FREE AGENCY 2024

[tester551]

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

COMPLETELY AGREE.

[m0ng0]

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

Is there any explanation as to what this is you have posted? I smell a rat when Williams is mentioned in your comparison as he played 6 games? If you truly believe Reath, Thy, Walker, Ayton or Camara are better then Ant than I do believe you have the sickness also...cheers bro

[tester551]

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

Is there any explanation as to what this is you have posted? I smell a rat when Williams is mentioned in your comparison as he played 6 games? If you truly believe Reath, Thy, Walker, Ayton or Camara are better then Ant than I do believe you have the sickness also...cheers bro

All those are fairly standard and common advanced metrics. If you are unwilling to educate yourself enough to understand what those mean - I can't help you.

Williams is absolutely impactful (when he plays). Talent wise, he is one of the best players on the team. The issue is he's just never healthy.

But yes - Brogdon, Ayton, Williams, and Thybulle are all more impactful / better players when you consider both sides of the court.

[Pattycakes]

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.

Olympics aren’t over quite yet - take a chill pill

[m0ng0]

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

Is there any explanation as to what this is you have posted? I smell a rat when Williams is mentioned in your comparison as he played 6 games? If you truly believe Reath, Thy, Walker, Ayton or Camara are better then Ant than I do believe you have the sickness also...cheers bro

All those are fairly standard and common advanced metrics. If you are unwilling to educate yourself enough to understand what those mean - I can't help you.

Williams is absolutely impactful (when he plays). Talent wise, he is one of the best players on the team. The issue is he's just never healthy.

But yes - Brogdon, Ayton, Williams, and Thybulle are all more impactful / better players when you consider both sides of the court.

The fact you put Williams in there is hilarious, dude played 6 games last year, and if YOU can tell me with a straight face Thy, Walker, Camara are better than Ant I will eat my hat

[m0ng0]

I forgot Reath

[dckingsfan]

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

Yeah, this is a very young team. I think they are going to struggle at least for a few more seasons while they figure out what they have, continue with their drafting process, continue to try to get good value trades (Avdija for example) and try to move the older players on the roster or the ones that don't fit or improve.

But there is plenty of time to do this... you want to at least get through the next draft or two to see what happens.

And IF you can get a good trade by moving Ant, Grant, Williams or Thybulle you do it... but it won't be easy and this will take time too.

[tester551]

Is there any explanation as to what this is you have posted? I smell a rat when Williams is mentioned in your comparison as he played 6 games? If you truly believe Reath, Thy, Walker, Ayton or Camara are better then Ant than I do believe you have the sickness also...cheers bro

All those are fairly standard and common advanced metrics. If you are unwilling to educate yourself enough to understand what those mean - I can't help you.

Williams is absolutely impactful (when he plays). Talent wise, he is one of the best players on the team. The issue is he's just never healthy.

But yes - Brogdon, Ayton, Williams, and Thybulle are all more impactful / better players when you consider both sides of the court.

The fact you put Williams in there is hilarious, dude played 6 games last year, and if YOU can tell me with a straight face Thy, Walker, Camara are better than Ant I will eat my hat

I'm done here...
The fact that you can't (or choose not to) comprehend what I actually wrote, shows me this is a waste of my time.

Good luck to you.

[BlazersBroncos]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons.

[Wizenheimer]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons, Ayton, or Grant.

FTFY

when healthy, Timelord is the best big the Blazers have. But, healthy seems to be a short-term condition for him

[Walton1one]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons.

All the more reason in a year with a loaded draft, where you want a high draft pick, to deal these guys (particularly RW3\Ant\Grant) sooner rather than later.

I think the additions of Avdija & Clingan will make POR better, as improved health should as well. Leave it to Cronin to screw around straddling two timelines and then screw POR out of a high lottery pick when the stakes are so high. If that disaster ends up occurring, he should be run out of town, that would be inexcusable.

[Norm2953]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons, Ayton, or Grant.

FTFY

when healthy, Timelord is the best big the Blazers have. But, healthy seems to be a short-term condition for him

Hopefully TL will be healthy this season. If he's able to play closer to his 2021-2 season after sitting out 2023-4,
he will be in demand at the trade deadline. There is no reason to trade him now when he's a question mark.

[Norm2953]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons.

All the more reason in a year with a loaded draft, where you want a high draft pick, to deal these guys (particularly RW3\Ant\Grant) sooner rather than later.

I think the additions of Avdija & Clingan will make POR better, as improved health should as well. Leave it to Cronin to screw around straddling two timelines and then screw POR out of a high lottery pick when the stakes are so high. If that disaster ends up occurring, he should be run out of town, that would be inexcusable.

I think Portland will be better but in a loaded western conference, it might not show in w/L. Winning 25 games
should be doable but remember a top 5 record does not mean a top 5 pick.

[JRoy]

RWIII, when healthy, is 100% contributing to winning ball games more so than Simons, Ayton, or Grant.

FTFY

when healthy, Timelord is the best big the Blazers have. But, healthy seems to be a short-term condition for him

Hopefully TL will be healthy this season. If he's able to play closer to his 2021-2 season after sitting out 2023-4,
he will be in demand at the trade deadline. There is no reason to trade him now when he's a question mark.

