RealGM

Wanted to trade #43 for Payton Pritchard, but with the lolcats passing on Scoot, that makes no sense now. Shooting my shot now that Rayan Rupert will have a Nicholas Batum level career, and the Blazers got a total steal at #43. Is he going to be a GOAT? No. He won't even be in the top ten of this draft. Which makes sense. He was drafted #43. But he shouldn't have slid this far. Broken shooting wrist and playing overseas really hurt his draft stock. Scoot overshadows everything because he's the splashy potential future Chris Paul, but nobody is talking about Rayan or what a steal he was. Cronin is going to botch some trades, make ownership driven moves to avoid paying a single penny of luxury tax, overpay to retain "his" players, and botch a free agency or two. But given the limited information I have, he nailed the draft. Which is huge if you aren't a free agent destination.

;t=416s

On the ESPN mock draft show, he was their choice as the 23rd pick. He's likely a steal as the 43rd
pick and was the last player left in the green room

That's an impressive video. I thought it was striking that Cronin said all three of the PDX picks were lottery picks on their board. This could be a special draft. I am beginning to think that Portland might be pretty good next year if they resign Grant and Thybulle, and get a bruiser in exchange for Simons. I'm not sure the grass is greener for Dame in Brooklyn or Miami.

We can only hope this thread will age well

I'm so excited about this kid. It's crazy to me that he fell to #43.

Goldbum wrote:I'm so excited about this kid. It's crazy to me that he fell to #43.

he didnt fell, his agent told other teams not to draft him cause he had promise from the trail blazers

I agree!!!

Here's what I wrote the morning after the draft in the General Board Draft Winners & Losers thread:

I think they got a steal in Rayan Rupert at 43. Age wise, he fits perfectly with the Sharpe/Scoot timeline and I like the fact that he is a very versatile/switchable defender. I love what ESPN had to say about him:

Despite not turning 19 until the end of May, he brings a calming presence to his team's offense with his strong feel for the game and unselfish style, as well as strong defensive versatility and intensity required to play a key role for the NBL's most efficient defense.

Rupert's 7-3 wingspan allows him to make a huge impact off the ball, rotating to protect the rim, contesting shots on the perimeter and coming up with plenty of deflections and steals. He's often utilized as a point-of-attack defender, heating up the opposing team's point guard the length of the floor and has little issues switching onto bigger players due to his length, intensity and competitiveness. Every team in the NBA is looking for long-armed wings in Rupert's mold who can defend multiple positions, make good decisions with the ball and switch seamlessly from point guards to power forwards.

Sounds like he could be the perfect complimentary role player to POR's Sharpe/Scoot backcourt of the future. I like this pick a lot. I think they got tremendous value out of a mid-second round pick here.

Sounds "kinda" Scottie Pippenish

Ya, if we rebuild and he pans out his profile is pretty ideal next to two high usage guards.

Something of note - Rupert has a right wrist injury last year - before the injury he was shooting 38% from 3 - after he was at 25%.

Something else of note, and I do still love the pick, but his testing numbers were shockingly bad compared to how athletic he looks on film. 27.5 standing vertical and 32.5 max vertical is so bad you have to think he was injured or something. Like, that standing vert is 1.5 inches better than Zach Edey.

I heard some scouts had this guy as high as a potential lottery pick. So the notion that he might be the steal of the draft is pretty damn high, especially if we look at just 2nd round guys.

If this guys ceiling is Batum or a rich man's Batum that would be incredible, Batum was extremely effective and when he was in his prime could make almost any roster better.

BlazersBroncos wrote:Ya, if we rebuild and he pans out his profile is pretty ideal next to two high usage guards.

Something of note - Rupert has a right wrist injury last year - before the injury he was shooting 38% from 3 - after he was at 25%.

Something else of note, and I do still love the pick, but his testing numbers were shockingly bad compared to how athletic he looks on film. 27.5 standing vertical and 32.5 max vertical is so bad you have to think he was injured or something. Like, that standing vert is 1.5 inches better than Zach Edey.

He definitely does appear to lack explosion based on what I've seen, but if prime Joe Ingles (I'm an Aussie) can become a good NBA defender, then Rupert definitely can too. Hopefully we bring Matisse back and Rupert can learn off him. We haven't had multiple good wing defenders since Batum and Wes Matthews (from my recollection), so this is a good start.

