Pre-Draft Workouts

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Looking these guys up, I was hoping that if they were projected early second round, indicating Blazers might be trying to obtain a pick there. Almanza seems to be the only one projected there, although Mgbako was once considered a possible lotto pick before they realized he wasn't that good. the rest of the guys might go undrafted.
Here is a little about Almanza, who is almost 20, 6'10", 211 lbs.
Almansa is an incredibly productive and efficient player who might not be the flashiest player around but really gets it done on the court.

He’s an interior focused big man who loves to mix it up in the paint, plays with a lot of energy and effort and contributes in all aspects of the game.

Almansa has great hands, catching everything thrown his way and doing a great job of securing rebounds. He also has a really good feel for cutting and getting himself into position for layups, post scoring and positioning for rebounds. Has a natural feel for the game.

Moves very well up and down the court and is an overall plus athlete with agility, coordination and bounce.

Expanding his shooting range will be key to his success at the NBA level.
 
So... what happened to these? The only prospects we've worked out are second rounders at best - is this a sign that we're trading #11 or have there been unannounced workouts with lottery prospects?

Compare the lists:

2024 (first round prospects in bold):
  • Melvin Ajinça, Saint-Quentin (France)
  • RaeQuan Battle, West Virginia
  • Adem Bona, UCLA
  • Cam Christie, Minnesota
  • Donovan Clingan, UConn
  • Isaiah Crawford, Louisiana Tech
  • Yongxi Cui, Guangzhou (China)
  • Tristan da Silva, Colorado
  • Thierry Darlan, G League Ignite
  • Nikola Djurisic, KK Mega Basket (Serbia)
  • Ryan Dunn, Virginia
  • Zach Edey, Purdue
  • Quinn Ellis, Dolomiti Energia Trento (Italy)
  • Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State
  • Kyle Filipowski, Duke
  • Kyshawn George, Miami (Fla.)
  • Malik Hall, Michigan State
  • Ron Holland, G League Ignite
  • Oso Ighodaro, Marquette
  • Harrison Ingram, North Carolina
  • Daniss Jenkins, St. John’s (NY)
  • Keshad Johnson, Arizona
  • David Jones, Memphis
  • Dillon Jones, Weber State
  • Spencer Jones, Stanford
  • Arthur Kaluma, Kansas State
  • Alex Karaban, UConn
  • Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
  • Pelle Larsson, Arizona
  • Caleb Love, Arizona
  • Jared McCain, Duke
  • Igor Milicic, Charlotte
  • Yves Missi, Baylor
  • Ugonna Onyenso, Kentucky
  • Noah Penda, JA Vichy (France)
  • Quinten Post, Boston College
  • Will Richard, Florida
  • Tidjane Salaün, Cholet Basket (France)
  • Tyler Smith, G League Ignite
  • Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Memphis
  • Nikola Topić, Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
  • Armel Traoré, ADA Blois Basket (France)
  • Jaylon Tyson, Cal
  • Kel’el Ware, Indiana
  • Bryson Warren, Sioux Falls Skyforce (G League)
  • Cody Williams, Colorado
  • Jahmir Young, Maryland
2025:
  • Izan Almansa, Perth Wildcats (NBL)
  • John Blackwell, Wisconsin
  • Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
  • Jack Clark, VCU
  • Tae Davis, Notre Dame
  • Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota
  • Ben Henshall, Perth Wildcats (NBL)
  • Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana
  • Lachlan Olbrich, Illawarra Hawks (NBL)
  • Otega Oweh, Kentucky
  • Dink Pate, Mexico City Capitanes (G League)
  • Devon Pryor, Texas
 
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So... what happened to these? The only prospects we've worked out are second rounders at best - is this a sign that we're trading #11 or have there been unannounced workouts with lottery prospects?

For contrast, here's who worked out for us last year:
  • Melvin Ajinça, Saint-Quentin (France)
  • RaeQuan Battle, West Virginia
  • Adem Bona, UCLA
  • Cam Christie, Minnesota
  • Donovan Clingan, UConn
  • Isaiah Crawford, Louisiana Tech
  • Yongxi Cui, Guangzhou (China)
  • Tristan da Silva, Colorado
  • Thierry Darlan, G League Ignite
  • Nikola Djurisic, KK Mega Basket (Serbia)
  • Ryan Dunn, Virginia
  • Zach Edey, Purdue
  • Quinn Ellis, Dolomiti Energia Trento (Italy)
  • Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State
  • Kyle Filipowski, Duke
  • Kyshawn George, Miami (Fla.)
  • Malik Hall, Michigan State
  • Ron Holland, G League Ignite
  • Oso Ighodaro, Marquette
  • Harrison Ingram, North Carolina
  • Daniss Jenkins, St. John’s (NY)
  • Keshad Johnson, Arizona
  • David Jones, Memphis
  • Dillon Jones, Weber State
  • Spencer Jones, Stanford
  • Arthur Kaluma, Kansas State
  • Alex Karaban, UConn
  • Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
  • Pelle Larsson, Arizona
  • Caleb Love, Arizona
  • Jared McCain, Duke
  • Igor Milicic, Charlotte
  • Yves Missi, Baylor
  • Ugonna Onyenso, Kentucky
  • Noah Penda, JA Vichy (France)
  • Quinten Post, Boston College
  • Will Richard, Florida
  • Tidjane Salaün, Cholet Basket (France)
  • Tyler Smith, G League Ignite
  • Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Memphis
  • Nikola Topić, Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
  • Armel Traoré, ADA Blois Basket (France)
  • Jaylon Tyson, Cal
  • Kel’el Ware, Indiana
  • Bryson Warren, Sioux Falls Skyforce (G League)
  • Cody Williams, Colorado
  • Jahmir Young, Maryland
I don't think it means anything. I mean only eight or nine of those guys on that list were options #7.

