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

[JasonStern]

It's early, but so far, it looks like the worry that Lillard being Bayless 2.0 seems to be fading away.

not to be negative, I'm sure lillard will be a solid pick, but until he goes up against nba competition, how exactly has the bayless 2.0 fears faded away?

http://www.mfbarkley.com/?p=675

it's only fair if the haters on draft night apologize for their early bitching

I'm sorry the blazers overpaid for batum.

the verdict is out on drummond, as is it with barnes. the only thing we do know is that batum's contract is, at this time, bad, there were few options at small forward and center in free agency, but several proven players available at the point, and all the blazers ended up with from their cap space was ronnie price. no deron, no dragic and hawes, no sessions - ronnie price.

[JustBlaze52]

Bayless and Lillard aren't even close to the same players. Lillard has long arms, is a great shooter, and has good court vision. Can we stop with these ridiculous comparisons yet? I've never understood why haters don't just keep their negativity to themselves? The team didn't draft Barnes, get over it.

[PToastMan]

the verdict is out on drummond, as is it with barnes. the only thing we do know is that batum's contract is, at this time, bad, there were few options at small forward and center in free agency, but several proven players available at the point, and all the blazers ended up with from their cap space was ronnie price. no deron, no dragic and hawes, no sessions - ronnie price.

I'll say it again.

We weren't getting Deron. Ever.
Dragic and Hawes are the definition of middling treadmill players. Even more so than Batum. Do. Not. Want.
Sessions? We don't need a Sessions-like player. Just a third string backup vet pg for practice and help Lillard acclimate.

[JD45]

Bayless and Lillard aren't even close to the same players. Lillard has long arms, is a great shooter, and has good court vision. Can we stop with these ridiculous comparisons yet? I've never understood why haters don't just keep their negativity to themselves? The team didn't draft Barnes, get over it.

Developing court vision is one of the hardest things to predict in a young player. Lillard has not proven he has that skill. He had 3 years more college than Bayless, so it isn't surprising he shows more polish at this point. Bayless just never seemed to develop discipline and patience in his game. He is still young, andI think still has a chance to develop along the lines of Chauncy Billups, but he probably will not. It is always easy to look back with hindsight and point out attributes of Bayless that made him not live up to our expectations. But he was a very good PG prospect coming out of college. Even better than Lillard in my opinion.

I am optimistic about Lillard, but he is still just a small scoring guard at this point. We really won't know much for another 6 months.

[PToastMan]

Bayless and Lillard aren't even close to the same players. Lillard has long arms, is a great shooter, and has good court vision. Can we stop with these ridiculous comparisons yet? I've never understood why haters don't just keep their negativity to themselves? The team didn't draft Barnes, get over it.

Developing court vision is one of the hardest things to predict in a young player. Lillard has not proven he has that skill. He had 3 years more college than Bayless, so it isn't surprising he shows more polish at this point. Bayless just never seemed to develop discipline and patience in his game. He is still young, andI think still has a chance to develop along the lines of Chauncy Billups, but he probably will not. It is always easy to look back with hindsight and point out attributes of Bayless that made him not live up to our expectations. But he was a very good PG prospect coming out of college. Even better than Lillard in my opinion.

I am optimistic about Lillard, but he is still just a small scoring guard at this point. We really won't know much for another 6 months.

I disagree though. His court vision is leaps and bounds above where Bayless' is now and Bayless is almost 24. Just because Lillard has been effective at scoring, doesn't mean that he has no pg instincts. His advanced metrics for A/TO and PnR effectiveness were off the charts. Even in 3 summer league games, I saw passes that Bayless still wouldn't be able to make.

Bayless argually wasn't a better prospect either. Inferior finisher, inferior shooting, less court vision as mentioned before, poor measurements (t-rex arms, rawr). He had quite a few question marks coming out of college.

[JustBlaze52]

I agree that we won't know for sure about Lillard for a while, but Bayless was clearly much more of just a scoring guard than Lillard is. The fact that Lillard has shown the passing ability he has already is evidence to me that he's already beyond Bayless even today. If players had been hitting shots consistently he would be averaging 8 assists in the three summer league games so far. Even if you throw stats right out the window, there is a distinct difference between Bayless and Lillard as people. Bayless had a fiery, and somewhat selfish/cocky attitude... Lillard has been humble, driven, with just the right amount of swagger/chip on his shoulder.

[GreenRiddler]

That left handed zoom pass to Barton is some thing Bayless was never able to do.

[GreenRiddler]

Those same people that said well lets see him do this in the real NBA would have not said that if he was bad in summer league..just sayin.

