Merged: The Draft Thread For Stuff About The Draft Including Thoughts About The Draft

[tester551]

I'm hoping Charlotte wins & Orlando with the 2nd pick, & Suns with 3rd.

 

[JDC]

My hope is Philly somehow ends up with 2 top 4 picks and picks Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson. Ball / SG / Jackson / Simmons / Embiid would be a fascinating core moving forward, if healthy. Probably would need an elite shooter at that sg spot.

Or imagine if they get Lowry to sign with them...that could be nasty.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Draft Lottery is tonight. If Denver gets lucky tonight and gets a better than expected pick I am gonna be pissed off because I'll assume that could of been us. But getting swept by the Warriors sure was fun and helped our players develop!

 

[Sarni]

Draft Lottery is tonight. If Denver gets lucky tonight and gets a better than expected pick I am gonna be pissed off because I'll assume that could of been us. But getting swept by the Warriors sure was fun and helped our players develop!

It doesn't really work like that. Maybe if we tanked we'd have been below Denver but also below another team, and it wouldn't have been us. Feck knows. They have about 1% chance of landing top pick and maybe 3% to land a top 3. Barring that, they will be no. 13.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

It doesn't really work like that. Maybe if we tanked we'd have been below Denver but also below another team, and it wouldn't have been us. Feck knows. They have about 1% chance of landing top pick and maybe 3% to land a top 3. Barring that, they will be no. 13.

I was hoping we'd finish 9th, like Denver did. So if Denver moves up, then I'm going to assume that could of been us.

 

[Blazinaway]

Jonah Bolden is a versatile, mostly unknown Aussie PF that looks interesting, he left UCLA to plat in Serbia in a pro league. Looks like a new NBA stretch 4 type who can shoot well and has other skills, could be a good fit next to Nurk. Hers is a link to a thread with some good video on him. He's 6'10 with a 7'4" wingspan. Be interesting to see if the Blazers work him out

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/2017-draft-sleepers.281847/page-2

 

[Sarni]

My two perfect draft ideas:

Idea 1: We somehow get Zach Collins at #15, he develops like people think he will and becomes a monster of a power forward who can stretch the floor, rebound and defend. We take Justin Jackson who falls to #20 and he takes our small forward position. Harry Giles falls to #26 and his knees are actually fine, he becomes our PF/C combo and is a star he was supposed to be.

Idea 2: We take Anonuby at #15, he learns to shoot slightly better and keeps on being good defensively. We get Isaiah Hartenstein at #20, he develops into a fine stretch forward who knocks threes and rebounds. We take Ike Anigbogu at #26, he bulks up even more and is a monster of a center.

A combination of Ferguson, Patton/Allen and Leaf would also be nice.

 

[BBert]

I don't get it.

Was the Blazers management, after the Nurkic trade, supposed to tell the coaches and players to lose games on purpose? Should the Blazers have traded for Nurk and then parked him on the bench, the way he was treated in Denver, in order to keep from winning games? Were the Blazers supposed to hang onto Plumlee, and not trade for Nurkic, so they could MAYBE move up in the lottery?

None of those options make sense to me. The Blazers traded for a player who made the team better. It was a good trade. As a result, they moved maybe 5 places down in the draft order. It's a good trade-off. Complaining that the team didn't tank hard enough is nonsensical.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Jonah Bolden is a versatile, mostly unknown Aussie PF that looks interesting, he left UCLA to plat in Serbia in a pro league. Looks like a new NBA stretch 4 type who can shoot well and has other skills, could be a good fit next to Nurk. Hers is a link to a thread with some good video on him. He's 6'10 with a 7'4" wingspan. Be interesting to see if the Blazers work him out

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/2017-draft-sleepers.281847/page-2

He is an interesting prospect. Shot 41% on threes in the Adriatic league and over 7 rebounds in about 25 minutes a game. Seems to be pretty good defender in the videos.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jonah-Bolden-72870/

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I don't get it.

Was the Blazers management, after the Nurkic trade, supposed to tell the coaches and players to lose games on purpose? Should the Blazers have traded for Nurk and then parked him on the bench, the way he was treated in Denver, in order to keep from winning games? Were the Blazers supposed to hang onto Plumlee, and not trade for Nurkic, so they could MAYBE (slim chance) move up in the lottery?

None of those options make sense to me. The Blazers traded for a player who made the team better. It was a good trade. As a result, they moved maybe 5 places down in the draft order. It's a good trade-off. Complaining that the team didn't tank hard enough is nonsensical.

I don't think any of the tankers (myself being one) were against the Nurkic trade. And I think a lot of us left the tank mode after he started doing so well. BUT, when he got injured, that was when we wished the Blazers had done everything possible to lose those last few games, get us into the lottery. Sure it would have only made one or two places difference in our top pick and a very small chance of getting a top 3, but small chance is better than none.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I don't think any of the tankers (myself being one) were against the Nurkic trade. And I think a lot of us left the tank mode after he started doing so well. BUT, when he got injured, that was when we wished the Blazers had done everything possible to lose those last few games, get us into the lottery. Sure it would have only made one or two places difference in our top pick and a very small chance of getting a top 3, but small chance is better than none. And on the Cleveland pick we would not have been in a tie breaker, we would have had 23 for sure, that's three spots higher, 19 for sure on the Memphis pick.

