I think I’m done with Scoot

[m0ng0]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Simons is a lot better than Scoot right now. Simons is not the worst PG ever.

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Why is it so offensive that many of us are not excited about Anfernee Simons being a featured player on this squad?

I don't want the Blazers to suck any more than you do. Yet, here we are, Simons, Ayton, Grant, and all.

[m0ng0]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

[Tim Lehrbach]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

No, it doesn't. Dame consistently produced more wins when he had teammates better than Simons, and Dame measured as a vastly better contributor by any metric you care to choose.

But... if you really want to go there, let's. You'll see that people aren't just picking on Simons. The Blazers topped out as a flukey WCF team with Dame, were generally average, and by the later years many people wanted to move on from him and that team, too. I loved the Lillard era and wanted to ride it out, but it's not because I was thought Dame was some tier-one, superstar leading man. Rather, he was the consummate franchise cornerstone, an exciting player, and the best #1 the team could reasonably hope to boast during those years. Simons does not share his status as a franchise player and is not on Dame's level as a player.

[m0ng0]

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

No, it doesn't. Dame consistently produced more wins when he had teammates better than Simons, and Dame measured as a vastly better contributor by any metric you care to choose.

But... if you really want to go there, let's. You'll see that people aren't just picking on Simons. The Blazers topped out as a flukey WCF team with Dame, were generally average, and by the later years many people wanted to move on from him and that team, too. I loved the Lillard era and wanted to ride it out, but it's not because I was thought Dame was some tier-one, superstar leading man. Rather, he was the consummate franchise cornerstone, an exciting player, and the best #1 the team could reasonably hope to boast during those years. Simons does not share his status as a franchise player and is not on Dame's level as a player.

Fair enough buddy, i just hate when the standards don't seem to be the same.

[GEE]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

Oh no he (or she) di-ent........

Kidding of course, but you're not alone in this. I've always wondered why people didn't see Dame for what he was, and would rip Simons for his shortcomings, but give Dame a free pass for the very same flaws. The obvious one being Defense, or a lack of. Claims of Dame being such a great distributor are also baffling to me, because while he leads this franchise in Assists, he also leads in TO's.

As for Scoot.... I still think the kid will be just fine. I think his first year could be summed up as: Humbling.

[zzaj]

Simons is, however, a dime-a-dozen small gunner. He hasn't lifted the Blazers to any success in his 53-90 record as a starter, many of which games were played with Damian Lillard on the team. He isn't durable. He isn't a kid with huge untapped potential. He has only two years left on his contract and is tired of being on a losing team.

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

Oh no he (or she) di-ent........

Kidding of course, but you're not alone in this. I've always wondered why people didn't see Dame for what he was, and would rip Simons for his shortcomings, but give Dame a free pass for the very same flaws. The obvious one being Defense, or a lack of. Claims of Dame being such a great distributor are also baffling to me, because while he leads this franchise in Assists, he also leads in TO's.

As for Scoot.... I still think the kid will be just fine. I think his first year could be summed up as: Humbling.

This is a very myopic view of the difference between Lillard and Simons.

There were pretty consistent times when Lillard quite literally put the team on his back and willed victories--that is something that Ant has yet to show he can do, and as a now 7th year vet I doubt he will.

Now, IMO a pretty big chunk of that credit also goes to Stotts and how he utilized Lillard as option 1 in the PnR extended. Lillard had at least 5 years where that was the #1 team option, so he got very good at recognizing opposing team coverages of that play and what his best options were. Of course, he (and the team) wasn't able to solve when opposing teams forced the ball out of his hands (a la New Orleans and Holiday) but that's another story...

Part of a PGs role, at least traditionally was to provide a steadying force to the team--clock management, limit turnovers, make sure the offense is getting run correctly, make sure team defense is in-sync, basically run the game plan as mistake free as possible. These are things that Lillard could do pretty well as a PG, especially in the halfcourt. Simons hasn't shown the ability to consistently "run" a team.

So, my point is...drawing parallels between Lillard and Simons and equating them because both are shoot-first players and bad defenders isn't an accurate representation of what each actually brings to a team, respectively.

[Wizenheimer]

Does that mean Dame sucked too?

Oh no he (or she) di-ent........

Kidding of course, but you're not alone in this. I've always wondered why people didn't see Dame for what he was, and would rip Simons for his shortcomings, but give Dame a free pass for the very same flaws. The obvious one being Defense, or a lack of. Claims of Dame being such a great distributor are also baffling to me, because while he leads this franchise in Assists, he also leads in TO's.

As for Scoot.... I still think the kid will be just fine. I think his first year could be summed up as: Humbling.

