What to do with Sharpe?

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This dude looks like a superstar to me. I remember Dame saying a few years ago he saw himself passing his mantle to Ant one day, I think it will be Sharpe.

I remember him say that about Ant, during the time when Ant has not showed anything praiseworthy. I dismiss Dame's comments as simply "saying good things about a teammate." Since then Ant actually made me realize Dame is more thoughtful about what he says.

Now with Sharpe, very high remarks from him before training camp started. Already Sharpe has shown glimpses of what Lillard's talkin about.

Sharpe is way better now at 19 than Ant was as the same age. CJ's presence slowed Ant's growth (he should still get better) but I hope we don't do Sharpe a disservice by not giving him playing time. His game looks beautiful, just needs repetitions. But man his defense is promising.
 
being great at catch-and-shoot would be rather negated by being the PG
It's not negated for Steph. I think that Sharpe shows signs of being a really smart passer and would be initiating his own offense a lot if he and Ant were our back court. That being said, this is all a waste of time. Until Dame requests a trade he is staying here... that's all there is to it. If Dame wants to stay and the Dame/Ant pairing doesn't work then Ant will be the one headed out the door in a trade to help Dame, not the other way around.
 
Sharpe is way better now at 19 than Ant was as the same age. CJ's presence slowed Ant's growth (he should still get better) but I hope we don't do Sharpe a disservice by not giving him playing time. His game looks beautiful, just needs repetitions. But man his defense is promising.
This is the most exciting thing about him. Everyone knew his offense would come around, we wouldn’t have drafted him if we didn’t. It was all going to be about getting playing time to really get it going on that end, but you can’t get on the floor if you can’t play d.

I remember watching that video of the team hyping him up during practice during a closeout drill and literally laughing going wtf. Doesn’t seem so ridiculous now I guess LOL.
 
It's not negated for Steph. I think that Sharpe shows signs of being a really smart passer and would be initiating his own offense a lot if he and Ant were our back court. That being said, this is all a waste of time. Until Dame requests a trade he is staying here... that's all there is to it. If Dame wants to stay and the Dame/Ant pairing doesn't work then Ant will be the one headed out the door in a trade to help Dame, not the other way around.
And what will the Blazers get in return for a trade of Simons to make the Blazers an instant contender?
Otherwise, trading a 23-year-old to make room for Dame to lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs makes zero sense.
 
It's not negated for Steph. I think that Sharpe shows signs of being a really smart passer and would be initiating his own offense a lot if he and Ant were our back court. That being said, this is all a waste of time. Until Dame requests a trade he is staying here... that's all there is to it. If Dame wants to stay and the Dame/Ant pairing doesn't work then Ant will be the one headed out the door in a trade to help Dame, not the other way around.

not a good comparison in my view....Blazers don't have anybody like Draymond running the offense. They don't even have anybody like Durant or Iggy or Livingston to rely on for facilitation

but I agree that Dame isn't going anywhere, and after that extension, I don't think there's much chance he'll ask for a trade
 
And what will the Blazers get in return for a trade of Simons to make the Blazers an instant contender?
Otherwise, trading a 23-year-old to make room for Dame to lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs makes zero sense.

lol...let's see, Simons is excellent enough that Portland should trade Dame to make way for Simons. But he's not excellent enough to fetch an excellent return in a trade?
 
lol...let's see, Simons is excellent enough that Portland should trade Dame to make way for Simons. But he's not excellent enough to fetch an excellent return in a trade?
Honestly, I don’t think you HAVE to just trade Simons if the Dame/Ant duo doesn’t work, at least right away. We all expect Sharpe to start by year 2 at this point. I would definitely try Ant at the 6th man before trading him. The combination of the 3 can still be lethal imo.

I think you’re right—after that extension, Dame’s not going to ask for a trade. If we’re around 10th-11th and the backcourt’s defense is a main reason for this, we need to amicably agree to tanking post AS break. But I don’t think tanking can happen until after Dame passing Drexler in scoring and playing in the AS game if he makes the team and Grant after his extension.

Then start Dame and Sharpe at PG/SG with Ant subbing in at either position. We would have to trade Hart for a guy that can play SF for the time being and hope our lotto pick can grow into our starting SF/PF, or wait for a team to give up enough to make Ant their starting PG.

