Draft prospects @ 10

[Case2012]

Hoopsworld latest mock has us taking Michael Carter Williams at 8. He's leasing the ncaa in steals at 4 and assists at over 9. He's a 6'5 Pg.

[call.me.dude]

Thought I'd rather post this in this thread than in the game thread.

This is not a particularly good draft and the team may be lucky to get a rotation player between 8-13

It's early December, so it's too early to tell. A player might be twice the player or prospect in March or June that he is now.

And you're going a little overboard saying that you would be lucky to get a rotation player between 8-13. Sure there are some guys with bust potential like Austin, Poythress (who currently are both projected to go earlier anyways) or Porter but nobody forces us to draft them, whereas other teams usually are stupid enough to pick those "high potential" big men or athletic tweener forwards. And there are more than enough guys who are rather low risk and good fits with our team.

Guys like CJ McCollum, BJ Young and of course Archie Goodwin are guaranteed to at least be good sixth men (think of Lou Williams as a floor for McCollum and Young and current Tyreke Evans as a floor for Goodwin). Teams will shy away from McCollum and Young because they need starters and those two are best suited to be coming off the bench as combo guards. We, however, do have starters (and pretty good ones at that, except for C), so we can afford to draft guys like that.
Then there's Mitchell, who has some bust potential (especially if he keeps trying to play a SF game) but IMO is almost guaranteed to be a pure PF version of Hickson with outstanding defense. His rebounding should come up again, he was a beast on the boards last year. This also makes him a pretty good fit next to LMA.
Plumlee is also pretty much a sure thing to be a solid starting Center. He's improved his (FT) shooting drastically (from 53% on 5.2 FTA to 76% on 8.4 FTA), draws a lot of fouls, gets great position on the low block and always was a good finisher, great post defender, great rebounder and very good passing big man. He can play the PnR, is athletic, can really run the floor (even a little with the ball in his hands) but he's not great at guarding PFs, so LMA would be full time PF (which he likes). Honestly, I like him more than Zeller (and I hate Duke!). But then again, I don't like Zeller all that much (not saying I wouldn't take him at 8-13)

I like McAdoo but he also has bust potential, so I'll give you that and of course Porter.

So that's 5 guys from 8-14 (DX) that are relatively low risk players and on top of that are good fits. I'm not worried.

And if you really don't like any of the available prospects, you can always trade the pick. There's always going to be a team that would LOVE to have a Top 10 pick and is willing to overpay for it.

[No-Man]

You need to draft a SG, the draft has plenty of SGs, and is the weakest position right now

Ranking SGs....

Muhammad
Goodwin
Smart (great fit nex to Lillard cause he likes to play PG too)
McLemore
Young

I wouldn't draft McCollum in the lottery though.

Smart or Goodwin would be the best fits, I'd take any of them with a 5-10 pick.

[call.me.dude]

You need to draft a SG, the draft has plenty of SGs, and is the weakest position right now

Ranking SGs....

Muhammad
Goodwin
Smart (great fit nex to Lillard cause he likes to play PG too)
McLemore
Young

I wouldn't draft McCollum in the lottery though.

Smart or Goodwin would be the best fits, I'd take any of them with a 5-10 pick.

I agree that we need a SG badly, but how is it our weakest position when we have Matthews there? C is clearly our weakest position right now.
But I agree: if we can have Goodwin, we should definitely take him. Haven't seen enough of Smart to judge him but he also looks like a good fit with his defense, driving ability and playmaking.

[Case2012]

No mention of MCW? He was known as a scorer in hs but is leading the ncaa in assists. I think he would be a good fit next to Lillard since he can pass and has the size to guard sg's. Obviously I'd rather have shabazz but if we're picking in the 10 to 12 range, a combo guard that can spell Matthews or Lillard anr play alongside them would be great. Maybe the other sg listed have the same ability too. I just really like passers. Then again, I was in love with Marshall too.

[No-Man]

I think Carter-Williams is a Greivis Vasquez type of player, I like the guy, but he's a PG, and Lillard too, also I think he'd stay for another year at Cuse, they can win it all in 2013-14.

[GreenRiddler]

Thanks for starting up this thread again! I just wanna say that I think w do need a SG but not that bad. This is a good year to choose one though.

Bazz
Goodwin
Smart
Mccolumm (really like can be a Lou Williams but more efficient)
B.J. Young ( my goodness he is gonna be special but maturity issues )
Mcleroe ( really just Bradley Beal 2.0 and we already have We$)

I would say Bazz but then either Smart or Goodwin would be great for us next year.