[sabi]

Bayless and Lillard aren't even close to the same players. Lillard has long arms, is a great shooter, and has good court vision. Can we stop with these ridiculous comparisons yet? I've never understood why haters don't just keep their negativity to themselves? The team didn't draft Barnes, get over it.

Developing court vision is one of the hardest things to predict in a young player. Lillard has not proven he has that skill. He had 3 years more college than Bayless, so it isn't surprising he shows more polish at this point. Bayless just never seemed to develop discipline and patience in his game. He is still young, andI think still has a chance to develop along the lines of Chauncy Billups, but he probably will not. It is always easy to look back with hindsight and point out attributes of Bayless that made him not live up to our expectations. But he was a very good PG prospect coming out of college. Even better than Lillard in my opinion.

I am optimistic about Lillard, but he is still just a small scoring guard at this point. We really won't know much for another 6 months.

Lol I don't get all the negativity in your post but it's funny anyways. His lack of "court vision" has not shown at all. If you watch the games he's given his teammates especially babbit more open shots that I can count and they've all missed. Just wait when he's with Batum and Wes. In fact most observers have commented on how his game is that of a scoring guard ala rose or Westbrook but with much better passing. I don't know where you are getting your doubts from but they seem off base for what he's shown us so far.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I have been quietly trying not to get too hyped about Lillard from these summer games, but I have to admit I was a bit of a doubter and he is winning me over.


First off, he just knows how to score. He can get his shot with a poise and force of will that is very promising. We kind of knew he would be able to do that, although it is a little surprising how well it has translated so far. His inefficiencies bother me, but hopefully time and better teammates fix that. I also want to see more of how to plays against elite shot-blockers.

However, my doubts were about his ability to get other players shots. I still do not think he is elite at this, but you cannot be fair if you don't give him credit for trying. He keeps his head up and rarely seems to be in a singled-minded scoring "blackhole" type of mode. He is no Chris Paul out there, but he hasn't struggled to get other players involved although most of the offense runs through him. I certainly understand the "unselfish scoring PG" label, and am starting to think he will do just fine as an NBA point guard.

[Mr Odd]

Pssst.. .hey guys, DL has played 3 games, summer games none the less.

[PToastMan]

Pssst.. .hey guys, DL has played 3 games, summer games none the less.

We have to have something to be optimistic about for crying out loud.

[DusterBuster]

It's early, but so far, it looks like the worry that Lillard being Bayless 2.0 seems to be fading away.

not to be negative, I'm sure lillard will be a solid pick, but until he goes up against nba competition, how exactly has the bayless 2.0 fears faded away?

His overall playmaking abilities are far superior to Bayless' in comparing the two players. If we're going to assume they're fairly similar in the athletic and scoring departments, you can't deny that Lillard has far better pure PG abilities than Bayless has ever shown.

The other part that sets Lillard apart from Bayless imo is his control over the game and his own body. Bayless ALWAYS played out of control. His way of getting to the rim was generally just putting his head down and bowling his way in. Then on defense, while he was pesky, he gambled and was usually over-aggressive leading to silly fouls when the opposing PG wasn't even doing anything. Lillard is far more decisive in when to use his speed and athleticism to get to the rim on offense. As far as Lillard's defense, none has ever been played in SL, so we'll have to wait until he gets to the NBA just as we did with Bayless.

And I didn't say the fears have faded away, I said their "fading". That implies they aren't gone completely, it is still SL after all and we still got to see Lillard produce this way with the big boys. However, when you compare the two players, I think you should have reason to be encouraged that Lillard isn't going to just be another Bayless.

[DusterBuster]

Pssst.. .hey guys, DL has played 3 games, summer games none the less.

We have to have something to be optimistic about for crying out loud.

Seriously. Good lord, after all the bull s*** we've had endure as Blazer fans over the past 2-3 years, let us have a reason to be excited about something.

[mojomarc]

The other part that sets Lillard apart from Bayless imo is his control over the game and his own body. Bayless ALWAYS played out of control. His way of getting to the rim was generally just putting his head down and bowling his way in.

Exactly right. Bayless, once he thought he had an opening, went for that opening regardless of whether or not it was still open by the time he decided to go for it. Lillard always has his head up and has his eyes open, and he reacts quite quickly to things changing. Additionally, Bayless, once he decided to go, simply tried to go as fast as he could. Lillard has a herky-jerky start/stop way of playing that's closer to Roy than Bayless. This creates space for him to get his shot off, even though his release is not ideally high above his head. Bayless, on the other hand, was practically an All-NBA player in taking away space, which meant he forced up way more shots with the defense draped all over him. The styles of Bayless and Lillard could not be further apart. The only real comparison between Bayless and Lillard is both were thought to have significant potential at PG. Beyond that, there really isn't any similarity at all.

