In a normal situation when we are trying to compete and win games….I believe the best player can be measured differently than our situation. In our situation I believe it’s measured by which player can get his and has the most value in the eyes of other teams. I truly believe ANT could fetch us the most talent followed closely by Ayton.
The entire internet has only been able to come up with Orlando as a potential suitor for Anfernee. And Orlando doesn't seem interested. Short shooting guards who can't play defense are ten-a-penny in this league, and every one of them can get super hot once in a while. So, like I said, even if Simons was our best player (he isn't) he wouldn't be our best asset. (Neither is Ayton, BTW, otherwise we wouldn't've got him on the cheap while offloading a player we didn't want.)
The best player is what player would increase this teams wins the most over 82 games vs whoever the 10th man is that isn't playing. Ant probably contributes 4 wins? Grant maybe similar? Can make a strong case it was Brogdon or Grant last season. I don't see how any of Ant, Grant, Ayton, Deni are wrong answers. Can argue for any of them being our best player right now. Most fans are probably hoping Scoot or Sharpe becomes that, but they weren't last year. The problem with the Blazers isn't choosing which one is the best player. The problem is one of them is the best player.
Which is not the measure of the best player on the team. I can assure you Draymond Green was not the 2nd guy on the call sheet opposing scouts were scheming about - but he was for most of GSW's run (non-KD years) GSW's 2nd best player.
Ant's WinShare last year was 2.2, Grant was 2.7, Brogdon 2.6 and DA at 3.9 was the highest on the team. If you go by WS/48 and ignoew RW3 and his limited play time, Brogdon was the highest on the team with .111, DA 2nd at .106 and Ant at 0.68 trailing DR, JW, MT and Grant. I think it is pretty clear that Ant, as electric as he can be, at times, on offense, is not great for team success using the Win Shares formula. Maybe the best offensive player on the team (where best is talent realized), but not the best player on the team imho.
What does who he is hypothetically traded for and being the best player have to do with each other? Realistically, and the numbers seem to support it, DA or Brogdon were Portland's best players last year, one of them is no longer around, but I suspect deni might actually be an upgrade, so I still don't think he is Portland's best player. Now, who is he worth trading for is a separate question all together
I'm really disappointed with how little content that has been shared/produced about training camp. At least provide 2-3 minutes of scrimmage film
