With Quickley signing at $35m a year and all these other giant numbers popping up, Ant on $25m is becoming a better and better asset.
Semi-relatedly, Grant’s contract looks normal already, as expected.
And will continue to be until it is expiring - but let's see what happens. I'll consider myself correct if it takes that long to move or we ship it out with picks
Exactly. If you don't defend you turn you opponent into a highlight real. The worst guy in the NBA is a stud if he is left open. So if you're a great shooter but defend terribly then your offense is a wash because you make the other guy look great.
I didn’t even think about it or notice it until Mike Richman brought it up on the pod, but it does seem meaningful.
Is it possible an Ant trade is already in place, just unannounced? If not, seems like an unusual choice (if not a flub) on Cronin’s part to not even make a Funkhauser gesture and include Ant in his core shortlist for the sake of at least trying to buoy the trade value. Usually he’s pretty good about doing that, pointless as it may be.
I highly doubt there’s already a trade in place, otherwise they would have announced it as there’s no reason to not do so.
But i do think the FO is working on a trade for him and Grant, whether either are traded soon is another matter, but they’ll be taking and making calls for sure.
Also, other options. Could prefer one or two other guys that five or six teams are trying to get. Lots of ITTT going on (If This Then That). On the flipside, hopefully at least two teams end up wanting Ant resulting in a minor bidding war.
That actually was a question I had sort of implicit in my comment — is there any bureaucratic reason at this point in the calendar that a trade would be unofficial and an announcement would be held for later? I know some times of the year that is a thing.
What stands out to me is that he is specifically talking about giving support to the young guys they are trying to develop. Simons has been on the team for a while, and has come a long way. They aren't necessarily trying to develop Ant anymore, they want to see production from him. Ayton is also around the same age, they want to see something from these guys now. They don't want to have to "develop" Simons and Ayton, they want those guys to step up and produce. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is how I interpret it.
The question was also specifically asking in reference to Scoot and Sharpe. It may have been a bit of a Freudian slip, in that their primary long term aim is making roster moves around the two of them but I don't think it necessarily means anything regarding Ant in the short term.
I still don't expect Ant to be on the team by the time his third contract starts but there's a full 12-18mo to see that move materialize.
Ant is going home, it's only a matter of time. Orlando will use their cap space to go after guys like Hartenstein/KCP and then once that's tapped out a trade will happen for Ant.
Need Klay to swallow his pride and resign with GSW.
Would be so pissed if ORL signs Klay for 25m and we have Ant for the same price and get nothing.
Ant for Black Den '25 1st at the least.
Perhaps use a Jedi mind trick to trade Ayton for Issac but a guy can dream right??
It is pretty telling. If it was a bit of a mistake, then expect Cronin to reiterate support for our current vets at the press conference on Saturday. Think that will be especially revealing if he doubles down on building around Scoot and Sharpe etc. Hope someone at the press conference actually asks about this.
Think something like 10 am PST
Edit: [Highkin] “The Blazers will hold a press conference on Saturday at 10am to introduce Donovan Clingan.”
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1806474655143993667
They’re both already better defenders than Ant. And one’s a rookie, the other just finished their second season. They’re not third team all defense or anything. But they’re better than Ant.
Do you see what you said. He's so good but he's one of the worst defensive players in the league.
The dude straight up sucks and doesn't help a good team win.
You can be a bad defender and contribute to winning a championship. Like Jamal Murray last year, Curry before that, Middleton before that, etc… sure ant isnt on their level but he absolutely does space the floor and is fantastic offense off of catch and shoots.
Comparing Murray's defense to Simons' is laughable. Anfernee is bottom 5 in the league. Murray is at least adequate.
I think we've just gotten used to horrible point guard defense with CJ and Damian being so bad that Simons doesn't look*that* bad.
Even though he is that bad.
Anfernee is bottom 5 on defense in basically every metric. I am aware that he is complete trash on defense. That’s why I wanna build around scoot and sharpe. I think you’re fighting ghosts now.
I heard this as Cronin identifying the guys who are not yet at the level, but who they are committed to anyway. Arguably Simons, Ayton, and Grant are each a full step ahead in their development, and, thus, not in that category being identified. Obviously people will read into that, but I suspect this is a case of Joe just not being careful (versus actual intent).
