Will Simon's quietly request a trade?

[Blazinaway]

Looked at the Magic situation and they don't have a ton of guys to trade for Ant for salaries to match up. Would need another team to get involved.

Cole Anthony & Joe Ingles (Magic need to exercise option) for Ant works.

Orlando is projected to have substantial capspace this summer - 20-21 mil area

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

sure it can if they send a much lower salary player back for Simons we would get capspace relief as well, which would affect the value we got back depending on how much capspace they used

[zzaj]

...But the truth that Blazer fans seem reluctant to admit is that a Scoot/Sharpe back court is not ready for prime time. The best chance of being remotely competitive is to start Brogdon/Simons...

What do you mean by "prime time"?

IMO, both Scoot and Sharpe have shown enough talent/ability to get 35 minutes a game as starters. Are they going to be a below average starting backcourt? Probably, but that may change.

Aside from arousing a little bit of temporary fan interest, I see no future advantage to Brogdon/Simons being the "remotely competitive" option.

FWIW, I hope the Blazers trade Brogdon, Ant, and Grant in the offseason. I'd love for the team to trade Ayton too, but with his contract I don't see that as a possibility. And he showed enough toward the end of the season when he finally got a bed that I'm fine with the team rolling with him until his contract dwindles in years and is potentially more tradeable.

[DusterBuster]

...But the truth that Blazer fans seem reluctant to admit is that a Scoot/Sharpe back court is not ready for prime time. The best chance of being remotely competitive is to start Brogdon/Simons...

What do you mean by "prime time"?

IMO, both Scoot and Sharpe have shown enough talent/ability to get 35 minutes a game as starters. Are they going to be a below average starting backcourt? Probably, but that may change.

Aside from arousing a little bit of temporary fan interest, I see no future advantage to Brogdon/Simons being the "remotely competitive" option.

FWIW, I hope the Blazers trade Brogdon, Ant, and Grant in the offseason. I'd love for the team to trade Ayton too, but with his contract I don't see that as a possibility. And he showed enough toward the end of the season when he finally got a bed that I'm fine with the team rolling with him until his contract dwindles in years and is potentially more tradeable.

This is where I'm at too. Brog, Ant and Grant should all be moved. Get Ant to Orlando for a pick or two and get what you can for Brogdon. Grant would be a nice-to-move, but don't think it's a requirement. I personally don't get the DA hate from most, I think he can potentially be a part of the core moving forward assuming the Blazers don't somehow end up with Sarr this summer.

I also agree with JS, Scoot and Sharpe aren't ready for "prime time"... and that's part of the point. Being even remotely competitive next season is stupid with such a strong draft next summer. The Blazers should have another 20 win season next year and they should be doing nothing but investing in Scoot and Sharpe as the starting backcourt.

[JasonStern]

...But the truth that Blazer fans seem reluctant to admit is that a Scoot/Sharpe back court is not ready for prime time. The best chance of being remotely competitive is to start Brogdon/Simons...

What do you mean by "prime time"?

IMO, both Scoot and Sharpe have shown enough talent/ability to get 35 minutes a game as starters. Are they going to be a below average starting backcourt? Probably, but that may change.

Aside from arousing a little bit of temporary fan interest, I see no future advantage to Brogdon/Simons being the "remotely competitive" option.

FWIW, I hope the Blazers trade Brogdon, Ant, and Grant in the offseason. I'd love for the team to trade Ayton too, but with his contract I don't see that as a possibility. And he showed enough toward the end of the season when he finally got a bed that I'm fine with the team rolling with him until his contract dwindles in years and is potentially more tradeable.

Prime time meaning a 36 minute per game starter. I know Scoot has put up some decent numbers, but you're overlooking the assist to turnover ratio. Per 36 minutes, Brogdon is 6.7APG/1.9TOV. Scoot is 6.9APG/4.3TOV. Then you factor in shooting, rebounding, etc. I'm not down on Scoot. It's just that he needs development.

Everyone knows I'm a huge Shaedon Sharpe stan. But, as of now, Simons is the better player. Better shooter. Better facilitator (although I hate the idea of Simons playing PG).

