Could Deni be Portland’s point guard of the future?

[Blazers20]

I would prefer Deni play the point exclusively for Portland. I like the decision making, shot making and size he brings.

[tester551]

I mean he COULD....
But that would be a mis-use of his talents. He's much better in the secondary creator role IMO.

[dckingsfan]

And he would have to cut down on those TOs.

- I like that he has carte blanche to push the ball after rebounds.
- I like that he is playing SG and essentially becoming the secondary creator

I don't think he is ready for the primary creator role.

[BlazersBroncos]

He is a secondary creator but I will say his play is going from 'elite 4th option' to 'middle tier 3rd option' in my mind - which is a huge jump. By saying this I am saying I could see him being the 3rd best player on a good playoff team (Assuming the top-2 guys are very good lol).

[Wizenheimer]

easy answer: no

in the last two years when Deni has become a secondary ball-handler, his assist/turnover ration is 1.64. That's bordering on unacceptable for a secondary ball-handler. It's terrible for a PG.

He could probably mitigate that if he slowed down on offense, but that would take away his turbo-mode which is the primary feature that makes him a unique player

he's just fine as a secondary facilitator

[PDXKnight]

Yeah I'm in agreement with others he should be secondary. Scoot needs to get minutes to develop hopefully into that role

[zzaj]

Deni's very good at creating and finishing in secondary fast break situations, and that's about it. He's much less good at creating for others in a set offense.

Also, if Deni were to handle PG duties that takes away Scoot's one skill in which he shows natural talent at a young age--passing. Scoot is a 1-position player, so it would essentially take him out of the rotation.

[Tim Lehrbach]

I think Deni should be OKC's 4th/5th starter of the present. The Blazers would be wise to flip him for a premium, longer-term asset (draft pick). He is wasted as a third option on a team without a credible first or second option, and he'll probably be long gone the next time the Blazers play a meaningful game, anyway.

[Runner300]

Finally, a thread for Deni.

Deni as PG or SG would be great for his development, and shouldn't hurt the tank.
From Blazers perspective, the coldest calculated thing would be:
-Give the ball to Deni for the rest of the season
-Develop Scoot as much as possible
-Once Scoot matures and/or Blazers capture the Flagg - trade Deni for 2 FRP or a lottery pick++ to a unpatient contender.

As a Deni fan, of course the better thing would be:
*keep Deni in Portland, build the team with him
*adopt a more European approach - win now as much as possible with whatever talent you have.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Finally, a thread for Deni.

Deni as PG or SG would be great for his development, and shouldn't hurt the tank.
From Blazers perspective, the coldest calculated thing would be:
-Give the ball to Deni for the rest of the season
-Develop Scoot as much as possible
-Once Scoot matures and/or Blazers capture the Flagg - trade Deni for 2 FRP or a lottery pick++ to a unpatient contender.

As a Deni fan, of course the better thing would be:
*keep Deni in Portland, build the team with him
*adopt a more European approach - win now as much as possible with whatever talent you have.

Good post. The Blazers do have good options with respect to Deni. Me? I'd flip him at any point while he's impressing and teams like OKC and SAS need a boost. But keeping him around on a bargain contract as the team grows is obviously a good position to be in, too.

[Blazers20]

I can see Deni become a version of Luka, Deni has good skill and size. What about building around Deni and putting better players around him? Can Deni become a leader?

[BlazersBroncos]

I can see Deni become a version of Luka, Deni has good skill and size. What about building around Deni and putting better players around him? Can Deni become a leader?

Deni is nothing like Luka. He is also nearly 24 which, while not old, is old enough to roughly know what you have. You dont just become a version of Luka lol.

I could see Deni as a 20 / 8 / 5 guy. Thats REALLY good. But still not close to Luka.

The fact Deni is posting near .10 WS48 and + OBPM and DBPM on this crappy team is a testament to how talented he is. He is good enough to be a playoff team, dare I say a contenders, 3rd best player IMO.

The thing about PDX is we lack the 2 guys that should be slotted ahead of him as building blocks. Scoot is going from 'wouldnt see the court if he wasnt 3rd pick' to 'slightly below average starting PG but at least he is young' level. Sharpe just isnt mentally built to be a top tier player in this league and dare I say he is closer to a Nick Young at this point than the next elite SG.

[PDXKnight]

Finally, a thread for Deni.

Deni as PG or SG would be great for his development, and shouldn't hurt the tank.
From Blazers perspective, the coldest calculated thing would be:
-Give the ball to Deni for the rest of the season
-Develop Scoot as much as possible
-Once Scoot matures and/or Blazers capture the Flagg - trade Deni for 2 FRP or a lottery pick++ to a unpatient contender.

As a Deni fan, of course the better thing would be:
*keep Deni in Portland, build the team with him
*adopt a more European approach - win now as much as possible with whatever talent you have.

Good post. The Blazers do have good options with respect to Deni. Me? I'd flip him at any point while he's impressing and teams like OKC and SAS need a boost. But keeping him around on a bargain contract as the team grows is obviously a good position to be in, too.

Im sure hes valuable but im not sure teams would pay what we'd want for him. He could be a top 25 non superstar but occasional all star sort of player and at 24 he's got many years ahead of him. To me that equals 3 or 4 pretty good firsts as a starting point depending on what else is included.

