Simons vs Lillard?

[Norm2953]

There are times when I wonder if a team like the Magic which is a collection of 6-10 guys throughout
their roster would be open to a trade which Orlando native Anfernee Simons ends up in Orlando and
Portland and Orlando switch places in the draft, allowing Portland to draft Holmgren (or whoever
Portland views as the best fit for their roster).

That might make the Magic really tough with Simons/Suggs in their backcourt and they can sort out
their collection of 6-10 guys they already have on their roster. Portland would (hopefully) get the
player they thought they were getting from the 2017 draft in Holmgren.

THIS!

This is the exact kind of thinking that I most worry about... Moving Simons to appease Dame. It is the nightmare scenario for me.

As for comparisons... Dame has mostly been a combo-guard like a Monte Ellis, and has rarely been asked to play defense since Nate got shown the door. Great shooter/scorer, but BBIQ has always been suspect IMO.
CJ has rarely been asked to be the PG for this team, but rather the starting SG whose job it is to shoot, and shoot some more. CJ's knock is that he's undersized, and got killed on defense against bigger 2s on a regular basis and en in the playoffs. You can get away with one bad defender, but not two.
Simons is a freaky good shooter, learning the PG position from one of the greats. Time will tell mostly, but I can easily see him as a 50/40/90, Steve Nash type, with the athleticism of a Westbrick. NOT TRADING HIM!

Of Course, any such trade I presented presumes Portland was both high on any particular player and Orlando was
agreeable to such a deal. It's not so much a deal to appease Dame but a trade designed to bring a badly needed
piece to the roster which is the guy Zach Collins was supposed to be before he got hurt.

I personally wouldn't make such a deal for in my mind, there are no franchise altering players at the top of this
draft and the strength of this draft is the mid-late lottery where there are solid guys to be found. Even if we pick
14, guys like Mark Williams (Duke), Walker Kessler (Auburn) and perhaps even Duren there to be drafted to fill
Portland's need for a backup center. Portland should be able to add 2 solid prospects and a good player with their
TPE to next year's roster

[GEE]

I don't recall ever being "Anti-Dame" in my comments, but I admit to often not going along with the normal flow of opinions. Is that so wrong WIZ? I've always tried to present myself to be Pro-Blazers, and have admittedly never been a fan of hero ball, or putting one player above the interests of the rest of the team. I've also tried to always be respectful toward others on this board, but because I simply have a difference of opinion as to what direction I think this team should go, some on here continue to take character shots at me, trying to make me out as some kind of bad person.

To state that another poster is coming from some dark place of paranoia is simply wrong IMO. Saying that you think I may have been one of those 4 posters back in 2012 that went "totally ballistic" when we drafted Dame is unfounded, uncalled for, and was obviously pulled straight from your ass. I actually went to Vegas that year to see him play, and like everyone else was amazed by his ability to score the rock. But my belief is that you play for the name on the front of the jersey, and not the name on the back. No one player is above the team.

Stay Classy!

[Wizenheimer]

I don't recall ever being "Anti-Dame" in my comments, but I admit to often not going along with the normal flow of opinions. Is that so wrong WIZ? I've always tried to present myself to be Pro-Blazers, and have admittedly never been a fan of hero ball, or putting one player above the interests of the rest of the team. I've also tried to always be respectful toward others on this board, but because I simply have a difference of opinion as to what direction I think this team should go, some on here continue to take character shots at me, trying to make me out as some kind of bad person.

To state that another poster is coming from some dark place of paranoia is simply wrong IMO. Saying that you think I may have been one of those 4 posters back in 2012 that went "totally ballistic" when we drafted Dame is unfounded, uncalled for, and was obviously pulled straight from your ass. I actually went to Vegas that year to see him play, and like everyone else was amazed by his ability to score the rock. But my belief is that you play for the name on the front of the jersey, and not the name on the back. No one player is above the team.

Stay Classy!

it was a simple question: what has Dame ever done or said that would make you suggest he'd want Simons traded?

[DusterBuster]

I don't recall ever being "Anti-Dame" in my comments, but I admit to often not going along with the normal flow of opinions. Is that so wrong WIZ? I've always tried to present myself to be Pro-Blazers, and have admittedly never been a fan of hero ball, or putting one player above the interests of the rest of the team. I've also tried to always be respectful toward others on this board, but because I simply have a difference of opinion as to what direction I think this team should go, some on here continue to take character shots at me, trying to make me out as some kind of bad person.

To state that another poster is coming from some dark place of paranoia is simply wrong IMO. Saying that you think I may have been one of those 4 posters back in 2012 that went "totally ballistic" when we drafted Dame is unfounded, uncalled for, and was obviously pulled straight from your ass. I actually went to Vegas that year to see him play, and like everyone else was amazed by his ability to score the rock. But my belief is that you play for the name on the front of the jersey, and not the name on the back. No one player is above the team.