On tape Rayan > Bilal
Underwear Olympics Rayan < Bilal
Rayan = #43
Bilal =#7
This is sort of why I love the draft. Beauty in the eye of the beholder. We've seen banner testing numbers on functionally un athletic guys and guys with trash numbers fly all over the court.

BlazersBroncos wrote:Ya, if we rebuild and he pans out his profile is pretty ideal next to two high usage guards.

Something of note - Rupert has a right wrist injury last year - before the injury he was shooting 38% from 3 - after he was at 25%.

Something else of note, and I do still love the pick, but his testing numbers were shockingly bad compared to how athletic he looks on film. 27.5 standing vertical and 32.5 max vertical is so bad you have to think he was injured or something. Like, that standing vert is 1.5 inches better than Zach Edey.

His lateral quickness and functional athleticism seem excellent and he seems to dunk with ease off one foot or two so I view those jumping numbers with scepticism. Maybe he was tanking his testing numbers to get to the 2nd round where he isn't subject to the rookie scale contract. I can see how it might be preferable to be a 2nd rounder instead of a late first.

JasonStern wrote:But given the limited information I have, he nailed the draft.

I’m going to assume quality late picks were really Mike Schmitz’s doing.

Village Idiot wrote:

BlazersBroncos wrote:Ya, if we rebuild and he pans out his profile is pretty ideal next to two high usage guards.

Something of note - Rupert has a right wrist injury last year - before the injury he was shooting 38% from 3 - after he was at 25%.

Something else of note, and I do still love the pick, but his testing numbers were shockingly bad compared to how athletic he looks on film. 27.5 standing vertical and 32.5 max vertical is so bad you have to think he was injured or something. Like, that standing vert is 1.5 inches better than Zach Edey.

His lateral quickness and functional athleticism seem excellent and he seems to dunk with ease off one foot or two so I view those jumping numbers with scepticism. Maybe he was tanking his testing numbers to get to the 2nd round where he isn't subject to the rookie scale contract. I can see how it might be preferable to be a 2nd rounder instead of a late first.

That’s an intriguing theory. While it can sometimes be financially advantageous to take a 2nd round contract over a 1st… I’d wager most NBA hopefuls would prefer the 1st round’s guaranteed multi-year contract. Especially players who attend the draft in person, like Rupert did… they’d prefer not to wait in the green room all night.

I don’t think there’s much more to this other than Rupert is an average athlete, which is consistent with his vertical measurements. 27.5 isn’t good but it’s not terrible… 28” is the average standing vert in the NBA. (Source: https://www.topendsports.com/testing/results/vertical-jump.htm)

The reason he makes dunking look so effortless is his insane 8’10 standing reach… meaning he only needs to jump 14 inches to touch rim

This also contributes to why to some he may appear more athletic in videos… he has excellent body control and coordination for a guy with his length. He may not be an uber-athlete, but he is a very talented kid with NBA length and he uses it well on the court. I think the Batum comps are pretty spot on for his ceiling and I’m hopeful he can develop into that kind of wing.

I see a lot of Herb Jones when O watch his tape. The narrative around his work ethic is really exciting. On offense he reminds me of Reddish, but unlike Cam, Rayan plays within himself. That's a compliment because if Reddish could learn to be a role player he would be a fantastic SF/4th Starter, but he struggles with understanding how to contribute.

Goldbum wrote:I'm so excited about this kid. It's crazy to me that he fell to #43.

Rumors I heard was that his agent told a lot of teams to pass on him until he could get to the Blazers second round pick because they promised him a fully guaranteed multi year contract. Seems likely he may have gone sooner if not for that.

DusterBuster wrote:

Goldbum wrote:I'm so excited about this kid. It's crazy to me that he fell to #43.

Rumors I heard was that his agent told a lot of teams to pass on him until he could get to the Blazers second round pick because they promised him a fully guaranteed multi year contract. Seems likely he may have gone sooner if not for that.

While I am so glad he is here that seems a bit unsavory

m0ng0 wrote:

DusterBuster wrote:

Goldbum wrote:I'm so excited about this kid. It's crazy to me that he fell to #43.

Rumors I heard was that his agent told a lot of teams to pass on him until he could get to the Blazers second round pick because they promised him a fully guaranteed multi year contract. Seems likely he may have gone sooner if not for that.

While I am so glad he is here that seems a bit unsavory

Why? It’s fine and pretty common. If a player in the second round has a guaranteed deal commitment and no other team is willing to do that, then what’s the harm in letting him get to where he can get that deal?

Dont draft me because I won't sign a contract with you is not holding a gun to the teams head?