I would argue that doesn’t actually net you two firsts. The only thing that matters is what conveys. So I would see that deal as “four 2nds” or whatever conveys instead of the 1sts
Maybe you’re more optimistic than me lol. For me, Ayton, the 2 MIA prospects, Lowry, and 3 1sts + the ‘29 MIA swap would be an A-grade. That sounds more like your B-grade.
I would as well. I’ll say I don’t think Ant could get us 2 unprotected 1sts. He needs to show he’s a 25ppg kind of guy to get a prospect + 2 unprotected 1sts back, imo.
It's things like this that make the difference between a contender and a team that just gets to the playoffs. IMO you need that player that is willing to come off the bench and make the team better to win the big games. If CJ and to some extent Stotts had been willing to have him as a 6th man and fill that starting role with a true SG with size that could play some defense the Blazers become a much better team. The 6th man can be the guy in the game at the end. Many are just as valuable to a team as any starter.
I'm never going to worry about money if the team is a contender. It's when they aren't and you are hard capped that seems to be the problem.
The money thing is so over-said. The money has to go somewhere. You have to pay for good players and to be competitive.
Blazers spent 7 seasons choosing a no-defense 6'3 SG. It was a bad choice every one of those seasons. Looks like they are still choosing to go with a no-defense 6'3 SG. Dumb as hell in 2015....still dumb as hell in 2023
Yeah I just don’t get it. It’s almost like the Blazers only prioritize offense. It’s been apparent in the construction of the roster for the last 10-15 years. How about some players with length and defensive versatility? Good grief! There’s more to the game than just putting the ball through the hoop.
I think for the long-term, Ant would be great coming off the bench. In the short-term, I could see them wanting to let Ant inflate his value without Dame before shipping him off for someone who might fit better.
I hope they at least do a 3 guard rotation with Sharpe so we're only playing two small guards ~16 minutes per game.
That's fair, I think I'm measuring <gestures> all of this against another team jumping into the fray during the season. Within the context of a pre-training camp move yes, that's probably an A-.
the idea of Ant as a 6th man is a good idea...that will not happen in Portland, IMO the idea that Ant can somehow enhance his value by putting up bigger stats on a bad team is a bad idea. His PPG isn't what's setting his value...it's that he's an undersized SG who plays terrible defense and can't play wing or be a 2-way player. Inflated stats won't alter those factors ************************************************************** what I fear is that Portland, in order to justify keeping Ant and starting him at SG will switch Sharpe to SF....if they do, geeeeezuzzzz, they just never learn: Draft Express tabulates average height by position based on combine measurements PG - 6'1 ¼" SG - 6'4 ¼" SF - 6'5 ¾" PF - 6'7 ¾" C - 6'9 ½" this website tracks height by position from 1952-2022: https://www.thehoopsgeek.com/average-nba-height/ it says in 2022, average height was: PG - 6'2.5" SG - 6'4.5" SF - 6'6.5" PF - 6'8.25" C - 6'10.25 * Scoot wasn't measured at the combine, but there was a report from the Blazers that said they measured him as 6'2 ¼. So, he may be sightly taller than the average PG, or more likely the same size as average * Simons was measured as 6'2 ¼ in the 2018 combine, so he's 2-2.25 inches shorter than average * Sharpe was measured as 6'4 ¼; so he's an average sized SG, but he'd be 2 inches shorter than the average sized SF * Grant was measured as 6'6 ½" at the combine in 2014. So he'd be an average height SF; but he'd be around 1.5 inches shorter than the average height for a PF ************************************************** which would mean, if the Blazers started Scoot-Ant-Sharpe-Grant, by position the Blazer would be PG - even SG - minus 2-2.25 inches SF - minus 2-2.25 inches PF - minus 1.5 inches C - even...maybe when will the Blazers finally learn the lesson they have been taught over and over in the Olshey era...and the CJ/Ant/Powell era? we just saw the Nuggets win the finals after breezing thru the playoffs, and the biggest reason, other than Jokic, was because they dominated opponents with size. At wing, they were 6'5 - 6'10 - 6'9. Portland would be 6'3 - 6'5 - 6'7, (-2/-5/-2), and that's being generous however, all it would need is to take the massive square peg of Simons out of the Blazer starting lineup, find a real PF, and the equation dramatically changes
