​

Get Ready for Payback: Join the Fight Against Merryweather in GTA Online's Upcoming Update!

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
​
Reading from an article titled "GTA Online's next free update will add a new mercenary group that you can join to fight its old mercenary group" published on PC Gamer, the upcoming update for GTA Online will introduce a new mercenary group called San Andreas Mercenaries (Chalk, 2023).

Here is a breakdown of the article and what we should expect to see when the update drops on June 13th!

- Players will have the opportunity to join the Los Santos Angels, a new group of elite pilots and ex-military operators led by Charlie Reed.
- The update introduces the Mammoth Avenger tilt-wing aircraft, which can be converted into an enhanced aerial command center.
- The Avenger will have a new Operations Terminal and weapon upgrades.
- New activities include stealing data from server farms, dropping bombs on high-value targets, running contraband, and liberating cash and commodities from lucrative roving targets.
- San Andreas Mercenaries will also feature new random events, time trials, and a tactical SMG.
- Quality of life improvements include the ability to claim all destroyed vehicles at once through Mors Mutual Insurance, an alternate sprint control option, custom description tags for garages, updates to the Creator mode, and the addition of new props and weather options.
- Players can join the Los Santos Angels, a group of elite pilots and ex-military operators led by Charlie Reed.
- The Mammoth Avenger tilt-wing aircraft can be converted into an enhanced aerial command center.
- The Avenger will have a new Operations Terminal and weapon upgrades.
- Activities include stealing data, dropping bombs on targets, running contraband, and liberating cash and commodities from roving targets.
- New random events and time trials are introduced.
- A tactical SMG will be available for players.
- Quality of life improvements include claiming all destroyed vehicles at once, alternate sprint control option, custom description tags for garages, updates to the Creator mode, and new props and weather options. https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-onlines-next-free-update-will-add-a-new-mercenary-group-that-you-can-join-to-fight-its-old-mercenary-group/

​
https://i.redd.it/a2luhpuxho3b1.gif
Metro State RP is a brand new DOJ based vMenu server. This server is currently wrapping up with the final touches on development. We are ready to launch right now. We just need more people. Currently sitting at 98 people, We are aiming for 100+ for launch.
We just need more people: -We currently have BCSO, LSPD, and SAST that are starting up and looking for officers. -BCSO has waived their applications and are allowing candidates to skip straight to training. -LSPD seemingly is having a slower start to things. Could use help with command related things I think and help setting up the department. -FD is starting up, but will be officially launched after launch the server. -If you are interested in starting a department or business. I am all for it. I currently do have a short pause on development of these departments just until PD and FD is 100% squared away and confirmed to be good to go/ bug-free and its operating relatively smoothly. I am still assigning “ownership” of these roles and helping everywhere else I can. -Not currently looking for anymore police department or Fire Department heads. -Everything else is open.
-Regular civs, you are the life-blood of the server. I listen to regular players just as much as admins. -Accepting whitelist gang apps very quickly. -Could use more staff as well, but they should also be involved elsewhere in the servecommunity. -EUP Devs would be a god-send. Ideally if you know how to optimize or if you create. We should talk:) -I am looking for help with vehicles. I don’t mind teaching people the ropes, but extra brownie points if you know how to make good handling files or optimize, as it takes me a very long time to do… In the rare occurrence you are a vehicle modeler. We should talk 📷
The server is in a good state already. Optimized, mostly done with development just doing final touches. We have tons of MLO’s, including hidden ones, over 750 custom cars, EUP… and the best part, all optimized. ( I still have like 38 cars to go through and optimize.) However, I still need to balance all of them.
TONS of awesome and paid cars!
-We have also added a lot of scripts and features that add to rp, simple things like /carry, /th, /piggyback, etc. -A ton of emotes, including props. -Other things like hiding in trunks, being able to push vehicles, attach them to tow trucks, GSR tests, etc. -Lots of small little rp focused scripts that I'm sure I'm forgetting. -We have activities that you can actually go do with friends, like mini-golf. Or hit up Dave and Busters and play some arcade games like Pac-Man, Tetris, or more modern game options. -All of these things are going to continue to grow as I add more in. -Sonoran CAD -VStancer -Working Doorlocks for businesses, PD, etc.
This isn't going to be an overnight thing. It will take some time and effort. I have yet to find a community centered vMenu server that values and listens to their community beyond the paying members and admin friend groups.
Again, I want to emphasize that the server, development wise is pretty much complete. … but, aside from that its just polishing.
This will NOT be another fly-by-night vMenu server. Come see for yourself!
Come check us out! See why we have 10+ people playing on the server creating RP before we have even launched. These guys are so anxious to play, we just have to wait one more day! Please don't hesitate to DM me if you have ANY questions or need ANY help at all. Uncle Larry#5696
https://discord.com/invite/JjAaC3ZsUH
​
Several Nightclubs available to host parties in
Currently Building the SAFD Fleet and adding in assets for them.
Grove Street Customs MLO + Repair Shop
Playable Mini-Golf
Host Fight clubs, fight night, tournaments, or just settle personal disputes in the octagon!
SAFD Brush Truck w/ Working Water Cannon
Paleto SAST Building
BCSO Sheriff Building
TONS of hidden MLO's, Hideouts, Bunkers, Etc.
ALL department cop cars have customizable unit numbers on the roof, new liveries coming over time.
Playable arcade games at Dave & Busters!
Another Hidden Bunker MLO
MRPD

MSRP
Metro State RP is a brand new DOJ based vMenu server. This server is currently wrapping up with the final touches on development.
We are ready to launch right now. We just need more people. Currently sitting at 98 people, We are aiming for 100+ for launch.
We just need more people: -We currently have BCSO, LSPD, and SAST that are starting up and looking for officers. -BCSO has waived their applications and are allowing candidates to skip straight to training. -LSPD seemingly is having a slower start to things. Could use help with command related things I think and help setting up the department. -FD is starting up, but will be officially launched after launch the server. -If you are interested in starting a department or business. I am all for it. I currently do have a short pause on development of these departments just until PD and FD is 100% squared away and confirmed to be good to go/ bug-free and its operating relatively smoothly. I am still assigning “ownership” of these roles and helping everywhere else I can. -Not currently looking for anymore police department or Fire Department heads. -Everything else is open.
