Event 2025 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY, COMBINE, AND DRAFT (1 Viewer)

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Pinwheel1 said:
This is your top 25? I hope you are right. Having all 3 of these options at 10 isn't bad.

Kasparas Jakucionis
VJ Edgecombe
Tre Johnson
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Well I hope I'm right and they go top 10 and we draft a player better than them haha
 
Since the Blazers have already made it a point to get bigger, longer, athletic — lean into it.

Go big.
Clingan is the dude at center. And Reath is a nice 3rd stringer. When Ayton and TimeLord are gone ($$$ and injuries, respectively), a 2nd string center will be needed. A different priority for a different day … maybe in trade this summer.

If the Blazers don’t get lucky in the lottery … then go for an athletic, springy, tall/long PF. No slow/heavy feet allowed.
Noa Essengue and Asa Newell are guys I’m looking at. Another BIG way to go is Egor Demin as a jumbo PG, connector guy. 3-pointers at 28% but 2-pointers > 50%. Not a broken shot issue. Passing and playmaking at both ends.

At #8-10 or so, I’m not expecting seriously athletic SGs/SFs with good positional size/length and shooting … or 3 and D guys or 6’4 PGs who will beat out Scoot. But the pick in THIS draft has value to keep or trade.

TANK TANK TANK for 8 … then higher.
 
JDC said:
My Pre March Madness Top 25

Cooper Flagg
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Dylan Harper
Jase Richardson
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Nolan Traore
Derik Queen
Ace Bailey
Kon Knueppel
Jeremiah Fears
Collin Murray-Boyles
Kasparas Jakucionis
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VJ Edgecombe
Tre Johnson
Kahman Maluach
Thomas Sorber
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Noa Essengue
Liam McNeeley
Kanon Catchings
Labaron Philon
Carter Bryant
Asa Newell
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Egor Demin
Ben Saraf
Rasheer Fleming
Adou Thiero
Noah Penda
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Why so low on Edgecombe?
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Why so low on Edgecombe?
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PG sized off ball wing who's kind of a phone booth athlete. Looks great in open space and vs bad defense but I think tool box is really limited as a half court scorer.

Can't create space, no left hand, no shift or creativity with the ball. Just not a huge threat unless it's an open spot up. Good passer in college but I'm interested to see how much he's able to add value there if he's not a threat with the ball.

Should be above average defensively but I question how big his impact is at that size. He's a couple steps below the preternatural guard defenders instincts wise.

He goes higher in a re-draft if he hits his upper end outcome but I don't buy any real star upside with him and I don't think he's a massive impact guy on either end...so for board purposes that's why he's below guys like Fears and Traore who I think can be lead initiators and guys like CMB and Knueppel who offer ++ impact upside on one side of the ball.
 
HoopsFanAZ said:
Since the Blazers have already made it a point to get bigger, longer, athletic — lean into it.

Go big.
Clingan is the dude at center. And Reath is a nice 3rd stringer. When Ayton and TimeLord are gone ($$$ and injuries, respectively), a 2nd string center will be needed. A different priority for a different day … maybe in trade this summer.

If the Blazers don’t get lucky in the lottery … then go for an athletic, springy, tall/long PF. No slow/heavy feet allowed.
Noa Essengue and Asa Newell are guys I’m looking at. Another BIG way to go is Egor Demin as a jumbo PG, connector guy. 3-pointers at 28% but 2-pointers > 50%. Not a broken shot issue. Passing and playmaking at both ends.

At #8-10 or so, I’m not expecting seriously athletic SGs/SFs with good positional size/length and shooting … or 3 and D guys or 6’4 PGs who will beat out Scoot. But the pick in THIS draft has value to keep or trade.

TANK TANK TANK for 8 … then higher.
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Yep no slow feet. They need a 6 10 235 lb ballet dancer out there
 
If they're looking toward future rings, the WC will go through San Antonio as long as Wemby is there.
So, it might be a good idea to have as many 6'9"+ guys who can move their feet and put up a fight against Wemby. Take as many shots at guys like Essengue, etc that will hopefully become good enough defensively to slow Wemby down, or throw enough guys at him to wear him down.
 
JDC said:
PG sized off ball wing who's kind of a phone booth athlete. Looks great in open space and vs bad defense but I think tool box is really limited as a half court scorer.

Can't create space, no left hand, no shift or creativity with the ball. Just not a huge threat unless it's an open spot up. Good passer in college but I'm interested to see how much he's able to add value there if he's not a threat with the ball.

Should be above average defensively but I question how big his impact is at that size. He's a couple steps below the preternatural guard defenders instincts wise.

He goes higher in a re-draft if he hits his upper end outcome but I don't buy any real star upside with him and I don't think he's a massive impact guy on either end...so for board purposes that's why he's below guys like Fears and Traore who I think can be lead initiators and guys like CMB and Knueppel who offer ++ impact upside on one side of the ball.
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Kids nowadays and their crazy lingo. "Phone booth athlete"? "Tool box"?

How would you compare him with, say, Donovan Mitchell? All I know is that I watched him play for the Bahamas and he was usually the best player on the floor (which, sadly, included Ayton). Of course, those games weren't exactly structured and would be covered by your "bad defense" proviso, but... His main attribute is that he seems to have that dog in him, to use old-person lingo. And the most important attribute of any athlete is their attitude.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Kids nowadays and their crazy lingo. "Phone booth athlete"? "Tool box"?

