RealGM

Indeed, Portland is looking pretty good for that GSW pick might really help Portland by
2025.

Portland could be ahead of schedule with a solid backcourt and hopefully will get Robert Williams
back next season. If they add Buzelis to play a Franz Wagner role and add a BPA to further add
depth, they might be where the Rockets are this season.

just tracking ratings and a possible correlation:

prior to Simons returning, Portland ranked 30th in the NBA in offensive rating. After 6 games with Simons, Portland ranks 27th. Well, we knew Simons was good at offense so it makes some sense

we also know Simons is terrible at defense so how has that gone? Prior to his return, Portland ranked 9-10th in defensive rating. After 6 games, they rank 17th. They are 2.5 points worse on defense now than they were before Ant came back. Portland's net rating is 1.3 points worse now than it was. That makes sense too. For his career Ant has a 111 offensive rating and a 121 offensive rating; that's a -10 net. His career BPM is -1.7. He has a positive OBPM at +0.5; but his DBPM is -2.2. Seems he gives back more on defense than he adds on offense

obviously there could be other factor at work here, but the correlation is fairly undeniable

I think we can dispense with notion that Ayton missing was a factor. He missed the first 3 games of Ant's return but he's been there for the last 3 games. Portland's defensive rating is 115.6. In Ayton's 3 games back, the defensive ratings were 128.6; 126.3; and 122.4. That's an average of 10.1 points worse on defense. And all 3 games were at home

we can also dispense with fewer minutes by Portland's best defenders being a factor: Thybulle, Camara, and Walker have all averaged more minutes in December than they did in November

bump?

Simons has really impressed me this season. He's clearly the best player on the team.
I think he could push for being an all-star next season

Yeah he made that jump as a certified 25ppg+ scorer and true pg. It’s crazy how amazing a replacement for Dame he is.

It confirms what I was fearful of when Scoot dropped to us instead of Miller.

We will have to trade Scoot away for Pennie’s on the dollar cause Simons and Sharpe are better than him and go together very well. Sharpe plays his best at the 2 so unless we want to waste a top 3 pick in a backup we gotta cut our losses and trade Scoot he won’t develop in a backup role and there’s no room for him. Trade him for something hopefully really valuable it’s just a matter of when honestly.

Would the Blazers and Rockets entertain a Scoot for Amen trade?

Blazers20 wrote:Would the Blazers and Rockets entertain a Scoot for Amen trade?

I wouldn't do this as a Blazer fan. Now if you're talking the other Thompson twin... maybe.

Blazers20 wrote:Would the Blazers and Rockets entertain a Scoot for Amen trade?

I wish it’d be a good fit for both teams too. What a mistake Schmitz and company made with Amen.

tester551 wrote:Simons has really impressed me this season. He's clearly the best player on the team.
I think he could push for being an all-star next season

You're in the minority on this board but I'd love to see Ant really improve his stock

Scoot is 19. And he’s already shown a strong basketball IQ with the baby steps he’s taken in his 18 games. For people who have seen enough to make the call that it was a mistake to draft Scoot over the Thompson brothers (or if Brandon Miller had been available), then you’re far quicker on that than I am.

Scoot and Sharpe as a starting backcourt for a contender? Maybe. They need more. More time and experience. More dudes.

As to Simons, he’s on a reasonable contract and is building value for a trade. Dude can shoot from 3 levels and get his own shot. By the end of the year, Simons > McCollum. Improving the talent at forward has been and continues to be THE issue. Maybe this summer.

All this favorable Simons talk is enraging JRoy

I'm still a Blazers fan first and foremost, and would love to see Ant really improve his stock.
Nothing to be gained by being negative or get too attached to any one player

Norm2953 wrote:All this favorable Simons talk is enraging JRoy

I'm still a Blazers fan first and foremost, and would love to see Ant really improve his stock.
Nothing to be gained by being negative or get too attached to any one player

Hardly.

Just not crazy about the idea that the best player on the roster is a short one way sg sub all star.

Norm2953 wrote:

tester551 wrote:Simons has really impressed me this season. He's clearly the best player on the team.
I think he could push for being an all-star next season

You're in the minority on this board but I'd love to see Ant really improve his stock

That's whats crazy is Ant is putting up amazing numbers, he is pretty much as good as Maxey and most people here if you ask them they'd give up Dame for Maxey last year.

Look at him through 9 games this year for example as the lead guy vs Dames first year as the lead guy without LMA both around the same age. The stats are identical but no one in their right mind would've said we gotta trade Dame back then.

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&match=versus_playervplayer&seasons_type=perchoice&year_min=2024&year_max=&player_id1_hint=Anfernee+Simons&player_id1_select=Anfernee+Simons&player_id1=simonan01&idx=&p1yrfrom=2024&p1yrto=2024&player_id2_hint=Damian+Lillard&player_id2_select=Damian+Lillard&player_id2=lillada01&idx=&p2yrfrom=2016&p2yrto=2016&player_id3_hint=&player_id3_select=&player_id3=&idx=&player_id4_hint=&player_id4_select=&player_id4=&idx=&player_id5_hint=&player_id5_select=&player_id5=&idx=&player_id6_hint=&player_id6_select=&player_id6=&idx=&team_id1=&t1yrfrom=1947&t1yrto=2024&team_id2=&t2yrfrom=1947&t2yrto=2024

Obviously some advanced stats are gonna look bad (Vorp for example) on a team that has been rebuilding for 3 years in a row but Simons is one of the best offensive guards in the league already at 24 and people still talk about him like he is some must trade player lol. He is he epitome of modern NBA basketball a lead guard with the deep 3 off the dribble threat that literally changes defensive schemes to always put two players on the ball. It doesn't even matter if he defense doesn't get much better its as bad as Dames and you can have 1 bad defender in your starting five, the thing he is proving right now is he is that lead guard he always showed he was when Dame was injured.

