Suppose we got the #3 pick. Would you trade the #3 and Nurk for Ayton? (Obviously it would have to be sign-and-trade on both ends.) Obviously if we WEREN'T trying to build a contender round Dame, you keep the #3, but in this scenario...
easy no. Ayton is a little better than Nurkic, but he's not so much better that the difference is a top-3 pick. And Ayton has a worrisome injury history, just like Nurk but more than that is the Blazers need to spend that top-3 pick where it has the most potential impact, and that's not at C
Exactly. My view is that if they can get Grant (who I view as decent but not a needle mover) with the Bucks' pick and other assets (Little?), then the top-3 pick, if they are fortunate enough to get it, can be used to get a difference-making wing. Preferably, that's through a trade for an established SF, maybe using Bledsoe for salary matching. It's going to take way more luck than Cronin has found so far for this rebuild around Dame plan to work.
Agree to disagree. Ayton is, in my view, invaluable in the modern NBA because he's that rare big man who cannot be played off the floor by smallball. Nurk is an old-school center. I presume your comment about "most potential impact" not being at C is because of modern smallball. Also, I have my doubts about this draft, or at least about the long-term best player from this draft being one that is currently ranked in the top 5.
hypothetical: Nurkic (13M) + Jabari Smith (9M) + Otto Porter (6M tax-MLE) + Eubanks (1.7M) >>> Ayton (30M) or Nurkic (13) + Jaden Ivey (9M) + Jalen Smith (8M MLE) + Eubanks (1.7M) >>> Ayton (30M) or, simply: Nurkic (13M) > Ayton (30M)
Don't know what the tax implications would look like, but I think something like this would be a swing for the fences.
Yeah, you're right...I was working of the discussions that some had had regarding Toronto possibly needing to move off OG for salary purposes, but I now remember those also involved us trading our number 6 to them.
Ayton is a significant upgrade over Nurk. I don't see how that can be disputed. But he is also more money and much harder to obtain.
I got no problem with the Pope. Well, with THIS Pope. And I guess a couple of problems. But overall, good dude!
The fact is if you can make the off season nothing more than signing Ant and Nurk to very reasonable and very tradeable contracts, drafting a forward with our first round pick that will make an immediate impact with the ability to get better, get the Pistons to take future draft consideration (even if that means guaranteeing our 2023 FRP to the Bulls to free up future picks) for Jerami Grant, drafting a backup big or pg with our early second rounder, then getting the backup you didn't draft with the TPMLE and opting in on Hart. You then have a rotation of Dame, Ant, mid to early lotto pick, Grant, Nurk, Hart, Nas, TPMLE, early second round pick, with a lot of young hungry players trying to get the rest of the minutes. If Dame/Ant is more than the sum of its part and is therefore considerably better than Dame/CJ along with us drafting really well that's a better team than we have had during Dame's career and it's better by a pretty good margin. I think a well drafted player in the top 8 and Jerami Grant are far far better than any combo that we've had at forward since Dame has been at an all NBA level. I think that bench could be pretty damn impressive too. In two weeks we'll know where our draft pick is and that will give us a better idea of just how optimistic we can be but it's just not inconceivable that Dame, Ant, Jerami Grant, Jabari Smith, Nurk, Hart, Nas, a high second rounder and another solid bench player signed for around 6M could contend as early as this upcoming season. That's a lot of things breaking right for us but it's not at all out of the realm of possibilities.
Assuming the Blazers don't get a top 3 pick, I'm warming up to the idea of Keegan Murray or Shaedon Sharpe.
Exactly! In today's NBA, Bigs like Gobert and Nurk are defensive liabilities come the playoffs as teams relentlessly run high pick and rolls until they've got their top ballhandling shooter iso'd on them. They are guaranteed a great look every trip down the court. Ayton is much more valuable because he can adequately stay in front of those guys, so the opposition has to try other means to get a good shot. The reason Blazer fans didn't see an overwhelming amount of this strategy during the regular season is that Portland had so many other poor defenders to go at. STOMP
