Woj: Deni to Portland for 14th pick and Brogdon

[dckingsfan]

Toumani Camara is really good, will soon be better than Deni at just about everything. I assume Blazers will trade Jerami Grant by deadline and Deni may fit better then as can be on ball some. I’m in the camp Deni 2nd most overrated player in this board’s history, after Thomas Bryant.

What is interesting is that they are playing Deni as a SG because they have Camara & Grant. That might help Deni in the long-term but it is definitely an adjustment now.

[trast66]

Toumani Camara is really good, will soon be better than Deni at just about everything. I assume Blazers will trade Jerami Grant by deadline and Deni may fit better then as can be on ball some. I’m in the camp Deni 2nd most overrated player in this board’s history, after Thomas Bryant.

What is interesting is that they are playing Deni as a SG because they have Camara & Grant. That might help Deni in the long-term but it is definitely an adjustment now.

Good point, and tonight Deni not starting, Sharpe started.

[AFM]

Yeah, looks like hes been moved to the bench. 0-5 from the field last night, 0 points... Might have played himself out of the rotation

[closg00]

A lot of chatter out there, like with Washington, Deni is playing with a bad team and looks bad trying to play his game, he may better suited playing with a winning team and system that knows how to use him.

Read on Twitter

[willbcocks]

This goes back to the strangest aspect of the trade--of all the teams that could have traded for him, why was it Portland that had the best offer?

They are not good enough to win now. They don't have cap problems that benefit from his contract. They don't have so many good young players that they're in a position to stop building through the draft and just develop what they have. They don't have a particular need at his position (though they're wanting talent at all positions).

If we had gotten an identical return from OKC, I would have been more satisfied--the team that had a lot of assets and made the most sense bid for him. But Portland...

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

A lot of chatter out there, like with Washington, Deni is playing with a bad team and looks bad trying to play his game, he may better suited playing with a winning team and system that knows how to use him.

Read on Twitter

Sarr is shooting less than .342 as well

[doclinkin]

This goes back to the strangest aspect of the trade--of all the teams that could have traded for him, why was it Portland that had the best offer?

They are not good enough to win now. They don't have cap problems that benefit from his contract. They don't have so many good young players that they're in a position to stop building through the draft and just develop what they have. They don't have a particular need at his position (though they're wanting talent at all positions).

If we had gotten an identical return from OKC, I would have been more satisfied--the team that had a lot of assets and made the most sense bid for him. But Portland...

Is the concern that poor Deni did not end up in a better situation?

Because it seems to me if you’re getting picks off a team you want them to be from a team that is not well run. Vs. those from one of the best run franchises in the business. With a consistently solid record. If you’re banking on a team to fall off the cliff in a few years, that team is unlikely to be the one who has a billion draft picks to renew themselves. Of the 3 possible picks available with that 2029 pick strong chance OKC has a better record than any of them.

Never mind that this years OKC pick would have been after both Bub and George were selected. Which is the entire point. They saw guys they liked equal to or better than Deni, at a position of need. Plus more assets. They took a risk. The gamble seems to have worked.

[mhd]

With Chet out 2 months, OKC should trade for him using their pick stash. He's being wasted in Portland. I'd love to have him back here, but the CBA precludes it unless he's traded to another team first.

[nate33]

This goes back to the strangest aspect of the trade--of all the teams that could have traded for him, why was it Portland that had the best offer?

They are not good enough to win now. They don't have cap problems that benefit from his contract. They don't have so many good young players that they're in a position to stop building through the draft and just develop what they have. They don't have a particular need at his position (though they're wanting talent at all positions).

If we had gotten an identical return from OKC, I would have been more satisfied--the team that had a lot of assets and made the most sense bid for him. But Portland...

Yeah, I really thought OKC was the team to trade for him. OKC is already loaded at center and guards but they really don't have any big forwards except JDub. They could really have used a PF version of Caruso, which is exactly what Deni is. And furthermore, they have a cap crunch going forward once Chet and JDub get their new contracts. Deni's descending contract would have been perfect.

