Back-Up Power Forwards in the Draft

[Boob-No-More]

joel freeland = plays against grown men

but you reserve judgement because he does play against boys? *cough* college still wet behind years....

From Freeland's most recent DraftExpress update:

"Offensively, he looked somewhat tentative, not being much of a presence for Gran Canaria, which is not a huge surprise considering his limitations on this end of the floor. He’s mostly a finisher at this point (albeit a very good one at that) and seems to struggle when asked to do much more than that, as he lacks great footwork or much range on his jumper. He’s also somewhat foul prone and clearly not very experienced, averaging a high amount of turnovers relative to his role."

They also say he's clearly not ready for the NBA, but that the Blazers may bring him over this summer due to his escape clause. If they wait another year or two, he may sign a longer term contract with another European team.

In any case, I'm all for bringing him over and letting him take Ruffin's or Shavlik's spot on the end of the bench, but I'm not counting on him being part of the regular rotation for a couple more years.

BNM

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Thinking outside the box here...

What about Tiago Splitter? His contract is an issue but he's a player worth looking at. A player who'll make an instant impact whenever he does come to the NBA.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Thinking outside the box here...

What about Tiago Splitter? His contract is an issue but he's a player worth looking at. A player who'll make an instant impact whenever he does come to the NBA.

Interesting thought. I wonder what it would take to pry his rights away from the Spurs?

There was a thread on the Spurs' forum about SA using a loop-hole in the CBA to up their offer to Splitter. If that doesn't work, they might be willing to trade him for some immediate help. It would be a risk, but......

 

[Boob-No-More]

Hansbrough a severely undersized 4 (both in terms of height and bulk).

For a guy who is supposedly "severely undersized" for a 4, Hansbrough didn't measure out too bad:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Measurements-released-3236/

He's a 1/4" shorter than Blake Griffin, weighs 14 lb. less, has a greater wing span and a 1" greater standing reach. Yet, Grifin is consider a "beast" and an "stud" and Hansbrough is a "severley undersized 4"? Go figure.

BTW, I'm not saying Hansbrough is better, or even close to as good, as Griffin. There's a reason Griffin is expected to be the 1st pick in the draft and Hansbrough is expected to go in the 20s. I'm just dispelling the myth, based on actual measurements, that Hansbrough is "severely undersized".

BNM

 

[oldmangrouch]

For a guy who is supposedly "severely undersized" for a 4, Hansbrough didn't measure out too bad:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Measurements-released-3236/

He's a 1/4" shorter than Blake Griffin, weighs 14 lb. less, has a greater wing span and a 1" greater standing reach. Yet, Grifin is consider a "beast" and an "stud" and Hansbrough is a "severley undersized 4"? Go figure.

BTW, I'm not saying Hansbrough is better, or even close to as good, as Griffin. There's a reason Griffin is expected to be the 1st pick in the draft and Hansbrough is expected to go in the 20s. I'm just dispelling the myth, based on actual measurements, that Hansbrough is "severely undersized".

BNM

What can you say. One cheerleader starts a rumor about a guy, and pretty soon it is all over the internet!

 

[Reep]

For a guy who is supposedly "severely undersized" for a 4, Hansbrough didn't measure out too bad:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Measurements-released-3236/

He's a 1/4" shorter than Blake Griffin, weighs 14 lb. less, has a greater wing span and a 1" greater standing reach. Yet, Grifin is consider a "beast" and an "stud" and Hansbrough is a "severley undersized 4"? Go figure.

BTW, I'm not saying Hansbrough is better, or even close to as good, as Griffin. There's a reason Griffin is expected to be the 1st pick in the draft and Hansbrough is expected to go in the 20s. I'm just dispelling the myth, based on actual measurements, that Hansbrough is "severely undersized".

BNM

These were my thoughts as well. I just don't get the dislike of Psycho T. He plays hard, rebounds, defends and has some solid offensive skills. He isn't super bulky, but he is clearly PF size. If (big IF) we pick at 24, I would not be disappointed to see him on the team. He would be a solid backup PF. My only fear is that he might be too "psycho" and have troubles fitting in--similar to what Noah had his rookie year.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I'd look at Brockman hard at 38.

