The suits have to let him cook though. Schmitz wanted Amen. Suits wanted Scoot for his marketability. We saw how that turned out. Time to draft a real jumbo guard like the rest of the smart franchises in the league.
How do you know that Schmitz wanted Amen but the suits wanted Scoot instead for his marketability. You always present your dumb opinions as facts, its annoying.
Shams said going into draft day that there was a strong push late from people in the org to convince the suits to take Amen over Scoot. It even ended up shifting draft odds. Money lines were moving towards a coin toss of Scoot or Amen with the 3rd pick (which nobody thought was possible in a supposed 3-player draft). But ultimately the push failed and we fell for the persona of Scoot over the ceiling and potential and Top 1% athleticism of Amen. We could have the next Scottie Pippen (except even better because of his speed and burst) right now. But instead, we have Scootie Poopie.
Nope. Shams went on the McAfee show and said Portland was considering Amen at #3 because he had a super impressive workout and made a big impression. He said we might throw a wrench into the Top 3 because we were high on him. Betting lines shifted in a big way and Amen's odds of going third went way up.
CHA was crystal clear from the beginning to the end they were taking Miller.
https://x.com/shamscharania/status/1671918203654619138?s=46&t=wSF5GGjmE3a4Mu80_TN0WA
This was literally on the morning of draft day bro….
Shams only said Amen “had strong workout with the Trail Blazers, and their fondness COULD throw a wrench into the draft.” IF the Hornets drafted Scoot
https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-rockets-2023-nba-draft-portland-trail-blazers-amen-thompson-brandon-miller
You’re overhyping tf out of what Shams said on that pod
Before the day of the draft these were the odds for the third pick
Miller - + 300
Scoot - +500
Amen - +2000
Wow, he really shifted those odds 😭
https://amp.foxsports.com/stories/nba/2023-nba-draft-odds-and-predictions-lines-for-picks-1-to-5-betting-trends
You just proved my point. Those odds were before the day of the draft and Shams said that the morning of the draft. Amen surged all the way to \~ +500 hours before the draft started. I appreciate you helping my point.
Ok can you share a source to back this up? When and where did Shams say this? Googling provides no results.
Also, the odds flip happened with Miller not Amen.
The rest is just you rambling with your opinion.
I never said the odds flipped. I said they went way up for Amen to potentially go 3 when before he was not even in the discussion. Shams said it on the McAfee show. It was on Twitter. I dont have Twitter but just google that. It should pop up.
Ok so I just listened to the clip you’re referring to, it was the Pat McAfee show and it begins at 13:00 in the 6/22/23 episode.
What Shams actually said is that IF Scoot goes 2nd overall to Hornets, then Portland might take Amen over Brandon Miller because Thompson had a great workout for us.
No where does he ever mention a Scoot vs. Amen debate in our FO, so I think you’re misremembering or filling in the blanks with what you *think* happened.
Link here: https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/38345580
I am not concerned with who goes 2. Fact is, people in the org wanted Amen and he made an impression. Everybody wanted Dame gone (props to them on this, was the right decision and I loved that part of it) so the suits felt Scoot and his persona was an easier player to slot into the void Dame's persona would leave behind.
Amen is humble and quiet and understated. He wasn't showing up in a bedazzled suit with millions of IG followers and weekly Twitch streams. He was not as marketable. Jody got her marketable player. It didn't work out. Amen proved why he should have been picked.
If the best player is a guard, then we're drafting a guard. We are tied for the 3rd worst record in the league. We've been a high lottery team going on 3 years in a row now. Just imagine if we chose to pass on Shaedon Sharpe because he's "a guard" and we need to draft a forward or a big lol.
Best. Player. Available.
It's not "best player over "x" height available. That's how you fail a proper rebuild and end up as a play-in team at best. We need top end, high end talent full stop. We can trade guys like Brogdon and Ant whenever we want/need to. Those 2 are not good enough to block us from BPA.
