Event With the 16th pick, Blazers have selected Hansen Yang (3 Viewers)

[cheesehoff]

I'm not being pro or con the pick right now. I said elsewhere that not having knowledge about what teams 17-24 were going to probably do impacts this decision.

To me, though, what only a few people are mentioning, is this wasn't a pick based on thinking Yang was going to be better than anyone picked after him. This was a pick made on the premise that Yang has the most upside of anyone on the board (and probably most of the players picked ahead of him). This pick had nothing to do with being good. It had everything to do with being great.

They don't think there are obvious holes in this lineup that they have to fill and have no better ways to fill it. They think they need to find a superstar, and they don't care if they take a big swing and a miss on the chance they make contact and knock it out of the park. But, as some said heading into the draft, even if we'd have picked as high as sixth, there wasn't a player that was a good bet to come in and be better than what we already had. They drafted the guy that had the best chance to be a star, not the guy who would be part of the rotation.

As a consolation, if he doesn't become a star, he adds depth to a position that needed it. Outside of maybe a couple prospects that were never going to make it to #16, whoever we drafted wasn't going to be a starter. This team has, imo, PG, C and wings. The positional flexibility of Tou, Deni, JG, Tisse, Sharpe, even Jrue means plenty of wing depth and PG is covered with Scoot and Jrue (and any number of guys that bring the ball up and facilitate).
I don't buy that traditional centers are dinosaurs in today's game. It's only an unimportant position until you don't have one. I'm assuming DA and RW3 will be gone and nobody believes Reath is a starter on a good team. DC has conditioning and foul issues.
Yang comes along at a very good time for this team. We're not winning a ring for several years, so now is the time to add young projects to the mix.

 

[HoopsFanAZ]

It will take a couple years to see how good (or less so) that Yang will be. That process has been delayed for Sharpe by injury and failure to play defense. For Scoot, he needed to learn how to play in the NBA. This will be an extremely interesting year -- one of the most interesting years in a decade.

How will Deni handle what is added to his plate?
Will Toumani add to his O while being hell on wheels on D?
Will Clingan have his conditioning where it should be and how much can he improve on both ends?
Will Scoot and Sharpe play starters minutes and make their leap? [It's the prove it year for both players.]
Will Holiday be a Blazer and how effective will he be with Sharpe? With Scoot?
How many minutes will Yang earn?

How many of the expiring contracts get traded? DAEC [gone], RWEC, MTEC
Will Grant get traded?

So much to see.

 

[wizenheimer]

I wonder what Joker's times were.

people have been comparing Clingan and Zang. So far the only factual comparisons are their pre-draft measurements. I wasn't really drawing any conclusion other than they are similar players, in size and mobility

 

[Blazinaway]

people have been comparing Clingan and Zang. So far the only factual comparisons are their pre-draft measurements. I wasn't really drawing any conclusion other than they are similar players, in size and mobility

just looking at some of the film clips seem like Yang has better offense and DC better D, but not that much to go off of until he plays against NBA players

 

[wizenheimer]

just looking at some of the film clips seem like Yang has better offense and DC better D, but not that much to go off of until he plays against NBA players

that's the rub

Clingan showed he could dominate the paint and protect the rim, most of the time, against NBA players on NBA floors. Zang has highlight videos

 

[Blazinaway]

that's the rub

Clingan showed he could dominate the paint and protect the rim, most of the time, against NBA players on NBA floors. Zang has highlight videos

LOL agree, trying to have some very restrained optimism

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Maybe we can Brundlefly Yang and Clingan.

 

[PCmor7]

It will take a couple years to see how good (or less so) that Yang will be. That process has been delayed for Sharpe by injury and failure to play defense. For Scoot, he needed to learn how to play in the NBA. This will be an extremely interesting year -- one of the most interesting years in a decade.

How will Deni handle what is added to his plate?
Will Toumani add to his O while being hell on wheels on D?
Will Clingan have his conditioning where it should be and how much can he improve on both ends?
Will Scoot and Sharpe play starters minutes and make their leap? [It's the prove it year for both players.]
Will Holiday be a Blazer and how effective will he be with Sharpe? With Scoot?
How many minutes will Yang earn?

How many of the expiring contracts get traded? DAEC, RWEC, MTEC
Will Grant get traded?

So much to see.

I think the most under-the-radar question on this team is Murray.

