Draft prospects @ 10

[Norm2953]

I keep hoping we end up paying off Charlotte with a mid round pick in a mediocre draft
but as Miz says, its likely we will end up picking around 9-10 which is not necessarily
a bad spot to pick from. If we were as lucky as Detroit was in getting Drummond at
9, we'd all being doing back flips.

What we need of course is a veteran big who is a shot blocker to shore up a defense
and perhaps a SG who would be an upgrade over Wesley Matthews.

[TBpup]

I'm hoping they get some type of steal (or get lucky and move up) this year and then next year give up the pick when it is around #20 or so.

[The Sebastian Express]

Luckily for us there are a lot of good shooting guard prospects all in the 1-10 range, which is where we'll most likely end up being.

[DusterBuster]

I keep hoping we end up paying off Charlotte with a mid round pick in a mediocre draft
but as Miz says, its likely we will end up picking around 9-10 which is not necessarily
a bad spot to pick from. If we were as lucky as Detroit was in getting Drummond at
9, we'd all being doing back flips.

What we need of course is a veteran big who is a shot blocker to shore up a defense
and perhaps a SG who would be an upgrade over Wesley Matthews.

There's no one in the 2013 draft that's as big and physically unique as Drummond was, even near the top. Drummond was a freak the likes of which the NBA hasn't seen in a draft since Greg Oden in all honesty. The reason he slipped was the stigma surrounding UCONN big men and the questions surrounding his motor/heart. It turns out both of those concerns were unwarranted. It ended up being a perfect storm for Detroit.

As for next years draft, while a lot of things can change, I don't see that sort of perfect storm happening where the perfect player just falls into Portland's lap. Stranger things have happened, but I won't hold my breath.

[Norm2953]

There are though a lot of young bigs in college who while are not going to be Drummond,
might develop into journeyman centers. Lot's of Meyers Leonard"s type's in college who
will all need time to develop.

I do think there are a bunch of mediocre players who will be fringe NBA starters in the
league. The college freshman class is quite green and other than perhaps Shabazz, nobody
who will be starting from game one in the pros. Even Shabazz who is a great competitor
has some athletic limitations who more likely to go through people in his desire to
outscore his opponent.

I really like the 2014 draft class which includes Andrew Wiggins is going to be deep with
Wiggins touted to be the next Kobe.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Shabazz was touted as the next great thing as well.

[GreenRiddler]

I really like the 2014 draft class which includes Andrew Wiggins is going to be deep with
Wiggins touted to be the next Kobe.

the same people who "touted" Harrison Barnes as the next Melo and Austin as the next Kobe.

Wes also don't need a SG to come in and start for us in Shabazz is case since with have a bonafide starter in Wes who can ease them in with his 3 year deal.

[GreenRiddler]

Even Shabazz who is a great competitor
has some athletic limitations who more likely to go through people in his desire to
outscore his opponent.

This is hard to decipher. If your incurring he isn't athletic, that could be in point to him comingin out of shape and is working his way back into shape (27pts vs Missouri) and James Harden (who some compare him to) wasn't very athletic coming in either.

If we are lucky enough to draft him we will be contending in no time. I doubt it though unless we get lucky and go from 6 to 1st overall or he drops to 2nd or 3rd. I think we'll more likely just draft B.J. young outta Arkansas in the 7-12 range. He'll be a good ball handler/shot creator who can attack the basket for us.

[GreenRiddler]

There's no one in the 2013 draft that's as big and physically unique as Drummond was, even near the top. Drummond was a freak the likes of which the NBA hasn't seen in a draft since Greg Oden in all honesty. The reason he slipped was the stigma surrounding UCONN big men and the questions surrounding his motor/heart. It turns out both of those concerns were unwarranted. It ended up being a perfect storm for Detroit.

yeah really messed up on Drummond, when I dared compare him to Oden last year I remember people came up in arms, he is having a comparable rookie year to Oden minus the injuries.


what could have been.

[Norm2953]

The UCLA scout board is not as high on Shabazz as some NBA scouts are for Shabazz
has some Westbrook in him in that his primary goal on the court is to outscore his
opponent and he does little to make his team mates around him better. They seem
to view him as an undersized SF in the pros for his handle is just so-so and only
has an average jump shot. Still he's not going to miss in the pros for the guy plays
with great intensity and is a worker.