We still have a long way to go...last year's first workout wasn't until May 23rd
 
I don't think it means anything. I mean only eight or nine of those guys on that list were options #7.

We still have a long way to go...last year's first workout wasn't until May 23rd
Right - but why the gap? Three workouts in quick succession and then a few weeks off?
 
Right - but why the gap? Three workouts in quick succession and then a few weeks off?
Who knows. These workouts were way earlier than usual and there just could have been some agent coordination that allowed them to get some in early.

But a lot of these guys are early entrants too, so my best guess is that they wanted their guys to get feedback early so they can more quickly make a decision on whether to keep their name in.

Of the college guys, only Jack Clark was an automatically eligible draft player.
 
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To secure Knueppel you’d have to target the #3 or
#4 picks.
Philly seems the most likely target for a trade. But what do we have that they'd want? I mean, I'm sure they'd be interested in Toumani or Deni, but I would be seriously pissed with THAT trade.
 
Philly aint trading that pick for anything less than Deni or Tou. Probably would want both.
 
No surprises for me here, but here are the early entrant withdrawals announced today (ESPN Rank)

Yaxel Lendeborg (26)
Alex Condon (31)
Milos Uzan (41)
Karter Knox (55)
PJ Haggerty (64)
MacKenzie Mgbako (NR)
 
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So little info out there about these guys, I suspect none may be second rounders either, maybe Caleb Love?
Yeah and I'd be surprised if Caleb gets drafted. Inefficient combo guards that are bad on defense are a tough sell.

ESPN has him ranked 82nd right now.
 
Top two names on list are intriguing and one would prolly mean the end of 2 of 3 players on the roster within a year ish

Jace drafted would mean Scoot , Ant and Sharpe -- 2 of those 3 would be gone -- period
 
Jace drafted would mean Scoot , Ant and Sharpe -- 2 of those 3 would be gone -- period

Why would 2 of them be gone if we added Jase? If we trade Ant like everyone seems to be pushing for, that is who he would replace.
He would be our backup PG.
 
Because we would be in the same spot of either Scoot or Sharpe getting shorted on minutes and both NEED 30 plus minutes a game and I think Jace is a player who needs to get 20 to 25 minutes a game. It could work for one season but that is why I say within a year so by the next offseason that prolly would not work cause it would be the same issue with Ant aka too many guards and not enough minutes.
 
Top two names on list are intriguing and one would prolly mean the end of 2 of 3 players on the roster within a year ish

Jace drafted would mean Scoot , Ant and Sharpe -- 2 of those 3 would be gone -- period
I actually think that if Ant is traded that Jace makes a ton of sense as a small, microwave, spark plug type of guard off of the bench playing behind Scoot and Shaedon. He's the perfect guy to play the role that Ant should have been playing and CJ should have been playing before that.
 
Because we would be in the same spot of either Scoot or Sharpe getting shorted on minutes and both NEED 30 plus minutes a game and I think Jace is a player who needs to get 20 to 25 minutes a game. It could work for one season but that is why I say within a year so by the next offseason that prolly would not work cause it would be the same issue with Ant aka too many guards and not enough minutes.
They don't have to be shorted on minutes. There are 96 minutes between both guard positions. I'm really hoping neither Scoot or Shae are being overplayed so averaging 36 minutes or less would be ideal. I have no reason to think that Jace would need more than 20-30 minutes off of the bench. That's a three guard rotation with the pecking order being more like what I've wanted but didn't work because of seniority and other bullshit with Ant.

Finally have a high energy guard off of the bench to inject life into our lineup.
 
Because we would be in the same spot of either Scoot or Sharpe getting shorted on minutes and both NEED 30 plus minutes a game and I think Jace is a player who needs to get 20 to 25 minutes a game. It could work for one season but that is why I say within a year so by the next offseason that prolly would not work cause it would be the same issue with Ant aka too many guards and not enough minutes.

Essentially, what you are saying is that we should not have any backups that deserve big minutes, so they don't affect Scoot and SS's minutes. If the goal is to add more young talent at every position, I don't think we have a choice but to add guys like Jase. We need to prepare for injuries as well, so we need at least 4 good guards.
 
Honestly this roster just feels like a mess because we are going to have to take back players in any Ant , Grant or Ayton trade so honestly I am having a hard time seeing this roster as a end product. I will agree the Blazers might just have to re-organize the roster and maybe it will be messy after getting rid of some of the vets / bad contracts so i guess a little more chaos on the roster before it gets trimmed down will be needed.
 
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Why would 2 of them be gone if we added Jase? If we trade Ant like everyone seems to be pushing for, that is who he would replace.
He would be our backup PG.
Yeah bro is clueless lol. We’re not dumping our high pick backcourt over a backup
 
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