2025 Blazer Draft Prospects

[tester551]

The team I’m hearing has the most interest in Ant is in the West. If what I’m hearing could happen, does happen, some will be shocked at the value.

I'm assuming that is shocked at the value in a good way?
Not that we have to PAY to get off him?

[DusterBuster]

Man I feel like this happens every year where I get myself excited about a few guys and then watch them slowly climb the draft boards. I could see a situation on draft day where by pick 11 Essengue, Kasparas and Byrant are already off the board.


Is it worth revisiting CMB at all? He absolutely isn't the best fit for us, isn't the best fit for the modern NBA with a premium on shooting, but he does offer 2-way impact, unlike someone like Queen/Fears/Maluach/Demin who are all more 1-dimentional players IMO. He is one of those rare athletes who has a clear advantage in terms of speed or strength over 95% of all NBA and can leverage whichever to his advantage. Again the shooting is a real problem for us but he is a unique and impactful player. And on the tiny tiny percent chance he develops a workable shot then he really could be a Draymond type player.

I think I still have Coward over him because of the premium on shooting ability but if our choice targets are gone by 11 we may have to think about other options.

Tier 1 targets: Essengue, Kasparas, Bryant
Tier 2 targets: Coward, CMB, Demin

Maybe? I dunno. Just spitballing.

I think Noa and Bryant are real possibilities to be gone by 11. Kasparas prob not.

Anyone else still riding that high of that January 9 of 10 game winning streak!?! WHO'S WITH ME!

[tester551]

The team I’m hearing has the most interest in Ant is in the West. If what I’m hearing could happen, does happen, some will be shocked at the value.

I'm assuming that is shocked at the value in a good way?
Not that we have to PAY to get off him?

One more question.

Is there a realistic timeline to know if this potential deal has passed? (ie - does it need to happen prior to the draft because '25 picks are involved?)

[zzaj]

Ordinarily I'd agree with you but I see the Lakers just got sold for $10B and I just wonder how free a hand Cronin
will have this summer as far as spending money on an extensions.

Teams like Portland who are not playoff contenders will do their utmost to keep their balance sheets clean for
the new owner, for even the needed improvements to the Moda Center are being delayed. I'd find it hard to believe
the team would save a few bucks on improvements while forking out major $$$ on Ayton/Simons. Best way for
Cronin to get fired if the new owner sees the balance sheet with a guy like Simons making $35 million/season.

The new owner hopefully will keep Cronin from doing something stupid.

All of that makes sense to me, a thousand-aire...but I don't functionally know how much impact having a resigned Simons on the books for 35M means to a prospective, Billionaire ownership group. It could mean nothing, it could mean a lot...I simply don't know.

What I do know is...GMs don't let starting caliber players expire for nothing very often. We can quibble over whether both Simons and Ayton are considered "starting caliber" (I think both probably are viewed as such by the league as a whole), but it would be a pretty rare event for this to happen, as far as I can remember. Plus, well it's Joe Cronin. I won't get into the 'he overpays his guys' argument with him. lol

Here's where somebody reminds me that GMs letting players walk for expiring savings happened 723409874 times last year, and I tell my dumb old man brain to quit posting.

I think Blazer fans - on this board in particular - twist themselves into pretzels with advanced stats to devalue both Simons and Ayton and consider them trash. I've seen the "He's not even top 20 starter at his position" posts. The reality is, that's not how NBA management functions. They all have different rankings to some respect (as do all humans), they also consider who fits their team and play-style, as well as simply who's available and at what cost.

So lets take that "Ayton isn't even a top 20 starter at his position" argument... Ok cool, 10 of those guys aren't available because their team isn't trading them. The next 6 probably have insanely high price tags or the team needing a C just doesn't have the assets to match. All of a sudden, even if you're using that very binary metric of player value, you arrive at Ayton maybe being the best fit for a couple of teams in need of a C (or by the same logic, Simons being the best fit for a team needing a PG/SG).

I try not to engage in those "top" discussions much for a couple of reasons...

1) Despite being a bit interesting as a shotgun of opinion on statistics, they really serve no purpose.