I do think we need to go BPA though and BPA and a good fit can be Alex Len who I think can be a real good center for us good 2 way player I would put him bazz Smart and Goodwin on the top part of our gettable list with Noel in their.

Tier 1 on our big board
Bazz
Noel
Len
Smart
Goodwin
McCollum

[GreenRiddler]

I think Carter-Williams is a Greivis Vasquez type of player, I like the guy, but he's a PG, and Lillard too, also I think he'd stay for another year at Cuse, they can win it all in 2013-14.

He like Kendall Marshall are Good CBB players but bad NBA players and not on our radar.

[No-Man]

I think the best fits come out of Smart/Goodwin, if we win a top3 spot, I'd try to grab Muhammad or Poythress (and put Nick at SG maybe) Len looks great, but I don't take him with Leonard picked last year, and Noel with Aldridge and Batum is a poor rebounding froncourt, great defense though...

If everything goes normally we'd get a 7-11 pick, I think at this point, the best option maybe is going to be Smart, Goodwin and Muhammad should be gone, McLemore is a shooter and he fits worse, and McCollum is a Senior and an undersized SG.

I love BJ Young, but he's like a mix between Jennings and Ellis, don't think he could fit well.

Right now I'd be very happy with Smart, first of all, is a winner, hard on D, can play PG, great passer, man, right now he's my pick.

On the 2nd round, I like Patric Young, Andre Roberson, Deshaun Thomas, Ryan Harrow, CJ Leslie, McDermott, Phil Pressey, Oladipo, Moser, Dedmon..

[Wizenheimer]

in the draft, I don't think Portland needs to focus on any one position

what they need more then anything is talent. It would be nice if BPA was a big man. At the same time, if BPA was a wing, then a 3 man rotation at SG/SF of Batum-Matthews-talented-rookie would be just fine

[GreenRiddler]

in the draft, I don't think Portland needs to focus on any one position

what they need more then anything is talent. It would be nice if BPA was a big man. At the same time, if BPA was a wing, then a 3 man rotation at SG/SF of Batum-Matthews-talented-rookie would be just fine

redundancy can be a problem though, if that wing player is a lot like someone we have like Otto Porter/ Batum. We didn't go BPA this year supposedly but still got a talented player and a position we desperately needed. There is no real exact method though.

[GreenRiddler]

I think the best fits come out of Smart/Goodwin, if we win a top3 spot, I'd try to grab Muhammad or Poythress (and put Nick at SG maybe) Len looks great, but I don't take him with Leonard picked last year, and Noel with Aldridge and Batum is a poor rebounding froncourt, great defense though...

If everything goes normally we'd get a 7-11 pick, I think at this point, the best option maybe is going to be Smart, Goodwin and Muhammad should be gone, McLemore is a shooter and he fits worse, and McCollum is a Senior and an undersized SG.

I love BJ Young, but he's like a mix between Jennings and Ellis, don't think he could fit well.

Right now I'd be very happy with Smart, first of all, is a winner, hard on D, can play PG, great passer, man, right now he's my pick.

On the 2nd round, I like Patric Young, Andre Roberson, Deshaun Thomas, Ryan Harrow, CJ Leslie, McDermott, Phil Pressey, Oladipo, Moser, Dedmon..

I would prefer Goodwin slightly but both are really intriguing I hope we get a top 5 pick so we'll be sure to have a shot at em'.

[Wizenheimer]

in the draft, I don't think Portland needs to focus on any one position

what they need more then anything is talent. It would be nice if BPA was a big man. At the same time, if BPA was a wing, then a 3 man rotation at SG/SF of Batum-Matthews-talented-rookie would be just fine

redundancy can be a problem though, if that wing player is a lot like someone we have like Otto Porter/ Batum. We didn't go BPA this year supposedly but still got a talented player and a position we desperately needed. There is no real exact method though.

first, my guess is that the Blazers did believe they were getting BPA when they took Lillard. At this point, it looks like a pretty good estimation

as far as redundancy, my take is that Portland only has 4 players that are likely long-term members of their rotation. We've had our discussion about Hickson and we know where that's at. Evan allowing for our different views, I think it's safe to say that Portland will not decline to take a player just because he may appear to be redundant with Hickson.

Meyers Leonard?...the jury is out on him still. He shows flashes of being a starting level C. But those are just flashes that when combined with how raw he is, the concern has to be that those flashes are just part of a mirage

So, Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge. The luxury Portland has with those 4 is that they are versatile. Aldridge can play F & C. Batum & Matthews can play either wing position and as well, can defend the PG position. Batum can also occasionally guard stretch-4's

Lillard is the least versatile even though he's played a bit of SG at times.

