Moderators: LyricalRico, nate33, montestewart
I had almost purged all thoughts of Ernie Grunfeld draft nights.AFM wrote:Nate's post 10 years ago about 2nd Rounders being sold for cash has done irreparable harm to this forum
playoffs wrote:payitforward wrote:playoffs wrote:I mean, you got him for the 14th pick in a bad draft...
Wrong.
...about the 14th pick? ...or did the 2024 draft class suddenly become special?...
playoffs wrote:payitforward wrote:playoffs wrote:...it's an underpay.
Always good to meet the guy with the definitive answer.
Pretty disingenuous to intentionally leave out the words "I think" from my quote to try to paint me as "the guy with the definitive answer". In fact, given that you responded with "wrong" to everything I wrote, including verifiable facts, it seems like you are the one who feels he has all the answers.
payitforward wrote:My only excuse is that this inane thread has gone on & on & on through now 35 pages!
Malapropism wrote:dckingsfan wrote:Malapropism wrote:It wasn't an experiment, our starting shooting guard was injured and Toumani Camara played himself into a starting position. Deni was penciled in as a starter so they just went with the three forward lineup. When Sharpe came back, Deni was relegated to a bench role because Toumani Camara provides more value on the court as an all-NBA level defender, and obviously Deni wasn't going to relegate Grant. He's going to continue coming off the bench until Grant is moved, although it's nice that he's still warranting 30 MPG in a bench role.
I like Deni, he's been playing much better recently, but I'd walk back the deal as a Blazers fan if I could. His ceiling to me seems like a high level role player. From watching him, his lack of shots taken don't stem from a lack of opportunity, but rather ability. He's not good enough in the half court to generate good shots, so most of his shots come assisted or in transition (where he's quite good). Good, but not worth 2 mid firsts + 2 seconds + whatever Brogdon gets on the backend. At best it's fair value, but either way I wouldn't be dissappointed if I was a Wiz fan.
I have also been watching the games. Deni was definitely playing SG... And for Deni, that is most definitely an experiment. And yes, there have been injuries to the guards, Sharpe specifically. But the Simons, Scoot & Sharpe trio are a bit puzzling at guard anyway (although Banton has been a nice surprise).
And I think part of Camara's nice start was having Deni on the court with him. Deni went to the bench and Camara hasn't been the same (okay, correlation and not direct causation but you get the idea) since.
I also wouldn't have done the deal either if I was Portland unless you think you are trading Grant. It was a puzzling trade at best having Grant, Camara and Williams (although he has had to play all C with the injuries to Ayton and Clingan) as well as Murray & Walker (after thought).
The trade made little sense from Portland's perspective unless Deni continues to improve. Actually, the entire makeup of the Portland team is a bit of a head scratcher (including your coach).
Yes, the point is they were starting Deni, Toumani, and Grant out of necessity and circumstance. Whichever you want to call the SG in that lineup is all just semantics. They're all wings, and all wings that are not great at creating in the half court, which is why it was terrible offensively (although it was pretty freakin' sweet defensively).
I've watched every Blazer game this year, and how I know haven't is because of your perception of Camara. Camara's play isn't influenced by Deni. He plays more because he's so valuable defensively. When Sharpe came back it was Deni that lost his starting spot and not Camara. Why? Because what Camara provides on defense is more impactful than what Deni provides as a package. Deni making more shots in the last few games has closed the gap, but I don't see him winning his starting spot back unless Camara drops off a cliff defensively or gets injured.
I'm not trying to put down Deni. He's a good player. But he was penciled in as the starter at SF/PF before the season and Camara outplayed him to earn that spot. The FO was definitely were not expecting that when they made the trade, and while that maybe speaks more towards how good Camara is, it's still doesn't feel great that they spent 4 picks to acquire a bench player. I do expect them to move Grant eventually so there's a pretty safe avenue for Deni to become a starter again.
PS: Did he also miss a lot of layups/dunks in Washington? I swear, the number of times he makes a great move and has a clear look at the basket but blows the layup/dunks is pretty astonishing for a guy of his size.
DCZards wrote:payitforward wrote:My only excuse is that this inane thread has gone on & on & on through now 35 pages!
It might be inane but it’s also the most active and somewhat controversial thread…so I say let it live on.