2) There is a literal whole world to every player that we never see, but from everything I gather is INCREDIBLY important to franchises. Is the player first to the gym or last? Do they get along with other players? Are they a distraction for coaches? Do they retreat or engage? How do they take direction? Are they easily "brandable" to the franchise? Are they a 'threat' to the brand? How far do we have to go on the 'growing up into an adult' scale?

Obviously, there are outliers where talent wins out over everything. But this stuff matters to actual GMs, and none of us know anything about this side of the equation.

I've talked about it before, but I had a conversation with two scouts a few years back, one for Portland and one for Dallas. I asked them, "What's the very first thing you look for in a prospect?" Both of them immediately said the same thing. "Upload speed". I point that out as an example that, with all the statistical arguments we can get over about how X player is better than X player because of X reasons...none of those Xs may be even the first things teams are looking for.

As you pointed out, there's also the matter of fit and cost that affect perceived value. If Simons had made a career in a 6th man role, I'd wager he would be more valuable to teams--they'd know they could slot him in at that role and it wouldn't make ripples across their roster and franchise.

RealGMers perseverate on cost and counting stats, when in reality there is a lot more in player valuation.

LOOK! MORE RAMBLING!

[Dame Lizard]

Man I feel like this happens every year where I get myself excited about a few guys and then watch them slowly climb the draft boards. I could see a situation on draft day where by pick 11 Essengue, Kasparas and Byrant are already off the board.


Is it worth revisiting CMB at all? He absolutely isn't the best fit for us, isn't the best fit for the modern NBA with a premium on shooting, but he does offer 2-way impact, unlike someone like Queen/Fears/Maluach/Demin who are all more 1-dimentional players IMO. He is one of those rare athletes who has a clear advantage in terms of speed or strength over 95% of all NBA and can leverage whichever to his advantage. Again the shooting is a real problem for us but he is a unique and impactful player. And on the tiny tiny percent chance he develops a workable shot then he really could be a Draymond type player.

I think I still have Coward over him because of the premium on shooting ability but if our choice targets are gone by 11 we may have to think about other options.

Tier 1 targets: Essengue, Kasparas, Bryant
Tier 2 targets: Coward, CMB, Demin

Maybe? I dunno. Just spitballing.

I'm ok with CMB. But only if Essengue, Coward and Bryant are off the table. KJ and CMB are probably tied for my next preferred.

Please no to Demin. He has bust (or role player) written all over him imo, and he doesn't even fit a need.

We don't need role players. We need to risk getting a star. And if that risk is CMB learning how to shoot 3s, I'll take it. Even if Demin's shot improves (he shot sub 70% from the FT line and sub 28% from 3 Pt), he can't magically become quicker which is what will hold him back, as he's certainly not quick enough to be a PG and he doesn't do what wings/forwards do regarding rebounding, defending etc.

[Case2012]

Bottom line i think there's a lot more talent in this draft than we initially thought and i bet there's gonna be a few all stars picked in the 10-25 range when all is said and done.

That's why i wish we had more picks. I'm still astounded we did a complete rebuild and only came away with a few picks. I really thought we were gonna flip Grant, Simons, Ayton and RW last summer or at the deadline for at least a few more picks (textbook stuff for a rebuild), the latter was mind boggling. "The skies the limit". gtfo here you clown.

Goldbum obviously can't spill any secrets but can you at least give us an analogy or comparison to the value you're hinting at? Pleeeeassssseeeee???

[Case2012]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=HoopIntellect

For all the talk about KJ and Demin being the best playmakers-- I feel like Clifford, Wolf, CMB, and Yaxel(before he withdrew) were the most underrated passers. It's having that elite passing skill that makes me feel confident about their roles in the league as starters eventually, especially Clifford. He has jaw dropping vision to go along with his rebounding, shot creation, defense and shooting. 24 year olds arent going to be considered that high of value with only 1 or 2 contracts to invest in over their career, which is why they go to contenders and excel right away with other quality talent and young teams go how did we miss him.

For a rebuilding team that's not ready to compete it's hard to say invest in him, but he's going to be a starter quality 6th man guy day one. I think he'd take Sharpe's starting role over the course of the season. Idk who to compare him to, maybe Hart-- but that seems like his floor.

Overall, I would love to take him at 15 and keep him away from OKC, SA or Memphis, which is where he'll go if we pass.

