Anfernee Simons trade destinations

[Ripcity4life77]

I think Ant is gone but not just yet -- my predictions for vets traded off the team go in this order

1) Brogs
2) Williams
Grant
3) Thybulle
4) Ant

I would say 1 through 3 could happen around the draft to mid offseason this year and 4th being Ant being Trade deadline to next Summer ..... However there is one caveat to this --

Caveat -- If the Blazers end up with Castle then Ant goes to 1 or 2 on the list and Brogs might stay to mentor Castle until deadline

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I don't think so.

First of all Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogus was a pretty good return for Ellis.

True, but you can't compare it to the return for Anfernee because that hasn't happened.

Secondly Ellis had to go because he didn't get along with Steph and they were a duplication.

"Didn't get along" is (a) irrelevant (Larry Bird and Kevin McHale hated each other) and (b) speculation, and they were not a duplication because Steph played point and Ellis played SG. If by "duplication" you meant that Ellis was small enough to be a point, well... look at Anfernee.

Ant gets along with both Scoot and Sharpe and he is not a duplication of either.

I don't get what you mean by "duplication". He's a duplication of Scoot's height and Sharpe's skillset. He doesn't play particularly well with either. Sharpe defers to him too much and he's not that good off the ball. He's neither fish nor fowl. Which is probably why nobody's blowing off the doors for him despite him being a 20+ ppg scorer at decent efficiency.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think Ant is gone but not just yet -- my predictions for vets traded off the team go in this order

1) Brogs
2) Williams
Grant
3) Thybulle
4) Ant

I would say 1 through 3 could happen around the draft to mid offseason this year and 4th being Ant being Trade deadline to next Summer ..... However there is one caveat to this --

Caveat -- If the Blazers end up with Castle then Ant goes to 1 or 2 on the list and Brogs might stay to mentor Castle until deadline

If the Blazers get Castle, wouldn't it be Scoot who is most likely traded? I can't see Scoot and Castle playing together, but I can see Ant and Castle. (Even with Sharpe starting)

 

[Pinwheel1]

True, but you can't compare it to the return for Anfernee because that hasn't happened.



"Didn't get along" is (a) irrelevant (Larry Bird and Kevin McHale hated each other) and (b) speculation, and they were not a duplication because Steph played point and Ellis played SG. If by "duplication" you meant that Ellis was small enough to be a point, well... look at Anfernee.



I don't get what you mean by "duplication". He's a duplication of Scoot's height and Sharpe's skillset. He doesn't play particularly well with either. Sharpe defers to him too much and he's not that good off the ball. He's neither fish nor fowl. Which is probably why nobody's blowing off the doors for him despite him being a 20+ ppg scorer at decent efficiency.

Do you expect to get the former #1 pick who is entering his prime or Ant? If we do then I am on board. (Assuming the guy hasn't been a bust)


Ellis and Steph were duplications. (Small combo guards) One of them needed to come off the bench.
Scoot is a pure PG
Sharpe is a SG.
Ant is a combo guard.
Thus not a duplication of skills.

Ant said he and Scoot and Sharpe could make it work. Ellis on the other hand said:

“Can’t,” responded Ellis, when asked about playing alongside Curry. “We just can’t … Just can’t. They (general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson) say you can, but you can’t.”

Ellis didn’t like one bit the idea the Warriors drafted another “combo” type guard, and the organization took that disappointment seriously enough that Riley and Nelson went to visit Ellis that offseason after the draft. Riley and Nelson told Ellis there was room for the both of them in the backcourt, but Ellis wasn’t having it."

https://matthewsteinmetz.com/2015/1...ephen-curry-in-check-better-than-monta-ellis/

 

[Ripcity4life77]

I am not sure I am for this as much as I was the first time I mentioned it cause I kind of forgot about Sharpe but to answer you Pin.

I like the idea of a Scoot / Castle back court with Sharpe playing the 3 BUT and this is where I am starting to waver on this idea you then need your PF and Center to be like solid defenders for this to work to make up for Sharpe at the 3. As much as I am wavering on it this would be a interesting idea but might be hard to get the parts around them to make it work. Also one more thing you would need a little more scoring off the bench to make this work too and might be more of a old school build for a new style NBA.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I am not sure I am for this as much as I was the first time I mentioned it cause I kind of forgot about Sharpe but to answer you Pin.