+1

 

[Trackjack]

He diffently has a great stroke and he should get drafted this year. Yes Olshey should bring him in and take a look. Offensely he fits Stotts system and might be good pick at 26 for us. I didn't see enough defense from him to say anything about that at this time. But offensely he has very good game.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

And on the Cleveland pick we would not have been in a tie breaker, we would have had 23 for sure, that's three spots higher, 19 for sure on the Memphis pick.

Portland losing more games in April would have had no impact on the eventual position of the Cleveland or Memphis picks.

 

[Orion Bailey]

I don't think any of the tankers (myself being one) were against the Nurkic trade. And I think a lot of us left the tank mode after he started doing so well. BUT, when he got injured, that was when we wished the Blazers had done everything possible to lose those last few games, get us into the lottery. Sure it would have only made one or two places difference in our top pick and a very small chance of getting a top 3, but small chance is better than none. And on the Cleveland pick we would not have been in a tie breaker, we would have had 23 for sure, that's three spots higher, 19 for sure on the Memphis pick.

Huh? How does how we finish affect the draft position of the Memphis and Cleveland picks?

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Oh ye

Huh? How does how we finish affect the draft position of the Memphis and Cleveland picks?

oh yeh, I guess I am a little delirious today.

 

[Blazinaway]

be nice if we could talk more about the future (draft picks) then keep regurgitating the past, sheesh

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Portland losing more games in April would have had no impact on the eventual position of the Cleveland or Memphis picks.

Maybe it would have changed our luck?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Holy crap! Yeah, this is just a pre-draft workout against tiny dudes, but to see a dude at 6'10", 240 with a 7'6" wingspan handle the ball like Thomas Bryant does in this video...man, I could definitely see this dude as our starting PF. Could be a steal at 26.

 

[Sarni]

How good is TJ Leaf? I have seen him all over the place in mock drafts, some even mentioning him in the lottery. It seems like he is a very good shooter, quite strong, how is he at rebounding and defence?

Power forward is the position I am most excited about because of how many good prospects there are in the draft and how much we need improvement in that position. Small forward also but I think our only two choice there are Anonuby and Jackson and we will probably take whichever of them is available at 15 or 20. I guess if OG is there at 15 and Z. Collins is not, we take him. If Z. Collins is there, we take him. If Anonuby is still there at 20 (he won't be), we take him, and if not we take Jackson - unless he's also gone, at which point it's Ferguson or another big.

 

[HailBlazers]

Manu Ginobili.

BNM

Yea but his career was so short.

 

[Blazinaway]

Holy crap! Yeah, this is just a pre-draft workout against tiny dudes, but to see a dude at 6'10", 240 with a 7'6" wingspan handle the ball like Thomas Bryant does in this video...man, I could definitely see this dude as our starting PF. Could be a steal at 26.

out of all the bigs he had some of the best agility/sprint times as well

 

[Minstrel]

BUT, when he got injured, that was when we wished the Blazers had done everything possible to lose those last few games, get us into the lottery.

Can you explain what that means, though? Tell the players to stop trying? Bench Lillard and McCollum against their wills? Would completely destroying credibility of the franchise with the players be worth that small gain in draft capital? Or are there other things the Blazers could have done to lose those last few games that I'm missing?

 

[THE HCP]

Fueled a burning competitive desire among the players to never lose another playoff series? Acclimated the players to the intensity of playoff competition? Exposed individual and team weaknesses, which could lead to improvements in individual performance and team composition? Improved the bank account of some of the team support personnel?

Bro, you've watched too many Disney sports movies.

 

[THE HCP]

I don't think any of the tankers (myself being one) were against the Nurkic trade. And I think a lot of us left the tank mode after he started doing so well. BUT, when he got injured, that was when we wished the Blazers had done everything possible to lose those last few games, get us into the lottery. Sure it would have only made one or two places difference in our top pick and a very small chance of getting a top 3, but small chance is better than none. And on the Cleveland pick we would not have been in a tie breaker, we would have had 23 for sure, that's three spots higher, 19 for sure on the Memphis pick.

See this kid knows what he's typing about it. Well done rookie.

 

[Trackjack]

Holy crap! Yeah, this is just a pre-draft workout against tiny dudes, but to see a dude at 6'10", 240 with a 7'6" wingspan handle the ball like Thomas Bryant does in this video...man, I could definitely see this dude as our starting PF. Could be a steal at 26.

I watch him during the season and I wasn't really impress. Can he get better sure but I think there better bigs in draft then him.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

How good is TJ Leaf? I have seen him all over the place in mock drafts, some even mentioning him in the lottery. It seems like he is a very good shooter, quite strong, how is he at rebounding and defence?

Everything I've seen indicates that he's slow laterally and not particularly strong on the interior. Ryan Anderson is the comp I've seen the most. I basically picture a rich man's Jake Layman. Leaf isn't someone a team drafts for rebounding and defense, but for perimeter shooting and passing.

