2024 NBA Draft (euro season, college season, scouting, prospects etc)

[Norm2953]

The way things are going, the Blazers might end up with another pick

[soobias]

maybe blazers pick up bronny

[zzaj]

Hot take - Durisic ends up with a better career than Riascher.

Bleacher Report's cast announcer had a lot to say about Djurisic--went overseas to hang with him and watch him in games and privately. Said that agents, other players had called him out for poor attitude, bad body language, ignoring teammates, etc. Apparently, Djurisic was very "self aware" of these faults, but the very next game threw the ball away from a ref after a foul instead of handing it to him...

So could be that was enough for some teams to let him slide.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I think it was a mistake trading the #34.

The Blazers have plenty of seconds after the GP trade. This draft has REALLY good talent in this range. If McCullar could be really good. Blazers still lack shooting from the bigs. Shoot, even Kolek would have a role as a mistake free backup PG for the Blazers.

Ya, it seems they are attached to the current 'bleh' squad of 'meh' youngsters on the team. I would take like 10-15 guys in the SR over Kris.

I think we always think this way though. But let's be real... chances are extremely high that all these 2nd rounders look exactly like the current crop of meh youngsters. If that wasn't the case, we'd see more impact from 2nd rounders more often. I'd argue that over 90% of these guys are at a minimum 2 years away from making any impact in a decent team's rotation. When they come out and look lost/underwhelming. We'll say the same thing in the 2nd round of 2025.

If Kris was on the board today he would have probably gone at #31.

That said, I still wish we had identified someone we like and gone out to get them instead of bunting our high second round picks into more future second rounders. The only way it makes sense is if our scouts looked at the available players and told us to run from all of them.

[red_power]

maybe blazers pick up bronne

Take a hostage and demand ransom? Sounds like a plan!

[kdawg32086]

Get a 2nd round pick and hold it hostage for a Lakers FRP in 2029 or force Bronny to play in Australia for 3 seasons before you lose his rights.

[DusterBuster]

Get a 2nd round pick and hold it hostage for a Lakers FRP in 2029 or force Bronny to play in Australia for 3 seasons before you lose his rights.

The Blazers would be blacklisted forever by Klutch and it's clients.....










I'd still do it.

[red_power]

It can actually be a brilliant move because the whole Bronny thing screams "nothing basketball just business" anyway

[DeBlazerRiddem]

So boring. It's probably not a bad idea to get our guy and trade out of this draft but Clingan was such a boring pick and it sucks seeing us not take swings at younger talent.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the roster we have today is basically what we are going into the season with. The Vulcans love this play both sides thing with vets and young players.

IDK... I think most picks were boring picks. Who did you want? I think a pie in the sky scenario has Clingan turning into a Marc Gasol type guy. Which is pretty damn good for this draft.

I mean.. the #1 pick in this draft looks like a worse version of prime Batum.

oof, agree on Risacher. I was high on him early in the draft process as being the kind of mid/late lottery guy you can groom into a glue player but pinch me if he ends up being #1 pick material even relative to this draft class. My personal take on him was very likely to be top 10 from this class but unlikely to be top 5. Anyways hope I am wrong, love seeing young players succeed.

No I am fine with the Clingan pick. It was safe and boring and predictable but he was BPA and not a bad pick at all. I just think he is kind of a boring prospect, I don't see much offensive versatility ala Marc Gasol so we are really banking on him being a generational defender and that type DPOY can take years to develop at the NBA level. It would not surprise me much if it takes him 5-6 years to show those chops and he might not even be on the Blazers by that point if it takes that long to manifest. It's not bad, its just that he really only has one path toward being worth it and so it all has to go right with his development, very little wiggle room. Because if he isn't an exceptional defender then he is one of the many energy/rebounding 7 footers that come cheap these days, a solid player but very replaceable. Again, very much hoping I am wrong and that he succeeds because even more than I love seeing young players succeed I love seeing young Blazers succeed but we are banking on him being an exceptional defensive big which is such a narrow band for true success. It's the problem with centers these days, either they are top tier elite players or they are pretty replaceable, there isn't as much of a middle class with them.

[Norm2953]

Do the Blazers have pick 52?

The whole league outside of the Lakers would applaud if they picked Bronny?

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Ew we traded both #34 and #40 for future second rounders?

