What do you mean that we wasted a year? He got a lot of development last year, I think more so mid season off the bench or the end of the season. Why is it "sink or swim time"? He's only 20 years old. We should be doing whatever actions get him to maximize his potential long term in 3-4 years from now. If that means starting him and he works through some learning curves then great. But if he's better served coming off the bench against lesser quality second units for the start of the season then we should do that.
The one thing that I think will hurt Scoot is having his coach sitting with one foot in and one foot out the door. If they are rebuilding and Scoot is going to be part of it I'm hoping they either decide to stick with Billups another couple full seasons or cut him loose soon and start the next coach working with the guys who are going tom stick around.
Do we know who will be the PGotF? Do we know if Ant can play off ball? Do we know if Shaedon can be an SF? Do we know if Scoot/Shae are the future? Do we know if Billups can actually coach? Why are Brogdon/Thybulle/Grant still on the roster if we want to tank? Why are we paying them to sit on the bench as their trade value diminishes while tanking? We did all this tanking to end up with two shitty picks in a shit draft and have no plan yet again. I'd rather we let Scoot run as PG and let him fail if he will and actually see if he can float. And if we lose, fine we get a lottery pick in a better draft. No more of this Brogdon bullshit. This team doesnt need a 22 mil vet coach on the floor.
No, we do not know if Scoot is the PG of the future. But none of those guys prevented him from getting 28.5 minutes per game. Shae can play SF at times but it is best for the team if he gets the bulk of his minutes at SG. He started 25 of his 32 games. No one prevented him from averaging 33 minutes per game. Yes, Ant can play off the ball and is an ideal 6th man. Trade Thybulle to open up minutes for Rupert. Trade Grant if we really want to tank again. However, I am not convinced that his value is diminishing because his contract is getting shorter. Either way, the most we will get is a mediocre first-round pick...so I don't really care one way or the other. It makes sense to trade Brogdon if we get a first. As for Billups, the only way we will know if he can coach is if we don't intentionally tank. So, in that case, keep Grant and Brogdon.
Ant doesn't play like a sixth man and Jerami doesn't play like he's the fifth man on the team. That would be their roles on any successful team, instead they lead the team in shot attempts per possession and usage in every game they played in. Yeah Scoot's usage got up to theirs and so did Ayton's but that was only after those two sat for the tank. When Jerami and even more so Ant are on the floor they kill the development of Scoot and Shae on O and Ant just fucks everyone over on D. Jerami and Ant are two terrible guys to have on a team you're trying to do a youth rebuild with... I realize Ant is young but unless you make his role clear as the sixth man who defers to the guys you see as having the higher ceiling or you decide he's a guy you want to build around and so you trade away Scoot and Shae, I just don't see how he makes sense on this roster if he maintains the role he had last season.
Potentially Scoot is the best young PG on the team, potentially Shae is the best young SG on the team, and Ant is already the best combo guard on the team. I don't see why the fans are making it so complicated. Ant said he, Scoot, and Shae can figure it out. So I say let them try. I just don't understand how Ant is "terrible" to have on the team. When the game is on the line and you need a basket......he is a really good option. And of course, every team needs bench scoring. (If he can be traded for a stud forward then obviously you do it, but that is an entirely different discussion) As for Grant, you might be right but let's find his replacement before we start talking about how he is hindering their development. Hopefully, that discussion will happen in 5 weeks.
The big thing we missed out on last year is Sharpe being healthy as well as Ant/Scoot injuries that prevented us from seeing how those 3 guys perform together. Missing that had nothing to do with Scoot starting or coming off the bench - it was all a result of injuries. None of the other questions you mention are significant issues. Sure I'd rather get value for Brogdon if we can and eventually Grant as well. But if we keep them I don't see that hurting Scoot or others immediately at all - in fact I'd argue they actually help Scoot development even if he gets a few less MPG. But not trading them would be miss an opportunity to add assets or picks to the roster.
Only 4 rookies averaged more ppg than Scoot, and only 1 of those had fewer mpg: https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_rookies.html
Look, had Scoot been playing for GSW his season would have been very different and likely much better stat wise.
Brogdon and Grant have to go, period. Shaedon and Scoot are the future. Try to get as much as possible for Brogdon and Grant and move on with those assets. We are rebuilding and we should act like a rebuilding team. I'm not interested in making the Playin every year.
Brogdon and Grant are not the future, that we agree. Scoot and Sharpe are TBD.... They might be the future or they might be Telfair/Webster 2.0
At least in that clip, he hit 10 3-pnts shots in a row. Not that he had a lot of defensive pressure there, but he also wasn't just spot up shooting. I like the progress... Excited to see him in year 2.
Ant isn't terrible to have. He's just not as beneficial as a similar caliber taller two way player at another position.
Would have loved to see him practicing finishing with his left hand but good to see ambidextrous dribbling drills.
This is true. But those are not easy to find. How long have we been looking for a good 2-way forward? The problem is no one wants to give up a young one once they get one.
I was throwing out the idea that Ant and #7 for Franz was something Orlando would at least think about.
