FREE AGENCY 2024

[Wizenheimer]

Scoot played his best without Simons on the floor with him, he played poorly when they shared the floor together.

Prove that? or was it more of a case of Scoot starting to figure things out? Look at Simons last 5 games before they benched him...
.

based upon points/100-possessions, Simons/Sharpe was the worst 2 man combo on Portland last season:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2024/lineups/

and the year before Simons/Sharpe was the 3rd worst

now, some of this was that Sharpe and Scoot aren't effective players yet. But a lot of it is that Simons doesn't make teammates better

[m0ng0]

Scoot played his best without Simons on the floor with him, he played poorly when they shared the floor together.

Prove that? or was it more of a case of Scoot starting to figure things out? Look at Simons last 5 games before they benched him...
.

based upon points/100-possessions, Simons/Sharpe was the worst 2 man combo on Portland last season:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2024/lineups/

How many games did they actually play together what's the context?

[Wizenheimer]

Prove that? or was it more of a case of Scoot starting to figure things out? Look at Simons last 5 games before they benched him...
.

based upon points/100-possessions, Simons/Sharpe was the worst 2 man combo on Portland last season:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2024/lineups/

How many games did they actually play together what's the context?

the context is available on that page

[m0ng0]

I'm looking at it, are you confused about Scoot and Simons? Being 19th?

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Remember that time we traded Zach Randolph for a pretty bad return to jettison a empty stats player that wasnt helping us win games? Remember how that helped reset the culture and truly turn the page?

Simons falls in that category. We need to move away from undersized score-only guards. Its time. We have a #7 pick waiting in the wings and Thybulle is more than capable to be a nice backup at SG - with Banton as a unique 3rd string SG to boot.

While I do concur we should move on from ant I think the vastly more important move here is head coach

Put me in the camp that you cannot just blame the players when the coach cannot even figure out how to put them in successful situations.

Players are not static quantities that always produce the exact same regardless of situation, but that is the limitation of statistics.

That isn't to say Ant doesn't have issues and short comings and his own limitations but to act like getting rid of Ant is what will solve our issues with a non-functional and simplistic offensive scheme is missing a huge factor. Nope you can replace Ant with different players but if the guy calling the shots doesn't change your problems will remain.

[m0ng0]

What context am I looking at 2 man? What's your end game points? Or most rebounds or shdu4br+12% stop with this nonsense already. Maybe you could screen shot it? I dont see Sharpe until #12 I used points as my baseline. I'm looking at this and Sharpe is nowhere in the top 10 and Simons appears more than Scoot and Sharpe combined? Well done

[Walton1one]

I don’t blame the coach, for doing what it is in his nature to do try to win as many games as possible, meaning playing the vets as many minutes as possible.

The person to blame for the mess that this roster is in is Cronin.

[Wizenheimer]

What context am I looking at 2 man? What's your end game points? Or most rebounds or shdu4br+12% stop with this nonsense already. Maybe you could screen shot it? I dont see Sharpe until #12 I used points as my baseline. I'm looking at this and Sharpe is nowhere in the top 10 and Simons appears more than Scoot and Sharpe combined? Well done

go to that page; scroll down to 2 man combo's; and then sort by point's/100-possessions...which of course is the most important category

Simons/Scoot were 20th out of 20; they lost by more than 20 points

and THAT was your question...which I answered

I'm done debating this with you. It's going nowhere. I find your arguments ridiculous considering you spent years here trashing Damian Lillard and have turned around and become Ant's biggest defender

[Wizenheimer]

Remember that time we traded Zach Randolph for a pretty bad return to jettison a empty stats player that wasnt helping us win games? Remember how that helped reset the culture and truly turn the page?

Simons falls in that category. We need to move away from undersized score-only guards. Its time. We have a #7 pick waiting in the wings and Thybulle is more than capable to be a nice backup at SG - with Banton as a unique 3rd string SG to boot.

While I do concur we should move on from ant I think the vastly more important move here is head coach

Put me in the camp that you cannot just blame the players when the coach cannot even figure out how to put them in successful situations.

Players are not static quantities that always produce the exact same regardless of situation, but that is the limitation of statistics.

