Draft Results: Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Will Barton.

[PDXKnight]

As negative as I've sounded in this thread it may surprise you that I haven't entirely cancelled Damien out yet, I just think there are some question marks that are gonna naturally follow him until he plays a real nba game, and its worth being a bit realistic until he does.

You previously said that Lillard would be a veteran minimum-caliber player and then that he would be lucky to be the 8th man on a team. Even Bayless, who is the poster child for caution when it comes to Summer League performance, is better than that. It is that vehement pessimism that makes it seem like you are simply negative for the sake of being negative. I know that you are passionate about the Blazers and are the furthest thing from a troll, but it has struck me as odd to see you calling out Lillard with such vitriol.

You have a point. With that I guess I'll give the lillard chat in this thread a rest considering that I don't really think either side is gonna change their mind and at this point its about the entire board against me on this one so I guess the board wins eh?

I still have my doubts but I'm much too tired of this debate to continue it further.

[swede]

Lillard = Billups
Barton = Hamilton
Batum = Prince
LMA = Sheed
??? = Wallace

Portland = '15 NBA champions!?

All joking aside, I actually like Hamilton as a hopeful comparable for Barton.

We'd all hope for that but Barton plays absolutely nothing like him except he could prolly run around alot too.. S Jax is basically what I see I hope

[Moonbeam]

You have a point. With that I guess I'll give the lillard chat in this thread a rest considering that I don't really think either side is gonna change their mind and at this point its about the entire board against me on this one so I guess the board wins eh?

I still have my doubts but I'm much too tired of this debate to continue it further.

I'm not against you at all! Who am I to say what someone can and cannot post? All I am saying is that it struck me as odd to see someone so passionate about the Blazers take such a negative stance - that's all.

[mojomarc]

Lillard = Billups
Barton = Hamilton
Batum = Prince
LMA = Sheed
??? = Wallace

Portland = '15 NBA champions!?

All joking aside, I actually like Hamilton as a hopeful comparable for Barton.

If only LMA played defense like Sheed, Batum learns how to drive a little bit, Barton pans out, Lillard hits his potential, and we find that four-time DPoY center, we'll be set

[PDXKnight]

Lillard = Billups
Barton = Hamilton
Batum = Prince
LMA = Sheed
??? = Wallace

Portland = '15 NBA champions!?

All joking aside, I actually like Hamilton as a hopeful comparable for Barton.

We'd all hope for that but Barton plays absolutely nothing like him except he could prolly run around alot too.. S Jax is basically what I see I hope

He doesn't have Jackson's shooting ability imo, even in college he shot at 36 percent which is usually pretty low when you're talking about NBA prospects. Nonetheless, Barton was probably the Blazers' best pick of the draft where we got him and he could turn out to be an energetic sixth man who can make some layups and create some opportunities for the team. I rarely get excited about a second rounder and with Barton while I'm a bit worried about his size he's an efficient player who I am anxious to see come november.

[marsblazer]

Heard an interview with Barton where he compared himself to Larry Hughes, I think that's pretty accurate.
I hope Lillard doesn't take as long to develop as Billups did, he was on his third team before he was any good.

[PDXKnight]

Heard an interview with Barton where he compared himself to Larry Hughes, I think that's pretty accurate.
I hope Lillard doesn't take as long to develop as Billups did, he was on his third team before he was any good.

Hughes minus the attitude I should hope.

[Shem]

Here are some Summer League Highlights from our rookies in the first 3 games. The author of the videos didn't do ones for the 4th and 5th games:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6In6fr0Hgs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CcMd5kffXs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwocTicNBcI[/youtube]

[JD45]

This draft has me excited about the Blazers once again.

Last year, I watched very few games. I just thought the team was stuck in the middle and headed no where. I don't think they will be better this year, but are headed in the right direction. Lillard, Leonard and Barton are all very interesting young prospects. I could see each of them developing into very fine pros. It should be fun to watch.

[PDXKnight]

You have a point. With that I guess I'll give the lillard chat in this thread a rest considering that I don't really think either side is gonna change their mind and at this point its about the entire board against me on this one so I guess the board wins eh?

