Olshey interview at draft combine

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I'm sure it's no coincidence that Olshey said this to national media guys, not our local goons.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Yeah, I mostly agree with that. Like I said before though the future use of the TPE and #24 pick still gives Olshey a chance to atone for that mistake if he does something good with one or both of them. Without them we'd be going into the off season with Mirotic added to the roster and more positive momentum but just the tax-MLE that we already have. As for the free agent thing, a lot of teams are in a tough spot financially similar to us last summer where if they want to stay under the tax line they might not use their MLE. I think there are just too many free agents for the money that is out there so we should be able to find someone decent who will play next year for that.

Tobias Harris would be sweet!

 

[Scalma]

Which one of those guys would you target in a hypothetical trade for 3, 4, or 5?

I’d take either. Porter probably fills more of a need but outside of Doncic I think Bamba is the best prospect. So probably Bamba. Bring back Nurk. Bamba and Collins develop on their rookie scale contracts. Then make a decision in a couple of years. I also wouldn’t be surprised if free agents this year took two year deals instead of four. There’s gonna be a lot of money available in the summer of 2020.

PF: Aminu, Collins
C: Nurkic, Bamba

 

[dviss1]

Where's the whole interview?

 

[hoopsjock]

I’d take either. Porter probably fills more of a need but outside of Doncic I think Bamba is the best prospect. So probably Bamba. Bring back Nurk. Bamba and Collins develop on their rookie scale contracts. Then make a decision in a couple of years. I also wouldn’t be surprised if free agents this year took two year deals instead of four. There’s gonna be a lot of money available in the summer of 2020.

PF: Aminu, Collins
C: Nurkic, Bamba

Man, it's fun to dream about a Collins/Bamba defensive front line. I have a feeling after those measurements he's gonna go #3. If we could pick up Khyri Thomas later as an eventual CJ replacement we'd have an incredible amount of defensive potential.

 

[illmatic99]

Where's the whole interview?

http://www.nba.com/blazers/forwardc...alks-draft-and-shifting-focus-draft-combine-0

 

[Chris Craig]

We didn't have a major injury though and adding Mirotic to our roster would've solidified are positioning as at least the 6th seed. Even with adding Mirotic most people nationally expected them to fall out of the playoff race with 10 teams all looking playoff worthy. The difference between the 8th seed and the 9th seed in the West in terms of playoff positioning ended up being 14th vs 19th. That may not seem like a huge difference but like I said they would've been well below the salary floor without taking back a contract. You're right though, we probably refused to do it without them taking back a package of Leonard and Vonleh (or something like that) which would've meant more long term money or refuse to give up a 1st rounder if we were using the TPE.

The question becomes, would making the 2nd round have been worth going into the tax and losing our 1st round pick to have Mirotic for one more year? The quick answer is probably yes but the longer answer is yet to be determined because if the draft pick turns into a good prospect or we use the TPE for something else then we have to weigh those against what Mirotic would've provided.

I'd have offered Leonard, Vonleh, 1st rnd pick and the tpe for Mirotic.

 

[hoopsjock]

I'd have offered Leonard, Vonleh, 1st rnd pick and the tpe for Mirotic.

Huh? That doesn't make sense. The TPE can't be combined with other salaries. We'd have to trade them Leonard, Vonleh, and a 1st which is worse than the deal they took from NoLa or the TPE and a 1st. The trade exception isn't something you can just give another team, the unbalanced trade would create a new one for them though.

 

[jlprk]

Good thread. Once Olshey admits that jlprk was right, his board conformist slaves admit it, too. Next time, be ahead of the curve a couple of years like me, and criticize him while he's doing nothing, not afterward.

 

[Scalma]

So assuming Neil will be targeting vets this offseason, let’s hear some names.

Imagine if we did something like the griffin trade, and then got a first round pick back by using the TPE.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

So assuming Neil will be targeting vets this offseason, let’s hear some names.

Imagine if we did something like the griffin trade, and then got a first round pick back by using the TPE.

TPE Avery Bradley
mini-mle or whatever Harrell

 

[Scalma]

TPE Avery Bradley
mini-mle or whatever Harrell

Isn’t Bradley a FA?

 

[tykendo]

That tells me he would rather go all in on McLillard and trade a potential stud in Collins for veterans than trade CJ and try to get a more balanced roster

even if it does, he atleast sees the need to ADD to the roster, some playoff ready veterans, and continue developing the youthful roster. Impatience with this teams best players is a downfall. Continue to develop these guys. THEY AIN'T OLD.

 

[tykendo]

Who the hell is McLillard anyways? Is that like Bronkichek, that big cheater in New England.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Isn’t Bradley a FA?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/LAC.html
seems to indicate that he is.

 

[riverman]

his board conformist slaves admit it, too.

He's a Scientologist?

 

[JDC]

Seeing a lot of Khyri Thomas hype.

Smooth, disciplined defender and measured really well, but not sure he has the enough athleticism to translate most of his college D or a complete enough offensive game to be more than a 4th guard. Kinda reminds me of a smaller Martell Webster. Seems more of a fit for a team who has a wing initiator too.

 

[hoopsjock]

Seeing a lot of Khyri Thomas hype.