That isn't to say Ant doesn't have issues and short comings and his own limitations but to act like getting rid of Ant is what will solve our issues with a non-functional and simplistic offensive scheme is missing a huge factor. Nope you can replace Ant with different players but if the guy calling the shots doesn't change your problems will remain.

in other words, the Blazers right now are a dumpster fire on just about every level?....ownership-->management-->coaching-->veteran talent

[m0ng0]

What context am I looking at 2 man? What's your end game points? Or most rebounds or shdu4br+12% stop with this nonsense already. Maybe you could screen shot it? I dont see Sharpe until #12 I used points as my baseline. I'm looking at this and Sharpe is nowhere in the top 10 and Simons appears more than Scoot and Sharpe combined? Well done

go to that page; scroll down to 2 man combo's; and then sort by point's/100-possessions...which of course is the most important category

Simons/Scoot were 20th out of 20; they lost by more than 20 points

and THAT was your question...which I answered

I'm done debating this with you. It's going nowhere. I find your arguments ridiculous considering you spent years here trashing Damian Lillard and have turned around and become Ant's biggest defender

The funniest part is you said Simons and Sharpe in your previous post so by now I don't know what your talking about...scroll up smart guy. I will wait for your edit wise guy

[m0ng0]

Before you edit I will quote what you said..
So don't get arrogant and condescending, like you always do

based upon points/100-possessions, Simons/Sharpe was the worst 2 man combo on Portland last season:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2024/lineups/

and the year before Simons/Sharpe was the 3rd worst

now, some of this was that Sharpe and Scoot aren't effective players yet. But a lot of it is that Simons doesn't make teammates better

[PDXKnight]

While I do concur we should move on from ant I think the vastly more important move here is head coach

Put me in the camp that you cannot just blame the players when the coach cannot even figure out how to put them in successful situations.

Players are not static quantities that always produce the exact same regardless of situation, but that is the limitation of statistics.

That isn't to say Ant doesn't have issues and short comings and his own limitations but to act like getting rid of Ant is what will solve our issues with a non-functional and simplistic offensive scheme is missing a huge factor. Nope you can replace Ant with different players but if the guy calling the shots doesn't change your problems will remain.

in other words, the Blazers right now are a dumpster fire on just about every level?....ownership-->management-->coaching-->veteran talent

Hit the nail on the head

[JasonStern]

The real exercise, is if Simons\Grant were gone from this team who would be the team’s best player?

Ayton. Which isn't very confidence inspiring from a fan standpoint.

IMO, if you want to fast track development of young players, then play them. It’s one thing if you were already a playoff or play in contending team, understandable why you would want to play veteran players, make young guys “earn it”, but to play those veteran players and still remain a bottom feeding lottery team makes literally no sense, it is counterproductive.

There is more evidence that getting blown out nightly, constantly losing, and getting booed by fans is more harmful to a player's mental health than taking a season or two to develop.

At some point, it’s ceases to look like a strategy and looks more like incompetence, Cronin is reaching that point.

I am not saying Cronin is a competent GM, but he did inherit a mess from Olshey. I don't think anything he did warrants getting fired yet. But despite what other Blazers fans think, we are 3 years into a rebuild. You don't go 27-55, 33-49, 21-61 if you're trying to be competitive. We'll see what this season holds. We've had 4 lotto picks in this duration, yielding Sharpe, Scoot, Clank-ton, and Deni. We traded away a top 75 all-time player in Dame for effectively Ayton and distant future picks and swaps (which might be useless).

[JasonStern]

Remember that time we traded Zach Randolph for a pretty bad return to jettison a empty stats player that wasnt helping us win games? Remember how that helped reset the culture and truly turn the page?

Reset the culture? I honestly am curious how you can compare culture-wise ZBo and Simons. Randolph literally got in a fist fight with his teammate (although it was with Ruben Patterson, so I side with ZBo), and got in shouting matches with my favorite Blazer of all-time - Brandon Roy, who was trying to lead the team. How exactly does Simons' culture compare?

I get wanting to move on from relying on undersized combo guards. But the reality is this is our roster. The players that everyone wants to move don't have much value due to contracts and holes in their game. And moving them would have us put out a g-league roster.

[JasonStern]

I just listed the 'assets' than came from trading Zach. The biggest of course was elevating Aldridge to the starting PF position. The notion that either Zach or LMA could be a bench player is ludicrous....one had to go; that was clear

A bought out Stevie Francis and a Channing Frye (cool dude) rental. For a 23.6ppg/10.1rpg player. The idea that Simons is going to return some treasure trove of picks and prospects that will turn the franchise around is just that - a dream.

And FWIW, Aldridge could have played center and they could have co-existed. Especially as how the game has evolved. He was just soft. No judgement. Aldridge is still one of the best mid-range shooters of all-time. But that era ZBo was locker room cancer. That was why he was moved. Not because the Blazers drafted an unproven PF/C.

[JasonStern]

I don’t blame the coach, for doing what it is in his nature to do try to win as many games as possible, meaning playing the vets as many minutes as possible.

The person to blame for the mess that this roster is in is Cronin.

