I’m seeing people saying Simons isn’t any better fi than CJ. So if not, who is? I threw in some potentially available players.
For me it's a bigger shooting guard 6'5" or taller that can defend and shoot the three. You find that guy and he's ideal for Dame in the back court. There are a lot of guys in the league that fit that description but Ant isn't one of them. Hart could be but then we'd need a different SF or a difference maker at C.
Hart works but then we need a bigger SF and for me Nurk isn't the best fit in Chauncey's system at C. So I think there needs to be multiple trades but Cronin has shown that he's up for doing that.
Dillion Brooks can both score and defend. He can swing the same way Hart can. If you had Payton, Hart & Brooks on this team along with Dame,Grant, & Nurk? There is enough scoring there to offset Simons but you improve your D big time, which is imo, the number one priority.
I think you could go either LaVine or DeRozan. I wouldn’t give Sharpe for either though. I think the Blazers (Just like the Dame & CJ backcourt) will be gun shy and just hold onto the backcourt that they have, just to find out it’s not going to work as well as they had hoped.
Hart would be fine for a couple of years until Sharpe develops. The bigger issue is who can you get at SF for Ant?
are we talking realistic options? If not than Jalen Brown & Jimmy Butler. I'm also not sure that it has to be a prototype 6'5 & over SG. Somebody like JRue Holiday or Tyrese Haliburton or Tyler Herro would be really good partners for Dame but they aren't realistic. And while it may be more realistic to move Simons to 6th man and Hart to SG, that's unlikely to make the Blazers significantly better. Simons already spends 12 or 13 minutes a game playing without Dame. so, to be realistic, it's almost certain that trading Simons, a guard, for a better guard is very unlikely. Much better chance of trading him for a better fit at one of the forward spots. I'm not as big a fan of Anunoby as many are, but I'd think a lineup of Dame-Hart-OG-Grant-Nurkic would be better than what Portland currently has. Not sure how realistic an Ant for OG trade is, probably not very, but that might be a starting point to work down from
You can only hide one guard on defense....I voted Josh Hart next to Dame. Transition buckets, second chance pts...corner threes and awesome defense at the 1 guard.
Grant can play either forward spot. Get another quality forward who is more of a 4/5 and the pieces already here fit a lot better. STOMP
If not for his very worrisome knee, he'd be sort of ideal. A better passer and defender than Dame, SG size, and vastly improved 3-point shooting. But if not for his very worrisome knee, he wouldn't be considered available, so...
I'm sort of a fan of Caruso, too. DeRozan is too old and too ball-dominant, so I'll put him third out of the Bulls players, even though he's a season away from greatness. I would put Lavine infinity of the Bulls players, because he's a luh-HOO-zer AND his knees are shot.
Jaylin Brownwould be perfect. He might be my favorite player. Does everything well, has good size and a killer instinct. I think he’s just as important as Tatum to that team. But acquiring him is a pipe dream