-Regular civs, you are the life-blood of the server. I listen to regular players just as much as admins. -Accepting whitelist gang apps very quickly. -Could use more staff as well, but they should also be involved elsewhere in the servecommunity. -EUP Devs would be a god-send. Ideally if you know how to optimize or if you create. We should talk:) -I am looking for help with vehicles. I don’t mind teaching people the ropes, but extra brownie points if you know how to make good handling files or optimize, as it takes me a very long time to do… In the rare occurrence you are a vehicle modeler. We should talk 📷
The server is in a good state already. Optimized, mostly done with development just doing final touches. We have tons of MLO’s, including hidden ones, over 750 custom cars, EUP… and the best part, all optimized. ( I still have like 38 cars to go through and optimize.) However, I still need to balance all of them.
TONS of awesome cars!
-We have also added a lot of scripts and features that add to rp, simple things like /carry, /th, /piggyback, etc. -A ton of emotes, including props. -Other things like hiding in trunks, being able to push vehicles, attach them to tow trucks, GSR tests, etc. -Lots of small little rp focused scripts that I'm sure I'm forgetting. -We have activities that you can actually go do with friends, like mini-golf. Or hit up Dave and Busters and play some arcade games like Pac-Man, Tetris, or more modern game options. -All of these things are going to continue to grow as I add more in. -Sonoran CAD -VStancer -Working Doorlocks for businesses, PD, etc.
This isn't going to be an overnight thing. It will take some time and effort. I have yet to find a community centered vMenu server that values and listens to their community beyond the paying members and admin friend groups.
Again, I want to emphasize that the server, development wise is pretty much complete. … but, aside from that its just polishing.
This will NOT be another fly-by-night vmenu server. Come see for yourself!
Come check us out! See why we have 10+ people playing on the server creating RP before we have even launched. These guys are so anxious to play, we just have to wait one more day! Please dont hesitate to DM me if you have ANY questions or need ANY help at all. Uncle Larry#5696
https://discord.com/invite/JjAaC3ZsUH
Currently Building up our SAFD department
SAFD Brush Fire Truck
ALL cop cars have customizable unit numbers on the roof
A few night clubs to host parties at
Grove Street Customs + Mechanic shop
Playable Mini-golf
Host fight clubs, fight night, settle disputes, or create fighting tournaments.
Paleto SAST Building
BCSO Sheriff Building
TONS of other MLO's and hidden hideouts, bunkers, etc.
Playable arcade games at Dave & Busters
Another Hidden Bunker
MRPD

So have you heard that the Blazers are looking to shop around the 3rd pick and Anfernee Simons for a star forward? Yeah, let's finally get into this.
The Blazers lucked themselves into a rather unique position, both with the pick they got - having jumped from 5th to 3rd in the draft - and with the team who managed to get the 2nd pick being the Charlotte Hornets who are likely to draft forward Brandon Miller over G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, with Scoot seemingly falling to 3.
This would make Scoot the 2nd young guard the Blazers recently drafted and their 3rd under 25 guard to play next to Dame...if they weren't trying to shop the pick around.
They have a perfect opportunity to finally do a rebuild...and yet, here we are with yet another rumor about the Blazers trying to build around Dame and get him the help they've left him without for...what, 8 seasons and counting? Like the Rockets who are alleged to be interested in moving the 4th pick, I don't think the Blazers really should be trying to do a two timelines, pseudo rebuild while contending around Lillard.
I also don't think the package they can put together is as great as it's often hyped up to be. As we'll get into, a package around Anfernee and the 3rd pick plus a player or pick or two is quite decent in a vacuum but it certainly isn't good enough to get to get you that Top 10-15 player in the league who can singlehandedly win you a series - if not, a championship. It certainly isn't enough to outbid the likes of the Jazz or, more significantly, the Thunder who may opt for a splash in the offseason as their core develops into a young, hungry playoff team with some greater veteran presence around them.
I'm just going to say it: If Portland really is saying "time's up" and putting together one last effort to compete against Dame, they need to do more than get Siakam, O.G., Karl-Anthony Towns or whichever star's name pops up in rumors leading up to the draft. Not to say those players won't improve the team, but none of them - and yes i'm including Siakam - are good enough to elevate a former lottery team like the Blazers over the past 2 seasons to a Top 3 seed, let alone guarantee a championship.
A duo of Siakam and Dame, Dame and KAT, etc. can be part of one's core championship team but they need the right supporting pieces around them in order to win. To put it mildly, the Blazers...do not have that. Jusuf Nurkic has seen significant regression as a defender and the bench is one of the few to make the Raptors bench look like a bastion of basketball greatness. It shows on the floor and statistically, and it's a large reason why the Blazers have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league over the past, one of the worst when it comes to rebounding and in general being near the bottom of the Western Conference before they pulled the plug on their most recent season in an attempt to tank for a Top 4 pick.
If the Blazers are actually going to commit to Dame, they need to engage in a paradigm shift this offseason. Rework the starting 5, the bench and go all-in getting Loyalty McLoyal the team he should have had around him for years instead of endlessly running it back with minor tweaks to who his #2 is.
That means either getting your pick back from the Bulls and shopping the 4 firsts/3 swaps you can or removing the protections and dealing out the 3/3 you would have to improve the roster. Don't just get Siakam, KAT or whoever and set them up to fail with Damian because it's not fair to either player to put them in that situation.
Go after Buddy Hield, see if Myles Turner or Clint Capela are going to be available, or if the Wolves are desperate enough to sign and trade Naz Reid to recoup some assets after the costly Gobert trade - if not, try signing him with the full MLE. And you don't stop there! However they plan to shake up the roster in this hypothetical scenario, they need to significantly improve the center position/rotation and their bench to give Dame an actual chance of winning a ring with what few years left they have in his prime.
