Game 1; Portland vs Sacramento 7:00pm Root,Root+

[Case2012]

Dream scenario. Trade Simons for OG plus salary. No, I don't know how to do that... Or why Toronto does that... But still. Trade Nurkic and a pick to Indy for Turner.

New team

Dame/Payton
Hart/Sharpe
Og/Nas
Grant/Winslow
Turner/... Cousins?... Whiteside?

Maybe Simons to Toronto, Nurkic and Hield to LA( yes I know, blasphemy), Turner and OG to Portland.. Westbrook and picks where needed to Indy.

Yes the salary would be high, but that's the team you go all in for. Maybe Jody would do it if she could be convinced it's a contender and make the team more valuable.

[Norm2953]

Let's not get too carries away for the Kings were playing with Keegan Murray who quite possibly
could be the rookie of the year. It's just one game and that small ball lineup isn't going to work
against any team with a legit big

[BNM]

Let's not get too carries away for the Kings were playing with Keegan Murray who quite possibly
could be the rookie of the year. It's just one game and that small ball lineup isn't going to work
against any team with a legit big

I realize Domantas Sabonis isn't Jokic of Embiid, but he is a 2x All Star. Not that I put too much stock in these subjective rankings, but ESPN ranks him as the 47th best player in the league and CBSSports has him at 50 (and ranks him as the 6th best center).

Yes, they were missing their rookie lottery pick, but it's not like Sabonis is a scrub.

But, I agree, it was just one game and I doubt SAC had prepared for POR's small ball line up.

[zzaj]

I feel like there has been way too much Ant bashing on the internet today. Ant+Sharpe is going to be the best backcourt we've had. IDK that either will reach peak Dame levels but as a duo I see a brighter future than Dame/CJ.

I’m not really sure I understand this thinking…neither will likely be as good as Lillard or CJ, but together they will be better than Lillard/CJ?

I haven’t been looking around the internet for Ant bashing, and it’s after 1 chucker-ish type game, but at this point I think we’re getting close to what we’re going to see out of Ant. Does he have some ceiling left? Sure…he could. But I find it doubtful that he’s going to magically turn into a defensive, offensive or playmaking juggernaut in the next couple of years.

If he’s fortunate with a great situation, he’ll continue to push his numbers a little bit.

[Myth]

After watching the game, I'm pretty hyped about Sharpe, and I'm pretty down on Nurkic/lack of a backup center. What do you guys think the Spurs would want for Poeltl as they are tanking that would also open up minutes for Sharpe? I think once Payton comes back, there won't be enough minutes to go around the guard positions, so I think one of Payton/Little/Simons/Hart would need to go, and depending on which, a pick may be needed. Simons to me makes the most sense as a player as he is a young and talented guy for the Spurs, but then the contracts get tough, unless Spurs can and are willing to absorb the salary. Just curious what all of you think and clearly the thought isn't formulated enough to actually present to the Trade Board.

Two potential issues:

Ant can't be traded until Jan 15, 2023. If the goal is to compete this season, can we afford to wait that long to make a trade to improve the team?

Poeltl is on the last year of his deal and will become an unrestricted free agent come next summer. Will we be able to afford to resign him? If not, we risk losing him for nothing. Do we give up Ant for a half season rental that will make us better, but not make us contenders?

I guess that gives us until January to assess. Getting off Simons contract might not be a bad thing if Sharpe is the real deal.

[BNM]

After watching the game, I'm pretty hyped about Sharpe, and I'm pretty down on Nurkic/lack of a backup center. What do you guys think the Spurs would want for Poeltl as they are tanking that would also open up minutes for Sharpe? I think once Payton comes back, there won't be enough minutes to go around the guard positions, so I think one of Payton/Little/Simons/Hart would need to go, and depending on which, a pick may be needed. Simons to me makes the most sense as a player as he is a young and talented guy for the Spurs, but then the contracts get tough, unless Spurs can and are willing to absorb the salary. Just curious what all of you think and clearly the thought isn't formulated enough to actually present to the Trade Board.