I like the idea of a Scoot / Castle back court with Sharpe playing the 3 BUT and this is where I am starting to waver on this idea you then need your PF and Center to be like solid defenders for this to work to make up for Sharpe at the 3. As much as I am wavering on it this would be a interesting idea but might be hard to get the parts around them to make it work. Also one more thing you would need a little more scoring off the bench to make this work too and might be more of a old school build for a new style NBA.

For me, it is more about the lack of shooting between Scoot and Castle. Castle at 210 lbs is the same weight as Grant. He could guard SFs IMO if he is as good of a defender as they say.

But Castle could be that pt forward that I have always craved. It allows you to play with two big shooting guards. Then you have 3 guys who can switch well on defense. But this is a bit moot because I don't think Castle drops to us.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Somebody look up "best duos" stats for the Blazers - I want to see where Ant/Scoot and Ant/Shae rank

 

[Boomchakalaka2]

I think Ant is gone but not just yet -- my predictions for vets traded off the team go in this order

1) Brogs
2) Williams
Grant
3) Thybulle
4) Ant

I would say 1 through 3 could happen around the draft to mid offseason this year and 4th being Ant being Trade deadline to next Summer ..... However there is one caveat to this --

Caveat -- If the Blazers end up with Castle then Ant goes to 1 or 2 on the list and Brogs might stay to mentor Castle until deadline

I see it in reverse

Ant
Thybulle
Grant
Williams
Brogdan

 

[wizenheimer]

Somebody look up "best duos" stats for the Blazers - I want to see where Ant/Scoot and Ant/Shae rank

Rk Lineup MP PTS

1 D. Ayton | T. Camara 792:53 -3.1
2 M. Brogdon | J. Grant 758:48 -3.5
3 T. Camara | J. Grant 816:58 -4.6
4 D. Ayton | A. Simons 782:49 -4.6
5 M. Thybulle | J. Walker 645:47 -5.5
6 D. Ayton | M. Thybulle 619:26 -5.6
7 S. Henderson | M. Thybulle 631:45 -7.1
8 T. Camara | A. Simons 804:41 -8.0
9 A. Simons | M. Thybulle 567:28 -8.4
10 D. Ayton | J. Grant 1036:55 -9.0
11 J. Grant | M. Thybulle 773:27 -9.0
12 J. Grant | S. Sharpe 641:48 -10.9
13 D. Ayton | S. Henderson 721:42 -11.2
14 T. Camara | S. Henderson 649:46 -12.1
15 J. Grant | A. Simons 791:01 -12.3
16 S. Henderson | J. Walker 816:56 -13.6
17 S. Henderson | D. Reath 619:16 -14.1
18 D. Ayton | J. Walker 615:04 -17.0
19 J. Grant | S. Henderson 663:09 -17.2
20 S. Henderson | A. Simons 611:05 -20.4

seems Sharpe didn't play enough to register with anybody but Grant. But no surprise that Simons + Scoot was a disaster. Of course, Scoot didn't seem to perform well with anybody according to the line up stats

in 3-man lineups, Bogdon + Grant + Camara was best while Ant + Grant + Scoot was the worst. Sharpe shows up a bit more in 3-man combos performing well with Grant and Camara

 

[SharpesTriumph]

If the Blazers get Castle, wouldn't it be Scoot who is most likely traded? I can't see Scoot and Castle playing together, but I can see Ant and Castle. (Even with Sharpe starting)

I don't see why Scoot and a 6'6 guard/forward can't play together.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Do you expect to get the former #1 pick who is entering his prime or Ant? If we do then I am on board. (Assuming the guy hasn't been a bust)


Ellis and Steph were duplications. (Small combo guards) One of them needed to come off the bench.
Scoot is a pure PG
Sharpe is a SG.
Ant is a combo guard.
Thus not a duplication of skills.

Ant said he and Scoot and Sharpe could make it work. Ellis on the other hand said:

“Can’t,” responded Ellis, when asked about playing alongside Curry. “We just can’t … Just can’t. They (general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson) say you can, but you can’t.”