How would you compare him with, say, Donovan Mitchell? All I know is that I watched him play for the Bahamas and he was usually the best player on the floor (which, sadly, included Ayton). Of course, those games weren't exactly structured and would be covered by your "bad defense" proviso, but... His main attribute is that he seems to have that dog in him, to use old-person lingo. And the most important attribute of any athlete is their attitude.
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Sorry I guess run and jump athlete would be a better descriptor.....

Anyways...totally different players.

Mitch had way more shit to him on the ball. Way shifter east west, crazy space creator in the half court.

VJ probably the better defender, but it's pretty close. Strictly view him as an off ball player unlike Mitch.
 
JDC said:
Totally different players.

Mitch had way more shit to him on the ball. Way shifter east west, crazy space creator in the half court.

VJ probably the better defender, but it's pretty close. But yeah pretty strictly view him as an off ball player unlike Mitch.
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I'm going to assume that "shit" is just a misspelling of "shift" and not yet another new piece of player-evaluator jargon (toolsy, bouncy, long, etc.)

However, they're about the same size? And VJE is probably even more athletic than DM?

(Is "space creator" the opposite of a "phone booth" player? Is there a lexicon for all this?)
 
Rastapopoulos said:
I'm going to assume that "shit" is just a misspelling of "shift" and not yet another new piece of player-evaluator jargon (toolsy, bouncy, long, etc.)

However, they're about the same size? And VJE is probably even more athletic than DM?

(Is "space creator" the opposite of a "phone booth" player? Is there a lexicon for all this?)
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No I meant shit. VJ can't get to good shots on the ball in the half court. Mitch could, wasn't efficient at them but had no trouble accessing them.

VJ's faster and can jump higher but there's a lot more to basketball athleticism than that.

And if this schtick continues, I'm done responding to you.
 
JDC said:
And if this schtick continues, I'm done responding to you.
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I don't know that it's a shtick. I'd also never heard/read the term "phone booth player" prior to your post.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
I don't know that it's a shtick. I'd also never heard/read the term "phone booth player" prior to your post.
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If you saw my edited post, I clarified.

Upright posture, vertically explosive but doesn't change direction horizontally well.

Normally used to reference playstyle rather than athleticism but I've used it and seen it used plenty but yeah....there was more to his responses that got on my nerves.
 
To put it plainly....

VJ is athletic in certain ways not so much in others. Small with no length and lacks skill with the ball.

He's smart. Makes the simple play consistently. Should be an above average shooter with decent versatility.

Don't think he's a star.
 
Reminded why I don't visit this place as often as I used to....
 
JDC said:
And if this schtick continues, I'm done responding to you.
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Genuinely no offense meant - I honestly have found you to be one of the most reliable talent evaluators on this board but don't think you realize how specialized your terminology is sometimes. It reminds me of this:

 
GoZers said:
Knuepple can’t do what Stojakovic did tonight.
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I can see it if he was in a similar situation.

Kon has played a role on a very talented Duke team, but he did lead the EYBL (Nike AAU) in scoring, and was a higher rated recruit in a deeper class.

Don't want to take anything away from Andrej though. Great night.
 
GoZers said:
Knueppel, just don’t see it. Maybe I don’t watch enough Duke but I’ve never seen him do anything noteworthy. He’ll be a fine pro, I guess. Role player.
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He's a role player that fits the Blazers, though. We really could use a consistent shooter, and he's that, and he plays with a high enough IQ to minimize his deficiencies. He'd be a solid rebounder, he can pass, and I think he's a willing defender. Poor man's Deni but a lot more dangerous deep shooter.

I think Essengue and Demin both are players to consider. Passers like Demin don't come around often, and definitely not at his size with his handle and defensive ability; if his 3-point shot's at least passable, I think the other parts of his game make the Blazers better than his individual acquisition would indicate. And Essengue is 6-10, very young, can handle, defend, shoot ... he showed what he can do playing against the Blazers in the preseason. An even taller, longer Batum/Camara with a chance to develop shot creation ... very tempting prospect.
 
JDC said:
Yeah that one looked really bad. Huge bummer.

Kon stepping up in his absence.
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Yeah.

If the Blazers wound up with the 10th pick and essentially got Joe Ingles/JJ Reddick/Kyle Korver/Joe Harris/Luke Kennard-type of player, maybe not quite on that level as a 3-pt shooter but in that range but with better all-around game than those guys, I'm going to be happy because I think he fits and I think he makes the Blazers a better team. Not saying I don't want Flagg or Bailey or one of those guys, but if you aren't getting one of them, there are guys around 8-12 that I think are going to be solid pros.

The Blazers have several guys right now that can break down defense and create or call for double-teams. We've all seen the Blazers chase teams with knock-down shooters. It'd be nice to have one. We have some good shooters, some streaky shooters, but not one guy on this team where if you are the opposition and your defense is scrambling and you see him alone and the pass going to him you are like "Oh, crap."
 
And, again, I think there are three players in this draft that could do that, could fill that niche for the Blazers.
 
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