Offseason Thread

[Who]

Guard Cole Anthony has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after he clears waivers, sources told ESPN on Saturday night.

If Cole Anthony signs with Milwaukee, he will be the 3rd stringer PG behind Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Guard Cole Anthony has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after he clears waivers, sources told ESPN on Saturday night.

If Cole Anthony signs with Milwaukee, he will be the 3rd stringer PG behind Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

You must like Rollins and Porter Jr. more than I do.

[Who]

Guard Cole Anthony has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after he clears waivers, sources told ESPN on Saturday night.

If Cole Anthony signs with Milwaukee, he will be the 3rd stringer PG behind Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

You must like Rollins and Porter Jr. more than I do.

Or Cole Anthony less ...

Kevin Porter Jr played well for Milwaukee last season. I was surprised. I thought he was a write-off. Didn't play well for LAC or any of his other stops. But it worked in Milwaukee. Similar role as Cole Anthony. Porter Jr bigger and less of a defensive liability.

Ryan Rollins is more solid. Cole Anthony more explosive but also more inconsistent. Ryan Rollins plays decent defense. Anthony one of the worst defensive PGs in the league. Rollins a steady low volume shot maker. Anthony more of a creator but he doesn't deliver consistently enough to trust him.

Cole Anthony had a good season 3 years ago but the last 2 have been bad. I don't think he is good enough to be primary backup PG. I think 3rd string is his actual level. He has been disappointing for Orlando. A team desperate for shot creation and bench scoring. It was an ideal situation for him to go his own number and be the scoring guard that he is. He failed. Repeatedly.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Guard Cole Anthony has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after he clears waivers, sources told ESPN on Saturday night.

If Cole Anthony signs with Milwaukee, he will be the 3rd stringer PG behind Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

You must like Rollins and Porter Jr. more than I do.

Or Cole Anthony less ...

Kevin Porter Jr played well for Milwaukee last season. I was surprised. I thought he was a write-off. Didn't play well for LAC or any of his other stops. But it worked in Milwaukee. Similar role as Cole Anthony. Porter Jr bigger and less of a defensive liability.

Ryan Rollins is more solid. Cole Anthony more explosive but also more inconsistent. Ryan Rollins plays decent defense. Anthony one of the worst defensive PGs in the league. Rollins a steady low volume shot maker. Anthony more of a creator but he doesn't deliver consistently enough to trust him.

Cole Anthony had a good season 3 years ago but the last 2 have been bad. I don't think he is good enough to be primary backup PG. I think 3rd string is his actual level. He has been disappointing for Orlando. A team desperate for shot creation and bench scoring. It was an ideal situation for him to go his own number and be the scoring guard that he is. He failed. Repeatedly.

You may be right about their depth chart, but I think all three are third string point guards.

He makes sense for a team that desperately needs guard production. I know a lot of people think they've done well this off-season, but I think all 6 of their top guards are 3rd stringers.

[Who]

I remain a bit confused as to why Simons isn?t flat out considered more valuable than Jrue.  Is it about the remaining time and money on their contracts?  I?d rather Simons on an expiring than three more years of Jrue and 130M.  But just for pure skill, Simons is a better player.  That?s of course an opinion based on the belief that Jrue took a downturn in 2024-25 and I expect it to continue in the same direction in the coming years.  Not only did he decline offensively but he wasn?t as effective defensively either. Obviously he?s still more talented than Simons defensively and in terms of leadership - but the 26 year old is a very good offensive guard.  I didn?t see much of him over the years but the few games I saw him I thought he was pretty impressive. Though I have to admit that I?m more readily aware of offensive talent than defensive talent. He can shoot, pass, create.  I?m surprised there isn?t a market for him now and will be more surprised if there isn?t one at the deadline.  And I would not be surprised if some here won?t want to give him up when they picture adding JT to the existing lineup. 

I?m wrong frequently so it won?t surprise me if I?m wrong again - but I expect Simons will look like a Jrue upgrade next year.

