Draft prospects @ 10

[DusterBuster]

I've liked Dieng a lot too. My biggest problem has been trying to pinpoint where he should be drafted. If he's going to be a 20's guy, I'd like to see Portland try and acquire another pick to get him. I'm also not sure if #10 is too high for him. Maybe doing that move down trade with the Jazz, take him at #14 and pick up someone else at #21. That could make a lot of sense.

I'll be pretty happy if Portland comes out of this draft with him.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I've liked Dieng a lot too. My biggest problem has been trying to pinpoint where he should be drafted. If he's going to be a 20's guy, I'd like to see Portland try and acquire another pick to get him. I'm also not sure if #10 is too high for him. Maybe doing that move down trade with the Jazz, take him at #14 and pick up someone else at #21. That could make a lot of sense.

I'll be pretty happy if Portland comes out of this draft with him.

Was gonna say the same thing.

[DusterBuster]

I will say that I like Dieng a lot more than I like Steven Adams. If the Blazers are going to reach for a C, I'd rather they go for Dieng than Adams.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Defensive rebounds per36: Dieng (10.9), Len (10.6), Withey (9.9), Adams (9.7), Gobert (8.6)
Blocks per36: Withey (4.54), Adams (3.08), Dieng (2.89), Len (2.86), Gobert (8.07)
Steals per36: Dieng (1.51), Len (1.36) Gobert (1.32), Adams (1.08), Withey (1.05)

I agree on Dieng over Adams, especially for Portland as we would prefer a ready to contribute player to pair with Aldridge, although I suppose it could be argued that Adam's potential is higher.

Plus, I think Dieng's ability to pass would have him integrated into Stott's offense better than Adam's raw athleticism.

[Blazinaway]

I've liked Dieng a lot too. My biggest problem has been trying to pinpoint where he should be drafted. If he's going to be a 20's guy, I'd like to see Portland try and acquire another pick to get him. I'm also not sure if #10 is too high for him. Maybe doing that move down trade with the Jazz, take him at #14 and pick up someone else at #21. That could make a lot of sense.

I'll be pretty happy if Portland comes out of this draft with him.

Was gonna say the same thing.

add me to this list, I've liked Dieng for the Blazers from the start, either add a later pick or try to swing the Utah picks for the #10

here's a very recent scouting report on Gorgui

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/6/14 ... rgui-dieng

[JD45]

There are a lot of names being passed around for the Portland Trail Blazers with their tenth pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Kentavious Caldwell is a popular pick. Cody Zeller has gotten a lot of hype as his draft stock continues to climb. Kelly Olynyk is a sleeper pick by many draft experts.

One name that is not getting as much attention at the tenth spot is Louisville's Gorgui Dieng. That is a grave injustice. No one in the draft will impact the Blazers more than Dieng.

Here is what we know about Dieng so far. He's a 6'11 junior center, with an absurd 7'4 wingspan. He is a little old for a junior at 23. He was a First-Team Big East selection and anchored the top defense in the nation last season. He averaged 3.2 blocks per 40 minutes, to go along with 9.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He injured his wrist early last season and has found his combine shortened by an ankle injury. Coach Rick Pitino raves about his defensive awareness and his unusual agility and defensive recovery ability for his size. His offensive skills need some work.

Read more here:
http://www.csnnw.com/blazers/why-gorgui ... 0-portland

As many of you know, I've been a big Dieng supporter.

23 years old and 230 lbs. His shot blocking is not going to translate that well to the NBA due to lack of weight/strength. A decent pick in the 20s for a backup center. A horrific pick at #10

[TBpup]

Defensive rebounds per36: Dieng (10.9), Len (10.6), Withey (9.9), Adams (9.7), Gobert (8.6)
Blocks per36: Withey (4.54), Adams (3.08), Dieng (2.89), Len (2.86), Gobert (8.07)
Steals per36: Dieng (1.51), Len (1.36) Gobert (1.32), Adams (1.08), Withey (1.05)

I agree on Dieng over Adams, especially for Portland as we would prefer a ready to contribute player to pair with Aldridge, although I suppose it could be argued that Adam's potential is higher.

Plus, I think Dieng's ability to pass would have him integrated into Stott's offense better than Adam's raw athleticism.

I like Dieng for the Blazers as an immediate contributor if they are close to contender status. That said, they are nowhere near that and I'd take Adams as he is close to or better than the 23 year old Dieng in rebounds and blocks at 19 years of age after only one year of college and that was playing with a thumb injury. If Adams played just his sophomore year, I think at age 20, he passes up Dieng's numbers at 23 and it much more built to play C long-term.

[nickforthreee]

Seeing what Danny Green is doing and the quote from Greg Popovic has me thinking a bit about the need for a shooter.

