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

[red_power]

Miller frankly reminds more of Wesley Johnson/Derrick Williams/Marvin Williams type of player. He's not a terrible selection but not a good one either. At least for a top-5 pick.

[PDXKnight]

It's probably fair to say we shouldn't trade shaedon at this point barring an unreal return yes?

[BlazersBroncos]

Miller frankly reminds more of Wesley Johnson/Derrick Williams/Marvin Williams type of player. He's not a terrible selection but not a good one either. At least for a top-5 pick.

I see this as well. Trey Murphy was also 6'9 and I think a much better prospect, who ended up going mid R1.

Miller just scares me. He doesnt have a great motor, doesnt do the little things, doesnt have great instincts and seems to shy from contact. Add the off the court stuff and I am just wary.

[DusterBuster]

I think Walker is gonna be really good, would not be the least bit upset if the Blazers draft him. I would honestly take him over Scoot at 2 if I was a teams GM.

I see Walker somewhere between Draymond Green and Scottie Barnes. He's 2nd on my board as well. I don't rank Scoot all that highly.

I got:

1. Wemby
2. Jarace
3. Miller
4. Amen
5. Scoot
6. Henricks

This is my top 3 too

[zzaj]

Miller frankly reminds more of Wesley Johnson/Derrick Williams/Marvin Williams type of player. He's not a terrible selection but not a good one either. At least for a top-5 pick.

I see this as well. Trey Murphy was also 6'9 and I think a much better prospect, who ended up going mid R1.

Miller just scares me. He doesnt have a great motor, doesnt do the little things, doesnt have great instincts and seems to shy from contact. Add the off the court stuff and I am just wary.

What off the court stuff are you referring to?

[JasonStern]

The Knicks are 11 games over .500 with 5 to play, and the lottery line is about .500.

They are 4 games over the play-in spot. That could eventually be a narrow finish.

Even if it is narrow, the Knicks would need to lose 4-5 of their remaining 5 (including a game against the Wizards at home and two against the Pacers), the Heat would need to win out, and then the Knicks would need to lose two play-in games in order to fall out of the playoffs.

It's probably been discussed at length, but what do we think the lowest our pick has to be to not trade it? Like, do we hold on to the 3rd or 4th pick or are we thinking we look to package that up?

Totally depends on who is available via the trade market and whether Dame asks out.

It's probably fair to say we shouldn't trade shaedon at this point barring an unreal return yes?

Yes. Simons/Sharpe is the backcourt of the future, with or without Dame.

[red_power]

Simons/Sharpe is the backcourt of the future

Unless... Unless circumstances force Blazers to take Scoot in the draft

[BlazersBroncos]

Yes. Simons/Sharpe is the backcourt of the future, with or without Dame.

Simons is a volume shooting SG who couldnt lead a team to the locker room. Sharpe is a old school SG who lacks handle and vision, if we want him to reach his potential he needs a true PG next to him, not a glorified Malik Monk.

There are tons of players that can put up 21ppg in 35mpg w/ a .54% EGF while not providing much elsewhere. We should move Simons while he still has the allure of youth. He is the same guy he always has been, a shooter that doesnt provide much else. Not FT, not defense, not creating for others.

He has never posted a WS in the .100 range, a big indicator of a quality starter. His DBPM the past 2 years has been abysmal bad in the -2.7 and -2.4 range.

He isnt Nolan Smith, guy is a NBA player, but he is by no means a cornerstone or anyone you want to build around.

[DusterBuster]

Yes. Simons/Sharpe is the backcourt of the future, with or without Dame.

Simons is a volume shooting SG who couldnt lead a team to the locker room. Sharpe is a old school SG who lacks handle and vision, if we want him to reach his potential he needs a true PG next to him, not a glorified Malik Monk.

There are tons of players that can put up 21ppg in 35mpg w/ a .54% EGF while not providing much elsewhere. We should move Simons while he still has the allure of youth. He is the same guy he always has been, a shooter that doesnt provide much else. Not FT, not defense, not creating for others.