I think if there is an offer that includes a FRP POR needs to pull the trigger before he is inevitably back on the injured list.

[Norm2953]

FTFY

when healthy, Timelord is the best big the Blazers have. But, healthy seems to be a short-term condition for him

Hopefully TL will be healthy this season. If he's able to play closer to his 2021-2 season after sitting out 2023-4,
he will be in demand at the trade deadline. There is no reason to trade him now when he's a question mark.

I think if there is an offer that includes a FRP POR needs to pull the trigger before he is inevitably back on the injured list.

Highly unlikely any team will offer anything more than a highly protected FRP, unless its a team like the Celtics
who would love to flip the last pick in the 2025 draft for TL. Portland's better off hoping he is playing well
prior to the trade deadline

[JRoy]

Hopefully TL will be healthy this season. If he's able to play closer to his 2021-2 season after sitting out 2023-4,
he will be in demand at the trade deadline. There is no reason to trade him now when he's a question mark.

I think if there is an offer that includes a FRP POR needs to pull the trigger before he is inevitably back on the injured list.

Highly unlikely any team will offer anything more than a highly protected FRP, unless its a team like the Celtics
who would love to flip the last pick in the 2025 draft for TL. Portland's better off hoping he is playing well
prior to the trade deadline

I don’t disagree about the likelihood of getting an FRP for RW, just that if one if offered we need to jump on it before he gets hurt.

[Walton1one]

think Portland will be better but in a loaded western conference, it might not show in w/L. Winning 25 games
should be doable but remember a top 5 record does not mean a top 5 pick.

This is true, however it makes a pretty big difference though. Below are the odds, from 6th worst record to worst record and the chances of getting a Top 3 pick\getting Pick #4 or #5\Top 5 pick

@ #6 Chances of Top 3 pick = 27.6% - #4/5 = 9.6% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 37.2%
@ #5 Chances of Top 3 pick = 31.6% - #4/5 = 12.7% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 44.3%
@ #4 Chances of Top 3 pick = 36.6% - #4/5 = 18.7% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 55.3%
@ #3 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 26.8% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 66.9%
@ #2 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 39.8% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 79.9%
@ #1 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 59.9% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 100%

This is why winning meaningless games during the year or before the All-Star break, before the tank is engaged or before Cronin "trades" vets like he has (not) before at the trade deadline, is detrimental to the future of this team. Especially when you factor that players like Grant\Ant\RW3 won't even BE a part of that future, it is absolutely baffling. All for what? To maybe extract a "little" bit more value out of a deal? Not worth the potential cost IMO.

Especially with an upcoming draft that looks to have a large amount of franchise-altering players in it: Flagg-Bailey-Harper-Edgecome-Traore. I would think for a team like POR who still are still searching for that franchise guy, that they might want to make sure they are in the mix for one of those players, rather than hoping the lottery balls bounce their way.

[dckingsfan]

think Portland will be better but in a loaded western conference, it might not show in w/L. Winning 25 games
should be doable but remember a top 5 record does not mean a top 5 pick.

This is true, however it makes a pretty big difference though. Below are the odds, from 6th worst record to worst record and the chances of getting a Top 3 pick\getting Pick #4 or #5\Top 5 pick

@ #6 Chances of Top 3 pick = 27.6% - #4/5 = 9.6% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 37.2%
@ #5 Chances of Top 3 pick = 31.6% - #4/5 = 12.7% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 44.3%
@ #4 Chances of Top 3 pick = 36.6% - #4/5 = 18.7% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 55.3%
@ #3 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 26.8% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 66.9%
@ #2 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 39.8% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 79.9%
@ #1 Chances of Top 3 pick = 40.1% - #4/5 = 59.9% - Chances of Top 5 pick = 100%

This is why winning meaningless games during the year or before the All-Star break, before the tank is engaged or before Cronin "trades" vets like he has (not) before at the trade deadline, is detrimental to the future of this team. Especially when you factor that players like Grant\Ant\RW3 won't even BE a part of that future, it is absolutely baffling. All for what? To maybe extract a "little" bit more value out of a deal? Not worth the potential cost IMO.

Especially with an upcoming draft that looks to have a large amount of franchise-altering players in it: Flagg-Bailey-Harper-Edgecome-Traore. I would think for a team like POR who still are still searching for that franchise guy, that they might want to make sure they are in the mix for one of those players, rather than hoping the lottery balls bounce their way.

Probably need a prediction thread for this. But... teams that might be worse are?

Washington? Charlotte? Detroit? Who in the west will be worse? And with the improvement in the West, wins are going to be harder to come by?

But your overall point(s) stand. Trading Grant, Williams, Thybulle, Reath or any of the older players makes sense. I just think it is harder to do those trades than we think. Winning a few extra games this year doesn't help.

One more point to that end, I doubt that any coach or player intentionally loses games - just not in their DNA. So, this is on Cronin to get it done (again easier said than done).

[Walton1one]

Yes, exactly, you want the players to try their best, but it is the job of the GM to think of the bigger picture and do what is necessary for the team in the long run.

As for other teams that should be vying for the lottery, certainly a few more, BRK & CHI come to mind.

[PDXKnight]

Everything is dead lately. Either this the team we are going in with or the silence means something might be going on behind the scenes imo