So yes I'd agree we should deal him if an absolutely mind blowing offer comes by but I also don't want to deal him for "fair market" value like the wiz did. It's gotta be something sexy in terms of picks and/or somr really enticing young guys to move ahead

[Blazers20]

I would like to see a Deni (would like to see him play the one and let him be the decision maker on the court) and Sharpe backcourt for Portland the rest of the season to see if this could work for the team moving forward. The Deni and Sharpe backcourt could be really fun to watch.

[Walton1one]

Deni is not a PG IMO, but a good secondary creator, he needs to cut down on the TO but I think that is just a byproduct of his style of play for the most part. I think most of his TO are moreso from his aggressive, sometimes wild drives more than errant passes.

As long as Scoot is on the team, he should be the PG, having Deni @ PG and relegating Scoot to off ball would be grossly misusing him and ignoring his strengths. Kind of like putting Deni on the wing as a stationary shooter which WAS did his first few years in the league

[Wizenheimer]

Avdija's assist/turnover ratio has actually dropped from earlier in the season. He's been carrying a bigger load and that's increased his turnover rate. He now has the highest turnover rate of his career. And his turnovers per 100-possessions have really exploded over his norms. His assists are up too but not nearly as much as turnovers

I like Deni a lot but I am a bit skeptical of his court vision generally, and decision-making in turbo mode. He's an OK secondary facilitator but that's about it at this point...OK. Batum was quite a bit better as a secondary, but obviously not as dynamic as Deni on offense

looking at NBA.com for transition impact, it sure seems to be that Deni is overrated on fast-break/transition

transition PPP - frequency - percentile

Walker - 1.26 ppp - freq 18.3%% -79th percentile
Sharpe - 1.19 ppp - freq 21.5% - 63rd percentile
Camara - 1.06 ppp - freq 19.9% - 35th percentile
Simons - 1.03 ppp - freq 15.6% - 30th percentile
Avdija - 1.02 ppp - freq 23.7% - 29th percentile
Scoot - 0.95 ppp - freq 18.4% - 16th percentile
Grant - 0.89 ppp - freq 20.1% - 10th percentile

Walker probably shouldn't be on the list because he rarely leads a fast break; just cleans up as a trailer. Avdija isn't nearly as good as assumed in his turbo mode. Sharpe is by far the best Blazer ball-handler in transition. Scoot is terrible and Grant is a disaster

Avdia is in the 97th percentile in isolation, but that accounts for 5% of his plays, less than 1 a game. In PhR-ball handler plays, Deni is in the 56th percentile; Simons 76th percentile; Sharpe in the 69th percentile (better than Devin Booker); Scoot 42nd percentile; Banton 18th percentile

[JRoy]

Deni cannot be the primary playmaker for this team.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Avdija's assist/turnover ratio has actually dropped from earlier in the season. He's been carrying a bigger load and that's increased his turnover rate. He now has the highest turnover rate of his career. And his turnovers per 100-possessions have really exploded over his norms. His assists are up too but not nearly as much as turnovers

I like Deni a lot but I am a bit skeptical of his court vision generally, and decision-making in turbo mode. He's an OK secondary facilitator but that's about it at this point...OK. Batum was quite a bit better as a secondary, but obviously not as dynamic as Deni on offense

looking at NBA.com for transition impact, it sure seems to be that Deni is overrated on fast-break/transition

transition PPP - frequency - percentile

Walker - 1.26 ppp - freq 18.3%% -79th percentile
Sharpe - 1.19 ppp - freq 21.5% - 63rd percentile
Camara - 1.06 ppp - freq 19.9% - 35th percentile
Simons - 1.03 ppp - freq 15.6% - 30th percentile
Avdija - 1.02 ppp - freq 23.7% - 29th percentile
Scoot - 0.95 ppp - freq 18.4% - 16th percentile
Grant - 0.89 ppp - freq 20.1% - 10th percentile

Walker probably shouldn't be on the list because he rarely leads a fast break; just cleans up as a trailer. Avdija isn't nearly as good as assumed in his turbo mode. Sharpe is by far the best Blazer ball-handler in transition. Scoot is terrible and Grant is a disaster

Avdia is in the 97th percentile in isolation, but that accounts for 5% of his plays, less than 1 a game. In PhR-ball handler plays, Deni is in the 56th percentile; Simons 76th percentile; Sharpe in the 69th percentile (better than Devin Booker); Scoot 42nd percentile; Banton 18th percentile

Nice numbers for Sharpe! C'mon Shaedon, prove Jason Stern right...

[JasonStern]

I mean, Deni kind of is the point guard. Yes, his assist/turnover ratio is bad. But the other options are Simons and Scoot. Simons is a SG in a PG's body, and Scoot's play can be rough. Is he really a secondary ball handler? Yes. And you see how bad the offense plays without him because that, again, leaves Simons/Scoot as the primary ball handlers.

[zzaj]

I mean, Deni kind of is the point guard. Yes, his assist/turnover ratio is bad. But the other options are Simons and Scoot. Simons is a SG in a PG's body, and Scoot's play can be rough. Is he really a secondary ball handler? Yes. And you see how bad the offense plays without him because that, again, leaves Simons/Scoot as the primary ball handlers.

More accurately, it gives Simons and Grant the green light to chuck.

Deni will never be the guy to probe through a defense with a live dribble. He's doesn't have the on-ball skillset, and likely the passing accumen to be a "PG of the future".

Could Deni be utilized more creatively in a better offense? Absolutely. See how Green played as a facilitator in OKC...but you have to have an actual offense for that and some shot making talent. Portland barely has the 1st, and is very short on the second.