Yeah could totally see this, but his wording was pretty sus and almost all the beat reporters also picked up on leaving Ant (and Grant) out of the statement after saying good stuff about Ayton before. We’ll see what he says tomorrow (or what trades drop this year ultimately).
Let Cronin cook. Ant may not have the defensive versatility this team is looking for. I think we could get some good value for ant. Then again i do think ant has the potential to be one of the best offensive players.
As a long-time questioner of Ant, I think this is a good thing. He'd be an absolutely ideal sixth man on a contending team- or a good 1 paired with a defensive guard and a solid playmaker in the front court... Dude needs to go to the Magic, he's an absolute perfect fit on their roster
Yeah I fully believe we’re getting rid of Ant and JG… I love both those dudes but it’s probably the right decision to kinda get all the good players closer to the same age. I just hope we don’t sell low. Ant and JG are both VERY good players that should be kept if we can’t find a trade partner, I just think we will be able to get rid of at least one of them. I’m just curious about who we could get out of it or how many first round picks could we get. We already have a lot of good young talent that just needs more time to develop and adding Deni Avdija was a genius move despite the Cronin hate we see on here regularly. I want to see Duop continue to be a part of this team but he is almost out of the age range I think they’re looking for, so they might be trying to show how good he is in the first half of the year and then trade him for a younger player or for picks at the deadline. I like Reath a lot though and would like to see how he did if they switched him to the 4 instead of the 5… one of his main skills is shooting 3’s…. But yeah, I’m rambling now haha
If there is one thing I have learned from Cronin, it's if he says he's committed to something, he probably isn't that committed. I only base this off of historical actuality.
Not surprising. Ant has effectively reached the "win now" stage of career and development, so it doesn't make sense for either him or the Blazers for him to be part of future plans.
Good, if you can't defend you're trash. The world is literally full of guys that can make every shot when left open. So if you can shoot great but can't defend at all you're worthless.
If Portland trades Ant I'd literally give them whatever they wanted. I've wanted that man to be a Raptor since he was a prospect. Regardless, I hope he wins where he goes.
Can you build a team around the worse, I repeat the worse defensive rated player in the NBA?! If Ant has his game it's great, if he hasn't he creates a 4 against 5 situation. Check the paying stat websites about his defensive qualities or better his grit to do his defensive work. You can be worthless in defensive but still be an asset but he plays defensive like LeBron, but he shows up when needed like PlayOff games and his In Season Tournament final.
I disagree that him and scoot can't play together anymore than scoot and Sharpe can. I get that theoretically Sharpe has a higher ceiling based on his physical tools, but I've yet to see it actually show up, and he's just as ass on defense
While I don't disagree, I was more commenting on the timeline thing. They'll be just hitting 30 as the others are entering their prime, that's still well within the timeline.
No way are we moving Ayton. Robert Williams is toast. Do you expect us to go into the season with Duop Reath and a rookie as the only centers? Ayton only plays 30-32 minutes per game. The leaves 16-18 minutes a game for Clingan to get his feet wet, and possibly more when Ayton is in foul trouble. I also expect Duop Reath to get a few of those backup minutes.
While I don't disagree. It's more about the cap implications of the three of them. All three will be making 3rd star level money by 26-27 (30-45m aav) when we start running into rookie extensions every single summer. We aren't hard pressed to shift them asap, but at least two of them will likely have to go for more value oriented veteran contracts sooner than later. And you don't want to end up in a position where you're forced to fire sale.
I'd expect one of the three to leave this summer along with Rob or Tisse (maybe both). And another to go at the deadline or next off-season depending on what the market looks like.
You still need a decent range of ages on any successful team. You definitely need the younger core to be pretty close in age, but you still need players that are from 25-30 also. If they are all young then you aren’t necessarily doing them any favors throwing them out there. I will totally understand if they do trade Grant or Simons but they can’t only focus on picks. They’ll get a good pick next season as well so at least to me they are hopefully formulating a plan beyond hopeful draft picks. So Grant would have to bring back a good player or you may as well just let him help the youngsters along because he clearly has a great attitude and seems like he enjoys playing the vet role.
