With that size, explosiveness, and hands I am dreaming of him playing WR at Oregon too. Bet he would be a great safety as well. But I am happy to see him in a Blazer uniform. No way you pass on him at #3. Always take Best Player Available. No matter who else you have on the team. We learned that the hard way with MJ/Drexler. You can worry about working things out after.
Give Kris Murray a chance. He could be the non-flashy, blue-collar role player that every team needs.
Jerryd Bayless taught us that an undersized shooting guard isn't a point guard, no matter what Nate McMillan says.
Some food for thought, for those who don’t like the Grant deal: We can’t make the same mistakes we had with Dame in the Scoot era. We need to surround Scoot with guys that will help him win, pretty much ASAP. Having Sharpe and Grant off the bat to start your career is a decent supporting cast. Grant hits 3s at an great clip, is a good help defender, and is a good enough 2nd/3rd scoring option. He’s a guy who can bail us out at the end of a shot clock. We have to spend the money anyway, why not on someone who will make Scoot’s life easier. Both Sharpe and Grant are locked up for Scoot’s entire rookie deal, the road map is clear: find the most talented wing/big in the draft.
I continue to be amazed at Scoot’s ability as a playmaker. We know he’s going to be able to score, but look at his ability to find guys. Sharpe, Grant, Ant, Kris. Maybe Nurk becomes an even more reliable shooter and Jabari becomes a 35% shooter. These are guys Scoot is going to need to continue and develop as a playmaker. One guy I want to get (if the Miami trade is inevitable) is Kevin Love. He can shoot the 3, still rebound at a good rate, and still play 10-15mpg behind Grant.
He looks great. He says the right things and seems prepared. However, I'm going to temper my expectations just to give him time to grow. The vast majority of rookies will struggle. The season is long, and Portland travels more than any other team. Let's give him time to grow into the player we think he can be.
Loved the "push"/fast break comment - can't wait to see that as opposed to the plod it upcourt of recent years
I am sure VW aka the beetle will be on minutes restrictions and handles with kid gloves. Even then I fully expect him to get injured.
was doing this last week before all the drama, but here are some rookie stats for PGs drafted in the lottery. Ivey: 73 starts, 16.3 pts, 3.9 rebs, 5.2 asts, 12.1. PER, .528 TS% Cade: 64 starts, 17.4 pts, 5.5 rebs, 5.6 asts, 13.1 PER, .504 TS% Suggs: 45 starts, 11.8 pts, 3.6 rebs, 4.4 asts, 8.6 PER, 0.455 TS% LaMelo: 31 starts, 15.7 pts, 4.9 rebs, 6.1 asts, 17.5 PER, 0.539 TS% Ja: 67 starts, 17.8 pts, 3.9 rebs, 7.8 asts, 17.4 PER, 0.556 TS% Garland: 59 starts, 12.3 pts, 1.9 rebs, 3.9 asts, 8.5 PER, 0.498 TS% Luka: 72 starts, 21.2 pts, 7.8 rebs, 6.0 asts, 19.6 PER, 0.545 TS% Trae: 81 starts, 19.2 pts, 3.7 rebs, 8.1 asts, 17.0 PER, 0.539 TS% Sexton: 72 starts, 16.7 pts, 2.9 rebs, 3.0 asts, 12.0 PER, 0.520 TS% Dame: 82 starts, 19.0 pts, 3.1 rebs, 6.5 asts, 16.4 PER, 0.546 TS% Rose: 80 starts, 16.8 pts, 3.9 rebs, 6.3 asts, 16.0 PER, 0.516 TS% Russ: 82 starts, 15.3 pts, 4.9 rebs, 5.3 asts, 15.0 PER, 0.489 TS%
I agree, it should be retired and it would be low class. Could it happen? Maybe the chances are pretty low. Yikes, what if Dame signed off on it.
Yes. We can’t just hand the keys over to a 19 year old. Luckily, Simons is going to be a good test for Scoot to overcome. If Simons continues with the usual 25+ppg and 6apg without Dame throughout an entire season, it’s going to be hard for Scoot to suddenly just overtake him. The only way for Scoot to suddenly start over Simons is if Scoot is vastly better on defense or he is a superior PG. I don’t expect that in year 1, but I could expect it beginning in year 2. There’s just as much to be excited about in Ant as there is in Scoot. As the #1 PG, he was putting up Deaaron Fox kind of numbers. 25/3/6 on, say, .45/.42/.90 at an additional two years at $25m/yr is quite a bargain of a contract. Let’s make Scoot earn that starting spot, then we’ll flip Ant for assets or a forward or big who can help Scoot right away.
