Jsun947 wrote:I’d bet money Grant still gets moved for Topic and/or future 1st to one of the Lakers, OKC, Dallas, LAC, or Philly
Williams and Thybulle can be traded into someone’s MLE
Simons, I think that’s a tougher one. He makes so much sense for Orlando and SAS. Maybe you can pry away a couple future 1st for him?
I don’t think there is a market for Ayton but given how many minutes Clingan played in college it’s not the end of the world if we just keep him on his current contract. I’d take ANY asset I could for him though.
My bigger concern, despite our ability to tank the 2nd half of our season is that this current roster is just too good going into two good draft years. I want us to be as bad as possible and play the young guys as much as possible.
I have a hard time seeing the Blazers getting out of this summer without making one trade with the Mavericks for Grant and/or Thybulle. We know the Mavs have both on their radar, they've called on Jerami this year and they signed Mattise to his current deal that Portland matched last summer. I would think they would prefer a scorer like Grant though after how the Finals played out. Defensive specialists are great, but they need wing/forward scoring in the worst way.
I would love seeing Simons on the Spurs. Great fit and also should help get the Spurs out of the Top 10 lottery range for 2025. Question is if the Spurs want that or not, will depend on how much pressure Wemby is putting on them to get better, they have some runway with him, but not a ton. Otherwise though, I think just get him home to Orlando. That fit still makes sense for everyone.
Ayton is the only guy of the "veterans" that I think the Blazers don't need to be in any rush over. Clingan isn't ready to be a starter and TRob is perpetually injured, I don't even factor him in the depth chart. If someone wants him and the Blazers don't have to take back bad salary (or they're compensated via picks for said bad salary), do the deal. A center rotation of Ayton/Clingan/Reath is perfectly suitable. Ayton is far from the picture of health either, so I expect Clingan to get a handful of starts... or knowing Chauncey, he'll start Reath so Clingan's role doesn't change *massive eyeroll*.. Regardless, see what you have in the ol' Clinger first, then figure out what to do with Ayton, but don't rush that one unless there's some crazy good offer from a team this summer you can't say no to.
would be miserable suffering several seasons according to some perspectives. I think DC unlocks another chapter of his game where his “flaws” are covered well im pretty hugely bullish on the combo. Saw a couple people online saying DC at 4… no. Not the point. You take DA who is not a traditional center and remove the burden of being one on the defensive end (doesn’t really even have a reason to be a center other than being big and trying to pick and roll often).