You think Ant will come off the bench or are you just saying he'll split minutes at the PG/SG position? I'd be shocked if he's coming off the bench.
Scoot (30), Lowry (10), Ant (8) Ant (24), Sharpe (24) Thybulle (22), Jaquez (20), Sharpe (6) Grant (32), Jovic (16) Ayton (32), Walker (16) We need a backup C. Grant: 32 Ant: 32 Ayton: 32 Scoot: 30 Sharpe: 30 Thybulle: 22 Jaquez: 20 Jovic: 16 Walker: 16 Lowry: 10
I think people are going to be surprised with how much more confidence Ant will play with, knowing the reports are coming out that he will be the #1 option on offense. He has all the offensive talent to do so. When Ant is the PG, Ant can get a lot of those 3’s Dame would get when he comes off a Nurk pick. Ant is very capable of taking and making those. Having DA as a PnR partner also might open things up for Ant as a PnR playmaker, given that DA is a threat to roll or pop. It’ll be Ant’s responsibility to pick and choose when to score or get the big man involved, expanding that part of his game. With Ant playing alongside Scoot, Ant can play more within the offense. A lot of catch and shoot 3’s. Fast break opportunities. Between Shae, Grant, Kris, maybe Walker, there are going to be open guys if we play Warriors ball. Ant needs to be more aggressive going to the hoop, but he showed so more much promise in that last season. Finishes over Bridges, Bam, Scottie, Finishes under Adams Finishes through Siakam, Scottie again His shooting also is rarely replicated. We are lucky he had two. Trae is another, although I actually prefer Ant. Curry and Kyrie are the other two guys from the Dame era. There aren’t that many guys who can put fear in a team with their ability to get that hot from 3, that can get off a 3 that quickly from anywhere, regardless if he’s handling the ball or spotting up.
I think that Scoot and Shae are the future of this team, I think if Ant proves himself as a super sixth man that he would have a lot more value on the trade market. So I would start Scoot and Shae but Ant would get just as many minutes. I realize that's not what Chauncey is likely to do but it's what I would want.
If we had Lowry, I wouldn’t even want him to play. Worst case scenario is that he gers backup PG minutes if Scoot or Ant get injured.
that's fine. More minutes for Ant at PG, and moves Sharpe up the rotation at SG more. The 10 minutes I had for him are very trivial. We'll also have nagging injuries and load management as is.
Gotcha... I want the Sharpe to earn his starting spot because he's the best SG on the roster, not have it handed to him.
I don't disagree with a lot of what you say, but knowing how this board (and Twitter) works, Ant will be the newest scapegoat.
Me too. I'm hoping we see that he has improved on both ends of the court over the summer. If he has he'll be a far superior SG to Ant because he'll be an effective scorer and effective defender instead of an absolute liability. Oh and I'm so fucking sick of watching undersized back courts and that might play into my thinking.
Also, I honestly would rather they work out a deal with OKC and give up 3 unprotected 1sts. They could keep Jovic and Jaquez, and try to work out filler. We already drafted Kris, and they’re still Walker and other 4’s we can develop. Unless we think one of them will be better than Grant, there’s no point of taking either one back and considering them an asset, they would clearly be more valuable to them than us. I would even give MIA or OKC some of the 2nds we have to make this possible. The ‘24 1st won’t be great, but maybe it helps us move up in the draft if we are in love with someone like Sarr. But after that, having an extra 1st between ‘28 and ‘30 are a huge asset.
Scapegoat for what? When the pre-season standings come out, we will probably be between the 5th and 10th worst teams, if not worse. No one expects us to win. Or are you talking about Blazers fans? Cause he shouldn’t care. Just continue to get better. He has no pressure of even being the franchise player, we’ve already proclaimed Shae and Scoot as the future. All Ant can do is play well enough to land him on a team he wants, provided that they love him enough to give back maximum compensation.
I'm predicting within 6 months from now people on this board will want Ant traded. They'll point to his defense and that Sharpe should start over him as the reason. I hope that doesn't happen though.
I want Simons traded. He’s terrible at defense ( and undersized) and I think Sharpe should start over him.
NO... Simons will play 40m a night. He will lead the Blazers in fantasy stats. You will like him. You will root for him. Go Blazers !!
Scoot, Shaedon are Rising Stars. It took Anfernee 5 years to graduate the Rising Stars class. I'm not buying the "not normal rookies" description. There will be a learning curve. The Blazers need a pro that can shoot. And Anfernee is pretty good at shooting.
Before we call either one of them "rising stars", then need to at least make an All-Rookie team or Rising Stars game. Sharpe failed to do either last season.
I'm just using rising stars as a general description for all the top young players. Not that actual Rising Stars boring game in Utah. All-Star weekend was a complete letdown. The stadium was emptier then a Pistons game on Tuesday. And remember, last season was supposed to be super duper "win-now" mode. Shaedon's minutes got totally jacked, as Coach Billups was running 8 man rotations, trying his best to get the starting 5 winning games. No time to leave Sharpe in the game. Playing good, medium, bad, there's the bench kid >>> Starters... yer up to bat.
I hear you, I didn't think you meant the term "rising star" are the literal game, though I did mean it. Sharpe played 20mpg prior to not being selected in the Rising Star game and even more after. Tari Eason played less minutes than Sharpe, but still made the All-Rookie team, so I don't think it was all about "win-now". Sharpe also played a lot in summer league, as a sophomore, and while he played well, wasn't able to consistently dominate. I'm not saying neither have all-star potential (they do), but neither has earned a spot on the rising stars list yet; at least in my mind. They'll certainly have a great opportunity this year!
I would love this. I think it makes so much sense to most Blazers fans as to how it SHOULD be. (not predicting what will be.) If the Blazers get a better SF in the Jrue trade, just slot him ahead of Matisse.