It was a classic Popovic quote when asked about the comparison between Green and Bruce Bowen. His reply was that they are similar in that neither has any moves.

But to see the effect that a hot handed shooter can have leads me to believe Portland should at least be taking a good look at whoever shoots the ball the best in all the workouts. That's one of the reasons I like MCollum for the Blazers. From what I've seen of him he's a bit like Eric Gordon, who is really a shooting guard that can play pointguard when needed as a backup. Heck, there's times when neither San Antonio or Miami have a real pointguard on the floor so a combo guard can easily work with the right setup.

Are there any other great shooters in this draft? I recall Reggie Bullock looking good at the pre draft combine. Any others that might fir that role for Portland?

best shooters in the draft imo: 1. crabbe 2. kcp 3. mclemore 4. ledo 5. bullock/McCollum take your pick

edit: forgot karasev, id probably put him ahead of ledo

[Khazim]

I've liked Dieng a lot too. My biggest problem has been trying to pinpoint where he should be drafted. If he's going to be a 20's guy, I'd like to see Portland try and acquire another pick to get him. I'm also not sure if #10 is too high for him. Maybe doing that move down trade with the Jazz, take him at #14 and pick up someone else at #21. That could make a lot of sense.

I'll be pretty happy if Portland comes out of this draft with him.

In my opinion, if he is your guy, you take him. Draft position be damned. Of course, if you can, you try to position yourself to take your guy at the best value spot, but rarely are you going to have that luxury. So you catch some flak from the Steven A. Smith's of the world, no one is going to care when your player pans out. If he doesn't, you lose anyways.

I agree though, that in this draft, it's looking like the possibility may be there to acquire a later first rounder, which you could use for Dieng. If you can't though, and Dieng is your favorite prospect on the board, draft him.

I am huge on Dieng, and think he is incredibly undervalued. He probably won't be a star, but I think he will be a solid, versatile Center, and would be great value, even at #10.

[Khazim]

A decent pick in the 20s for a backup center. A horrific pick at #10

So what exactly do you expect a #10 pick to bring you? An All-star? A starter? What? I personally project Dieng to be better than you seem to, but if he is even a solid backup, that's actually a decent return for a tenth pick.

[a_sensei]

Here are the past 15 #10 picks-
6 All-Stars (Paul Pierce, an all time great, plus Joe Johnson, Caron Butler, Andrew Bynum, Brook Lopez, Paul George)
4 Solid NBA players (Jason Terry, Brandon Jennings, Spencer Hawes, Keyon Dooling)
3 Busts (Jarvis Hayes, Luke Jackson, Saer Sene)
and the past two also may end up as busts (Jimmer Fredette, Austin Rivers).

[Shem]

My biggest problem has been trying to pinpoint where he should be drafted. If he's going to be a 20's guy, I'd like to see Portland try and acquire another pick to get him. I'm also not sure if #10 is too high for him.

I know you're not saying it strait out, but I hate it when people get too caught up in draft politics. What I mean is people saying how much they like a guy, but they don't want to draft him at a certain number because it's too high. How many f'ing times did people who finally got on the Lillard bandwagon say they wouldn't mind getting him, but they thought that getting him at the 6th pick was too high to draft him? And I can track down the all the comments that say that about Lillard.

Look in the past. Here some recent ones to consider.

2005 Draft:
Danny Granger - 17th
Nate Robinson - 21st
Jarrett Jack - 22nd
David Lee - 30th
Marcin Gortat -57th

2006 Draft:
Rajon Rondo - 21st
Kyle Lowry - 24th
Paul Millsap - 47th

2007 Draft:
Aaron Brooks - 26th
Arron Afflalo - 27th
Carl Landry - 31st
Glen "Big Baby" Davis - 35th
Marc Gasol - 48th
Ramon Sessions - 56th

2008 Draft:
Brook Lopez 10th
Roy Hibbert - 17th
JaVale McGee - 18th
J.J. Hickson - 19th
Ryan Anderson - 21st
Kosta Koufos - 23rd
Serge Ibaka - 24th
Nicolas Batum - 25th
George Hill - 26th
Nikola Pekovic - 31st
Mario Chambers - 34th
DeAndre Jordan - 35th
Ömer Asik - 36th
Goran Dragic - 45th

2009 Draft:
Jrue Holiday - 17th
Ty Lawson - 18th
Taj Gibson - 26th
Jodie Meeks - 41st
Patrick Beverley - 42nd
Marcus Thornton - 43rd
Chase Budinger - 44th
Danny Green - 46th
Wesley Matthews - Undrafted

2010 Draft:
Paul George - 10th
Larry Sanders - 15th
Eric Bledsoe - 18th
Avery Bradley - 19th
Jordan Crawford - 27th
Greivis Vasquez - 28th
Landry Fields - 39th
Lance Stephenson - 40th

2011 Draft:
Kawhi Leonard - 15th
Kenneth Faried - 22nd
Reggie Jackson - 24th
Norris Cole - 28th
Kyle Singler - 33rd
Chandler Parsons - 38th
Isaiah Thomas - 60th

If those draft classes did do overs, you all know where people ended up would be totally different with the hindsight factor. Again, that is why I say screw draft politics. F' 'em. It's all BS.