None of this means that Scoot and Sharpe won't have better careers. It simply means that if the goal is to be a treadmill team, which ownership seems okay with, you start Brogdon/Simons over Scoot/Sharpe.

I know some people are fine tanking for 3 more seasons and acquiring more lotto talent. But, the Blazers have missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. And we literally have a "This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?" thread. If you can't get the devoted fans engaged, what makes anyone think casual fans would be engaged?

[zzaj]

...But the truth that Blazer fans seem reluctant to admit is that a Scoot/Sharpe back court is not ready for prime time. The best chance of being remotely competitive is to start Brogdon/Simons...

What do you mean by "prime time"?

IMO, both Scoot and Sharpe have shown enough talent/ability to get 35 minutes a game as starters. Are they going to be a below average starting backcourt? Probably, but that may change.

Aside from arousing a little bit of temporary fan interest, I see no future advantage to Brogdon/Simons being the "remotely competitive" option.

FWIW, I hope the Blazers trade Brogdon, Ant, and Grant in the offseason. I'd love for the team to trade Ayton too, but with his contract I don't see that as a possibility. And he showed enough toward the end of the season when he finally got a bed that I'm fine with the team rolling with him until his contract dwindles in years and is potentially more tradeable.

Prime time meaning a 36 minute per game starter. I know Scoot has put up some decent numbers, but you're overlooking the assist to turnover ratio. Per 36 minutes, Brogdon is 6.7APG/1.9TOV. Scoot is 6.9APG/4.3TOV. Then you factor in shooting, rebounding, etc. I'm not down on Scoot. It's just that he needs development.

Everyone knows I'm a huge Shaedon Sharpe stan. But, as of now, Simons is the better player. Better shooter. Better facilitator (although I hate the idea of Simons playing PG).

None of this means that Scoot and Sharpe won't have better careers. It simply means that if the goal is to be a treadmill team, which ownership seems okay with, you start Brogdon/Simons over Scoot/Sharpe.

I know some people are fine tanking for 3 more seasons and acquiring more lotto talent. But, the Blazers have missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. And we literally have a "This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?" thread. If you can't get the devoted fans engaged, what makes anyone think casual fans would be engaged?

Okay, yeah I see what you're saying here...

The sad reality I think is that when teams decide to bottom out it usually takes what, minimum 8-10 years before they become relevant again? And I don't think the Blazers really bottomed out while Lillard was in uniform...so this year might be the start of a very long and largely unknown period for most fans...

As for as how Jody and Cronin choose to decide between butts in seats treadmill vs. building for possible longterm success? That's anybody's guess...my instinct would probably be the former, but who knows.

[Wizenheimer]

I know some people are fine tanking for 3 more seasons and acquiring more lotto talent. But, the Blazers have missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. And we literally have a "This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?" thread. If you can't get the devoted fans engaged, what makes anyone think casual fans would be engaged?

I think you're blaming the wrong thing for the lack of engagement, or at least you're ignoring some important context. It's not just the tanking that has people tuning out, it's a combination of many factors:

* trading away the best (arguably) player in franchise history, and the only other all-star level talent since Aldridge
* the realization that the absentee owner, and her acolytes, don't give a shiz if Portland wins or contends as long as the cash flows
* a collection of boring, often injured veterans who played a lot of minutes:

Anfernee Simons 34.4
Jerami Grant 33.9
Deandre Ayton 32.4
Malcolm Brogdon 28.7
Matisse Thybulle 22.9

those guys are simply not that much fun to watch, especially when Ant and Grant are going one-on-one