I do think the 2013 draft will be a mediocre draft with a lot of developmental bigs
if all of the freshman declare for the draft. 2014 is another matter for Wiggins
and Jabari Parker are on a different level. Wiggins played in the Nike Hoop Summit
last summer for Canada as a soph and has since re-classified as a senior. He will
be a young entrant in the 2014 draft, as young as MKG was in 2012.

[GreenRiddler]

We are now 3L's from an 11th overall pick.

[GreenRiddler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... mY6v5jJIjw


Could be in our range 7-12. Pretty intriguing.

[sisibilio]

Shabazz was touted as the next great thing as well.

No HS player since LeBron has been this unanimously hyped, Oden might be the closest.

I do think the 2013 draft will be a mediocre draft with a lot of developmental bigs
if all of the freshman declare for the draft. 2014 is another matter for Wiggins
and Jabari Parker are on a different level.

And Hezonja.

[Case2012]

I like CJ. I know, i know, he'd be redundant with Lillard...or would he? We need a 6th man combo guard that can score n bunches, and I think he's right in our draft range. Having both he and Lillard on the court would prevent teams doubling Lillard.

[GreenRiddler]

I like CJ. I know, i know, he'd be redundant with Lillard...or would he? We need a 6th man combo guard that can score n bunches, and I think he's right in our draft range. Having both he and Lillard on the court would prevent teams doubling Lillard.

He is more of a SG than Lillard. He is Like a Jamal Crawford who a.) is willing to pass and b.) plays with effort on D.

[Norm2953]

Shabazz was touted as the next great thing as well.

No HS player since LeBron has been this unanimously hyped, Oden might be the closest.

I do think the 2013 draft will be a mediocre draft with a lot of developmental bigs
if all of the freshman declare for the draft. 2014 is another matter for Wiggins
and Jabari Parker are on a different level.

And Hezonja.

He's an interesting player but I always wonder about the Euros culturally for the
off the court stuff in moving so far from home and having to adjust culturally
and needing to learn English is a barrier. There are a number of really solid
prospects in the 14 draft but Wiggins and Parker are on a different level for
the league has not seen such elite wing prospects since 2003 (Lebron).

[call.me.dude]

Everybody always says, "we have to draft in 2014 since 2013 sucks. 2014 has Wiggins and Parker, they're on another level."

You're right, they are on another level. There's still no chance we get one of them.

In 2014, we will probably be a playoff team by adding three solid players via free agency and maybe draft + improving from within (Lillard in his 2nd year, Batum in his 2nd year as a big part of the offense, Leonard in his 2nd year, whole team in 2nd year under Stotts and maybe Matthews or LMA add something new?).

So how in the world are we going to get Wiggins or Parker? When we clearly will be nowhere near the top 2 or even top 5 picks and very well might not even have a lottery pick ...

If you want to say that the 2014 draft is much better than this year's draft and that you would rather have it if we drafted then, fine. I'm not even saying I disagree, because I don't know a whole lot about 2014 apart from Wiggins/Parker. But give me some relevant arguments. Wiggins and Parker sure aren't.

I would specifically like some insight to how and why you think the 8th-13th pick in 2013 are going to be (significantly) worse than the 15th-20th pick in 2014. And would it really be worth waiting another year for an undeveloped player?

[marsblazer]

There's no one in the 2013 draft that's as big and physically unique as Drummond was, even near the top. Drummond was a freak the likes of which the NBA hasn't seen in a draft since Greg Oden in all honesty. The reason he slipped was the stigma surrounding UCONN big men and the questions surrounding his motor/heart. It turns out both of those concerns were unwarranted. It ended up being a perfect storm for Detroit.

yeah really messed up on Drummond, when I dared compare him to Oden last year I remember people came up in arms, he is having a comparable rookie year to Oden minus the injuries.


what could have been.

Uhh don't see how we could have gotten both, no way Lillard would have been there at 11

[GreenRiddler]

Uhh don't see how we could have gotten both, no way Lillard would have been there at 11

Let's not get side tracked there is another thread for that topic.

[Downtown]

Marcus Smart or CJ Mcollum both seem like good prospects for combo backcourt players. Anthony Bennett, James Mcadoo, and Tony Mitchell are combo forwards that should be onboard if the Blazers have a pick in the #8-11 range.

Just a few to consider.