They remind me of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Anfernee Simons = Jason Terry
Jrue Holiday = Jason Kidd

Jrue / Kidd being the ultimate glue guy / do all the little things in every phase of the game. A Simons / J Terry being a very talented offensive player / dodgy defender.

People can debate which guy was more valuable to the 2011 Mavs. I would go with Kidd myself but I believe most people would chose Jason Terry over Kidd. Terry was certainly the 2nd best scorer on the team behind Dirk.

[tazzmaniac]

I remain a bit confused as to why Simons isn?t flat out considered more valuable than Jrue.  Is it about the remaining time and money on their contracts?  I?d rather Simons on an expiring than three more years of Jrue and 130M.  But just for pure skill, Simons is a better player.  That?s of course an opinion based on the belief that Jrue took a downturn in 2024-25 and I expect it to continue in the same direction in the coming years.  Not only did he decline offensively but he wasn?t as effective defensively either. Obviously he?s still more talented than Simons defensively and in terms of leadership - but the 26 year old is a very good offensive guard.  I didn?t see much of him over the years but the few games I saw him I thought he was pretty impressive. Though I have to admit that I?m more readily aware of offensive talent than defensive talent. He can shoot, pass, create.  I?m surprised there isn?t a market for him now and will be more surprised if there isn?t one at the deadline.  And I would not be surprised if some here won?t want to give him up when they picture adding JT to the existing lineup. 

I?m wrong frequently so it won?t surprise me if I?m wrong again - but I expect Simons will look like a Jrue upgrade next year.

They remind me of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Anfernee Simons = Jason Terry
Jrue Holiday = Jason Kidd

Jrue / Kidd being the ultimate glue guy / do all the little things in every phase of the game. A Simons / J Terry being a very talented offensive player / dodgy defender.

People can debate which guy was more valuable to the 2011 Mavs. I would go with Kidd myself but I believe most people would chose Jason Terry over Kidd. Terry was certainly the 2nd best scorer on the team behind Dirk.

2-way players are more valuable.  Come playoff time those good offense, poor defense player will get hunted especially small guards.  Players like Simons need to be 1st or 2nd option offensively to make up for their poor defense and the other 4 players need to good defenders.   

[Neurotic Guy]

I remain a bit confused as to why Simons isn?t flat out considered more valuable than Jrue.  Is it about the remaining time and money on their contracts?  I?d rather Simons on an expiring than three more years of Jrue and 130M.  But just for pure skill, Simons is a better player.  That?s of course an opinion based on the belief that Jrue took a downturn in 2024-25 and I expect it to continue in the same direction in the coming years.  Not only did he decline offensively but he wasn?t as effective defensively either. Obviously he?s still more talented than Simons defensively and in terms of leadership - but the 26 year old is a very good offensive guard.  I didn?t see much of him over the years but the few games I saw him I thought he was pretty impressive. Though I have to admit that I?m more readily aware of offensive talent than defensive talent. He can shoot, pass, create.  I?m surprised there isn?t a market for him now and will be more surprised if there isn?t one at the deadline.  And I would not be surprised if some here won?t want to give him up when they picture adding JT to the existing lineup. 

I?m wrong frequently so it won?t surprise me if I?m wrong again - but I expect Simons will look like a Jrue upgrade next year.

They remind me of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Anfernee Simons = Jason Terry
Jrue Holiday = Jason Kidd

Jrue / Kidd being the ultimate glue guy / do all the little things in every phase of the game. A Simons / J Terry being a very talented offensive player / dodgy defender.

People can debate which guy was more valuable to the 2011 Mavs. I would go with Kidd myself but I believe most people would chose Jason Terry over Kidd. Terry was certainly the 2nd best scorer on the team behind Dirk.

2-way players are more valuable.  Come playoff time those good offense, poor defense player will get hunted especially small guards.  Players like Simons need to be 1st or 2nd option offensively to make up for their poor defense and the other 4 players need to good defenders.