[Shem]

There are a lot of names being passed around for the Portland Trail Blazers with their tenth pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Kentavious Caldwell is a popular pick. Cody Zeller has gotten a lot of hype as his draft stock continues to climb. Kelly Olynyk is a sleeper pick by many draft experts.

One name that is not getting as much attention at the tenth spot is Louisville's Gorgui Dieng. That is a grave injustice. No one in the draft will impact the Blazers more than Dieng.

Here is what we know about Dieng so far. He's a 6'11 junior center, with an absurd 7'4 wingspan. He is a little old for a junior at 23. He was a First-Team Big East selection and anchored the top defense in the nation last season. He averaged 3.2 blocks per 40 minutes, to go along with 9.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He injured his wrist early last season and has found his combine shortened by an ankle injury. Coach Rick Pitino raves about his defensive awareness and his unusual agility and defensive recovery ability for his size. His offensive skills need some work.

Read more here:
http://www.csnnw.com/blazers/why-gorgui ... 0-portland

As many of you know, I've been a big Dieng supporter.

23 years old and 230 lbs. His shot blocking is not going to translate that well to the NBA due to lack of weight/strength. A decent pick in the 20s for a backup center. A horrific pick at #10

I hate it when people point out to age. That's the exact same argument people used with Lillard a year ago. It's like nobody learned from that. And I'm not too worried about his offense. The Blazers have plenty of guys who can score the ball. What this team NEEDS BADLY is a good defensive center and I've watched him enough to see that he has those instincts and he has good footwork as well.

[Norm2953]

It continues to be interesting to see Portland work out mostly guys projected to be late
first, early second round players while the project bigs like Adams, Gobert, Dieng, etc
are nowhere to be found. It seems clear Portland knows the guy(s) they want at 10
will be there and they seem to be treading water, waiting until the draft begins.

Unless it's all an act, I suspect draft night will be anti-climatic unless Olshey has a deal
in place to move the pick.

[TBpup]

Scott Howard-Cooper of ESPN was on Courtside this evening and said that Len is the type of player that the scouts and GMs are saying should have the ball go through on every possession. The 2nd best center to him was Steven Adams. Says he plays with so much intensity and effort and is showing things in workouts that he wasn't able to showcase at Pittsburgh. He seemed pretty high on Adams.

In his last Mock Draft Howard-Cooper had the Blazers taking KCP. He will have an updated Mock out this Thursday.

According to Adams, he will be working out for the Blazers shortly.

[Blazinaway]

Scott Howard-Cooper of ESPN was on Courtside this evening and said that Len is the type of player that the scouts and GMs are saying should have the ball go through on every possession. The 2nd best center to him was Steven Adams. Says he plays with so much intensity and effort and is showing things in workouts that he wasn't able to showcase at Pittsburgh. He seemed pretty high on Adams.

In his last Mock Draft Howard-Cooper had the Blazers taking KCP. He will have an updated Mock out this Thursday.

According to Adams, he will be working out for the Blazers shortly.

IMO we don't draft Pope and we don't draft an SG "IF" we keep the 10 pick, we go big or trade

[lukeyrid13]

I think we need an immediate impact pick like McCollum or Zeller at 10. If we are going to take a guy who will provide minimal impact the next year or two like KCP then we may as well trade the pick for a proven guy like Gortat or something.

[lukeyrid13]

At this point though I think it's highly likely we trade up or trade out. We are bringing in a ton of 2nd round guys but have only brought in like 3 top 10 guys and only individual workouts.

[Talent Chaser]

It seems as if the Trail Blazers have narrowed it down to KCP, Zeller, and Adams @10. Would much rather have Dieng but it doesn't seem likely. Here's how I'd rank them.
1. Zeller
2. Adams
3. KCP

[Norm2953]

I would think McCollum would be in Portland's top 3 but he's likely gone before
we pick at 10.

Alex Len might yet go #1 to the Cavs but the current Spurs/Heat finals seems to
have teams wanting shooters which leads to the possibility of both McCollum
and Pope being gone before Portland picks at 10. If Zeller who teams think is
a stretch 4,is also gone, would Portland opt for Bennett if he is there