2023 NBA Draft (tonight's discussion on pg 58)

[GEE]

Simons for a late lottery pick? WTF? Any team in the NBA would gladly give you that... Take it and run away laughing at you. You people so eager to trade Simons are just nuts. Sharpe and Simons IMO are the very least likely players to get traded. NOT HAPPENING, unless a top 5 player becomes available, which is always highly unlikely.

Simons I think, could get you as high as the #2 pick in this draft... but why trade a young potential 50/40/90, Slam Dunk champ at all? I just don't get it. Sell Low / Buy High

[zzaj]

…Simons I think, could get you as high as the #2 pick in this draft... but why trade a young potential 50/40/90, Slam Dunk champ at all? I just don't get it. Sell Low / Buy High

There is zero chance Simons has the same value as #2 in this draft. The second part…is that rhetorical? If not, I’ll try and explain…

1) Simons isn’t really that close to 50/40/90. There are likely hundreds of players the past few years that are putting up similar %s.
2) Being a Slam Dunk champ has no bearing whatsoever on the W/L column of actual NBA games. If you mean, butts-in-seats entertainment…the Blazers have Sharpe, who has what Simons has, and then some.
3) Simons doesn’t play good defense.
4) Simons isn’t good at running an offense, despite being the size of a PG.
5) Simons technically plays the same position as the best player the Blazers have ever had on their roster—the “CJ” problem all over again, or relegated to the bench.
6) Simons’ skill set is suited for SG, which happens to be the same position as the future leader of the team that we all want to see with lots more minutes next year—again, relegated to the bench.
7) Simons is being paid starter money, not bench money.
8) You could just as easily say that trading Simons now is actually selling high—nobody knows if injuries or lack of development will crater his value to albatross levels.

So there are 8 reasons off the top of my head that it wouldn’t make somebody “nuts” to want to trade Simons.

[GEE]

8 reasons, but I see #5 as the main reason people seem to want him gone. Fine then... Do It, trade him and I absolutely guarantee all of you a Jermaine O'neal 2.0 repeat. Simons has looked good starting PG when Dame has been absent, against the very best in the league might I add, showing me that he is ready to take the reins.

I agree that playing him along side Dame is obviously not working, and I think we do have the same CJ issue mostly, but I think trying to convince Simons to RULE the 6th man, until the time come to officially take those reins, and have he and Dame evetually switch roles say after two more years of Dame starting would be the bettert solution. Until then, both players can still get 30-36 min/game, along with Sharpe, Grant & Thybulle getting all of the 1-3 minutes, Grant with a few at the 4, I'd imagine. Getting those above guys, and Little enough minutes, is a great problem to have IMO. It's why I think we are closer to being really good than most people think, if we can just get Eubanks some help down low, along with a healthy Winslow.

I'm not worried though cause I'm fairly confident Cronin is looking to stay the course, and keep adding young talent. I'd be fine seeing us just find a complimenting piece (BIG), to add to Simons and Sharpe, Vs selling either of those two for a less than a top 10 player. Wouldn't be a smart move.

[m0ng0]

Simons career is over at 23...sweet Jesus this place is something else.

[BlazersBroncos]

What makes Simons different from Herro or Poole? Two guys that are 6th men on actually good teams.

Please tell me, I’ll wait.

[Norm2953]

What makes Simons different from Herro or Poole? Two guys that are 6th men on actually good teams.

Please tell me, I’ll wait.

Those guys are playing on better teams.

Its not Ant's fault he's a poor fit next to Dame just like it wasnt CJ's fault he was a poor fit next to Dame. One wonders if Sharpe in the end will be good fit next to Dame for it seems apparent the ideal partner for Dame was the 2014 version of Wesley Matthews (big, strong defensive minded player with great outside shot). Unlikely Sharpe will be that guy.

Rather than keep wasting time trying to make all these loose parts fit next to Dame, just figure out whats needed to help all these loose parts fit together. With ball dominant players like Dame, Ant, Grant and likely Sharpe on the roster, what is needed to help these guys work best together?

[BlazersBroncos]

Those guys are playing on better teams.

Yes, and on those better teams those guys are 6th men, shot makers off the bench with questionable defense and generally poor creation abilities. Which is who Simons is.

[m0ng0]

And both Poole And Herro are making north of 30million a year, so Ant is locked into a bargain contract compared to other 6th men let alone starters.

[BlazersBroncos]

And both Poole And Herro are making north of 30million a year, so Ant is locked into a bargain contract compared to other 6th men let alone starters.

