Guys Neil Olshey passed on to draft Zach Collins

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  1. 76ers: Markelle Fultz (G) - Washington

  2. Lakers: Lonzo Ball (G) - UCLA

  3. Celtics: Jayson Tatum (F) - Duke

  4. Suns: Josh Jackson (F) - Kansas

  5. Kings: DeAaron Fox (G) - Kentucky

  6. Magic: Jonathan Isaac (F) - Florida State

  7. Bulls: Lauri Markkanen (F) - Arizona

  8. Knicks: Frank Ntilikina (G) - France

  9. Mavericks: Dennis Smith Jr. (G) - NC State

  10. Trail Blazers: Zach Collins (F/C) - Gonzaga

  11. Hornets: Malik Monk (G) - Kentucky

  12. Pistons: Luke Kennard (G) - Duke

  13. Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (G) - Louisville

  14. Heat: Bam Adebayo (C) - Kentucky

  15. Kings: Justin Jackson (F) - UNC

  16. Bulls: Justin Patton (C) - Creighton

  17. Bucks: DJ Wilson (F/C) - Michigan

  18. Pacers: TJ Leaf (F/C) - UCLA

  19. Hawks: John Collins (F) - Wake Forest

  20. Kings: Harry Giles (F/C) - Duke

  21. Thunder: Terrance Ferguson (F) - Australia

  22. Nets: Jarrett Allen (C) - Texas

  23. Raptors: OG Anunoby (F) - Indiana

  24. Nuggets: Tyler Lydon (F) - Syracuse

  25. 76ers: Andzejs Pasecniks (C) - Latvia

  26. Trail Blazers: Caleb Swanigan (PF) - Purdue

  27. Lakers: Kyle Kuzma (F) - Utah

  28. Jazz: Tony Bradley (C) - North Carolina

  29. Spurs: Derrick White (G) - Colorado

  30. Lakers: Josh Hart (G) - Villanova
 
Don't go there. Just don't. Too painful. Bam Bam.
 
I'm really not mad with the Collins selection. GMs all have plenty of regrets on drafts. Neil has really been a decent drafter overall. Collins has a blend of physical abilities and skills that gave him real potential. We were not a contender in 2017 so we didn't have an immediate need for a contributor as dire as now. Now we have a 30 year old declining star so we need more urgent help.

Now if we give Collins a $50 million extension I'll be furious. That has been Neil's problem.
 
SharpesTriumph said:
I'm really not mad with the Collins selection. GMs all have plenty of regrets on drafts. Neil has really been a decent drafter overall. Collins has a blend of physical abilities and skills that gave him real potential. We were not a contender in 2017 so we didn't have an immediate need for a contributor as dire as now. Now we have a 30 year old declining star so we need more urgent help.

Now if we give Collins a $50 million extension I'll be furious. That has been Neil's problem.
Click to expand...

They will. They have to.
 
SharpesTriumph said:
I'm really not mad with the Collins selection. GMs all have plenty of regrets on drafts. Neil has really been a decent drafter overall. Collins has a blend of physical abilities and skills that gave him real potential. We were not a contender in 2017 so we didn't have an immediate need for a contributor as dire as now. Now we have a 30 year old declining star so we need more urgent help.

Now if we give Collins a $50 million extension I'll be furious. That has been Neil's problem.
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The issue I have with the pick is that Olshey himself stated that he saw him play one game and that was all he needed to see. And it couldn’t have been much playing time he saw because Zach didn’t even start for Gonzaga that season.

This was pure hubris and a classic case of I’m smarter than the rest of the room.
 
OneSport3 said:
The issue I have with the pick is that Olshey himself stated that he saw him play one game and that was all he needed to see. And it couldn’t have been much playing time he saw because Zach didn’t even start for Gonzaga that season.

This was pure hubris and a classic case of I’m smarter than the rest of the room.
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So would it be fine if he said some type of quote like that on Lillard?

I really could care less what a GM says on his selection process to the media, it's all a poker game, half truths, and or Blazers PR.

I care what his actions are. Neil draft record is pretty good. He really screws up with extensions and larger $ free agents.
 
People often forget about this disaster while giving him credit for Trent and Connaughton.
 
Could have had john collins, anunoby and hart or kuzma. Instead,.zach and Caleb. Ugh
 
damianlillard said:
The sad part was that Swanigan had no physical tool, like none at all to be a nba player. And his skills aren’t exactly impressive either so he was never gonna a nba player
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Swanigan was a good rebounder, a skill which is supposed to translate - and had a good offensive game which if it translated, would have been fantastic. Basically, they looked at him as a zbo type of guy. That late in the draft, that's a reasonable risk.
 
OneSport3 said:
because he saw him play one game and that was all he needed to see:

#13 Donovan Mitchell
#14 Bam Adebayo
#19 John Collins
#23 OG Anunoby

Thanks Neil
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You understate it. Olshey was so hot on Zach Collins that he traded #15 (available: John Collins, plus the players below) and #20 (available: OG Anunoby, Jarrett Allen, Terrance Ferguson, plus the players below) to take him at #10.

Bonus: Then he drafted Swanigan with a separate #26 pick (available: Kyle Kuzma, Derrick White, Josh Hart, Dillon Brooks).

We could have had three stars, not zero.

I can't find fault for his #2 pick that year, because he had none. He had already traded #45 (available: Dillon Brooks, Monte Morris), with 2015 #37 (available: Josh Richardson, Norman Powell, Richaun Holmes) for...wait for it...Thomas Robinson.