Stay Classy!

it was a simple question: what has Dame ever done or said that would make you suggest he'd want Simons traded?

For that matter, when has Dame every said or done anything to suggest he wants ANY teammate traded?

[Wizenheimer]

For that matter, when has Dame every said or done anything to suggest he wants ANY teammate traded?

yep, and I mentioned that in my previous post. As far as I recall...not once in his NBA career

Dame isn't Brandon Roy asking for Zach to be traded or resisting the addition of Andre Miller

[The Sebastian Express]

I actually didn't take the post as Dame would demand or force Ant out, moreso that the team might trade Ant for a veteran to work with Dame's window for contendership, thus 'appeasing' Dame in this sense.

[Wizenheimer]

I actually didn't take the post as Dame would demand or force Ant out, moreso that the team might trade Ant for a veteran to work with Dame's window for contendership, thus 'appeasing' Dame in this sense.

could be, I guess, a case of in-artful language...but I don't buy it because of the narrative about Dame the poster has been pushing the last few months. In the same post he said Dame was like Monta Ellis, but with suspect BBIQ

in fact all you have to do go 5 posts about that one ans see a long post about Dame that goes into more detail:

"Dame hints at continued building of the team "around him" in the interview, and that is where I get concerned"

"We seem to be in a position to cater to Dame 100%, if willing to trade any and all future assets this off-season"

"I personally worry about this more than anything: How willing will the Brass be, to mortgage the future and what we are currently seeing at Dame's request?"

"Will Cronin and the Vulcans draw some sort of line with Dame?"

"Bigger question is for Cronin and the Vulcans: Will they be willing to largely scrap what we've seen on the court for the last two months, and flip it for another star player of two to put around Dame? I honestly am asking, cause I don't know the answer, but I hope the hell not"

"For all parties including Dame, I've thought for some time now that a good PR campaign is all it would really take for Dame to save face" (save face?...wut?)

"I get the feeling Dame is digging in, and still asking for star-power. Whether Cronin plays along remains to be seen. I hope to god not.."

"I think the next few months are going to become increasingly ugly when it comes to matters regarding Dame"

sorry, it's pretty clear he thinks Dame is pushing Blazer brass a direction he doesn't like

[HoopsFanAZ]

Lillard is a great scoring PG with long range and gets to the hoop. Not a selfish shooter.
Playoff D didn’t care about stopping CJ as he wasn’t beating anyone with getting to the hoop or passing or D.
Evan Turner was the attempt to counter the trapping of Lillard with a guard and an agile Big. No threes from ET and not functioning well without the ball … and that bad contract … not the answer.

CJ was never a great pairing because of being a short 2guard whose D stunk.
Dame’s size was never the issue.
Having NO FORWARDS who could be counted on for consistent points (anywhere near 15 a game) AND being switchable on D multiplied all problems.

Will Simons play better D than CJ? Safe bet — Yes. More versatile on O? Yes.
Does Portland STILL need forwards who score? YES. And switchable.

Pray to the Lottery gods. Pray to the basketball gods for a trade. Just … do whatever is the equivalent for your belief system. I am no longer tied to any Blazers player in the absolute. Nor am I against a Lillard-Simons pairing in itself.
I will return to agnostically praying, now.

[Wizenheimer]

.....
Does Portland STILL need forwards who score? YES. And switchable.

agree, although I'd define the biggest need as 2-way wings. Guys like PG13, Kawhi, Butler, Middleton....guys who can pass, dribble-drive, and be a perimeter threat while being good, versatile defenders. That's what Portland never found in the Stolshey era. Batum was the last, but he was on the team pre-olshey, and was way too passive attacking the basket. Matthews was a good player, but he was much more 3&D than 2-way....if you can see the distinction I do

obviously, landing a 2-way player at the level of the 4 guys I mentioned is a difficult task. But I think we have recently seen the value of a 2-way with the addition of Hart. He's nowhere close to all-star level, but he's solid on both ends of the floor. I don't think you want him initiating the offense too often though.

Winslow is kind of like a 2-way wing but has the major flaw of being a terrible perimeter shooter. He's also an injury magnet, In the 5 seasons before this one, he missed 211 of 402 games....more than half. Blazers will be taking a big risk next season is they are depending on the injury prone Winslow & Little

maybe that's why we keep hearing rumors of Portland chasing after Grant. I'm not a fan of Grant but if the Blazers can get him at a decent cost I'd be ok with it. I wouldn't give up a top-10 pick for him though