I guess redundancy would come into play if BPA when Portland picked was a PG. Other then that though, a talented player at any of the other 4 positions would find plenty of playing time

One thing that might impact Portland's drafting decisions is who they are targeting in free agency. For instance, there's no need to draft a C if they are going to go after Samuel Dalembert or Zaza Pachulia. Of course, the Blazers knew they were targeting Hibbert but still took Leonard

[call.me.dude]

IMO, it's like this: You can take BPA with our first rounder if he's not one of these:

- a full time PG (redundancy with Lillard)
- a full time SG (since Matthews shouldn't play SF. Full time SF is okay though since Nic can play SG)
- a bad rebounding big (bad fit next to LMA)
- a jumpshooting wing (we have enough jumpshooting and need a slasher)

[GreenRiddler]

Man I don't know why ppl say this draft is weak... Noel, Shabbazz, Len, Zeller, Smart, Mclemore(aka Bradley Beal) BJ young, CJ McColum, Austin, Goodwin, Porter, Poythress, Mitchel,Adams, Caldwell-pope,Gobert.

Plenty for the Blazers to chose from I hope we don't get #1 though too tough to decide and I don't want the NCAA tournament to impact our decision like it did with the last one or like it did with Minnesotas 2nd pick. I hope we get a 3rd overall pick.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... 2013_Draft

Hmm it seems my stance was right. this isn't a year we want a 1st overall pick. I said we would be happier with a 3rdoverall especially since 2nd overalls are cursed. God I hope we don't get the 1 or 2nd pick this year number 3 please

[kdawg32086]

Man I don't know why ppl say this draft is weak... Noel, Shabbazz, Len, Zeller, Smart, Mclemore(aka Bradley Beal) BJ young, CJ McColum, Austin, Goodwin, Porter, Poythress, Mitchel,Adams, Caldwell-pope,Gobert.

Plenty for the Blazers to chose from I hope we don't get #1 though too tough to decide and I don't want the NCAA tournament to impact our decision like it did with the last one or like it did with Minnesotas 2nd pick. I hope we get a 3rd overall pick.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... 2013_Draft

Hmm it seems my stance was right. this isn't a year we want a 1st overall pick. I said we would be happier with a 3rdoverall especially since 2nd overalls are cursed. God I hope we don't get the 1 or 2nd pick this year number 3 please

Lamarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant say hello.

[fishnc]

I think this will be a pretty average draft. Not particularly top-heavy. Probably a lot of value to be found where our pick will likely be.

[GreenRiddler]

Man Shabaaz looks like a carbon copy of Harden. Also his stock his slipping because of a Bradley Beal Clone and a Derrick Williams clone. He would be perfect for us. Him and Harden avg the same ppg in their rookie CBB career. Get to the line ball handling

[Big_C_KU]

As a KU fan looking at the makeup of teams I really hope Ben McLemore ends up with you guys. You guys or Charlotte seem like a great fit, although the Bobcats are usually a dumpster fire. He's a legit 6-5, fairly long, and can jump out of the gym so he's ideal size for a SG. Has a beautiful jump shot and some have compared it to Ray Allen with how he has a quick release, jumps high on the shot goes straight up and down, and has perfect form. Don't think he's as accurate as I put Ray Allen as my #1 3-point shooter of all-time but he's no slouch. Last 5 games he's 14-24 from deep. He has ok, but improving handles. Has a tremendous pull up jumper from mid-range. He's added 10 pounds in one year at KU and I'd expect him to add another 10-15 in the NBA so strength won't be an issue guarding bigger guards because of his length and athleticism. His defense is improving each game and will continue to improve with a coach like Bill Self before he enters the NBA. Also has exceptional basketball IQ we're learning as he makes very few mistakes. The one area he needs to work on is finishing around the rim off the drive as he does have the tendency to put it a too hard or two soft off the rim but that's something that can be easily improved.

I actually think he's the perfect fit for Portland. You guys are looking for a SG to be unselfish and to spread the floor to make room for Lillard and Aldridge and McLemore will be able to do that from the get go. He is also a gym rat and shown tremendous improvement in a little under a year of practicing at KU so you know he has the desire to get better. I hope you guys are able to snag him as I feel he could be tremendous for you guys. Fits in better than any other SG because he doesn't have to have the ball in his hands to create offense but is capable of doing so if need be.

[Goldbum]

^^^^ I agree for the most par, but don't think we will be able to draft him. The Blazers are on track to drastically exceed pre season expectations and win close to 40 games. If that happens our pick will be conveyed to CHA.