Grade The Draft

[BoBoBREWSKI]

lol I was thinking this, but it goes deeper than 2 years in a row.

04- telfair
05- jack
06- sergio
07- green, koponen
08- bayless
09- patty
10- armon
11- nolan
12- dame
13- cj

It seems like we're starting a similar trend with Cs now too.

If you are gonna include 2nd round picks, I'm sure almost every team has a trend of picking a certain position every year.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I agree. But I think Neil has a plan to get someone better than Koufos.
I was confused about why we'd take another PG, but I think Neil went with best player available. I like that strategy, especially in this draft.

Interesting to see who we could get that is better than Koufos that would cost us a role player and a second round pick

 

[BrianFromWA]

questions I had about trades that went through.

MM has already talked about beating Arthur+55 for Kuofos.
#27 (Gobert) for #46 + cash. Seems like we could've gotten it for #40 + cash, instead of just selling our #40 FOR cash and then trading 2 future 2nds for Crabbe at 31.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Interesting to see who we could get that is better than Koufos that would cost us a role player and a second round pick

Jefferson, Pekovic, Splitter.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Brian,
You're the cap expert, but I believe this to be correct.
Trading for a 1st round pick automatically comes with a cap hold. 2nd rounders do not. So, we can use our cap space and then sign our 2nd rounders. We would have diminished cap space if we traded for Gobert (or anyone else) in the 1st round.

Of course, we could trade for them later, but it doesn't sound like that is in the works.

questions I had about trades that went through.

MM has already talked about beating Arthur+55 for Kuofos.
#27 (Gobert) for #46 + cash. Seems like we could've gotten it for #40 + cash, instead of just selling our #40 FOR cash and then trading 2 future 2nds for Crabbe at 31.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Jefferson, Pekovic, Splitter.

None of the above. They will all cost significantly more in salary. Two are restricted free agents who probably aren't real options

So Jefferson at 10-11 million or Koufos at 3 million a second rounder and a player like Freeland

 

[B-Roy]

None of the above. They will all cost significantly more in salary. Two are restricted free agents who probably aren't real options

So Jefferson at 10-11 million or Koufos at 3 million a second rounder and a player like Freeland

Freeland is negative value, not positive. Please tell me what you think we could have offered to beat Memphis.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

None of the above. They will all cost significantly more in salary. Two are restricted free agents who probably aren't real options

So Jefferson at 10-11 million or Koufos at 3 million a second rounder and a player like Freeland

OK. You win!

 

[tlongII]

None of the above. They will all cost significantly more in salary. Two are restricted free agents who probably aren't real options

So Jefferson at 10-11 million or Koufos at 3 million a second rounder and a player like Freeland

Dalembert would be a better fit.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Dalembert would be a better fit.

How so? so we can play our way out of the star studded draft next year and maybe into the 8th seed?

 

[tlongII]

How so? so we can play our way out of the star studded draft next year and maybe into the 8th seed?

That sounds like what you're suggesting with Koufas.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Freeland is negative value, not positive. Please tell me what you think we could have offered to beat Memphis.

well, all 3 of our 2nd round picks were better than Memphis'

Arthur averaged 6/3 in 16 mpg with a 11.8 PER

Freeland's numbers are worse, but not much
Barton
Claver
the Greek

 

[tlongII]

Plus Koufas rhymes with Doofus.

 

[Mediocre Man]

That sounds like what you're suggesting with Koufas.

Koufos could have grown with the team.

 

[tlongII]

Koufos could have grown with the team.

So can Leonard and even Withey for that matter.

 

[B-Roy]

well, all 3 of our 2nd round picks were better than Memphis'

Arthur averaged 6/3 in 16 mpg with a 11.8 PER

Freeland's numbers are worse, but not much
Barton
Claver
the Greek

I don't think second rounders hold much value at all, particularly in this draft. I can't count how many eurostashes were drafted in the second just because everyone else was so "meh".

And taking on Freeland's deadweight is just horrible. Also probably the Nuggets just like Arthur.

 

[Natebishop3]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...des-pick-by-pick-cleveland-cavaliers/2465505/

Overall Grade: C+

No. 10: C.J. McCollum, PG/SG, Lehigh

The Portland Trail Blazers already have Damian Lillard on the roster, who isn't particularly big for a point guard, and now they're adding C.J. McCollum. The Lehigh product might be listed as a combo guard, but he's also small enough that he'll have to settle in as a point guard as well.

As a result, this was a strange pick. The scoring potential of the Blazers lineup is striking, but there were bigger priorities in Rip City than adding to an already strong backcourt. Steven Adams was still on the board, for example, and there was a glaring hole at center.

Damian Lillard is undersized for a point guard? He is virtually the same damn height as McCollum. Did this guy even look him up before writing that?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Damian Lillard is undersized for a point guard? He is virtually the same damn height as McCollum. Did this guy even look him up before writing that?