He has never posted a WS in the .100 range, a big indicator of a quality starter. His DBPM the past 2 years has been abysmal bad in the -2.7 and -2.4 range.

He isnt Nolan Smith, guy is a NBA player, but he is by no means a cornerstone or anyone you want to build around.

Disagree that Simons is a SG. He can play PG. Just like McCollum can (and is) playing PG perfectly competently. You don't have to be an elite playmaker like Chris Paul to be a PG, you can do that with OK playmaking and being more scorer.

So yeah, I'm not getting hung up on that with Simons. I do agree he's not really much of a lockerroom leader. I don't get that sense he has that in him at all. I don't really get that from Sharpe either, some people either have that quality or don't, hard thing to really learn.

I firmly believe Simons and Sharpe work together, but you would need a strong leader and point-forward type at SF/PF.

And ALL this is to say, neither Sharpe or Simons are good enough to avoid picking the BPA if the player at the draft spot plays their spot. Being strictly a single position is not really a thing anymore.

[Brandon-Clyde]

Miller frankly reminds more of Wesley Johnson/Derrick Williams/Marvin Williams type of player. He's not a terrible selection but not a good one either. At least for a top-5 pick.

I see this as well. Trey Murphy was also 6'9 and I think a much better prospect, who ended up going mid R1.

Miller just scares me. He doesnt have a great motor, doesnt do the little things, doesnt have great instincts and seems to shy from contact. Add the off the court stuff and I am just wary.

What off the court stuff are you referring to?

Murder believe it or not. His teammate Darius Miles ( no relation to the former Blazer) shot and killed a woman. On the night in question Miles apparently called Miller saying he had left some stuff in Miller's car and asked Miller to bring it to him. One of the items was apparently the gun that Miles used to shoot the woman with. Some stories also claim that Miller helped block the woman from leaving. To this point Miller has not been charged with anything

[The Sebastian Express]

Simons isn't a PG. At all. He is a combo guard who can sometimes play point, but he cannot consistently run an effective offense. He can get shots for himself, and he can create some open looks for players, but he struggles at passing into and out of the post while on the move. Putting him with Sharpe as the backcourt of the future will stunt Sharpe's growth. Dame is so far ahead of Simons in terms of playmaking and creating for others it isn't even funny. And was coming out of college too. He's not Chris Paul, but there's a difference between being a Chris Paul, being a Dame and then being someone like Ant.

Anointing him the backcourt of the future with Sharpe will only be terrible for this team.

[BlazersBroncos]

Simons isn't a PG. At all. He is a combo guard who can sometimes play point, but he cannot consistently run an effective offense. He can get shots for himself, and he can create some open looks for players, but he struggles at passing into and out of the post while on the move. Putting him with Sharpe as the backcourt of the future will stunt Sharpe's growth. Dame is so far ahead of Simons in terms of playmaking and creating for others it isn't even funny. And was coming out of college too. He's not Chris Paul, but there's a difference between being a Chris Paul, being a Dame and then being someone like Ant.

Anointing him the backcourt of the future with Sharpe will only be terrible for this team.

Amen. I dont understand how anyone can have watched Ant for like half a decade and think he can run a team. Its like I am watching a different player.

From my experience watching this year Winslow was better at running an offense than Ant.

You want to get Sharpe a true PG to unlock his true potential, alot of which should be getting fed in the open court and getting fed from the point while cutting and getting open on backscreens.

Ant is 100% not the guard you want to pair w/ Sharpe IMO.

[JasonStern]

The Simons hate is getting a bit ridiculous. Does his game have flaws? Yes. Is he a terrible fit next to Dame? Given his size, yes.

But he's a 23 year old 21ppg scorer who is locked up for years. The idea that this is his peak and he is unable to improve upon any aspect of his game is unfounded.

Likewise, nobody is saying play the guy 48 minutes a game. Ideally, he'd be a part of a three guard lineup where he splits time at PG and SG. But that's right. Playing Sharpe with Simons will prevent Sharpe from developing any aspect of his game because reasons unknown/unstated.