I think they should have traded Giddey for picks (or trade Giddey for Caruso and then convert Caruso to picks) and then send those picks plus a few more of their own stockpile to us for Deni.

[nate33]

This goes back to the strangest aspect of the trade--of all the teams that could have traded for him, why was it Portland that had the best offer?

They are not good enough to win now. They don't have cap problems that benefit from his contract. They don't have so many good young players that they're in a position to stop building through the draft and just develop what they have. They don't have a particular need at his position (though they're wanting talent at all positions).

If we had gotten an identical return from OKC, I would have been more satisfied--the team that had a lot of assets and made the most sense bid for him. But Portland...

Is the concern that poor Deni did not end up in a better situation?

Because it seems to me if you’re getting picks off a team you want them to be from a team that is not well run. Vs. those from one of the best run franchises in the business. With a consistently solid record. If you’re banking on a team to fall off the cliff in a few years, that team is unlikely to be the one who has a billion draft picks to renew themselves. Of the 3 possible picks available with that 2029 pick strong chance OKC has a better record than any of them.

Never mind that this years OKC pick would have been after both Bub and George were selected. Which is the entire point. They saw guys they liked equal to or better than Deni, at a position of need. Plus more assets. They took a risk. The gamble seems to have worked.

I don't think willbcocks is arguing that he necessarily wanted an OKC package over a Portland package. He is saying that it doesn't seem likely that Portland is valuing Deni's contract as much as a contending team with a stacked roster would value it. So Portland was only valuing Deni for his on-the-court contribution. Another team, like OKC, would presumably ascribe a similar on-the-court value to Deni, but would also pay a surplus value for his contract.

This leads one to think that maybe we rushed in trading Deni. Perhaps a little patience would have yielded a better offer from a cap-strapped team.

[DCZards]

This leads one to think that maybe we rushed in trading Deni. Perhaps a little patience would have yielded a better offer from a cap-strapped team.

Nah...this FO knew exactly what it was doing when it pulled the trigger on the Deni trade and drafted Bub. Being patient may have turned out to be a mistake rather than a virtue.

Looks like Winger and Dawkins may have come away with two of the biggest steals in this year's draft with Bub and George. I ain't second-guessing that kind of success.

[AFM]

I don't think I've ever seen a player have more excuses made for his poor play than Deni. Bending over backwards more than the Athletic does for Bronny. Just in the past page or so we've heard:

1) It's because Israel bombed Iran (lmao)
2) He's not on the right team
3) He's being utilized wrong
4) He didn't get as much playing time as a rookie as Bub is getting

I'd like to posit that every time he shoots, the sun is in his eyes. Also he's still jetlagged from the first flight to Portland

[payitforward]

This leads one to think that maybe we rushed in trading Deni. Perhaps a little patience would have yielded a better offer from a cap-strapped team.

Nah...this FO knew exactly what it was doing when it pulled the trigger on the Deni trade and drafted Bub. Being patient may have turned out to be a mistake rather than a virtue.

Looks like Winger and Dawkins may have come away with two of the biggest steals in this year's draft with Bub and George. I ain't second-guessing that kind of success.

Hear hear.

I'm as much of a Deni fan as anyone here. He was my pick in 2020; I was thrilled that he dropped to us at 9.

But, we got a boat-load for him. We got 5 assets: Bub, another R1 pick (albeit a few years out), Malcolm Brogdon, & a pair of R2 picks. The idea that Winger didn't do his homework on the deal, that there was a better offer out there if we'd been patient, is an invention & no more.

I'm sure that NBA GMs talk to each other all the time. & that they check the value of their guys as a matter of course -- there must be dozens of potential trades floating around all the time. & I'm also sure that when an offer floats his way, Will (like any GM) does the work to find out if anyone will match it (maybe with an asset he likes better for one or another reason) or offer more.

It's just plain silly to imagine that he wouldn't have done that in this case!

[willbcocks]

This goes back to the strangest aspect of the trade--of all the teams that could have traded for him, why was it Portland that had the best offer?