Doesn't say Dame is undersized for a PG. Says he isn't big for a PG

 

[Natebishop3]

Doesn't say Dame is undersized for a PG. Says he isn't big for a PG

Well that's pretty absurd. He's 6'3.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

which is it MM? our defense is gonna suck because of cj, so isnt that a good thing according to you? so we get a better pick?

koufos would have helped us win more games next year no? do you think he is worse than dalembert? wouldnt he also ruin our chance of getting a better pick?

wtf are you on man

 

[Rhal]

I actually liked the draft quiet a lot. Got an great shooter in the second round, a big man who is known for shot blocking and a stash. Our lottery pick will immediately help and will be perfect coming off the bench. We did nothing spectacular but nothing bad so i'd give us a B+.

We have set ourselves up for big improvements if we don't strike out in FA. The need for a rim protector or even a paint clogger is the big acquisition we should be looking for. We have the lid half open, now can we open it all the way is the question.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Brian,
You're the cap expert, but I believe this to be correct.
Trading for a 1st round pick automatically comes with a cap hold. 2nd rounders do not. So, we can use our cap space and then sign our 2nd rounders. We would have diminished cap space if we traded for Gobert (or anyone else) in the 1st round.

You're right, but not exactly. Yes, the 1st-rounder comes with a cap hold. It's about 900k for the 27th pick. But it takes up one of the "roster hold" spots (that are 490k), so you're losing 400k in cap space in order to guarantee a guy on basically a 4yr, 5M total deal--with the ability to cut him loose after two years like Nolan Smith if he really sucks and you don't want to pay 1M/yr for him. And the 2nd-rounder doesn't cost anything in cap space, but you can't sign him after you've used your cap space unless you use one of the exceptions. Rookie minimum is 490k. You could use our Room Exception to do something bigger, but only on a 2yr max deal. IN which case you end up getting Lin'd (or Asik'd) if he turns out to be good, and if he sucks you've only spent less than 1M total over the 2 years that would've been guaranteed at #27 (or whatever)

So if we would've traded, say, #40 and $2M for Crabbe at 27, then we could've a) kept our future 2nds, b) locked Crabbe up on a guaranteed 2yr 1.9M TOTAL deal, with team options for year 3 and 4 at about 3M total if he's worth it, c) avoided an "Early Bird" situation like Lin and Novak---at the cost of 400k in cap space and 4M or so in cash.

Of course, we could trade for them later, but it doesn't sound like that is in the works.

This is one of the great things about the #31 pick. First, you aren't locked into the rookie salary scale, so you can get a Euro who has a big buyout (teams can only contribute 575k to a buyout, player's on the hook for the rest). If you could, say, offer a guy with a 2M buyout the MLE (or some portion of your cap space), then you have a much higher chance of bringing him over than if you draft him #27.
Second is if you want to draft and stash a guy and keep him off your cap, then a 2nd is the way to go b/c you have to have a first round stasher sign that he won't come over in the following year (even in trade). Guys like Schroeder, Karasev, Adetobunbo didn't want to do that, so teams like DAL didn't want to draft them if they weren't guaranteeing that, or else the cap hold would still be on their contract.

My personal philosophy on end-of-first/beginning of second is that you should draft role players or red-flagged guys (or guys who've dropped) with late 20's picks, which are usually available for cash (or 2nds), and get expensive-buyout Euro talent with #31/32/33, so that you can keep them off your cap books while they're stashed and still maintain the flexibility to pay them enough to overcome a buyout.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

What say you?

A.

McCollum comes with a great skill set.

Our second round picks were probable first rounders and will both play minutes for us next year.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I actually liked the draft quiet a lot. Got an great shooter in the second round, a big man who is known for shot blocking and a stash. Our lottery pick will immediately help and will be perfect coming off the bench. We did nothing spectacular but nothing bad so i'd give us a B+.

We have set ourselves up for big improvements if we don't strike out in FA. The need for a rim protector or even a paint clogger is the big acquisition we should be looking for. We have the lid half open, now can we open it all the way is the question.

Agree with almost all of this. But we knew what we needed going into the draft, and not a lot has changed.

Whether or not your particular flavor in the lotto was a combo guard who could play PG (like KCP, MCW, McCollum), a pure SG like Oladipo or McLemore or Shabazz, or a stretch PF (like Olynyk, Zeller), I got the feeling from almost everyone that the pure Center talents that were lotto-worthy (Len and Noel) were sufficiently injured to be cringe-worthy and too risky to pick. And I don't know that there were a lot of people excited to draft Adams or Dieng or Gobert at #10.

So we're still sitting in the same place we were 2 months ago. We have a gaping hold at "Starting Defensive Big". We knew that our starting lineup aside from that was good-to-well-above-average, with some room still to improve. We knew that, aside from trading the pick, we were going to get some bench help somewhere with the draft. We knew that we would almost definitely need cap space to sign "Starting Defensive Big", whether as a FA or in a lopsided trade.

Personally, I think we've about extinguished the "lopsided trade option", unless we're going to send out one of the Core Four or McCollum. I don't see PHX trading Gortat for just a trade exception.