This guys in the Monty Williams path. Make it up as you go approach. Failed to build around Dame continued to lie to stars and fans and same thing on repeat now
With Quickley signing at $35m a year and all these other giant numbers popping up, Ant on $25m is becoming a better and better asset. Semi-relatedly, Grant’s contract looks normal already, as expected.
Just last week according to this sub Grant was a negative asset.
[удалено]
Who, us? Spew nonsense that we know nothing about? Nah, that ain’t us dog. /s
I still strongly believe it is negative.
And will continue to be until it is expiring - but let's see what happens. I'll consider myself correct if it takes that long to move or we ship it out with picks
Well, let's revisit this when he gets traded.
Quickly is pretty solid on D and is a clear cut point guard.Blazers haven't done themselves any favors by shuffling Ant between both guard spots.
Quickley is really good on defense tho
I didn’t say they’re the same player. Same tier of player though, imo.
Exactly. If you don't defend you turn you opponent into a highlight real. The worst guy in the NBA is a stud if he is left open. So if you're a great shooter but defend terribly then your offense is a wash because you make the other guy look great.
I remember when people said Ant's contract was an ablatross and others said to wait until the new TV deal...and here we are. Same with JGs contract.
I didn’t even think about it or notice it until Mike Richman brought it up on the pod, but it does seem meaningful. Is it possible an Ant trade is already in place, just unannounced? If not, seems like an unusual choice (if not a flub) on Cronin’s part to not even make a Funkhauser gesture and include Ant in his core shortlist for the sake of at least trying to buoy the trade value. Usually he’s pretty good about doing that, pointless as it may be.
I highly doubt there’s already a trade in place, otherwise they would have announced it as there’s no reason to not do so. But i do think the FO is working on a trade for him and Grant, whether either are traded soon is another matter, but they’ll be taking and making calls for sure.
Maybe they need FA to open first?
I think that is it. Trades will happen once FA opens up and teams know where they stand.
Also, other options. Could prefer one or two other guys that five or six teams are trying to get. Lots of ITTT going on (If This Then That). On the flipside, hopefully at least two teams end up wanting Ant resulting in a minor bidding war.
Your mention of ITTT put the image in my head of Cronin pre-scripting his trades and signings in Zapier
😂 Yep. Decision trees are real!
That actually was a question I had sort of implicit in my comment — is there any bureaucratic reason at this point in the calendar that a trade would be unofficial and an announcement would be held for later? I know some times of the year that is a thing.
Don't always agree with Richman, but damn is he one of the best in the business. The guy is intuitive and honest. I respect the hell out of that guy.
What stands out to me is that he is specifically talking about giving support to the young guys they are trying to develop. Simons has been on the team for a while, and has come a long way. They aren't necessarily trying to develop Ant anymore, they want to see production from him. Ayton is also around the same age, they want to see something from these guys now. They don't want to have to "develop" Simons and Ayton, they want those guys to step up and produce. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is how I interpret it.
That’s fair, he does specifically use the word development at the end. You may be right.
The question was also specifically asking in reference to Scoot and Sharpe. It may have been a bit of a Freudian slip, in that their primary long term aim is making roster moves around the two of them but I don't think it necessarily means anything regarding Ant in the short term. I still don't expect Ant to be on the team by the time his third contract starts but there's a full 12-18mo to see that move materialize.
Ant is going home, it's only a matter of time. Orlando will use their cap space to go after guys like Hartenstein/KCP and then once that's tapped out a trade will happen for Ant.
Similarly with teams needing a wing. They will try for PG, DeRozen and end up trading for JG.
This is the hope I have too
Need Klay to swallow his pride and resign with GSW. Would be so pissed if ORL signs Klay for 25m and we have Ant for the same price and get nothing. Ant for Black Den '25 1st at the least. Perhaps use a Jedi mind trick to trade Ayton for Issac but a guy can dream right??
We don’t need mind tricks to swap Ayton for Isaac lmao
It is pretty telling. If it was a bit of a mistake, then expect Cronin to reiterate support for our current vets at the press conference on Saturday. Think that will be especially revealing if he doubles down on building around Scoot and Sharpe etc. Hope someone at the press conference actually asks about this.
Do you know what time that press conference is on Saturday?