I don?t think there is any debate that two way players are more valuable than one way players.  The specific question here is whether two-way Jrue at 35 (and up) is of more value than one-way Anfernee at 26.   Can probably make the argument either way but I would suggest it isn?t hands down one or the other.  My initial point was just confusion as to why Simons doesn?t have more value than Jrue given that Jrue is 35 after a decline year with 3 years and 130+ million left on his contract.

[Who]

My initial point was just confusion as to why Simons doesn?t have more value than Jrue given that Jrue is 35 after a decline year with 3 years and 130+ million left on his contract.

More value = ??

Meaning trade value or on-court value?

[Who]

MPJ numbers with / without Jokic

Over the past three seasons, he?s averaged 17.4 points on .492/.404/.795 splits and .612 true shooting. But in 22 games without Jokic, those figures fell to 15.9 points on .440/.268/.707 splits and .525 true shooting.

He doesn't have much self-creation. It will be interesting to see how he does in Brooklyn without Jokic.

[Goldstar88]

I remain a bit confused as to why Simons isn?t flat out considered more valuable than Jrue.  Is it about the remaining time and money on their contracts?  I?d rather Simons on an expiring than three more years of Jrue and 130M.  But just for pure skill, Simons is a better player.  That?s of course an opinion based on the belief that Jrue took a downturn in 2024-25 and I expect it to continue in the same direction in the coming years.  Not only did he decline offensively but he wasn?t as effective defensively either. Obviously he?s still more talented than Simons defensively and in terms of leadership - but the 26 year old is a very good offensive guard.  I didn?t see much of him over the years but the few games I saw him I thought he was pretty impressive. Though I have to admit that I?m more readily aware of offensive talent than defensive talent. He can shoot, pass, create.  I?m surprised there isn?t a market for him now and will be more surprised if there isn?t one at the deadline.  And I would not be surprised if some here won?t want to give him up when they picture adding JT to the existing lineup. 

I?m wrong frequently so it won?t surprise me if I?m wrong again - but I expect Simons will look like a Jrue upgrade next year.

They remind me of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Anfernee Simons = Jason Terry
Jrue Holiday = Jason Kidd

Jrue / Kidd being the ultimate glue guy / do all the little things in every phase of the game. A Simons / J Terry being a very talented offensive player / dodgy defender.

People can debate which guy was more valuable to the 2011 Mavs. I would go with Kidd myself but I believe most people would chose Jason Terry over Kidd. Terry was certainly the 2nd best scorer on the team behind Dirk.

2-way players are more valuable. Come playoff time those good offense, poor defense player will get hunted especially small guards.  Players like Simons need to be 1st or 2nd option offensively to make up for their poor defense[/b] and the other 4 players need to good defenders.

Completely agree with this. With that said, do you want Damian Lillard on the team?

[Roy H.]

I remain a bit confused as to why Simons isn?t flat out considered more valuable than Jrue.  Is it about the remaining time and money on their contracts?  I?d rather Simons on an expiring than three more years of Jrue and 130M.  But just for pure skill, Simons is a better player.  That?s of course an opinion based on the belief that Jrue took a downturn in 2024-25 and I expect it to continue in the same direction in the coming years.  Not only did he decline offensively but he wasn?t as effective defensively either. Obviously he?s still more talented than Simons defensively and in terms of leadership - but the 26 year old is a very good offensive guard.  I didn?t see much of him over the years but the few games I saw him I thought he was pretty impressive. Though I have to admit that I?m more readily aware of offensive talent than defensive talent. He can shoot, pass, create.  I?m surprised there isn?t a market for him now and will be more surprised if there isn?t one at the deadline.  And I would not be surprised if some here won?t want to give him up when they picture adding JT to the existing lineup. 

I?m wrong frequently so it won?t surprise me if I?m wrong again - but I expect Simons will look like a Jrue upgrade next year.

