Will Anfernee Simons Get Traded? Should Portland Shop Ayton or Grant? | EP 8

Will Anfernee Simons Get Traded? Should Portland Shop Ayton or Grant? | EP 8

what’s up Rip City Scorch and trails we’re back baby Tori we’re back I can’t believe we’re back I thought we I thought we were never doing this again no we’re back and we’re happy to be here uh NBA draft has happened let’s just jump right into it I I I don’t want to we can’t do anything else we’re jumping right in I need a draft grade I need a grade from you Tori kinging avvia what are you giving him kinging ofia day one I give it an A minus and then day two I give it a d i didn’t like not get not coming away with a second round pick so overall B+ cuz the second round doesn’t really matter in a draft like this B+ wish they did a little bit better in in day two though I see I’m at an A minus the whole way I think okay here’s my thing about kingan I used uh be down on kingan and the more I watched him the more I thought he is fine now I would have rather had Cody Williams I think he has a higher ceiling and that was kind of what I was hoping for the Blazers do like shoot for the stars in this draft with it not being you know the you know the highest of the high uh prospects coming in but cling in is solid and I think uh the more I read about him the more I watch him the more I talk to people about him the more I actually like him and I think he’s going to be a decent NBA player so it’s like you know they played it safe but they also I think at least they’re going to get a guy in this draft that could be good and I think ultimately like might actually Teeter to being really good defensively and my biggest thing was the Blazers obviously had a plan going into the draft it was get bigger get longer get more athletic get better defensively and they accomplished all of it and so I think right now I look at Joe Cronin and the job that he’s done and it’s not great but the last couple things he’s done I think the Dame trade was a good trade I think the uh you know the drafting at klling it is good I think the trade of odia is good like he’s doing he’s done a couple really good things I think the last couple things transactions he’s made I don’t want to give Joe cor a bunch of credit but I have to give him some credit for what he’s done the last you know couple transactions yeah the fdia trade was great uh but first on kinging man he is somebody that I wasn’t super high on either but after watching this past year’s playoffs a lot of teams that had role players that were just very very good in their role had a lot of success Minnesota being a really good example of that and in a draft like this normally I Like to Swing for upside but all the upside guys had so many red flags I like Cody Williams as well but just you know there was the lack of assertiveness question there was he shot 41% from three but it was on very low volume he didn’t shoot enough threes there’s the fact that okay he finish decently but he doesn’t really finish strong uh can he turn the corner like needs to get stronger like all these question marks with him and if he answers them all he’s going to be a really good player just like any Prospect if they fix their weaknesses they’re going to develop but man there was just so many upside guys that had so many red flags for me that I like going with someone that is projects easily as a really really good role player and potentially a defensive anchor especially considering the Blazers gave up the worst percentage at The Rim in the League last year and you bring in a dude that’s 7-2 without shoes long arms will be able to block shots at least fix the rim defense it’s like okay they definitely improveed day one I think when King’s on the floor you’re going to notice a difference and long term that’s a guy that at the very least plays a very specific role and really helps out your defense now I don’t know if I believe the oh he’ll be able to shoot threes thing but I mean may maybe he’s he’s Brook Lopez from three long term where you can develop that that’d be great his shot doesn’t even look too bad it’s just he’s shot terribly from the free throw line so I’m not putting stock in that bare minimum he’ll be able to finish plays and I like his passing too and that’s the other thing that liked getting AA and kingan not only can they both defend but they both can pass everybody lamented aluk minu Maurice harkless when Dame gets trapped they get the ball they’re not going to make the right play kingan and NAIA will uh and that’s why I like defensive front Court players that can pass the ball is hard to find especially you know seventh overall pick like you get that but for avdia that dude was a steal man to be able to get a guy that can shoot shoot dribble defend rebound probably three times better than Jeremy Grant as well as pass the ball that’s your doit all Wing I mean he has no weaknesses and they’ve been looking for that type of forward since Nicholas Batum but you know hopefully abdia can become even better than Batum I know he had some of his detractors here in Portland he was a little polarizing so I love the avdia pickup I think value-wise it was really really good what do you think about AIA no AIA man that was a I described it as a Savvy pickup because I think the Blazers look at this draft and they said we’re not going to get the guys that we want or we’re not going to get the guys with the upside we want I mean go back to look at the draft everyone that was available at 14 all the guys that we kind of thought all right had high ceilings but we’re going to fall on the draft they were gone right like Ron Holland Cody Williams um uh Sal ton Salon Salon Saloon uh it’s like Salon Salon that’s how you say it with the accent yeah yeah Salon went six like all these guys that I thought okay maybe these guys are going to be here 14 they weren’t there and I know that you love D connects like I Hees I don’t think he has the upside I don’t think the players just think he has the upside so I think Portland looked at the draft and said we’re probably not going to get a guy with better upside than Denny Avia at the 14th pick so let’s make this deal he’s on a great contract if it works out like to pay a guy that little of money and to have be 23 years old and still improving I think it was a Savvy pickup by Joe Cronin like I really I really loved it and it shows that he was uh you know he’s looking at the defensive side as well like he wants to get better defensively um with with kingan my uh my Scout buddy this was his quote when this was like a month ago this was before kingan was really getting buzzed as even maybe the number one overall pick to the Atlanta uh he he said he thinks he’s probably one of the safest picks at the top with a healthy ceiling for a big man could anchor a team on defense for a decade and with this being such a nor such a weak draft that uh he did just would back toback titles has to count for something so like I take that and I’m like all right well if he could anchor the defense for a decade or five years that was something Portland never had with Dame that was something that they never had when it was Dame and CJ they could have used a guy like clean who didn’t want to play offense who even said in his presser uh on Saturday night like I want to play defense I would rather get a block than a dunk I I think that’s perfect and so I’m not worried about the offense the offense will come like they will work on his offensive game if he really wants to develop a jump shot like he will develop a jump shot because he puts the work in he puts the time in like I don’t ever worry about that kind of stuff so I think the king in pick was a good pick like they’re looking defensively I think it’s great you know you still have DeAndre Aton like he doesn’t have to come in and play 30 minutes A Night Like that’s not I don’t think that’s necessarily good enough for him to have to do that it’s not the best case scenario like he can learn some things from Aon uh him and Aon you know can kind of you know figure it out if they play off each other if not but I think it’s safer with Aon having what two years left on his contract that if he plays well this year he look to trade a deal next year as an expiring contract that’s going to be more uh valueable to teams like I just I think you’re giving him a clinging a little time to develop on and off the court where you don’t have to throw him out there for 30 35 minutes a night I think that’s great for him so that’s why I love it man I I really liked what the Blazers did like I wanted to try to find things that I didn’t like and I really couldn’t like that was a problem and you know me I love to be negative I love to find the worst I could I honestly Tori I could not find a lot that I hated that happened on draft night yeah it’s funny because I’ve been told that I will never say any move of Joe cronin’s is good uh but I mean that fdia trade I’ve always said if he makes good moves that I like I will let people know man and that AA trade do you worry about the two because it’s two first right it’s two first and a second if I remember yeah I mean it was 14 it was 14 AIA