See a few people suggesting trading Ayton, I’m a little surprised feels like he’s finally starting to mature. Talent level wise he’s capable of being a top 5 center. His 2nd half of season was damn good!
He doesn't have Top 5 C talent. He fairly easily is a Top 25 C. We just needs to consistently be a top 10 C
They take him for granted. He's by no means perfect, but he's really good. 18/10 and still young. I wouldn't be trying to give him away.
I'm for trading Ayton for a number of reasons; 1 Blazers aren't going to be competing for playoffs let alone contending for many years - Ayton is ready to win now. Theoretically he could have more value to another team than us. We need to prioritize long term value a number of years from now. 2 Ayton is on a huge contract and I doubt he will want less on his next contract. That will make constructing a contending starting 5 with Ayton extremely difficult if not near impossible. Since our owner doesn't pay luxury tax this will be even harder. 3 If we can get potential long term value for him then we should do it, as even if Ayton is still a very good starter his large contract makes his worth very minimal. Also it could open up room for other players to increase their worth (Reath/C draft picks/etc) There is a very limited trade market for Ayton since very few contending teams need a high salary starting center. But if someone is willing to give us a pick or such yes I'd certainly explorer trading Ayton. Since Ayton is young and we don't have any other starting level center I'm totally fine with keeping him on the roster too. Brogdon, Grant, Ant all should be shopped preferably in that order - prior to Ayton. If I were Cronin I'd shop all these guys. I'd expect one or two have good offers this summer and should be traded. The ones without great offers should be retained and tried to trade at the deadline or next season.
Jokic Embiid KAT Gobert Sabonis AD Wemby Holmgren Porzingis Jarrett Allen Evan Mobley Adebayo then there's the lower tier that includes Ayton, Sengun, Nurkic, Claxton, Zubac, Myles Turner, Capela. Ayton may be at the top of that 2nd list, but he's not a rim protector or a passer, nor does he get to the FT line at a decent rate, so maybe not right at the top. He can climb the ladder a bit, but I think his limitations are there to stay
Guess we differ in opinion several of the guys you listed also have weaknesses. I’d say talent wise he’s at least equal to the following Kat overrated and disappears in big moments Gobert good defender not great at anything else Sabonis also not great defender and undersized Holmgren come on I like him too but… Porz doesn’t play like a center I would classify more PF but not sure where he plays most Ayton proved he could be a monster in playoffs consistency has been the issue. When his heads into it can absolutely dominate, I think he’s starting the mature as player.
Finally have good starting center with upside last thing I want to do is go backwards in a position. good nucleus Scoot sharpe Ayton the other two positions are the concern for me. We have some guys who have potential but there isn’t anyone on the other three starters level of potential
Blazers are already the blinged up Hornets of the West. Trading Ayton would plop Portland in Spurs territory. Waiting a decade for a Wemby to draft, then start the rebuild AGAIN around THAT team. biggest difference between Spurs fans and Blazer fans waiting around for a rebuild to work ... is San Antonio won championships. SAS has multiple rings to brag about. Blazer fans are left with bragging about former Blazers that couldn't win the championship. (*Derrick Jones Jr./Brandon Williams/Jrue Holiday/Svi Mykhailiuk still pending)
Yeah even though Id prefer exploring Ayton trades, I'm fine seeing what we have with Ayton. I very much doubt we will get an offer that makes sense so I suspect he's one of the least likely vets to be traded. Scoot and Sharpe are huge question marks. Excited for that small chance they hit their potential, but I'm concerned it's much more likely their mediocre starters long term or just backups. Much more depressing than the losing last year was that Sharpe was injured so much and Scoot performance was consistently bad. Probably 3rd was that Ant didn't really improve.
Kings have 2026 & 2027 FRP's. They have the cap room to take on Blazer contracts. Barnes and a pick for Grant? That doesn't look right. They love Anfernee Simons in Sac-Town. If this is truly a rebuild... and Ant is lighting the beam. Portland will get the Kings rookie(s). It's how rebuilds work.
If you compare our roster now with Kings we are very close to them talent wise. I would Ant to them to help them take another step for picks that wont be that great anway. Trade Ant east.
I don't see how you can say that - Kings have two players clearly far superior to anyone on the Blazers in both Fox and Sabonis. Only roster the Blazers are better than is the Wizards, so were probably likely again to repeat as the worst team in the west.
None of these guys are remotely close to Fox or Sabonis. Are you trying to argue three dimes are equal to a dollar?
I said close If you look at their whole roster and remember their not that well rounded. Did they even make the playoffs this year?
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/06...ions-ham-bucks-cavaliers-coaching-search.html Edwards suggests helping Portland clear cap space by taking Jerami Grant, the No. 14 pick and possibly Matisse Thybulle in exchange for No. 5. That could speed up the Blazers’ rebuilding process by giving them two selections in this year’s top seven while saving them about $40MM next season.
I'd do it, but I'd like to keep 14. I feel pretty strongly about being able to move into the 9-11 range to get Williams. There's three categories I'd like to address in this draft. High floor/low ceiling player - Knecht Wing of the future - Williams Project player - Salaun or Buzelis.
