Cleveland is what I think the best fit and return will be. Unless Mitchell bails, Cleveland is also assuredly going to shop Garland and extend Mitchell to the supermax. A return headlined by Grant is going to be a solid return, you’ll just have to find a team that wants an AS PG. Are we giving up too little?
Cronin did a lot of swindling to put this team together. I'm under the impression Joe envisions this squad as a Grizzlies situation, where injuries (tack on Morant's suspension) caused a Memphis playoff team to tumble. The rookies will get better. They're going to need a shooter. I don't see Cronin trading Jerami Grant. all we hear is how bad the Blazers will be. Even the local media has jumped on board the Blazers suck bandwagon. i'm taking the opposite route. Whyachi's optimistic expectations. A lot of legit Blazer injuries forced an all-rookie bench to play extended minutes (before the tanking). Those rookies will be sophmores, and i have a feeling Cronin has something up his sleeve this offseason. If Portland added a lights out shooter to the Ayton, Grant, Simons lineup, Chauncey's offense might actually work. Joe has flooded the system with rookies. They'll be a couple teams looking to unload a contract for young players and picks. Would fans have a cow if the Blazers tried to improve?? Not me.
If there were a down vote I'd use it now. If this team tries to improve around Ayton, Grant and Simons it is destined for play-in losses at best. Look around at the rosters in this league. Your take makes no sense, by the time Scoot and Shaedon are playing their best Jerami will be declining and Ant is a horrible fit with both of our young guards. I like Deandre on this team and think we should hang onto him unless someone were to blow us out of the water with an offer for him. Honestly Jerami and Ant might not go but they most definitely should. Damn what a terrible post by you.
the Blazers took a pool noodle to the dome. The Hawks stole their #1 after refusing to tank. The Blazers can be competitive and still land in the lottery. Rebuilding a re-tool is no fun. Win the games, win the crowd. Then let the draft do what it does. These 3 new super assistant coaches will help. The X's & O's will be solid, now Portland just needs another big leaguer to help score the basketball. DeRozan ??
doesn't anyone listen to Coach Billups? "I'm hoping that hopefully the next time around, next year, we’re healthy, we’re better, our roster is ready to really, really compete" - "Because I just know personally, myself, I’m light years ahead of where I was when I took the job." that means no trading Grant, the 2025 Blazers will be ready to really compete.
Wish i could so easily mix up the definition of opinions with cold hard facts. I would never be wrong!!!
Grant needs to be paired next to another forward that is a good rebounder. I've always wanted to see the Blazers play him at SF, with a legit 4, and a regular sized 2. But at this point, we're so far away from being good, Grants contract will be up by the time we're ready to compete in the playoffs anyway. Grant's the kind of guy who is going to put up every shot he can on a bad team, which he did last year. It's not good for a developing team.
Would have been intriguing if we had flipped Nurk for Ayton - and had a two way guy starting at 2 guard (like Norman Powell) to see what that team could have done. The Ant/Nurk starters just didn't make sense with that group. Probably still no way to get that team to be a contender - but they certainly could've won a few rounds in the playoffs and maybe if they make one other good addition it could've got interesting.
Powell isn't a 2-way player. He was WAY overrated at defense when the Blazers traded for him. He's not as bad at defense as Simons but he's still quite bad. if what you're talking about is a lineup of: Dame (49M) Player X (20M...?) Hart (18M) Grant (30M) Ayton (34M) 151M would be the starting payroll next season...10M over the salary cap and only 21M below the tax line, with an entire bench to build (they sure could afford Simons and his 26M salary). What I see is a play-in team. Maybe with HCA in the play-in, and a small chance at 6th seed. To be better than that, Player X would have to be an all-star level wing...and he would cost a lot more than 20M. Seattle would veto that in a hurry
The Derrick White All-Stars: 10 Players Who Could Complete a Contender Hey, offer us Derek Lively and the deal's done!