This is a very myopic view of the difference between Lillard and Simons.

There were pretty consistent times when Lillard quite literally put the team on his back and willed victories--that is something that Ant has yet to show he can do, and as a now 7th year vet I doubt he will.

Now, IMO a pretty big chunk of that credit also goes to Stotts and how he utilized Lillard as option 1 in the PnR extended. Lillard had at least 5 years where that was the #1 team option, so he got very good at recognizing opposing team coverages of that play and what his best options were. Of course, he (and the team) wasn't able to solve when opposing teams forced the ball out of his hands (a la New Orleans and Holiday) but that's another story...

Part of a PGs role, at least traditionally was to provide a steadying force to the team--clock management, limit turnovers, make sure the offense is getting run correctly, make sure team defense is in-sync, basically run the game plan as mistake free as possible. These are things that Lillard could do pretty well as a PG, especially in the halfcourt. Simons hasn't shown the ability to consistently "run" a team.

So, my point is...drawing parallels between Lillard and Simons and equating them because both are shoot-first players and bad defenders isn't an accurate representation of what each actually brings to a team, respectively.

good post

Simons is CJ 2.0, only with much worse defense. I think if the Blazers hadn't went with CJ as the starting, undersized, bad-defense SG for 7 seasons there would probably be a little more patience for the flaws Simons has. But we've had those 7 years of the CJ river flowing under the bridge followed by 2 years of the Simons river chasing it down the same channel; and apparently, are looking at a 10th year of the same old tired boring shiz at SG. Even though it is blatantly obvious that's a roster mistake rebooted over and over and over

Dame wasn't the starting SG; he was the starting PG. Simons isn't. Dame, in his prime was a top-10ish talent. Simons isn't even top-75th talent. Any comparison between the two used as a defense of Simons fails simple logic

[Walton1one]

Wiz\Anyone -

Is there a way to calculate potential assists?

I have watched all but (1) game and unless I am imagining it, it sure seems Scoot has a lot of missed assist opportunities, where he drove into the paint, made a good pass and the player bricked the shot (a common occurrence).

Shooting\Finishing aside, he is averaging 4.8 AST\2.9 TO, but it sure appears that there are at least 3+ AST/game he is missing out on b\c this team cannot hit an outside shot to save their lives.

[Pattycakes]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Ant blocking Scoot and Scoot often looking better should be self explanatory. Clearly we need to offload the former and just let it play out

[Wizenheimer]

Wiz\Anyone -

Is there a way to calculate potential assists?

I have watched all but (1) game and unless I am imagining it, it sure seems Scoot has a lot of missed assist opportunities, where he drove into the paint, made a good pass and the player bricked the shot (a common occurrence).

Shooting\Finishing aside, he is averaging 4.8 AST\2.9 TO, but it sure appears that there are at least 3+ AST/game he is missing out on b\c this team cannot hit an outside shot to save their lives.

NBA.com tries to track potential assists. I'm a little skeptical about the effort because it seems quite arbitrary and subjective

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing?Season=2024-25&dir=D&sort=TEAM_ABBREVIATION

but all passers in the NBA are going to have plenty of bricks laid off of their passes. Chris Paul...Dame...Stockton. If a player has a higher success rate I'm not sure you can attribute it to bad teammates when it could be that passing choices have more to do with it

for instance, on that page I linked, Simons is credited with 4.6 assists vs 9.4 potential assists. A 49% conversion rate. But De'Aaron Fox
is at 4.7 vs 10.5; a 45% conversion rate. Does Fox have worse shooting teammates than Simons? The evidence sure seems to be otherwise because Fox's teammates, DeRozan at a 65% conversion rate, and Sabonis at a 59% conversion rate do considerably better. Looks like maybe Fox can't recognize quality passing opportunities as well as his teammates

Simons is in his 7th season. I'd think the excuses stage probably ends by a 3rd season. He's been given the PG duties this season, when he never really earned them, and his assist/turnover ratio is 1.79. That's pretty weak for a 7 year veteran guard. Jalen Williams is in his 3rd season with a 2.08 ratio. SGA at 2.32. Devin Booker is averaging 7.3 assists with a 3.84 assist/turnover ratio. There are gaurds a lot worse obviously, but most of them aren't playing PG

[DusterBuster]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Ant blocking Scoot and Scoot often looking better should be self explanatory. Clearly we need to offload the former and just let it play out

As much as I'm down on Scoot as a prospect at this point, I whole heartedly agree here. Move Simons for whatever you can get and throw Scoot to the fire. It's time to see if he can play with the big boys or not. If he flames out, at least you can say it wasn't for a lack of trying to give him the opportunity - which you absolutely can say now.