AFM wrote:You're nothing but a Dawkins acolyte and a front runner. Hilarious how you're bumping this thread after Deni was moved to the bench again but had nothing to say when he started the previous game. Hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to move you to my block list. Good day to you sir, also does anyone know which screen printing company will print out a full sized body pillow with Deni's face on it?
CntOutSmrtCrazy wrote:AFM wrote:You're nothing but a Dawkins acolyte and a front runner. Hilarious how you're bumping this thread after Deni was moved to the bench again but had nothing to say when he started the previous game. Hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to move you to my block list. Good day to you sir, also does anyone know which screen printing company will print out a full sized body pillow with Deni's face on it?
You know what, Deni might be adorable, but nothing come close to being as adorable as this delicate snowflake. Hope I don't mind him moving me to his "block list"? Imagine being of the mindset that you think that impacts just about anyone.
But alas, I sit here lying. Please, oh sire, just this once, spare me the the abyss-like prison that is your block list. If he already has, can someone give me clemency and please message him to let him know how very sorry I am for ever letting it get to this point.
Dat2U wrote:CntOutSmrtCrazy wrote:AFM wrote:You're nothing but a Dawkins acolyte and a front runner. Hilarious how you're bumping this thread after Deni was moved to the bench again but had nothing to say when he started the previous game. Hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to move you to my block list. Good day to you sir, also does anyone know which screen printing company will print out a full sized body pillow with Deni's face on it?
You know what, Deni might be adorable, but nothing come close to being as adorable as this delicate snowflake. Hope I don't mind him moving me to his "block list"? Imagine being of the mindset that you think that impacts just about anyone.
But alas, I sit here lying. Please, oh sire, just this once, spare me the the abyss-like prison that is your block list. If he already has, can someone give me clemency and please message him to let him know how very sorry I am for ever letting it get to this point.
If you block one person here, you've literally blocked 10% of the active posters. Work it out guys.
AFM wrote:I thought my sarcasm was obvious. I also don’t actually want a Deni body pillow. Then again I’m talking to someone who uses the term snowflake in 2024
CntOutSmrtCrazy wrote:
Anyways, I'll get back to debating basketball stuff on a basketball forum.
Deni with a great first half last night. 6-8 from (3-3 from three) but got injured and only played 8 second half minutes.
A good chunk of the POR posters on various boards continue to wonder why he's not starting over either Grant and/or Camara, I bring this up as some have tried to make it a knock against. He's already surpassing Camara in about every counting stat except steals despite playing 4-5 minutes less a game, and if you look at per 36 numbers the difference is even more clear in Deni direction. Both are good defenders, though on a bad team its hard to tease that out. Grant is one of the worst rebounders in the league while playing 33 minutes a game, and with basically scoring at the same clip per 36 after the putrid start shooting wise to the season. Grant is obviously being showcased for trade, so that is somewhat understandable getting the starting nod.
DCZards wrote:Blazers are just behind Minny & Sac and they’ve been in most of the losses I’ve seen. So Billups must be doing something right.
Kanyewest wrote:CntOutSmrtCrazy wrote:
Anyways, I'll get back to debating basketball stuff on a basketball forum.
Deni with a great first half last night. 6-8 from (3-3 from three) but got injured and only played 8 second half minutes.
A good chunk of the POR posters on various boards continue to wonder why he's not starting over either Grant and/or Camara, I bring this up as some have tried to make it a knock against. He's already surpassing Camara in about every counting stat except steals despite playing 4-5 minutes less a game, and if you look at per 36 numbers the difference is even more clear in Deni direction. Both are good defenders, though on a bad team its hard to tease that out. Grant is one of the worst rebounders in the league while playing 33 minutes a game, and with basically scoring at the same clip per 36 after the putrid start shooting wise to the season. Grant is obviously being showcased for trade, so that is somewhat understandable getting the starting nod.
I have a feeling that the coaching staff probably favored the incumbent Blazers players at first. Deni also didn't do any favors for himself by shooting the 3 ball that poorly to start the season while Camara is shooting 39% from 3 (and started out even hotter than that). But since the massive blowout where Billups called out the team has opened up more opportunity for Deni and perhaps allowed him to gain momentum in the lineup.