Justin Myers (620AM) this morning made the claim that as much as the "it's not who starts the game, it's who finishes it" mantra is repeated ad nauseum, the pregame starting lineup intros are as important to players egos (if not moreso) as minutes distribution. That is to say, even if he would get plenty of minutes, and even if he would be given the greenest of green lights, and even if it would be best for the team, Simons would likely be wholly dissatisfied with being anything less than a starter, and we wouldn't get the best version of him. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's probably a perspective worth consideration.
Right, the salary argument has always been extremely stupid, he's paid 17% of the cap so its not like some huge supermax that has prevented the Blazers from doing anything. Scoot and Sharpe have 2-3 years left on their rookie deals. Now I'd think eventually the contracts will have to be addressed when Scoot/whoever is a guard at that time gets a raise in 2027, but we have plenty of time there. If we can get a better long term asset for Ant I'm fine with it as this team should be taking a long term priority on moves. Ant may have more short term value to other teams. But the salary aspect is just a stupid aspect to worry about.
It's certainly something that long term may have to be considered. But its not a pressing concern at all. Right now we don't know if Scoot will ever be a starting quality NBA PG - he certainly wasn't last year. Blazers could start all 3 next season if they really want then quickly sub one out for a 3 guard rotation the rest of the game. Thats a dynmaic for Billups to figure out in October.
Ant is safe on this roster unless a team blows Cronin away with an offer and too be honest this is how it should be cause talent wise he is the best player even if Grant might get more or be more wanted in the present time over Ant. If Ant is to be traded it could be at the deadline but more likely next offseason during / after the next draft and offseason. I hate to break it to the Ant haters but get used to him for one more year cause his ass is not going anywhere at least for now.
I agree with you. I was one who wanted Ant traded, but I also wanted Brogdon retained. After the Avdija deal, it's the other way around. The FO will likely want to see what year two of an Ant/Scoot/Sharpe backcourt (or year 1 of a healthy version) will look like before making any decisions.
I believe it's 100% true. Athletes are competitive. They want to start the game. They want to be announced and hear the crowd cheer. Ant will definitely be dissatisfied if he isn't starting.
If he spent time becoming a better defender then we wouldnt be having this discussion. He would then be a great player on a great contract.
Absolutely. But it's easier to sell a guy on that when you're Gregg Popovich and you can tell him he's going to be part of a literal dynasty. Tough for Chauncey Billups to sell Ant on coming off the bench while we tank our way to glory.
Quickly signs for 175mil over 5 years or $35mil/year. He's 6'2 with a career high 17.0ppg last season , worse % in his career on lower scoring, and is the same age as Simons (9 days difference). Not sure Simons $25mil per year can still be considered overpaid.
Quickly is a MUCH better player than Simons is though. Simons is a better iso scorer, but that is about it. Numbers for the last 4 seasons (cutting out the first 2 years for Ant): Quickly Simons PER: 15.9 vs 14.8 WS/48: .123 vs .062 BPM: 1.1 vs -0.7 VORP: 5.7 vs 2.1 ORtg: 118 vs 113 DRtg: 115 vs 121 ORtg-DRtg: +3 vs -8 Simons is still very much overpaid....
What are you smoking? Those dumb stats are pointless. Let's talk about actually stats, head to head and you will see Simmons is a better player.
Mike Richmond sure seemed to think it was telling that Cronin named Scoot and Sharpe without Simons a few days ago. Deal coming soon?
I haven't paid any attention...does Richmond know more than the posters around here or is he just guessing like everybody else?
Does anyone else watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory? Whenever I listen to Mike Richman's podcast I can't help but think of the Will Wheaton episodes.
I’m all for trading Ant. I’m all for waiting to boost his value. I don’t particularly care. I’m just so stoked about the addition of Avdija that I’m fine with either direction. I do think Cronin waits until the deadline to trade Ant, which I’m fine with unless Scoot comes back proving he needs 30+mpg. Ant/Shae/Grant/Avdija/(DA or Clingan) (I’ve bolded the guys we know will be here for more than one season) I do think Ant can thrive in this starting lineup. Last year’s stats: Ant: 22.6/3.6/5.5 (2.7to) on .430/.385/.916 (3.9fta) Shae: 15.9/5.0/2.9 (2.3to) on .406/.333/.824 (3.7fta)—He was .472/.360/.714 as a rookie when he was fully healthy Grant: 21.0/3.5/2.8 (2.1to) on .451/.402/.817 (5.8fta) Avdija: 14.7/7.2/3.8 (2.1to) on .506/.374/.740 (3.6fta) DA: 16.7/11.1/1.6 (1.8to) on .570/.100/.823 (1.4fta) Ant, Grant, Avdija, and Shae are really the only guys I can comfortably say are shooters. This starting lineup should be lights out from deep. Now, Avdija defends the best player with Grant now just having to help, which he’ll benefit from greatly. With a playmaking forward, Ant and Grant will have more opportunity to spot up as well. I think Grant is the next big trade between now and the deadline, and then Ant between the deadline and the ‘25 Draft.
