MrDraftGuy
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The more I analyze things, the more I come to the conclusion that Amen Thompson is the best fit in Portland, out of the top prospects projected after Wemby. Unfortunately, they all have weaknesses so it's just a matter of which weaknesses can be resolved by Portland's current core.
Amen Thompson's main weakness is corrected by Dame, Simons, and Sharpe who can handle the ball and shoot for him. Meanwhile, his strengths are extremely complimentary to that core. You won't be able to stop that 1-3/3-1 combination between all three players. At any given moment, two of them are going to drive it in against you at breakneck speed (either hammering it down or dishing to the corner/passing to the other player) or two of them are going to shoot over you which opens up the court for someone to drive it in. All the while, at least two of these players will also be able to handle the ball and facilitate. If Sharpe improves defensively, you're going to get two lengthy defenders, as well. Meanwhile, Thompson is a natural born leader with intangible skills which Dame has and Sharpe might have, as well.
With Thompson, you're getting Scottie Pippen to put next to Shaedon Sharpe's MJ. Yes, yes, it's sacrilegious to compare them to these two but I hope you get my point here - it's about chemistry between two well rounded and hyper athletic players and less about the total PPG between players. Because when you get Amen Thompson, you're going to have a player at the 3 who can move around and handle the ball, something Portland hasn't had since Nic Batum. Essentially, you're going to get a team that can move with purpose rather than camp out at the three point line (which, let me ask you, are you bored of seeing this style of basketball?)
Brandon Miller is the next best bet. His strengths are obvious - shooting, scoring, some defense, some playmaking. I know fans are thinking ONLY of the possible ideal fantasy moments with Miller that they ignore the not so ideal moments they'd have with him. In Miller's case, the reality is that he can be a bit of a chucker and suffer from inconsistent/low IQ moments while also being soft around the rim. This isn't something specific to him, either. When you look at players like MPJ, Danny Granger, Michael Beasley, even Jayson Tatum...all of whom he plays like, you'll notice that this particular player archetype suffers from these weaknesses (Tatum obviously less so but Miller isn't Tatum tier as a prospect).
You're not getting a Lebron James or Jimmy Butler type player, here, essentially. And I was super high on Banchero last year and easily had him #1 in the draft. Miller is NOT Banchero, either. There is probably always going to be a question of 'heart' surrounding Miller's offensive game. We can sort of see this when he went up against tougher competition. He still had a few good games but compared to say, Tatum or Banchero during their college years against tough competition (they did extremely well), Miller's offensive impact was severely limited when pitted against ranked teams.
I cannot stress this enough when considering Brandon Miller, who I still think can be a perennial All-Star. He's going to do very well but it's going to be frustrating when he doesn't show up.
Scoot Henderson, I really like as a prospect for a pure rebuild but his main weakness is essentially the same thing as Amen Thompson - his three point shot is non-existent. However, unlike Thompson, he isn't as fast nor explosive, his court vision isn't as good, he isn't as lengthy, he is shorter, and his body control isn't as good.
That makes it sound like Scoot sucks or lacks those skills. Quite the opposite, actually. He possesses all the main strengths of Thompson at a high level....except Thompson is just slightly better at most of them. He's a better ball handler and his shooting stroke looks better (and he should become a better shooter considering his FT%) than Thompson so he has that going for him in a way I think Amen will never have. And that should propel Scoot to be a better overall scorer.
However, because you're drafting Scoot to replace Simons and Dame, his three point shooting means Portland won't be a good shooting team with him. That's the major issue, here. Unless you can trade Simons+23rd for Ausar or Jarace Walker, I don't see a team that can shoot and possess versatility, going forward, which I think is a problem in a league that prioritizes versatility and shooting. That's why I think Amen, who is on the same tier as Scoot, is a better fit since it'd allow Simons/Dame to have a bigger role while ensuring that Portland remains a versatile team that can shoot lights out.
Amen Thompson's main weakness is corrected by Dame, Simons, and Sharpe who can handle the ball and shoot for him. Meanwhile, his strengths are extremely complimentary to that core. You won't be able to stop that 1-3/3-1 combination between all three players. At any given moment, two of them are going to drive it in against you at breakneck speed (either hammering it down or dishing to the corner/passing to the other player) or two of them are going to shoot over you which opens up the court for someone to drive it in. All the while, at least two of these players will also be able to handle the ball and facilitate. If Sharpe improves defensively, you're going to get two lengthy defenders, as well. Meanwhile, Thompson is a natural born leader with intangible skills which Dame has and Sharpe might have, as well.
With Thompson, you're getting Scottie Pippen to put next to Shaedon Sharpe's MJ. Yes, yes, it's sacrilegious to compare them to these two but I hope you get my point here - it's about chemistry between two well rounded and hyper athletic players and less about the total PPG between players. Because when you get Amen Thompson, you're going to have a player at the 3 who can move around and handle the ball, something Portland hasn't had since Nic Batum. Essentially, you're going to get a team that can move with purpose rather than camp out at the three point line (which, let me ask you, are you bored of seeing this style of basketball?)
Brandon Miller is the next best bet. His strengths are obvious - shooting, scoring, some defense, some playmaking. I know fans are thinking ONLY of the possible ideal fantasy moments with Miller that they ignore the not so ideal moments they'd have with him. In Miller's case, the reality is that he can be a bit of a chucker and suffer from inconsistent/low IQ moments while also being soft around the rim. This isn't something specific to him, either. When you look at players like MPJ, Danny Granger, Michael Beasley, even Jayson Tatum...all of whom he plays like, you'll notice that this particular player archetype suffers from these weaknesses (Tatum obviously less so but Miller isn't Tatum tier as a prospect).
You're not getting a Lebron James or Jimmy Butler type player, here, essentially. And I was super high on Banchero last year and easily had him #1 in the draft. Miller is NOT Banchero, either. There is probably always going to be a question of 'heart' surrounding Miller's offensive game. We can sort of see this when he went up against tougher competition. He still had a few good games but compared to say, Tatum or Banchero during their college years against tough competition (they did extremely well), Miller's offensive impact was severely limited when pitted against ranked teams.
I cannot stress this enough when considering Brandon Miller, who I still think can be a perennial All-Star. He's going to do very well but it's going to be frustrating when he doesn't show up.
Scoot Henderson, I really like as a prospect for a pure rebuild but his main weakness is essentially the same thing as Amen Thompson - his three point shot is non-existent. However, unlike Thompson, he isn't as fast nor explosive, his court vision isn't as good, he isn't as lengthy, he is shorter, and his body control isn't as good.
That makes it sound like Scoot sucks or lacks those skills. Quite the opposite, actually. He possesses all the main strengths of Thompson at a high level....except Thompson is just slightly better at most of them. He's a better ball handler and his shooting stroke looks better (and he should become a better shooter considering his FT%) than Thompson so he has that going for him in a way I think Amen will never have. And that should propel Scoot to be a better overall scorer.
However, because you're drafting Scoot to replace Simons and Dame, his three point shooting means Portland won't be a good shooting team with him. That's the major issue, here. Unless you can trade Simons+23rd for Ausar or Jarace Walker, I don't see a team that can shoot and possess versatility, going forward, which I think is a problem in a league that prioritizes versatility and shooting. That's why I think Amen, who is on the same tier as Scoot, is a better fit since it'd allow Simons/Dame to have a bigger role while ensuring that Portland remains a versatile team that can shoot lights out.
Would be welcomed with open arms in PDX, I’m sure