Our scouts must have been throwing up non-stop while watching tape this year and told Blazers to dump all our picks for peanuts to save on janitorial costs.

[Roy The Natural]

So boring. It's probably not a bad idea to get our guy and trade out of this draft but Clingan was such a boring pick and it sucks seeing us not take swings at younger talent.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the roster we have today is basically what we are going into the season with. The Vulcans love this play both sides thing with vets and young players.

IDK... I think most picks were boring picks. Who did you want? I think a pie in the sky scenario has Clingan turning into a Marc Gasol type guy. Which is pretty damn good for this draft.

I mean.. the #1 pick in this draft looks like a worse version of prime Batum.

oof, agree on Risacher. I was high on him early in the draft process as being the kind of mid/late lottery guy you can groom into a glue player but pinch me if he ends up being #1 pick material even relative to this draft class. My personal take on him was very likely to be top 10 from this class but unlikely to be top 5. Anyways hope I am wrong, love seeing young players succeed.

No I am fine with the Clingan pick. It was safe and boring and predictable but he was BPA and not a bad pick at all. I just think he is kind of a boring prospect, I don't see much offensive versatility ala Marc Gasol so we are really banking on him being a generational defender and that type DPOY can take years to develop at the NBA level. It would not surprise me much if it takes him 5-6 years to show those chops and he might not even be on the Blazers by that point if it takes that long to manifest. It's not bad, its just that he really only has one path toward being worth it and so it all has to go right with his development, very little wiggle room. Because if he isn't an exceptional defender then he is one of the many energy/rebounding 7 footers that come cheap these days, a solid player but very replaceable. Again, very much hoping I am wrong and that he succeeds because even more than I love seeing young players succeed I love seeing young Blazers succeed but we are banking on him being an exceptional defensive big which is such a narrow band for true success. It's the problem with centers these days, either they are top tier elite players or they are pretty replaceable, there isn't as much of a middle class with them.

Marc Gasol didn't have the offensive versatility of Marc Gasol when he was super young. Some guys develop stuff. Some guys don't. I think Clingan has enough touch, and enough of a foundation for a set shot to get there. But it's pie in the sky. More plausible is him settling into a more Steven Adams type role. With better rim protection and worse screening.

All these guys have major issues though. People want Cody Williams, that dude reminds me almost entirely of Corey Brewer. No thanks. Buzaelis has talent but plays dumb. Super risky/low floor. Salaun can barely even dribble, and has defensive tools but doesn't currently play very good defense. Edey is a slug. Looks like that fun gimmick backup for some team. Topic looks good, I like him, but his fit is terrible on the team. IDK, almost all these guys look low upside to me.

I like Castle's upside, but we didn't have a shot at him anyways.

[Dame Lizard]

Clingan was a good pick and trade for Avdija was good, just go to the WAS board and read their reactions about that trade, adding a 29’ 1st ( 1 of 3! they have) + a couple of 2nd’s is really minor excess value IMO

Surprised they did not trade back in for Knecht or DaSilva, especially with SAC/PHI/LAL all rumored to have interest in Grant & ORL @ #18 with interest in Simons

Not happy with the insistence by Cronin in the two timelines, pick a damm lane! All this does is hinder younger player development and work against getting a high 25’ pick.

Grant, Thybulle & Williams have NO purpose on this team & Simons directly conflicts with Scoot’s development.

I can live with Simons for another year as a hedge against Scoot not being the heir apparent, although I think having Simons on the team hinders his development, but Williams? Thybulle? they serve no purpose, all they do is take away minutes from younger players who need to develop.

Lastly, Grant, seriously his timeline does not remotely fit the younger players and several playoff teams have showed interest, but no let’s hold onto him. Now maybe Cronin plans to move some of these guys during FA\off season, and if so then ok, but if not? Just short sided thinking IMO.


So far…

Cronin draft = good
Cronin roster building = mixed

Completely agree.

[Roy The Natural]

Clingan was a good pick and trade for Avdija was good, just go to the WAS board and read their reactions about that trade, adding a 29’ 1st ( 1 of 3! they have) + a couple of 2nd’s is really minor excess value IMO

Surprised they did not trade back in for Knecht or DaSilva, especially with SAC/PHI/LAL all rumored to have interest in Grant & ORL @ #18 with interest in Simons

Not happy with the insistence by Cronin in the two timelines, pick a damm lane! All this does is hinder younger player development and work against getting a high 25’ pick.