I agree with this. I dont think Ant is overpaid in the slightest (Especially w/ the cap likely increasing).

My primary hope for trading Simons is that at this moment the team just doesnt have the luxury to have a elite 6th man.Of the movable guys on our team with decent salary matching potential its Simons and basically only Simons (I see Nurkic as a negative to most teams, IE takes an asset to move). Take this into account alongside the bonus of finally having a non-tiny backcourt when Ant is moved and the long term poor fit between Simons and Sharpe (Unless your one of those believers in miracles that a guy going into his 6th year will develop court vision out of thin air) and its pretty clear that Simons should be on his way out if we go win-now or retool.

I dont mean to come off harsh, I just hate his fit here regardless of the direction - unless we can magically improve the team to a point where he can slide into a 6th man role - which I dont see possible.

[The Sebastian Express]

Tell me which of the teams in the lottery get number two and trade it for Simons.

Please, that's all I want to hear.

[GEE]

What makes Simons different from Herro or Poole? Two guys that are 6th men on actually good teams.

Please tell me, I’ll wait.

Those guys are playing on better teams.

Its not Ant's fault he's a poor fit next to Dame just like it wasnt CJ's fault he was a poor fit next to Dame. One wonders if Sharpe in the end will be good fit next to Dame for it seems apparent the ideal partner for Dame was the 2014 version of Wesley Matthews (big, strong defensive minded player with great outside shot). Unlikely Sharpe will be that guy.

Rather than keep wasting time trying to make all these loose parts fit next to Dame, just figure out whats needed to help all these loose parts fit together. With ball dominant players like Dame, Ant, Grant and likely Sharpe on the roster, what is needed to help these guys work best together?

ANSWER... A good coach. Chauncey will need to be really good next year. I believe Cronin will do a fine job over the summer to address the rosters' problems, so it will really depend on if Chauncey, now having the talent needed, can develop the winning formula: figuring out the right rotations and style of play.

We have great talent and depth 1-3, and 4 if Winslow is finally healthy and in peak form with all that rest. There's no problems there... It's Nurkic being lame. That's the problem. Eubanks many would agree is a great backup C, but our problems rest in the painted area. WE NEED A UPGRADE AT C, and I think it gets done without the need to trade Simons. I also think the upgrade may not have us bringing in a 7' footer neccessarily. There are just so few IMO that are worth the cost. Maybe our style of play ends up making up for having no traditional big at all.

Mark Williams is still my FAV and I'd gladly offer anything shy of the #1 to get him. I think his addition alone would solve most of this teams current problems, but he's still a year away from being really good IMO, but I'm confident he will be, and worth a slight overpay.

Or we can just land that #1 DAMN IT! That too would solve our problems, and would be much easier.

[Norm2953]

Portland needs more than any one player for they have scorers who need the ball in their hands to be effective but lack guys that can get the ball on both ends of the court.

They likely need two rebounders/defenders added to the roster to balance out the abundance of scorers. It would take more than Victor for Nurk isnt the player he was before his injury.

[PDXKnight]

Portland needs more than any one player for they have scorers who need the ball in their hands to be effective but lack guys that can get the ball on both ends of the court.

They likely need two rebounders/defenders added to the roster to balance out the abundance of scorers. It would take more than Victor for Nurk isnt the player he was before his injury.

Depends, if vic is as good as they say he may be enough on his own to put us in the middle of the pack at least

[Norm2953]

Perhaps when he's 21 or 22 but he's going to be 20 next season. adjusting to foreign country and new league with all kinds of guys wanting to test this next generational player.

Shsq when he entered the league was over 300lbs and Lebron at 18 was 260 lbs. Victor is 7-5 but 225 lbs. He's going to be bullied as he gets stronger

[GEE]

I'll admit that I know very little about the phenom, but from what I've seen on tape, the once in a Lebron comparison is a bad one IMO because their style as a player is in no way similar. I immediately think more Wilt Chamberlain (and I'm not that old) when I watch him. But I'm also reminded at the same time... remember "The Unicorn". Is there any guarantee he develops any better than a Porzingis? Chet for all we know may end up being a better NBA player 2 years from now. That's why good GMs get the big bucks.

It's hard to see through all of the Hype sometimes, but he will likely become a semi generational talent in the league on the level of a Lebron, or could end up being just just a really good player in the league like a Kristaps, and there's always Oden in the back of all of our minds. There's just no guarantee.