Better question - if Simons is so terrible, why does everyone put him in trades where Portland gets value back?

[DusterBuster]

The Simons hate is getting a bit ridiculous. Does his game have flaws? Yes. Is he a terrible fit next to Dame? Given his size, yes.

But he's a 23 year old 21ppg scorer who is locked up for years. The idea that this is his peak and he is unable to improve upon any aspect of his game is unfounded.

Likewise, nobody is saying play the guy 48 minutes a game. Ideally, he'd be a part of a three guard lineup where he splits time at PG and SG. But that's right. Playing Sharpe with Simons will prevent Sharpe from developing any aspect of his game because reasons unknown/unstated.

Better question - if Simons is so terrible, why does everyone put him in trades where Portland gets value back?

Yeah, people are really getting hung up on Simons’ position. He played PG fine last year with Hart at SG… actually better than fine I would say. He’s no worse than CJ at playing point. He would be totally fine playing point full time. Thinking he can’t is overthinking it 101.

He does have his flaws and I think he’s a bad fit next to Dame because his game is just too similar to Dame’s as far as his offensive skill sets. Reason Dame and CJ worked was because they complemented each other better and CJ didn’t clog up the driving lanes for Dame, and Dame didn’t clog up the mid-range shots for CJ. Both Dame and Simons make their offensive living from the same areas of the court, so it’s easier for teams to game plan defensively for… protect the 3pt line and clog the paint.

[The Sebastian Express]

It's not hate to point out flaws. None of us here are jkb from the trade board. He's an exceptional shooter on high volume. He has a good handle and can get buckets.

If you try to have him play point and run the offense as the main point guard and expected to run one, your team is going to fail. He struggles to draw fouls so far in his career. He has a real hard time passing into and out of the post.

Not a single person here said he can't improve. We are pointing out his flaws, where he struggles, and how trying to put him at point next to Sharpe long-term stunts Sharpe's growth, because Ant struggles at getting the offense going and getting people at at their spots.

That's not anyone saying Ant is a terrible player and is trash. It's acknowledging his weaknesses, pointing to area where he needs to improve, while saying he is not naturally a point guard. Him playing point guard last year while Dame was out next to a great secondary ballhandler in Hart is not some great example of Simons being a solid point guard.

Ideally we trade him for WCJ which creates a better balanced roster and leads us longterm with a better natural two rather than Simons, because Simons is not a point guard.

[The Sebastian Express]

Also huge wins by the Pacers and the Magic tonight. We are now solely in fifth place.

[HoopsFanAZ]

1. This is not the small back court of Mighty Mouse annd Derek Anderson, and that one had Bonzi at 6’5 as the SF. The difference was in having other positions with height and length. Dame isn’t an undersized PG. He’s strong.
2. Simons has played starter minutes (and started) in 92 games over 2 seasons while last year missing Dame. His overall improvement is strong. He’s going to be a better player than CJ. And better as a PG/SG, IMHO. With that said, I don’t see being able to keep him with Dame AND having enough height/length and D at other positions to compensate for what the guards lack.

Simons with his O skills, athleticism, and reasonable contract (plus 1st rounders) is the easiest path to getting a better forward to pair with Jerami Grant — to make the best forward combo since the days of Sheed. There are several 6’7 and above guys in the top half of the lottery … it’s a good one.

[Moonbeam]

Portland has officially been eliminated from the playoffs. Wild how this season went from such early surprising wins to a prolonged collapse. Hope the Blazers can hang on in 5th position.

[Moonbeam]

As for Simons, I like him a lot and think he has a lot of skills. But he hasn’t shown himself to be an impact player yet despite his nice scoring on reasonable efficiency. I think Portland would be wise to move him.

[zzaj]

I’m pretty sad the Blazers ended up without Hart. I would have liked to see a lineup of
Lillard/Hart/Sharpe/Wemby together…