* a suspicion (I'm not the only one who suspects this either) that Cronin intends to 'build' around a low-tier core of Ant-Grant-Ayton and the unavoidable purgatory that would create. Three 3rd or 4th options masquerading as 1's
* worries about the health and upside of the 2 recent lottery picks

it's pretty simple: Portland can't sign significant free agents and they apparently can't make a significant trade without giving up the best talent in the trade. Meaning, the draft is the only option, and it's pretty obvious that they need at least one more year of tanking, probably more. They have to maximize the rolls of the draft-dice when they are as bad they currently are

as I've already said: I've been a Blazer fans since BEFORE they drafted Bill Walton. 5 decades; and I've never been as down on Portland as I am today. That's because I think they currently have the worst ownership in Blazer history. And, I fear that Cronin shares Olshey's obsession for straddling every fence in sight. Which is why I'm about 70% convinced he's going to screw up this off-season and try to win next season with the 92M/year Treadmill Trio. I really hope he proves me wrong

[Skybox]

Looked at the Magic situation and they don't have a ton of guys to trade for Ant for salaries to match up. Would need another team to get involved.

Cole Anthony & Joe Ingles (Magic need to exercise option) for Ant works.

Orlando is projected to have substantial capspace this summer - 20-21 mil area

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

[cdubbz]

Orlando is projected to have substantial capspace this summer - 20-21 mil area

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

I didn't know you could do that with the cap $$.

Exciting times for Orlando. I like the rebuild they did over there. They got Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, & Cole Anthony in consecutive drafts. Before that though they got '19 Chuma Okeke '18 Mo Bamba '17 Jonathan Isaac. Kept and developed a lot of their picks.

[Blazinaway]

Orlando is projected to have substantial capspace this summer - 20-21 mil area

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

Thx for clarifying that, I saw Spotrac say they would likely have that 20-21 mil number, in any case they'll have plenty.

[zzaj]

I know some people are fine tanking for 3 more seasons and acquiring more lotto talent. But, the Blazers have missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. And we literally have a "This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?" thread. If you can't get the devoted fans engaged, what makes anyone think casual fans would be engaged?

I think you're blaming the wrong thing for the lack of engagement, or at least you're ignoring some important context. It's not just the tanking that has people tuning out, it's a combination of many factors:

* trading away the best (arguably) player in franchise history, and the only other all-star level talent since Aldridge
* the realization that the absentee owner, and her acolytes, don't give a shiz if Portland wins or contends as long as the cash flows
* a collection of boring, often injured veterans who played a lot of minutes:

Anfernee Simons 34.4
Jerami Grant 33.9
Deandre Ayton 32.4
Malcolm Brogdon 28.7
Matisse Thybulle 22.9

those guys are simply not that much fun to watch, especially when Ant and Grant are going one-on-one

* a suspicion (I'm not the only one who suspects this either) that Cronin intends to 'build' around a low-tier core of Ant-Grant-Ayton and the unavoidable purgatory that would create. Three 3rd or 4th options masquerading as 1's
* worries about the health and upside of the 2 recent lottery picks

it's pretty simple: Portland can't sign significant free agents and they apparently can't make a significant trade without giving up the best talent in the trade. Meaning, the draft is the only option, and it's pretty obvious that they need at least one more year of tanking, probably more. They have to maximize the rolls of the draft-dice when they are as bad they currently are

as I've already said: I've been a Blazer fans since BEFORE they drafted Bill Walton. 5 decades; and I've never been as down on Portland as I am today. That's because I think they currently have the worst ownership in Blazer history. And, I fear that Cronin shares Olshey's obsession for straddling every fence in sight. Which is why I'm about 70% convinced he's going to screw up this off-season and try to win next season with the 92M/year Treadmill Trio. I really hope he proves me wrong

The "treadmill trio" probably isn't even good enough to "treadmill", honestly--if we're going by the 'middle of the road'/not bad enough to tank/not good enough to win a PO series definition. And the fact that it costs that much for that trio is absurd.

[Butter]

Orlando is projected to have substantial capspace this summer - 20-21 mil area

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

I'm torn on this option. On some level, the Blazers need to get their cap healthy, and like it or not, Ant just isn't a good fit next to Scoot.

I say pull the trigger and send him to the Magic for the best picks combo they can get.

[BlazersBroncos]

But that can't be used in a trade?

They should go after Malik Monk imo.

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

I'm torn on this option. On some level, the Blazers need to get their cap healthy, and like it or not, Ant just isn't a good fit next to Scoot.