I still have my doubts but I'm much too tired of this debate to continue it further.

I'm not against you at all! Who am I to say what someone can and cannot post? All I am saying is that it struck me as odd to see someone so passionate about the Blazers take such a negative stance - that's all.

Lillard wasn't my top choice in the draft is all. Hopefully it works out and absolutely anything can happen. I hate predicting how a guy will do at this stage and I think I did that a bit too much earlier in this thread. All I know is if Lillard is as good in the NBA as he looked in summer league we're in for quite a treat, but I'd like to see what he can do against the best basketball players in the world first. Hopefully we all come away happy with the draft in the end, I'm certainly not waiting/ expecting Lillard to fail without seeing him play a single NBA game.

[Shem]

Another Lillard highlight mix:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTvHv5wFqUM[/youtube]

[PDXKnight]

^ Thanks for the vids. I saw the games for the most part but its nice to have all the highlights readily available.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Who were your top 3 selections for the #6 pick Oden2?

[TBpup]

Shem....thanks for the highlight finds. Wish there were vids of games #4 and 5 as so much of the first three were Lillard and rightfully so but Barton really busted out the last two games and I missed them on TV.

[DaVoiceMaster]

DVR Dude!!!

[PDXKnight]

Who were your top 3 selections for the #6 pick Oden2?

Waiters was my top one but that's a wash since he was already taken. Barnes would've been my preferred choice out of the guys on the board, though I saw some logic to drafting Drummond at 6 as well. I liked Terrence Ross more than Lillard as well.

I'm far from all knowing on these matters so it should be interesting to see how my top choices pan out. While he was picked too early for us to draft him, I'm probably most interested in seeing what Waiters can do. He's got quite the combination of size and speed, and i'm interested to see if he can adjust to the NBA in other areas. I imagine a lot of people gasped when Cleveland picked waiters so high and undoubtedly it was a reach, but I think it could turn into a solid move for them. More than anything I was hoping that MKG would fall but I think we all knew that wouldn't happen since before the draft.

[PDXKnight]

Shem....thanks for the highlight finds. Wish there were vids of games #4 and 5 as so much of the first three were Lillard and rightfully so but Barton really busted out the last two games and I missed them on TV.

Yup Barton was very impressive in the last few games. His last one was by far his best when he had the chance to dominate the ball.

[Shem]

Damian Lillard is NBA Draft.net's top rookie:

http://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-summer ... op-rookies

1. Damian Lillard – 4 Games, 33 Minutes, 26.5PPG, 4RPG, 5.3APG, 44%FG, 38%3FG, 89%FT
Lillard was our MVP of the week, and he shared the official award with Josh Selby. He was sensational in Vegas and it became apparent early in the week that the Blazer fans were quite pleased with their selection. Lillard showed poise beyond his years, running the pick and roll nicely in his 4 games. While his shooting numbers were good, there is still room for improvement and he has the capacity to become one of the better scoring point guards in the league. His third quarter against New Orleans was hands down the most impressive performance of this summer league. Down 17 at halftime, Lillard spearheaded a Portland comeback to take a 1 point lead after three and continued making plays in the 4th quarter to close out the game. He also had the best dunk of the SL posterizing Keith Benson. If they aren't already, the teams drafting 2-5 may all come to regret passing on Lillard.

[The Sebastian Express]

Washington and Cleveland have Wall and Kyrie - they'd never regret passing (though Cleveland may regret simply taking Waiters). Charlotte probably wont, because MKG is a great prospect.

Could definitely see Kings regretting it.

[Shem]

Washington and Cleveland have Wall and Kyrie - they'd never regret passing (though Cleveland may regret simply taking Waiters). Charlotte probably wont, because MKG is a great prospect.

Could definitely see Kings regretting it.

And I agree with that as that is my thinking as well unless MKG somehow turns into a bust. I wouldn't be surprised before the end of this coming season that there will be Kings fans who will be wishing they hadn't passed up on Lillard if he plays like I think he will and if Robinson becomes average.