In the end, I'm liking what we have currently with the changes that have been made since Cronin's takeover. What I want, and think the team needs mostly is to turn Nurkic and a non-playing Winslow into what I hope is, Two dependable BANGERS. If we kept what we currently have, and add draft capital(as much as it takes) to Nurkic, and turn that into: The two BPA to lock down our painted area along with Eubanks. If Winslow is fully recovered and in prime condition, that too would go a long way toward putting us into contention. If he does return, I think we then just NEED one more giving us three quality bigs to manage the PF and C minutes, thinking Grant could get a handful each night at the 4, and there's Watford too who continues to get even better by the minute.

Don't really care who it ends up being because I have some faith in Cronin, but I do strongly believe that one more GREAT addition in the painted area is what we are missing, depending on Winslow. If he can't return to top form, then of course we will need 2 GREAT additions in that painted area.

[BlazersBroncos]

We are not a C upgrade (Unless its Joker or Joel) and a healthy Winslow away from competing.

We just got the 5th worst record with this roster and while Billups didnt help its also clearly a high level talent issue. Look at GSW right now - Poole is about as good as Simons and Poole is the 5th best player on that team while Ant is arguably our 2nd (Sharpe will overtake him next season and the sky is the limit but going off present moment).

Running it back is the worst option avaliable. Go all-in or rebuild.

[GEE]

I totally disagree. No Nurkic and No Winslow is what this team was sorely lacking all of last season... mostly. I'm hoping we return a PRIME Winslow next season, and start Sharpe at the two and Grant at a preferred 3. If we do, I would gladly run this back and focus on adding an upgrade to Nurkic:

Dame / Simons / (Keon or Mays)
Sharpe / Thybulle
Grant / Little / Knox
Winslow / Watford / Walker
X / Eubanks / X

If I could just fix for the two X's, I think we'd be a very scary pack of dogs. Focus on X! Something like the addition of Mark Williams and Zach Collins is what I'd be striving for if I was Cronin. Of course nothing will be decided, including our path forward until May 16th.

It's a waiting game for now. May 16 is Victor or bust for me. If we don't get him, I'm trading out. The next timeline will be when the playoffs end: We will have a better feel of the impact felt by all the other teams that came up short of winning it all. Who are the disgruntled players at this point? Will a star ask to be moved? Maybe, but I doubt it would be any player at the level of a Joker or Joel, so not likely someone that we would covet, and we aren't the destination a player like that would want anyway, so it's not as important to me because I don't see us upgrading that way. For me, it's still Nurkic, Scrubs and picks to solve for X.

[BlazersBroncos]

Winslow is completely unreliable due to injury.

He has played in 433 of a possible 656 games in his career, or in other words misses every 3rd game on average.

On top of that his prime was nothing special to begin with.

Any team relying on Justice Winslow to not only start but help drag them from being a lotto team into contending is grasping at straws.

[Norm2953]

Winslow is a good player for Portland but his injury record will likely see him playing elsewhere.

The team really is at least two rebounders/defenders from being a playoff team. They still haven't
replaced Nic Batum's role as the second ball handler. With a mid lottery pick, they should be able
to address one of these needs but if the goal is simply to please Dame and pretend to compete,
they can just trade their pick for another 33 year old player who will get the team into the
7/8 seed and a first round exit.

[soobias]

We are not a C upgrade (Unless its Joker or Joel) and a healthy Winslow away from competing.

We just got the 5th worst record with this roster and while Billups didnt help its also clearly a high level talent issue. Look at GSW right now - Poole is about as good as Simons and Poole is the 5th best player on that team while Ant is arguably our 2nd (Sharpe will overtake him next season and the sky is the limit but going off present moment).

Running it back is the worst option avaliable. Go all-in or rebuild.

agreed, do ppl really want to go into next season paying DAME,NURK,ATN,SIMONS all that money just to miss the playoffs again ?
now im not say chauncy is a good/decent coach but he like any other coach probably needs a team that he can mold. imo we need to go young and rebuild. GRANT is avg. ANT is avg( could get better) NURK is below avg. DAME is above avg(way above).

my point is unless we're running a good motion offense where we have player and ball movement and we have players with the desire to play defense and hustle, we will be stuck where we're at for a while and no matter how high the cap gets we'll always be riding that fence while others will rebuild and eventually pass us by.

so to sum it up imo start simi new and get rid of most of the big contracts and leave us some flexability to make moves year after year.that is something i feel trader bob and KP did in the past.