The one thing that almost ALWAYS projects well from college to the pros is ability to rebound. (See Millsap, Landry, Maxiell, etc). Brockman's the all-time leader in Husky rebounding and was a stud at the (admittedly inferior to the Chicago camp) Portsmouth games.

http://950kjr.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=mitchinthemorning.xml Scroll down to Jon Brockman May 15. If you have 20 minutes, take a listen. He's even represented by the same agent as Roy and Webster.

I agree with whoever said Brockman's going to surprise some people at the combine.

 

[hasoos]

Thinking outside the box here...

What about Tiago Splitter? His contract is an issue but he's a player worth looking at. A player who'll make an instant impact whenever he does come to the NBA.

With the problems San Antonio ran into getting old last year, they would be pretty stupid to do this. They need to get every player they can to retool.

 

[Blaze01]

I like McDyess as a veteran option....

Splitter is an intriguing idea, but I don't see SA trading him away, nor do I think he is willing to come over in the next few years....

I really think POR is going to select Victor Claver with a pick, probably a late 1st rounder or thier early 2nd.....history has shown they like to use late 1st rounders on european players (Freeland, Koponen, Rodriguez, Fernandez, Batum).....

Claver also worked out with POR last year...another trend I have noticed about POR as well...

Claver was looking real good, he is real young still 19?20?...then suffered a year ending injury and kind of fell off the radar a little, he stayed in the draft and is hoping to slide through to the 2nd round and avoid getting locked into a late 1st round contract....

I don't think he would be the answer this year, he may stay in europe for another year...though it is possible they bring him over....

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Claver-336/

I also think Josh Heytvelt is another intriguing possibility as a back-up PF.....He can shoot, is efficient around the basket, can rebound...

Milan Macvan is another intriguing player as well.....

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Milan-Macvan-1356/

Kind of reminds me of Linas Kleiza...

 

[BalancedMan]

Players that might be available NEAR our draft pick (in so far that we could trade up using a filler or 2nd round pick to possibly acquire, or they might slide to us):

BJ Mullins
Tyler Hansbrough
Gani Lawal
Derrick Brown
Damion Jones
Taj Gibson
Jeff Pendergraph
DeMarre Carroll
Josh Heytvelt
Goran Suton

Never heard of Victor Claver, but he sounds intriguing. Goran Suton showed he could shoot outside in the NCAA tournament, but hadn't done it for all of his college career. If we keep those second round picks, I wouldn't be surprised to see us take some backup big men and then see who pans out. In recent years that's been the position that people have gotten value out of in the 2nd round, for the most part.

 

[BalancedMan]

Another FA thought....Marcus Haislip anyone?

Just an idea: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marcus-Haislip-2681/

 

[BrianFromWA]

I really think POR is going to select Victor Claver with a pick, probably a late 1st rounder or thier early 2nd.....history has shown they like to use late 1st rounders on european players (Freeland, Koponen, Rodriguez, Fernandez, Batum).....

Claver also worked out with POR last year...another trend I have noticed about POR as well...

Claver was looking real good, he is real young still 19?20?...then suffered a year ending injury and kind of fell off the radar a little, he stayed in the draft and is hoping to slide through to the 2nd round and avoid getting locked into a late 1st round contract....

I don't think he would be the answer this year, he may stay in europe for another year...though it is possible they bring him over....

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Claver-336/

The reviews I've seen have Claver as a pure SF in the league. I do think he's intriguing, and in the mix at #32. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that we trade #32 (Omer Asik-style) for some future goodies...I think other teams are getting smart about the Tiago Splitter situations (having guys like Rudy get drafted at 24 and pay to come over for a late-1st salary slot isn't gonna fly).

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Jeff Pendergraph is a tank.

A legit 6'10", 240 lbs. Not bad.

 

[STOMP]

Blair or bust. The guy is exactly what we need. He's Danny Fortson, minus the crazy.