Two potential issues:

Ant can't be traded until Jan 15, 2023. If the goal is to compete this season, can we afford to wait that long to make a trade to improve the team?

Poeltl is on the last year of his deal and will become an unrestricted free agent come next summer. Will we be able to afford to resign him? If not, we risk losing him for nothing. Do we give up Ant for a half season rental that will make us better, but not make us contenders?

I guess that gives us until January to assess. Getting off Simons contract might not be a bad thing if Sharpe is the real deal.

I guess that depends on long term goals. Ant is only 23 and has shown flashes of being a good primary ballhandler/distributor. The problem is, that is also Dame's role. I fear we are right back where we were with Dame and CJ - only Dame may be past his prime and Ant hasn't yet reached his. At least Dame and CJ were on the same timeline.

It's probably too early to hit the panic button, but we need to see if Ant can thrive playing next to Dame. Then, if not, is it wiser to trade Dame for young players and picks, or trade Ant? I've never been a "Trade Dame" guy, but Ant and Sharpe could turn into a great, young backcourt if Ant isn't playing in Dame's shadow. Ant/Sharpe is far less redundant that Dame/CJ or Dame/Ant.

Edit: Ant's salary is only projected to b 18% of the cap for the duration of his extension. Dame's salary is currently 34% of the cap and will increase to 40% of the cap in his final two seasons. As much as I'd hate to see Dame go, it would certainly give POR much more future flexibility.

[m0ng0]

Dame plays like crap and we want to trade Ant? WTF?

[Wizenheimer]

Ant+Sharpe is going to be the best backcourt we've had.

in Blazer history?

Clyde & Terry say hi

[Wizenheimer]

Dame plays like crap and we want to trade Ant? WTF?

Dame scored 20 points on 18 shots; Ant scored 22 points on 22 shots. Dame had a 32% assist rate; Ant had a 10% assist rate. They both shot poorly ("like crap"), but Dame ran the offense a lot better

[soobias]

ANT+ Sharpe wouldn't be imho cuz neither are true facilitators and they gotta play on both ends of the court.

[CDM_Stats]

Shaedon was extremely impressive, but was hard to watch the lackluster perimeter defense. Hopefully Payton addresses that when he returns. Dont think the logical move is to trade Ant though. Also not super happy that the most important part of the Powell/RoCo trade looks to be Justise instead of Keon. But a win's a win, young guys need to learn how.

[PDXKnight]

Ant+Sharpe is going to be the best backcourt we've had.

in Blazer history?

Clyde & Terry say hi

Lol yes this. It's way too early to declare them the goat in team history. Although ironically simons/sharpe is more similar to the Clyde/portrr combo than dame/cj at least going off style & athleticism alone. Sharpes size makes him a guy you just want to pull for as a SGOTF

[GEE]

On a positive note.. I think we are picking up right where we left off last year, but now adding more major ingredients to the mix with Dame, Grant and (way sooner than expected I'm sure) Sharpe. I believe that the finished product as envisioned be Cronin and Chauncey is still a year away: A cake that's half-baked. I think there will continue to be heavy experimentation with lineups, and a very fair and open competition to find the right pieces to keep, and those we use to massively(I hope) upgrade the PF/C rotation.

The biggest negative for me so far has been Nurkic, and it's not even close. Out of shape it seems, and completely unpolished game. With the exception of some short spurts, he's looked like trash so far. As heavy as he obviously is, I'm gravely concerned about injury to the big fella. Too bad, because he was looking bouncier than ever by last season's end, and he just got PAYED. Disappointed with him mostly.

One thing I know for sure, RIP CITY's BACK! I'm dreaming daily about what the starting 5 will be one year from today because there are many possibilities now, whereas a year ago, it felt like we were just stuck.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Was happy with Sharpe. Cant get too excited yet though.