Also fire Chauncey Billups, he's a bottom 3 coach and the only reason I can't say he is not the worst is because I can't say the Raptors coach will be objectively worse/better without knowing who will head either team. He isn't 3rd, that's for sure.
But anyway that's the Blazers prerogative. What exactly could the Raptors see in a potential pick that, presumably, revolves around Pascal Siakam?
Since I can be a bit of a wordy writer, i'm going to add some TL;DR sections for each playepick discussed in this little piece for those that want a quick breakdown.
Note: This is not a trade proposal; this is a compilation of the assets and players who could be included in a trade for Pascal Siakam. Additionally, this is not an endorsement of trading Pascal Siakam, etc. in a deal with the Portland Trailblazers.
Anfernee Simons
https://preview.redd.it/eon5unll7d3b1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=2873b3d89092d0e0c221ee9817335918489f2e7e
The main player who's been the subject of a contentious discussion between Blazers fans and Raptors fans. Whether you think he's overrated, underrated or somewhere inbetween, it is undeniable that Anfernee Simons would have to be included in the trade at minimum.
I can't speak for the Blazers and I won't pretend to speak for all Raptors fans so let me just say this: I like Anfernee Simons. He's one of the more exciting players in the league under 25 even if he doesn't have the same ceiling as a guy like Zion or fellow player nicknamed "Ant" Anthony Edwards.
A borderline All-Star guard with a combination of shooting prowess and explosiveness, he had a breakout season in 2021/22 when Dame went down due to an injury and thus became the Blazers lead point guard in his absence. He's a genuine 3-level scorer who can splash from outside, pressure the rim for a high-flying dunk and he's effective in the midrange too. If nothing else, it cannot be overstated how nice it would be for this team to have another player who's a reliable, 38.7% from 3 volume shooter on a roster so thoroughly lacking in outside shooting
And before you say it, yes, Anfernee Simons is a point guard. This isn't a case like CJ where his skillset is that of a 2 who can do some playmaking but shouldn't run your offense, Simons does have some issues with dribbling the air out of the ball before making a pass, but he is a point guard. He isn't a typical point, operating more as a shoot-first point like Lillard, but he's still capable of cracking out a notable number of assists while getting buckets; he dished out 6 dimes a game with nearly 28 points in the games he's played without Dame as the lead point.
All 11 of them last year.
https://preview.redd.it/nwhosg3d8d3b1.png?width=1945&format=png&auto=webp&s=8d01cd6a71d032cf5e3bab941c00fc942148991c
Yeah, you might have seen some posts or stats online of what Simons has done without Damian Lillard; in his breakout season of 2021/22, the Anferno was putting up a similar number of assists and cracked 20 points per game, albeit over a more significant sample size of 30 games. And in 2022/23, Anfernee Simons put up 27.9/2.9/5.7 (2.4 turnovers so an AST/TO of 2.38:1 which is solid) while shooting a staggering 41% from 3 on 11 3s.
Those numbers are impressive in a vacuum; his true shooting of 62% is especially notable. However, they require some context and should be taken with an enormous grain of salt.
For one, it's a very small sample size over a lengthy period of the season where teams haven't had to plan for Simons to be the main guard to focus their defense on. He's still the 2nd option so it's not like there's no film watching or the like, but if Anfernee Simons permanently becomes the lead point guard of a team, opposing teams will gameplan around him and his weaknesses more significantly than the very few times where he's asked to be the lead ballhandler in Dame's absence.
His 2021/22 stats, while still a limited overall sample size, do suggest he'll be able to dish out a similar number of dimes as the lead guard (Dame had been ruled out due to injury during the season so teams did have to gameplan around the Ant for a large portion of the season instead of a handful of games scattered throughout the season) and he still has room to grow as a playmaker but once again, it was only a sample size of 30 games so it is hard to draw much out from the games he played.
Speaking of drawing conclusions from said sample size: Yes the Blazers went 4-7 within that 11 game sample size - and bear in mind this sample included games where the Blazers were still trying to contend while facing a variety of teams i.e. not every team was a playoff or contender. That isn't great, however, Ant was generally not the main reason they lost since the 2022/23 Blazers as a whole were pretty terrible all year, even before they blatantly tanked. The same is also true of his breakout year when the Blazers lost Lillard due to injury, they just weren't a good team.
If there is a point of contention around Simons that one can draw from his past 2 seasons, it's his defense which...it's bad.
It's really bad.
He's improved this season on that end to the point where i'd say he's a better defender than Dame - even if his overall defensive rating doesn't support this, the eye test does - but that's like saying Spencer Dinwiddie is a better defender than Trae Young. While Chauncey Billups hasn't been doing either one of Portland's guard any favors, it doesn't change the fact that being better than one of the worst defenders in the league is not an accomplishment to be proud of. All coaching issues aside, Simons is still a notable negative on that end of the floor. He has a propensity for losing his man via ball watching, he's not great at closing out on the perimeter and he's not a lane disruptor by any means. It's not impossible for him to improve as a defender - he's 6'3 with a 6'9 wingspan and much of his defensive weaknesses come from a lack of discipline - but as of right now when his shots aren't falling he's a major liability on the court and his flaws on defense were not well hidden when paired next to another notably poor defender in Dame.
There are a couple of other habits that Simons needs to address - he could stand to be less trigger happy as a scorer and work more on his playmaking given all the promise he's shown in that area - but that's the main issue with Simons. He's a very skilled guard with a similar approach to the game as Dame on both ends of the floor. And we all know Dame isn't locking down the opposing team's point.
Does Anfernee Simons seem like he'll become a guard on the level of Dame? No but that's a ridiculously high bar to hold him to, especially with the limited opportunities he had and will continue to have when he's behind Dame in the guard pecking order. Anfernee is a good player who often shows glimmers of true greatness on offense but whose defense (or lack thereof) is going to require very careful teambuilding to limit exploiting said defense in the playoffs. Perhaps he'll need to be the full-time point to fully achieve his potential as a playmaker but while he doesn't scream All-NBA caliber, he's someone you can easily see eking out a couple of All-Star nods at his peak and is, at worst, a staring-caliber guard. As for whether he can be the lead of a championship contender...we'll get to that when we talk about the pick he'd come with.
