We got the #3 pick. Discuss the possibilities.

Odd logic. There's so much more than that one player that will get you to a championship or not.

And, I'd put Trae, Donovan and Pascal pretty equally on the same level. If you're a bad team, going for the guy with the most star power is always the way to go. The role players like Middleton are secondary. I think Miller would be a better fit, but when you're drafting you don't draft for fit. You do that in free agency/trade market.

 

I believe that the Blazers might have interest in Siakam but does not mean they want to trade the 3 pick and someone else for him or whatever the package. This does not even take into account the Raps GM thinks all his players have LeBron in his prime value so I kind of think the Blazers and Raps doing a deal has sailed unless the Raps get real about the value of it's own players.

 

Mid-season trades where the team has a huge turnover is too small of a sample size IMO. Bridges at 27 has another 5 years in his prime.

 

How many games can this team realistically win with decent health?

Dame / ? /Mays
Sharpe / ?
Grant / Thybulle
Siakam / Watford
Nurk / ? / Eubanks

Let's say we bring back Seth Curry for the MLE and use our minimum on someone like Dwight Powell or Mason Plumlee.

If Sharpe takes a level up to what guys like Jaylen or PG did their second yr (15ppg or so with decent efficiency), I think that team can win 50 games. Nurk is obviously the upgrade spot in the lineup but we could be if we landed a better backup C in free agency.

 

Also, i think someone like Siakam would be a prime candidate for taking a (slight) paycut next summer. He's not a franchise player and he'd be 30. I don't see him getting more than something like 4/150 in 2024, which would make it somewhat reasonable for us.

Dame -- 49
Siakam -- 37
Grant -- 30
Nurk --- 18
MLE -- 12
FA du jour (Thybulle, etc) -- 10
Shaedon -- 7

Rest as minimums puts us in the ballpark of 170 mil. We'd still be about 8-10 mil from the second apron. Whether Jody would even pay this much is a legit question, but I don't think Siakam's salary should be a deterrant if Dame can sell him on re-signing for market rate next summer.

I have a few more reservations about Jaylen Brown in this regard. He'd warrant a supemax extension and might be a bigger flight risk. And he duplicates a lot of what Sharpe would.

 

Not worth it. 13 is basically just a throw in.

 

Health, build the bench and 50 wins? I’m optimistic, so yes. The number 3 seeded Blazers that lost in the WCF isn’t this good … IF the bench gets rebuilt. Get Jaylen Brown (and Pritchard), or Mikal Bridges (and Claxton?), instead? Again, yes.

 

Maybe I'm drinking the Mike Schmitz kool aid, but I feel like he could turn 13 + 23 in a rotation player. OKC managed to land Jaylen Williams at 12 last yr, and I see a lot of parity in prospects from 6-15 this draft.

 

A Nurk + #13 has more value than a Nurk + #23 for a follow up deal. Or even a 13+23 could net us a 9th or 10th pick.

 

I was thinking maybe this would work.

 

If they stay healthy, 50 wins on low side. Siakam is an All NBA talent. And maybe, in need of a new start in a new town. Van Vleet is going into free agency. OG has been pouting since Barnes arrived. Their new coach might fix that, but maybe they want a new young PG if Scoot is there. But i don't get some of the , meh , on Siakam's talent. His ascent as a player was key to their drive for the Championship. Next to Dame it could be special. And he a quality defender. Pascal, Grant, and Nurk is a very nice frontcourt. Add those supporting players, and look out.

 

Exactly.

 

The question that I have is this:

What is Bridges value really?

What is Siakam's value really?

We have the third pick, Simons, Nurk, and some throw ins. How can we get both players? I don't think Bridges is really worth Simons and the 3rd. I don't think Siakam is at all worth the 3rd pick.

 

IMO, as soon as you have Siakam with an extension signed - you start shopping Grant.

 

Gross.

Siakam is an Olshey type move.

He’s about to be a 30 y/o FA.

this has to be coming out of Toronto

 

If the true gem of the trade is #3, what if it was this:



Then you get Chicago to take #23 and free up our future picks.



Whether we want to sign Grant is dependent on the money he wants. Maybe see if we can sign-and-trade him back to Detroit or something like that.

Dame
Sharpe
Bridges
Siakam
??? (throw all our MLE at Naz Reid?)

 

Grant adds nothing. Try to either sign and trade him immediately or just don’t sign him

 

I love this idea.
I'd be interested in using Grant as a S&T for a C.

Maybe Boston for Robert Williams or Indiana for Turner?

 

If there’s so much more to it why have something like 29 of the last 31 finals MVPs NOT been PGs?

If it was a marginal factor you’d expect a somewhat equal distribution across positions.

Role player? Khris Middleton? 3x all star? The same guy that they were going to OVER Giannis to close out NBA finals games? That’s one hell of a role player.

And as I said, if I were the Blazers I’d draft Amen if we are ready to move on from Dame. It’s almost unanimous that Amen has the highest potential outside of Wemby, including Scoot, but he’s much more likely to “bust” than Scoot (according to most people, another sentiment that I don’t agree with.)

 

Now you're talking.