Draft prospects @ 10

[DusterBuster]

I wonder if Zeller is getting a little unfairly scrutinized.... I found this kind of interesting in a article where it was debated who the Blazers should take at #10:

Zeller’s no-step vertical of 35.5 inches was not only the highest in the draft but set the combine-record for a player 6’9 or above. Also, his modified lane agility time (2.69 seconds) and three-quarter-court sprint (3.5 seconds) ranked as the fastest among centers and power forwards.

I wonder if Zeller could be like a Brook Lopez type of C. Brook Lopez, like Zeller, was considered a Top 4 pick in most mocks leading up to the draft, then slipped down to #10.

[DusterBuster]

Watch Adams blow up next year like another prospect who was suppose to take 3-4 years.

I was all over the Drummond bandwagon last year (still a little bitter about that), but, IMO, Adams is nowhere near what Drummond was as far as potential. Adams has a much lower ceiling. I'd rather let Leonard develop, and use our 10th pick on someone like McCollum, Zeller, or Muhammad.

Agreed. I was also a big fan of Drummond, my ideal draft day last year was the Blazers figuring out how to draft both Lillard and Drummond. That said, comparing Adams to Drummond is down right insane. Drummond was considered a Top 2 pick before his lackluster college season and questionable motor hurt his draft stock. Even with the question marks surrounding Drummond, the potential around him was undeniable.

Adams on the other hand was never at any point considered a Top 2 pick in this draft. Hell, he wasn't even considered a Top 10 pick until this past week. And as Fitz said, the potential ceilings on Drummond vs Adams aren't even in the same universe.

I know people want to say Adams and Leonard are very different, and maybe they're right and I'm wrong, but I still see Adams as a considerable project. At least to the extend Leonard is/will be. I think Portland would be doing a disservice to one, if not both, of those guys if they had them on the roster together.

The only big men worth taking in the top 10 are Noel, Zeller, and Len. I wouldn't waste my time with anyone else. I will say that I don't know too much about Nogueira though. Intriguing prospect, but not someone I'd take at 10 on the limited knowledge that I have on him.

To be clear, I was NEVER suggesting Nogueira to be the Blazers pick at #10. I agree with you about Noel, Zeller and Len. Those are the bigs I like the best in this draft I think. Len is probably my main target, but I'm thinking it's going to be a long-shot he makes it to 10.

[Norm2953]

Adams averaged 6ppg/5rb in his single season at Pitt. Drummond was a consensus top 3
High school AA recruit that got caught up on a bad UConn team that really missed Kemba
Walker. It's likely Adams will be okay but that might be in 2016 for fundamentally he's
not Drummond.

I think if anyone in this draft is now under-rated is Shabazz who also was a top 2 recruit
who got caught up in an NCAA eligibility hassle and had a mediocre single college season.
If was eligible for the 2012 draft, he would have third or fourth.

[AllMyNeilOlshey]

I know people want to say Adams and Leonard are very different, and maybe they're right and I'm wrong, but I still see Adams as a considerable project. At least to the extend Leonard is/will be. I think Portland would be doing a disservice to one, if not both, of those guys if they had them on the roster together.

Yeah there is no doubt in my mind that Adams is a project but he projects as a different player then Meyers.

[Blazinaway]

I know people want to say Adams and Leonard are very different, and maybe they're right and I'm wrong, but I still see Adams as a considerable project. At least to the extend Leonard is/will be. I think Portland would be doing a disservice to one, if not both, of those guys if they had them on the roster together.

Yeah there is no doubt in my mind that Adams is a project but he projects as a different player then Meyers.

I agree he is a project as well, but his strengths IMO are significantly different tham Meyers, and those strengths (rebounding, blocking shots, defense) would likely project to more effective limited minutes than we saw from Meyers last year.

[JD45]

I wonder if Zeller is getting a little unfairly scrutinized.... I found this kind of interesting in a article where it was debated who the Blazers should take at #10:

Zeller’s no-step vertical of 35.5 inches was not only the highest in the draft but set the combine-record for a player 6’9 or above. Also, his modified lane agility time (2.69 seconds) and three-quarter-court sprint (3.5 seconds) ranked as the fastest among centers and power forwards.