[Moonbeam]

I learned on Damian Lillard's Facebook page that he chose the number "0" because it stood for Oakland (where he is from), Ogden (where Weber St. is) and Oregon. Good choice IMO for choosing that number even though it's technically not a number.

0 is a number!

[Downtown]

I'm not going to compare the two but I have to say that I watched just about every Raptors game last season since I live in Canada and Bayless really improved his game as the season progressed. He looked like he figured it out with Dwayne Casey coaching him.

And now having a great no nonsense fundamentals coach in Lionel Hollins should improve his game even more next season.

That's why I believe it's critical to the longterm development of Lillard for Portland to choose very wisely their next head coach.

[monopoman]

The other part that sets Lillard apart from Bayless imo is his control over the game and his own body. Bayless ALWAYS played out of control. His way of getting to the rim was generally just putting his head down and bowling his way in.

Exactly right. Bayless, once he thought he had an opening, went for that opening regardless of whether or not it was still open by the time he decided to go for it. Lillard always has his head up and has his eyes open, and he reacts quite quickly to things changing. Additionally, Bayless, once he decided to go, simply tried to go as fast as he could. Lillard has a herky-jerky start/stop way of playing that's closer to Roy than Bayless. This creates space for him to get his shot off, even though his release is not ideally high above his head. Bayless, on the other hand, was practically an All-NBA player in taking away space, which meant he forced up way more shots with the defense draped all over him. The styles of Bayless and Lillard could not be further apart. The only real comparison between Bayless and Lillard is both were thought to have significant potential at PG. Beyond that, there really isn't any similarity at all.

Yeah I see constant comparisons with Lillard and Roy these guys are so similar its ridiculous. I am amazed at how smooth and smart he plays the game. These skills easily transfer over no matter how high the competition level reaches.

[b33nine]

Lillard has looked really good so far. For as much as I didn't like the pick at the time, he's quickly changing my opinion of that draft choice. He could be a real stud at PG in this league.

Excited to see what he can do with some real NBA players around him.

[NBAMAN2006]

After watching the SL, I would give this breakdown of our rookie additions....

- Damian Lillard: O boy, what a talent. I had my doubts about his court vision and athlecism. He really did a good amount to show his athletic skills, and I am truly convinced he will be the best Point Guard we have had since Terry Porter. His court vision suprised, as he never put his head down when taking it to the rim. He will never be a 10apg guy, but I can see him getting 6-8 through his career. Another thing I truly enjoyed watching was his body language, he truly came off as calm, collected and calculating. What seperates him from many other talents, IMO, is his stop/start herky/jerky ability to attack the rim. I think there is a small chance that he becomes a Roy'esque.
NBA COMPARISON: Russell Westbrook (Less athletic with better shooting)
ROOKIE SEASON: 15ppg, 4-5apg, 3rpg, 1spg
PRIME SEASONS: 22ppg, 6-7apg, 3rpg, 1.5spg


- Myers Leonard: Very solid showing. He was a good deal more coordinated that I thought he would be. Showed the important big man trait of ending up with points despite never having plays run for him. He has elite size, but needs to add about 10 pounds. He gets pushed out of the paint on offense, but seems to hold his own defensively. Sorta odd. But, the kid has awesome talent to become a great glue-center. He wont ever be a great scorer, but he has some nice touch and his FT% will keep him on the court through his growing pains. He looks to already be a shoe-in to become a backup center at the worst, and I am personally convinced that he will become a solid starting center.
NBA COMPARISON: Tiago Splitter
ROOKIE SEASON: 5ppg, 4rpg, 1bpg
PRIME SEASONS: 10-12ppg, 8-10rpg, 1.5-2bpg


- Will Barton: Wow, what a suprise. I always thought this kid had some talent, but he has really shown some suprising talent. His ballhandling is very, very good for a SG, as is his playmaking abilities. His stroke has run hot and cold, but he has great form and shows NBA range. I truly think that with a little whey protein this kid can be a starting NBA SG. His ability to play within the speed of the game and communicate with his teammates shows alot of maturity for such a young guy. I see a real player in Barton, and will not be suprised if he starts at SG by the end of the year. We are not talking about a guy that just has shown a ton of athlecism or has racked up points in the SL. Barton has been the whole package. Smarts, scoring, ballhandling, defense, maturity.
NBA COMPARISON: ???
ROOKIE STATS: 4ppg, 2rpg, 1apg
PRIME SEASONS: 13-15ppg, 4-5rpg, 2-3apg, 1spg

***** END HOMER *****