Close. Olshey. Guy had no idea what he was doing. Always making short term moves to try to skirt the luxury tax while wasting Dame's prime. Remember when we brought an aged Carmelo Anthony (cool guy) out of retirement? Remember when Mario Hezonja was our starting small forward? Remember signing Festus Ezili? Remember that Eric Bledsoe is still getting paid? I could go on and on.

And before Wizenheimer says I'm sucking Cronin's balls, know that it's clear that I'm putting a lot of the blame on Olshey. Cronin hasn't done anything overly impressive. But other than overpaying Grant and the Powell/Covington trade, I haven't seen any egregious moves.

[BlazersBroncos]

Remember that time we traded Zach Randolph for a pretty bad return to jettison a empty stats player that wasnt helping us win games? Remember how that helped reset the culture and truly turn the page?

Reset the culture? I honestly am curious how you can compare culture-wise ZBo and Simons. Randolph literally got in a fist fight with his teammate (although it was with Ruben Patterson, so I side with ZBo), and got in shouting matches with my favorite Blazer of all-time - Brandon Roy, who was trying to lead the team. How exactly does Simons' culture compare?

I get wanting to move on from relying on undersized combo guards. But the reality is this is our roster. The players that everyone wants to move don't have much value due to contracts and holes in their game. And moving them would have us put out a g-league roster.

I meant culture of lead guys who don’t play both sides of the ball. Should have been more specific.

[Wizenheimer]

The idea that Simons is going to return some treasure trove of picks and prospects that will turn the franchise around is just that - a dream.

that's impressive....stuffing a straw man with BS and pretending that's what people are saying so you can argue against a phantom. You are the only one who has said anything remotely like that

I have not once seen anybody say Simons would get traded for a treasure trove of picks and prospects. And it's insane to suggest people are saying trading Simons would turn the franchise around. Mostly, people are suggesting a 1st round pick, quite possibly lottery protected, maybe a young unproven prospect, or maybe not, and some salary relief. And of course, removing the option from Cronin for bidding against himself in a Simons extension and giving him a 40M/year deal

yeah, there's a lot of addition by subtraction behind what people are arguing; and it's justified. There's also the reality that many of us don't believe Portland would be losing anything special by trading Simons and that he's the opposite of a rebuilding asset. But he does fit perfectly into Portland's inability to stop straddling fences

[Pattycakes]

According to this board our roster is worthless, and cronin is the worst gm of all time.

Interesting angle, I’ll take sitting back patiently for $1000

[Wizenheimer]

And before Wizenheimer says I'm sucking Cronin's balls, know that it's clear that I'm putting a lot of the blame on Olshey. Cronin hasn't done anything overly impressive. But other than overpaying Grant and the Powell/Covington trade, I haven't seen any egregious moves.

gargle, not suck....keep the insults straight

I actually liked Cronin's 1st trade deadline, mainly because at long last, finally, he began dismantling Olshey's idiot roster

dumping Powell and RoCo didn't bother me as much as it bothered many others. I think mainly because I saw the Vulcan fingerprints all over that trade. And I thought CJ+Nance for Hart + a first + 20MTPE was a great trade, especially after the 1st and TPE were used for Grant

I understood the Hart for Thybulle + 1st trade because it sure sounded like the Blazers couldn't keep Hart unless they massively overpaid

He may have struck gold with Sharpe but the jury is still out on that. I don't give him any credit for Scoot because just about any team with that 3rd pick would have taken Scoot. And he may have gotten lucky with Clingan falling to 7th although I would have preferred a swing for the fences on a wing. Might not have been one worth swinging for though

I generally liked the Avdija trade but I though Cronin paid a real steep price

but that's about all the positives I'm recalling; maybe I'm forgetting something. Maybe trading Dame was inevitable, but clearly Dame believes Cronin lied to him about his intentions. And if Cronin said the same thing to Dame in private he said over and over in public, then Dame is justified in his thinking. And clearly, drafting Scoot was the lever that pried Dame into asking for a trade. So, I'm not impressed with the Dame/Nurkic trade, especially considering that most of the value was converted to Avdija

* I hated that Portland traded Dame/Nurkic and made Ayton the centerpiece of the returning value. Ayton is exactly the opposite of what I think a modern NBA C should be. So is Clingan for that matter. I also couldn't believe, after all of the Blazer history in injury-prone bigs, that he traded for Timelord too.....geeeezuzzz

* I shook my head when he hard-capped the Blazers by signing Payton. That signing made no sense at all

* I shook my head a lot when he signed Grant for that contract

mostly, I detest what I suspect may be the plan, and that is to feature Ant-Grant-Ayton next season. Boring with a capital BORING while straddling every fence in sight