I wonder if Zeller could be like a Brook Lopez type of C. Brook Lopez, like Zeller, was considered a Top 4 pick in most mocks leading up to the draft, then slipped down to #10.

It is interesting to compare Zeller's measurements and athletic testing to Blake Griffin. On paper, Griffin isn't any better. Griffin was a much better college rebounder, but Zeller is much more skilled offensively. Zeller had a problem when he was thought to not have the length to score in the paint against NBA centers, but not the range or athleticism to play PF. But with him showing shooting range and elite athleticism even for a PF, I think he is terrific value at #10.

[Blazinaway]

I wonder if Zeller is getting a little unfairly scrutinized.... I found this kind of interesting in a article where it was debated who the Blazers should take at #10:

Zeller’s no-step vertical of 35.5 inches was not only the highest in the draft but set the combine-record for a player 6’9 or above. Also, his modified lane agility time (2.69 seconds) and three-quarter-court sprint (3.5 seconds) ranked as the fastest among centers and power forwards.

I wonder if Zeller could be like a Brook Lopez type of C. Brook Lopez, like Zeller, was considered a Top 4 pick in most mocks leading up to the draft, then slipped down to #10.

It is interesting to compare Zeller's measurements and athletic testing to Blake Griffin. On paper, Griffin isn't any better. Griffin was a much better college rebounder, but Zeller is much more skilled offensively. Zeller had a problem when he was thought to not have the length to score in the paint against NBA centers, but not the range or athleticism to play PF. But with him showing shooting range and elite athleticism even for a PF, I think he is terrific value at #10.

Ya know what? I think you are corrrect, instead of a dime a dozen combo guard swhich appear easily available in FA, why not take a skilled athletic big and bigs are something we badly need. and he's a guy who can likely contribute now.

[Downtown]

I'm beginning to lean towards McCollum or Pope at #10. I just don't see a starting big man in the draft that will knock Leonard out of the spot for next season. But you never know and certainly Portland's coaches, management, and scouts will be able to tell if any of the big men they work out has it over Leonard. But I think depending on his off season development it's Leonards job to lose.

I think either McCollum or Pope can be that scorer off the bench.

Players I have targeted for later on in the draft that I think could be interesting for the Blazers are Jamaal Franklin and Reggie Bullock. There's a big BUT there though. Both should go towards the bottom of the first round and Portland would need to make a deal to get into that position. And both would be redundant unless they do go for a center with the #10, or make a trade for a current NBA centre and leave Poe or McCollum alone.

Players that might be second rounders that Portland could possibly get, either by way of trading up a few notches, which happen frequently by simply throwing $500,000- $1mil a teams way, are guys like Isaiah Canaan, Mike Muscala, Myck Kabongo, or the guy I really like, Jeff Whithey. He reminds me of a player, who I can't remember his name now( I think it was Jeff something), who played for a lot of years for Indiana in a strictly defensive role. Damn I hate when a name is on the tip of my tongue.

I also think a player like Livio Jean-Charles could be drafted and kept in Europe a while.

Just a few names that kind of stick with me at the moment.

[Jsun947]

Jeff Foster?

[lukeyrid13]

^ Jeff Foster

[Clarity]

Adams averaged 6ppg/5rb in his single season at Pitt. Drummond was a consensus top 3
High school AA recruit that got caught up on a bad UConn team that really missed Kemba
Walker. It's likely Adams will be okay but that might be in 2016 for fundamentally he's
not Drummond.

I think if anyone in this draft is now under-rated is Shabazz who also was a top 2 recruit
who got caught up in an NCAA eligibility hassle and had a mediocre single college season.
If was eligible for the 2012 draft, he would have third or fourth.

WELL SAID!!

[Billy]

I still find myself firmly in the Best player available camp. I think in many ways Portland has a roster that is flexible enough to make just about any player be a good fit. I think the most extreme case would be if someone like Trey Burke tumbled to #10. Does he fit a need? No, in fact probably the least of any player projected in the top 15. But, is he the BPA? Most likely. Lillard is talented and versatile enough that he could play off guard to see if it could work.