TL;DR - Anfernee Simons is an intriguing young player with upside as an explosive, shoot-first PG but one whose poor defense does mean the team's starting lineup/bench has to be built around carefully to account for his current (and likely ongoing throughout his career) weaknesses.
3rd Pick
https://preview.redd.it/96pocramhi3b1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=3ee450641a298a5b1dee0da9fce0c7f652c60665
It's whomever is left from Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller. Maybe you trade down to 4 for some more assets if you're a believer in Amen Thompson, maybe you take Amen if you think he's the best player available and the Rockets won't negotiate for Scoot/Miller but yeah, it's one of those three via the 3rd overall pick.
Before we get into the players, I do want to briefly mention that I actually did a post a while ago on a different sub going over trades involving the 3rd pick and to put it bluntly: The 3rd pick has good value but it doesn't have as much value on its own and trades involving the 3rd pick for an All-Star or even All-NBA caliber player are very rare.
The closest trade to what the Blazers would want in return was in 2000 where the Atlanta Hawks traded the 3rd overall pick to the Vancouver Grizzlies along with Brevin Knight and Lorenzen Wright for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th overall pick. That 3rd pick turned out to be future HoFer Pau Gasol but no one knew he'd become that at the time. As for what the Grizzlies gave up for the pick, Shareef Abdur-Rahim was not a perennial All-Star nor was he an All-NBA level player. He was a solid player that became an All-Star in his debut season for the Hawks...and that was his only All-Star appearance.
With that in mind, it is a bit wild that it's so commonly suggested that Simons and the 3rd pick alone should be enough to acquire an All-NBA talent like Siakam, especially with how much inflation we've seen in trades for players of that caliber of late or even players who are a step below. Concerns about his contract expiring lowering his value are baffling, as if a team's front office wouldn't talk to him about an extension before making such a trade. Moreover, it's not like the Raptors need to deal him out when they can simply re-sign him in 2024.
Now this year, when Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller could be up for grabs, the 3rd pick has a lot more value given how highly praised those players are, so let's put aside the debate on what is fair for Siakam for a moment and talk about the presumed 3rd overall pick, Scoot Henderson.
The 2nd best player in a draft class containing the best prospect since LeBron James. He's projected to go 3rd because Charlotte is allegedly interested in taking Brandon Miller at 2nd but we'll touch on that later. For now, let's talk Scoot:

• Henderson is a freakish athlete and a terrific floor general; he racked up an average of 6 assists a night on an AST:TO ratio of 1.94:1 and is a strong option on offense due to his abilities as a slasher
• His usage as the G-League Ignite's offense, be it ball screens or handoffs, displayed his ability to break down a team's defense
  • To delve deeper into his production as an offensive guard, his percentage rate of ball screens (43.7%) is only matched or surpassed by 7 players across the entire NBA. 7!
• Despite the athleticism, Scoot is generally good at controlling the ball and not turning it over due to careless mistakes driving to the basket
• For a guard, he's a pretty solid rebounder and, if nothing else, he puts in the effort on defense even if he's not necessarily someone who screams "Future DPoY"
• Intangibles are hard to really quantify but Scoot is the definition of someone who "has that dog in him" and he's someone you trust down the stretch to make the right move
• He puts in effort on defense but he's only 6'2 with a 6'9 wingspan and, well he's no Kyle Lowry when it comes to taking charges or the like
• His shooting is...a work-in-progress; he tends to default to long 2s which he isn't great at making (38% overall), his free throw percentage is only 75% and his 3-point shooting is a measly 31% off the dribble

Needless to say, there's a lot to like about Scoot; if Victor wasn't in this draft, he'd easily go #1 overall. He's often compared to Derrick Rose or even Russell Westbrook as this uber explosive guard who can seriously pressure the rim while generating solid passes for his teammates which is a good comparison though one obviously hope his outside shooting pans out more like Curry or Trae than Russ or Rose.
Losing Siakam would obviously hurt the team in the short term but as far as what Scoot brings, there is a lot of upside to him that would raise the ceiling of the team in the long run. His ability to get to the rim, combined with his athleticism would make him the perfect guard for a team that thrives in transition like the Raptors. He would also have chemistry with another player the Raptors have been rumored to be interested in/may take at 13 in Leonard Miller as they played on the same team but we'll talk about the 13th pick's potential prospects another time.
For now, let's go over one of the problems with trading for Scoot Henderson if he is still on the board, besides the obvious hypothetical of "he might never become a player as good as the one you're giving up" or "what do you do with Fred when you brought in Scoot and Simons" because what you're really asking is this: Is a backcourt of Scoot/Simons the team's guard duo of the future?
This brings me to my big problem with a “trade for Simons + 3” trade if the 3rd pick does end up being Scoot: A backcourt of two undersized guards, one of whom is unproven against NBA competition on defense and the other of whom has been one of the worst guard defenders in the league is not a duo of guards you can build a contender around in the long-term unless both of them become significantly improved defenders. Or at the very least, it's a duo that has historically not led to notable championship contention.
Blazers fans would know this well given their team has only had one year where they weren’t the in the NBA’s basement as far as defensive ratings go, be it with CJ or Anfernee as Lillard’s sidekick; the furthest they ever got with either was the Western Conference Finals and the best their defense has even been was 10th. Every other season, the Trailblazers defense has been amongst the worst in the NBA. Part of those Blazers teams' failures can be attributed to bad coaching, but a more significant portion of the blame be laid at the feet of Dame being a bad defender and undersized who has been paired with bad, undersized guards throughout much of his career.
You can get away with one bad defender or a starter who’s undersized for their position on a championship-caliber team which, if you’re rebuilding by trading away Siakam, that is what you’re hoping to take a step back for. As an example, Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t known for being a lockdown defender and yet the Mavericks won their first and only championship to date with Dirk as the weak link on defense. He was also a phenomenal offensive talent whose weaknesses on defense were mitigated by how much momentum he was able to generate for his team but I digress.
