Shams: the ****? Simons to Boston for Holiday… real

[Norm2953]

There is some talk on the Bucks board that now Portland will send Ayton/Jrue to Milwaukee for Dame/Pat

[Dame Lizard]

Why do I get the impression that we'll trade a haul for Keegan Murray?

[DusterBuster]

Why do I get the impression that we'll trade a haul for Keegan Murray?

Is Grant going out for him?

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Why do I get the impression that we'll trade a haul for Keegan Murray?

Is Grant going out for him?

Probably more like Camara and 11

[BlazersBroncos]

Thought this was a well articulated and thoughtful take from a non Blazer fan and IMO it strongly reflects how the current FO is approaching this team -

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They will be expiring salary, which makes them salary ballast for a trade assuming their youth develops.

If their youth doesn't develop, then they are bad regardless and the salary of Jrue/Grant isn't all that relevant as this will be a failed rebuild and Portland will be rebuilding.

Essentially they are banking on continued improvement from their 21, 21 and 22 year olds while their maintain a lottery pick this year, a couple juicy 1sts in the future and Deni/Camara as longer-term wing pieces.

Portland was in a spot where they were going to be picking 8-12 the next year or two. Adding a player as conductive to winning as Jrue Holiday is a step in a direction not ending up 8-12. Their ceiling over the next 3 years (2026, 2027 and 2028) was already capped at whatever level Deni/Scoot/Sharpe can achieve while their floor was 8-12 in the draft.

Again, I absolutely love this for Portland. It's a clear direction. They have prospects with a high ceiling with complimentary, not overlapping, skill-sets.

[Jsun947]

Initial thoughts

1.) Better Defense
2.) Better fit on court with Sharpe and/or Scoot
3.) Better mentor for the guards
4.) If we wanted to flip him at the deadline I do think he’ll be easier to move to a contending team willing to send out a future 1st than Simons who required an extension.

The better option would have been to trade Simons for a future 1st without taking back bad money, but I don’t think management wants to be bad…

[Dame Lizard]

This leaves our 3Pt shooting looking quite vulnerable.

Draft Coward / Carter Bryant please Cronin .

[DusterBuster]

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[Walton1one]

lol

On one hand good that Simons is gone rather than resigned

On the other hand, yeah Simons value was not great, the hope is that Cronin acquired him to flip him to a contender for real value as they did before, plenty of teams could have interest: HOU, DAL, LAC come to mind

The thought is Jrue would have more value in trade over Simons to those teams

OR

BIillups has been allowed to run wild and they are keeping Jrue and are under the delusion they are a legit playoff team in an absolutely stacked WC, pure madness

If this trade won’t be completed until 7/6 it gives Cronin time to flip Jrue for better fitting assets, while he may fit Billups’ philosophy, he clearly does not fit their timeline and IF he is on the team will start and once again Scoot will be relegated to the bench

Until I hear differently I am going with the thought that Cronin acquired Jrue b/c he knows he has more value than other offers he was receiving for Simons, who BTW likely ends up as a 1yr rental for BOS

That is me trying to be optimistic, b/c the other alternative, building into a Billups team is to depressing

[ebott]

I really like it. We were a pretty good defensive team in the second half of the year and we just traded our worst defender for one of the best in the league. I'm imagining a world in which we find a way to rid ourselves of Ayton. Also, Robert Williams the third is healthy. Thinking about that makes me happy.

[zzaj]

When I first heard of the trade it didn't even occur to me that Holiday might be staying...Cronin really has a knack for these head scratching, left-of-field, 'nobody had them on their bingo card' trades.

I guess I'm too locked into the concept of the Blazers needing an actual rebuild to have a shot at a young star player/cornerstone rather than a years long trip on a treadmill of maybe 1st round exits. Clearly, Cronin had no intention of rebuilding. He even said that he's interested in trades that bring back players of value. He's been true to that word, I guess...

If I focus on the positives: Jrue is FAR better than Simons in terms of winning and impact. And he's highly capable of defending both PG and SG. I believe he will be a tremendous influence on Clingan as a P&R partner, and maybe he can help refine Scoot on both ends of the ball. And of course it takes away Cronin's ability to give Simons a stupid extension--that's a HUGE relief. I'd much rather have a marginally declining Holiday than an overvalued Simons on the roster at roughly the same money. The Blazers are picking a direction, even if it's a direction I pretty much hate.

Negatives? I don't really see how the Blazers are going to pay Deni/Camara/Sharpe. Cronin is obviously banking on Sharpe/Scoot/Camara/Deni/Clingan REALLY making strides into being cornerstone type pieces in order to eventually be a second round team. Who starts at guard spots next year? Is Scoot going to have another year coming off the bench?

I will say that a weirdo team of:

Holiday
Thybulle
Camara
Deni
Clingan

would be VERY fun defensively.

If the Blazers plan is to flip Jrue, then the jury is still out...I doubt that either Simons or Holiday had 1st rounder value. Otherwise they probably would have been individually traded for that.

[DusterBuster]

With this deal, I have to think the Blazers are going with JK or Bryant at their 11 pick if they keep it. They’re just going full tilt on defense and being good asap.

[Shem]

I will say that a weirdo team of:

Holiday
Thybulle
Camara
Deni
Clingan

would be VERY fun defensively.

Looking forward to seeing a lineup of that.

[Walton1one]

I think maybe the reason this was done the day before the draft is so that Jrue can get flipped to a a contending team, it gives POR the opportunity to maybe acquire another pick\and or players from one of those contenting teams, there were a lot of other teams besides BOS that had interest in Jrue the first time, otherwise this trade really makes no sense to acquire him.

He’s not going to move the needle enough, nor does he likely want be here this time when he clearly didn’t want to be here last time.

I’m going with Joe saw value in Jrue that he could extract from other teams, that he would not get by dealing Simons

[Shem]

At least this prevents Portland from extending Simons for the next 4 years

That was Wiz going on about that fear. I love Wiz and his opinions and his breakdown of numbers, but I NEVER bought into the idea that they're going to keep Simons.

[Walton1one]

This leaves our 3Pt shooting looking quite vulnerable.

Draft Coward / Carter Bryant please Cronin .

When has Cronin showed he ever cared about POR lack of shooting?

[Walton1one]

BTW, sound familiar?

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[red_power]

I'm ok with it. I don't think the FO could squeese much more for Ant anyway. Jrue's contract length is a legit reason to get concerned, but anyway. This trade either makes this team more competitive or simply turns Blazers into a mamoth contracts graveyard and a perenial #1 pick frontlaner until Jrue and Grant deals expire.
Sort of an escape route from a trademill path this team was going with Ant and Ayton.

[Moonbeam]

I don’t imagine Jrue will be with the team past July, and for that reason I like the trade. Even if Holiday stays, I much prefer his style of play to Ant’s. With so many teams feeling they could contend, having a proven winner like Jrue may be enticing enough for a contending team to take on his contract and Portland get a nice return.

[Braggins]

If ya'll are making a win now push then I think Lauri Markkanen would be a fantastic fit on this roster.