Post Draft: 2025 Off Season Part 2- What's Next?

[Sinobas]

Regarding Grant's playing time - which scenario maximizes other teams perception of his value at the trade deadline?

Does he maximize his value to:

A) make him a starter, defending other teams best players
B) bring him off the bench as a super 6th man, with a green light to shoot at will against other teams second unit players?

His value will increase if his shooting percentages increase. But he calls his own number a lot and chucks up bad shots. And his inconsistent motor, is exactly what we're trying to get away from. If he can prove he can be effective playing in line with the team it'll add to his value.

I think he should come off the bench. If the team is trying to "win now", which is evident by trading for Holiday, we can't mess around with playing players to try and "increase their trade value". When has that ever actually worked?

[dckingsfan]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

Reminder, Beal can veto any trade. He doesn't seem to want to move.

[Butter]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

Reminder, Beal can veto any trade. He doesn't seem to want to move.

Unfortunately, I think you are 100% correct. Now that the buy out is becoming more common, players like Beal can weaponize their no trade clause to force the buy out, so they can go to a team they choose to play for.

*** side note - I presented the idea over on the Suns board and it is pretty much 100% that they like it.

[Sinobas]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

Reminder, Beal can veto any trade. He doesn't seem to want to move.

Unfortunately, I think you are 100% correct. Now that the buy out is becoming more common, players like Beal can weaponize their no trade clause to force the buy out, so they can go to a team they choose to play for.

*** side note - I presented the idea over on the Suns board and it is pretty much 100% that they like it.

I posted the same Beal idea a couple weeks ago. It makes sense for both teams. It's not a certainty that Beal wouldn't want to come here. Not like the Suns are good.

[JRoy]

Reminder, Beal can veto any trade. He doesn't seem to want to move.

Unfortunately, I think you are 100% correct. Now that the buy out is becoming more common, players like Beal can weaponize their no trade clause to force the buy out, so they can go to a team they choose to play for.

*** side note - I presented the idea over on the Suns board and it is pretty much 100% that they like it.

I posted the same Beal idea a couple weeks ago. It makes sense for both teams. It's not a certainty that Beal wouldn't want to come here. Not like the Suns are good.

Lower taxes, family is settled.

Several reasons he (and most others) would not consider PDX a destination.

[DusterBuster]

*We've scoured the league for a deal that fits our needs - it's not there and there's no reason to believe it ever will be.

How do we know?

Read on Twitter

[Butter]

*We've scoured the league for a deal that fits our needs - it's not there and there's no reason to believe it ever will be.

How do we know?

Read on Twitter

Touche, I tip my hat to you Sir or Ma'am

[Walton1one]

Yeah, I see praise for Cronin essentially dumping Simons & Ayton, which ok, he appears to be picking a lane, but the return (one, Jrue) so far has been abysmal and then he goes and picks a long shot project C (Yang) in the draft, which doesn’t seem to fit with a team trying to win now, nor am I of the opinion that Jrue has any real desire to come here at his age, the guy wants to win, not babysit young kids,

And you can all forget the fantasy of him coming off the bench, that is preposterous because:

A) there is no way that Jrue is going to be ok with coming off the bench for Scoot, who even at 35 he is better than right now

B) most importantly, falling under the delusion that if Jrue is on the team, that Billups would not hesitate to start him, same goes for Grant.

So if Jrue is still on the team, and if Grant is still on the team those guys are starting and Scoot & Sharpe are STILL coming off the bench

The starting 5 will be: Jrue, Camara, Grant, Deni and Clingan, and if Williams is healthy, I would not be surprised at all that he starts over Clingan instead

Regarding Simons:

Noting that Sexton was traded for Nurkic (lol, really?), Clarkson appears to be on the road for a buyout & SAC can’t seem to find a suitor for Monk, yeah, maybe small SG, especially those expensive contracts are not that valued in the NBA for now, probably should’ve been dealt several years ago, like many people have stated

As for Ayton:

The buyout was surprising, getting nothing for his expiring deal is underwhelming, it is noted that they probably could’ve gotten something, but they didn’t want to take any long-term salary back, so instead they dumped him for nothing

They have enough for an MLE, but once again it appears they have chosen to sit out FA, so they dumped a guy got some space and aren’t going to use it, Which they have bizarrely done several times before

My guess is that they are not going to use it at all because they don’t want any more money on the books next year, again, for a team trying to compete for the playoffs

Then they let Walker go for nothing, which is not a big deal, he was an EOB player IMO, and they needed to open a roster spot, but they just did that by dumping Ayton, so why let him go for nothing?