You can get away with running several smaller players for a limited time to force mismatches on offense with the right lineup. The Warriors dynasty comes to mind, where Golden State would close games using their “Death Lineup”. However, that lineup revolved around 4 Hall of Famers (Klay, Dray, Steph, Igoudala) where Steph is the lineup’s weakest link on defense, and this is before we acknowledge that they were able to include yet another HoFer in Kevin Durant to replace Harrison Barnes in a different incarnation of the Death Lineup from 2017 onward.
For that matter, it's not wholly impossible to win a championship with a duo of small guards - the Pistons repeated in the 89/90-90/91 with 6'3 Joe Dumars and 6'1 Isiah Thomas and the Bad Boy Pistons were contenders throughout the 90s - but it is damn near impossible if your lead guards are bad defenders. Whatever can be said about Thomas' various off-court controversies, notably with him being found liable for sexual misconduct during his stint heading a woman's basketball team a la the New York Liberty, he was a phenomenal defender, as was Dumars.
Hell, the Raptors won in 2019 while having Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry share the floor a fair amount of time in the Finals though it is once again worth noting that both were terrific defenders at the time. Even if one wouldn't call their efforts All-Defense caliber, they were both positives on that end of the floor.
Historically speaking, you cannot be a championship-caliber team with two of your starters being undersized negatives on the defensive end barring them being surrounded by generational defenders or said starters being generational offensive players who can make up for how many points you’re giving up on the other end of the floor.
Simons is a gifted scorer with good playmaking but is a truly sorry defender. Scoot Henderson is a talented passer but is undersized for the position and how he fares defensively with teams hunting him as the smallest player on the court will remain to be seen. But with neither of them likely to be a Dumars/Thomas-level defender and the offensive capabilities for one of them being the main question mark as to how good a player they could become, having both of them as the foundation to your team's backcourt seems to cement the duo's future as a non-contending entity.
Let's put this into perspective with some statistics: Of the past 40 years, the only championship to ever be won by a team with what could be considered a bad regular season defensive rating was the 2000/01 Lakers. That team had two generational talents in Shaq and Kobe, and that season is itself an outlier when compared to the rest of the Shaq/Kobe Lakers era that it shouldn't even count. All other championship teams were at least 12th or higher for their season with most championship teams being in the Top 5 in defensive rating.
By the by, in case you're wondering: That team who had 12th in defensive rating was the 1995 Rockets led by the generational talent in Hakeem Olajuwon and said rating had a lot to do with untimely injuries to the 95 Rockets core. That team they still managed to have the 7th best offensive rating in the league despite Drexler's absence for much of the season is a testament to Future Raptors Retiree Hakeem's skills as the best big man of the late 80s, early-to-mid 90s. Are we noticing a pattern here?
Even if we ignore the question about what to do with Fred, the question of what the Raptors backcourt looks like is far more pertinent if it is going to involve some combination of Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons with, presumably, Gary Trent Jr. and another guard coming off the bench for relief. Is a backcourt of Anfernee Simons and Scoot going to turn this team into a Top 3-6 offense for the season without plummeting this team's defense off of a cliff? And if you don't think so, when do you move one of them to open up the 1 or the 2 for another player?
This is a question the team will likely have to answer once they've seen how Simons and Scoot fit togethefit with the rest of the roster; I don't see a 3-team draft day deal where Simons or the 3rd pick are moved elsewhere barring that aforementioned moving down to 4th and I don't see this team without Siakam/with Scoot and Simons being a serious contender for several years even if they do pan out. But it is a question that has me concerned in regards to how this team will function when it's developing a dynamic duo of players who will be picked apart in the playoffs barring one of them turning into a terrific defender.
Whatever else one can say about Point Scottie or even Scottie Barnes when he was crammed into the starting Shooting Guard position for much of the year, it is hard to argue that having either Scottie or Trent & Simons/Scoot as your backcourt makes way more sense defensively even if having both Scottie and Scoot complicates matters on the offensive end since neither are great shooters and Trent's defense is a touch overrated at time due to is propensity to gamble for steals.
All this being said, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Henderson becomes an All-Defense-caliber player or for Simons to a climb out from the deep hole he's dug for himself as one of the worst defenders in the league, and Scoot is still a phenomenal talent. These concerns should be noted, but they shouldn't serve to deter from selecting him 3rd if such a trade were to go down. As a prospect, there's very few players in this draft class who could serve to singlehandedly raise the floor and the ceiling of this team in the long run.
Speaking of other players, however, it should be acknowledged that Scoot isn't the only potentially available player at 3; while all accounts suggest the Hornets prefer Brandon Miller at 3, Scoot is the best player available at 2 and there's no guarantee the Hornets draft for fit. So here's a quick rundown of Miller and a player the Blazers have recently worked out, Amen Thompson:

• Brandon Miller is a 6'9 forward (boo, we have enough of those!) who can shoot (yay, we need more of that!) and has some notable playmaking upside even if his decision-making can be questionable at times. He's a player you could see as either a #1 or a high level #2 option on a championship team though he's not the most switchable guy on defense and you have the usual rookie concerns i.e. "he needs to get the NBA body to thrive". He's gotten a lot of comparisons to Paul George but i'd say his playmaking is further ahead from what PG13 was as a prospect.
• Amen Thompson is someone I talked about in the trade for the 4th pick & he's a very interesting player. A high ceiling, low floor player with unreal athleticism, a 6'7 lead guard who's arguably the best passer in the draft class but has serious questions about the competition he's faced in OverTime Elite/his shooting being as bad as it was. Think Ja Morant but with defense and, again, at 6'7 with a much longer wingspan.

I feel like the trade makes more sense if the Raptors were to go for Amen or Miller but we won't know who the Hornets will chose on draft night until the day of & ideally you'd trade down for 4th to get Thompson plus assets if you're sold on Amen. Plus like I said, it is possible that Scoot does become a good or even great defender so one might not have to worry about choosing between him and Ant down the line.