Ellis didn’t like one bit the idea the Warriors drafted another “combo” type guard, and the organization took that disappointment seriously enough that Riley and Nelson went to visit Ellis that offseason after the draft. Riley and Nelson told Ellis there was room for the both of them in the backcourt, but Ellis wasn’t having it."

https://matthewsteinmetz.com/2015/1...ephen-curry-in-check-better-than-monta-ellis/

We already did get the Bogut style former #1 pick center.... somehow flipped Nurk for him.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Ellis and Steph were duplications. (Small combo guards) One of them needed to come off the bench.

There's the good kind of "combo guard" - best of both worlds (a point guard with elite shooting a la Steph or a point guard big enough to guard wings) and the bad kind of combo guard, where it's just a euphemism for "tweener". That's Anfernee. Steph can play on ball and off ball at elite levels. Anfernee can't play off ball and can't really create for others. The only thing they're similar at is defense.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I am not sure I am for this as much as I was the first time I mentioned it cause I kind of forgot about Sharpe but to answer you Pin.

I like the idea of a Scoot / Castle back court with Sharpe playing the 3 BUT and this is where I am starting to waver on this idea you then need your PF and Center to be like solid defenders for this to work to make up for Sharpe at the 3. As much as I am wavering on it this would be a interesting idea but might be hard to get the parts around them to make it work. Also one more thing you would need a little more scoring off the bench to make this work too and might be more of a old school build for a new style NBA.

Yeah to me the question with adding Castle is how him and Sharpe fit at the 2/3.... not how Castle and Scoot split all of their time at PG.

I think it would be totally fine. Plus we need to see how these guys develop - there is no need to trade away rookies that we aren't sure if they will develop for a second year player that were not sure if he will develop. If we ever get to a Curry/Ellis situation we can address it then.

The problem with Sharpe at the 3 right now is that we have a short poor defensive SG next to him in Ant. If we had Jaylen Brown at SG or Josh Hart or something then Sharpe is totally fine at SF.

 

[Pinwheel1]

There's the good kind of "combo guard" - best of both worlds (a point guard with elite shooting a la Steph or a point guard big enough to guard wings) and the bad kind of combo guard, where it's just a euphemism for "tweener". That's Anfernee. Steph can play on ball and off ball at elite levels. Anfernee can't play off ball and can't really create for others. The only thing they're similar at is defense.

Correct there are no comparisons between Ant and Steph. This is why I disagreed with your original post saying "Same reason the Warriors moved Monte Ellis". It wasn't the same at all. And there isn't much of a comparison between Ant and Monte either. There is no reason why Ant can't come off the bench.....unlike Steph or Monte

Having said that I am warming up to the idea of Black and #18. Not that I know that much about AB. But if he is as good as projected last year on the defensive end and is able to play the point, then he would be a good option to back up Scoot.

 

[wizenheimer]

Correct there are no comparisons between Ant and Steph. This is why I disagreed with your original post saying "Same reason the Warriors moved Monte Ellis". It wasn't the same at all. And there isn't much of a comparison between Ant and Monte either. There is no reason why Ant can't come off the bench.....unlike Steph or Monte

Having said that I am warming up to the idea of Black and #18. Not that I know that much about AB. But if he is as good as projected last year on the defensive end and is able to play the point, then he would be a good option to back up Scoot.

a lot of Orlando fans are like every team's fans: they want another team's player but don't want to pay the price to get him

Black showed just enough last season to make some Orlando fans reluctant to give him up. But others think Simons would be worth it. One issue though is even with Orlando having cap-space, holding on to Fultz means they probably wouldn't have enough cap-space to send the Blazers an 18M TPE in an Ant for Black exchange. It might be the Blazers would have to take back the expiring contract of Ingles in order for Orlando to keep Fultz

I'd wonder about a 3-way deal. Something like



* for Portland, they get Black +#12 for Simons + Reath + #40
* for Orlando, they get two hot-shooting guards + a journeyman big to help plug the gap from WCJ's departure; + two 2nd's
* for OKC, they get a 2nd big that I think would fit really well with Holmgren and their roster. But I do wonder if they are giving up enough in this trade. One of their 736 second round picks and dropping from 12 to 18 doesn't seem like enough, even with Wiggins added

* adjustment 1: maybe Orlando would prefer Jaylin Williams from OKC as a replacement big over Reath. If so, Portland keeps Reath (or sends him to OKC as a Williams replacement) and OKC keeps Wiggins
* adjustment 2: would be great if Orlando had enough space without dumping Ingles on Portland. That would give the Blazers an 18-20M TPE

of course, I have no idea what the Blazers would do with the 7th + 12th + 14th + 34th picks in this draft. Maybe consolidate and move up?