I think Coward has a lot of his game already and is 3 years younger, so still my top guy but i would love to be greedy and take them both somehow, especially since we need playmaking, but we wouldnt lose out on other skills like the more one dimensional players in our range. Jack of all trades all my ideal targets, since we moved to a more positionless style of basketball over the last 5 years.

If he was 20, he'd be going top 3. I think he's the most NBA ready and complete player besides Flagg but we're probably seeing his ceiling already, so i don't see him as a star.

[GEE]

Hey there... Getting very excited about the weeks ahead. Just checked draftexpress mock and it had this:
(#11 Portland Khaman Maluach 7-2 255 C Duke Fr.)

Seeing Chet in the playoffs, knowing his talents are just beginning to show... I'd be pretty happy with this pick and I said it many weeks ago. Hope it happens. Would be a nice pairing w/ Cling-Kong for many years.

"Simons/Ayton"....... Seen alot of this lately and I don't understand; I feel much different about the two. Personally like Simons for what he is and wish it was Scoot getting traded while he still has some value. Just never cared for him much regardless where he was picked. I would pay Simons a fair amount (with the obvious slight overpay), let Ayton walk if we can't get value in a trade, and let Ayton's money pay for Simons and the rest of the youngsters. Same with Grant (he could just expire) just different timeline.

Aside from that, a second FRP in this draft would be sick. My dream would be us also netting Ace w/ the #4 pick,sending Ayton and Scoot to NOLA for the pick and CJ.

Package Scoot / Keep Simons.

[Norm2953]

Ace hasn't worked out for any team and unless he has promise from a team, its unknown where he will
be picked. He measured out smaller at 6.75 in his bare feet which he will be under 6-9 in shoes.

'Id hate to pay Simons $35 million/season but suspect with the team up for sale, I wonder if Cronin
will get the green light to spend big money in an extension, when the team is holding off on
needed upgrades to the MC, other than a new scoreboard.

I think the team will end up with one of KJ, Noa and Carter for they are the consensus players to be
there in the mid to late lottery but would love to add one of the many mobile bigs in this draft

[Goldbum]

The team I’m hearing has the most interest in Ant is in the West. If what I’m hearing could happen, does happen, some will be shocked at the value.

I'm assuming that is shocked at the value in a good way?
Not that we have to PAY to get off him?

One more question.

Is there a realistic timeline to know if this potential deal has passed? (ie - does it need to happen prior to the draft because '25 picks are involved?)

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

[BlazersBroncos]

Saw this on Reddit and found it interesting -

Wings w/ a 7'2+ wingspan taken in R1 since 2016 -

Pascal Siakiam
OG Anunoby
Mikal Bridges
PJ Washington
Rui Hachimura
Scottie Barnes
Jalen Williams
Tari Eason
Bilal Coulibaly
Jarace Walker

This year Coward is the only prospect that hits that metric (Fleming is a big). It bodes extremely well for him as the above hit rate is absurd. Noa is close w/ a 7'1 WS.

[Village Idiot]

With those thoughts in mind, the teams who could use Simons in the West seem to only point to a handful. Mav, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Suns, Kings, and Jazz are all I can see.

I would add the Pelicans to the list. Dejounte Murray tore his achilles and, given the history of such injuries and his age, he might never fully recover from that. He has another 3 years and $94 million remaining. Their other guard is CJ McCollum whom turns 34 in September and has an ending deal.

I can see something like Simons and 11 for Murray, 7 and 23, or given the Pelican's center situation (just Yves Missi) adding CJ and Ayton to the deal.

[DusterBuster]

With those thoughts in mind, the teams who could use Simons in the West seem to only point to a handful. Mav, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Suns, Kings, and Jazz are all I can see.

I would add the Pelicans to the list. Dejounte Murray tore his achilles and, given the history of such injuries and his age, he might never fully recover from that. He has another 3 years and $94 million remaining. Their other guard is CJ McCollum whom turns 34 in September and has an ending deal.

I can see something like Simons and 11 for Murray, 7 and 23, or given the Pelican's center situation (just Yves Missi) adding CJ and Ayton to the deal.

I was very close to adding the Pelicans. They're a hard team to get a pulse on.

[tester551]

I'm assuming that is shocked at the value in a good way?
Not that we have to PAY to get off him?