Banton is probably gone, or should be, and then they have Reath, whom they probably keep (guarantee his deal), but who knows

So they have 3 roster spots open and yet they’ve made zero moves to date

There have been some interesting younger players, who have been signed by other teams, and it baffles me that POR continues to sit on the sidelines BOS just signed Minott for pretty cheap, but what do they know about players right??

Maybe this will make sense after July 6, and more players are coming back than thought in the Jrue deal or Grant will be dealt soon, but this off-season has been incredibly underwhelming/baffling and I don’t see how this team got better especially compared to the other teams in the WC most of whom got significantly better

[BlazersBroncos]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

I like this - with the understanding that Beal waives his NTC for a buyout. I would want a bit more from PHX though - likely the 2027 FRP worse of CLE / UTA / MIN. Send them the 2027 MIN or ATL 2027 SRP.

PDX - Grant + RWIII + 2027 MIN SRP
PHX - Beal + 2027 CLE / UTA / MIN FRP (Lower)

Then I would try to use the Brogdan TPE to get another big. I still like Dieng from OKC as a flyer to fight Kris Murray for backup PF minutes. He fits into the Brogdan TPE. Sign another cheap big like Thomas Bryant and hold on to the full MLE as a in-season TPE. Would think bringing Banton and his scoring back on a VM makes sense w/ Grant out.

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson / Dalano Banton
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Dalano Banton
F - Toumani Camara / Matisse Thybulle / Rayan Rupert
F - Deni Avdija / Osumane Dieng / Kris Murray / Duop Reath
C - Donovan Clingan / Duop Reath / Hansen Yang / Thomas Bryant

2-way - Caleb Love + Sidy Cissoko

2025 Offseason Acquired Picks
+ 2027 FRP (CLE / UTA / MIN - Lower)
+ 2027 SRP ATL
+ 2028 FRP ORL UNP
+ 2028 SRP SAC

[oldfishermen]

Yeah, I see praise for Cronin essentially dumping Simons & Ayton, which ok, he appears to be picking a lane, but the return (one, Jrue) so far has been abysmal and then he goes and picks a long shot project C (Yang) in the draft, which doesn’t seem to fit with a team trying to win now, nor am I of the opinion that Jrue has any real desire to come here at his age, the guy wants to win, not babysit young kids,

And you can all forget the fantasy of him coming off the bench, that is preposterous because:

A) there is no way that Jrue is going to be ok with coming off the bench for Scoot, who even at 35 he is better than right now

B) most importantly, falling under the delusion that if Jrue is on the team, that Billups would not hesitate to start him, same goes for Grant.

So if Jrue is still on the team, and if Grant is still on the team those guys are starting and Scoot & Sharpe are STILL coming off the bench

The starting 5 will be: Jrue, Camara, Grant, Deni and Clingan, and if Williams is healthy, I would not be surprised at all that he starts over Clingan instead

Regarding Simons:

Noting that Sexton was traded for Nurkic (lol, really?), Clarkson appears to be on the road for a buyout & SAC can’t seem to find a suitor for Monk, yeah, maybe small SG, especially those expensive contracts are not that valued in the NBA for now, probably should’ve been dealt several years ago, like many people have stated

As for Ayton:

The buyout was surprising, getting nothing for his expiring deal is underwhelming, it is noted that they probably could’ve gotten something, but they didn’t want to take any long-term salary back, so instead they dumped him for nothing

They have enough for an MLE, but once again it appears they have chosen to sit out FA, so they dumped a guy got some space and aren’t going to use it, Which they have bizarrely done several times before

My guess is that they are not going to use it at all because they don’t want any more money on the books next year, again, for a team trying to compete for the playoffs

Then they let Walker go for nothing, which is not a big deal, he was an EOB player IMO, and they needed to open a roster spot, but they just did that by dumping Ayton, so why let him go for nothing?