[Sinobas]

I give Scoot about a 35% chance of being good and a 65% chance of not really developing beyond what he is now. Most players don't really take on this 45 degree trajectory.

But I'm done with Simons. No reason to keep him and his pouty attitude. We get the same thing from Banton as we do from Simons. IN fact, Banton has been better this year, at at least he has length, and gives us rebounding to boot.

[monopoman]

Scoot has a lot of potential I see flashes of the player he could become, but it's not set in stone. He sure as **** deserves heavy minutes, we aren't even trying to win games right now.

I would rather put Scoot out there a ton and then we know what we have than not give him enough of a chance and we end up trading him or letting him walk, and some other team reaps the benefits.

[Wizenheimer]

Why worry? SIMONS is a trash pg, it's only a matter of time right? He is the worst pg ever so Scoot should have no problem beating him out right? We should have traded Simons for a bag of balls right? That's the logic around here at least... careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I'm hopeful he can turn it around, but until he does he rides the pine and makes the best of his minutes.

Ant blocking Scoot and Scoot often looking better should be self explanatory. Clearly we need to offload the former and just let it play out

As much as I'm down on Scoot as a prospect at this point, I whole heartedly agree here. Move Simons for whatever you can get and throw Scoot to the fire. It's time to see if he can play with the big boys or not. If he flames out, at least you can say it wasn't for a lack of trying to give him the opportunity - which you absolutely can say now.

I agree

throw him into the fire; see if he sinks or swims; if he's got what it takes to find his mojo, tap into his upside, and find his groove

"metaphor department: wiz speaking"

[DusterBuster]

Ant blocking Scoot and Scoot often looking better should be self explanatory. Clearly we need to offload the former and just let it play out

As much as I'm down on Scoot as a prospect at this point, I whole heartedly agree here. Move Simons for whatever you can get and throw Scoot to the fire. It's time to see if he can play with the big boys or not. If he flames out, at least you can say it wasn't for a lack of trying to give him the opportunity - which you absolutely can say now.

I agree

throw him into the fire; see if he sinks or swims; if he's got what it takes to find his mojo, tap into his upside, and find his groove

"metaphor department: wiz speaking"

He's either gonna bat a thousand or strike out, we're on the 10yd line, it's time to find out if he's smarter than a fifth grader.

[Walton1one]

The 2025 draft has some intriguing PG prospects

Harper\Traore\Demin

The more data they have on Scoot, the more informed decisions they can make

[Butter]

As much as I'm down on Scoot as a prospect at this point, I whole heartedly agree here. Move Simons for whatever you can get and throw Scoot to the fire. It's time to see if he can play with the big boys or not. If he flames out, at least you can say it wasn't for a lack of trying to give him the opportunity - which you absolutely can say now.

I agree

throw him into the fire; see if he sinks or swims; if he's got what it takes to find his mojo, tap into his upside, and find his groove

"metaphor department: wiz speaking"

He's either gonna bat a thousand or strike out, we're on the 10yd line, it's time to find out if he's smarter than a fifth grader.

Baseball, football, AND Jeff Foxworthy? Nice

[monopoman]

The 2025 draft has some intriguing PG prospects

Harper\Traore\Demin

The more data they have on Scoot, the more informed decisions they can make

Scoot also is still very young, typically the biggest problem in the NBA with very young guys is inconsistency and that is Scoot's issue he makes plays or has moments where you see what he could be if he did that more often. The problem is he will follow that up later in the game with a bone headed play or something.

I think people just expected him to come in and look great on day 1 and while that can happen with very young guys it sure is easier said than done. Especially when trying to play arguably the most difficult position on the court, I have noticed one stat the helps Scoot out though his play with Clingan on the court is markedly better than Ayton, and we all know Ayton can't set a screen for **** so part of his issue might be Ayton making things tougher for him.

[Butter]

The 2025 draft has some intriguing PG prospects

Harper\Traore\Demin

The more data they have on Scoot, the more informed decisions they can make

Scoot also is still very young, typically the biggest problem in the NBA with very young guys is inconsistency and that is Scoot's issue he makes plays or has moments where you see what he could be if he did that more often. The problem is he will follow that up later in the game with a bone headed play or something.

I think people just expected him to come in and look great on day 1 and while that can happen with very young guys it sure is easier said than done. Especially when trying to play arguably the most difficult position on the court, I have noticed one stat the helps Scoot out though his play with Clingan on the court is markedly better than Ayton, and we all know Ayton can't set a screen for **** so part of his issue might be Ayton making things tougher for him.

I'm having flashbacks of passing on Chris Paul and Deron Williams because of Bassy Telfair.