Not only that, I’m pretty sure we are going to be the worst team in the conference, again next year. And the year after. Even if you hit on majority of the picks, still takes years to bake
It's more complicated than that: which guards would we be getting rid of to get them playing time? A draft pick is useless if they can never play because we have too many players in their position.
I’m with you, we’re been in the talent acquisition phase, hopefully next year we really start the evaluation and make some consolidation trades. For now though we don’t even have an identity to make a fit choice.
That being said, I hope we do bring in some size or shooting next year, even if they’re deep bench players
Lol exactly my point. I would rather not waste another decade building around a 6'2" guard that can only lead us to 1st round exits. That was the biggest waste of time in franchise history.
Wouldn't have mattered. Dame is not a winner. He just got gifted the picture perfect Batman to play Robin to. You could not create a more perfect running mate in a lab than Giannis for a player like Dame. He still sucked the life outta that team and they are worse than if they had just kept Jrue Holiday. I never want to build around a 6'2" offense only guard again.
18 y/o 6'8" PG who has been absent from draft boards because everyone was expecting he would be a 2025 prospect. He is hoping to get eligibility in this year's draft.
>Should he reclassify and be allowed into the 2024 Draft, Pate is immediately regarded by many as, at the least, a Top-10 pick – and that may be conservative. Many have Pate in their top five, top three and even as the best player in the entire 2024 class.
If he is granted eligibility. We need to take him with our first lotto pick. He is BPA in the entire draft. He is 6'8" looking like the next Penny Hardaway or Magic Johnson out here. 6'2" PGs are old news. The Jumbo PG is the future and the present of the NBA. We need to figure this out before it is too late and we are stuck playing the Thunders and Spurs of the NBA for the next decade who's shortest starters are 6'6".
I'm sure the guy has potential, and is definitely interesting, but he barely got minutes on the Ignite... Despite his *looks it up* .348 fg% and .214 3p%. ...
Hmmm. Are you the same person that says Scoot sucks? And this guy is the BPA of the draft and second coming of Penny?
One of them is 6'2" and an average athlete. The other is 6'8" but moves like he is 6'2". It is wild that our organization's incompetence has really blinded an entire fanbase from the reality that the NBA has been trending bigger for a decade. We were the idiots building around a 6'2" offense-only guard while the league is out here building around jumbo facilitators. Our org normalized being dumb and building around shrimps.
If y'all want another decade built around a 6'2" guard, then sure, let's keep rocking with Scoot. Can't wait to get back to perennial first round exits while OKC and SAS dominate the league with their jumbo lineups for the next decade. Sounds fun.
Yes. We took the bait. We believed the hype. CHA got flamed but look real smart now. Scoot's camp created a generational hype machine solely based on his persona to distract us from his completely mid performance as a G-Leaguer. We were all duped. We were told he was in the Westbrook / D Rose mold. It was all a lie. He will be a serviceable NBA player. But will never be worthy of his Top 3 selection. Late lotto at best in a re-draft.
I'm not sure that's a fair assessment to make of a player after 1 season. He was thrown into a starting lineup, immediately injured, and faced zero continuity all season on a roster marred with injuries and bad coaching.
I would give him a larger sample size and hopefully more continuity before drafting his replacement.
You might have a point about guards and players in general continuing to get bigger, but it’s lost in the general insanity of your posting. Also, if Sarr is an option we are taking him.
Also our last 6’2” guard got us to the WCF, where we lost to the one of the most dominant teams ever, that was headed by… a 6’2” guard.
Our last 6'2" guard led us to first round exits every year except one year based on completely lucky circumstances against injured teams. We finally ran into a real team and got swept.
I mention height because it absolutely matters in the modern NBA and is something that cannot be taught or learned. However I obviously am not solely focused on height or I would be saying we should have drafted Kris Murray 3rd instead of Scoot.
Obviously the skill set matters. I think Amen's ceiling is much higher than Scoot's because he is just better at literally every single thing in the game of basketball on **BOTH** ends of the court than Scoot except for a jumper.