He's shown he can contribute in several ways, but his offense is almost unbelievably bad. It makes me wonder if he comes back even just slightly below average as a shooter how much more viable a piece he becomes for this team either moving forward or as a trade asset. He has to get better, doesn't he?

 

[blazerfan11]

I think the most under-the-radar question on this team is Murray.

He's shown he can contribute in several ways, but his offense is almost unbelievably bad. It makes me wonder if he comes back even just slightly below average as a shooter how much more viable a piece he becomes for this team either moving forward or as a trade asset. He has to get better, doesn't he?

Yes, he can get better and return to 26.8% on threes and 6.1 points a game like his rookie season.

Maybe Yang can put in a good word for him in the Chinese league.

 

[Freshtown]

I think the most under-the-radar question on this team is Murray.

He's shown he can contribute in several ways

no he hasn’t.

 

[cheesehoff]

A winning team can't rely on guys as bad as Murray to contribute. No matter how much the starting group improves, the second unit has to add more talent. Fortunately, they have a few years to acquire upgrades so they can consistently win playoff series'.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I think the most under-the-radar question on this team is Murray.

He's shown he can contribute in several ways, but his offense is almost unbelievably bad. It makes me wonder if he comes back even just slightly below average as a shooter how much more viable a piece he becomes for this team either moving forward or as a trade asset. He has to get better, doesn't he?

Agreed that Murray does a lot, especially on d. However, offense isn't his big problem - he shot .566 from 2, well better than the team average of a .527. His problem is, and has been, that he's supposed to be a 3-poiint shooter, but he can't in fact hit the 3.

.225 last year, team was .342, which is below league average. If he just was an average nba 3 point shooter, he'd be a quality rotation piece. However, as my dear old dad used to say "if my aunt would have had a mustache, she'd have been my uncle."

 

[andalusian]

Ooh, fancy. A non mustachioed aunt.

 

[KingSpeed]

The Ayton buyout tells me Yang is ready now. Can’t wait to watch him play.

 

[wizenheimer]

The Ayton buyout tells me Yang is ready now. Can’t wait to watch him play.

the Ayton buyout says a lot more about Ayton than it does about anybody else

 

[Wizard Mentor]

the Ayton buyout says a lot more about Ayton than it does about anybody else

Actually, I think it says more about NBA culture than anything else. Ant, Grant, and Ayton would be a top nba bench, but...

• vets don't want to come off the bench.
• high salaried players don't want to come off the bench.
• multimillionaire vets will pout if they don't get their way.
• coaches won't bench them.
• other vets won't want to come here if these vets are forced to come off the bench.

Put another way, Billups is a pussy.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I think the most under-the-radar question on this team is Murray.

He's shown he can contribute in several ways, but his offense is almost unbelievably bad. It makes me wonder if he comes back even just slightly below average as a shooter how much more viable a piece he becomes for this team either moving forward or as a trade asset. He has to get better, doesn't he?

There isn't any question on Murray - he's not going to be a useful NBA player. It's not like he's young - he turns 25 in about a month. Anfernee Simons was also 25 this month, do you think he's a young question mark?

Rayan Rupert might be a question mark - he's only 21. I'm not expecting much from him - but I'm at least willing to see what happens next year.

We are well past time to move on from Murray.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

used to say "if my aunt would have had a mustache, she'd have been my uncle."

It was a different body part..... but yeah same outcome.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

There isn't any question on Murray - he's not going to be a useful NBA player. It's not like he's young - he turns 25 in about a month. Anfernee Simons was also 25 this month, do you think he's a young question mark?

Rayan Rupert might be a question mark - he's only 21. I'm not expecting much from him - but I'm at least willing to see what happens next year.

We are well past time to move on from Murray.

Ayton is 26.....same thing applies.

 

[HoopsFanAZ]

Murray has work to do on his 3 -- starting with not having his shoulders so square-up, so directly facing the hoop. He may need trading to Sacramento to endlessly work with his brother and become a quality back-up (6th or 7th man).
Rupert is reportedly a worker, a grinder, a dude who loves the game and the process. Keep him and see what he becomes.

The young centers will be helped by Reath (I heard he played with Yang years ago?) and by Time Lord. And by Deni. Just a great situation for both Clingan and Yang. I'm liking this team.

 

[TBpup]

Good to see him in the gym right away. Bulletproofing the hamstrings, like he is doing there, is a great place to start.