Smooth, disciplined defender and measured really well, but not sure he has the enough athleticism to translate most of his college D or a complete enough offensive game to be more than a 4th guard. Kinda reminds me of a smaller Martell Webster. Seems more of a fit for a team who has a wing initiator too.

It's not like he played against bad competition or something. He plays in the Big East and won DPOY in the conference both years. Defense is more about effort and being smart with positioning/reads than it is pure athleticism. I think he's a perfect 3rd guard and could potentially be more if he does learn how to create better.

 

[JDC]

It's not like he played against bad competition or something. He plays in the Big East and won DPOY in the conference both years. Defense is more about effort and being smart with positioning/reads than it is pure athleticism. I think he's a perfect 3rd guard and could potentially be more if he does learn how to create better.

All fair points. Just think we'd be better of seeing what the market is for Wade Baldwin and swinging for the fences a bit more in the draft (Huerter/McDaniels).

 

[hoopsjock]

All fair points. Just think we'd be better of seeing what the market is for Wade Baldwin and swinging for the fences a bit more in the draft (Huerter/McDaniels).

I'm actually envisioning Baldwin and Thomas being a freaking great tandem off the bench. Baldwin can penetrate and kick out to Thomas for open 3's. On defense it wouldn't get much better than those two locking down opposing back courts (if Baldwin learns to stay out of foul trouble).

 

[BonesJones]

Seeing a lot of Khyri Thomas hype.

Smooth, disciplined defender and measured really well, but not sure he has the enough athleticism to translate most of his college D or a complete enough offensive game to be more than a 4th guard. Kinda reminds me of a smaller Martell Webster. Seems more of a fit for a team who has a wing initiator too.

So you view Kevin Huerter as having defensive potential, but Khyri Thomas' defense might not translate?...

He reminds me of a slightly smaller Wesley Matthews. Wes had the same issues as a prospect and it let to him getting undrafted. Wes wasn't athletic, but he defended with effort, heart, strength, and smarts.. Thomas reminds me of him on that end. Matthews didn't have much offensive game outside of jumpsuits and the occasional drive.. I don't see any reason Thomas couldn't do what Wes did in the offensive end.

 

[jlprk]

Who the hell is McLillard anyways? Is that like Bronkichek, that big cheater in New England.

This board seems to think Baldillard is up to the job.

 

[tester551]

All fair points. Just think we'd be better of seeing what the market is for Wade Baldwin and swinging for the fences a bit more in the draft (Huerter/McDaniels).

You're the only other person who I've seen suggest targeting McDaniels.
I really hope he stays in & Portland drafts him

 

[JDC]

So you view Kevin Huerter as having defensive potential, but Khyri Thomas' defense might not translate?...

He reminds me of a slightly smaller Wesley Matthews. Wes had the same issues as a prospect and it let to him getting undrafted. Wes wasn't athletic, but he defended with effort, heart, strength, and smarts.. Thomas reminds me of him on that end. Matthews didn't have much offensive game outside of jumpsuits and the occasional drive.. I don't see any reason Thomas couldn't do what Wes did in the offensive end.

Both have defensive potential. In terms of DRPM, I see both topping out as net neutral defenders for SG's which is pretty good, but Khyri's D is much more important towards whether he thrives at the NBA level since I don't think he brings the same potential offensive value Huerter does.

And I know you think Huerter is a slow lateral athlete but I think he moves better than Khryi, who I view as having more NBA SF level athleticism (hence the Martell Webster comp).

 

[JDC]

You're the only other person who I've seen suggest targeting McDaniels.
I really hope he stays in & Portland drafts him

That kid has freaky movement skills. He's not as long, but he reminded a lot of KD in this area. Was watching his game vs Wyoming back and he hit on off the bounce J moving to his left that looked eerily similar.

Here it is:



Needs to get stronger and played a pretty limited role for SDSU, but like he's said in interviews, I think there's a lot more to his game than he was able to show in college.

 

[Scalma]

You're the only other person who I've seen suggest targeting McDaniels.
I really hope he stays in & Portland drafts him

I mentioned mcdaniels before, just cuz I’ve seen him play in person living in SD. He’s going to need to develop physically but the tools are fun.

 

[BonesJones]

Both have defensive potential. In terms of DRPM, I see both topping out as net neutral defenders for SG's which is pretty good, but Khyri's D is much more important towards whether he thrives at the NBA level since I don't think he brings the same potential offensive value Huerter does.

And I know you think Huerter is a slow lateral athlete but I think he moves better than Khryi, who I view as having more NBA SF level athleticism (hence the Martell Webster comp).

They're nothing close defensively. You know who Khyris defense reminds me of? Kadeem Allens. But you were super high on his defense...

 

[JDC]

They're nothing close defensively. You know who Khyris defense reminds me of? Kadeem Allens. But you were super high on his defense...

Kadeem is a better athlete and was a better college defender.

 

[BonesJones]

Kadeem is a better athlete and was a better college defender.

False.

 

[JDC]

False.

Kadeem posted a better standing vert, max vert, shuttle run, and 3/4" sprint than Khyri at their respective combines plus a higher ft rate, blk rate and defensive box plus minus during college.

I'd I've watched a lot of both and never have I seen Khyri display this level of athleticism...