Draft prospects @ 10

[Goldbum]

BJ Young just entered the draft and is projected to go in the 2nd round. If we could grab this kid I think he has a lot of potential as an instant offence guy off our bench. I really like BJ and Tony Mitchell possible 2nd round steals to replace Nolan and Babbs...

[GreenRiddler]

BJ Young just entered the draft and is projected to go in the 2nd round. If we could grab this kid I think he has a lot of potential as an instant offence guy off our bench. I really like BJ and Tony Mitchell possible 2nd round steals to replace Nolan and Babbs...

Gonna blow up during the workouts. Late 1st.

[GreenRiddler]

would you deal the #12 pick for Jeremy Lamb?

No. I just don't see him as that good. Especially when there are quality bigs in the late lotto.

[GreenRiddler]

We've got to remember scouts prior to last years draft saying Leonard will need time
and it might well into his second contract before he is ready to play.

What we need to do is find another Tyson Chandler before this team will be ready to
make noise in the west. That guy is not in this draft which means we try to upgrade
via free agency or trade using our cap space and using our first round pick on the
BPA for we could use another 2/3 and front court depth.

I think Len could be better than Chandler down the road.

[Norm2953]

In this draft, Len is likely going to be picked well ahead of 12 but a question of fit
needs to be asked for Meyers and Len are not likely going to be able to play together.

We've got plenty of needs that simply need to be addressed to be focusing on any
one position. Pre draft workouts are going to be huge prior to this draft for is as
much uncertainty on the prospects as ever for Nbadraft.net has us picking Trey
Burke at 12 and a quick peek at other mocks are all over the board.

[kdawg32086]

For all of you guys who watch international basketball and follow the international prospects: How does Rudy Gobert differ from Alexis Ajinca as a prospect?

[Joshumitsu]

It's possible Shabazz will fall out of the top 5 this year. If that does happen, the Blazers need to do everything to prevent OKC from grabbing him.

Shabazz=this year's Andre Drummond.

[Case2012]

My first choice for our second round picks.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGdt51d96A&list=UURUErR61S_Fl8AFMdRtJ6kw&index=1[/youtube]

[GreenRiddler]

It's possible Shabazz will fall out of the top 5 this year. If that does happen, the Blazers need to do everything to prevent OKC from grabbing him.

Shabazz=this year's Andre Drummond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... SAOSMA2kP8

[GreenRiddler]

In this draft, Len is likely going to be picked well ahead of 12 but a question of fit
needs to be asked for Meyers and Len are not likely going to be able to play together.

We've got plenty of needs that simply need to be addressed to be focusing on any
one position. Pre draft workouts are going to be huge prior to this draft for is as
much uncertainty on the prospects as ever for Nbadraft.net has us picking Trey
Burke at 12 and a quick peek at other mocks are all over the board.

They don't value team needs till after lotto.

[Norm2953]

It's possible Shabazz will fall out of the top 5 this year. If that does happen, the Blazers need to do everything to prevent OKC from grabbing him.

Shabazz=this year's Andre Drummond.

Shabazz is an undersized 3, while nobody said Drummond was undersized in last years
draft.

I'm betting the top 5 in this draft will be Noel, McLemore, Olladipo, Smart and perhaps
Trey Burke if he declares. The overall lottery is a mixed bag for its fairly deep but
pre-draft workouts will decide whether there is a legit #1 pick. It's a good year to
be picking 8 or 9.

[DusterBuster]

I don't see why OKC would have any interest in Shabazz to be honest. They've still got Lamb waiting in the wings and they have one of the best SF's in the game, as well as Thabo. He'd have zero role on that team. I'd sooner see them taking a chance on a 5 or looking to trade the pick.

As for the Blazers taking Shabazz if he falls..... I mean, sure, why not. I wouldn't trade anything of substance to move up as I've been pretty unimpressed with him and his attitude thus far, but @ pick 11 or 12, you can take a risk.

[GreenRiddler]

It's possible Shabazz will fall out of the top 5 this year. If that does happen, the Blazers need to do everything to prevent OKC from grabbing him.

Shabazz=this year's Andre Drummond.

Shabazz is an undersized 3, while nobody said Drummond was undersized in last years
draft.

I'm betting the top 5 in this draft will be Noel, McLemore, Olladipo, Smart and perhaps
Trey Burke if he declares. The overall lottery is a mixed bag for its fairly deep but
pre-draft workouts will decide whether there is a legit #1 pick. It's a good year to
be picking 8 or 9.

He means like Drummond in that he was a top 3 pick until a unimpressive college year and falls to a team that he plays good on. Like Minnesota. Which would suck.

[GreenRiddler]

I don't see why OKC would have any interest in Shabazz to be honest. They've still got Lamb waiting in the wings and they have one of the best SF's in the game, as well as Thabo. He'd have zero role on that team. I'd sooner see them taking a chance on a 5 or looking to trade the pick.

As for the Blazers taking Shabazz if he falls..... I mean, sure, why not. I wouldn't trade anything of substance to move up as I've been pretty unimpressed with him and his attitude thus far, but @ pick 11 or 12, you can take a risk.

I think they would take him and you could still move Lamb.

[Norm2953]

Drummond's U-Conn team team was a troubled team but remember he was a
consensus top 3 player out of HS and physically he was the best center
prospect since GO.