SharpesTriumph said:
So would it be fine if he said some type of quote like that on Lillard?...Neil draft record is pretty good.
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Nope.
 
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OneSport3 said:
because he saw him play one game and that was all he needed to see:

#13 Donovan Mitchell
#14 Bam Adebayo
#19 John Collins
#23 OG Anunoby

Thanks Neil
Click to expand...
The thing is the only guy I had rated as something more than a long shot out of that group was Bam.
 
Way too soon to write Collins off, or wish that we had taken someone else. His performance this season is a non factor in my assessment of his potential. He didn’t have any chance to build momentum this season because of injuries, and momentum is an important thing to have as his career progresses.

He’s got the tools, just need him healthy and working hard. Collins will be the kind of player you’d see on a Championship roster making an legitimate impact for that direction.
 
TBpup said:
I'm more irritated with CJ over Giannis when the Blazers already had an undersized scoring guard. If only the Blazers would have listened to D69.....for about the last 15 years.
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If we could trade CJ - Giannis as both players are right now (as if we’d drafted Giannis and have our current roster swapping the two) we would be winning the championship this year 150%; probably next year too.

Dame
Giannis
Melo
Whiteside
Nurkic

I put Giannis at the 2 because he’s more of a ball handler than Melo. That lineup has so much length/defensive potential.

Best S5 in the NBA no Contest.
 
Who can forget that Olshey was so hot on Swanigan, he promised him that he'd draft him with #26 if available. I have never understood why GMs do this. A promise might make sense to get an early #1 pick to skip tryouts with other teams, so that he drops in the draft to you. But it makes no sense in less competitive situations like #26.
 
And we should have known that Oden would blow out his knee, and that MJ was going to be the greatest player ever.

I find this sort on Monday morning quarterbacking total B.S., designed to make you feel holier-than-thou. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. 14 GMs passed on Giannis. 5 passed on Dame.
 
Stevenson said:
And we should have known that Oden would blow out his knee, and that MJ was going to be the greatest player ever.

I find this sort on Monday morning quarterbacking total B.S., designed to make you feel holier-than-thou. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. 14 GMs passed on Giannis. 5 passed on Dame.
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Much like the legal system making a mountain out of a molehill, with trivial "crimes."
 
Collins has zero offensiv game, and he's a vastly overrated defender by Blazers fans. He fouls like crazy. Swanigan will be out of the league after this season. The 2017 draft had potential and Neil fucked it up completely
 
Labinot41 said:
Collins has zero offensive game
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But, but Olshey, Stotts, and this board say that Collins should shoot all the time from the corner. He just needs time to develop his great invisible shooting skill.

Despite having that bum Ed Davis, we needed height badly. So after Collins had played all of 1045 foul-filled rookie minutes looking like a fool, Olshey ran as fast as he could to give away our #4 PER player, Ed Davis (who if you check it, fell outside our full-season top-5 PER, after Collins was given Davis' minutes to "develop" midseason). Earlier in the season, people posted in awe, "Davis is going to get PAID. Can we afford him?" After Olshey dumped him, Davis got paid only about the same as Collins, yet some on the board excused Olshey as just saving money.

Everyone except Olshey greatly valued Ed Davis. But you see, Davis wasn't a shooter, and Collins had such great shooting potential. Of course, keeping both was out of the question.

I posted that Collins in 3-5 years would be where Davis was right then--if he was lucky. It was a shock. Local media reporters acted startled, too. Our weakness was at Forward, and we desperately needed any contributing big man we had. But Olshey values only guards.

Here's a recent Wizenheimer post about Nurkic nowadays getting false credit for Ed Davis' defense that season.

http://www.sportstwo.com/posts/4992802/
 
OneSport3 said:
because he saw him play one game and that was all he needed to see:

#13 Donovan Mitchell
#14 Bam Adebayo
#19 John Collins
#23 OG Anunoby

Thanks Neil
Click to expand...

And in the same draft he picked Swanigan when there were guys on the table who were at least useful NBA players.

Blazers hit with 2 older players, but which of their "project" picks have panned out?
 
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I'm reading Neil Olshey is decent at drafting. You'll find a fairly healthy portion of fans who find that debatable. But, let's say he is. I'd contend you can't be a successful GM in Portland without being one of the better drafting teams in the league (unless you're Trader Bob and I'm not sure he could duplicate his past efforts today). I'd agree there's a certain amount of luck involved with drafting, but it's well known in all sports, to increase your odds you procure more selections. Olshey values 2nd rounders as trade chips first, instead of a bona fide way to build depth and develop potential foundation pieces. In 3 of his 8 years here, we didn't even have a single selection, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's soon to be 4 seasons.
 
While I have been complaining about Olshey for years, I will say this much: the only one that's a real disappointment is Adebayo, and it's possible that a large part of the reason he's so good now is because of the culture in Miami, and if we'd drafted him he wouldn't be as good now.

Of course, that's another reason to criticize the front office...
 
Stevenson said:
And we should have known that Oden would blow out his knee, and that MJ was going to be the greatest player ever.

I find this sort on Monday morning quarterbacking total B.S., designed to make you feel holier-than-thou. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. 14 GMs passed on Giannis. 5 passed on Dame.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Now did all of these posters state the same clear objection immediagely after the draft? If so they deserve credit for being right this time.

But 3 years later saying coulda shoulda with a draft is a weak criticism. Out of the top 12 selections only 2 are clearly superior to Collins IMO. Most GMs screwed up in this draft.

The best GMs don't take the optimal player in the draft. Good GMs do hit rotational players more often than average of those draft positions, and I believe Neil falls in that group.
 
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