On a side note..Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II did not sign here because they want to play with Ant....Ant will never be this team's franchise player or lockerroom leader....you can't coach leadership. Team Dame..he's going to be a beast in his 30s. He didn't join the league at 18 and was given the keys day one rookie year. Scoring title....gold medalist..rookie of the year..on and on...Dame and Ant aren't close to being on the same level ..Ant off the bench is valuable and the first coach that recognizes that will change the look of our starting unit and our bench drastically .
I think Ant is a starting caliber player right now and only has upside. I think he's a terrible fit next to Dame as a starter. I want our front office to stick with Dame and trade Ant for a player or players that make this roster make sense around Dame.
I do think one should go, just not a good paring just like CJ wasn't.I like both of them and appreciate Dame's loyalty, just don't think realistically we can do enough to in the next few years to become a contender in Dame's window. Given the season he is having we likely could get a solid return even with that HUGE extension we gave him, If we keep him then Ant should be traded. We seem pretty stuck on a mediocre treadmill and I don't watch the game much anymore, I tape them and if it looks like a good game I watch it - never done that before this season.
I know that Grant is in a slump but I think he's the perfect third or fourth best player to be playing with Dame, I think within a year or two if given the opportunity that Shae can be a major contributor. The fact is that we can have three FPRs and three swaps at our ready with a call to the Bulls that likely only costs us cash or maybe a second round pick. This is the time to use everyone of those picks we have to in order to pair a star that makes sense with Dame and in Chauncey's system. I know there is no reason to hold my breath but part of me thinks all of this "Ant is untouchable" talk is a smokescreen. I'm just hoping that Joe can see clearly that Dame and Ant are a terrible pairing in the back court. What I'm saying is you are right that one has to go but I think you are wrong when you say we can't put a contender around Dame.
I know that when this poll was posted, many of the same people that essentially voted to trade Dame and build around Simons were also saying that Dame was on a downhill slide; some said steep downhill slide...he was 'washed'' so far this season, playing more off the ball than ever, * Dame has the 2nd highest PER of his career (by .6); * the highest TS% and eFG% of his career (by wide margins); * the highest 2ptFG% of his career (by wide margin); * the highest FG%-at-the-rim of his career (by wide margin); * the highest mid-range FG%'s of his career - 3'-16' (by wide margins) * the highest FT rate of his career (by wide margin); * playing off the ball, he has the 3rd highest assist rate of his career and the 5th lowest turnover rate (turnovers way down after rough start) * essentially tied for the highest winshare/48 of his career * the 3rd highest BPM of his career on a team with a flat rating differential and he's doing all this while quite obviously being the primary focus of opposing defenses....again I'm pretty certain that most of the people voting against Dame sure weren't expecting this kind of season from him... ...or the way he is playing definitely indicating he might not fade in impact, efficiency, and performance at 32-33, but rather, quite a bit later than they expected (awkward sentence department)
Don’t want to trade Dame but we could do a pretty quick rebuild with the youth we have now and from players/draft picks from Dame trade Ant Sharpe Grant 3 1st rounders and potential good young player in return to Dame
I'm sorry, but this is just seems crammed full of assumption to me please name the team that would give up even one lottery pick in the next 2 or 3 years for Dame...? The only teams that would consider trading for Dame are the contenders looking for a boost, and they almost never have high draft picks. They are picks in the 20's. And if they are getting Dame, those picks would likely be in the late 20's. And Portland is going to only get a discounted price for Dame because of his extension the only hope is that a pick and/or swap, 5 or 6 years from now, is a good pick because the team that traded for Dame got crappy as they aged out. But here's the deal: 5 years from now will be 2 years AFTER Ant's contract expires. And very likely a year, maybe 2, after Grant's contract expires the situation, and we all know this, is that Portland has struggled to reach anywhere close to contending because they only have one elite player. They need at least 2 elite players to contend. There was 25 years between Drexler & Dame. Players of their caliber are rare. But the solution many advocate here is even though we all know that it takes 2 elite players to contend, Portland should trade the one they have and hope that someway, somehow, they could land 2 elite players in the next 3-5 years when the reality is they've only had 2 elite players on the roster in the last 25 years (Roy doesn't count because he came with 74 year old knees)
I’m not offended and I don’t have crystal ball to know what or who would make offers. I think Dame gets you two picks a swap and a good young player in return. Just my opinion and history from what has happened in recent trades for star players
No worries, neither does anyone here. So funny to see the same fanboys rush in every time someone states whats so obvious to everyone else. Dame continues to be awesome, but he's in the sunset of his career and this team is a long ways from competing for a title. A little tweak here and there isn't going to make them a contender in the next couple years while his career window is still open. But lets just wait and see lol... My guess is management won't move the franchise GOAT because butts continue to be in seats, so I'm left to hope they somehow pull a dominant frontcourt talent from the top of the lotto. STOMP
What should be "so obvious to everyone else" is that this franchise isn't trading dame. Complain to your hearts desire.
it's almost like I'd said exactly that... feel free to read all of what you're rushing to respond to STOMP
