Haynes: Nolan Smith hears you...

[Fez Hammersticks]

Portland Trail Blazers guard, Nolan Smith, hears the talk, but at the same time, he’s not paying attention to it. Sure, he would have loved to have had a more productive rookie season, but things don’t always go as planned.

The Trail Blazers selected Smith with the 21st pick in the 2011 NBA draft when many expected the Trail Blazers to select Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried. The Denver Nuggets picked up Faried at No. 22.

Faried's breakout season opened the door for criticism directed towards the Trail Blazers' way. Many have said it was a mistake passing over Faried to draft Smith.

Smith just thinks it was a matter of an opportunity.

"I don't listen to all of that stuff," Smith told CSNNW.com. "I'm proud of what Kenneth accomplished, but you can't look at his situation and compare it to mine. If he was drafted here (in Portland), he probably wouldn't have got the opportunity to play behind our big man right away. I'm one of his biggest supporters and I couldn't be happier for him."

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[VanillaGorilla]

Umm Faried certainly would have played more than Smith and contributed a hell of a lot more.. Pointless article if you ask me.

 

[MickZagger]

Smith got plenty of opportunity. He did squat with it. I didn't see any kind of potential out of him either.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Smith got plenty of opportunity. He did squat with it. I didn't see any kind of potential out of him either.

This.

If the stars align just so, maybe he can be a Mario Chalmers type.

But with what he did with his minutes, a 4-year player at Duke, his ceiling looks pretty dang low.

Picking that late in the draft and as obvious as it was (BPA) this falls on the shoulders of the scouts and management, not Nolan.

 

[Ed O]

What else is Nolan supposed to say? He can't mail in his career just yet

I (as did so many others here) thought he was a terrible pick on draft night and although I hope he still proves me/us wrong, I just don't see it happening.

Ed O.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

What else is Nolan supposed to say? He can't mail in his career just yet

I (as did so many others here) thought he was a terrible pick on draft night and although I hope he still proves me/us wrong, I just don't see it happening.

Ed O.

I don't think anyone expected Smith to say anything different, the thing I don't get is why Haynes decided to ask him..

 

[RayDavies]

Haynes seems like an absolute Hack-asaurus Rex

 

[RR7]

I don't think anyone expected Smith to say anything different, the thing I don't get is why Haynes decided to ask him..

Probably because when there is nothing to report, people used to complain about the Oregonian writers not interviewing players, and instead kind of going silent in the offseason. So he's getting in touch with players, perhaps. And Nolan happened to be in town.

 

[Ed O]

I don't think anyone expected Smith to say anything different, the thing I don't get is why Haynes decided to ask him..

Yep. Agreed.

Ed O.

 

[julius]

I don't think anyone expected Smith to say anything different, the thing I don't get is why Haynes decided to ask him..

Are you really surprised that that guy asked the question? It's not like we're talking about Edward R Murrow or something. He's a journalist in the same sense that John Canzano has talent for radio.

 

[Sinobas]

What gets to me is when the fans are correct and the guys that are paid to do the job blow it. Pretty much every Blazer fan that knew the prospects wanted Faried, and we know Nolan Smith would suck.

 

[<-=*PdX*=->]

Nolan Smith is horse shite. We all knew this predraft and we all wanted Faried which is why we all have been waiting for a actual GM.

 

[Draco]

What gets to me is when the fans are correct and the guys that are paid to do the job blow it. Pretty much every Blazer fan that knew the prospects wanted Faried, and we know Nolan Smith would suck.

Yes totally agree. We've had a number of terrible drafts the last 8 years. If the Blazers fired the entire college scouting department, cancelled all interviews and workouts; then just brought in a monkey from the zoo to run the team using draftexpress pre-draft rankings we would've been much more successful.

 

[julius]

Does Smith suck in the same way Luke Babbitt was a waste of a roster spot and would never amount to a hill of beans?

Because if we're going to give fans credit on Faried, let's also point out we are wrong about players far more often than we are correct.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Considering he was a rookie I wasn't expecting much. He deserves 2 or 3 years before I throw him under the bus.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Smith learned from Nate, Felton and Crawford. I will give him a pass........Although Faried was obviously better

 

[Blaze01]

Does Smith suck in the same way Luke Babbitt was a waste of a roster spot and would never amount to a hill of beans?

Because if we're going to give fans credit on Faried, let's also point out we are wrong about players far more often than we are correct.

Has this situation changed at all? So Babbitt showed that he was able to hit a few shots when the team went into garbabe time mode for the rest of the season...that suddenly makes him what for POR next year? Still an end of the bench scrub? Maybe a situational shooter type of player going forward in very limited (if any) minutes? Of course when he got near the chance to qualify for 3pt FG he folded up like a cheap suit and suddenly couldn't hit the ocean from a boat....IF POR selects a SF in the draft or brings Claver over, we may nveer see Babbit again....

Smith sucks....So does Babbitt....So did Armon & E-Will can't stay healthy....EPIC 2 drafts run by head scout Chad Buchanan....man, he can pick talent...