Ant offensively still has superstar potential imo, and he’s probably close to at least being 6MOY Harden as a playmaker right now. It would be hard for me to give him up for anything less than guaranteed lotto picks.
 
And what will the Blazers get in return for a trade of Simons to make the Blazers an instant contender?
Otherwise, trading a 23-year-old to make room for Dame to lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs makes zero sense.
I think if Ant plays well that we can get a lot for him especially if we trade him and another player. Ant has value for a team that wants a PG or has a bigger PG.

That being said, it doesn't matter if it makes sense. This fucking team is going to ride with Dame, they've made that clear. The one thing I don't know is if they will pivot off of Dame and Ant if it's clear they aren't working or just have a Dame/CJ situation all over again.
 
He will no doubt be playing PG. The color of his uniform is the real question.

Should not be too hard to figure out. How many teams are willing to trade us quality players and pay Dame 60 million a year? He is worth that to Portland but other than the Knicks who seem to be desperate for a star.... who else? It is a very short list.
 
I personally like watching Ant play point last year. Here’s my honest opinion on who’s better on each skill set

shooting
Dame = Ant honesty maybe Dame by a smidge which says a lot
Scorer
Dame>Ant not by huge margin but dames consistency spectated him
Ball handling
Ant> Dame
Defense
Ant=Dame
Rebounding
Dame>Ant
Assist
Dame=>Ant (I think skill set I like Ant better)


This is a lot closer than I thought it would be, add in age
 
I personally like watching Ant play point last year. Here’s my honest opinion on who’s better on each skill set

shooting
Dame = Ant honesty maybe Dame by a smidge which says a lot
Scorer
Dame>Ant not by huge margin but dames consistency spectated him
Ball handling
Ant> Dame
Defense
Ant=Dame
Rebounding
Dame>Ant
Assist
Dame=>Ant (I think skill set I like Ant better)


This is a lot closer than I thought it would be, add in age
To me Dame is the proven take the game over score in the clutch all star. Ant may get there but he may not?
 
The simple answer to the thread's question of what to do with Sharpe? Develop him.
I'm staying in the trade for OG camp and sending away Hart, Nas, and Keon.
That price may be steep, but get the best player in the deal since Toronto could use help at the guards.
Lillard, Simons, OG, Grant, Nurkic

Simons backs up Lillard. GP2 backs up Simons at 2. Sharpe and Winslow back OG ... OG who backs Grant at 4 along with Watford, Walker, etc.
There are good mix and match line-ups with positional versatility AND better size. This is what I want for Xmas.

Toronto wasn't interested in the #7 pick, Sharpe or someone else they could prefer more, plus a pick and those Blazers you list for OG. But you think they will be interested in those players without Sharpe and without a pick for OG?
 
I personally like watching Ant play point last year. Here’s my honest opinion on who’s better on each skill set

shooting
Dame = Ant honesty maybe Dame by a smidge which says a lot
Scorer
Dame>Ant not by huge margin but dames consistency spectated him
Ball handling
Ant> Dame
Defense
Ant=Dame
Rebounding
Dame>Ant
Assist
Dame=>Ant (I think skill set I like Ant better)


This is a lot closer than I thought it would be, add in age

Dame $225 million vs Ant $100 million
Dame 32 years old vs Ant 23 years old

For a team not contending immediately the choice should be clear.
 
Dame $225 million vs Ant $100 million
Dame 32 years old vs Ant 23 years old

actually, if you're totaling contracts, Dame is at 258M. But if you're trying to normalize for the next 4 years while assuming that Ant is going to get a big salary in his next extension, it's

Dame 195M --> 49M/year
Ant 100M --> 25M year

so Dame X1.96 salary

however:

Dame .175 winshares/48
Ant .043 winshares/48

so, Dame X 4.06 winshares/48

and:

Dame 4.7 BPM average
Ant -2.2 BPM average

so Dame...wait, an X isn't computable. Simons would have to post a BPM around 11 this season just to get to a zero average. Last season, Giannis had a BPM of 11.2 and was 2nd in the league behind Jokic

also:

