Seems like a decent thread subject. I saw a proposal online where the Spurs get Simons, Toronto gets a lot of picks, and the Blazers get OG and Boucher. I assume if Nurk is dealt to Miami, Joe will try to trade Ant for a center. * Please eliminate the apostrophe from the the thread title.
I think Ant trades have been rejected across the league for a year at least now. I don't think he has much trade value given the size of his contract and the lack of interest in him in general. We should have sold high on him two years ago when Dame was out for the season...him and Nas had their highest trade value that year.
I don't think there's a need to move him right now. I think he could up his value this coming season without Dame.
Precisely. Ant is going to benefit so much from Scoots drive-and-kick game. If Ant gets back to being a 40%+ 3pt shooter, he’ll be a serious threat to average 25apg. Ant will still be a secondary playmaker, but Scoot and Dame play a different kind of game. By the time Ant gets a chance to make a secondary play, he may have 10-12 seconds left on the clock with Scoot compared to maybe 6-8 seconds left with Dame (those were numbers I pulled out of my ass based on watching Dame play for 11 years and Scoot for a summer. No real research done). I think Ant will average 6apg this year.
Good time to revisit the deals given to last year’s guards. Ant $100m/4 years Brunson $104m/4 years Herro $120m/4 years Poole $128m/4 years Lavine $215m/5 years The one guy who is for sure outplaying his contract is Brunson. Herro and Poole both make more than Ant. It may be bias, but I think Ant’s deal is worlds better. Zach had a decent year 24-25/4/4 on good shooting efficiency. Depending on how Ant does this year, he could almost easily be the 2nd best deal out of the 5.
I think Ant is very tradeable. I just don't think that Ant can bring back the value that Cronin places on him. Typical bullshit that we've been dealing with for over a decade now. I don't think it's even debatable that Ant with his contracts still has positive trade value.
The caveat to me is playing him at SG. I think that's a disservice to him and will only solidify the idea that Ant is more SG than PG. I don't necessarily believe in that. Teams will devalue him if they think that as well. They way he builds his value is by being seen at least as much of a PG as he is a SG. Better for his value to be the PG coming off the bench than starting at SG imo. Ant has played a great PG when he's starting. Yes, small sample size. But you are what you can defend. Ant can't guard bigger SGs. They way for him to get better is defensively and offensively, he needs to get to the free throw line the way Dame did. CJ did not.
I think Ant is worth keeping unless you can get equal value or better. He has a decent contract as you've outlined, but I wouldn't have been looking hard to trade Ant other than for a high level wing or PF and I don't think any were available for remotely reasonable asking prices, e.g. Masai's insane overvaluation of OG based on rumors. I also do think GM's around the league have been sensing Dame's departure and didn't want to help us by getting that Wing or PF unless they fleeced us.
Great PG?!? Ant??? Offense seemed to flounder each time he was PG rather than Dame. Has a shoot-first mentality. Playing him at PG cements the idea he isn’t a PG, impacts Scoot’s growth and likely ensures another lottery trip (although that is the expectation anyway). Ant’s best position? 6th-man/spark plug. Then again, I’m a known Ant-be-gone person so take anything I say with some sour-soothers.
Simons is part of the tanking frat pack. You won't hear "I wanna win, this ain't fair!" from Anfernee. Play 60 games and get an extended vacation, we've gone 2 years in a row with Simons being a company man. There's no rush to trade Simons at any point next year. When Ant's contract is 2 years lighter, contending teams might bite with young guy, expiring, future 1st for Simons. Or just trade Simons & Nurk to the Heat right now for Lowry's expiring and Jovic or Jaquez, future 1st. Then Lillard to the Nets for a huge scoop of 1st round picks.
I am not much of an advanced stats guy. Is Real Plus Minus one of the more accurate ones? Interesting to me that Dame was #2 for Pgs and Ant was number 8 among SGs. Either way, if he averages 50, I will take the chance. https://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/position/2
I know a lot of people don’t think he’s worth anything. But there WILL be a team out there that will give up a decent haul for Ant.