TL;DR - Scoot is an amazing prospect but his pairing with Simons could be a major problem in the future if both don't improve defensively. Ironically, the 3rd pick becomes simultaneously more valuable for other teams/less valuable for the Raptors if it's Scoot and vice-versa if it's Miller due to those concerns. Thompson is a wildcard at 3 depending on who has the pick/how willing the Rockets are to trade up to 3rd.
Nassir Little
Portland is reluctant to deal out Sharpe. We can debate on whether or not it's fair value for an All-NBA caliber player like Siakam, how much his contract being expiring should affect a deal (we'll ignore the fact that he can be extended by Portland and that any front office making a trade like this should be doing their due diligence by speaking to Pascal Siakam beforehand) or how good Sharpe actually was as a rookie overall instead of solely focusing on that stretch where the Blazers let him do whatever because they were tanking but regardless, the Blazers seem intent on keeping him. Fair enough, Masai is likely aiming for more than Anfernee and 3 - especially for the reasons listed above if it is Scoot Henderson - but Sharpe is likely a hard sell for the front office even if they are going all-in i.e. they want to keep at least one young guy on the roster for the long-term.
That being said, there's still the matter of salary matching, and that's where one of Nassir Little or Sharpe has to come in (They're not going to move Nurkic in the deal for Siakam unless they have something lined up for their center situation i.e. tampering for Naz Reid); the only way for the Blazers to neatly absorb Siakam into their cap with just Simons is by renouncing their rights to Jerami Grant and they need to re-sign him/move him to the 3 (Grant is a really bad rebounder for a PF; the man is a career 4 RPG) if they are serious about competing with Dame.
So...yeah, Nassir Little. Little is what people think O.G. is: A good defender who is often injured, Little is a solid 3 & D wing who, unlike Anunoby, has never played more than 55 games for a given season. Granted, 2019/20 and 2020/21 were shorted to 72 seasons but regardless, injuries have hampered the 23 year-old in the same way that Otto Porter Jr.'s potential was sapped due to a career-long battle with injuries. Still, when considering his age and production, his newest contract ($28M/4 years) is amazing value when he's healthy.
But much like Otto (who I think technically could be sent in such a deal due to the rules around incoming/outgoing salaries), the question of when he's available is a common one. Little is a good young player but one whom you shouldn't get your hopes up about changing the team's direction.
TL;DR - A little salary (sorry) is needed for the deal to happen on draft night & Nassir would be a decent choice for forward depth off the bench. One will have to carefully factor in injury concerns when evaluating the team's depth.
Keon Johnson
So like I said, Sharpe is likely to be ruled out. I debated if I should cover him at all but i'm honestly not sold on Shaedon as a prospect and we've already met the quota for rants with the "Simons/Scoot frontcourt will be exploited" talks. That said, I don't think the Raptors would settle for just Simons and the 3rd pick or the 3rd pick plus assets from a 3rd team were Anfernee moved due to the aforementioned backcourt issues with Simons and Scoot. For now we have Keon Johnson.
Fun fact: When the Raptors were expected to draft 7th in the 2021 draft, Johnson was a common player mocked for the 7th pick.
He wound up going in the 20 to the Clippers (via the Knicks in a trade) who eventually fleeced the Blazers in a deal including him for Norman Powell.
Keon Johnson...hasn't really done a whole lot thus far. He was noted for having an impressive vertical of 48" at the 2021 combine which broke a previous record, he's a terrific athlete and he's about the same age as Scottie so he lines up with a rebuild or retool around Barnes...
...and that's where the positives end. Like I said, Keon hasn't demonstrated all that much on either team he's been on. For a guard, he's not a great ball handler, he isn't a good shooter, he's got decent size and the speed to be a good defender from 1-3 but his potential on that end does not All-Defense caliber. He'd be a throw-in that you'd hope can develop over time, likely spending a lot of time in the G-League because as of right now, he isn't going to be a significant contributor on either end.
TL;DR - Keon is on a rookie deal so you'd be taking a flier on him/betting on your development bringing out the best in him if he were included.
Other pick(s): As far as immediate draft capital goes, the Blazers have the 23rd pick in this draft, which is around the range where players the Raptors have been rumored to be interested in/interviewed (Bilal Couliby, GG Jackson) would likely be available. There's been some speculation that the Blazers could send this pick to the Bulls so they can get their owed pick back from Chicago but nothing concrete has come out regarding whether the Bulls would settle for that vs. hoping the Blazers make the 1st round and lose so they can get a pick in the 16-20 range.
That said, the future pick owed to the Bulls is where things get tricky if the Raptors did want a future 1st: The Blazers pick is protected until 2028. It is technically possible for them to offer a swap in 2029 but without the protections being removed on the Bulls-bound 2024 1st (The 2029 pick cannot be moved due to the Stepien Rule), any future draft capital would need to come in the form of the 2023 trade deadline's currency of choice: Second round picks.
Some of the notable 2nds include:

• A 2024 2nd that could come from the Hornets or Wolves
• A 2028 Warriors 2nd
• This year's second via the Hawks which is 45th
• The Blazers own 2nd in 2028

Not that these are a good substitute for a first-rounder but with the Blazers draft capital being restricted and the CBA's changes to 2nd round contracts, it's better than no future firsts if the 2023 Knicks pick is considered a bridge too far.
TL;DR - There is some interesting draft capital here beyond their own 1sts, especially if the 23rd pick is available in a deep draft like this, but ideally one would want a future 1st from the Blazers rather than a handful of 2nds given Dame's limited window.
Conclusion
I was originally going to talk about the 4th overall pick too but this got a bit lengthy so I made that into a separate post. As far as the 3rd pick package, in some ways it's better than one surrounding the 4th pick because Simons is a flatout better player than any one the Rockets would send back but it's also worse when you factor in Simons or Scoot's respective ceilings vs some of the potential prospects that could come in a 4th pick package?
You're getting significant depth at the guard position if it is Scoot/Simons but there's a huge question mark as to how good the defense will hold up with two undersized guards, one of whom is a bad defender, will hold up in the playoffs.