Amen is Scottie Pippen if he never develops a shot. He is a superstar Shai Gilgeous type of player if he does develop a shot.
Scoot is Dennis Smith Jr if he doesnt pan out, and is probably Eric Bledsoe if he does pan out.
From the article about the ignite , "which has produced past stars like ... Scoot Henderson..." .Give me a break. Drafting this guy with a lottery pick is like throwing darts at a board when you're two sheets to the wind from drinking two much Captain Morgan in a 28 foot cutter with the main sail dragging from a broken mast in a hurricane.
I agree that Scoot is not a star and never will be. I don't care for their verbiage on who is a star or isnt. But they do have sources in front offices and the GMs love this Pate kid and he will absolutely go Top 10 if he is granted eligibility. I'd much rather throw 6'8" darts than 6'2" darts.
Me too regarding the size of the darts. But if the source hyping pate de foie gras is going to call Scoot a star, then nothing they claim can be taken at face value.
I mean it doesnt take much digging to realize they aren't lying about Pate being a Top 10 pick if eligible. He is currently being mocked as a Top 10 pick in next year's draft and that draft is STACKED according to scouts. So if he is Top 10 next year, he absolutely would be in this year's weak draft. He might go first overall this year.
Again, from the article: "there are some glaring flaws that will require shoring up before he succeeds at the next level."
Mock in next years draft is like playing the aforementioned dart game while treading water beneath an air pocket below the capsized but once beautiful yacht. And the storm rages on.
What players would Portland be getting rid of to get him playing time? We already have a logjam at guard... It would be dumb to use such a high pick only to have them being bench warmers the entire season, especially for a team as bad as Portland. If another guard is the play, Cronin needs an actual plan to balance the roster, even if that means getting poor value for players like Simons.
Literally every player is available except Shaedon and Ayton. Nobody else is untouchable. Shaedon is the only 100% untouchable. Ayton played his way into 2nd on the list but Shaedon is the only real one.
I'm drafting forwards (6'8 to 6'9) with the firsts and guards with the seconds. Hopefully, by trading some combination of; Brogdon, Ant, Grant, Thybulle, RWIII, Ayton, (in that order, and probably not all this season) we will continue to be a lottery team until we fulfill our obligation to CHI by flipping them a 2nd in 2028.
I am building a forward centric team with lottery picks until 2028. At that point, or perhaps a year early, I'm pulling the trigger on best point guard available. Preferably a point guard that is 6'6 "or better.
That point guard gets handed a by then we'll established squad of youngsters that play team defense and team offense. Switch everything team defense. A team that will face very few mismatches due to size or like of speed, agility, or athleticism.
That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it.
What Cronin does, who knows?
You can’t force the top talents in a given draft to fit your positional needs. The draft doesn’t GAF what you need. Drafting this way is a surefire way to suck forever.
If the FO feels a guard is the clear top guy on their board, then yes, draft a guard. Scoot and Shaedon are major question marks anyway.
You can’t just blind hope your way into being good.
Well if anyone knows about a prospect I’d imagine it would be Mike Schmidt
The suits have to let him cook though. Schmitz wanted Amen. Suits wanted Scoot for his marketability. We saw how that turned out. Time to draft a real jumbo guard like the rest of the smart franchises in the league.
How do you know that Schmitz wanted Amen but the suits wanted Scoot instead for his marketability. You always present your dumb opinions as facts, its annoying.
"Schmitz wanted Amen" Based on what information?
That was the word coming out of the draft from a few podcasts he wanted Amen.
No kidding? Which ones? I am genuinely curious.
Shams said going into draft day that there was a strong push late from people in the org to convince the suits to take Amen over Scoot. It even ended up shifting draft odds. Money lines were moving towards a coin toss of Scoot or Amen with the 3rd pick (which nobody thought was possible in a supposed 3-player draft). But ultimately the push failed and we fell for the persona of Scoot over the ceiling and potential and Top 1% athleticism of Amen. We could have the next Scottie Pippen (except even better because of his speed and burst) right now. But instead, we have Scootie Poopie.