 

[Boomchakalaka2]

An idea!

trade Ayton for Houston’s #3 pick - we can throw in a future pick swap, take back an undesired contract of Houston, etc. It’s a “win now” move for the Rockets.

With 3, we take Clinghan
With 7, we take Holland
With 14, we take Eddy

(relatively doable)

An option would be to trade one of the remaining vets + 14 to obtain Chicago’s #11 AND get our pick back from Chicago! Say, Grant + 14 to the Bulls for #11, our pick back and we take Lonzo Ball

we now have our “rebuild” at Center, we have Scoot and Sharpe at guards and a wing with Holland

We play on and look toward the trade deadline for finding trade partners for Ant, Grant, Thybulle, Williams and Brogdan. And if we are heading toward a playoff spot - play on and deal with more moves next off-season when the 2025 draft will have some excellent prospects to continue with a rebuild.

Ant remains a Blazer for 2024/25

 

[Hoopguru]

An idea!

trade Ayton for Houston’s #3 pick - we can throw in a future pick swap, take back an undesired contract of Houston, etc. It’s a “win now” move for the Rockets.

With 3, we take Clinghan
With 7, we take Holland
With 14, we take Eddy

(relatively doable)

An option would be to trade one of the remaining vets + 14 to obtain Chicago’s #11 AND get our pick back from Chicago! Say, Grant + 14 to the Bulls for #11, our pick back and we take Lonzo Ball

we now have our “rebuild” at Center, we have Scoot and Sharpe at guards and a wing with Holland

We play on and look toward the trade deadline for finding trade partners for Ant, Grant, Thybulle, Williams and Brogdan. And if we are heading toward a playoff spot - play on and deal with more moves next off-season when the 2025 draft will have some excellent prospects to continue with a rebuild.

Ant remains a Blazer for 2024/25

Trade Ayton & 14 and some, for 1st pick and take Sarr. We'd need total back players for salary match.
We'd have 1 & 7 & 2 2nd rounders.

We'd have Sarr new 5/4 then draft Salaun 7.

 

[wizenheimer]

Trade Ayton & 14 and some, for 1st pick and take Sarr. We'd need total back players for salary match.
We'd have 1 & 7 & 2 2nd rounders.

We'd have Sarr new 5/4 then draft Salaun 7.

is Ayton better than Capela? He's certainly more expensive and not the rim protector and defender Capela is

besides that, which direction is Atlanta going? Are they really going to try any win-now moves? I don't know but am wondering about all the rumors of them shopping Trae Young

anyway, I think salary matching that trade would be a challenge and I seriously doubt Ayton has the value to fetch a number 1 pick other than in the 2018 draft

 

[TBpup]

is Ayton better than Capela? He's certainly more expensive and not the rim protector and defender Capela is

besides that, which direction is Atlanta going? Are they really going to try any win-now moves? I don't know but am wondering about all the rumors of them shopping Trae Young

anyway, I think salary matching that trade would be a challenge and I seriously doubt Ayton has the value to fetch a number 1 pick other than in the 2018 draft

Capela isn't the defender he used to be. He hasn't had a positive DBPM since the 2019-20 season and on a terrible defensive team last year, Ayton's DRtg was actually 1 point better. Capela is going on old reputation at this point and it is why the Hawks are at least considering Clingan.

 

[wizenheimer]

Capela isn't the defender he used to be. He hasn't had a positive DBPM since the 2019-20 season and on a terrible defensive team last year, Ayton's DRtg was actually 1 point better. Capela is going on old reputation at this point and it is why the Hawks are at least considering Clingan.

maybe, although the difference in DRating looks like an arifact of the teams they played on. Ayton's rating was 3.5 points better than his team, Capela's rating was 4.4 points better than his team. Last season, Ayton had a 2.1% block rate; Capela was at 5.1%

but you may be right that Atlanta is looking for a more dynamic defender. If they are, Ayton wouldn't interest them. I just find it hard to believe they'd give up the 1st pick for Ayton, or that Ayton would be their best offer