They are not good enough to win now. They don't have cap problems that benefit from his contract. They don't have so many good young players that they're in a position to stop building through the draft and just develop what they have. They don't have a particular need at his position (though they're wanting talent at all positions).

If we had gotten an identical return from OKC, I would have been more satisfied--the team that had a lot of assets and made the most sense bid for him. But Portland...

Is the concern that poor Deni did not end up in a better situation?

Because it seems to me if you’re getting picks off a team you want them to be from a team that is not well run. Vs. those from one of the best run franchises in the business. With a consistently solid record. If you’re banking on a team to fall off the cliff in a few years, that team is unlikely to be the one who has a billion draft picks to renew themselves. Of the 3 possible picks available with that 2029 pick strong chance OKC has a better record than any of them.

Never mind that this years OKC pick would have been after both Bub and George were selected. Which is the entire point. They saw guys they liked equal to or better than Deni, at a position of need. Plus more assets. They took a risk. The gamble seems to have worked.

I don't think willbcocks is arguing that he necessarily wanted an OKC package over a Portland package. He is saying that it doesn't seem likely that Portland is valuing Deni's contract as much as a contending team with a stacked roster would value it. So Portland was only valuing Deni for his on-the-court contribution. Another team, like OKC, would presumably ascribe a similar on-the-court value to Deni, but would also pay a surplus value for his contract.

This leads one to think that maybe we rushed in trading Deni. Perhaps a little patience would have yielded a better offer from a cap-strapped team.

Yeah, if OKC had made the trade for him, I would have felt 100 percent justified that we received full market value, because they appeared to check all the boxes that would create that value.

Of course, we may have received full market value (or above market value, and we were just overvaluing a player that other teams thought was just getting his on a bad team) because Portland is a dumpster fire making poor decisions like a gambler on tilt. In retrospect, this is probably the best history.

[trast66]

As far as OKC, they rarely value players without wingspan at least +3 over height. I don’t think they would trade for Deni who wingspan equals height. And Winger felt the same.

[Kanyewest]

Showing signs of life

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DVhighlights

[closg00]

Showing signs of life

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DVhighlights

Ups and downs, that’s the Deni story.

[nate33]

Showing signs of life

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DVhighlights

I liked seeing him play as the point guard on offense.

[dobrojim]

This leads one to think that maybe we rushed in trading Deni. Perhaps a little patience would have yielded a better offer from a cap-strapped team.

Nah...this FO knew exactly what it was doing when it pulled the trigger on the Deni trade and drafted Bub. Being patient may have turned out to be a mistake rather than a virtue.

Looks like Winger and Dawkins may have come away with two of the biggest steals in this year's draft with Bub and George. I ain't second-guessing that kind of success.

Hear hear.

I'm as much of a Deni fan as anyone here. He was my pick in 2020; I was thrilled that he dropped to us at 9.

But, we got a boat-load for him. We got 5 assets: Bub, another R1 pick (albeit a few years out), Malcolm Brogdon, & a pair of R2 picks. The idea that Winger didn't do his homework on the deal, that there was a better offer out there if we'd been patient, is an invention & no more.

I'm sure that NBA GMs talk to each other all the time. & that they check the value of their guys as a matter of course -- there must be dozens of potential trades floating around all the time. & I'm also sure that when an offer floats his way, Will (like any GM) does the work to find out if anyone will match it (maybe with an asset he likes better for one or another reason) or offer more.

It's just plain silly to imagine that he wouldn't have done that in this case!

I'll have to raise my hand as one of the many who howled in protest when the deal was made.
It's looks really one-sided in our favor now. I keep forgetting we got Brogden in the deal.
That said, Brogden could potentially hurt our tank when he's ready to play. But he ought
to be a solid trade asset, assuming the trade is for draft picks which would make more
sense to me.

[payitforward]

Showing signs of life

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=DVhighlights

I liked seeing him play as the point guard on offense.

Nice! to see Deni playing at a high level -- as we all know he can!