So with the silver wolf (SW) banner coming up, I wanted to see how worthwhile she is for actually boosting damage, as she is likely taking the spot of a harmony buffer. Obviously silver wolf is invaluable in difficult fights if it means the difference between being able to break enemies or not being able to break them, as high MoC relies heavily on breaking to stop enemy super attacks. But the elephant in the room is: you could just bring a team that is the right element to break. If so, is SW worthless? Is SW still on par with or better than another buffer or debuffer support that you could bring instead, if we ignore her adding a weakness and 20% elemental resist shred? I decided to find out through the power of math! Damage is only a small piece of the picture (speed, defense, breaking, etc), but I wanted a look at that piece of the picture.
​
TL;DR: If you build your SW and hypercarry properly (spoilers, stacking defense shred), SW (without weakness break considered) is roughly as damage boosting as our harmony units. However, running SW (or pela for that matter) alongside a harmony is looking way stronger than running 2 harmony or 2 nihility units only as your 2 hypercarry supports. (Yes, GrimroGacha beat me to the punch on this by 4 days! That’s what I get for waiting until the weekends before SW releases to post this!).
https://imgur.com/a/x38kAMw
https://imgur.com/a/yI8hJng
Table of Contents:
1: Defense shred, the one stat with exponential scaling 2: Our sources of Defense shred 3: Silver Wolf’s best light cone and set 4: Your Hypercarry’s best set 5: Silver Wolf vs. competition 6: The personal conclusions that I drew from the above
​
*Defense Shred, the one stat with exponential scaling* {see image #1}
​
As I'm sure you have heard, stats have diminishing returns. Actually that is complicated enough it will get a whole dedicated post about it, but needless to say, the TL;DR is that you want to spread your stats around, and not go too far into one stat bucket. Since everyone gets attack, damage, and crit from light cones, traces, skills, relics, and harmony units, defense shred is a nice all around multiplier to the usual att*DMG*critDMG. But on top of that huge upside, it turns out that the closer you get to 100% defense shred, the better each point of defense shred gets!
​
If you look at the Defense Shred Calculations image, you can see that in a normal endgame scenario, we are level 80 vs a level 90 enemy, and all of our damage is reduced by ~53%. All your hard work, half of it just disappears, as it is multiplied by 0.47. And all enemies, from bosses to weaklings, have this at level 90 (except warp trotters which are even tankier!).
​
The first 10% defense shred you get increases your overall damage by 5.3%, but each 10% after that gives more and more, until the final 10% of defense shred (going to a full 100% defense shred), gives a 21% overall damage boost. This means a little defense shred isn't great, you need to stack it! Interestingly, if we are allowed to blow past 100% defense shred, things get a little crazy. So crazy that I have to assume that defense shred will be capped at 100%. Still, a full 100% defense shred gives a whopping 110% overall damage boost! Thats over doubling your damage even after attack, DMG, and critDMG are pumped and suffering from diminishing returns. And this DOES work on DOT damage, unlike crit stats. So, you ask, how do I get that juicy 100%?
​
*Our Sources of Defense shred*
Pela ultimate: ~40% (42% at trace 12)Pela technique: 20% (For 2 turns only, but works on each MOC mob)Resolution Shines Like Pearls of Sweat (the Light Novel Title of light cones): 12-16%Silver Wolf: ???% (Based on CBT info I’ll pick a number that rounds well, 54%, STC)Quantum relic 4 piece set: 10/20% (only 20% if the enemy is weak to quantum)
​
All of the above except relics will require effect hit rate to succeed. This, along with speed, will undoubtedly be key stats for Pela and SW to succeed in their roles. As for Pela’s technique, it will shine more the better equipped we are to tackle MoC 10. It will be up a higher % of the fight the shorter the fight is. As for Resolution Shines Like Pearls of Sweat (RSLPOS), it is a starnard 4 star light cone, so in a few months to a year, it will be very common for day 1 players to have multiple superimpositions. As for the Quantum relic set, it is worth a close read. The damage type done for both the 10% and 20% defense ignore does NOT need to be quantum. The only rider is for the 20%, the enemy needs to be weak to quantum. This is important. Also keep in mind that because the quantum relic set is defense ignore, it only works on the wearer. It still stacks additively with defense shred, but it won’t boost the damage of your other 3 characters like the defense shred stat will. Some quick numbers to add up, with your hypercarry using the 4 piece set, they can get 90% defense shred. With Pela, they can get 98%/78% for 2 turns/other turns, respectively.
​
*Silver Wolf’s Best Lightcone and Set*
​
I’m going to cut straight to the point. RSLPOS is her best by a mile. Bumping your hypercarries defense shred from 74% to 90% means that your hypercarry does about 24% more damage, overall. Not just added into the DMG% bucket. That is insane. For reference, that’s twice as strong as, say, adding 12% damage vulnerability to an enemy. Yes, her free 4star cone gives effect hit rate, but your relics can have effect hit rate main stat and substat. There are no defense shred substats. You should have no trouble getting the effect hit rate you need, and a tiny bit more from a light cone is not worth gimping your teams entire damage output by 24%.
​
As for SW’s sets, none seem like gamechangers. A bit more speed from musketeer is nice, a bit more damage from quantum might add up a bit, maybe break effect if SW is breaking for a mono quantum team. Maybe even defense to die less! In the end I feel like getting tons of speed and effect hit rate will be more important than a particular 4 piece set. Same with planar sets, a little effect hit rate is nice, so is a teamwide attack buff, and who knows the 5% ER might be critical for a rotation.
​
*Your Hypercarry’s Best Set*
​
For dealing the most damage, if you are running SW or Pela with RSLPOS, the most damaging set for your hypercarry will be the quantum set: Genius of brilliant stars (GOBS). Going from 70% defense shred to 90% defense shred is a 30% overall damage increase. Gaining 10/20 DMG%/att%, 10/25 DMG%/att%, 34% DMG%, or 10/25% DMG%/critDMG% from lightning/physical/fire/ice aren’t even close. The imaginary set might compete if you have great crit stats already…if you could always have the enemy imprisoned, which is doubly resisted by lategame enemies. The only real competition is utility sets giving speed or break effect if that matters more than raw damage for your hypercarry. Now, the enemy won’t always have a quantum weakness, but they will for mono quantum, for mono teams they might naturally have quantum weakness, and if not theres a 25/50% chance they get it from SW anyway (and you can intentionally SW skill a second time to grant it). In the end, you could say that the set bonuses are close enough that you should focus on the best substat relics you have. But this shows that if you have a great GOBS set, you don’t need to burn stamina farming for a different elemental set.