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Rk Lineup MP PTS

1 D. Ayton | T. Camara 792:53 -3.1
2 M. Brogdon | J. Grant 758:48 -3.5
3 T. Camara | J. Grant 816:58 -4.6
4 D. Ayton | A. Simons 782:49 -4.6
5 M. Thybulle | J. Walker 645:47 -5.5
6 D. Ayton | M. Thybulle 619:26 -5.6
7 S. Henderson | M. Thybulle 631:45 -7.1
8 T. Camara | A. Simons 804:41 -8.0
9 A. Simons | M. Thybulle 567:28 -8.4
10 D. Ayton | J. Grant 1036:55 -9.0
11 J. Grant | M. Thybulle 773:27 -9.0
12 J. Grant | S. Sharpe 641:48 -10.9
13 D. Ayton | S. Henderson 721:42 -11.2
14 T. Camara | S. Henderson 649:46 -12.1
15 J. Grant | A. Simons 791:01 -12.3
16 S. Henderson | J. Walker 816:56 -13.6
17 S. Henderson | D. Reath 619:16 -14.1
18 D. Ayton | J. Walker 615:04 -17.0
19 J. Grant | S. Henderson 663:09 -17.2
20 S. Henderson | A. Simons 611:05 -20.4

seems Sharpe didn't play enough to register with anybody but Grant. But no surprise that Simons + Scoot was a disaster. Of course, Scoot didn't seem to perform well with anybody according to the line up stats

in 3-man lineups, Bogdon + Grant + Camara was best while Ant + Grant + Scoot was the worst. Sharpe shows up a bit more in 3-man combos performing well with Grant and Camara

Since it seems we will keep Scoot long term, doesn't it seem like these stats are the best argument to get rid of Simons?

 

[Hoopguru]

is Ayton better than Capela? He's certainly more expensive and not the rim protector and defender Capela is

besides that, which direction is Atlanta going? Are they really going to try any win-now moves? I don't know but am wondering about all the rumors of them shopping Trae Young

anyway, I think salary matching that trade would be a challenge and I seriously doubt Ayton has the value to fetch a number 1 pick other than in the 2018 draft

Capela is 5 years older but ive heard that they could decide to trade for a vet to compel Young to want stay?

 

[wizenheimer]

Since it seems we will keep Scoot long term, doesn't it seem like these stats are the best argument to get rid of Simons?

I don't know, Simons shows well with some of the players, but doesn't seem to match as well with the few other players like Grant/Brogdon/Scoot that handle the ball in a set offense. But I'd advise a little caution in jumping to conclusions about the meaning of those lineup combos

 

[SharpesTriumph]

a lot of Orlando fans are like every team's fans: they want another team's player but don't want to pay the price to get him

Black showed just enough last season to make some Orlando fans reluctant to give him up. But others think Simons would be worth it. One issue though is even with Orlando having cap-space, holding on to Fultz means they probably wouldn't have enough cap-space to send the Blazers an 18M TPE in an Ant for Black exchange. It might be the Blazers would have to take back the expiring contract of Ingles in order for Orlando to keep Fultz

I'd wonder about a 3-way deal. Something like

View attachment 64885

* for Portland, they get Black +#12 for Simons + Reath + #40
* for Orlando, they get two hot-shooting guards + a journeyman big to help plug the gap from WCJ's departure; + two 2nd's
* for OKC, they get a 2nd big that I think would fit really well with Holmgren and their roster. But I do wonder if they are giving up enough in this trade. One of their 736 second round picks and dropping from 12 to 18 doesn't seem like enough, even with Wiggins added

* adjustment 1: maybe Orlando would prefer Jaylin Williams from OKC as a replacement big over Reath. If so, Portland keeps Reath (or sends him to OKC as a Williams replacement) and OKC keeps Wiggins
* adjustment 2: would be great if Orlando had enough space without dumping Ingles on Portland. That would give the Blazers an 18-20M TPE

of course, I have no idea what the Blazers would do with the 7th + 12th + 14th + 34th picks in this draft. Maybe consolidate and move up?

Don't really see the point of both 12 and 14 in this weak draft. I'd rather have a future Orlando protected pick or Denver pick or such.

Remember the picks are all about 10 spots worse than a typical draft so it's like saying the Blazers would have picks 17, 22 and 24.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

An idea!

trade Ayton for Houston’s #3 pick - we can throw in a future pick swap, take back an undesired contract of Houston, etc. It’s a “win now” move for the Rockets.