In the case in which a head-and-shoulders BPA player isn't available, it definitely gets more tricky for me. I like Muhammed, McCollum, Adams, Gobert and Olapido. Of those guys I probably prefer the guards more than the bigs. I think Muhammed could be a better pro than he was a college player. McCollum I think could be one of the best scorers in the draft. Olapido is a hard one to peg as he's projected anywhere between #2 - #8 or 9 depending on the mock. I see him as a guy that could possibly fall into our laps simply because he's the type that I feel GM's fall in love with early and fall out of love with late.

[lukeyrid13]

I'd even go so far to trade up to 7 or 8 if Burke started to fall. We are still in asset acquisition phase and Burke would be a great asset to acquire. Similar to the Clippers, who are likely to really improve their team by moving Bledsoe this summer.

[cucad8]

I'd even go so far to trade up to 7 or 8 if Burke started to fall. We are still in asset acquisition phase and Burke would be a great asset to acquire. Similar to the Clippers, who are likely to really improve their team by moving Bledsoe this summer.

If he fell to us, I can justify taking him as BPA ad rolling with it. But I can't see trading up for a PG when we have one that just won ROY.

[JD45]

I'd even go so far to trade up to 7 or 8 if Burke started to fall. We are still in asset acquisition phase and Burke would be a great asset to acquire. Similar to the Clippers, who are likely to really improve their team by moving Bledsoe this summer.

Chad Ford :

Burke is in a similar position to McLemore. After riding an NCAA tournament run into the championship game, he's struggling right now to retain his momentum. He worked out for the Suns on Thursday and the Kings on Friday, but only did a solo workout -- refusing to go against Michael Carter-Williams and C.J. McCollum, the two other top-rated point guards. From what I can gather, the Kings' ownership is higher right now on Carter-Williams. If Burke gets past the Magic and Pelicans, he could be in for an unexpected slide on draft night.

Looking like Burke is the most likely candidate for a surprising player to drop to the Blazers.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I'd even go so far to trade up to 7 or 8 if Burke started to fall. We are still in asset acquisition phase and Burke would be a great asset to acquire. Similar to the Clippers, who are likely to really improve their team by moving Bledsoe this summer.

If he fell to us, I can justify taking him as BPA ad rolling with it. But I can't see trading up for a PG when we have one that just won ROY.

Agreed. Top ten will look something like Noel, Burke, Porter, McLemore, Oladipo, Len, Zeller, McCollum, Pope and Bennett. Of those, I think it's most likely to be Zeller or Bennett who is available to us, with Pope coming in 3rd. Between those three, I would prefer Zeller, but then again I think Bennett is going to take a pretty major draft day fall - players like him (offensive minded combo-forwards) have a huge bust rate, combined with his injury and a lack of need at the PF spot among top 10 teams (besides Sacramento), just doesn't look good for him.

If Bennett is the one of those ten available, I might prefer to go for need with a defensive big like Dieng or Adams. If they seem like they can contribute, I wouldn't mind a slight reach in that situation. Just kind of mitigate some risk, instead of a high-risk/high-reward, ensure we get a long-term asset from this draft, even if it isn't fancy.

[jhern87]

I think Burke will win ROY.. He's the guy most ready to contribute in the league imo.

[Downtown]

Jeff Foster?

Yes, Jeff Foster. Thanks guys. He had a long career during the Reggie Miller era being used strictly as a defensive presence in the paint. I can see Whithey having the same type of role. Just a guy that comes off the bench when the starters start getting burned around the rim by the opposition.

[Cro_Ruption]

I think Burke will win ROY.. He's the guy most ready to contribute in the league imo.

thats what they said about thomas robinson

[DusterBuster]

I think Burke will win ROY.. He's the guy most ready to contribute in the league imo.

thats what they said about thomas robinson

Ummmm..... I don't remember that at all. I'm sure some people thought he had a NBA body that could contribute right away, but not that he was going to be ROY. The summer picks for ROY last year had most of the "experts" picking either Davis or Lillard.