Ayton offensive focal point?

[BlazersBroncos]

I don't want the Blazers to 'waste' a pick on either Clingan or Edey. That said, I much rather Portland draft Edey at 14 than Clingan at 7. I'd prefer that Portland swung for the fences with both picks and gambled on wings, but the Blazers haven't done many things I like lately. Actually, with 3 or 4 exceptions, they haven't done much I like since 2012

I generally agree with you but I think Edey at 14 is a swing for the fences pick. A guy his size with his stamina and drive has a huge ceiling IMO. We haven’t really seen a guy like him. Gambling on a unique as hell physical monster who we have little precedent to use to extrapolate his NBA potential is a pretty big swing if you ask me.

[Norm2953]

Remember the NBA game has always been cyclical for if another Kareem appeared on the scene,
his game would force other teams to adjust to him. A team would have to be nuts to ask such a
player to shoot from 3 point range.

I just think a player like Edey will have a place in the league is 7-5 300 lbs and will be a load for the
opposition to contain. Nobody is saying he will be a dominant player but he will be a guy who in 15-20
mpg, might get 10-12 ppg against most teams with a 6-9 guy as their backup center.

[Blazers20]

I think it would be a good experiment at the start of next season to see how Ayton responds to being the focal point of the offense. If it’s a huge fail then they pivot and move away from having Ayton as the first option but the Blazers aren’t playing for anything and if he’s successful and makes the team better then so be it but they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[JasonStern]

I wouldn't read into that too much. This year's draft is big heavy. Next year's draft is guard heavy.

Actually next years draft will have Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and the big headed to Duke towards the
top, along with another French player at the top.

I never said there were no bigs in next year's draft. I said it's guard heavy. Bailey is a wing. Flagg is a PF. Maluach is the highest rated center, and he isn't projected to be a lottery pick. Then you have Harper, Edgecombe, Johnson, Gonzalez, Jackson, Fland, Lowe, Scott, Richardson, and Griffen all projected lottery picks that are guards. Some drafts are deeper at certain positions than others. If the Blazers tank next season, and we don't land Flagg or Bailey, there is a very reasonable chance we end up with another guard. And if that happens, the trade Simons/release Brogdon chatter will go off the rails.

It’s very hard to draft and project a position (like Center) without a real plan in place for how you want the system to work around that position…

Noooo! We're one of the least talented rosters in the league. You don't target a center in the draft. If a player like Topic slides to 14, you take him over gambling on Edey that could potentially be acquired with the two 2nd round picks. Get players with NBA level talent. Then worry about roster fit.

I don't want the Blazers to 'waste' a pick on either Clingan or Edey. That said, I much rather Portland draft Edey at 14 than Clingan at 7. I'd prefer that Portland swung for the fences with both picks and gambled on wings, but the Blazers haven't done many things I like lately. Actually, with 3 or 4 exceptions, they haven't done much I like since 2012

Can't control other teams. But Buzelis sliding to 7, Topic sliding to 14, and consolidating the two 2nd round picks to land Ware or Edey would be a pretty damn solid draft. I'm also fine stashing some Euro wings like Pacome Dadiet and Nikola Đurišić if the Blazers can't consolidate the 2nd round picks.

I think it would be a good experiment at the start of next season to see how Ayton responds to being the focal point of the offense. If it’s a huge fail then they pivot and move away from having Ayton as the first option but the Blazers aren’t playing for anything and if he’s successful and makes the team better then so be it but they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

You might be the only person in this thread that read the topic and commented accordingly.

[zzaj]

It’s very hard to draft and project a position (like Center) without a real plan in place for how you want the system to work around that position…

Noooo! We're one of the least talented rosters in the league. You don't target a center in the draft. If a player like Topic slides to 14, you take him over gambling on Edey that could potentially be acquired with the two 2nd round picks. Get players with NBA level talent. Then worry about roster fit.

I think you misunderstood my comment. My point is that it doesn't make much sense to target a position skill in this draft with where the team is at in the rebuild. If the plan is to replace an existing roster spot, then yeah...I could see that.