Dame 22.2 PER average
Ant 12.3 PER average

Dame X1.80 PER. Ant's best PER was 15.3 last season; Dame's worst was 16.4 as a rookie. He had 7 straight seasons over 20.5 and four of those season were over 24
******************************************************

so yeah, Dame makes a lot more money. But then, excellence and experience have great value (not just in basketball by the way). We know that Dame can drag mediocre teams into the playoffs. Simons can't, at least not anytime in the near future. We also know what Dame has meant to the franchise and he's getting paid for that, in part. There are more numbers to consider than just the raw salary totals and averages; and numbers aren't the only consideration
 
actually, if you're totaling contracts, Dame is at 258M. But if you're trying to normalize for the next 4 years while assuming that Ant is going to get a big salary in his next extension, it's

Dame 195M --> 49M/year
Ant 100M --> 25M year

so Dame X1.96 salary

however:

Dame .175 winshares/48
Ant .043 winshares/48

so, Dame X 4.06 winshares/48

and:

Dame 4.7 BPM average
Ant -2.2 BPM average

so Dame...wait, an X isn't computable. Simons would have to post a BPM around 11 this season just to get to a zero average. Last season, Giannis had a BPM of 11.2 and was 2nd in the league behind Jokic

also:

Dame 22.2 PER average
Ant 12.3 PER average

Dame X1.80 PER. Ant's best PER was 15.3 last season; Dame's worst was 16.4 as a rookie. He had 7 straight seasons over 20.5 and four of those season were over 24
******************************************************

so yeah, Dame makes a lot more money. But then, excellence and experience have great value (not just in basketball by the way). We know that Dame can drag mediocre teams into the playoffs. Simons can't, at least not anytime in the near future. We also know what Dame has meant to the franchise and he's getting paid for that, in part. There are more numbers to consider than just the raw salary totals and averages; and numbers aren't the only consideration
Perfect post.

Ant is not anywhere near Dame's stratosphere. We'll be lucky if Ant can even match CJ's impact.

Ant has provided glimpses, but right now he is a LONG way from being a net positive starter.
 
Dame $225 million vs Ant $100 million
Dame 32 years old vs Ant 23 years old

For a team not contending immediately the choice should be clear.

Except you're leaving out the Dame is proven and significantly better. There is a scenario where Ant is just a role player in this league, making near all-star money. Building around role players is how you miss the playoffs for 5-7 years.
 
Except you're leaving out the Dame is proven and significantly better. There is a scenario where Ant is just a role player in this league, making near all-star money. Building around role players is how you miss the playoffs for 5-7 years.
Simons is the 57th highest paid player in the league this season. What is your definition of "near all-star money?"
 
what is the point of using winshares to evaluate Ant when we were outwardly tanking in the games he was featured?

He played 1449 minutes in his 2nd season, and 1681 last season. 21 min average vs 29 min average. Last year's tank was around 1000 minutes for Ant; but he's played 4400 minutes. Portland was 'actively' tanking for about 30 games when Ant played last season, but he's played in 211 games. Meaning, at the most, Portland was tanking in about 15% of the games Ant has played in. The context may be a bit skewed, but isn't as skewed as you imply

besides that, however much you may like or dismiss PER, it is a standardized per/minute metric based upon a formula that doesn't factor wins/losses. The league average is 15.0. Ant was 15.3. Ant had that 15.3 in his best season. Dame had an 18.5 last year in his worst season

anyway, if somebody is going to post a context-free salary comparison; I think it's fair to post a possibly-context-challenged winshare/48 comparison
 
Simons is the 57th highest paid player in the league this season. What is your definition of "near all-star money?"

yeah, I think Simons was overpaid in that contract, but it wasn't so much of an overpay that he can't easily grow into the deal, and do so rather quickly. Also, players that show any promise tend to get overpaid in their rookie extensions
 
Simons is the 57th highest paid player in the league this season. What is your definition of "near all-star money?"

That's a great question. I was probably a bit too loose with that term. Here is a look at what all-stars made last year.

upload_2022-10-14_10-31-0.png

To your point, there are 50ish players who make more than Ant. A quick screening shows a majority of them (45ish) are/or have been all-stars.
 

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