One more question.

Is there a realistic timeline to know if this potential deal has passed? (ie - does it need to happen prior to the draft because '25 picks are involved?)

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

[BlazersBroncos]

One more question.

Is there a realistic timeline to know if this potential deal has passed? (ie - does it need to happen prior to the draft because '25 picks are involved?)

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

I dont see this doing anything for HOU. They get smaller in the backcourt and Simons vs Green is close. Matisse is nice but doesnt really give them anything they dont already have w/ Brooks, Thompson and Tari already on board. RWIII is likely not in any HOU plans with Adams recently resigned.

Simons is an insane consolation prize for KD. They might as well target Sexton if they are willing to field a little person backcourt.

My shot in the dark assuming its a Western team and the return is allegedly higher than expected is LAC-

Simons + filler player for Bogdanovic + Dunn + filler player + 30 + future FRP swap.

LAC is has made some splash moves lately, Simons fits well w/ Harden and adds youth to their scoring core. Think they could be a team that sees a Simons level guy pushing them to the next level. Simons + Harden + Leonard + Powell is a hell of a scoring punch.

G - Anfernee Simons / Ben Simmons
G - James Harden / Norm Powell
F - Derrick Jones JR / Norm Powell
F - Kawai Leonard / Nicolas Batum
C - Ivica Zubac / Duop Reath / Drew Eubanks

We get a pick + swap and 2 rotation guys - BB helps shore up shooting w/ Simons out and Dunn fits the defensive identity we are leaning into.

[DusterBuster]

One more question.

Is there a realistic timeline to know if this potential deal has passed? (ie - does it need to happen prior to the draft because '25 picks are involved?)

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

Houston is an interesting fit, especially if they miss out on KD. Like Orlando, scoring is a major issue for them, way more than defense, they're a team who would be way less concerned about Simons' issues on that end of the court when pairing him with Thompson. I guess my biggest question is what their plans are with FVV. If they resign him, it's gotta be at cheaper price than what he's currently at which is an insane 44mil. Swapping Simons for FVV would be a good upgrade for them at starting PG and likely cost neutral if they plan on offering a new deal to FVV. Guessing around 30-35mil per year for FVV extensions, they get one year at 25 with Simons before a 30ish mil extension kicks in, plus Simons is considerably younger (he fits their core much much better timeline wise).

If they would want to swap Green out for Simons, that creates a pretty small backcourt, they also still have Reed Sheppard.

So yeah, I get the fit, but they've also got a lot of guards... so kind of like the Pelicans, it's hard to get a gauge on where they're planning to go.

Would they consider something like Brooks and some FRPs for Simons? They have a lot of picks, so I'm not gonna bother trying to get exact with those, lets just say 2 or 3 of them come Portland's way. Rockets get a real scorer and they can let FVV walk.

Simons/Shepard
Green/Whitmore
Thompson/Smith Jr
Eason/Smith Jr
Sengun/Adams

[DusterBuster]

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

I dont see this doing anything for HOU. They get smaller in the backcourt and Simons vs Green is close. Matisse is nice but doesnt really give them anything they dont already have w/ Brooks, Thompson and Tari already on board. RWIII is likely not in any HOU plans with Adams recently resigned.

Simons is an insane consolation prize for KD. They might as well target Sexton if they are willing to field a little person backcourt.

I think there could be something there for Simons to Houston. I'm not gonna make the silly KD vs Simons debate, of course thats a massive dropoff, but an upgrade is an upgrade. If they can't get KD at a reasonable price, that doesn't mean to sit on your hands and do nothing. The Rockets got exposed as being way to impotent on offense, same way the Magic were. They need an offense generator, KD could be that - but if I were the Rockets, I wouldn't be going all in on him due to his age - plus his salary makes getting contracts there a struggle that would deplete their team and cause more roster disruption than someone like Simons. So while I get your point and it's valid, not everything is about pure talent v talent.

So I can see the fit of Simons in Houston, but like I mention in my previous post, but I don't think necessarily that would be the deal.

[Butter]

What I’m hearing makes this hard to answer. There is a possibility of picks involved but I wouldn’t say they have to be this year because there isn’t anyone I’m hearing we would target. If it’s dead for sure I’ll post that it’s dead. The last version I heard was 3 players going out and 2 coming back (3 but 1 would be cut). I hope that helps.

