Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Boom wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2026 2:11 pm This team is nowhere close to the Knicks or any playoff contender for that matter.

BTW Brunson forced plenty of shots in the playoffs. He's an undersized high usage guard similar to Lillard. The difference is that he's in his prime and has a smart front office that took substantial risk building a very good team around him. The Blazers on the other hand had an opportunity to trade for OG Anunoby, but they were too cheap in their pursuit.

You are right that Brunson compares on some level to Lillard, albeit he is more efficient. Better shooter and less turnovers. He's like Lillard might have turned out if Olshey hadn't made him the center of the universe. I really like Towns and Anunoby on that team though. I wish Clingan and Toumani could get to that level, but I guess it would have happened by now. I am secretly hoping that having Ja on the team will open those guys up for more offense. He has a skill for penetrating defenses that these guys haven't seen yet. If not, maybe they can use these upcoming picks to draft strong guys at those positions for the next round of team evolution. Get a really efficient scoring power forward and move Toumani to wing. That feels like the fix to me. It doesn't have to be Giannis, but something in that direction.

PG Ja/ Scoot
SG Toumani/ Sharpe
SF Deni
PF Draftee somewhere between Giannis and Paolo Banchero
C Clingan/Williams

I think this team would be a lot better.

Toumani's closer to a PF than he is a SG

Toumani's more natural position is small forward/wing. Starting him at the four creates a gaping hole in the lineup for a reliable post scorer/finisher. So since they have Deni already at small forward, I would try Toumani at the other wing spot or bring him off the bench instead of Sidy or Vit or whatever other scrub they plan to give minutes to. I think my lineup would work a lot better than the way it is now, and my hypothetical power forward would be a better rebounder too.

Interesting idea of putting Toumani at the 2, I could see that. He could be a better version of Evan Turner.

Dame with Deni is the way, though, at least for now. If Dame is back to form, those two should play brilliantly off of each other. They make far more sense on the floor together than Ja and Deni. Even if you think Dame is only half as good as I do, he still fits better with Deni.

EDIT: To argue with myself though... another big X factor here is we've never seen Ja on a team where he's not the best player. Maybe his shooting percentage improves significantly when Deni dives into the middle and attracts all the attention. Teams will definitely give him the opportunity to shoot the kick-out.

Double edit: Nice little analysis from a former Blazers coach.

https://www.blazersedge.com/trail-blaze ... simo-coach