Power forward is the position I am most excited about because of how many good prospects there are in the draft and how much we need improvement in that position. Small forward also but I think our only two choice there are Anonuby and Jackson and we will probably take whichever of them is available at 15 or 20. I guess if OG is there at 15 and Z. Collins is not, we take him. If Z. Collins is there, we take him. If Anonuby is still there at 20 (he won't be), we take him, and if not we take Jackson - unless he's also gone, at which point it's Ferguson or another big.

I hear you about the forward spots, and it's crazy, but I'm generally more interested in the 2nd round prospects than most of the forwards projected in the first. I've been all aboard the Justin Jackson bandwagon, primarily due to his offensive versatility, but lately I've started to become more concerned about his strength/physicality. Is the fact that at 22 he's still just 200 lbs an indicator that he's always going to be a skinny kid, and if so, is that going to impact his ability to be effective defensively? Contrast with OG who's basically an inch shorter and outweighs him by 30 lbs. But then again, he's coming off an ACL tear, so then I question if his elite physical tools are actually worth the risk.

And then, I see that my NCAA-first-round mancrush Semi Ojeleye has dropped to 41 on the DE mock, but despite measuring even smaller than OG, he weighed out at 235 with a 40"+ vert and elite agility. I look at him and see Andre Iguodala. And so I think, "OK--if we don't get Jackson or Anunoby at 15, but we get Ojeleye later, are we worse off?"

By the same token, I see dudes like Collins (John), Rabb, Hartenstein, Leaf, and Lydon all projected in our pick range between 15-26, but I'd rather have several of the PFs projected later like Wilson, Bell, Motley, or the afore-mentioned Thomas Bryant.

I'm sure time will prove me wrong, but at the moment, I just don't see it.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I keep hearing things like elite NBA defender who can guard 5 positions in regards to Bell. This is from people who have actual NBA jobs scouting kids. Someone lije that can help a franchise win in the playoffs.

Attitude, hustle, toughness.

 

[Boob-No-More]

See this kid knows what he's typing about it. Well done rookie.

Does he? He thinks the Blazers losing more games would have improved the picks we got from MEM and CL. That is absolutely incorrect.

Nurk's injury caused him to miss the last 7 regular season games. In the final two games, we did exactly what the pro-losers wanted us to do. We sat Dame and C.J., rested other players and started Napier, Connaughton and Meyers Leonard.

So, that leaves 5 games where we weren't in active tank mode. In those 5 games we went 3-2, which included wins over PHO and MIN. Even if we had been actively tanking there is no guarantee we'd lose both of those games. PHO was already tanking hard with a starting lineup that was younger than half the teams in the NCAA Final Four.

But ok, let's pretend we could have tanked harder and lost all three of those games. 3 fewer wins would have moved us from the No. 15 position to the No. 13 position. Is moving up two whole spots really wroth sending the message to your players that you don't think they are good enough to win, so we should lose on purpose? I think C.J. said it best when he said (paraphrased) tanking is management's way of telling you they are looking to draft your replacement. Not exactly a real morale building message.

Do you really want to risk alienating your best players by telling them you want to miss the playoffs on purpose so you can move up two spots in the draft? Clearly the players wanted to make the playoffs. Do you discount what they want and tell them losing on purpose is more important to you than making the playoffs? I don't recall a single player saying they'd prefer to miss the playoffs. Every quote I saw down the stretch was about turning their season around and making the playoffs. Sure, we could have been picking two spots higher, but I also think missing the playoffs would have demotivated the players we care most about.

They now have a glimpse of how good they can be (14-6), with Nurk with quality wins over several very good teams (OKC twice, SAS, UTA, HOU, etc.). I think that 20-game stretch will provide motivation for these guys going forward. I think it will motivate fringe guys, who may be on the trade bubble to work hard this summer to improve their games rather than be sent to basketball purgatory in SAC or BRK. Everybody loves winning and it's been said that winning cures all problems. If these guys think next season can be anything like that 20 game stretch with Nurk, they will want to be part of it. When was the last time somebody wanted to be part of a losing team. And honestly, do you really want players on your roster who are content with losing? I know I don't.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

I keep hearing things like elite NBA defender who can guard 5 positions in regards to Bell. This is from people who have actual NBA jobs scouting kids. Someone lije that can help a franchise win in the playoffs.

Attitude, hustle, toughness.

I've really come around on Bell. He's done great at the combine. His speed and quickness for a player his size is truly elite and his motor is unquestioned. Defense and rebounding stills wins games, especially in the playoffs. Even if he just comes off the bench for 20 minutes of all out hustle and lock down defense, he'd be a major addition to our roster. Even tough he's projected to go lower, I'd be happy to take him at 26.

BNM

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Does he? He thinks the Blazers losing more games would have improved the picks we got from MEM and CL. That is absolutely incorrect.


BNM

That has already been pointed out by others and I also acknowledged my error myself, Mr. BNB, but thanks for pointing it out again.