't do it. Also can't keep Ant on the bench til Dame retires in 5 years. Ant needs his own team. It's a really tough predicament. Watching Dame's press conference reminded me of how great HE is. I don't WANT to trade Dame. But Ant is nearly on Dame's level and 8 years younger. Can they play together? I suppose so. But Ant isn't really a #2/CJ. He's a #1 who should be making all the decisions. I really torn on all of this. We SHOULD NOT TRADE ANT. Would be biggest mistake ever. Give him his own team and he will become MVP level in coming years. IF we trade him, must be a guy like Jaylen Brown or Jimmy Butler coming back. And even then, we'll regret it. Fuck fuck fuck. Do we dare trade Dame? Ant + Dame Haul >>>. Dame + Ant Haul.

 

Dort would be fantastic. A healthy Jonathan Isaac would be too. I could be down with Smart too.

 

I say play both of them. We need to get good defenders at 3 and 4 spots. I have a feeling Ant will improve his defense. He's already better than CJ if this January isn't somehow fool's gold (it isn't). Trade CJ and Powell and keep Ant next to Dame with McLemore off the bench. Play Ant 38+ minutes. When Dame is off the floor Ant can run the show. We can manage Dame's minutes. Having two deadly shooters who are triple threats (Ant doesn't take it to the rack enough, but I'm certain that's coming. He's a slam dunk champion) and have that Assassin's mindset would be huge. I think we might have a second star so getting Simmons somehow to play with them seems huge. If you can keep Little

Dame
Ant
Little
Simmons
Nurk/ or instead trade Nurk and get a 3-D Center or at least one with a solid mid-range+ shot

That's solid defense 3-5 and I believe Ant has real defensive potential due to his later quickness and seemingly limitless energy. Keep Ant, Keep Dame and make the team around them. Why trade for another star when we have one? Klay and Curry show you can have two stars in the back court you just need a great front court player. Get Simmons and start the lawfirm. Simmons and Nurk could be a log jam, but my goodness that team would also have elite ball handling. If you need to trade Nurk for a (lol) 3 and D center do that. You gotta keep Simons and Dame, you just gotta.

 

Play Simmons at center.

 

I’m only here to find out what you meant to type instead of countenance

 

I meant Countenance. I cannot sign off on this with an expression of approval due to moral reasons.

": bearing or expression that offers approval or sanction : moral support … her countenance of their unsafe amusements …"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countenance

 

Ant is legit but he is a terrible defender that is best with the ball in his hands. That's a terrible fit for Dame. If someone blows our doors off in the next two weeks with an offer that includes Ant then we take it. Otherwise we match whatever contract offer he gets this off season and then feature him before the trade deadline next year and get a great piece for him. Dame/Ant has little more potential than Dame/CJ.

 

Why exactly do people call him Ant? Is that like a childhood nickname? For some reason it bugs me.

 

It bugs Anfernee as well.

 

Doesn’t bug me.

 

Yeah, he prefers to be called Penny.

 

I am hoping that since Billups has helped Anf improve his playmaking so much that he can also improve his defense. I think he has the physical tools.

 

I call him "Anf" because I think "Ant" belongs to Anthony Edwards.

 

Big or Lil.

 

The way he's been playing, I think we should be calling him "Mr. Simons"...

 

...it bugs him so much he's centered his entire brand around it. Just look at his website logo for example:

 

He’s far from a terrible defender, I’ll even say at worse he’s average