Last year the Blazers established no identity on either side of the ball (aside from being mostly bad), so targeting a positional skill to fit in is a non-starter. Now if the Blazers decide, THIS is who we are and moving forward all roster moves will be in support of that? Fine. I just don't really see an obvious franchise player in this draft that has that much gravity.

[Wizenheimer]

[
You might be the only person in this thread that read the topic and commented accordingly.

it's his thread and you might want to re-read the first 4 or 5 replies

[JasonStern]

[
You might be the only person in this thread that read the topic and commented accordingly.

it's his thread and you might want to re-read the first 4 or 5 replies

No. We suck and the draft is the one shining light in a dark tunnel. Every thread is now a draft thread or "trade someone" thread. If the "OT - Things to do in Portland" thread gets bumped, it's going to be because of a draft party. It happens. I only signed up for RealGM versus just reading posts because someone was trash talking Jerryd Bayless of all players. But he went on to have a mediocre ten year career, which very few players go on to do.

Bet you didn't see that coming! Try to bring Ayton back into an Ayton thread and Jerryd Bayless comes out.

[bwgood77]

I think it's good to get him as many buckets as you can. He can shoot and score very efficiently. The first half of the season and much of it, the good players were out, Grant only tries to get points himself, and Ayton just wasn't utilized at all.

Not getting to the line or shooting 3s hurts though.

If he can get back to where he was defensively in years 2 and 3 with the Suns, he would be a very solid C. I would never say he would be the best player on a competitive team, but could get you a lot of easy points. He was a very solid, 3rd best player on the Suns in their run to the finals, and at times, WAS their best.

But ultimately, it will come down to whether he will ever embrace contact, getting to the line, and maybe shooting 3s. I think in a very fast paced offense, he would work best...he was in like the 95th percentile of players when running or on fast breaks.

He needs a really good coach though and a big man coach.

But once again, it all depends on whether or not he can change his mindset to being more aggressive, getting to the line, etc. I don't know why he stopped shooting 3s. He shot them pretty well (on low volume) in I think his 3rd year.

[Blazers20]

I would like Ayton to workout with Olajuwon during the off-season and pattern SOME of his game like his especially turnarounds 15 feet and in. I also wouldn’t mind having Portland bring guys like Rasheed or Ben Wallace to work with some of the young guys and maybe even Tayshaun and Rip to workout with Sharpe.

[garrick]

You don't want Ayton to be the first option but you want to have him be the #2 or #3 option and get him his touches to keep him engaged on both sides of the ball.

His strengths are that he is a really good mid range scorer and finisher around the rim and he's not a bad rebounder despite the fact that he really could lead the league in rebounds if he committed to boxing out more consistently.

Some people may say he's overpaid but to be honest it's really hard to find a center that scores a super efficient 15-18ppg with good touch in the midrange and averages 10 rebounds per game. After suffering through Nurkic's bricked layups and terrible defense last season some of us in Phoenix really miss having a center like Ayton.

[JRoy]

You don't want Ayton to be the first option but you want to have him be the #2 or #3 option and get him his touches to keep him engaged on both sides of the ball.

His strengths are that he is a really good mid range scorer and finisher around the rim and he's not a bad rebounder despite the fact that he really could lead the league in rebounds if he committed to boxing out more consistently.

Some people may say he's overpaid but to be honest it's really hard to find a center that scores a super efficient 15-18ppg with good touch in the midrange and averages 10 rebounds per game. After suffering through Nurkic's bricked layups and terrible defense last season some of us in Phoenix really miss having a center like Ayton.

I miss Nurks screening and passing.

[Pattycakes]

You don't want Ayton to be the first option but you want to have him be the #2 or #3 option and get him his touches to keep him engaged on both sides of the ball.

His strengths are that he is a really good mid range scorer and finisher around the rim and he's not a bad rebounder despite the fact that he really could lead the league in rebounds if he committed to boxing out more consistently.

Some people may say he's overpaid but to be honest it's really hard to find a center that scores a super efficient 15-18ppg with good touch in the midrange and averages 10 rebounds per game. After suffering through Nurkic's bricked layups and terrible defense last season some of us in Phoenix really miss having a center like Ayton.

I miss Nurks screening and passing.

We just drafted Clingan, heard of em?

Screening and passing en route, ser