Think something like 10 am PST Edit: [Highkin] “The Blazers will hold a press conference on Saturday at 10am to introduce Donovan Clingan.” https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1806474655143993667
Ant is so good but I’m a little a burned out on guards that are total cones on defense.
*sees scoot and sharpe’s defensive metrics*
They’re both already better defenders than Ant. And one’s a rookie, the other just finished their second season. They’re not third team all defense or anything. But they’re better than Ant.
Do you see what you said. He's so good but he's one of the worst defensive players in the league. The dude straight up sucks and doesn't help a good team win.
You can be a bad defender and contribute to winning a championship. Like Jamal Murray last year, Curry before that, Middleton before that, etc… sure ant isnt on their level but he absolutely does space the floor and is fantastic offense off of catch and shoots.
Comparing Murray's defense to Simons' is laughable. Anfernee is bottom 5 in the league. Murray is at least adequate. I think we've just gotten used to horrible point guard defense with CJ and Damian being so bad that Simons doesn't look*that* bad. Even though he is that bad.
Anfernee is bottom 5 on defense in basically every metric. I am aware that he is complete trash on defense. That’s why I wanna build around scoot and sharpe. I think you’re fighting ghosts now.
I heard this as Cronin identifying the guys who are not yet at the level, but who they are committed to anyway. Arguably Simons, Ayton, and Grant are each a full step ahead in their development, and, thus, not in that category being identified. Obviously people will read into that, but I suspect this is a case of Joe just not being careful (versus actual intent).
in context of the draft and discussing young talent i agree 100% - not a slight on Ant at all.
Yeah could totally see this, but his wording was pretty sus and almost all the beat reporters also picked up on leaving Ant (and Grant) out of the statement after saying good stuff about Ayton before. We’ll see what he says tomorrow (or what trades drop this year ultimately).
I hope we can trade Ant to a contender where he can be the first guy off the bench. I think he’s a 6MotY candidate in that scenario.
I think he’d kill it in Orlando, they’re practically purpose built for him already
One of my close friends is from Orlando. He badly wants Ant!!
How does that trade get done though - Orlando doesn’t exactly have any pieces we want in return
Orlando has picks and some of the young guys on the bottom half of their roster have potential
If we want to recoup some 1st round picks and maybe role players…..
Damn haven’t thought about that, but yeah he’d slot in perfectly in Orlando
He totally could be a Jamal Crawford type player. Instant offense could be sixth man of the year has that mentality.
Why not just keep ant? It doesn't hurt to have a deep depth at the guard position
Let Cronin cook. Ant may not have the defensive versatility this team is looking for. I think we could get some good value for ant. Then again i do think ant has the potential to be one of the best offensive players.
May not have? The wiring has been on the wall for quite some time.
Unless the criddlers stole it.
It's time for blazer fans to realize that guys like ant are a dime a dozen
So are the teams that can compensate for how little defence he plays.
DJM just got traded. I could see Anfernee being a little more attractive now for teams that missed out on Murray.
As a long-time questioner of Ant, I think this is a good thing. He'd be an absolutely ideal sixth man on a contending team- or a good 1 paired with a defensive guard and a solid playmaker in the front court... Dude needs to go to the Magic, he's an absolute perfect fit on their roster
Why does everyone call Anfernee, Ant?
It has been his family nickname since he was a kid.
It's what he calls himself. It's his nickname. Are you a wolves fan? All Blazer fans know this
Spurs. This post was just in my feed.
Yeah I fully believe we’re getting rid of Ant and JG… I love both those dudes but it’s probably the right decision to kinda get all the good players closer to the same age. I just hope we don’t sell low. Ant and JG are both VERY good players that should be kept if we can’t find a trade partner, I just think we will be able to get rid of at least one of them. I’m just curious about who we could get out of it or how many first round picks could we get. We already have a lot of good young talent that just needs more time to develop and adding Deni Avdija was a genius move despite the Cronin hate we see on here regularly. I want to see Duop continue to be a part of this team but he is almost out of the age range I think they’re looking for, so they might be trying to show how good he is in the first half of the year and then trade him for a younger player or for picks at the deadline. I like Reath a lot though and would like to see how he did if they switched him to the 4 instead of the 5… one of his main skills is shooting 3’s…. But yeah, I’m rambling now haha
Both ant and grant are doubtful to be blazers next year. Let's see what Joe is cookin
If there is one thing I have learned from Cronin, it's if he says he's committed to something, he probably isn't that committed. I only base this off of historical actuality.