is far better than any Prospect you’re going to draft at 14 and he fits your core and you know that he fits your core anybody the Blazers would have drafted at 15 or at 14 would have been somebody where you hope that they could grow into somebody that complement your core well well um and with the guys on the board like Dalton connect I think would have complimented the core because he can shoot the three ball but he’s almost as old as fdia and afd is a better player right now fdia has proven that he could be good at the NBA level any rookie you bring in they always have the downside like they might just not be that good at the NBA level Dalton connect might just be a shooter I Faith he can be more but it’s a lot harder to find a doit all two-way forward that can dribble and make reads and pass than it is to find a shooter so the Blazers have wanted that type of forward with this core they wanted that type of forward after they lost Nicholas Batum but it’s not easy to get that type of forward so I think 14th pick like easily give that up in this draft Malcolm Brogden like you solved your guard problem I don’t really like that Malcolm brogon was like a salary throwi in because I don’t think Washington really valued him at all and it’s like man if you could have done things differently could you have gotten value from Malcolm Brogden then still made this trade and gotten a little bit more value out of it but that feels like a little bit nitpicky overall that plus the 2029 first that’s the best or that’s the second best out of Boston Milwaukee Portland I still think Boston is going to be good and I hope Portland is going to be good which would make that pick not in the lottery if Portland’s not good by 2029 in the second best out of those picks is like a top 10 pick yes that sucks but they got bigger problems they got bigger problems if they’re still that bad by 2029 so that’s where it’s like okay you’re trying to take steps so that you’re good in 2029 so giving up that second best pick is completely fine by me because I think ABD will help this team reach a level where that pick isn’t so good and look at Avia four years 55 million that contract hasn’t even kicked in yet it’s decreasing in value as years go on so in year four it’s only 12 million basically Patrick Williams just signs a 5year $90 million deal like you can’t find 68 69 dudes that can play and you know dribble in the NBA and the Blazers just got one on draft night for the 14th overall pick basically and a couple you know first round picks down or first round pick down the road and Malcolm Brockton who had no future with the Blazers like I I feel like the Blazers got one of those guys that they i’ always be like you need to go out and try to find one of these guys can you get a 69ine guy that can dribble and can shoot a little bit and can play a little def like do a little bit of everything and the blaz just did it and it looks like Avia from whenever I watch him whatever you read about him he’s still improving like he he was so much better last season than he was the year before um everything’s still getting better he’s still only 23 going to be 24 next season like he’s right in the prime of his career and he’s still getting better like I feel like the Blazers got one of those guys and they had to give up malcon brockton’s contract and then you know a late you know 2029 pick that’s so far down the road like it does that stuff doesn’t matter to be like you could figure it out if you’re in 2028 and you need a 29 pick you can go get one so it’s f years down the road I mean that’s that’s way down the road I just I loved it man I loved the trade um I did find it interesting that the Blazers afterwards Joe Cronin when he’s talking he talks about the Blazers and you know building for the future and he’s talking it’s all about defense and he even he even used the words defensive anchor when he said Donovan kigan and talks about how he wanted to get all these guys that are lengthy and then he also mentioned that we’re building around Shaden sharp and Scoot Henderson and he left out one of the other players on the team Tor which what I want to talk about to you um was that a big deal to you it was a big deal to me I I honestly I can’t believe he said it because I find it difficult to be like he just slipped it like it just slipped his mind that he didn’t mention Anthony Simons NBA guys and professional athletes but especially NBA guys they read everything they listen to everything they take everything so personally I feel like there had to have been some type of message that Joe croner was throwing Simons right there by saying look we’re building around Scoot and Shaden and I love what he did here but we’re looking to deal you yeah man it’s it’s tough to read into comments like that because on one hand when GM start naming names if you forget anyone it’s going to seem like it’s on purpose or man the GM doesn’t care about this guy to name him along with the other guys right and it’s tough you’re in a press conference to try to answer a question you’re trying to make a point obviously Scoot and Shaden are a big part of this team moving forward uh so you know but if you say that it’s going to be okay well what about the other third guard who averaged 22 a game last year in Anthony Simons you’re paying him $25 million a year he’s still 25 years old he’s still young enough to be a part of the rebuild but you didn’t name him so you know you can go one or two ways you can read nothing into that and just think okay he’s talking about scooting sharp because they’re a big part of the team or you can look at those comments plus Anthony Simons in his ex interview had comments after the season about about how essentially I’m paraphrasing but essentially he’s tired of losing he wants to show off his game at on a on a playoff stage and he wants to start winning and when I heard those comments after the exie interview it’s like okay of course he’s going into year seven he’s finally established himself as a starting caliber player like of course he wants to win he’s a competitor cool right so I didn’t read too much into it but it looking at those comments and then looking at Joe cronin’s comments maybe there’s a little something there I’m not sure I mean because if you think about it building around Scoot and Shaden is not winning right away right like it’s not winning necessarily basketball this next season which is what anrey Simons wants like I don’t know I just feel like uh Joe Cronin is not the best public speaker so like I feel like he prepares himself really well before like he has talking points that he wants to hit and so I feel like he was more organized and had an outline of what he wanted to talk about and like look I want to hit this talking point I want to hit this talking point I want to hit this talking point and he wanted to make sure that I said look I’m build around Scoot and shaded like I feel like he went out of his way to do that so I don’t know you know talking to some people like they feel like that’s what that meant like they you know they said Joe’s very calculated he’s not going to mess up like that I tend to believe it I don’t know Joe Cronin so I don’t talk to him so I have no idea how he really is but just talking around people it seems like from what they say Cronin wouldn’t make that type of mistake like like he does he did it on purpose like there was some type of message there of look we’re getting ready to deal him or we’re going to deal him or you something like that I I do find it interesting then you know uh Deonte Murray gets traded to the Pelicans for two first and Larry Nance and Dyson Daniels like is that the type of Market we’re talking about probably less than that I think Deonte has more value around the league still so are you talk in you know salary filler and a first round pick and then maybe a young player that has you know hasn’t lived up to expectations is that enough for ay Simons if that’s the trade for ant are Blazer fans going to be happy are you going to be happy Tori like if it’s a first salary cap filler and then you know a dice Daniels type of player who had some potential but hasn’t lived up to anything is that enough for anony Simons I don’t think that’s enough for anony Simons man um it is a little weird because Cronin in the past has mentioned all three of these guards so it did it was a little weird with his press conference that he only mentioned the two I don’t think Anthony Simons has a good Market I just think there’s a lot of teams that either can’t make a trade for him because of the new CBA tax aprons all that stuff or they don’t have a need for his skill set or they have like no future first there’s just too many of those teams to create a competitive market for aony Simons in my opinion so if he is traded I have a feeling it’s going to Trend towards the type of package that you said but I don’t think I don’t know like I think laser fans will be pissed I I think they’ll I think some of them will be pissed there’s some people out there that would trade Anthony Simons for a paper clip in a clump of dirt man but I mean that’s that’s every fan base though like