Banton is probably gone, or should be, and then they have Reath, whom they probably keep (guarantee his deal), but who knows

So they have 3 roster spots open and yet they’ve made zero moves to date

There have been some interesting younger players, who have been signed by other teams, and it baffles me that POR continues to sit on the sidelines BOS just signed Minott for pretty cheap, but what do they know about players right??

Maybe this will make sense after July 6, and more players are coming back than thought in the Jrue deal or Grant will be dealt soon, but this off-season has been incredibly underwhelming/baffling and I don’t see how this team got better especially compared to the other teams in the WC most of whom got significantly better

So what!

Nothing wrong with making Sharpe and Scoot earn their minutes. Both are penciled in to be future starters. When they are ready.

So what!

As far as the open roster spots and cap space. They created options. Since this bothers you. Until you come with a better use for either or both. So what!

[Butter]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

I like this - with the understanding that Beal waives his NTC for a buyout. I would want a bit more from PHX though - likely the 2027 FRP worse of CLE / UTA / MIN. Send them the 2027 MIN or ATL 2027 SRP.

PDX - Grant + RWIII + 2027 MIN SRP
PHX - Beal + 2027 CLE / UTA / MIN FRP (Lower)

Then I would try to use the Brogdan TPE to get another big. I still like Dieng from OKC as a flyer to fight Kris Murray for backup PF minutes. He fits into the Brogdan TPE. Sign another cheap big like Thomas Bryant and hold on to the full MLE as a in-season TPE. Would think bringing Banton and his scoring back on a VM makes sense w/ Grant out.

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson / Dalano Banton
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Dalano Banton
F - Toumani Camara / Matisse Thybulle / Rayan Rupert
F - Deni Avdija / Osumane Dieng / Kris Murray / Duop Reath
C - Donovan Clingan / Duop Reath / Hansen Yang / Thomas Bryant

2-way - Caleb Love + Sidy Cissoko

2025 Offseason Acquired Picks
+ 2027 FRP (CLE / UTA / MIN - Lower)
+ 2027 SRP ATL
+ 2028 FRP ORL UNP
+ 2028 SRP SAC

Interesting - is your concept to coordinate with Beal that the Blazers would actually cut him, after the trade?

I'm not a huge fan of the buy out. I feel like it is surrendering value. But, Beal would consolidate Grant's three year deal into 2 years.

[dckingsfan]

Yeah, I see praise for Cronin essentially dumping Simons & Ayton, which ok, he appears to be picking a lane, but the return (one, Jrue) so far has been abysmal and then he goes and picks a long shot project C (Yang) in the draft, which doesn’t seem to fit with a team trying to win now, nor am I of the opinion that Jrue has any real desire to come here at his age, the guy wants to win, not babysit young kids,

And you can all forget the fantasy of him coming off the bench, that is preposterous because:

A) there is no way that Jrue is going to be ok with coming off the bench for Scoot, who even at 35 he is better than right now

B) most importantly, falling under the delusion that if Jrue is on the team, that Billups would not hesitate to start him, same goes for Grant.

So if Jrue is still on the team, and if Grant is still on the team those guys are starting and Scoot & Sharpe are STILL coming off the bench

The starting 5 will be: Jrue, Camara, Grant, Deni and Clingan, and if Williams is healthy, I would not be surprised at all that he starts over Clingan instead

Regarding Simons:

Noting that Sexton was traded for Nurkic (lol, really?), Clarkson appears to be on the road for a buyout & SAC can’t seem to find a suitor for Monk, yeah, maybe small SG, especially those expensive contracts are not that valued in the NBA for now, probably should’ve been dealt several years ago, like many people have stated

As for Ayton:

The buyout was surprising, getting nothing for his expiring deal is underwhelming, it is noted that they probably could’ve gotten something, but they didn’t want to take any long-term salary back, so instead they dumped him for nothing

They have enough for an MLE, but once again it appears they have chosen to sit out FA, so they dumped a guy got some space and aren’t going to use it, Which they have bizarrely done several times before

My guess is that they are not going to use it at all because they don’t want any more money on the books next year, again, for a team trying to compete for the playoffs

Then they let Walker go for nothing, which is not a big deal, he was an EOB player IMO, and they needed to open a roster spot, but they just did that by dumping Ayton, so why let him go for nothing?