They remind me of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

Anfernee Simons = Jason Terry
Jrue Holiday = Jason Kidd

Jrue / Kidd being the ultimate glue guy / do all the little things in every phase of the game. A Simons / J Terry being a very talented offensive player / dodgy defender.

People can debate which guy was more valuable to the 2011 Mavs. I would go with Kidd myself but I believe most people would chose Jason Terry over Kidd. Terry was certainly the 2nd best scorer on the team behind Dirk.

2-way players are more valuable. Come playoff time those good offense, poor defense player will get hunted especially small guards.  Players like Simons need to be 1st or 2nd option offensively to make up for their poor defense[/b] and the other 4 players need to good defenders.

Completely agree with this. With that said, do you want Damian Lillard on the team?

For $6 million or so per year?

[Neurotic Guy]

My initial point was just confusion as to why Simons doesn?t have more value than Jrue given that Jrue is 35 after a decline year with 3 years and 130+ million left on his contract.

More value = ??

Meaning trade value or on-court value?

Was actually considering both. On court value meaning for 2025-26 Simons may be an upgrade to what we would have expected from Jrue next year. But also I would think Simons would have decent trade value as a contributing player or as an expiring.  Apparently his trade value is less than I think it ought to be.

[Vermont Green]

I am reserving judgement on Simons.  It is a problem in the playoffs if a core rotation player is weak defensively.  But that doesn't mean he can't help the team.  As to Lillard in place of Simons or in addition to Simons, I think one or the other and I would rather have Lillard for a couple of seasons at $6M per than Simons at 4 years and $125M or whatever he might get (that is about what Poole and Herro got).  I can't see having both.  If we are able to sign Lillard, then it makes it an easier decision to trade Simons (at the deadline).

But I am not ready to rule out either Lillard or Simons due to defense.  Curry is not exactly an all defensive player.  Neither is Mitchell or Brunson.  There can be a place for players like this on very good teams, up to a point.  If Sam Hauser can play sufficient defense, I see no reason that Simons can't (admittedly on smaller players).

[Jiri Welsch]

I am reserving judgement on Simons.  It is a problem in the playoffs if a core rotation player is weak defensively.  But that doesn't mean he can't help the team.  As to Lillard in place of Simons or in addition to Simons, I think one or the other and I would rather have Lillard for a couple of seasons at $6M per than Simons at 4 years and $125M or whatever he might get (that is about what Poole and Herro got).  I can't see having both.  If we are able to sign Lillard, then it makes it an easier decision to trade Simons (at the deadline).

But I am not ready to rule out either Lillard or Simons due to defense.  Curry is not exactly an all defensive player.  Neither is Mitchell or Brunson.  There can be a place for players like this on very good teams, up to a point.  If Sam Hauser can play sufficient defense, I see no reason that Simons can't (admittedly on smaller players).

Is Simons a worse defender than Pritchard? Genuine question. I have the same reservations about PP based on his performance in past playoff series.

[Roy H.]

I am reserving judgement on Simons.  It is a problem in the playoffs if a core rotation player is weak defensively.  But that doesn't mean he can't help the team.  As to Lillard in place of Simons or in addition to Simons, I think one or the other and I would rather have Lillard for a couple of seasons at $6M per than Simons at 4 years and $125M or whatever he might get (that is about what Poole and Herro got).  I can't see having both.  If we are able to sign Lillard, then it makes it an easier decision to trade Simons (at the deadline).

But I am not ready to rule out either Lillard or Simons due to defense.  Curry is not exactly an all defensive player.  Neither is Mitchell or Brunson.  There can be a place for players like this on very good teams, up to a point.  If Sam Hauser can play sufficient defense, I see no reason that Simons can't (admittedly on smaller players).

Is Simons a worse defender than Pritchard? Genuine question. I have the same reservations about PP based on his performance in past playoff series.

Yes.  Pritchard has good hustle, positioning and understanding of defensive concepts.  Simons doesn't have any of that.