everybody has like the I mean I’m known as the hater of Avery Simons I wouldn’t want to trade him for a paper clip I mean you got to get something for him well you there’s an evolution here it’s like turning on CJ got to trade CJ for anything you don’t even care what we get back got to get rid of CJ and then the whole Dame song like oh get rid of get rid of Dame we heard that before Dame asked out at least I did from people that come into my live streams into my live chat saying scoot’s going to be better than him you got to get rid of Dame and now it’s you got to get rid of an and it’s like okay is I feel like if scoot has any sort of struggles it’s going to be you got to get rid of scoot if sharp has any sort of struggles going to be you got to get rid of sharp like it just feels like we’re on a little bit of a merry go around here in terms of you know we got to get rid of the this guard for the next play together can they can all three of them play together and Avia at the four like is that a is that a viable lineup with cl with kingan I guess would be potentially the five in three years let’s say here’s how I answer this question you have to trade Anthony Simons or Jeremy Grant and if you don’t you’re going to have to bring one of scoot Henderson Shane sharp Anthony Simons Denny a or Jeremy Grant Off the Bench and I know they brought scoot Off the Bench last year I don’t like that he progressed enough at the end of the season I want to give him the keys to the offense in a starting lineup and allow him to grow with that role I don’t like bringing scoot Off the Bench sharp I mean he’s maybe the highest upside Prospect left on this team and made some strides when he was healthy last year he should be starting as well so if you’re starting an with sharp and Scoot Sharp’s playing the three so who’s playing the four is it Grant or is it AIA so in my mind the Blazers should absolutely trade one of Grant or ant Grant I think has a better market so for me I would rather they trade Jeremy Grant not only does he have a better Market he’s also a little bit more of a ball dominant player than ant in my mind like the Blazers had an issue with just spamming faceups post-ups to Jeremy Grant last year and I am a little bit worried about Denny avdia getting enough on ball responsibility he played his best minutes when he was the point forward last year for the Washington Wizards when he had the ball in his hands he can play off the ball he can cut he can knock down the three right but you want to get avdia enough ball touches to continue to grow offensively because when he got more responsibility last year he developed and was one of the most improved players in the league like he signed that contract extension that great contract we were talking about before the season if he waited until now he would be making at least $20 million year going forward I mean Patrick Williams got 90 million exactly and what has he done he all he’s done is get injured and occasionally make threes and that’s about it so you know avdia needs ball touches but if you got scoot sharp Grant Aon Simons like that’s a lot of touches that’s a lot of shots to those guys I’m just a little bit worried about avdia maybe regressing a little bit simply because he doesn’t isn’t being given enough responsibility so ultimately I think the Blazers need to trade one of Anthony Simons or Jeremy Grant not only just to start the right players and allow them to develop together but also just to kind of Whittle down the number of guys that are going to be taking a lot of shots um it would be a different conversation if one of these guys was a star and it was like okay every everything starts with them but the Blazers don’t have that right now they’re building and I’m a little bit worried about the pecking order offensively and how that sorts itself out if both Simons and Grant are left on the teams so if it’s Simon’s the one that if he’s the one that goes I fully understand that so that you don’t have to start sharp at the three avd and Grant you know you got some intriguing forwards there I fully I fully get that but yeah they they got to deal someone I think and I don’t think they’re done I think the to me the obvious answer is try Anthony Simons um I think you hit on it too with Jeremy Grant like the way the Blazers are they they’re very mid like all their players they’re not great but they’re not terrible like they are legitimately mid and so I think for like Jeremy Grant like you do need a guy that is going to say I’m going to shoot the ball every single time I get it and like Anthony Simons doesn’t do that like he he doesn’t have that aggressive nature to be like give me the ball like he hasn’t developed that yet I wonder if he will if he will he could be great but I don’t know that he ever will I think Jeremy Grant has that in him where he says look just give me the ball I’m gonna post up at 18 ft and take a terrible shot because that’s what we’re going to do and it’s my turn to shoot and I actually do think like in the end ba that is important to have a guy that scores 20 points a game that’s inefficient on a bad team for the Blazers so like I think and I think obviously Scoot and shanen sharp like those are the guards you have to build around if the Blazers are going to be good ever it’s because shanen sharp turns into a star and Scoot Henderson turns into a star I just I don’t see a spot for anrey Simons who’s the 63 shooting guard that isn’t quite a point guard doesn’t play great defense but can get 22 a night like yeah that is valuable but we just saw Dalton connect go what 17 who’s 6’5 66 who isn’t going to play great defense isn’t going to you know pass the ball around but can shoot like is a taller you know taller anre Simons best case scenario for dalon connect like you you can you can find guys that can score points in the NBA we we’ve seen that and so I just feel like a guy at 6′ three doesn’t play defense doesn’t do much else like he’s going to be the oddb out I will say this defenses defended Anthony Simons like he was a superstar last year and there is the question about if you had a little bit more around him where he had teammates that could make defenses pay for completely loading up on him then how much better would a Simon be that’s true and a lot of people that want to keep Anthony Simons and struggle with the idea of trading him it’s like okay what you might get I don’t know Anthony black and a first round pick for ay Simons and then he goes to Orlando and he could become a 25 26 Point per game guy maybe be an Allstar if Orlando has a really good record because he would fit that team really well and then it’s like okay well you don’t have a yeah you don’t have a star and you just traded a guy who was ready to become a star is defended like a superstar last year and just needed a little bit more around him to truly Blossom because if you look at any gravity metric on ball off ball gravity ant’s top 10 and you know I I don’t like sitting here saying oh well you know he’d be a he’d be a star if he had better teammates around him because you’re either a star or you’re not right and if you’re dependent upon having certain guys around you you’re probably not a star how many times did we see Dame carry crappy supporting casts and put up 50p point games he did it cuz he’s a legitimate star so I don’t think ant’s quite at that level that’s just where people struggle and with his trademarket man if Orlando can pull off a miracle and get Paul George like they’re probably not in the market for Anthony Simons anymore what teams are in the market and that’s just where I struggle with the idea of trading Anthony Simons it makes sense from a roster balance Dam Point um and it makes sense to trade one of him or Grant but at this point I almost feel like you can get back more for Grant even though he’s older and on a bigger salary and I don’t think Grant’s better but is it but isn’t that the exact reason why the Blazers are never going to get enough value for any free Simons then like exactly what you just said like we talk you just talked about how good he is how he can help a team but there’s no teams that are in the market for him so like what what is that actually like what’s his real value then I think a lot of that due is due to situations across the league and you would hope that those situations develop in a way where you do have more of a market for him um and it’s it’s basically to me a lack of demand not because anr Simons is not a commodity just because there’s not enough demand these teams either aren’t capable of trading for him aren’t capable of trading first their salaries are super bloated and then the teams that maybe could trade for him and have assets and have wiggle room under the luxury tax they are the teams that have a good offensive guard is how I’ve seen things who is like who plays like ay Simons that is on a really good team that’s competing for a championship like is there anybody out there like I’m trying to think like nobody on the Celtics is like Anthony Simons Kyrie I guess but Kyrie is so much more Elite with the basketball than aony Simons is like who who on a really good team