While Amen does show "greatness" here and there against other teams, I, at least somewhat have to agree. The Blazers lineup has been destroyed by injuries. Shaedon Sharpe, Ayton, Brogdon, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson, Robert Williams, Jabari Walker, etc. are all out for them, and, while they may not make them championship level or anything, that's a massive chunk of talent that isn't playing for them. Hell, Dalano Banton went off on us. I was surprised we were actually down in the first half, tbh. That being said, I still say Amen is legit and is a jumpshot away from being a star.
Amen has flashed greatness in his limited minutes this year. Other than Sengun I see Amen as our next best chance at developing a true star. The way he’s progressed just in one year shows his aptitude for the game and coachability. We already knew about the athleticism and work ethic. I don’t expect him to develop a shot over the course of one offseason, but I expect we’ll start seeing improvement in that area next season. I’m super high on Amen. He should not be included in any trade discussions this offseason.
I don't remember the last time I saw a rookie guarding guys like Durant and Booker and wasn't worried for the rookie. Last night was against lesser talent but Amen shut the entire Portland roster down for minutes at a time in a way that I haven't seen since vintage Kawhi. His speed, hands, and athleticism allow him to poke and gamble and get players out of their comfort zone, but not necessarily put him out of the play. Now - the Blazers aren't a good "team" and playing one on one really plays to Amen's strong suits BUT, the talent is clearly there and once he gets a little more experience processing "good" offensive team's sets (where they have better timing, crisper cuts, better screens, etc) he's going to be all NBA level defense - no doubt...it feels like on raw talent he is already a top 10 one on one defender in the league and a very respectable team defender. He's obviously still got a lot of work to do on the offensive end, but it's pretty amazing that he has proven he is dangerous enough as a rebounder and off ball cutter from the "dunker's spot" that he is somehow providing gravity without having much offensive skill outside of 10ft - think about that! There is something a little Andrei Kirlenko about his game - he just kind of impacts the game without gaudy stats in any one category but you feel his presence in the games - tipping away the ball that otherwise would have went into the other team's hands for an offensive rebound, showing perfect timing on doubles to make them more effective even if he doesn't actually get the steal(def saw a few Amen 'steal assists' last night), freezing a defender just long enough to get his teammate an easy bucket with an assist, perfect positioning on some weakside rotations where he somehow does manage to deter a pass to two guys at once, etc.
Plus, provided you see him as a point guard, we have literally nobody else in the stable there. I would even trade Jabari or Tari before I traded Amen, and believe you me, I do not want to trade those guys (unless we are getting a mindblowing deal in return). Not just because I think Amen's ceiling is higher, but because we have depth at those positions, and we have literally nothing at the 1 since Fred is the definition of "stopgap contract".
