Woj said the Blazers have opened up 60 mil. of cap space with these moves. Josh Hart is a keeper and brings Dame-type tenacity to the floor. And he can flat out play. We've gone from a team that was hamstrung by big contracts and poor construction, to a team that has plenty of cap space to add the needed positions to build around a healthy , Lethal Dame . Brilliant! And i still think another move is probably coming by Thursday. I like what Joe's done so far. I look forward to how he constructs the future.
apparently, Hart has one of the most desirable contracts out there. It's not obvious we're keeping him. Next year's rotation Dame, Ant, Little, x, Nurk x, x, x, x
I think Winslow and Hart are great role players. We just need to fill out the rest of the stat sheet.
I agree that prob another trade before deadline, which could explain the time line of the first trade. Im convinced that now that Joe has allowed Chauncey and Dame to help target certain players and that it is a process that will go into off-season. Im starting to believe that Joe will have the interim tag removed. Ive been a advocate of the team selling but I dont see that happening as The Sly Dog pointed to possible contingencies in the trust? Compare value increase of NBA teams versus S&P500 over the last 10 years.
I like hart, RAPTOR had his WAR almost identical to CJs. Not as good offensively obviously but not useless either. Much better defender and also one of the better rebounding guards in the league. Much better fit next to Dame, but as mentioned, he’s also got an attractive contract so he could be moved anytime.
This is the best case, rose-colored glasses scenario - and if I were Dame it wouldn't budge me an inch. At this point, if Dame isn't asking out, it's just because he really wants that Super-Max. There is no fucking way that we have a path to being as good as the team was 2 seasons ago, when we weren't even a homecourt-in-the-West team. I mean, maybe if we were Miami Dame could persuade another superstar to come here, but we aren't and he can't.
If we acquire Grant and keep Dame I will be more depressed than if we trade Dame, because it means we're trying to convince ourselves that we can contend with Dame again before he's washed up, and we just can't. Haven't we been fooling ourselves for long enough?
If we really were to try to build a contender around Dame, here is how I think I'd attempt to go about it. (Bear in mind that a lot of this is wishful thinking, but that's because the very idea of building a contender round Dame is wishful thinking.) Acquire: Ben Simmons, Deandre Ayton Starters: Dame, Hart, Simmons, Ayton and forward who can shoot and defend (ideally we manage to keep our pick, get the #1 and take Jabari Smith, failing that we settle for Keegan Murray) Players sacrificed to get Simmons and Ayton: Simons, Nurk (both sign-and-trade), Nas, probably our lottery pick How would we get Ayton? Because the Suns' owner is a cheap asshole, otherwise he would've already given Ayton an extension. But as it is, he probably thinks they're fine with the much cheaper troika of Javale, Biyombo and Jalen Smith. We could sign-and-trade, giving them cheap assets or, if they like, Nurk, plus lots of cap space. How would we get Simmons? A signed-and-traded Anfernee. Personally, as I have made clear often, I think we're better off keeping Anfernee and trading Dame, but either way, it makes no sense to keep both (they're both mediocre defenders at best, and they don't complement each other, as Simons is at his best when he's the #1 and plays for most of the game), and so in this scenario we give up Ant. This gives us a well-balanced team that is very solid defensively despite having Dame, and has a lot in common with the current Suns. Also, if we're lucky, it gives us a team that starts three overall #1 picks. (The likelihood would be, I know, that to have any shot at both Simmons and Ayton, we would have to give up our pick, but in that scenario we should insist on a first rounder in return and hope for a Herb Jones. I have given up hope that that would be Nas, or that if it were, that he could stay healthy, so we have to strike gold here.) Now, there are no doubt doubters of both Simmons (who has trashed his value - which is why we can even dream of getting him for less than Dame) and Ayton. We've talked Simmons to death (but I think even his doubters would agree that a Dame and Simmons COMBO would be one where each's strengths shore up the other's weaknesses), so, Ayton. Is he worth the max he will no doubt require? I think so. What's great about him is that he has no glaring weakness. Unlike Gobert, he can hit jumpshots and guard the perimeter. Unlike (say) Chet Holmgren, he can't be pushed around easily, even by the Jokics and Embiids. But he's not a headcase who'll sulk if he's not the focus of the offense. If anything he needs to be told to assert himself more. But I feel confident that Chauncey can do that. And if you unlock his potential, he's like a new age David Robinson: big as a center, nimble as a small forward. Now, does this stand any chance of happening? No, which is why we have to trade Dame. But hey, I'd be first in line cheering if it did happen.
Rather than snark, why not analyze? Which part of his plan do you find to be unrealistic? And what would make that aspect more plausible?
This is actually a somewhat plausible scenario. Unlikely to be sure, but plausible. Nas, plus Simons plus our pick could surely get you Simmons I think or at least they wouldn't hang up on you. Ayton could be had for a max contract, I actually see that as the less plausible part. A core of Dame, Simmons and Ayton is pretty sweet. I like this idea despite it being wildly implausible, but not impossible.
With a bad back, massive contract, tons of bad press juju & other undefined but acknowledged personal issues, I'd imagine that Ben Simmons is probably available. I doubt that Ayton is going anywhere though. The Suns owner is currently enjoying a cash windfall of obscene portions, why would he do anything to upset that apple cart? Resigning Ayton is a small pittance when the entire state of Arizona is Suns crazy. STOMP
To be a real contender to win it all you need an MVP and an all-star or two all-NBA players on your roster. Dame probably isn't a legit MVP candidate for multiple reasons. This means we need to pair an all-NBA player with him. Right now, that path doesn't look great. However, the odds of us trading away Dame and getting an all-NBA player probably isn't great. The odds of us trading away Dame and getting 2 all-NBA players seems incredibly low. Having said that, you have to keep Dame, and get real lucky in the draft. Probably shouldn't trade 5 1st round draft picks for RoCo, Collins, and Nance either. 5 1st round picks should be enough to get you an all-star.
Building around Dame is completely foolish Portland’s problem, AGAIN, is that Dame and Ant don’t really compliment each other, so if you are building around Dame, Ant has to go. The team needs to be loaded with 6’6” - 6’11” wing players that can all shoot and LOVE to play defense Think Portis, Tucker, Thybulle, Butler types Then, because of Dame, we need a real rim protector. A deterrent if you will. Nurk is a good defender, but teams don’t fear him He’s probably the greatest player in franchise history, and we can easily build a playoff contending team around Dame, but championship contending teams are built around offensive diversity and defense. That’s not something we get from Dame
I'm ready to sit back and watch as the Jazz, Nets and Lakers make changes. The way things are starting to shape up the Blazers might have some ways to land a player that could really make a difference. The teams doing well in the playoffs have length but are not dependent on a true center and they have depth to get past injuries. The last time the Blazers had a true contender they were possibly the deepest team in the league (2000). They need to add more solid players that can help all season long and into the playoffs. Edit- Not!
So, S/T Nurk (along with EBEC) for Gobert, S/T Simons for some 3/D wing, draft Tari Eason, and roll with that?
This is where Chauncey earns his money. (The bad back is not optimal, but as somebody who's had a bulging disk for nearly 30 years, they can be managed very well with the right stretching.) Agreed. But then again, everybody was kind of amazed that he wasn't signed to an extension already. And this year the Suns have won fairly well without him (Javale McGee's numbers are surprisingly similar to Ayton's), so I can imagine a scenario where Sarver wants to save his cash, especially given that re-signing Ayton means admitting he was wrong not to give him an extension (and Ayton will cost more now).