fits an afy Simons role like who has a guy like ay Simons I I don’t know I’m trying to think like a 6-3 guard that just scores and that’s about it and mostly off shooting not even getting to the rim Jaylen Brunson maybe you could say kind Bron’s more of a but brunson’s a he can pass he can pass he can he’s a more of a distributor than a see an averag five and half assist a game I feel like his playmaking is a little bit underrated he’s passing to just crap teammates and also also it’s just like the Kyrie thing like Brenson is so much more Elite at creating his own shot than ay Simons yeah no I don’t disagree with that I mean the whole thing with that is like okay is he done growing as a player right when he’s being defended like a star okay what does he look like in a little bit of a better situation because it may be easier on him to put up 25 points per game but also if he’s playing next to better teammates is he is he going to get lower volume yeah I mean Donovan Mitchell might be a good ex he’s more Elite than Anthony but like yeah of course like like the qu if you’re asking the question like what players like Maxi is a good one like all these guys are better than Anthony but Jaylen Brunson at Anthony’s age was not viewed as a star right like he was a little bit of a late bloomer in the NBA and what did he do he went and got his own team and then got good enough teammates on his team and grew as a player so I don’t think anthon’s done growing yet and that’s the that’s the problem is like the Blazers are in the search for a star Anthony Simons 22 and five decent efficiency guarded like a superstar last year so to a lot of people it’s like oh man he’s close and if he can continue to grow there’s a chance that he’s better than sharp or sco ever are but that but that’s my point is that you can’t find these guys on really good NBA teams because they don’t necessarily want them like they want guys that are bigger that can do that or they want guys that can play defense and can do that or they want guys that are that size that are really good at Distributing the basketball like Anthony Simons is not good enough at Distributing the basketball not good enough on defense I will say Jamal Murray has those same issues yeah and that he just won a championship like I think teams are constructed differently I don’t think there’s any oh this type of player can’t work or this type of player is something that you absolutely have to have you just have to be a good basketball team so you know if if you got four really good defenders in the in on your team in your you know two through five spots like the Orlando Magic hypothetically they got a really good defense they need shooting they need shot Creation in the back court and then Anthony Simon there even if he’s the point guard doesn’t have to be a full-time point guard because B Caro and Vagner hold like handle the ball so that’s a really not good enough to like build your team around like you have to build your team around him like he’s should he should he should be the finishing piece but there’s not many teams that need the 6-3 guard that can only score like he’s not good enough to be like we’re going to build our defense around him because he struggles on defense he can shoot though and that’s a commodity in the league like he is one of the best volume three-point Shooters off the dribble off the catch off the move like he’s a versatile three-point shooter so like playing off of he can play off benero and vogner cuz those guys are big a lot of times you have to send a second Defender you have to send some help if that’s Anon guy like he’s going to make teams pay he’s just he he really is honestly as such a unique player yeah it’s it’s just one of those guys where it’s like he should be able to be elite off the ball and then really really good on the ball when he needs to be and can be a 22 Point per game guy that way unfortunately like last year it’s oh he has to make everything happen out of iso defense is loaded up on him but I also think that could have been good for his growth and could be good for him down the line when it’s a playoff series you know benero is being guarded by Tatum who’s you know and benero is maybe having a bad game and then vogner maybe is not hidden threes or whatever you got to give the ball to ant but he can go make something happen cuz he has those creation reps he’s grown in that regard but it’s not something where you have to yeah I love sugs I love sus too his defense great he’s not that type of guy offensively like I thought what I’m saying like a would be the perfect spot there because the you know the magic go to Suggs in that situation like the fourth or fifth option oh here here give it to anrey Simon and he’s going to be so much better exactly cuz you don’t want to like rely on him as your number one you just want to be able to turn to him when you need to and that was the thing with CJ Dame had a bad game seven against Denver in 2019 CJ put 37 on the board won them that game and Anthony Sims I think is like that type of player that can help teams win playoff games by being able to put points on the board you just have to have enough defense around him and you have to have other Playmakers because he’s not just a pure point guard um and that’s what we’ve seen with CJ he like he never filled that either like we thought maybe he’d go to New Orleans and become a better distributor he’s not he’s the same thing yeah I think he averaged like six a game six assist of game so I think he was a little bit better playing team they also got they also got Zion where you can just give him the ball within 15 feet and he’ll automatically get you a bucket and assist right so un unfortunately I don’t think we’re ever going to find out if Anthony Simons like is able to take that step I just you know not not in Portland at least it’s just the fear of like okay we trade him and he goes somewhere and yeah blows up into something that we wish we had and then we’re stuck with scoo the guy who struggled last year which I’m preaching patience on scoo but that’s that’s just the psychology behind being a fan is like man what if this just goes terribly and it’s a lot easier to stomach if you feel like you can get back enough value but it’s like man Anthony black probably a role player long term maybe a bad first ant goes there turns into a a star like it’s the D really bad yeah so I’m I’m struggling with the idea of trading Anthony sibin it makes sense for a lot of reasons just for the Blazer’s own purposes but man the market I am not confident in and it’s it’s going to be tough to stomach if it happens probably I do think the market is a lot less than what a lot of Blazer fans will think for a for Simons if he gets dealt that is if he gets dealt um this off SE like I said I I think unfortunately we’ll never find out if Anthony can take that next step in Portland we’ll find out somewhere else I think I would I would guess that and I don’t know that he’ll be out this season but I don’t think he’s part of the future I also don’t think that DeAndre Aton is part of the future they draft kingan at seven and then Joe Cronin in his press conference talking about the kingan pick you could tell he was prepared to answer DeAndre Aton questions cuz you knew they were coming you knew people going to ask okay DeAndre Aon was the prize of the Damen Lillard trade he’s making a Max contract played last like 30 games he was like 21 and 12 60% shooting something like that exactly and you tank all year you suck all year you win 21 games just for as good of a draft pick as possible and then what do you spend that on you spend that on a pure Center not maybe an alexar who could maybe play the four next to eight and no you draft a 72 rim protector only so of course there’s going to be questions about it and Joe codin says you know we just want as much competition we don’t care about position we are just in Talent acquisition mode we just need to get as much talent as possible we’re trying to build a culture of competitiveness and we still love da and da is thrilled to have somebody like kingan on the team a do you buy the eighton is thrilled to have kingan B do you buy Joe Cronin that they still love DeAndre Aon and that he might be the future starting center on this team uh no I don’t buy that he’s the future starting center I would say I think they still do I don’t know that they love him I wouldn’t say that they love DeAndre Aon but I don’t think they hate him I think they hated him earlier when they first got him and he was you know not shown up to games and he was playing really badly I think they hated him at that point and then it turned into like okay we can like stomach this guy and then by the end he’s like okay we kind of like this guy so I think it I think they still do like him I don’t think he he’s definitely not going to be the future starting center um kingan’s the guy like kingan you can tell that they love kingan like right like it seems like that and uh you can’t play kinging and Aon together right like I’m just chony said he’s going to try right okay chy can say what he wants but you and me you and me are just