Danny's glaring flaw was that he couldn't guard any position at all. He reminded me of Zach in that he'd often start boxing out his man before being shot over. Dude was also an unbelievable foul machine averaging 6.3 fouls per 36 minutes for his career.

If a Fortson type player is how Blair projects, I want nothing to do with him.

Concerning Hansbrough's lack of position at the next level, Draft Express characterizes him as "Stuck between 4 and 5". With Oden and Przybilla, the Blazers wouldn't need him to play the 5, just back up the 4 spot. Again, I'm not looking for a star here, just a guy who can back-up Aldridge for 10 or 12 MPG, play hard, play smart and not make mistakes.

Unless they move way way up in this draft, I don't see anyone being able to crack Portland's rotation into double digit minutes anytime soon. Hansbrough seems all about team... sort of a rich mans Eduardo Najera. Dude gets after it on the boards and D and can hit an open jumper. He seems the sort who would bring focus and intensity to practice even if he's not getting minutes. I could see KP going that way.

STOMP

 

[Boob-No-More]

Luke Harangody - a slightly taller, less ripped version of Jon Brockman. Like Brockman, Harangody has established himself over the last two seasons as one of the top rebounders in the NCAA. He also scored a lot more in college than Brockman, but I'm not sure how well his low post oriented offensive will translate to the next level. I do like the fact that he actually has a back-to-the-basket game and uses it to draw fouls on opponents. Again, on the Blazers he'd spend most of his minutes against opposing back-up 4s - who I think he could score against from the low blocks.

More on Harangody here.

OK, maybe I was wrong about the "less ripped than Jon Brockman" comment. Accoring to the article, Harangody did more reps of the bench press than anyone else at the Chicago predraft camp. The article also described him as "Matt Bonner with muscles". I'm not sure that's what the Blazers need in a back-up 4, but like Brockman, Harangody has been a great rebounder in college and isn't afraid to mix it up inside. The fact that he has a good jumper with range would just be a bonus.

In any case, if he stays in the draft and is available, I wouldn't mind seeing the Blazers use one of their 2nd round picks on him.

Harangody measured out a little shorter than I'd expected, but he still has a pretty good standing reach (8'10") for an NBA 4. He played center in college, but would definitely be a 4 at the next level.

BNM

 

[Da_O]

Blair or Gani Lawal our are best options in the draft. Both are pretty raw offensive players, but both can rebound. I like Gawal more as he's taller, younger, and more athletic. And he doesn't have the injury background that Blair has.

I don't want anything to do with Hansbrough. This guy has Mark Madsen 2.0 written all over him.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'm fully convinced our backup 4 is 27+ years old and has a reputation for solid, physical defense and rebounding -- if unspectacular -- I'm not saying you can't take a power forward in the draft, but this is one of the weakest for bigs I can remember off hand.

Just take BPA, or try to target a guy you really like and move up, and I don't see any of these guys as fitting that criteria (you could move up to get a big, but do you really want to part with the assets it will likely take to get into the top 8 to grab Blair? Yikes!).

 

[Pinwheel1]

We have very little chance of signing Milsap. Why would he want to play 14 minute a game. Plus Utah will resign him. They said they would go over the cap for one year to keep him. Plus i would be shocked if Boozer changed his mind and did not opt out.

 

[Da_O]

I'm fully convinced our backup 4 is 27+ years old and has a reputation for solid, physical defense and rebounding -- if unspectacular -- I'm not saying you can't take a power forward in the draft, but this is one of the weakest for bigs I can remember off hand.

Just take BPA, or try to target a guy you really like and move up, and I don't see any of these guys as fitting that criteria (you could move up to get a big, but do you really want to part with the assets it will likely take to get into the top 8 to grab Blair? Yikes!).

I agree Blair is not worth moving up for.

 

[Draco]

In any case, if he stays in the draft and is available, I wouldn't mind seeing the Blazers use one of their 2nd round picks on him.

I don't think he'll last until the 2nd round.