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Already a very clutch player too. We literally could not have found a better Dame replacement if we have a trillion dollar scientific lab.

Wizenheimer: Yeah, but according to advanced metrics...

Blazers20 wrote:Would the Blazers and Rockets entertain a Scoot for Amen trade?

Nah. Ant is worth more. I’d take equivalent draft range to the Thompson twins, just better value for the pick than them. Plus a future first feels better

GreenRiddler wrote:Yeah he made that jump as a certified 25ppg+ scorer and true pg. It’s crazy how amazing a replacement for Dame he is.

It confirms what I was fearful of when Scoot dropped to us instead of Miller.

We will have to trade Scoot away for Pennie’s on the dollar cause Simons and Sharpe are better than him and go together very well. Sharpe plays his best at the 2 so unless we want to waste a top 3 pick in a backup we gotta cut our losses and trade Scoot he won’t develop in a backup role and there’s no room for him. Trade him for something hopefully really valuable it’s just a matter of when honestly.

Eh. Think you're overreacting. Scoot is looking like a nice to have bench player instead of Westbrook/Rose 2.0. But he's not looking like a total bust that doesn't belong in the league.

That said, let's hijack this thread to turn things back to my favorite player, Shaedon Sharpe. Talk all you want about positionless basketball, but it's not. When people tout positionless basketball, they never mention how are they going to defend opposing players? The Blazers tried a roster with three 6'3" guards and it failed despite having a competent coach. Playing Sharpe one position larger (which we constantly do with Grant) just sets him up to fail - or at least not achieve what he could otherwise.

GreenRiddler wrote:Yeah he made that jump as a certified 25ppg+ scorer and true pg. It’s crazy how amazing a replacement for Dame he is.

It confirms what I was fearful of when Scoot dropped to us instead of Miller.

We will have to trade Scoot away for Pennie’s on the dollar cause Simons and Sharpe are better than him and go together very well. Sharpe plays his best at the 2 so unless we want to waste a top 3 pick in a backup we gotta cut our losses and trade Scoot he won’t develop in a backup role and there’s no room for him. Trade him for something hopefully really valuable it’s just a matter of when honestly.

The only reason the Blazers may trade Scoot for pennies on the dollar is because Scoot might turn out to be a so-so player at best. Of course, he's a bad fit defensively with Ant and Shae but they might still run a Simons-Henderson-Sharpe trio in case they need to showcase someone to bump the trade value, but, and that's actually a big BUT, there is little Scoot can show on the court at the moment.

JasonStern wrote:

GreenRiddler wrote:Yeah he made that jump as a certified 25ppg+ scorer and true pg. It’s crazy how amazing a replacement for Dame he is.

It confirms what I was fearful of when Scoot dropped to us instead of Miller.

We will have to trade Scoot away for Pennie’s on the dollar cause Simons and Sharpe are better than him and go together very well. Sharpe plays his best at the 2 so unless we want to waste a top 3 pick in a backup we gotta cut our losses and trade Scoot he won’t develop in a backup role and there’s no room for him. Trade him for something hopefully really valuable it’s just a matter of when honestly.

Eh. Think you're overreacting. Scoot is looking like a nice to have bench player instead of Westbrook/Rose 2.0. But he's not looking like a total bust that doesn't belong in the league.

That said, let's hijack this thread to turn things back to my favorite player, Shaedon Sharpe. Talk all you want about positionless basketball, but it's not. When people tout positionless basketball, they never mention how are they going to defend opposing players? The Blazers tried a roster with three 6'3" guards and it failed despite having a competent coach. Playing Sharpe one position larger (which we constantly do with Grant) just sets him up to fail - or at least not achieve what he could otherwise.

A #3 pick ending up a nice bench player is 100% a bust. To me that is more of a bust than an Oden who had the talent but lost out to injury.

Wiseman #2 in 2020, Bagley #2 in 2018, Fultz #1 in 2017, Okafor #3 in 2015, Parker #2 in 2014, Bennett #1 in 2013. (Only went back 10 years)

If Scoot isnt a middle tier starting caliber PG he will be in the above company. Even Lonzo Ball as a 3rd overall pick managed to become a very useful role player in time - and as a starter to boot.

GreenRiddler wrote:

Blazers20 wrote:Would the Blazers and Rockets entertain a Scoot for Amen trade?

I wish it’d be a good fit for both teams too. What a mistake Schmitz and company made with Amen.

????

Amen's even less ready than Scoot. Dude will probably never be able to shoot effectively. His jumper is fully broken hes has what... 2 severe ankle sprains in like 15 games of action.