talking here DeAndre eight and Donovan K cannot play together right hell no hell I just I want we agree I wanted to you know they tried Robert Williams and DeAndre together last year before Rob will got hurt it did not look good and you know what I hate Stephen I’m just curious to hear your response to this and if you agree with this Chanty started listing twin tower Duos across the league and I forget some of the examples you know but it was like Memphis got jiren Jackson and Zack Edy now well Edy was a freaking dumb pick died okay that’s not a good example um but jiren Jackson Jr can defend the perimeter pretty well and can knock down threes cat in go bear cat is a three-point sniper and he’s not a good Defender but to his credit he improved defending on the perimeter like he was just good enough in that role at the four um Mobly and Jared Allen well Mobly doesn’t shoot many threes but he shot 37% last year on like one and a half attempts per game he can at least shoot him and teams know that and you know he’s mobile enough to defend the perimeter better than I think kingan or Aon it’s like all these Duos he names are they have one of two things one of two bigs can do sorry let me rephrase this they have one of those two bigs that can knock down threes or defend the perimeter Aon and kingan both are better defensively at the five neither are guys that you want their primary defensive role to be defending the perimeter and neither guy is a three-point shooter Aon did not attempt the single three until his 41st game this season when the Blazers were a terrible three-point shooting team already and we awful offensively yeah I still have Blazer fans trying to tell me that those two can play next to each other because aen projects as a guy that should be able to hit threes because look at his mid-range shot well guess what I’ve been hearing Suns fans I have a lot of friends that are Suns fans they’ve been having that conversation for like 5 years and finally they realize oh he’s never going to shoot threes and when he came to Portland it’s like okay maybe he needed a new situation where he just had the freedom to shoot threes and he didn’t attempt one for his first 40 games his shot is super flat which makes it hard to convert the deeper you get and his form does not look the same for mid-range and three and I’ve watched him shoot threes and warm-ups before games this past season and it does not look good and NBA players a lot of them I mean you’ve seen Ben Simmons workout tapes in workouts or in warm-ups they look like absolute snipers even if they don’t shoot threes eighton did not look good warmups every time I saw him kingan two for eight last year maybe he can stretch it out the Blazer said he was a good shooter in his workout but you’re not bringing clinging in to shoot threes so neither guy is a perimeter defender or a three-point shooter so that makes it an awful fit and super clunky because every time you’re going to have scoot Drive in the lane you’re going to have aen at the elbow taking away a driving lane his Defender can help if you run pick and roll scoot kinging deandre’s Defender can sit under that pick and roll and disrupt that whole action like it’s awful spacing it’s not good for the guards to develop you want scoot to have space where he can make simple decisions where he can attack and then see somebody helping have a shooter in the corner and can kick it out to him right like you want sharp to have the space to attack as well you don’t want them driving into four players two of them being their own teammates and two of them being big man Defenders that are guarding them it just does not work so I hate that fit do you disagree with any of that because I’m I’m tired of Blazer F TR tell me that that crap can work uh no I agree with you 100% they that that’s exactly why they can’t play with each other I I mean I it seems pretty obvious that they can’t play with one another but I will say Clan does some things that Aon doesn’t do as well like when he goes pick and roll he can go to the rim pick and po or uh you know pick and lob I think that’s going to help scoot out a lot um like you said passing earlier he’s a good really good passer he does like I remember when they traded for uh plumbley Mason plumbley the Blazers did and I remember telling people like you’re going to be surprised at like how good of a passer he is out of the pick and roll like he can actually take a dribble and then pass which is so hard to do for big guys like kingan can do that too so I think you are right like Aton and kingan cannot play together um but I do think kingan actually will provide some things that Aon doesn’t that can help hopefully progress those guards in a different way out of the pick and roll so um I think that’s good and then going off of uh your question earlier about the like the the talent part right like just accumulating talent I actually agree with that like I’ve been I say that all the time like the Blazers aren’t good enough to be drafting for team need right now like they just need to accumulate as many really good players as they possibly can and then at the and then figure it out like okay here’s a piece that fits here’s a piece that fits here’s a piece that fits the Blazers don’t have the players to be like yeah we need to you know go for that three and D guy or anything like that like they just have to keep at really good talent and I think getting kinging the hope is like eventually he turns into a better Defender the DeAndre Aton his offensive player right and so then then at that point you’re accumulating a better talent and then Aon you can get rid of him and then you can you know fill in the backup for cling in and fill it around there so I do agree with Cronin on that where they aren’t good enough to be like we’re drafting for team need like they just need to accumulate as much talent as possible and then figure it out at least that’s my that’s my theory in in the NBA is like yes like te basketball is a big thing and I do understand team fit but right now for the Trailblazers it’s not great but I will say there is one positive um I have thought of one thing if Aon and kinger play together there’s one good thing that they will do together actually and that will be that they will be so bad that the Blazers could have a better chance of get a Cooper flag yeah I I am all for that and listen I agree with that in a vacuum one push back I have is there is something to be said about having a cohesive enough team whose pieces fit well enough in order to properly develop the talent that you do bring in because if if scoots playing next to four non-shooters what’s he supposed to do he’s not going to get good proper NBA reps driving the lane collapsing the defense then making the right reads because they going to collapse the defense and the Read’s going to be oh this dude’s left completely wide open in the corner because he can’t make a shot so what’s SC supposed to do just driv into four guys and then keep passing it to somebody that just bricks every three like that’s not good development that’s that’s an ere exaggerated example but I think there’s a certain level of cohesion you need in order to properly develop players no you’re you’re totally right I mean that there is roster construction also there so you can’t just get the same guys over and over so you are right of that um I had this thought about Donovan kingan real quick watching Derek Lively could he have a Derrick Lively type impact oh 100% like is it that kind of like a comp for Donovan Clingan right now I think I think Lively will end up being able to shoot like he shot he made the one in the finals but you go and watch like his workout tapes like you said earlier with Ben Simmons I actually think Lively will develop a jump shot but but don’t you think clling and Lively are very similar in play Styles I think Lively covers ground a little bit more which makes him a little bit better defensively from day one he’s a little more athletic yeah he can just get back into plays quicker can rotate a little bit quicker like kingan has more length so maybe he doesn’t need to rotate as quick and that’s just one of my questions that I’m interested to see with kingan in year one like can how quickly can he cover space and disrupt shots at the MBA level where there’s more spacing and where he has to cover more ground instead of just kind of sitting around the rim most of the time and just playing drop and backpedaling from 15 feet because Derek Lively was fantastic at just covering ground I don’t know if kingan’s going to be as good defensively from day one and kingan’s going to have to I think he reads the game really fast defensively uh the one thing I will say is he flips his hips very quickly uh and that’s something that’s underrated in big men like you in order to run a different direction you got to be able to turn first uh and that’s something Clingan does well I I just I don’t know how much I like Derrick Lively as the comp because he’s just more athletic quicker and that allows him to play a little bit like a hustle big where I think Clingan is more so in the mold of a Rudy go bear okay all