Banton is probably gone, or should be, and then they have Reath, whom they probably keep (guarantee his deal), but who knows

So they have 3 roster spots open and yet they’ve made zero moves to date

There have been some interesting younger players, who have been signed by other teams, and it baffles me that POR continues to sit on the sidelines BOS just signed Minott for pretty cheap, but what do they know about players right??

Maybe this will make sense after July 6, and more players are coming back than thought in the Jrue deal or Grant will be dealt soon, but this off-season has been incredibly underwhelming/baffling and I don’t see how this team got better especially compared to the other teams in the WC most of whom got significantly better

So what!

Nothing wrong with making Sharpe and Scoot earn their minutes. Both are penciled in to be future starters. When they are ready.

So what!

As far as the open roster spots and cap space. They created options. Since this bothers you. Until you come with a better use for either or both. So what!

I think that the FO is waiting on free agency to see what shakes out. I think there will be a FA worth acquiring after all the noise and when teams are out of slots and cap space. Since we have 13 under contract - I would expect to add just one more player. Even if they don't start, Sharpe and Scoot will get their minutes. It is up to Billups to manage the process, fingers and toes crossed.

BTW, I don't really love the Love signing on a two-way. I thought they should have gone after another 20 year old to go along with Cissoko. I also didn't like giving up assets to give the Celtics cap relief - checkers.

Having said that - Cronin has given direction for what will be his final year. I am happy if all that happens going forward is to sign a FA.

[DusterBuster]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

I like this - with the understanding that Beal waives his NTC for a buyout. I would want a bit more from PHX though - likely the 2027 FRP worse of CLE / UTA / MIN. Send them the 2027 MIN or ATL 2027 SRP.

PDX - Grant + RWIII + 2027 MIN SRP
PHX - Beal + 2027 CLE / UTA / MIN FRP (Lower)

Then I would try to use the Brogdan TPE to get another big. I still like Dieng from OKC as a flyer to fight Kris Murray for backup PF minutes. He fits into the Brogdan TPE. Sign another cheap big like Thomas Bryant and hold on to the full MLE as a in-season TPE. Would think bringing Banton and his scoring back on a VM makes sense w/ Grant out.

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson / Dalano Banton
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Dalano Banton
F - Toumani Camara / Matisse Thybulle / Rayan Rupert
F - Deni Avdija / Osumane Dieng / Kris Murray / Duop Reath
C - Donovan Clingan / Duop Reath / Hansen Yang / Thomas Bryant

2-way - Caleb Love + Sidy Cissoko

2025 Offseason Acquired Picks
+ 2027 FRP (CLE / UTA / MIN - Lower)
+ 2027 SRP ATL
+ 2028 FRP ORL UNP
+ 2028 SRP SAC

I’m a huge fan of this idea, not sure the Suns would give up that many picks, but maybe?

I’m actually by and large not a fan of these buyouts as good moves, but given where the Blazers currently are in their history, from now until the new owners take over, I think the MO should be just dumping almost any overpaid vet from the Dame or Dame Trade era still left over. They’ve done that with 2 of the 3 players and Grant is the final piece to go. I don’t care what comes back, I don’t care if the Blazers pay a vet to not play, I don’t care if another team benefits from the buys, none of that matters for this teams current situation.

This roster should be cheap … like barely crossing the salary floor cheap … and almost all young players from now until new owners make the purchase and can take over. From there, I would expect a much different operating model and hopefully the new GM that is willing to make bigger swings. I’m expecting the new owners in place and making roster decisions around 2027/2028. If they follow the model of stripping this thing to the studs and giving the young players all the minutes they can handle, we’ll know what we’re dealing with and maybe have a few extra lottery draft picks added by then too.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Looks like Phoenix may buy out Beal so I can't imagine them taking on Grant's contract.