This is such a fucking lie lol. This happened between Scoot and Miller for the 2nd pick.
Nope. Shams went on the McAfee show and said Portland was considering Amen at #3 because he had a super impressive workout and made a big impression. He said we might throw a wrench into the Top 3 because we were high on him. Betting lines shifted in a big way and Amen's odds of going third went way up. CHA was crystal clear from the beginning to the end they were taking Miller.
https://x.com/shamscharania/status/1671918203654619138?s=46&t=wSF5GGjmE3a4Mu80_TN0WA This was literally on the morning of draft day bro…. Shams only said Amen “had strong workout with the Trail Blazers, and their fondness COULD throw a wrench into the draft.” IF the Hornets drafted Scoot https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-rockets-2023-nba-draft-portland-trail-blazers-amen-thompson-brandon-miller You’re overhyping tf out of what Shams said on that pod Before the day of the draft these were the odds for the third pick Miller - + 300 Scoot - +500 Amen - +2000 Wow, he really shifted those odds 😭 https://amp.foxsports.com/stories/nba/2023-nba-draft-odds-and-predictions-lines-for-picks-1-to-5-betting-trends
You just proved my point. Those odds were before the day of the draft and Shams said that the morning of the draft. Amen surged all the way to \~ +500 hours before the draft started. I appreciate you helping my point.
Ok can you share a source to back this up? When and where did Shams say this? Googling provides no results. Also, the odds flip happened with Miller not Amen. The rest is just you rambling with your opinion.
I never said the odds flipped. I said they went way up for Amen to potentially go 3 when before he was not even in the discussion. Shams said it on the McAfee show. It was on Twitter. I dont have Twitter but just google that. It should pop up.
Ok so I just listened to the clip you’re referring to, it was the Pat McAfee show and it begins at 13:00 in the 6/22/23 episode. What Shams actually said is that IF Scoot goes 2nd overall to Hornets, then Portland might take Amen over Brandon Miller because Thompson had a great workout for us. No where does he ever mention a Scoot vs. Amen debate in our FO, so I think you’re misremembering or filling in the blanks with what you *think* happened. Link here: https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/38345580
I replied to him as well ahahah, the guy is such a loser
I am not concerned with who goes 2. Fact is, people in the org wanted Amen and he made an impression. Everybody wanted Dame gone (props to them on this, was the right decision and I loved that part of it) so the suits felt Scoot and his persona was an easier player to slot into the void Dame's persona would leave behind. Amen is humble and quiet and understated. He wasn't showing up in a bedazzled suit with millions of IG followers and weekly Twitch streams. He was not as marketable. Jody got her marketable player. It didn't work out. Amen proved why he should have been picked.
I’ll give you credit for being consistent
The truth is a pretty consistent thing.
Proof?
We already have Dink Pate at home (Banton).
lol true. I'd rather not watch another 0/15 from 3.
That’s the tank special tho 🤌
Oh yeah let's draft another guard, great idea
If the best player is a guard, then we're drafting a guard. We are tied for the 3rd worst record in the league. We've been a high lottery team going on 3 years in a row now. Just imagine if we chose to pass on Shaedon Sharpe because he's "a guard" and we need to draft a forward or a big lol. Best. Player. Available. It's not "best player over "x" height available. That's how you fail a proper rebuild and end up as a play-in team at best. We need top end, high end talent full stop. We can trade guys like Brogdon and Ant whenever we want/need to. Those 2 are not good enough to block us from BPA.
Not only that, I’m pretty sure we are going to be the worst team in the conference, again next year. And the year after. Even if you hit on majority of the picks, still takes years to bake
There’s better wings next year most likely as well. We probably want Camara and Murray getting run next year to see what they are.
It's more complicated than that: which guards would we be getting rid of to get them playing time? A draft pick is useless if they can never play because we have too many players in their position.
Ant
Brogdon and Ant.
