I have always been pretty high on Bridges. I would not have made that trade, so I see no reason why they would have. (Without Sharpe included)
That’s why going after an elite wing may take Ant + 3 1st round picks. Why would Brooklyn trade away Bridges? Because Bridges would ask them to … Dame not bringing in superstars, just the right guys … Grant, part two. Brooklyn re-build.
It is inevitable SS will be starting somewhere whether it is SG or SF by next year. Ideally, it is at SG. But we have to prepare for injuries so unless Simons is in a package that brings back a difference maker at forward, I am good with a 3-guard rotation with Dame and Sharpe. We have to assume that there will be injuries and keeping Ant would not disappoint me at all. We have plenty of decent backups at SF, now we just need to find a starter who is really good. (I like Thybulle coming off the bench) I know that there will be a lot of talk about trading our picks for a starter, much like we did last summer. Thankfully we did not, and I am not sure I would this year....but it is an option. Ideally, we draft someone who can start year one, but I would not count on it.
I am guessing with Bridges being a Philly native (2 hours from Brooklyn) and still young at 26, he won't be asking to be moved. Certainly not across the country to Portland.
saying that Ant is "VASTLY BETTER" on offense is a pretty extreme exaggeration: there really isn't much difference between the two on offense all things considered. The only area where Ant has a significant advantage is in OBPM and I'd imagine a lot of that is the Dame effect (while Booker was missing 27 games). The rest of any imagined offensive advantage Ant has can easily be attributed to him having a 27% higher usage rate and attempting FG's at a 26% higher rate. Volume skew. Ant has been disappointing as an offensive facilitator and rebounder, and absolutely terrible as a defender. Bridges is an elite 3&D player who was 1st team all-Defense last year....for good reason. Bridges is in the sweet spot of NBA value in that he's an excellent 2-way player and a true versatile wing. Ant isn't any of those things. I'd assign Bridges much higher value than Ant and I'd imagine there isn't a single NBA front offices that has the two of them even close to the same value
It seems I have undervalued Bridges and his efficiency is way up this year. I don't see him being worth more than Ant and at most two FRP's, which we could possibly offer this summer if we remove the CHI protections. I'm also open to seeing if our pick is high enough to grab a talented wing and rolling the dice on that. I still think Ant could go for 30 on a near nightly basis on his own team if winning isn't required as will be the case in Brooklyn.
If I was Brooklyn I'd 100% trade Bridges to a contender for an even younger, extremely talented player and multiple First Round Picks. The odds of them having Bridges on their team when they hit their championship window in a minimum of say 6 seasons is low IMO and were I them, I'd work on amassing assets and younger players. Bridges is young, but he's 5 years from his prime and I doubt Brooklyn is competitive in that time frame. Almost certainly, they will have much younger guys they will want to build around. I think Ant plus 2 FRP's (3 feels like a mega overpay) might very well pique their interest as Ant is younger and the draft capital is beyond valuable.
They were offered 4 FRP for Bridges and didnt budge. So Ant has to worth 2 FRP in their eyes. Or even 3 to make it a good deal for them. You thunk Ant is worth 3 FRP in the open market? That's All star territory.
I'd be pretty skeptical of that claim. to start with, it might have been a major exaggeration. It could have been 4 protected firsts, a couple of which might not convey. it could have been 2 first's and 2 swaps. It could have been 1st's several years out. We simply don't know. We also don't know what kind of player/contract was offered to match salary. It could have been a mediocre player on a really bad contract
Given what we know, I imagine it was the Knicks making a push with their known quantity of highly protected first round picks they acquired around the draft. Probably included the shitty Evan Fournier contract as well.
All I know is that all-in means all-in. If Cronin thinks Bridges is the 3rd star to pair with Dame and Grant as a contender, then Ant, Sharpe and our first round pick would likely be in the ballpark of what would be needed to make it happen. Bridges is good and plays a position of need, but is he good enough?
I think Brooklyn will look for a win-now move. They have two first-round picks (theirs and Phoenix's) for 2023 which they could trade for one more piece.
No, and I really like Sochan. Sochan is the kind of player you want to add to your team once you already have your stars in place. He is going to help some really good teams in his future. We need the stars first, aside from Dame, and Sharpe has that potential.
I was a proponent of drafting Sochan before the draft. Love his game. But Sharpe has the potential to be better at more things than Jeremy. I think you can find someone else to do what Sochan does. But what I think Sharpe can eventually become...... is not as easy to find. I wish we had both
I favored Jalen Duren over Sochan and still do. One difference between the two then prospects is Portland could have had both Duren and Sharpe as JD was acquired by Detroit using the future pick Portland had dealt to them for Grant. STOMP
