I might not be as big of a Nance fan as some on this board, but he was a solid pickup for the Blazers. And for a team like the Portland who doesn't do well signing even MLE free agents, small trades like that one (And RoCo for that matter) is one way to improve. Nance fit a bigger need for the Blazers than DJJ. And the only reason we could get Nance is that we had DJJ's 10 million dollar salary that we could move. IMO it is worth it to have several 7-12 million contracts on a team in order to make moves. And one of the easiest ways to get those contracts is with the young players you draft. Extending Simons for 7 million would be a no-brainer for me, even if he turns out to be one dimensional because he is really good at that one skill.
Dame is really tight with Ant so I'd say there's a good chance he gets extended....if he does and Nurk doesn't that's not going to help Nurk's mood much..
Quick reported the Blazers don't want to do an extension. It would be stupid for the Blazers to have 4 guards locked up on huge long term contracts, and no forwards or centers. If after the season Simons looks like a legit rotational player that deserves a contract; the Blazers either need to trade one of Dame/CJ/Norm, or get something for Simons in a sign and trade.
I wasn't alluding to "huge" contracts....we got Nurk and Norm extended on real team friendly deals in the past...I read the tweet....we'll wait and offer him the qualifying deal offseason and maybe match if he's worth it
I think Ant will have a good year and he also could be part of a multi player trade before the deadline?
When Olshey pays a guy he sucks. When Olshey doesn’t pay a guy he sucks. Make up your minds. I see no reason to extend Simons now that he’s probably not willing to take a “discount.” Make him earn his money and then make a decision in the summer. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up being traded at the deadline, not unlike Trent was, especially if the CJ/Powell lineup works.
Looks like Olshey failing to extend Ant, the most gifted player he's ever drafted, will be one of many negatives he'll have left us with.
Simons can do anything Norm or CJ can and few things that can’t, like get an assist. We need to shed Norm and CJ. I’d honestly take a couple 1st, a young player and salary cap relief at this point. I don’t think CJ has a lotta value around the league with his salary.
simons is pretty terrible at getting to the line and slashing/finishing at the hoop, a strong aspect of powell's game. norm would be the perfect SF for us in theory if he was like 5 inches taller and 20-30lbs heavier
Yeah, likely we are going to have to trade Powell if we are going to keep Ant. Also, we simply must trade CJ. That would obviously have to be part of a larger deal for a star. His salary is useful if put together with a player who is on a much cheaper salary who is good. It's not like CJ is terrible he's perfect for certain teams.
I am not completely convinced that is true. I still think a Dame, Ant, NP trio could work in the backcourt. Not really important who starts at SG if all 3 are getting around 33 minutes a game. People seem to be bagging on Powell based on his defense. Has he really played that much at SG this year to really know if that is true? Or is it mainly based on what he has done against bigger SFs. Maybe instead of Smith or McClemore next year (and I like both) we just focus on getting a 4th guard whose main skill set is solely locking down opposing guards. No offense needed. Obviously, it would be better if he was a good shooter as well, but as the 4th guard, I think we need to find someone on a minimum contract that could compliment the other 3. The biggest priority needs to be PF.
His MAX is apparently 5 yr, 173 mil. We are at a stage when this becomes a real conversation. Not sure he gets there because he doesn't have the body of work that others who have received it have, but any hopes of us signing him for < 20 mil are totally gone now. Some FAs who have got massive extensions recently: Doncic - 5 yrs 207 mil (same draft class) Porter Jr. - 5 yrs, 170 mil (same draft class) SGA - 5 yrs, 173 mil (same draft class) Young - 5 yrs, 173 mil (same draft class) Ingram - 5 yrs, 160 mil Murray - 5 yrs 160 mil Collins - 5 yrs, 120 mil Russell - 4 yrs 120 mil Allen - 5 yrs, 100 mil Jackson Jr. - 4 yrs, 105 mil (same draft class) Bridges - 4 yrs, 90 mil (same draft class) Robinson - 5 yrs, 90 mil Van Vleet - 4 yrs, 85 mil Lonzo - 4 yrs, 80 mil Huerter - 4 yrs, 65 mil (same draft class) Fortunately, the only teams with space to give him massive deals are Orlando, Detroit, Indiana, OKC and San Antonio. All these teams already have young guards that can make tons of money. And none of them can offer his true max as is for 5 yrs. I say we let him go out and try to find the best deal he can and then match it. But Cronin might be trying to do BDA a solid and get ahead of the negotiations to build rapport with the agency(hope this isn't the case). Also a trend we're noticing of late-- hardly any RFAs get deals from other teams anymore. And if they do, these are turning in S&Ts. Something to monitor. Also want to see what happens with Ayton, Bridges, Brunson, and Sexton who were from the 2018 draft (which was LOADED).