Shabazz was a consensus top 3 player out of HS as well and perhaps got caught up
in troubles in Ben Howland's UCLA program. He might yet get into the top 3 if he
blows up in the pre-draft workouts but scouts question whether he can make his
team mates better for the guy averaged 1 APG in his one college season.

It would be interesting to see what it would take to move up a couple of spots
if a player they really like falls.

[Dame Lizard]

What can't be underestimated is our TWO 2nd round draft picks.

I wanted us to draft Kyle O'quinn last year, and in recent game he's been great for Orlando.

The 2nd round of the draft is a good way to pick up on quality players who were passed on because they are a little bit older and played 3 or 4 years of College, which means they don't have that "he's young and has more room to grow" hype.

If Hickson leaves in free agency, we should be relying on the draft to get our back up PF. I mentioned Hickson because even though he's playing C when Aldridge is healthy, we know he's not the long-term solution.

I don't mind drafting another C with our first pick, as long as shot-blocking is one of their biggest strengths. If Dieng is available, I'll very happily draft him.

[marsblazer]

What can't be underestimated is our TWO 2nd round draft picks.

I wanted us to draft Kyle O'quinn last year, and in recent game he's been great for Orlando.

The 2nd round of the draft is a good way to pick up on quality players who were passed on because they are a little bit older and played 3 or 4 years of College, which means they don't have that "he's young and has more room to grow" hype.

If Hickson leaves in free agency, we should be relying on the draft to get our back up PF. I mentioned Hickson because even though he's playing C when Aldridge is healthy, we know he's not the long-term solution.

I don't mind drafting another C with our first pick, as long as shot-blocking is one of their biggest strengths. If Dieng is available, I'll very happily draft him.

I like Carmichael in the 2nd, seems like a buck Williams type player to me.Plays good D and seta good picks.

[Wizenheimer]

What can't be underestimated is our TWO 2nd round draft picks.

I wanted us to draft Kyle O'quinn last year, and in recent game he's been great for Orlando.

The 2nd round of the draft is a good way to pick up on quality players who were passed on because they are a little bit older and played 3 or 4 years of College, which means they don't have that "he's young and has more room to grow" hype.

If Hickson leaves in free agency, we should be relying on the draft to get our back up PF. I mentioned Hickson because even though he's playing C when Aldridge is healthy, we know he's not the long-term solution.

I don't mind drafting another C with our first pick, as long as shot-blocking is one of their biggest strengths. If Dieng is available, I'll very happily draft him.

you shouldn't overestimate the value of those picks either. Right now, they are the 39th and 46th picks, which is outside of the range of good value, 2nd round picks.

if you go back to the 5 drafts from 2007-2011, there have been a few decent and a couple of good players taken in that range:

Marc Gasol
Aaron Gray
Ramon Sessions
Goran Dragic
Jodie Meeks
Marcus Thornton
Chase Budinger
Danny Green
Landry Fields
Isaiah Thomas

a couple of starters (Gasol, Dragic), some solid rotation players (Sessions, Thornton, Budinger, Green) and 3 or 4 role players

But that's 10 players out of 110 draft selections. Less then a 2% chance of finding a starting level player. Between a 5-6% chance of getting either a starter or a solid rotation player. And a less then 1 in 10 chance of finding a useful player

pretty long odds

furthermore, 7 of those players were taken in either 2007 or 2009. If the 2013 is more like the other 3 years in that sample size, there is less then a 1% chance of landing on a useful player with either pick and less then a 2% chance, even with having both picks

[DusterBuster]

Drummond's U-Conn team team was a troubled team but remember he was a
consensus top 3 player out of HS and physically he was the best center
prospect since GO.

Shabazz was a consensus top 3 player out of HS as well and perhaps got caught up
in troubles in Ben Howland's UCLA program. He might yet get into the top 3 if he
blows up in the pre-draft workouts but scouts question whether he can make his
team mates better for the guy averaged 1 APG in his one college season.

It would be interesting to see what it would take to move up a couple of spots
if a player they really like falls.

That's going to entirely depend on how the draft plays out, but even then, it's probably going to cost more than it's worth to move up to get him. I still don't buy for a second that the Thunder would take Shabazz. He's not a Presti-type player and he plays at the same position as Durant..... so I just don't buy it.

On top of that, assuming the Draft Order doesn't change at all from where it is now in the 6-14 range, I don't think Shabazz slips any lower than 9. I think the Kings would take him @ #8, they need a player with some star potential, they need SF help and they don't care about taking guys with character issues. The Kings will also have new owners by the Draft, meaning cost cutting trades will be a thing of the past for them for awhile.

The other team who I think would end up taking him if he slips by the Kings/Sonics is the Wolves @ #9. They also need some star power at SG or SF. With the Roy experiment blowing up in their face and AK47 working out but not being a spring chicken, they need some youth on the wings who can compliment Rubio and Love. I also never have seen Kahn care much about character issues either, so I don't see that being a problem for him.

[Mattya]

I also never have seen Kahn care much about character issues either, so I don't see that being a problem for him.

You don't remember him passing on Demarcus Cousins for Wes Johnson because one was a headcase and the other had a good smile. As a Wolves fan, I'm guessing if we don't move up to a position of draft Noel, McLemore, or Oladipo, we will either take a guy like Len to groom or trade the pick completely for someone who can contribute right away.