Absolutely love the hustle by Hart.

Really happy with Winslow defensively and on the offensive board.

Absolutely disgusted with Nurk's game. Apparently Billups was, as well cuz he kept taking him out of the game in the second half. He pulled Nurk like 2 1/2 minutes into the 3rd quarter.

I really loved the last few minutes of the game. There was some fun, swarming defense with both Lillard & Simon's in the court.

Need better shooting from Lillard & Simon's.

[m0ng0]

Dame plays like crap and we want to trade Ant? WTF?

Dame scored 20 points on 18 shots; Ant scored 22 points on 22 shots. Dame had a 32% assist rate; Ant had a 10% assist rate. They both shot poorly ("like crap"), but Dame ran the offense a lot better

My point exactly, the game was a wash between the two but we trade the 23 year old on a much, much, MUCH better contract?

[soobias]

mongo bro i think you're misunderstanding , while it might look similar, simons shots were not in the flow of team play only 10% assist rate means iso chucker.
i dont like that extension for DAME,NURK or ANT. and most on trade board seems to see thats its an overpay and damn near un tradeable contract. however DAME will prob chuck less than simons(like cj ) are going to try to prove their all stars at the expense of the rest of the team.
DAME can get an easy 35+ and it wont look like chucking kinda like curry. i cant stand iso ball never could never will, but im ok with how DAME gets his pointscuz the ball doesnt stick to his hand like glue.

[GEE]

Speaking of assists... Has anyone else noticed how Dame will often hold the ball, pound that rock until there is like 5 seconds left on the shot clock, then hand it off to a teammate. He used to do it to CJ all the time. Shot clock winding down... "Here, you take it".

The obvious hope is that Chauncey can figure out a way (looked much better in game 1) to make Dame and Simons work well on the court together. Two 50/40/90 guys! But if one had to go... people are just fooling themselves if they think Simons is the one getting moved... A medical retirement from Dame though not likely, would be more likely to happen:

Nurkic better get locked in real quick, cause Eubanks currently looks more up for the task and that's not a good thing. A Nurkic for Plumlee 2.0 isn't hard to imagine, but it's just the first game... maybe "The Beast" will respond well to Chauncey's obvious displeasure with his play.

[LillardTime]

Speaking of assists... Has anyone else noticed how Dame will often hold the ball, pound that rock until there is like 5 seconds left on the shot clock, then hand it off to a teammate. He used to do it to CJ all the time. Shot clock winding down... "Here, you take it".

The obvious hope is that Chauncey can figure out a way (looked much better in game 1) to make Dame and Simons work well on the court together. Two 50/40/90 guys! But if one had to go... people are just fooling themselves if they think Simons is the one getting moved... A medical retirement from Dame though not likely, would be more likely to happen:

Nurkic better get locked in real quick, cause Eubanks currently looks more up for the task and that's not a good thing. A Nurkic for Plumlee 2.0 isn't hard to imagine, but it's just the first game... maybe "The Beast" will respond well to Chauncey's obvious displeasure with his play.

Lol Dame is locked up for like 5 more years and 1 game into his return from injury you bring up medical retirement?! Dame has been an absolute warrior for the Blazers and could have asked out years ago like some other stars. The short term memory of some fans is shocking.

[GEE]

Reading comprehension is clearly lacking. What I said was: The chance of Simons getting traded over Dame, is about as likely to happen, as Dame entering a medical retirement... meaning neither one is likely to happen.

[Wizenheimer]

Dame plays like crap and we want to trade Ant? WTF?

Dame scored 20 points on 18 shots; Ant scored 22 points on 22 shots. Dame had a 32% assist rate; Ant had a 10% assist rate. They both shot poorly ("like crap"), but Dame ran the offense a lot better

My point exactly, the game was a wash between the two but we trade the 23 year old on a much, much, MUCH better contract?

yes