I say pull the trigger and send him to the Magic for the best picks combo they can get.

Another idea I saw was Simons + 14 to SAS for 7 (If TOR gets bumped down a slot in the draft from 6 the pick goes to SAS as its Top-7 protected).

I think I take that and run.

Then try to move Grant to SAC for Barnes + 13 (They wont make the play-in).

Gives us 3 top 13 picks, albeit in a meh draft. Thats still a very appealing position to be in, especially when the 2 guys going out are almost certainly not long term fits.

[Wizenheimer]

Spoiler:

I know some people are fine tanking for 3 more seasons and acquiring more lotto talent. But, the Blazers have missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. And we literally have a "This Forum is a Ghost Town: Who Killed It?" thread. If you can't get the devoted fans engaged, what makes anyone think casual fans would be engaged?

I think you're blaming the wrong thing for the lack of engagement, or at least you're ignoring some important context. It's not just the tanking that has people tuning out, it's a combination of many factors:

* trading away the best (arguably) player in franchise history, and the only other all-star level talent since Aldridge
* the realization that the absentee owner, and her acolytes, don't give a shiz if Portland wins or contends as long as the cash flows
* a collection of boring, often injured veterans who played a lot of minutes:

Anfernee Simons 34.4
Jerami Grant 33.9
Deandre Ayton 32.4
Malcolm Brogdon 28.7
Matisse Thybulle 22.9

those guys are simply not that much fun to watch, especially when Ant and Grant are going one-on-one

* a suspicion (I'm not the only one who suspects this either) that Cronin intends to 'build' around a low-tier core of Ant-Grant-Ayton and the unavoidable purgatory that would create. Three 3rd or 4th options masquerading as 1's
* worries about the health and upside of the 2 recent lottery picks

it's pretty simple: Portland can't sign significant free agents and they apparently can't make a significant trade without giving up the best talent in the trade. Meaning, the draft is the only option, and it's pretty obvious that they need at least one more year of tanking, probably more. They have to maximize the rolls of the draft-dice when they are as bad they currently are

as I've already said: I've been a Blazer fans since BEFORE they drafted Bill Walton. 5 decades; and I've never been as down on Portland as I am today. That's because I think they currently have the worst ownership in Blazer history. And, I fear that Cronin shares Olshey's obsession for straddling every fence in sight. Which is why I'm about 70% convinced he's going to screw up this off-season and try to win next season with the 92M/year Treadmill Trio. I really hope he proves me wrong

The "treadmill trio" probably isn't even good enough to "treadmill", honestly--if we're going by the 'middle of the road'/not bad enough to tank/not good enough to win a PO series definition. And the fact that it costs that much for that trio is absurd.

well, the Pelicans, with Zion, Ingram, CJ, Valuciunas, Murphy, & Jones are on the edge of getting sent to the lottery

the Warriors actually have 5 former all-stars on their roster and the greatest shooter of all time, and they were only the 10th seed. The Kings, with all their firepower are the 9th seed

if Cronin thinks that an Ant-Grant-Ayton led team can make the playoffs, he may be on drugs

[Pattycakes]

ORL will have a lot more than 21m available this summer and it could absolutely be used in a trade. Basically, ORL could trade nobody or just picks for Simons and absorb his salary into ORL's cap space...this should be especially attractive to POR, who is deep into the salary apron penalties -which a team near the bottom of a rebuild should NOT be. Some of my pitches even include taking back more than Simon to give POR additional cap relief...fans don't get too excited about trades like that but hamstrung owners and GMs do.

I'm torn on this option. On some level, the Blazers need to get their cap healthy, and like it or not, Ant just isn't a good fit next to Scoot.

I say pull the trigger and send him to the Magic for the best picks combo they can get.

Another idea I saw was Simons + 14 to SAS for 7 (If TOR gets bumped down a slot in the draft from 6 the pick goes to SAS as its Top-7 protected).

I think I take that and run.

Then try to move Grant to SAC for Barnes + 13 (They wont make the play-in).

