Draft prospects @ 10

[GreenRiddler]

Right now every major draft site has us drafting Shabazz I am so conflicted on him, I can't say I am surprised as I believe he game shows flags that top 5 teams would go nowhere near. It is a make or break move at 10 and I'd roll hard on six and pick him. Could make Neil look good.

could turn out like Xavier Henry...

[GreenRiddler]

Here's another Gobert video:

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

Impressive, not analysis but good Highlights. Solid Prospect, longer version of John Henson with more potential? A Javale Mcgee without the special needs hat?

[Butter]

Here's another Gobert video:

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

Impressive, not analysis but good Highlights. Solid Prospect, longer version of John Henson with more potential? A Javale Mcgee without the special needs hat?

McGee is 7', 250 lbs
Gobert is 7'1", 230 lbs

Frankly, I had been thinking that Gobert was more in the 215-220 lbs. range. 20 lbs is a lot, but most rookie's fill out a lot over their career.

[Blazinaway]

I am still not sold at Dieng, Never gave him much thought as a top 10 pick, too one dimensional with a low ceiling. lillard showed improvement at Weber. Dieng is not Lillard

Just what is a "low ceiling" in regard to Dieng? Folks seem to throw that out a lot but I think context here is very important. What did people say about Asik and Pek and Marc gasol when they were drafted? From what I have read he's ready to step in and play now and likely solidly on the defensive/rebounding/shot blocking end - now Meyers Leonard was a project and I guess "higher ceiling" guy but will his Defense/rebounding/shot blocking EVER get as good as Dieng might be now? Frankly I think that is a very reasonable question to ask. Dieng is a guy who can contribute now and IMO has shown the ability to get better, look how his offense was developing late last year - nice little 15-20 ft jumper. I also think with an NBA strength training regimem he can get a good bit stronger.
My take is that while he may have a "lower ceiling" then some guys he is coming into the NBA a lot "higher off the floor" than guys like Leonard did and other C's in this draft like Adams/Gobert/Len.

[Wizenheimer]

I am still not sold at Dieng, Never gave him much thought as a top 10 pick, too one dimensional with a low ceiling. lillard showed improvement at Weber. Dieng is not Lillard

Just what is a "low ceiling" in regard to Dieng? Folks seem to throw that out a lot but I think context here is very important. What did people say about Asik and Pek and Marc gasol when they were drafted? From what I have read he's ready to step in and play now and likely solidly on the defensive/rebounding/shot blocking end - now Meyers Leonard was a project and I guess "higher ceiling" guy but will his Defense/rebounding/shot blocking EVER get as good as Dieng might be now? Frankly I think that is a very reasonable question to ask. Dieng is a guy who can contribute now and IMO has shown the ability to get better, look how his offense was developing late last year - nice little 15-20 ft jumper. I also think with an NBA strength training regimem he can get a good bit stronger.
My take is that while he may have a "lower ceiling" then some guys he is coming into the NBA a lot "higher off the floor" than guys like Leonard did and other C's in this draft like Adams/Gobert/Len.

I'm not sure about the higher-off-the-floor assumption...

Dieng vs Len: Dieng had insignificant edges i rebounding and blocked shots. pace-adgusted per40 rebounds was Dieng 11.8 & Len 11.5. Blocked shots was Dieng 3.2 & Len 3.0. On the other hand Len was a slightly better shooter in both FG's and FT's resulting in a 57% vs 56% advantage in TS% and a 24.7 vs 24.2 PER advantage. The one area when Dieng had a big advantage was assists with a 2.5 vs 1.4 per40 lead. But possibly overriding all of that as far as NBA potential is that Dieng is 3.5 years older then Len

Dieng vs Adams: Practically even in rebounds. Adams was actually better in per40 blocked shots 3.7 vs 3.2. They were even in TS%. Adams had significantly betterFG%, 57.1% vs 53.4%. But he only shot 44% from the FT line. That can be a significant weakness in the NBA if it isn't corrected. Dieng had a slight PER advantage. Again, Dieng had a big lead in assists. But also again, he is 3.5 years older then Adams, just like Len

Dieng vs Gobert: I won't try to compare their numbers. The NCAA and Euro-Leagues are too different. apples vs oranges. It appears that Dieng is the better rebounder and passer while Gobert may be the better shooter & scorer. Shot-blocking is about even

mainly, it looks to me that these guys were all rather equivalent this season in production and efficiency. I do think with Dieng being 3.5 years older then Len & Adams, and 2.5 years older then Gobert, it's reasonable to expect bigger gaps in numbers then what I see.