[BlazersBroncos]

Here's a new trade concept - I think.

Blazers Trade:
Jerami Grant
RWIII -or- Thybuille

Suns Trade:
Bradley Beal

Blazers consolidate Grant's 3 years of contract into 2 years of Beal and save some money aggregated over the Total time span between Grant and the 2nd players total cost.

I like this - with the understanding that Beal waives his NTC for a buyout. I would want a bit more from PHX though - likely the 2027 FRP worse of CLE / UTA / MIN. Send them the 2027 MIN or ATL 2027 SRP.

PDX - Grant + RWIII + 2027 MIN SRP
PHX - Beal + 2027 CLE / UTA / MIN FRP (Lower)

Then I would try to use the Brogdan TPE to get another big. I still like Dieng from OKC as a flyer to fight Kris Murray for backup PF minutes. He fits into the Brogdan TPE. Sign another cheap big like Thomas Bryant and hold on to the full MLE as a in-season TPE. Would think bringing Banton and his scoring back on a VM makes sense w/ Grant out.

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson / Dalano Banton
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Dalano Banton
F - Toumani Camara / Matisse Thybulle / Rayan Rupert
F - Deni Avdija / Osumane Dieng / Kris Murray / Duop Reath
C - Donovan Clingan / Duop Reath / Hansen Yang / Thomas Bryant

2-way - Caleb Love + Sidy Cissoko

2025 Offseason Acquired Picks
+ 2027 FRP (CLE / UTA / MIN - Lower)
+ 2027 SRP ATL
+ 2028 FRP ORL UNP
+ 2028 SRP SAC

Interesting - is your concept to coordinate with Beal that the Blazers would actually cut him, after the trade?

I'm not a huge fan of the buy out. I feel like it is surrendering value. But, Beal would consolidate Grant's three year deal into 2 years.

I see no chance Beal waives his NTC for Portland unless a buyout is already arranged.

Ya, PHX could just buyout Beal but they pay the same amount basically if they do this trade. Balances the roster a TON and cost is only a late FRP - not that bad considering they are in win now mode. RWIII is a wildcard who makes the trade a huge win if he gives even a half season of minutes.

Apparently we have interest in Ryan Rollins - so maybe him instead of Banton.

G - Jrue Holiday (16) / Scoot Henderson (32)
G - Shadeon Sharpe (32) / Jrue Holiday (16)
F - Toumani Camara (32) / Matisse Thybulle (16)
F - Deni Avdija (34) / MB TPE PF (16)
C - Donovan Clingan (24) / Hansen Yang (12) / Duop Reath (12)

Deep Bench - Ryan Rollins G / Kris Murray F / Rayan Rupert GF / VM C / Caleb Love G

[Walton1one]

Yeah, I see praise for Cronin essentially dumping Simons & Ayton, which ok, he appears to be picking a lane, but the return (one, Jrue) so far has been abysmal and then he goes and picks a long shot project C (Yang) in the draft, which doesn’t seem to fit with a team trying to win now, nor am I of the opinion that Jrue has any real desire to come here at his age, the guy wants to win, not babysit young kids,

And you can all forget the fantasy of him coming off the bench, that is preposterous because:

A) there is no way that Jrue is going to be ok with coming off the bench for Scoot, who even at 35 he is better than right now

B) most importantly, falling under the delusion that if Jrue is on the team, that Billups would not hesitate to start him, same goes for Grant.

So if Jrue is still on the team, and if Grant is still on the team those guys are starting and Scoot & Sharpe are STILL coming off the bench

The starting 5 will be: Jrue, Camara, Grant, Deni and Clingan, and if Williams is healthy, I would not be surprised at all that he starts over Clingan instead

Regarding Simons:

Noting that Sexton was traded for Nurkic (lol, really?), Clarkson appears to be on the road for a buyout & SAC can’t seem to find a suitor for Monk, yeah, maybe small SG, especially those expensive contracts are not that valued in the NBA for now, probably should’ve been dealt several years ago, like many people have stated

As for Ayton:

The buyout was surprising, getting nothing for his expiring deal is underwhelming, it is noted that they probably could’ve gotten something, but they didn’t want to take any long-term salary back, so instead they dumped him for nothing

They have enough for an MLE, but once again it appears they have chosen to sit out FA, so they dumped a guy got some space and aren’t going to use it, Which they have bizarrely done several times before

My guess is that they are not going to use it at all because they don’t want any more money on the books next year, again, for a team trying to compete for the playoffs

Then they let Walker go for nothing, which is not a big deal, he was an EOB player IMO, and they needed to open a roster spot, but they just did that by dumping Ayton, so why let him go for nothing?

