FREE AGENCY 2024

[JRoy]

Simons is fools gold.

He needs to be moved for whatever value he commands (it won’t be much).

[PDXKnight]

And the funny thing is 90% of this place wants to trade the only truly proven commodity we have in the back court, and hitch our wagons to 2 VERY young players who have proven nothing yet or stay healthy...Brilliant plan.

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Ant has 2 years left then he's hopefully gone one way or another if we aren't able to trade him. His contract is also probably good value at this point. I suspect his next contract won't be so good value and it'd be great to not be the team holding that Weight. I'm just about certain if he stayed in portland he'd be asking for a max extension as a "favor" for staying here. Yeah no thanks..

[BlazersBroncos]

Simons is fools gold.

He needs to be moved for whatever value he commands (it won’t be much).

Simons + Walker for Anthony + Howard + lower of ORL / DEN 2025 FRP would be about as good as we could hope for IMO. And I would take that and run. But unfortunately it doesnt appear that ORL is interested in him.

[Pattycakes]

Simons is fools gold.

He needs to be moved for whatever value he commands (it won’t be much).

Simons + Walker for Anthony + Howard + lower of ORL / DEN 2025 FRP would be about as good as we could hope for IMO. And I would take that and run. But unfortunately it doesnt appear that ORL is interested in him.

I like Jabari.. could care less about more young, flawed backup guards. I don’t like him as a throw in. Switch to Murray and I don’t care.

[m0ng0]

And the funny thing is 90% of this place wants to trade the only truly proven commodity we have in the back court, and hitch our wagons to 2 VERY young players who have proven nothing yet or stay healthy...Brilliant plan.

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

[tester551]

He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year.

How are you determining that Simons was the best player last year?

By the 4-5 metrics that I look at, (including the 'eye' test) - he wasn't even in the top 4.

And out rebounding Grant is really not that much of an accomplishment. Unfortunately that says more about Grant than it does Simons.

[JRoy]

And the funny thing is 90% of this place wants to trade the only truly proven commodity we have in the back court, and hitch our wagons to 2 VERY young players who have proven nothing yet or stay healthy...Brilliant plan.

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

I think Brogdon was quite a bit better than Simons but that’s just me.

[m0ng0]

He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year.

How are you determining that Simons was the best player last year?

By the 4-5 metrics that I look at, (including the 'eye' test) - he wasn't even in the top 4.

And out rebounding Grant is really not that much of an accomplishment. Unfortunately that says more about Grant than it does Simons.

Tell me yours and that stat made we want to puke about Grant hahahaha

[zzaj]

And the funny thing is 90% of this place wants to trade the only truly proven commodity we have in the back court, and hitch our wagons to 2 VERY young players who have proven nothing yet or stay healthy...Brilliant plan.

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

Wait. So this is actually your response to sarcastically calling 90% of our posters "brilliant" for wanting to maximize Simons' value by trading him? lol, okay man...

Everyone gets to have an opinion. If you view Simons being the long-term starting PG for the Blazers as the best thing for the franchise, more power to you.

[zzaj]

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

I think Brogdon was quite a bit better than Simons but that’s just me.

Yeah, I would agree that Brogdon was pretty easily the Blazer's best player if you factor in defense.

[Walton1one]

Yeah, Simons & Grant are so great as players that they led POR to one of the worst records in the NBA LY.

Simons 11-35 in games he played
Grant 17-37 in games he played

Simons\Grant 9-22 in games they both played

Before you go and blame the rest of the team (or injuries) for POR record, I would add Simons\Grant took 37.8% of all shot attempts for POR LY and were #1 & #2 (Simons 28\Grant 25.5) in usage rate LY. They are both decent players, and playing on a much better team with reduced roles would be useful however neither one (or even both combined) are nearly good enough to lead POR to ANYTHING meaningful.

Can't wait to raise the championship banner next year...

[m0ng0]

Yeah, Simons & Grant are so great as players that they led POR to one of the worst records in the NBA LY.

Simons 11-35 in games he played
Grant 17-37 in games he played

Simons\Grant 9-22 in games they both played

Before you go and blame the rest of the team (or injuries) for POR record, I would add Simons\Grant took 37.8% of all shot attempts for POR LY and were #1 & #2 (Simons 28\Grant 25.5) in usage rate LY. They are both decent players, and playing on a much better team with reduced roles would be useful however neither one (or even both combined) are nearly good enough to lead POR to ANYTHING meaningful.

Can't wait to raise the championship banner next year...

Why did they get shelved in March? Don't tell me they were "injured"

[m0ng0]

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

I think Brogdon was quite a bit better than Simons but that’s just me.

And he is not here now...

[JRoy]

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

I think Brogdon was quite a bit better than Simons but that’s just me.

And he is not here now...

Got us under the cap.

Now need to move Simons.

[dckingsfan]

Got us under the cap.

Now need to move Simons.

That shouldn't be understated.

It kind of gives Portland the ability to just wait for the various trades?

[Walton1one]

Why did they get shelved in March? Don't tell me they were "injured"

You are missing the point.

Let's take the record when they both played together (9-22, 41%) and extrapolate that out over 82 games (if they had played all 82 together and not sat them down to tank).