If Portland ends up actually drafting a C for the long-term, the much younger guys may be the better option. As you mentioned, that would make it a case of the Blazers going after a player who potentially has a much higher ceiling.

[Shem]

I am still not sold at Dieng, Never gave him much thought as a top 10 pick, too one dimensional with a low ceiling. lillard showed improvement at Weber. Dieng is not Lillard

Dieng showed improvement at Louisville. And he's not one dimensional. But of course at this point last year you gave me crap about Lillard until the draft combine happened.

[Shem]

I am still not sold at Dieng, Never gave him much thought as a top 10 pick, too one dimensional with a low ceiling. lillard showed improvement at Weber. Dieng is not Lillard

Just what is a "low ceiling" in regard to Dieng? Folks seem to throw that out a lot but I think context here is very important. What did people say about Asik and Pek and Marc gasol when they were drafted? From what I have read he's ready to step in and play now and likely solidly on the defensive/rebounding/shot blocking end - now Meyers Leonard was a project and I guess "higher ceiling" guy but will his Defense/rebounding/shot blocking EVER get as good as Dieng might be now? Frankly I think that is a very reasonable question to ask. Dieng is a guy who can contribute now and IMO has shown the ability to get better, look how his offense was developing late last year - nice little 15-20 ft jumper. I also think with an NBA strength training regimem he can get a good bit stronger.
My take is that while he may have a "lower ceiling" then some guys he is coming into the NBA a lot "higher off the floor" than guys like Leonard did and other C's in this draft like Adams/Gobert/Len.

I'm not sure about the higher-off-the-floor assumption...

Dieng vs Len: Dieng had insignificant edges i rebounding and blocked shots. pace-adgusted per40 rebounds was Dieng 11.8 & Len 11.5. Blocked shots was Dieng 3.2 & Len 3.0. On the other hand Len was a slightly better shooter in both FG's and FT's resulting in a 57% vs 56% advantage in TS% and a 24.7 vs 24.2 PER advantage. The one area when Dieng had a big advantage was assists with a 2.5 vs 1.4 per40 lead. But possibly overriding all of that as far as NBA potential is that Dieng is 3.5 years older then Len

Dieng vs Adams: Practically even in rebounds. Adams was actually better in per40 blocked shots 3.7 vs 3.2. They were even in TS%. Adams had significantly betterFG%, 57.1% vs 53.4%. But he only shot 44% from the FT line. That can be a significant weakness in the NBA if it isn't corrected. Dieng had a slight PER advantage. Again, Dieng had a big lead in assists. But also again, he is 3.5 years older then Adams, just like Len

Dieng vs Gobert: I won't try to compare their numbers. The NCAA and Euro-Leagues are too different. apples vs oranges. It appears that Dieng is the better rebounder and passer while Gobert may be the better shooter & scorer. Shot-blocking is about even

mainly, it looks to me that these guys were all rather equivalent this season in production and efficiency. I do think with Dieng being 3.5 years older then Len & Adams, and 2.5 years older then Gobert, it's reasonable to expect bigger gaps in numbers then what I see.

If Portland ends up actually drafting a C for the long-term, the much younger guys may be the better option. As you mentioned, that would make it a case of the Blazers going after a player who potentially has a much higher ceiling.