With 3, we take Clinghan
With 7, we take Holland
With 14, we take Eddy

(relatively doable)

An option would be to trade one of the remaining vets + 14 to obtain Chicago’s #11 AND get our pick back from Chicago! Say, Grant + 14 to the Bulls for #11, our pick back and we take Lonzo Ball

we now have our “rebuild” at Center, we have Scoot and Sharpe at guards and a wing with Holland

We play on and look toward the trade deadline for finding trade partners for Ant, Grant, Thybulle, Williams and Brogdan. And if we are heading toward a playoff spot - play on and deal with more moves next off-season when the 2025 draft will have some excellent prospects to continue with a rebuild.

Ant remains a Blazer for 2024/25

Yeah I suggested this before - Blazers eat Steven Adams deal and Dillion Brooks. Not sure Brooks would be happy in Portland and he's owed a lot so has some Blazers risk. Makes sense if we really like a player at #3.

Certainly hope the Blazers wouldn't end up with both duplicate limited bench players in Clingan and Edey that would be nuts.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Since it seems we will keep Scoot long term, doesn't it seem like these stats are the best argument to get rid of Simons?

Why do you think it seem like we will keep Scoot long term?

 

[Boomchakalaka2]

Trade Ayton & 14 and some, for 1st pick and take Sarr. We'd need total back players for salary match.
We'd have 1 & 7 & 2 2nd rounders.

We'd have Sarr new 5/4 then draft Salaun 7.

That can work, but I’d

is Ayton better than Capela? He's certainly more expensive and not the rim protector and defender Capela is

besides that, which direction is Atlanta going? Are they really going to try any win-now moves? I don't know but am wondering about all the rumors of them shopping Trae Young

anyway, I think salary matching that trade would be a challenge and I seriously doubt Ayton has the value to fetch a number 1 pick other than in the 2018 draft

Houston or Washington are better fits for Ayton. And I’d prefer taking Risacher at 2nd pick and at 7, take Holland and at 14, Edey.

But I’m satisfied with Ayton to Houston, we take Clinghan at 3, Holland at 7 and Edey at 14. And if 14th can’t secure Edey, then trade up using Thybulle + 14 to pick 9, 10, 11 or 12

 

[Phatguysrule]

Simon’s is slightly above average. The people clamoring to keep him have an overinflated value of his worth.

He probably means more to us then he does to other teams, which speaks volumes about where we are as a team.

This.

 

[Boomchakalaka2]

Yeah I suggested this before - Blazers eat Steven Adams deal and Dillion Brooks. Not sure Brooks would be happy in Portland and he's owed a lot so has some Blazers risk. Makes sense if we really like a player at #3.

Certainly hope the Blazers wouldn't end up with both duplicate limited bench players in Clingan and Edey that would be nuts.

Nuts? Who you call’s nuts! We just traded away Ayton (in theory) and taking Clinghan and Edey gets you College’s top two centers to battle it out - as Blazers. And if we successfully obtain a wing (Holland) at 7, we have only to hunt for our future PF and still have Ant, Grant, Williams and Brogdan to make that happen (2025 draft?)

 

[Phatguysrule]

Do you expect to get the former #1 pick who is entering his prime or Ant? If we do then I am on board. (Assuming the guy hasn't been a bust)


Ellis and Steph were duplications. (Small combo guards) One of them needed to come off the bench.
Scoot is a pure PG
Sharpe is a SG.
Ant is a combo guard.
Thus not a duplication of skills.

Ant said he and Scoot and Sharpe could make it work. Ellis on the other hand said:

“Can’t,” responded Ellis, when asked about playing alongside Curry. “We just can’t … Just can’t. They (general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson) say you can, but you can’t.”

Ellis didn’t like one bit the idea the Warriors drafted another “combo” type guard, and the organization took that disappointment seriously enough that Riley and Nelson went to visit Ellis that offseason after the draft. Riley and Nelson told Ellis there was room for the both of them in the backcourt, but Ellis wasn’t having it."

https://matthewsteinmetz.com/2015/1...ephen-curry-in-check-better-than-monta-ellis/

Ant is not a good enough defender for me to want to keep him around. As soon as we can trade him for a starting level better defender at another position we should do it.