​
*Comparing SW to her competition* {see img #2}
​
First, a disclaimer. Honkai Star Rail is an incredibly complex system, which is great. But this means that damage isn’t the end all, be all. When comparing different support units, a single damage excel spreadsheet can’t account for: speed boosts of harmony units, higher uptime of debuffs vs buffs (bronya ally turns go brrrr), better break of nihility units (or asta), harmony and nihility damage increases to the non-hypercarry units, different break effect between unit types, skill point generation between harmony and nihility units, Tingyuns energy boost, etc, etc, etc. I say this because if I don’t, the first comment will be “But you didn’t account for dance, dance, dance!”. You are right, I didn’t, or the huge above list of factors either. We need massive comprehensive sims for all of that, but I don’t have access to that and I haven’t seen any sims yet trying to use max defense shred, so I’m going off of the raw damage numbers. And you should mentally track: “well but I really value bronyas extra turns, or that pela can never use her skill and thus maximize skill point generation” when you look at these damage numbers. Also, I just did a few sample units and builds, but there are infinite possibilities, so I hope this gets you excited to test some on your own. I know I am now…not that I have the resources to build any more.
​
In my image "damage increase of buffers and debuffers", I have to make quite a few assumptions. For damage, I use the formula of attack*dmg*critdmg*def*resist*vuln*toughness. I looked at what different e0 5 star hypercarries can look like with all their traces, solid (not perfect) gear, buffed states activated, and good light cones (multiple superimposition 4 stars, or FTP 5 stars). Obviously every character has slightly different stats, and will have different gear. But I averaged things out to having a 200% increase in attack (slightly less than 200% att%, plus the flat attack), 200% in all DMG bonuses, 100% net crit damage [you won't crit every time but you can average out what the damage will be when accounting for crit %, and this is a somewhat balanced and reasonable value, obviouly yanqing will be higher]. Then I assumed no defense or resist shred (seele is an outlier there), and no vulnerability (welt trace), and no toughness bar modifies (you lost 10% damage if they aren't broken). But stats like vulnerability and toughness modifier are irrelevant to this math since their values will be the same regardless of which units are picked, I only put them in to show I wasn't forgetting about them. Keep in mind that this is assuming that enemies are vulnerable to your damage type already (because SW is obviously better if they aren’t, but the whole point of this is to look at a worst case SW where her skill doesn’t help). My one small number fudge was I didn’t subtract out the flat damage value before adding the attack mulitpliers of the harmony units (since I don't have an exact number, I'm using a 200% green number compared to your base attack), so when I added the harmony attack% to the full number (and not something like 80-90%), it actually makes the harmony units look a tiny bit stronger than they actually should. For supports, all 5 stars are level 10 traces, and all 4 stars are level 12 traces. When looking at supports, keep in mind their speed or ER buffs. I gave them all the 5 superimposition DMG% buff lightcone to show the most damage they could add (in reality they will NOT be granting that damage everty turn).
​
If you took a look, you will see that, unsurprisingly, in a lightly geared situation, bronya sits supreme without even accounting for her turn acceleration! But when you really start to stack up the best light cones and situations, Pela and SW really start to pull their own weight. The difference between a plain pela ultimate and a defense shred stacking pela team is HUGE, and something I wish was more widely explained (rather than the usual "I think pela is underrated but I'm not sure how" I hear almost daily). The extra defense shred Pela has for 2 turns over SW even beats out the 13% resist shred boost that SW can bring. And I didn’t account for pela adding 12% ice resist shred!
​
The last 2 lines are really the big news that blew me away. I figured that most lategame teams will have 2 support slots, and only 1 dedicated tank/healer. I feel like this is reasonable since we won't be 20 levels under enemies and rocking 4 star relics in a few short months. Of course there are other team comps out there like DoT that this isn’t relevant for. Thought looking at the damage multiplier values, a single hypercarry getting a huge boost will be better than 2 carries getting a small boost (and fighting for skill points).So we see that stacking harmony units like Bronta and Tingyun really has diminishing returns, since they keep adding to the same damage buckets, mostly attack and damage (and for my example I let P&F and bronyas signature DMG boost LC’s stack, which I believe is impossible currently. In reality dance dance dance would be run on one of them). So combining 2 harmony units isn't a huge force multiplier, especially if they both also focus on speed (which also has diminishing returns, though not calculated here). Also, I didn't even consider stacking debuffers together, since each alone could almost get 100% defense shred, running both would be a complete waste. But mixing SW and bronya, we see HUGE results. Pela and tingyun together also show a similar increase. Since the harmony and nihility hit different buckets, they really multiply off of each other, way more than 2 harmony units do.
​
*My Personal Musings*
​
This helps cement my decision to pull for SW, personally. I plan to run 2 hypercarry teams, so I can run pela on one side and SW on the other side. Also, SW does enable your team to take on an otherwise unwinnable fight, as everything above is multiplied by another 25% damage plus break damage plus not dying to boss supermoves. So I won’t need to build quite as many elements. Though now I want 10 Resolution Shines light cones, lol.
A big thing I wanted to show was HOW defense shred stacking works. I’m blown away that nowhere on reddit, youtube, or twitch have I seen the exact value of how defense shred stacking works. This really shows that if you do run a defense shred nihility, you want to use defense shred light cones and gear. And keep in mind that carrys who boost their own personal att%, DMG%, and crit% will especially get boosted by shredding defense instead of more attack and DMG% (Seele, and even moreso Yanqing, and even moreso…the queen of selfbuffs…Qingque).
I’m also glad that I can get good value out of both harmony and nihility units. I feel like there will be a team where every unit can shine now.
Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts! Good luck to you trailblazers who choose to pull!