I don't think Len will be available at 10 and I'm not very impressed with Adams overall (bad footwork, poor foul shooter (44%), just not a threat overall to keep the defense honest) and we already have a project big in Meyers Leonard. Adams needs to stay in college and work more on his game. Gobert's rebounding concerns me as I don't think that he would be a good pair with LaMarcus Aldridge.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I guess I might seem to go back and forth on Dieng.

Undoubtedly I would love to get him out of this draft, my only reservation is if he is worth taking at 10. Seems like reaching for fit rather than taking the best player available.

I do absolutely love a big man that knows how to play defense, and that is what Portland needs. Oh and his passing from the high post would be an underrated component of his fit. Dieng could get a ton of minutes filling a role, similar to how Lillard did this year, because opportunity is just as important as talent for rookie players.

I am not so worried about his age, we have a bunch of mid-twenties players, so another mature player would fit right in with our development curve. I am sure Aldridge would rather be playing with a 23 year old than a 20 year old.

[Shem]

I guess I might seem to go back and forth on Dieng.

Undoubtedly I would love to get him out of this draft, my only reservation is if he is worth taking at 10. Seems like reaching for fit rather than taking the best player available.

I still recall people saying that about Lillard.

[Khazim]

I am completely sold on Dieng at this point. Of course things may change with the combine, interviews, etc. , but I honestly see Dieng as one of the top 5 players out of this draft in 10 years. Sure, he doesn't look to have a very high ceiling, but I think his floor is high enough that he will be at the very least a top tier backup. That is good value for the #10 pick in my opinion.

Not to mention, the strengths that he has are EXACTLY what we need out of our center position. And his weaknesses are all things that can be improved. Add in that he anchored a championship team, and seems to be of quality character, and you have a can't miss prospect as far as I'm concerned.

[Khazim]

Also, on the "reaching for fit" idea - It makes sense to mention when there are superstar quality picks available, etc., but really fit is incredibly important and should be a major factor in determining who you pick. How a player fits in with his team goes a long ways towards how effective that player is at basketball.

[Shem]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/blazersblog/status/334790989908697088[/tweet]

[TBpup]

A Javale Mcgee without the special needs hat?

Green Riddler....if Portland were to draft Gobert, that is going on my signature immediately!

[GreenRiddler]

What is looking at Jeff Withey's face for 45 sec s+ gonna show Me?? cause ESPN did that during the damn Drills!

[GreenRiddler]

WOOOOT

@ChrisBHaynes
G Shabazz Muhammad says he interviewed with #Blazers yesterday. Says he felt it went really well.

[Jsun947]

I know what Shabaaz was supposed to be...

With that being said I've been thoroughly unimpressed with him on the court, off the court, and everywhere else. I'm just not seeing the talent level that was projected for him.

He reminds me of a shorter, less athletic version of Melo but with Raymond Felton's work ethic.

[Blazinaway]

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress 1m
No one can score on Rudy Gobert inside the paint. Block, deflections, steals. Changing everything around the rim. #nbacombine

[Blazinaway]

Chad Ford @chadfordinsider 2 minutes ago
Best two players I've seen at the Combine today have been Steven Adams and Rudy Gobert. Both helping themselves a lot here



Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz2TTMPGR8j

[Wizenheimer]

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress 1m
No one can score on Rudy Gobert inside the paint. Block, deflections, steals. Changing everything around the rim. #nbacombine

If that's true and remains true, then he will be taken before #10....unfortunately

I wonder if Portland could move up any in the draft order by trading #10 and Kostas Papanikolaou?

[Blazinaway]

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress 1m
No one can score on Rudy Gobert inside the paint. Block, deflections, steals. Changing everything around the rim. #nbacombine

If that's true and remains true, then he will be taken before #10....unfortunately

I wonder if Portland could move up any in the draft order by trading #10 and Kostas Papanikolaou?

I think Zeller drops the most, his agent now trying to sell him as a PF (like Dirk - LMAO). Len will be interesting where he goes with injury and no combine/workouts. I think Gobert and Adams may rise the most of the C's. Gobert looked fluid and had nice touch on his jumpers.