Banton is probably gone, or should be, and then they have Reath, whom they probably keep (guarantee his deal), but who knows

So they have 3 roster spots open and yet they’ve made zero moves to date

There have been some interesting younger players, who have been signed by other teams, and it baffles me that POR continues to sit on the sidelines BOS just signed Minott for pretty cheap, but what do they know about players right??

Maybe this will make sense after July 6, and more players are coming back than thought in the Jrue deal or Grant will be dealt soon, but this off-season has been incredibly underwhelming/baffling and I don’t see how this team got better especially compared to the other teams in the WC most of whom got significantly better

So what!

Nothing wrong with making Sharpe and Scoot earn their minutes. Both are penciled in to be future starters. When they are ready.

So what!

As far as the open roster spots and cap space. They created options. Since this bothers you. Until you come with a better use for either or both. So what!

Earn their minutes? When the coach clearly favors vets? Seems like a rigged game to me.

Options? What options? What exactly has Cronin done since the opening of FA? Absolutely nothing except wave Ayton whoopee freaking do.

Almost every single team in the WC has gotten better, has POR? Let me check waved Ayton for nothing, traded Simons for Jrue who is a better defender/team player, not a better shooter though, kind of important for a team that sucks at shooting. We will get an idea in summer league what exactly POR drafted\passed on and it could be ugly. Oh, and we get to watch Caleb Love chuck up a lot of horrible shots, like memories of Bayless, if he’s even that good.

So what though right? Just another lost year, seems that a lot of blazer fans are just fine and dandy with that

[Walton1one]

So there are two players so far that have been somewhat linked to POR, amongst a bunch of other teams FYI:

Chris Boucher
Ryan Rollins

[Norm2953]

Is there any hope there will be any changes to the Jrue/Simons deal?

Other than that, the summer league games will be starting in a week. First chance to see Yang

[dckingsfan]

Yeah, I see praise for Cronin essentially dumping Simons & Ayton, which ok, he appears to be picking a lane, but the return (one, Jrue) so far has been abysmal and then he goes and picks a long shot project C (Yang) in the draft, which doesn’t seem to fit with a team trying to win now, nor am I of the opinion that Jrue has any real desire to come here at his age, the guy wants to win, not babysit young kids,

And you can all forget the fantasy of him coming off the bench, that is preposterous because:

A) there is no way that Jrue is going to be ok with coming off the bench for Scoot, who even at 35 he is better than right now

B) most importantly, falling under the delusion that if Jrue is on the team, that Billups would not hesitate to start him, same goes for Grant.

So if Jrue is still on the team, and if Grant is still on the team those guys are starting and Scoot & Sharpe are STILL coming off the bench

The starting 5 will be: Jrue, Camara, Grant, Deni and Clingan, and if Williams is healthy, I would not be surprised at all that he starts over Clingan instead

Regarding Simons:

Noting that Sexton was traded for Nurkic (lol, really?), Clarkson appears to be on the road for a buyout & SAC can’t seem to find a suitor for Monk, yeah, maybe small SG, especially those expensive contracts are not that valued in the NBA for now, probably should’ve been dealt several years ago, like many people have stated

As for Ayton:

The buyout was surprising, getting nothing for his expiring deal is underwhelming, it is noted that they probably could’ve gotten something, but they didn’t want to take any long-term salary back, so instead they dumped him for nothing

They have enough for an MLE, but once again it appears they have chosen to sit out FA, so they dumped a guy got some space and aren’t going to use it, Which they have bizarrely done several times before

My guess is that they are not going to use it at all because they don’t want any more money on the books next year, again, for a team trying to compete for the playoffs

Then they let Walker go for nothing, which is not a big deal, he was an EOB player IMO, and they needed to open a roster spot, but they just did that by dumping Ayton, so why let him go for nothing?