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

I dont see this doing anything for HOU. They get smaller in the backcourt and Simons vs Green is close. Matisse is nice but doesnt really give them anything they dont already have w/ Brooks, Thompson and Tari already on board. RWIII is likely not in any HOU plans with Adams recently resigned.

Simons is an insane consolation prize for KD. They might as well target Sexton if they are willing to field a little person backcourt.

My shot in the dark assuming its a Western team and the return is allegedly higher than expected is LAC-

Simons + filler player for Bogdanovic + Dunn + filler player + 30 + future FRP swap.

LAC is has made some splash moves lately, Simons fits well w/ Harden and adds youth to their scoring core. Think they could be a team that sees a Simons level guy pushing them to the next level. Simons + Harden + Leonard + Powell is a hell of a scoring punch.

G - Anfernee Simons / Ben Simmons
G - James Harden / Norm Powell
F - Derrick Jones JR / Norm Powell
F - Kawai Leonard / Nicolas Batum
C - Ivica Zubac / Duop Reath / Drew Eubanks

We get a pick + swap and 2 rotation guys - BB helps shore up shooting w/ Simons out and Dunn fits the defensive identity we are leaning into.

Simons next to Harden is interesting.

[DusterBuster]

Based on this info - this would be my guess:

Portland Out - $52.5M
Simons
RWIII
Thybulle

Houston Out - $53.6M
Smith
Green
Landale [Cut]

Houston is looking for more of a clutch offensive scorer (hence the KD rumors). If they miss out on him, Simons can fill that role decently. Rumors are also that Ime loves Williams. Thybulle would be an awesome extra defending wing in Houston.

Houston is currently shopping Smith & Green for KD - so I can't imagine that both are in their long-term plans. Landale is just extra salary.

If this is really the trade framework - I'd be on board. I don't think it's a home run.... but not bad.

I dont see this doing anything for HOU. They get smaller in the backcourt and Simons vs Green is close. Matisse is nice but doesnt really give them anything they dont already have w/ Brooks, Thompson and Tari already on board. RWIII is likely not in any HOU plans with Adams recently resigned.

Simons is an insane consolation prize for KD. They might as well target Sexton if they are willing to field a little person backcourt.

My shot in the dark assuming its a Western team and the return is allegedly higher than expected is LAC-

Simons + filler player for Bogdanovic + Dunn + filler player + 30 + future FRP swap.

LAC is has made some splash moves lately, Simons fits well w/ Harden and adds youth to their scoring core. Think they could be a team that sees a Simons level guy pushing them to the next level. Simons + Harden + Leonard + Powell is a hell of a scoring punch.

G - Anfernee Simons / Ben Simmons
G - James Harden / Norm Powell
F - Derrick Jones JR / Norm Powell
F - Kawai Leonard / Nicolas Batum
C - Ivica Zubac / Duop Reath / Drew Eubanks

We get a pick + swap and 2 rotation guys - BB helps shore up shooting w/ Simons out and Dunn fits the defensive identity we are leaning into.

Simons next to Harden is interesting.

Honestly, Simons is a pretty ideal fix next to someone who's allergic to shooting in big moments.

That said, it's hard get the Clippers to fit into Goldbums' rumor of a 3 for 3 deal (with 1 being cut).

I still think the Rockets could fit here, Brooks, Sheppard and Landale for Simons, Thybulle and Reath, plus maybe a FRP or two from Houston to Portland? If they're worried about a defensive hit they would take losing Brooks, Thybulle will fill that gap. Sheppard doesn't seem to have much of a role there anytime soon.

I do wonder how much of a plug KD is for other deals around the league.

[Case2012]

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=NoCeilingsNBA

Great breakdown of Wolf. Basically He was Michigan's PG, at almost 7ft. He ran their PNR and was their primary perimeter shot creator. Passing on him is going to be like passing on Sengun, but if Sengun could create step back 3s.

If we traded down, and coward was gone, getting wolf and WCJ would still set us up for a decade.

We need shooting and playmaking, and there's so many guys that could give us that in this range.

You should really check out this footage. He's going to be a tripe double threat at center. Some of these passes would make Joker blush... WHY dont we have more picks???