right I was just thinking you know little bit you know lob thread of the brim um Lively as of right now like he’s not great outside of you know two feet so I don’t know I just had that thought I was thinking about it when I was you know you watch the finals and you watch klling and you’re like maybe it’s Derek lively that’s a nice little fit if it would be but I’m with you man I I just I I I want to find bad things to say about it Tori I just I like the clinging pick I like the Avia trade am I am I wrong right now I mean listen I would am I being too much of a homer I would tell you if you were cuz you know me I am always ready to give Joe Cronin some heat but no he’s he’s done a good job so far the avdia trade was shocking to me I did not expect avdia to even be available in the first place so I mean that trade just holds it all together kinging like they got the guy they want so Props he fell into their laps I would have been interested to see what they would have done if Atlanta took him number one or whatever I’ve been talking to you for a while about it like kingan’s been the guy like I’ve been telling you like they want kingan I was telling everybody they want Donovan kingan they’re hoping that he falls to seven like that’s that was what they helped so like I will say this they didn’t do anything the Blazers stood at seven and they got the guy they wanted so they didn’t have to make a move or anything so like how much credit do you have to give them you still have to give them credit but maybe I’m going a little overboard by saying yeah look at all look at this great move well yeah he just fell on your lap I know and that’s been a running theme sharp at seven was like the guy they wanted the upside pick right like and he fell into their lap it felt like but maybe he was the one guy where it was they took him over some other guys that maybe were as obvious as a pick it just kind of felt like sharp fell into their lap and then obviously last year scoot at three like he fell right to their lap it was obvious pick right they picked him even though they had Damen Lillard and still quote wanted to build a winner around daame and then donin kingan Falls in their lap well that’s why the that’s why the Avia trade so interesting because that they went out and they got him and you go and you did you see the Mike Schmid’s video back in the day during the draft day when he said this is the steal of the draft like obviously he had his fingerprints on that one like hey I love Denny Avia let’s go trade for because he’s available like this is one of their first moves that they’ve kind of gone out of their way which is crazy to think that like Joe croin has been there for so long and like now is finally the first move where they’re like whoa like this is we’re going to put our jobs on the line by trading first round picks for this guy because we think he’s good yeah yeah because the Jeremy trade was brought to them by Dame right and you know what was the most difficult pick they had to make in terms of choosing a prospect I would say it was last year at 23 when they took Chris Murray I know some people like him I know some people like him but that pick doesn’t look good right now no that pick didn’t look good at to me at the time I thought it was a terrible pick at the time and then everything I saw in the past year just confirmed that like why going into a rebuild especially why not just take a chance on a boomer bus guy and then if he doesn’t end up panning out you can say well at least we thought he had upside we knew he was a risk he didn’t pan out okay like how big of a risk is it really a pick 23 it’s not even a big risk it’s the 23rd pick those guys usually don’t turn out to be anything anyways I mean we just talked about Anthony Simons who is the 24th pick Jeremy Grant was a second round pick there’s there’s enough guys that pan out there where it’s like I mean obv you’re I’m not I’m not saying it’s black and white like at this number they suck of course of course but my whole point is like if you’re gonna draft a prospect that has a high floor he better not suck if you’re drafting him in the first round he he should be better especially in what I think is a good draft last year if you’re drafting a high floor guy at 23 he should be better than Chris Murray was last year I totally agree because I I was not a big Chris Murray fan I think my Scout report was below average shooter below average Defender below average dribbler good size yeah that’s it I mean that was my thinking you identified a dude in that range he went a little bit higher but haime hawz was your guy and look but of course of course Miami see they’re a team that consistently turns late first round picks or two-way contracts or whatever into guys that help them guys that produce for them and there’s a lot of organizations that will you know they’ll they’ll do good with those assets and there’s a lot of organizations that draft poorly Milwaukee’s one of them and they took AJ Johnson I thought that was a terrible pick that they should have went with a win now player right and it’s it’s just funny how there seems to be patterns where some front offices will always you just said a wi now player there’s not win now players at that range like the win now player would have been considered Chris Murray last season I like that’s the thing at p in the 20s you’re not going to get guy either going to get guys that turn out to be role players or usually guys that are going to be out of the league they should have at least gotten somebody that can shoot because Malik Beasley reports are he’s not going to come back they don’t have enough shooting off their bench there’s some guys that I think could maybe come in and play a role right away I just Aj Johnson is a dude that averaged two points per game in the NBL you know he won’t contribute to that team over the next two to three years and it’s like when you got Dame it just doesn’t make sense to take somebody that you know won’t contribute over over that time span um teren Shannon Jr is the pick that I would have liked there for them I think he’ll be ready to play right away he might not on Minnesota because they have a lot of depth but he’s older he has an NBA body NBA athleticism three LEL score like at least take that and then if he doesn’t shoot the three ball well enough maybe isn’t efficient enough then he doesn’t play but at least he has a chance to help you your one if he truly is the real deal which I think he is you know great example of the Timberwolves right here of trading first round picks and then recouping them when you need to like that we talk about the 2029 pick the Blazers traded for odia if they really want to get back in the 20129 draft they can find a way to do that the Tiber wolves traded all their picks for goar they had two first round picks Rob they traded for Rob Dillan they got ter chance and Rob dillingham’s perfect there they’re the number one defense so they can cover for his defensive issues they needed more offense they needed a long-term point guard replacement for Mike Conley Dillingham was freaking perfect and I thought Dillingham was perfect for the Spurs too and they got the Spurs to give him up the Spurs got Castle who’s going to be the Rookie of the Year we know this you’re a castle fan huh I respect you dude castle with Wim Yama that thing is GNA be nasty bro nightmares man I that’s listen given that the Blazers have to deal with oneyama I like that they got a 72 Guy you kind of have to have a big guy now in the NBA yeah 100% um final thing that I want to touch upon I don’t know if you have anything else but no I think the Blazers we kind of talked about earlier I’m just going to put this out there again I really think the Blazers need to trade Jeremy Grant do you think Jeremy Grant is more likely to be traded or anrey Simons before the season what about okay let’s because I agree with you before the season I think it’s athrey Simons but let’s say both are on the roster going to the trade deadline do you think at that point Jeremy Grant would be more likely to be traded at the trade deadline I still I I still feel like it’s Anthony Simons I don’t know I don’t know if it changes I don’t know if it changes but I don’t know if he does either who so let’s just say the Blazers do nothing else this offseason okay so they have ant scoot sharp they’re three guards they have avdia at the three they have Kamar at the three they have Banton at the three and they have matis thy with the three and then at Power Forward they got Grant they got their first round pick last year and Chris Murray they got Jabari Walker um you know who had some good minutes last year and then at Center Spot you got DeAndre Aon you got Donovan kingan and you still got Robert Williams which players are you benching which players are not playing or are you playing like a 13-man rotation they got a lot of mid they got a lot of mid guys Tori like they really do yeah but good enough to play right I know that’s what I’m saying uh it’s it’s crazy that Jabari Walker is only G 22 when like Kamar is what 24 already um I think the guys that they would play I think klling in