Grant, Thybulle & Williams have NO purpose on this team & Simons directly conflicts with Scoot’s development.

I can live with Simons for another year as a hedge against Scoot not being the heir apparent, although I think having Simons on the team hinders his development, but Williams? Thybulle? they serve no purpose, all they do is take away minutes from younger players who need to develop.

Lastly, Grant, seriously his timeline does not remotely fit the younger players and several playoff teams have showed interest, but no let’s hold onto him. Now maybe Cronin plans to move some of these guys during FA\off season, and if so then ok, but if not? Just short sided thinking IMO.


So far…

Cronin draft = good
Cronin roster building = mixed

Completely agree.

Same... I'm okay with keeping Ayton around... but Grant and Simons gotta go. The team needs to open up spots for future draft picks, and these guys still have positive value IMO. Get stuff for them and commit to building through the draft. Avdija is young enough, and good enough that he makes sense.

[DusterBuster]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Can’t wait for the post-2nd round presser. Hope Cronin isn’t making Schmitz do that. Maybe the ball boy?

[Dame Lizard]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Can’t wait for the post-2nd round presser. Hope Cronin isn’t making Schmitz do that. Maybe the ball boy?

I recall that Cronin said yesterday that he wouldn't be doing a press conference after the second round.

The issue we have is that we have a bunch of useful prospects in Jabari (who I'd argue is more than a prospect and is an established productive bench player), Toumani, Murray (who hasn't shown much but is worth giving more of a run) , Banton and Reath. And I assume that the Blazers just didn't think it was justified replacing any of them with a second rounder this year.

Furphy would have been a good get to add some shooting.

2 of Grant, Simons and Thybulle must be traded though. Otherwise we'll be a treadmill team who is really bad at treadmilling (I.e. we'd be picking at #9, rather than #4).

[cdubbz]

Ew we traded both #34 and #40 for future second rounders?

Our scouts must have been throwing up non-stop while watching tape this year and told Blazers to dump all our picks for peanuts to save on janitorial costs.

I like it. If we don't see anyone now then get more future picks. Picks lose value once we select someone, obviously, so why not keep building assets.

[zzaj]

I WANTED BOSTON TO TAKE BRONNY SO BAD. the ultimate FU to the Lakers...

Seriously though, McCullar's medicals must have been reeeeeeally bad for him to fall all the way to 56. He was mocked by many to go in the late first. I saw one that was as high as 23.

[cdubbz]

I WANTED BOSTON TO TAKE BRONNY SO BAD. the ultimate FU to the Lakers...

Would have been a GREAT F-U to the Lakers and add fuel to the rivalry. Would have been a bad ass move to keep them away from each other.

On the other hand - is it not weird for LBJ or Bronny to be playing together, traveling together, practicing, arguing together?! Feel sorry for JJ Redick who has to now deal with getting the 52nd pick in the draft minutes WITH his father just to have it be done.

What a joke.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Ew we traded both #34 and #40 for future second rounders?

Our scouts must have been throwing up non-stop while watching tape this year and told Blazers to dump all our picks for peanuts to save on janitorial costs.

I like it. If we don't see anyone now then get more future picks. Picks lose value once we select someone, obviously, so why not keep building assets.

I guess. I was briefly excited by the Kolek pick, I think a low mistake pass first guard who can shoot from 3 would be a nice 3rd string to have behind Scoot now that Brogdon is gone. I am not stoked to have Banton in that role as he is more of a Will Barton type ball handler and I think the whole team suffers when you try to make them play point.

But we are literally at 15 so it would have taken a 2-way contract and maybe he wasn't into it and the Blazers are not expecting to make any more moves before the beginning of the season. If not then I guess the rotation looks something like this (with maybe Scoot and Shaedon swapped depending on who is playing better that week)

Simons - Scoot - Banton
Shaedon - Thybulle - Rupert
Avdija - Camara - Murray
Grant - Williams - Walker
Ayton - Clingan - Reath

Looking at that roster I want (in no particular order)
- Shooting in the back court
- Williams is not really a PF but too many damn centers
- Lots of mediocre bench players soaking up minutes
- Simons/Grant/Ayton still combine for almost 60% of the cap and do not look to be even close to a winning combo
- 1 standout player that puts the team and the city on his back and takes responsibility to be "that guy"

What even is the vision for this roster?