If KP doesn't see anyone else special I'd be fine with grabbing him at #24. He doesn't have the upside of some other picks but he has the lowest downside. The Blazers are in a different spot than 4 years ago, they don't need to select risky draft picks with the hope they turn into a star. We need solid contributors to fill in niche rolls on the team.

The Mark Madsen comparisons are silly. Hansbrough was on the most talented college team in the country scoring over 20 ppg with 84% FT 39% 3PT. Madsen scored 12ppg shooting 57% FT and never made a single three.


edit: Now I see you were talking about Harangody. He probably will last until the 2nd

 

[Uther TheGardener]

Hansbrough if we could get him on the cheap would be a good pick...I am not so big on blair...in any other draft i think he would be around the 5 or 6th pick...

 

[Blaze01]

What is wrong with Heytvelt as a 2nd rounder?

He has good size (6'10)...

efiicient scorer around the rim who can shoot from the outside as well...

rebounds pretty good

I look at him as a Jeff Foster (smaller of course) kind of journeyman backup...Not sure I would take himas a 1st rounder, but I sure would in the 2nd...I think he is being undervalued on draft boards currently...

I agree...Pendergraph is interesting as well....

 

[Da_O]

The Mark Madsen comparisons are silly.

I don't, I think Hansbrough will be a comparable scrub.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

It looks like Jordan Hill could have a Brook Lopez type of slip. Reports now say he could fall out of the top-10.

 

[santeesioux]

The Blazers have worked this guy out several times i think, he needs to bulk up to even be drafted

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Chris-Johnson-5034/

 

[Boob-No-More]

Here's another guy to consider: Ahmad Nivins.

Apparently, he's measured out better than expected (6'10", 242) and has been having some great workouts.

"Nivins was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game in a tough conference and measures in at 6'10 and just over 242 pounds and was getting almost no love from the NBA. That was two weeks ago; today Nivins' dance card has filled up with more than eight workouts scheduled over the remaining 15 days until the NBA Draft."

"The word is that Nivins - who was viewed as a marginal second rounder - really help himself with one of the best showings at the Minnesota group workout. NBA teams are lining up to get a look and Nivens is blowing guys out of the gym in individual workouts."

"he is a proven, mature, high character guy that has an exceptional skill set and can contribute right away."

BNM

 

[BrianFromWA]

Yeah, I saw that...but I'm torn.

Normally I'm a bit leery of guys rocketing up the draft board out of nowhere in the last couple weeks before Draft Day. Then again, I generally put a premium on guys who actually got it done in college, rather than "projects".

I can't remember if it's the same article or group of articles, but some guys on ESPN (the D.R.A.F.T. guys) were talking about how, after the 6th pick, it's a total crapshoot unless you're drafting guys with one particular NBA-ready skill right away. If you think about 2nd round picks that have made it, it's kind of true.

I also noticed that Psycho T is now slotted at 11.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I also noticed that Psycho T is now slotted at 11.

DraftExpress has him going 20th to Utah. If they lose Boozer (which it looks like they will), they can move Millsap into the starting role with Hansbrough as his back-up.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

Normally I'm a bit leery of guys rocketing up the draft board out of nowhere in the last couple weeks before Draft Day. Then again, I generally put a premium on guys who actually got it done in college, rather than "projects".

Given that he put up very good numbers, was POTY in a decent conference and has no off-court issues, it makes you wonder why he wasn't ranked higher to begin with.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

More on Nivins from his DraftExpress profile:

"Compared to when we last wrote about Nivins two years ago, his game has progressed significantly in many phases. One thing that jumps out immediately is that his FG%, FT%, and True Shooting% have each steadily increased over the past three seasons, even with his huge bump in usage this season. Another statistic of note is the fact that he plays an astounding 39.6 minutes per game, #1 in our entire database, and posts an outrageous 72% True Shooting percentage also good for #1. More impressive than that is his consistency over the course of the season, as looking at his game log he’s scored more than 14 points in every contest this season and the worst he’s shot from the field in one game this season was 5-for-11. "