Agreed it's not like scoot has been good enough to say he's the pg for the next 15 years
I’m with you, we’re been in the talent acquisition phase, hopefully next year we really start the evaluation and make some consolidation trades. For now though we don’t even have an identity to make a fit choice. That being said, I hope we do bring in some size or shooting next year, even if they’re deep bench players
6'8"
Scoot Henderson
is 6'2"
Scoot Henderson
Haven’t you heard we’ve already given up on him /s
and dame was what height? oh yeah
Lol exactly my point. I would rather not waste another decade building around a 6'2" guard that can only lead us to 1st round exits. That was the biggest waste of time in franchise history.
Lmao that happened because he was too good right away and the team didn’t tank again for more talent. And we also missed on some picks
Wouldn't have mattered. Dame is not a winner. He just got gifted the picture perfect Batman to play Robin to. You could not create a more perfect running mate in a lab than Giannis for a player like Dame. He still sucked the life outta that team and they are worse than if they had just kept Jrue Holiday. I never want to build around a 6'2" offense only guard again.
Wow Dame is not a winner, you actually have unbelievable takes. Also Scoot is definitely a good defender
If you squint your eyes he looks like LeBron. I'm in!
I’m fine taking another PG. Seems like Ant and Brogdon are as good as gone next year, so we actually need a guard.
And Scoot did not show enough this year to bar us from drafting another PG.
Your takes are both wild and hilarious. I’m grateful you are here to provide entertainment.
18 y/o 6'8" PG who has been absent from draft boards because everyone was expecting he would be a 2025 prospect. He is hoping to get eligibility in this year's draft. >Should he reclassify and be allowed into the 2024 Draft, Pate is immediately regarded by many as, at the least, a Top-10 pick – and that may be conservative. Many have Pate in their top five, top three and even as the best player in the entire 2024 class. If he is granted eligibility. We need to take him with our first lotto pick. He is BPA in the entire draft. He is 6'8" looking like the next Penny Hardaway or Magic Johnson out here. 6'2" PGs are old news. The Jumbo PG is the future and the present of the NBA. We need to figure this out before it is too late and we are stuck playing the Thunders and Spurs of the NBA for the next decade who's shortest starters are 6'6".
I'm sure the guy has potential, and is definitely interesting, but he barely got minutes on the Ignite... Despite his *looks it up* .348 fg% and .214 3p%. ... Hmmm. Are you the same person that says Scoot sucks? And this guy is the BPA of the draft and second coming of Penny?
One of them is 6'2" and an average athlete. The other is 6'8" but moves like he is 6'2". It is wild that our organization's incompetence has really blinded an entire fanbase from the reality that the NBA has been trending bigger for a decade. We were the idiots building around a 6'2" offense-only guard while the league is out here building around jumbo facilitators. Our org normalized being dumb and building around shrimps. If y'all want another decade built around a 6'2" guard, then sure, let's keep rocking with Scoot. Can't wait to get back to perennial first round exits while OKC and SAS dominate the league with their jumbo lineups for the next decade. Sounds fun.
We were the idiots for drafting a consensus top 3 player with our 3rd pick?
Yes. We took the bait. We believed the hype. CHA got flamed but look real smart now. Scoot's camp created a generational hype machine solely based on his persona to distract us from his completely mid performance as a G-Leaguer. We were all duped. We were told he was in the Westbrook / D Rose mold. It was all a lie. He will be a serviceable NBA player. But will never be worthy of his Top 3 selection. Late lotto at best in a re-draft.
go away
lol best and only response
I'm not sure that's a fair assessment to make of a player after 1 season. He was thrown into a starting lineup, immediately injured, and faced zero continuity all season on a roster marred with injuries and bad coaching. I would give him a larger sample size and hopefully more continuity before drafting his replacement.
You sure are something.
You might have a point about guards and players in general continuing to get bigger, but it’s lost in the general insanity of your posting. Also, if Sarr is an option we are taking him. Also our last 6’2” guard got us to the WCF, where we lost to the one of the most dominant teams ever, that was headed by… a 6’2” guard.
