Portland Trail Blazers: Analyzing early offseason moves (and a conspiracy theory to watch for)
Re-signing Anfernee Simons
Extending Anfernee Simons was not a surprise move. The Blazers organization praised him for years due to his high ceiling. After Damian Lillard went down and Anfernee got the reigns of the team, he finally produced more than just flashes of that potential.
Four years, $100M is a good deal for a 23-year-old who played like an All-Star after the new year started. Simons’ improvement as a starter also gave the team confidence in moving CJ Mccollum for assets that would later become Jerami Grant. Portland’s hope here is Simons, who is more athletic than CJ, could develop into a better defender than his predecessor.
It’s a big opportunity for Simons, as it will be a test to see if he can strive as a starting shooting guard. If not, the Blazers might be looking at another situation like McCollum, a score-first point guard playing out of position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyFi0o-SVMo
Re-signing Jusuf Nurkic
Bringing Nurkic back wasn’t a surprise. Despite the wink-wink deal believed to be going on behind the scenes, with Nurkic heading to unrestricted free agency, it wasn’t as obvious that he would return. There was always the chance another team could have pulled him away with a big enough offer.
It was nerve-racking when the first day of free agency ended without Portland resigning him. The free agent market for centers had almost dried up. Losing him for nothing would have hurt the Blazers.
Also, a good chunk of Portland’s success over the last five years could easily be attributed to Nurkic’s presence on the court. His impact on defense and ability to get buckets in the paint made his return all the more important.
If anyone doubts what he brought to the team, look up the team’s +/- numbers when Nurk and Dame are on the floor together. It’s understandable to give Dame all the credit for that +/- ratio. However, that ratio drops significantly when Lillard played with any other center Portland used in the last seven years.
And the series is tied!
The Blazers are back and so is Jusuf Nurkic, who dominated Game 4 along with Norman Powell.
What was your favorite moment?
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