is playing but not a lot like he’s just getting mble minutes Kamar is playing Jabari is the one that’s not going to get playing time Chris Murray no um Banton no so who did I eliminate so we got the three guard B is he gonna play yeah he plays so does he play the three they’ll have some weird lineups they’ll have lineups where it’ll be like sharp scoot ant thall kinging yeah I’m I’m just looking at it this way like you you got your three guards are you are you bringing sharp Off the Bench or scoot Off the Bench I don’t know but let’s say you play no you’re not so you’re bringing ant Off the Bench or you starting sharp at the three you’re bringing ad Off the Bench I hate that man and I hate it too but but the but the way they’ll you can twist it around toward you can say well he’s going to handle the offense with a second unit yeah I think he should start so about early then come back in with the second unit to be that point forward but that’s just my op but I think that’s what you could say you could say that you could be like yeah he’s you know he’s going to run the second unit he’s the Mario honia yeah I just i’ look at this in terms of minutes if you played sharp scoot ant at the three guard spots and they didn’t swing up to the three they’d be getting 32 minutes a game at the three if you have AA he should be playing at least probably 32 minutes a game if you got Kamar backing him up that’s 16 minutes a game left over the small Ford spot for Kamar so maybe Kamar backs up Grant they’re probably going to play him 35 minutes because they love playing Jeremy Grant an absurd amount of minutes so Kamar can maybe get uh you know 29 minutes a game how many of those go to matis tho in order to get him enough playing time to justify yeah so what you think he should be playing about 20 yeah so you got nine minutes for matis and that’s the reason why so many minutes is because he actually can score 20 points in the NBA like tumani Kamar scores seven but he’s fantastic defensively so you know he has to develop some type of offensive game I think he was he shot the three ball well at the end of last year had some playmaking flashes I’m hopeful he can take a step in that regard but but this is let’s not fall into the Trap of like oh he had a 10 game stretch at the end of the season where the Blazers are tanking trying to lose like hey tman Kamar is going to be good at offense now if he was but if he was like a guy who had to rely on his offense no but since he’s so good defensively a flash like that it’s like I don’t think he needs to be all that good offensively so just the fact that he showed something get it last 12 games 13 games of the Season he averaged 10 points five rebounds 51 and a half% shooting 44 from three and we don’t need him to shoot 44% we need to shoot him 36% so if that can be a sign of any sort of progress cuz he shot what 33% from three on the season I don’t think he’s that far away from being good enough offensively that he doesn’t hurt you and then his defense going to help you so that’s how I view Kamar I don’t think he should get 29 minutes a game but back to that conversation it’s like if you’re getting him 20 if you’re getting Grant 35 AIA 32 and Scoot sharp anony Simons 32 a game maybe scoots at 30 and ants at 34 whatever you only got N9 minutes left over from an thy you’re not playing Banton like it just feels like I just feel like kamara’s numbers are going to be more like his first 57 games where it’s seven points and she’s shooting 43% and 30 from three yeah it’s yeah I mean who knows regardless he approves because you’re right defensively He is unbelievable yeah like think of that if he if he ends up being able to score at all and they trade jery Grant at some point and then it’s Avia tumman Kamar kinging as your front Court yeah that’s insane yeah basically this whole exercise is to say they need to trade one event or Grant but I think they should definitely trade Grant but yeah thall has no place on this team either I still think he never did though they should not have matched his contract last off season they could have don’t you don’t you think that they could trade him for anything not really you don’t think get like a I just don’t think he has couple seconds I mean the place has only traded a couple seconds for him coming out of Philadelphia now he’s on think someone would give up a couple seconds for me maybe but I what contract are you taking back because you’re probably taking back another mid player that’s Mak a 10 million a year it’s just it just be easier just to not have them I mean you’ve you can always trade for second round picks every second round pick gets traded like you could always trade cash for second round picks the players just sold the 40th pick for straight up cash um two separate dippings of cash Jody got a pat her Pockets so I don’t know I I just think Batista iel doesn’t really have a place on this team moving forward and ultimately I’m curious what you think about this with aia’s contract being as good as it is I am all for getting first round picks and expiring back for grant for Aon if you can for cbin for Rob will whatever you can get for him even if it’s one single second and for matis label because ultimately if you’re able to get off those salaries in the next couple of years you still have a really good young core with scoot sharp AA kingan Kamar whoever the Blazers draft next next year maybe it’s two guys they draft next year if they get back at 2025 first in one of those trades and if you have a core like that without any of those extra salaries you have a bunch of future draft capital and they could have like a hundred million of cap space now I’m not sitting here saying like oh yeah then you go ins sign LeBron and Kevin Durant and fre AG or whatever right get first though yeah you gotta get BR um but more so it’s like okay well you can maybe sign somebody who’s a free agent early in their career that could be complimentary part to their core right so you get assets back for Jeremy and then maybe you can go out there and sign someone that maybe isn’t as good as Jeremy but can kind of replace a little bit of that scoring so at the end of the day you’re up in terms of your assets um but also it’s just you can take on salary and get back assets it just seems like the right move and part of the reason why that’s even possible is because you have almost an entire starting lineup maybe an entire starting lineup of guys on really good contract with scoot sharp Kamar AA kinging if the Blazers draft at the top of next year’s draft they’re going to get somebody who could be a star and he’s going to be on a rookie contract for four years they could have so much flexibility so much draft Capital to go along with a really good young Corp I think that is what they need to pursue and I’m just worried that they’re going to keep Jeremy Grant around for two to three years and DeAndre aton’s going to be here too long and then maybe they lose eighton for nothing when he’s a free agent in two years cuz he knows kingan’s coming for his job like that’s the path I’m worried about them going they’re set up to put themselves in a really good position they just need to trade the Vets what do you think about that um I agree with you I think I think a Kling and eighton combo you don’t think that can work going forward like as a two monster I think you’re one it’s fine but ultimately you need you need multiple big guys in the NBA now yeah but I kingan’s not going to look as much as I like kingan he’s not going to be a guy that you can go out there and play 30 a night I think he I think CL can be a guy who play 30 minutes a night just how many minutes a night does go bear play you don’t think he can become as well conditioned as goar it’s not that I just don’t I I think there’s so many big guys in the NBA that it’s all matchups and so I actually think like having DeAndre Aton and cling it as like a combo is fine I think it’s stupid to spend a number seven overall pick on a guy that might not even be able to play half the game like who else I mean there’s nobody in the draft what are you GNA do Draft Zack Ed he went nine I not draft zacki but Cody Williams could be a really good starter that plays 32 minutes a game but they just got Denny Avia they don’t need Cody Williams Matas melis could be a really good starter that plays 32 minutes a game he also shot 24% in the yeah they have problems but it’s like if you’re going to draft somebody in the lottery you’re drafting somebody to be a starter that plays more than like 22 24 minutes a game all I’m saying is is look at even the Celtics they were like Horford and poras like they’re splitting m minutes Daniel Gafford Derrick Lively they’re splitting minutes I mean porzingis can’t stay healthy that’s a problem but I but you see what I’m saying like even porzingis played 30 minutes a game this year there’s not a lot of centers that are out there playing that many minutes that’s why I’m saying I justas played 30 minutes a game this year and that’s with his old body that gets hurt and broken down all the time Horford played 27 minutes a game this year at 3 T to agree with you that they