 

[BBert]

I'll give us a B for getting value picks, picking BPA when it was our turn and trading future seconds for Crabbe.

They would have had to trade up for better players to get an A.

I really should lower their score for selling a pick. WTF is up with that? This bugged me last night and it bugs me still. Didn't we sell a pick last year too? Why? That's the same as losing an asset for nothing, and worse, giving your opponent an asset they otherwise would not have.

If we didn't want Jerrett aka Channing Frye 2.0, pick someone else, TRADE for a future pick, combine him with another player in a trade, or stash a euro.

I don't get it and I don't like it.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Instead of just wasting the 40th pick, I wish they would have brought in Iverson or Muscala. Throw them into the thunderdome with Lynyrd and Withey....3 men enter, 2 men leave. Other than that, I am happy with what they did.

 

[Blaze01]

I'd give POR a B

McCollum is kind of a ho-hum pick, really wish KCP has fallen there...but he didn't, would have loved to see POR trade up to get McLemore, but that wasn't in the cards. I certainly liked the McCollum pick more than Adams, who I was not in favor of POR picking...I liked Muhammad (heck I like MIN draft Muhammad\Dieng)....but that ship was not coming in....It will be interesting to see if Lillard\McCollum are dynamic enough offensively to make up for any defensive deficiencies...

I like the 2nd round picks....Crabbe is a shooter with good size, I think he could very likely beat out Barton....I really like the Withey pick as well, defensive oriented player (rim protector), played against top competition and performed well....I think he is better offensively than people are giving him credit for....I think he can beat out Leonard for the starting? or back-up center position....

Todorovic...meh...European player to stash and see if he develops....

Overall, not bad...improved the bench...I certainly like McCollum\Crabbe\Withey (at least for now) over last year's guys Smith\Babbitt\Pavlovic...ugh...

Curious to see who Olshey targets in FA.....Can't imagine a guard.....and the centers out there are not overly appealing.....Maybe a PF type who could b\u and\or play alongside LA for stretches?

 

[Boise Blazer]

The more I read articles and listen to radio interviews about the draft the more people I hear say that we had one of the top drafts and usually that it has more to do with Allen Crabbe (and to a smaller extent Withey) being 1st round talent acquired in the 2nd round. Many expect Crabbe to be a very good shooter at the NBA level. I was happy about picking him but his potential Im hearing is already making me hopeful. Cant wait for summer league.

 

[magnifier661]

I'd give POR a B

McCollum is kind of a ho-hum pick, really wish KCP has fallen there...but he didn't, would have loved to see POR trade up to get McLemore, but that wasn't in the cards. I certainly liked the McCollum pick more than Adams, who I was not in favor of POR picking...I liked Muhammad (heck I like MIN draft Muhammad\Dieng)....but that ship was not coming in....It will be interesting to see if Lillard\McCollum are dynamic enough offensively to make up for any defensive deficiencies...

I like the 2nd round picks....Crabbe is a shooter with good size, I think he could very likely beat out Barton....I really like the Withey pick as well, defensive oriented player (rim protector), played against top competition and performed well....I think he is better offensively than people are giving him credit for....I think he can beat out Leonard for the starting? or back-up center position....

Todorovic...meh...European player to stash and see if he develops....

Overall, not bad...improved the bench...I certainly like McCollum\Crabbe\Withey (at least for now) over last year's guys Smith\Babbitt\Pavlovic...ugh...

Curious to see who Olshey targets in FA.....Can't imagine a guard.....and the centers out there are not overly appealing.....Maybe a PF type who could b\u and\or play alongside LA for stretches?

Well since you thought Lillard would be a bust; I can see why you call cj hohum.

Sorry I couldn't resist

 

[magnifier661]

I'd give POR a B

McCollum is kind of a ho-hum pick, really wish KCP has fallen there...but he didn't, would have loved to see POR trade up to get McLemore, but that wasn't in the cards. I certainly liked the McCollum pick more than Adams, who I was not in favor of POR picking...I liked Muhammad (heck I like MIN draft Muhammad\Dieng)....but that ship was not coming in....It will be interesting to see if Lillard\McCollum are dynamic enough offensively to make up for any defensive deficiencies...

I like the 2nd round picks....Crabbe is a shooter with good size, I think he could very likely beat out Barton....I really like the Withey pick as well, defensive oriented player (rim protector), played against top competition and performed well....I think he is better offensively than people are giving him credit for....I think he can beat out Leonard for the starting? or back-up center position....

Todorovic...meh...European player to stash and see if he develops....

Overall, not bad...improved the bench...I certainly like McCollum\Crabbe\Withey (at least for now) over last year's guys Smith\Babbitt\Pavlovic...ugh...

Curious to see who Olshey targets in FA.....Can't imagine a guard.....and the centers out there are not overly appealing.....Maybe a PF type who could b\u and\or play alongside LA for stretches?

Well since you thought Lillard was a bust, I can see why you are Ho him on cj.

Sorry couldn't resist!