Notice At #46, the Portland Trail Blazers select...CJ Elleby?

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vibe I get is everyone on the team likes him. Espn guys were saying that he’s been one of the standouts in training camp. They obviously got that from Stotts. I doubt that he’s gonna have a role this season, but with injuries, and this covid bullshit, you never know.
 
I hope this kid turns out to be another Dillon Brooks...his game is similar and his size
 
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Good length. Didn't try to do too much (to a fault ... passed up at least one wide-open shot that I can recall). Played hard on the defensive end.

Ultimately, I think whether he lasts or not in the NBA will come down to his foot quickness. Seemed a half-pace off everyone else, but that might be because of being tentative playing in his first pro game.
 
I also posted this very complimentary report:
Statistical profile
Elleby had slightly differing freshman and sophomore seasons, in which his shooting efficiency dipped from year one to two in tandem with an uptick in shot volume. He went from 17.1 points on 14.0 shot attempts per 36 minutes in 2018-19 to 19.9 points on 16.8 attempts per 36 minutes in 2019-20, but married that with a minor slide from 53.1 TS% to 51.9 TS%. Across both campaigns, he shot 44.3% from two, 36.7% from three, and 74.9% from the free throw line.

NBA projection
Strengths


Charles James “CJ” Elleby is a 6’6”, 200-pound shooting guard who can space the floor and handle the ball for stretches. He averaged 32.2 minutes per game in 64 contests, and was a major focal point for the Cougars’ offense over the last two seasons.

While he possesses a good enough handle to get himself free for shot opportunities, his most projectable offensive skill is his spot up shooting. If he can dial back his overall usage — 28.2% for his career — and become more consistent moving without the ball and finding open areas of the court, he can put that catching-and-shooting skills to great use at the next level.

He is among the best in the country when pulling from deep when the defense isn’t yet set in semi-transition, like below.

Elleby was more than just a spot up guy at the collegiate level, however. He kept afloat a poor Washington State offense that ranked 140th and 182nd in adjusted efficiency per Kenpom with his control of the offense.

He used his dribble to navigate into the paint at times and keep defenses from sitting on his jumper. This allowed him to draw contact and get to the line at a decent clip with a career FT/FGA rate of .307. In addition, he finished fairly comfortably with either hand around the rim.

Still, he more often chose to pull up and shoot off his live dribble. He can create space with his crossovers and step backs like in the clip below.

While didn’t show a ton playmaking for others, a career mark of 2.73 assists per game undersells his passing ability a bit, as he can whip impressive passes around with either hand. Unfortunately, those passes found the hands of teammates on a sub-.500 team in conference for each of the last two seasons, which helps to explain that gap in production.

Elleby has a great motor on the defensive end. He can be seen constantly on his toes with his head on a swivel and practically dancing around when locked in on defense. He is a willing and productive helper all over the court, ranging from sideline to sideline when needed. For these efforts, he managed to cause a good bit of havoc at 2.3 steals plus blocks per 36 minutes over his career.
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
I had to go to the 2020 draft thread to find my quote: "This kid is OK, watched him play a couple times; really the only player in Pac 12 that impressed me playing against Ducks. I forgot all about him til now."
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I hope nobody noticed that a couple of days ago I said I might be wrong about him; that he seemed to have lost his self-confidence.
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
I had to go to the 2020 draft thread to find my quote: "This kid is OK, watched him play a couple times; really the only player in Pac 12 that impressed me playing against Ducks. I forgot all about him til now."
Click to expand...
So what genius said it?
 
Let’s throw it back a bit. Article from Quick after the draft

https://theathletic.com/2207951/202...search&search_query=Jamal Crawford, CJ Elleby

As NBA veteran Jamal Crawford watched Wednesday’s NBA Draft stretch into the middle of the second round, he knew there was one reason to keep watching: CJ Elleby, a left-handed shooter who as a high schooler used to attend his basketball camps in Seattle, was still available.

When the Trail Blazers picked the Washington State wing 46th overall, Crawford said his night was complete.

“Portland got a steal at that pick for what he brings to the table,” Crawford told The Athletic. “I couldn’t be more happy for him. After he got drafted, my night was complete.”

Elleby is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard/forward who as a sophomore last season at Washington State was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. He was fourth in the conference in scoring (18.4 points), seventh in rebounding (7.8) and led the conference in steals (1.8). In his last college game, he scored 30 points against Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament.

He comes from a basketball family: his father Bill played at Cal with Jason Kidd, and Crawford – the 20-year NBA veteran – said Elleby as a prep was a constant at his camps.

“Great young man,” Crawford said. “He is a hard worker, knock-down shooter, gym rat, great attitude, will compete and is always trying to improve. He knows how to play.”

Of note in Elleby’s skillset is his defense, which figured to be a point of emphasis for a Portland team that was 27th in defensive rating last season and for an organization that has often gravitated more toward players with offensive assets. Elleby is not expected to make an immediate impact – CJ McCollum, Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons will play at shooting guard and small forward figures to be a central part of the Blazers’ free agent attack, either by re-signing Rodney Hood or pursuing a new player.

But at 46, you are not necessarily looking for an immediate impact, but rather someone who can develop and turn into a rotation player down the road. It’s the route taken by Blazers Pat Connaughton, the 41th overall pick in 2015, and Jake Layman the 47th in 2016. They both ended up breaking the Blazers rotation by their third season.

The Blazers’ heavy lifting was done in days before the draft, when on Monday they traded the 16th overall pick and Trevor Ariza to Houston for forward Robert Covington. The Rockets on Wednesday then traded Ariza and the 16th pick to Detroit, who selected Washington big man Isaiah Stewart. But Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, loves the draft and punctuated the 2020 draft with Elleby … who some are already calling a steal.
 
I didn't realize just how good his defense was; although I guess most of it was against scrubs, when possibly neither team scored much.
"Elleby finished the season with a defensive rating of 94.1 on a team that ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive rating (116.6)."
Olive had a writeup this week: This may be too optimistic
"There is enough to like about Elleby to make one wonder if he could become the team’s next Gary Trent Jr.
Selected in the second round in 2018 out of Duke, Trent had a similar rookie season playing in 15 games and averaging 2.7 points while shooting just 32% from the field and 23.8% on threes." https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/...r-trail-blazers-season-review-look-ahead.html
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
I didn't realize just how good his defense was; although I guess most of it was against scrubs, when possibly neither team scored much.
"Elleby finished the season with a defensive rating of 94.1 on a team that ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive rating (116.6)."
Olive had a writeup this week: This may be too optimistic
"There is enough to like about Elleby to make one wonder if he could become the team’s next Gary Trent Jr.
Selected in the second round in 2018 out of Duke, Trent had a similar rookie season playing in 15 games and averaging 2.7 points while shooting just 32% from the field and 23.8% on threes." https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/...r-trail-blazers-season-review-look-ahead.html
Click to expand...

He honestly stayed in front of his man better than any of the other guys on the team, including the starters. But if he can’t shoot he cannot play. Been inseparable with Norm so far this off-season, so hopefully some of Norms work ethic rubs off on him.
 
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