 

[BlazerWookee]

We're here to piss the bed. To melt down over every decision. To make a spectacle of ourselves over something we'll never control. After all, there are no other options of how to conduct ourselves when following a sports team. It's not about the stupid team, it's about my precious emotions and I need some attention! REEEEEEEE!

STOMP

FIFY

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Ayton is 26.....same thing applies.

Correct - yeah Ayton Murray Ant etc. there just aren't major changes to players at this age. Might be small improvements or small declines. But nothing where a total scrub becomes a great player.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Now you're starting to annoy posters who are usually fine with your shtick........

There are posters who are usually fine with his schtick? <lights fuse, runs away, giggling maniacally>

 

[blazerkor]

Correct - yeah Ayton Murray Ant etc. there just aren't major changes to players at this age. Might be small improvements or small declines. But nothing where a total scrub becomes a great player.

Except for Steve Nash who had his breakout season in which he turn 27 years old.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Some highlights against Australia last summer with several nba players on team Australia.

My favorite part, at 1:08: He recognizes the 5 on 2 and signals the guard to slow up and wait for help, then he initiates the screen at the right moment, which turns into a perfectly timed assist.

 

[PCmor7]

There isn't any question on Murray - he's not going to be a useful NBA player. It's not like he's young - he turns 25 in about a month. Anfernee Simons was also 25 this month, do you think he's a young question mark?

Rayan Rupert might be a question mark - he's only 21. I'm not expecting much from him - but I'm at least willing to see what happens next year.

We are well past time to move on from Murray.

Wow. Didn't think I'd get this much hate for saying that Murray was an under-the-radar question that could help us. Pretty minor subject to draw out the torches and pitchforks.

I'll try to clarify since it seems either I wasn't clear enough or people just hate players or posters so much they fire off the first thing that comes into their head.

Nowhere did I say Murray was going to be a star, but he was in our rotation last year, he's 6-9, he can handle, play D and rebound all reasonably. He provides versatility. He's inexpensive. He's shot terribly from 3 and at the FT line in his first two years as a pro, and, despite his good 2-pt. shooting percentage, one only needs to see some of the bunnies he missed to know his % should have been even better.

He came out of college expected to be a decent shooter. The level at which he's shot hasn't been disappointing, it's been atrocious, almost to the point that it's either really bad luck, really poor confidence, or both.

If that's the case, it can be improved, and if it improves, he becomes much more playable in a rotation without a ton of other options this season.

I didn't think this long explanation would be necessary, but apparently Kris Murray has triggered a lot of us.

I now return everyone to their regularly-scheduled hyperbole.

 

[Freshtown]

Brings a tear to your eyes

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Wow. Didn't think I'd get this much hate for saying that Murray was an under-the-radar question that could help us. Pretty minor subject to draw out the torches and pitchforks.

I'll try to clarify since it seems either I wasn't clear enough or people just hate players or posters so much they fire off the first thing that comes into their head.

Nowhere did I say Murray was going to be a star, but he was in our rotation last year, he's 6-9, he can handle, play D and rebound all reasonably. He provides versatility. He's inexpensive. He's shot terribly from 3 and at the FT line in his first two years as a pro, and, despite his good 2-pt. shooting percentage, one only needs to see some of the bunnies he missed to know his % should have been even better.

He came out of college expected to be a decent shooter. The level at which he's shot hasn't been disappointing, it's been atrocious, almost to the point that it's either really bad luck, really poor confidence, or both.

If that's the case, it can be improved, and if it improves, he becomes much more playable in a rotation without a ton of other options this season.

I didn't think this long explanation would be necessary, but apparently Kris Murray has triggered a lot of us.

I now return everyone to their regularly-scheduled hyperbole.

Not sure where you believe you got hate directed at yourself. I never mentioned the word hate.

I just don't believe Murray is a question going into the season at all.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Except for Steve Nash who had his breakout season in which he turn 27 years old.

Steve Nash did shoot below his career average in 3pt his first two years in the league, but he still was at 42%. He was the teams starting PG after his second season. Now he eventually elevated his play to allstar then MVP level. But he wasn't a total scrub early in his career as Murray.

Kris Murray shot 27% on three as a rookie and then 22% last year. Thats on over 300 attempts. He was supposed to be NBA ready on day 1 as one of the oldest rookies in the league with little upside and an established game. He is more similar in age to Simons/Ayton than guys like Rupert/Scoot/Clingan.

There's plenty of "questions" next season on what various Blazers will accomplish. But Murray is not one of those questions.