What would that record be? 34-48. That would be 7 games behind Houston for the play in. So, NOT a playoff team.

Again, fine players as #3/4/5/6th man on a good team. But as POR #1/#2 player (shots\usage), not nearly good enough to make a difference.

Grant is 30yrs old, does not fit with the timeline

Simons will be a FA the year after next, he has been in the league 6 years, losing. He wants to win, he literally said it. POR will not suddenly be winning enough in the next 2yrs. Simons will walk for nothing unless POR trades him (just like Aldridge did). If Cronin waits too long, what teams are willing to give him (which probably isn't a ton right now) will only devalue.

[PDXKnight]

And the funny thing is 90% of this place wants to trade the only truly proven commodity we have in the back court, and hitch our wagons to 2 VERY young players who have proven nothing yet or stay healthy...Brilliant plan.

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

Maybe one could make the argument ant was our best scorer or best iso player but his defensive ineptness made him a net negative or at best a net neutral in my eyes. Dame was good enough to be a net positive, Ant isn't on that level and never will be. He's had all the opportunities and hasn't been that man.

And moving forward I think currently advija is likely our best player because he's a 2 way player who can competently score. Maybe sharpe or scoot can rise to that spot if they show noticeable improvement but currently it's Deni imo. And no I'm not stating Deni to be an all star level player but even if he's a Nic batum sort of player he would still be our best player as he has the best overall combined skillset

Our hope to rise is sort of a gamble, it depends a lot on going high in this particular lotto along with hopefully a couple other guys turning into studs of scoot/clingan/Sharpe alongside Advija who is about the only guy on this team I could confidently say would start on a championship team. There's a lot of potential but certainly not a lot of win now pieces and if Simons continues to be our leader we will be a bottom feeder for a decade

[m0ng0]

If it's so Brilliant to hold on to Simons, what has he "proven"? He's now had the opportunity to be the best player on a team as an NBA young veteran--what was that team's record? What position has he proven he can guard? What has he proven to do consistently well that shows he can win possessions on both sides of the ball? If he's such a proven player, why isn't there a market for what he brings to a team?

IMO, the reality is Simons HAS "proven" himself. He's proven himself to be maybe the 4th or 5th best player on a winning team. It would be the opposite of brilliant to hold on to him, continue to overpay him, and build around him as a 1st or 2nd option.

Hmm I dunno 22/5/3 playing out of position? He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year. I think people are stuck on something here, with Injuries and a good contract there is no reason he is not our starting PG next year and there are still plenty of minutes to go around.
unless you don't want to win games...

Wasnt the point to tank last year? Gee I dunno he got literally benched along with Grant around March 23rd? Gee I wonder why? Because Simon's and Grant "might" win us some games? It seems to me he was putting up much much much better numbers than Scoot when he was allowed to play the point.

What happens when either of the wonder twins goes down for an extended period of time? Banton? Skyler Mayes?

Maybe one could make the argument ant was our best scorer or best iso player but his defensive ineptness made him a net negative or at best a net neutral in my eyes. Dame was good enough to be a net positive, Ant isn't on that level and never will be. He's had all the opportunities and hasn't been that man.

And moving forward I think currently advija is likely our best player because he's a 2 way player who can competently score. Maybe sharpe or scoot can rise to that spot if they show noticeable improvement but currently it's Deni imo. And no I'm not stating Deni to be an all star level player but even if he's a Nic batum sort of player he would still be our best player as he has the best overall combined skillset

Our hope to rise is sort of a gamble, it depends a lot on going high in this particular lotto along with hopefully a couple other guys turning into studs of scoot/clingan/Sharpe alongside Advija who is about the only guy on this team I could confidently say would start on a championship team. There's a lot of potential but certainly not a lot of win now pieces and if Simons continues to be our leader we will be a bottom feeder for a decade

That's your opinion and I respect that, but let's see what happens if we let Scoot come off the bench with a year of seasoning. Advija can lesson the pressure as he can distribute the ball also...let's see what happens. However I would look to dump Grant if the trade is right.

[Goldbum]

Deni at SF/PF negates some of Ant's playmaking deficiencies. I'm not hearing about anything Portland is pursuing so as of today I'm disappointed in what we've done since the draft.

[tester551]

He was our best player last year, hell he even out REBOUNDED Grant last year.

How are you determining that Simons was the best player last year?

By the 4-5 metrics that I look at, (including the 'eye' test) - he wasn't even in the top 4.

And out rebounding Grant is really not that much of an accomplishment. Unfortunately that says more about Grant than it does Simons.

Tell me yours and that stat made we want to puke about Grant hahahaha

WS/48 = Ant was 8th -> behind Williams, Brogdon, Ayton, Reath, Walker, Thybulle, & Grant

BPM = Ant was 5th -> behind Brogdon, Williams, Thybulle, & Ayton

VORP = Ant was 5th -> behind Brogdon, Ayton, Thybulle, & Grant

ORtg - Team ORtg + Team DRtg - DRtg = Ant was 9th (tying to look at the individual's impact on the court relative to the team) -> behind Williams, Ayton, Brogdon, Reath, Walker, Thybulle, Grant, & Camara