The Athletic has done a thing where they interview a bunch of NBA scouts anonymously on 50 prospects. Here's Duarte: Wonder if Golden State will take him at #14 if they don't trade the pick.
Have the Blazers worked anyone out or sent representatives to group workouts? Anything to give me hope that we're trading in?
Yes, they have sent guys to the combine. Reported on this site was the Blazers have interest in a few different prospects which could be acquire with a pick bought with Cash.
That was my prediction a week ago in this thread. I've heard Klay is expected to be out for at least the first half of this season. Coming off of knee and Achilles injuries, who knows what he'll be like if/when he returns but it's likely he won't be the 34 MPG robot he was prior. They are expected to lose Oubre in Free Agency. Steph & Draymond showed they're still elite players last season but the clock is ticking on their respective careers. They need another wing obviously and Duarte is thought to have a 1st round promise (skipped Predraft stuff). He's arguably the best shooter in the draft & UCLA's HC called him the best defensive guard in the country last season. It seems like a hand in glove perfect fit. STOMP
RIP was the master of the midrange pullup and didn't have CD's range. Along with Reggie & Klay, I've made the Danny Green comparison though.
It's pretty remarkable how many parallels there are with Duarte and Francisco Garcia. Both from the Dominican Republic and are going to enter the league at age 24. Nearly identical size and even play a very stylistically similar game. Cisco was a better creator in college, but didn't see that translate to the NBA game. Slightly better stocks guy than Chris as well. I like Chris, but a shooting guard sized player that doesn't really project to be an on-ball creator or on ball defender versus the best wings makes it hard for me to have them inside the top 20. Definitely a fairly safe chance to be a rotation player though.
Very intriguing defensively. No idea what he is offensively though. If he was a better finisher I'd be a lot more interested. Really can only finish open dunks right now. His age and defense alone is probably worth the top 20-25 pick though.
Duarte - 17.1 PPG - 53% from the field - 42% from 3's on 5.5 Attempts Garcia - 15.7 PPG - 44% from the field - 37% from 3's on 5.1 Attempts not sure what "stocks" are, but statistically I don't see the parallels. One guy is a good outside threat, the other is elite STOMP
If you don't want to follow the draft, fine don't. Why are you in this thread? Thats a real question. STOMP
EJ Onu over Queta if you go that route. One of the all-time leading shot-blockers in NCAA history who is also a legitimate shooter. His outside jumper steadily improved - senior year he took a career-high in attempts (4) per game and shot 40% 6’11” 7’9” wingspan 9’6” reach Those are Gobert-like numbers.
