I'm having a hard time believing what I'm reading. A month or so ago, people were begging for a third round pick in exchange for Ayton. Now, he's a good option because he had a good exit interview and he still has potential to improve?!?! Wow! Keep starting him and Grant and Simon and this team will be a perennial playin team. No other way about it. The only successful rebuilds are the total rebuilds. You can't start the process and then 3 years in decide to try and make it work with what you've got. Get rid of DA, Ant, Simons. Start and play the young guys. Draft as many talented guys as you can to get as many shots at future contributors as possible. There are clearly two different age groups now. The overpriced vets are what they are and expecting them to work out their shortcomings is foolish...almost ignorant. They've taken this team as far as they are capable of and that's not very far at all. But, let's run it back with the same team led by flawed, overpaid vets and see if they can turn it around next year?! It's like deja vu all over again.
I'm with you. I think we'll get our wish with Ant and Jerami... I feel like our hopes to be rid of Deandre by opening day are slim. Ant sounded like he was sick of being here in his interview during the game and said a lot of thank yous. Jerami said him, his agent and Joe need to figure things out. DA just went off about how he loves it here and I just don't think Joe is going to send out two future second round picks to get rid of him... I hope I'm wrong about needing to include the picks and I hope I'm wrong about us not being able to get rid of Ayton.
Some people don't seem to like them but they seem to be on top of quite a few things. I don't have a problem with them.
I don't have much a problem with them either, I just don't know what they have to do with Ayton vs Clingan
ok...got it now...and yes, I miss a lot of posts is Bleacher Report credible? probably, generally. I know they got some stuff wrong when they were starting out. I'm assuming as their stature has increased they have got better I'm not sure that means everybody employed, associated, or affiliated with them is always right or credible. ESPN, when reporting, is generally credible. Their employees, Skip Bayless and Steven A Smith? not so much. I would imagine a lot of people find Shams Charania credible. But Blazer fans remember his bogus reporting about Payton and Toradol injections.
Great points. Shams is now dead to me for not retracting that toradol crap. Lol Thanks for the clarification!
Meaning im fine with him being a starter for one more year as long as Clingan still gets 25-30 minutes a game. Or im fine switching who starts based on the matchups. Their games are so different i can see both being a better option than the other, given the situation. I dont think his salary is a factor because if we do what we all know needs to be done( shed Ant and Grants salary), then we are fine. I think it would be fine for Clingan to come off the bench one more year, let Ayton show he can ball and then trade him at the deadline. I know… wishful thinking.
my take is that if Portland is going fro wins next season and shooting for the play-in, they should start the C that gives them the best chance of winning. That's Clingan IMO. He was better this season, and I'd assume he will improve a lot more next season than will Ayton but if there's a general reboot next year, I'd imagine Billups will start Ayton again
The eye test favored Clingan and the stats seem to indicate it's not close. Will be interesting to see how Billups tries to figure this out.....
Wait. So Clingan is the better center, but we won 14 more games by starting Ayton? How does that logically work???
I really like Clingan's potential, but he was slightly behind Ayton in PER. In the brief time we saw DA when Deni started going off, he was really good at rolling to the hoop and finishing. That combo is one of Portland's best offensive options. If Ayton isn't moved this offseason, I'd expect he's the starter next year. Portland isn't winning a title next season, so the year should be about improvement. Starting DA creates much less drama and lets them profile him for a trade that may or may not happen while they still feed DC plenty of minutes in a reserve role and when DA is "injured". If he's not moved, I truly doubt they'll resign him & instead opt to clear cap space with him and several others to become 2026 FA players STOMP
Not sure where you’re getting 14 games? My research can be off though, but Clingan was 17-20 as a starting center Clingan was +2.7 as a starter Ayton was 17-23 as a starter Ayton was -6.6 as a starter So our winning% was actually a bit better with Clingan.
I think the 14 games was a reference to the win differential between this season and last, the improvement being pointed to by many as indicating that this team is on the upswing.
I'm just not a fan of Ayton at all. I think his style of basketball player is toxic to a team. Far worse than Ant ball hogging. Ayton literally has some of the worst defense I've ever seen from a center and it's pure lack of effort. On offense he basically tries to shoot inefficient jumpers like LMA but has none of the shooting skill. Ayton stats are fine, but it's similar to Hassan Whiteside. He got ran out of Phoenix, has multiple NBA players that want nothing to do with him. I'd prefer he has nothing to do with our rotation next year. I'd rather see Duop Reath or Jabari Walker get those minutes, and I've been in favor of cutting Jabari Walker. Ayton max contract makes it very unlikely to cut him at least until February. He's just a complete waste of space for an NBA center. I want Grant gone since his contract runs until 2028 - but on the court I want Ayton not playing far more than any player. It's wasn't a coincidence the Blazers defensive stats and wins took a massive leap when Ayton stopped playing.
Ayton vs Clingan is a joke. One was way more effective as a rookie and 7 years younger. Next year it'll be an even bigger gap. I'd honestly much rather have Nurk playing on the floor next year than Ayton, not that I'm hoping to bring Nurk back.
I'll take Clingan but I'm also not entirely out on Ayton. I think when you set a culture, players are more willing to buy in. If you get rid of Ant and Grant, I think Ayton will mold more to the Deni/Tou culture that is setting in. I'd like to see Ayton with a full season with the young core with Scoot starting at the point. If he flourishes, I know everyone will say it's because he's in a contract year.