Banton is probably gone, or should be, and then they have Reath, whom they probably keep (guarantee his deal), but who knows

So they have 3 roster spots open and yet they’ve made zero moves to date

There have been some interesting younger players, who have been signed by other teams, and it baffles me that POR continues to sit on the sidelines BOS just signed Minott for pretty cheap, but what do they know about players right??

Maybe this will make sense after July 6, and more players are coming back than thought in the Jrue deal or Grant will be dealt soon, but this off-season has been incredibly underwhelming/baffling and I don’t see how this team got better especially compared to the other teams in the WC most of whom got significantly better

So what!

Nothing wrong with making Sharpe and Scoot earn their minutes. Both are penciled in to be future starters. When they are ready.

So what!

As far as the open roster spots and cap space. They created options. Since this bothers you. Until you come with a better use for either or both. So what!

Earn their minutes? When the coach clearly favors vets? Seems like a rigged game to me.

Options? What options? What exactly has Cronin done since the opening of FA? Absolutely nothing except wave Ayton whoopee freaking do.

Almost every single team in the WC has gotten better, has POR? Let me check waved Ayton for nothing, traded Simons for Jrue who is a better defender/team player, not a better shooter though, kind of important for a team that sucks at shooting. We will get an idea in summer league what exactly POR drafted\passed on and it could be ugly. Oh, and we get to watch Caleb Love chuck up a lot of horrible shots, like memories of Bayless, if he’s even that good.

So what though right? Just another lost year, seems that a lot of blazer fans are just fine and dandy with that

With respect, I think moving off of Ayton and Simons was solid and indicates a direction. Doubling down on defense with Jrue does the same.

Right now at least, you have a five person wing rotation in Grant, Camara, Deni, Sharpe and Thybulle - everyone will get their minutes. And Scoot isn't near the player that Jrue is even at his age. But given Jrue's age - Scoot will get plenty of minutes.

Summer league is going to be all about Rupert, Cissoko and Yang (IMO). I am sure Love will do his share of chucking - it is summer league.

The next question is will the Blazers be a playoff team. Given what has happened in the west, smh. OKC, Houston and Denver didn't get worse - quite the opposite. San Antonio and Dallas are going to take pretty good jumps, IMO. The Lakers, Twolves, Clippers and Warriors will be sadly solid.

This had somewhat less to do with our FO as some luck for the other teams. Dallas and SA in the draft. OKC as their youngsters gain experience. Houston having the assets to trade for Durant. Denver getting lucky that teams were willing to bail them out.

Yes, Ayton and Simons bit us in the back side. What we have to hope for is a bit of luck now. We need to not make the playoffs and get lucky in the '26 draft.

The real rigging of the game is that you need to be a team that is almost good enough to make the playoffs and then hit it in the lottery. I think Portland is in position to do that - but it requires luck as it did for Dallas and San Antonio.

[Walton1one]

All that is true, however they could also have helped themselves by drafting well, which they have not and by being proactive in making deals, which they have not and by being aggressive at the margins (2nd round, G-league, minor FA) which they have not

This last draft appears to be a catastrophic misjudgment of talent IMO, I hope I am wrong, I sincerely do, but history points in the exact opposite direction of “generational Chinese player” to yet another Chinese player that can’t cut it in the NBA

So yeah, they need that lucky ping-pong bounce, but they could also have helped their cause much better than they have to date, straddling two timelines, holding onto players for too long, refusing to make deals/take on salary\players to get extra assets, all of these things could’ve put them in a better position than they are in now, which every other team in their predicament is\has been doing

Right now this is a team that is bound for nowhere

Can they even make a playin let alone the playoffs? and even if they do they have ZERO chance to progress any further, is that the end goal here? For majority of POR fans it certainly seems to be, satisfied with sub mediocrity (Y5 BTW) the only hope is that a new owner comes in and actually cares about winning, like Paul Allen did.