Grade this years draft

[Boob-No-More]

One "A", huh?

I'd like to be the first to welcome Masai Ujiri to our little Trail Blazers forum here on SportsTwo.

BNM

 

[jlprk]

I think if we have a wink-wink to get Andre back after Denver cuts him, that would make it look a lot better.

Like Joel, who is coming home this Fall.

scratch that 57th pick.

I'll let you take care of that.

We kept Batum so that takes us from an F all the way to an A. Has long as we have the GOAT in Batum we are perfectly fine.

Why don't they call it the GPOAT? The greatest what of all time?

 

[jlprk]

It really is amazing how quickly this team went from being so deep and stacked with talent that posters here were saying we desperately needed a consolidation trade, to a team with an extremely shallow, shitty bench. That's what wiffing on draft day two years in a row and giving away talent for no apparent reason will do for you.

That's what permanent injuries to Roy, Oden, and Przybilla will do to you. And we could still use a consolidation trade. A better coach, though, would make that unnecessary.

 

[Mediocre Man]

This was a bad draft, and we overpaid for Felton, who is a good player, but not a difference maker. I voted F-

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

B

We have solidified the PG spot for years to come. While I would have preferred a reserve PF with oor pick, I'm not disappointed with a 4 year Duke PG as our potential #2 PG. Well done for that position.

As to Deibler (or what ever the hell his name is), we needed a player who could stretch a defense and we sure got one to do so. He may not play a lot, but when he does we'll see some open spaces on the floor to really work our offense.

 

[craigehlo]

B-

I like Felton but was hoping we'd finally rid ourselves of Batum for a real scorer or backup PF. Batum is now headed to be the next Rudy. A trade chip we hold onto until he's got zero value.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

I think if we have a wink-wink to get Andre back after Denver cuts him, that would make it look a lot better.

barfo

ive heard this too...why the fuck would andre want to do this? has he expressed some fondness for the city? the fans? the players? the coaches? i think the answer to all of these is no...

sadly, if he is cut, which would solely be a cash saving move, i see him signing with the heat or....the lakers

 

[LittleAlex]

It was a C- draft and trade when Portland needed an A+ to improve their chances next off season.

If next year happens I expect the same result as the last three.
Make the playoffs in either the 6th, 5th or 4th position then get beat like a drum in the first round.

Yay?

 

[mook]

I don't know that he's a great fit for either the Lakers or Heat. Both those teams need point guards who can defend and shoot three pointers. That's not his game.

I guess if he wanted to go somewhere as a backup. But I don't think he sees himself as a backup yet.

But yeah, I'm not sure why he'd want to come back to Portland. He doesn't seem to have much love for Nate/management, and if he came back Nate would probably bench him in favor of Felton's three point shooting.

I'm trying to think of an elite team that could really use him well, and I'm kind of drawing a blank. I guess that's also why he was available last time when we acquired him. When you talk about contenders, it seems like your PG better be really damned good (Rose, Westbrook, Parker) or a reliable perimeter shooting role player (Kidd, Conley, Nelson, Bibby) who can spread the floor for stars that generate most of the offense.

Miller isn't really either. So I kind of expect him to go to some 50 win type of team where he'll definitely help, but not really push the team to a contending level.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Where's C?

 

[Harry's Raincoat]

I grade our draft as a B.

Of the guys available to us at #21, we did well in addressing a need. We got a very good guard who played against above average competition in the ACC. He's got 4 yrs experience under the best college coach in America. At #51 we selected Jon Diebler. Long range shooter. Good player.

Overall with our position to draft (#21 & #51) we did fine.

I also like that we swapped 35 yr old Miller for 27 yr old Felton. He's a player that can get better and didn't cost us (future) core pieces from the team. Obviously, Parker or Jennings would have been sexier acquisitions, but would have cost us additional key players. I'm fine with this draft day deal.

 

[Kaydow]

Bad draft. Maybe the worst we've ever had. At least in '84 when we passed on MJ we ended up finding Kersey in the 2nd round. Time will tell.

I gave it an "F", of course. I just don't know how you pass on Faried. He looks like he could be a Ben Wallace type of presence (BW in his prime). Our roster remains horribly unbalanced. Our projected front court is Oden/Camby/LA. How long before Oden & Camby are hurt and LA has to play Center? It would be one thing if we got Chris Paul last night. I might survive the PF gap if we received a top tier PG. But R. Felton is our PGOTF? He's a downgrade from Miller, albeit a young version. At least Dre' could post up and finish at the rim. Felton will not fair well here. I wouldn't trade Miller straight across for RF despite the age factor. But the part that stings is everything else we gave up for RF.

And Nolan Smith? What need does he fit? True PG to run the team? No. Sharp shooter to spread the floor? No. A superior athlete who can get his own shot. No. He may turn out to be a Wesley Matthews blue collar, hard nosed, overachieving asset. Which would be fine . . . if we didn't already have Wes Matthews! What the hell are we doing? Felton/Smith/Roy/Matthews/Williams/Johnson/Mills/Diebler. How many guards do we need? Or let me put it this way, how many average to below average guards to we need? Not to mention the question marks around each guy. How will Felton do in Nate's slow-it-down offense? (Answer = Not Good) & can he stay in shape? How healthy/effective can Roy be for 82 games? Who the hell knows what Mr. 48" vertical E. Williams can do? Or if he is/can stay healthy? Can Nolan Smith play PG in the NBA? He looks more suited for SG than PG, where we already have Roy/Wes/Williams.

Are we ever going to find a b/u PF who can rebound and play defense? Are we ever going to try and balance our roster? Does anybody have a plan? Last night's draft was a huge setback. We didn't add any talent or depth. At best Miller for Felton is a wash, but doesn't make us a better team. And oh by the way . . . we may have just helped our division rival Denver move into the "elite" team status. What a luxary for them to have A. Miller come off the bench. And Faried is a perfect fit for them. Man I wanted that guy. Talk about a perfect compliment for LA. The more I think about it, the sicker I get. Is it bad that I'm now HOPING for a lock-out? At least it delays the inevitable pain of watching yesterdays mistakes unfolding.

Epic Fail.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Where's C?

You only get five slots on a poll and I had to fit in F- somewhere.

 

[EGame]

Guys, it is still all a part of the master plan to tank in 2012.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

::bump::

Someone should forward this to Paul Allen.

S2 fanbase knows talent better than Chad and Nate. We saw this trainwreck well before this season and it started on draft night.

As long as Chad is around, even as a scout, it will only prolong this mess.

Fire Chad!

Fire Nate!

Damn, this management makes me miss the Whitsitt days.

 

[Nate Dogg]

Kenneth Faried (F) is having a fairly decent season for Denver and our Nolan Smith is just a bench warmer. What do you suspect, Paul Allen going for another G/PG instead of helping out at the (Forward) spot backing up Batum. Paul Allen and Nate push veteran PG minutes, so whats the point of drafting young PG when they don't get played? Its a fucked up PG/G system that Paul Allen runs.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Whoo hoo, right again......except for that whole Felton is a good player remark.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I realize now the error of my ways. I was way too generous with my "D"

 

[jlprk]

Bring back the actual draft thread, so we can see who wanted Faried, and who defended Nolan Smith. I, uh, don't remember which side I was on.

Ever since management booted Juwan Howard out of here, they just refuse to grab big men, and stock up on guards, because McMillan whines at them for more shooters.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

None of our draft picks have committed any felonies so this is obviously an A+ draft!