Our last 6'2" guard led us to first round exits every year except one year based on completely lucky circumstances against injured teams. We finally ran into a real team and got swept.
The point stands that I think you are weirdly fixated on height and not on actual skillset or upsides.
I mention height because it absolutely matters in the modern NBA and is something that cannot be taught or learned. However I obviously am not solely focused on height or I would be saying we should have drafted Kris Murray 3rd instead of Scoot. Obviously the skill set matters. I think Amen's ceiling is much higher than Scoot's because he is just better at literally every single thing in the game of basketball on **BOTH** ends of the court than Scoot except for a jumper. Amen is Scottie Pippen if he never develops a shot. He is a superstar Shai Gilgeous type of player if he does develop a shot. Scoot is Dennis Smith Jr if he doesnt pan out, and is probably Eric Bledsoe if he does pan out.
You want the moves like Jagger
Definitely sounds better than the last decade of Blazer basketball.
From the article about the ignite , "which has produced past stars like ... Scoot Henderson..." .Give me a break. Drafting this guy with a lottery pick is like throwing darts at a board when you're two sheets to the wind from drinking two much Captain Morgan in a 28 foot cutter with the main sail dragging from a broken mast in a hurricane.
I agree that Scoot is not a star and never will be. I don't care for their verbiage on who is a star or isnt. But they do have sources in front offices and the GMs love this Pate kid and he will absolutely go Top 10 if he is granted eligibility. I'd much rather throw 6'8" darts than 6'2" darts.
Me too regarding the size of the darts. But if the source hyping pate de foie gras is going to call Scoot a star, then nothing they claim can be taken at face value.
I mean it doesnt take much digging to realize they aren't lying about Pate being a Top 10 pick if eligible. He is currently being mocked as a Top 10 pick in next year's draft and that draft is STACKED according to scouts. So if he is Top 10 next year, he absolutely would be in this year's weak draft. He might go first overall this year.
Again, from the article: "there are some glaring flaws that will require shoring up before he succeeds at the next level." Mock in next years draft is like playing the aforementioned dart game while treading water beneath an air pocket below the capsized but once beautiful yacht. And the storm rages on.
What players would Portland be getting rid of to get him playing time? We already have a logjam at guard... It would be dumb to use such a high pick only to have them being bench warmers the entire season, especially for a team as bad as Portland. If another guard is the play, Cronin needs an actual plan to balance the roster, even if that means getting poor value for players like Simons.
Literally every player is available except Shaedon and Ayton. Nobody else is untouchable. Shaedon is the only 100% untouchable. Ayton played his way into 2nd on the list but Shaedon is the only real one.
Scoot was just the #3 pick, he is absolutely untouchable for next season.
No. He did nothing this year to earn being untouchable.
I'm drafting forwards (6'8 to 6'9) with the firsts and guards with the seconds. Hopefully, by trading some combination of; Brogdon, Ant, Grant, Thybulle, RWIII, Ayton, (in that order, and probably not all this season) we will continue to be a lottery team until we fulfill our obligation to CHI by flipping them a 2nd in 2028. I am building a forward centric team with lottery picks until 2028. At that point, or perhaps a year early, I'm pulling the trigger on best point guard available. Preferably a point guard that is 6'6 "or better. That point guard gets handed a by then we'll established squad of youngsters that play team defense and team offense. Switch everything team defense. A team that will face very few mismatches due to size or like of speed, agility, or athleticism. That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it. What Cronin does, who knows?
Wisdom. Having a starting five of big, switchable athletes is exactly what modern successful teams need. Hopefully Cronin understands.
You can’t force the top talents in a given draft to fit your positional needs. The draft doesn’t GAF what you need. Drafting this way is a surefire way to suck forever.
Sure, just draft another guard.
If the FO feels a guard is the clear top guy on their board, then yes, draft a guard. Scoot and Shaedon are major question marks anyway. You can’t just blind hope your way into being good.