In case you missed this interview at Summer League: Avdija: I'm very excited. Now it's a chance come to a new place and shine and help the team win. About new teammates: Good group of guys. Young, fun. I think it's going to be a blast.
It'd be fun to see Point Deni experiments. The Blazers ran Thybulle at PG due to injury default last season. It was fun to watch a bigger PG who can hold his own defensively.
or it allows us to play 2 scoring SGs at times. I have always loved the idea of having a point forward, I hope this one finally works out. I am not sure how he and Scoot will fit together. My hope is a Scoot, Deni, and Sharpe trio will give us more fast break baskets. On the other hand, if Deni really can be an effective point forward, he and Ant and Sharpe would be an effective trio as well. If you start Scoot, then bring in Ant midway through the 1st while Deni is still in. Ideally, Banton could provide a similar point-forward skill set with the 2nd team. Not saying Banton is as good, but he, Ant, and either Thybulle or Rupert might be part of an effective 2nd unit. (Maybe bring Ayton back in with them along with either Camara or Walker)
Scoot, Deni, and DC are all very good passers, and I could see them playing together... a lot. Pretty exciting, actually.
Main problem is that only one of those guys has had a season where he shot the three well, and that was only one season. So Scoot and Avdija need to be consistent three point shooters for that lineup to work. Or add two other really good shooters.
Yep, you don't want to waste good passing by not having good shooters to receive the pass. Despite what analytics might suggest, I think we have 4 reliable shooters: Grant, Ant, Sharpe, and Ayton. And of course, 1 less if Grant is moved. They need to be staggered so we have two of them on the court at all times. I guess Deni could be considered one as well. But I need to see it first. I am still hopeful for Rupert but it might be another year.
Ant and Grant are our only proven shooters.... and it's possible neither are on the team next year. So, I don't think shooting is a primary consideration when making lineups until we know whether they're on the team.
This is why they're not in a rush to move Grant. He's a reliable shooter at a position of need. If I'm Cronin, I'm prioritizing a trade with Simons and only moving Grant if someone meets my asking price. Scoot (non shooter) Sharpe (potential shooter) Avdija (shooter) Grant (Shooter) Ayton (potential shooter)
It certainly makes it tough to talk about actual Blazer basketball for the upcoming season. But I am going to assume that at least one of them will be back.
Sure, in the immediate future, but long term that's still three guys from our core who aren't reliable shooters. Sharpe hasn't really shown to be consistent either.
Possible, but not likely. I don't see Cronin consummating any more significant deals until February. Ant/Grant would probably be the best pairing to add to that Scoot/Deni/DC trio that was mentioned.
I'm skeptical any Blazer player has shown enough skill and 2-way talent to be considered a core player, except by default because there's nobody better. It's possible Scoot-Sharpe-Clingan will get there; it's possible they won't. Maybe my definition of core is too restrictive but after years of Olshey believing CJ was a core player, I'll stick to a restrictive standard
I think it could go either way. If one has to go I would guess it is Grant due to his 4 year age difference and longer contract. But I guess it comes down to their goal this year. How badly do they want to tank? As you said Grant fills a bigger need this year.......and it is also the position they would probably be tanking for. Now if they don't intend to tank, then why trade either? Thybulle will come off their books next summer ( I assume he will opt out) and if Williams is healthy they can dump his contract. That will be 25 million coming off the books next summer. So they will have a little flexibility. None the less my guess is Grant will be the one moved.
finding competitive lineups that struggle in the 3 point department is an executive decision. Benching starters midway through the year is not stealth tanking. Nuisance lineups that play hard & keep scores close... that's important for cap space flexibility & ping pong mania. Adding better 3 point shooters will be a point of emphasis after the Blazers improve, and no longer need a significant lottery pick.
Blazer fans received Olshey shock therapy if they questioned the idea of rebuilding around CJ McCollum. bzzzzt! *Robin Lopez, Meyers Leonard & Joel Freeland combined stats were clearly better then Steven Adams. bzzzzt!! **Giannis would not develop properly as a backup for LaMarcus Aldridge.
