Wenyen Gabriel

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So the more tape (aka full g league games on YouTube) I watch of Gabriel, the more I believe he could be developed as a SF in Portland’s system. He just looks fluid, is more finesse than banger, and shows an ability to stay with wings and even guards. So out of curiosity I looked up how he tested in various agility drills. Seems he wasn’t invited to the combine, but did do testing in 2016 at Kentucky.

His lane agility drill time was 11.24. That would put him ahead of Simons, Trent, and Hoard. His shuttle time of 2.98 would’ve put him ahead of Simons, Trent, Nassir, and would’ve landed him into the top ten at this years combine. His 3/4 sprint is better than Hoards.

His ball handling looks markedly improved from college, and even last season, and its not like he would be asked to handle the ball too much with Dame and CJ around. He’s pretty good on the boards for a power forward, and is averaging nearly 3 blocks per 36 in the g league, so having that kinda guy at the three would be veryyyy intriguing. Even if he isn’t as a full time three, having a guy that can seemingly alternate between both forward positions seems like something worth developing.
 
The one thing about Gabriel is that he fits what I see as a need with the Blazers as a long, combo forward. I was eyeing Precious Achiuwa as a guy in the mid-teens in the draft, and Gabriel does offer some of the same qualities. Precious is more polished, though, and I think ultimately a much better bet to make it than Gabriel. But we'll see. He definitely fills a niche on this team and has a ton of upside.
 
I wonder what the plan is with Gabriel. Personally I’d give him all the backup minutes at the four until Skal returns/another move is made. Nas barely plays even when we’re desperate for bodies, so it’s obvious Stotts doesn’t trust him, plus he’s more of a three anyway.

Realistically, he will probably be stuck at the end of the bench while Melo plays 35 minutes.
 
Scalma said:
I wonder what the plan is with Gabriel. Personally I’d give him all the backup minutes at the four until Skal returns/another move is made. Nas barely plays even when we’re desperate for bodies, so it’s obvious Stotts doesn’t trust him, plus he’s more of a three anyway.

Realistically, he will probably be stuck at the end of the bench while Melo plays 35 minutes.
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Little started the game against Golden State. Isn't he the starter for the rest of the season?
 
SIeepwalker said:
Well I was hoping to see this guy play. But then I was reminded that our coach is a fucking moron
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If Olshey hadn’t taken Bazemore away from him he’d still be getting 25+ minutes a night. If Hood were healthy, Trent wouldn’t even play.
 
SIeepwalker said:
Well I was hoping to see this guy play. But then I was reminded that our coach is a fucking moron
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Are you implying that playing lineup of Melo, Hezonja, and Swanigan as our forwards when we needed stops in the 4th quarter was a bad decision? LOL

Literally anything Gabriel or Little did would've been better than having that lineup out there.
 
hoopsjock said:
Are you implying that playing lineup of Melo, Hezonja, and Swanigan as our forwards when we needed stops in the 4th quarter was a bad decision? LOL

Literally anything Gabriel or Little did would've been better than having that lineup out there.
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Cj could have probably done a better job than Swanigan at defending the PF and C positions lol
 
I just think Stotts goes into a game with a game plane and he sticks with it no matter the out come. I really think how he thinks about calling timeouts in a game. He has certain time when what's to call the timeout and has that written down that why you see the other teams gets 12 points runs because it not time to call the timeout. I also think who he going to play and what time each player going to sub in and out. I have seen players get red hot and Stotts sub him out because on his paper he carries around said so. That why he usually don't adjust what actually happening on the floor. Just my opinion on how Stotts coach.
 
James lamphear said:
I just think Stotts goes into a game with a game plane and he sticks with it no matter the out come. I really think how he thinks about calling timeouts in a game. He has certain time when what's to call the timeout and has that written down that why you see the other teams gets 12 points runs because it not time to call the timeout. I also think who he going to play and what time each player going to sub in and out. I have seen players get red hot and Stotts sub him out because on his paper he carries around said so. That why he usually don't adjust what actually happening on the floor. Just my opinion on how Stotts coach.
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He’s always been a robo coach. It’s weird because there ARE times he’s made adjustments in game, and they’ve usually worked out. He seems super apprehensive to do it though. Almost like he doesn’t trust himself, or is a big fan of risk aversion.
 
Scalma said:
He’s always been a robo coach. It’s weird because there ARE times he’s made adjustments in game, and they’ve usually worked out. He seems super apprehensive to do it though. Almost like he doesn’t trust himself, or is a big fan of risk aversion.
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Just like our defense in the Houston game a few games ago. We blitzed the picks on Harden and completely took him out of the game. Why not try that on Luka the two games we played them since?

Instead we have this weird transparent double team using Swanigan who isn't quick enough for it to be a surprise and Luka is big enough to just see over the top of it anyway.

Last night was almost like he purposely had the worst possible player on the team be the double guy just so he could say "See guys, I tried it and it didn't work. Let's go back to my defensive coverage." There is really no other explanation for it.
 
If a coach sticks to his game plan and loses, he can blame the players for bad execution. If he changes the gameplan, even if he wins, he is acknowledging that he made a mistake.
 
Scalma said:
So the more tape (aka full g league games on YouTube) I watch of Gabriel, the more I believe he could be developed as a SF in Portland’s system. He just looks fluid, is more finesse than banger, and shows an ability to stay with wings and even guards. So out of curiosity I looked up how he tested in various agility drills. Seems he wasn’t invited to the combine, but did do testing in 2016 at Kentucky.

His lane agility drill time was 11.24. That would put him ahead of Simons, Trent, and Hoard. His shuttle time of 2.98 would’ve put him ahead of Simons, Trent, Nassir, and would’ve landed him into the top ten at this years combine. His 3/4 sprint is better than Hoards.

His ball handling looks markedly improved from college, and even last season, and its not like he would be asked to handle the ball too much with Dame and CJ around. He’s pretty good on the boards for a power forward, and is averaging nearly 3 blocks per 36 in the g league, so having that kinda guy at the three would be veryyyy intriguing. Even if he isn’t as a full time three, having a guy that can seemingly alternate between both forward positions seems like something worth developing.
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Nice job!
 
I'm just fine with Gabriel getting some chances to show his stuff; just like I was fine with Little and Hoard getting their chances. There's not much reason to worry about wins and losses at this point

but it sure seems that a few posters are really getting invested in the notion that Gabriel is some vastly underrated gem that the Kings let slip thru their fingers. Now, the Kings are the opposite of a model franchise so it's possible. It just seems to be putting a lot of hope in a real long shot; like betting the dice will roll a hard-8 three times in a row
 
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