Gives us 3 top 13 picks, albeit in a meh draft. Thats still a very appealing position to be in, especially when the 2 guys going out are almost certainly not long term fits.

I’d def support all of that. Get Holland, Knecht and one of Buzelis/Clingan even and supercharge our commitment to youth. Might as well.

[DusterBuster]

I'm torn on this option. On some level, the Blazers need to get their cap healthy, and like it or not, Ant just isn't a good fit next to Scoot.

I say pull the trigger and send him to the Magic for the best picks combo they can get.

Another idea I saw was Simons + 14 to SAS for 7 (If TOR gets bumped down a slot in the draft from 6 the pick goes to SAS as its Top-7 protected).

I think I take that and run.

Then try to move Grant to SAC for Barnes + 13 (They wont make the play-in).

Gives us 3 top 13 picks, albeit in a meh draft. Thats still a very appealing position to be in, especially when the 2 guys going out are almost certainly not long term fits.

I’d def support all of that. Get Holland, Knecht and one of Buzelis/Clingan even and supercharge our commitment to youth. Might as well.

I like the idea of packaging 14 with a vet to move up. I could see a team like Memphis maybe wanting something like that. Maybe the Rockets too?

[Wizenheimer]

I like the idea of packaging 14 with a vet to move up. I could see a team like Memphis maybe wanting something like that. Maybe the Rockets too?

it's a decent plan. I think Grant may have a lot more value than Ant. At least he would if contracts were equal, but his is a heavy one

[DusterBuster]

I like the idea of packaging 14 with a vet to move up. I could see a team like Memphis maybe wanting something like that. Maybe the Rockets too?

it's a decent plan. I think Grant may have a lot more value than Ant. At least he would if contracts were equal, but his is a heavy one

I’ll be honest, at this point in the NBAs history, I have no idea anymore what makes a good or bad contract in teams eyes unless it’s like painfully obvious. Grant is paid a lot, but produces, so it’s not like he’s paid not to play or has such serious injury problems that his play is diminished.

[Pattycakes]

I think Jeramis a fair enough contract, we just aren’t good, and he’s meant to be a 3rd option on a nuggets-like team where his flaws are covered. Here he is just a terribly bad fit as a 1-2 option and there’s no one currently ready to take 1-2 option cause DA is also a 3rd or 4th option on a good team and Scoot/Shae are still kids. Jerami gets a lot of hate but is not a bad player, just not meant for THIS team. Maybe getting compensated a lot for that, but good for him.

[HoopsFanAZ]

[…]
those guys are simply not that much fun to watch, especially when Ant and Grant are going one-on-one
[…]
it's pretty simple: Portland can't sign significant free agents and they apparently can't make a significant trade without giving up the best talent in the trade. Meaning, the draft is the only option, and it's pretty obvious that they need at least one more year of tanking, probably more. They have to maximize the rolls of the draft-dice when they are as bad they currently are

as I've already said: I've been a Blazer fans since BEFORE they drafted Bill Walton. 5 decades; and I've never been as down on Portland as I am today. That's because I think they currently have the worst ownership in Blazer history. And, I fear that Cronin shares Olshey's obsession for straddling every fence in sight. Which is why I'm about 70% convinced he's going to screw up this off-season and try to win next season with the 92M/year Treadmill Trio. I really hope he proves me wrong

You may be right on a lot of this. You may be “not wrong.”

I’m no fan of Ayton’s defense or lack of free throws … though what he does well on O he does really well … though I want FAR better consistency in his impact. As others say, if he made 1/2 the money, fans would like his play better. I’d still want free throws and dunks.
I’m not a fan of Grant not fitting the timeline very well or his allergy to rebounding.
And very soon — I expect Scoot will be a better PG than Ant, and Sharpe will be a better SG.

All 3 have value. All 3 are starters. Ayton to IND, Ant to ORL, and Grant to SAC. I’m not expecting an amazing haul or even a “finished” roster. It’s simply wanting the Blazers to commit to the young fellas, the draft, and having guys who fit moving forward. What they’ve already done is going that direction. They simply need to continue.

[Goldbum]

Who says Ant hasn't asked out yet?