need to try to tradeon Jeremy Grant and Anthony Simons I just think out of those guys like Aon and Clingan as a combo isn’t terrible I wouldn’t hate it going forward like if I if I’m looking at the team in four years like they resigned DeAndre Aton I could see that happening and I wouldn’t be terrible I don’t think aton’s going to resign if he’s only playing 24 minutes a game right because they don’t either best case scenario if they can’t play together they’re going to average 24 minutes a game I just think it’s if it’s kind of silly to spend a Max contract and a seventh overall pick on two guys that are going to average 24 minutes a game especially when I think it’s going to be clear that kingan is better for team success than Aon and aon’s not going to like his minutes getting cut into with free agency coming up in two years I very true you’re it’s you’re throwing a lot of hypotheticals though and I’m just saying in general don’t I think you need more than one big guy and they play and they play differently is the thing they have different styles so I like that I don’t want to have two guys of the same exact style that’s that’s what I’m saying is if you could get them both to buy in like having two different style Setters I don’t think is terrible yeah I just think you cling in your long-term starter you hope he can get up to 30 minutes a game I think he can then you go out you go out there and you get a solid backup like a NS Reed you know what I mean like best Cas yes I I totally agree with you I I hope that kingan’s the guy if I if you want like a two-headed monster at Center I want the guy behind kinging to be able to play next to him cuz if a if he’s that good then you want to be able to have the lineup versatility to throw two bigs out there right so you you know as you said NBA game of matchups right sometimes you might need to take kinging off the floor if it’s a really fast team that is forcing you to switch a lot and you need a switchable Center so if you can get a switchable Center that’s a backup that’s like legitimately big enough to play center also can shoot a little bit so he can swing to the four and play next to kingan then I think that is the scenario to go after I don’t think that guy is haon I agree I I actually agree with you um you’re just saying but you asking like trading all the veterans I’m saying if that’s my if I do want to trade thol needs to be out Simons I think needs to be out Jeremy Grant needs to be out like they’re not part of the future yes trade them for whatever they want I’m just saying out of all of them DeAndre would be the lowest on my list out of guys like veterans that I would trade like I wouldn’t just want to give him away I think it’s okay and I think you could hopefully at this point because the Blazers aren’t very good maybe you can figure it out if kinging can shoot a three ball and then they can eventually play together or they can somehow mesh their games where they can figure it out together like I’m okay with that with the other three guys I don’t feel like there is legitimate any way that they should be part of the future I say there’s a slight a slight chance that I could be okay with DeAndre eight being part of the future you know what I actually agree with you on that too I think year one it’s fine to have Aon back definit that’s the thing year one is fine but year two you have to figure out if Kling is the guy yeah yeah you’re gonna learn some stuff about kingan I just think kingan has is very high floor and is going to prove to be like starting caliber Center like I have no no doubts about that um and then ultimately it’s like okay you have eight iny year one in order for them to Coexist on the roster long term you have to see something develop that allows them to be better fits next to each other so I think we both agree priority priority is to get rid of thel first Jeremy Grant second Anthony Simons third I would say I actually would Simons and Grant I would say Simons to but thel Simons then Grant I would say I would say Grant then one of I was no I say this grant than one of Robert Williams or DeAndre Aton because if you’re keeping DeAndre you still got Robert Williams on the roster man like if he’s able to stay healthy you’re not going to play him like it’s just kind of weird to me so one of those two guys and then maybe ant and then thel is how I changed my I changed my order it’s ant first grant second and then everyone else because thel doesn’t make like thel makes money but he doesn’t make enough where it’s like kills you same with Robert Williams and so I think the fact that ant and Jeremy Grant are you know what 25 and what’s Grant 30 or whatever like that those are more more get him out right away yeah but I think I think ant ant’s got to be the guy to get out unfortunately I think you can bench thy like I think you could throw a thall at the end of the bench and he’s be okay with it I just don’t think he wouldn’t complain yeah H maybe there was the rumors he wanted to go to Dallas like yeah he wanted to we’ll see we’ll see but I I think you can bench thall I don’t really feel like you should be benching Rob will I think if you’re going to bench Rob will you just trade him for anything if you play him he’s going to get hurt so at least if you bench him you still have the thought of oh look this guy’s healthy and he can help you yeah so just trade him then just trade him yeah just Ben you just throw him at the end of the bench so do you think he has more trade value before the season or the deadline after sitting on the bench all year I think Robert Williams trade TR value will never go up or down so just get rid of him for anything you can get get I think I think you could trade Robert Williams right now if you wanted to I think you could trade him at the trade deadline if you wanted to here’s what I’m worried about and I think it’s the exact same trade value because he’s so hurt all the time you know he’s going to get hurt but when he plays you know he can be effective yeah but he’s never going to have stretch where he’s healthy what I’m worried about is if he is healthy Chon’s not going to outright bench him which means you’re going to see more Aon next to kingan in year one which I’m I’m okay with both those guys I’m okay I’m okay with both Aon and clinging to the center spot I’m not okay with them playing together this year I don’t think that’s good for the guard I want to see it I want to see it Tori you want to see it train wreck you like disaster huh the Blazers aren’t gonna win this year like what are are the wayers trying to make the playoffs no they’re not they’re figuring out who fits on the team and so yes I do want to clinging and n and played we don’t even know if Shaden sharp and Scoot Henderson can play together because they’re never healthy they’re never playing together I want to see it I think it will be harder to tell if those two can play together if they’re playing in more lineups with ating and Clinging On the Floor next to each other I just don’t think it’s good for thetion just so I can see it because this year they’re not going to win it’s not about this year that’s also another reason next season that’s also another reason to trade Aon that’s also another reason to trade Grant trade Simons go get Cooper flag imagine adding Cooper flag to that core my goodness and then and then listen trade Aon it changes your franchise you got clinging you got Rob will and then if Rob will gets hurt you still got du up wreath on the Ruster you L legitimately they went from oops all guards to oops all bigs are the Blazers loaded is that what we’re saying they’re secretly kind of loaded loaded with mid as you would say loaded with mid they really are the Portland mid Blazers do you final question because free agency starting today I’m G upload this at like two in the morning probably but free agency players no right like are the players going to do a single thing on the free agent Market I don’t imagine so I don’t think so either they’re right up against the tax and they have no roster spots so so no I would say no so tomorrow’s just we’re I’m going to stream for like eight hours and not expect a single thing and it’s going to be weird you’re going to have to F you’re going to have to have a lot of time to fill dude every year it’s been please sign someone for D will even take washed Paul Milsap or Christian Wood just anything and then we don’t do anything and then I get to rant about Dereck Jones Jr they got Harry Giles at one year yeah my goodness so um it’s gonna it’s going to be a fun day because we get to see the chaos go down I guess um Paul George is the storyline Klay Thompson is a storyline so we’ll see what happens yeah that should be fun for the rest of the league but for the Blazers they are probably going to stay Pat and do their thing as they always do but that’s going to wrap it up for Tori I’m Stephen thank you let’s go Blazers do something

Torey Jones and Steven Vaughan reunited in the latest episode of Scorchin’ Trails to discuss the Deni Avdija trade, Donovan Clingan, and which Blazer which get traded next.

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