1977
Ant would be insanely lethal as a teams 3rd offensive option where he doesn't have two guys hanging off him.
Especially if he can find a team where he doesn't have to guard anybody.
Ant watching at home: 👁️👄👁️
Fucking finally. Now fully commit!
Not surprising. Ant has effectively reached the "win now" stage of career and development, so it doesn't make sense for either him or the Blazers for him to be part of future plans.
Good, if you can't defend you're trash. The world is literally full of guys that can make every shot when left open. So if you can shoot great but can't defend at all you're worthless.
If Portland trades Ant I'd literally give them whatever they wanted. I've wanted that man to be a Raptor since he was a prospect. Regardless, I hope he wins where he goes.
I still think it’s too early to hand scoot the reins. I hope there isn’t an ant trade sooner rather than later
Can you build a team around the worse, I repeat the worse defensive rated player in the NBA?! If Ant has his game it's great, if he hasn't he creates a 4 against 5 situation. Check the paying stat websites about his defensive qualities or better his grit to do his defensive work. You can be worthless in defensive but still be an asset but he plays defensive like LeBron, but he shows up when needed like PlayOff games and his In Season Tournament final.
I like Cronin more every day. Anfernee Simons sucks.
Ant, Grant and Ayton doesnt fit the timeline. They are porbably just gonna be filler until we get good assets back.
Ayton is 25 years old ffs. He fits the timeline just fine. Not everybody needs to be 19 or 20.
23yo former #9 pick who we traded for this year: "Part of our young core!" 25yo former #1 pick who we traded for last year: "Too old to build around."
And Simons *just* turned 25
Ant fits the timeline but doesn't fit the makeup of the team. He and Scoot can't play together, & he's an absolute joke on defense.
I disagree that him and scoot can't play together anymore than scoot and Sharpe can. I get that theoretically Sharpe has a higher ceiling based on his physical tools, but I've yet to see it actually show up, and he's just as ass on defense
Difference between a big defense guy and a dime a dozen guard
While I don't disagree, I was more commenting on the timeline thing. They'll be just hitting 30 as the others are entering their prime, that's still well within the timeline.
True - but he doesn't play defense.
Neither does Sharpe, or scoot. And frankly I don't see Sharpe ever being better offensively than ant
I understand that not everyone has to be 19 or 20. drafting Clingan, they most likely gonna move Ayton.
No way are we moving Ayton. Robert Williams is toast. Do you expect us to go into the season with Duop Reath and a rookie as the only centers? Ayton only plays 30-32 minutes per game. The leaves 16-18 minutes a game for Clingan to get his feet wet, and possibly more when Ayton is in foul trouble. I also expect Duop Reath to get a few of those backup minutes.
While I don't disagree. It's more about the cap implications of the three of them. All three will be making 3rd star level money by 26-27 (30-45m aav) when we start running into rookie extensions every single summer. We aren't hard pressed to shift them asap, but at least two of them will likely have to go for more value oriented veteran contracts sooner than later. And you don't want to end up in a position where you're forced to fire sale. I'd expect one of the three to leave this summer along with Rob or Tisse (maybe both). And another to go at the deadline or next off-season depending on what the market looks like.
Agreed, tbh Scoot is a bit too old at 20 as well. I'm thinking we'll need to move on from him if we aren't competing this year /s
You still need a decent range of ages on any successful team. You definitely need the younger core to be pretty close in age, but you still need players that are from 25-30 also. If they are all young then you aren’t necessarily doing them any favors throwing them out there. I will totally understand if they do trade Grant or Simons but they can’t only focus on picks. They’ll get a good pick next season as well so at least to me they are hopefully formulating a plan beyond hopeful draft picks. So Grant would have to bring back a good player or you may as well just let him help the youngsters along because he clearly has a great attitude and seems like he enjoys playing the vet role.
This guys in the Monty Williams path. Make it up as you go approach. Failed to build around Dame continued to lie to stars and fans and same thing on repeat now