The OFFICIAL rookie impressions thread pt.III

[Cro_Ruption]

if the draft was redone today the top 5 would go like:

Davis-Safe pick with Uber upside and fits Pelicans need
Drummond- Arguably most upside, something the Bobcats need
Beal- Great fit, high upside, no regrets.
Waiters- Honestly I thought he'd be a bust, but he's done damn good and fits well next to Irving.
Lillard- Sac could use a franchise saving PG

I think that'd make the most sense based on team need and upside factored in. I'm not sure how the rest shapes up after that.

doubt lillard goes below beal or waiters

[DeBlazerRiddem]

This thread is getting ridiculous. Willbcock's post have been completely civil.. Whether you agree with him or not, theres no need to call him ignorant. This is why there are a ton of fans who come in here and make comments about Blazers fans.

No, a lot of people come in here and make comments about Blazers fans because it is easier for you to make broad generalizations about an entire fanbase.

Sorry Sebastian, I've seen you make this comment a couple of times, but it's becoming less and less of a generalization. At the end of the day, if you aren't the one doing it, you don't need to take offense to it. Attacking someone for making what was a pretty simple and legitimate comment/generalization doesn't exactly help the "Blazer" name in this thread.

A legitimate generalization?

This is stupid. I get upset about the broad generalizations going on this this thread - which are directed at me because I am a Blazers fan who has been very supportive of other rookies success while still being a fan of Lillard - and then you say my push back against these generalizations actually legitimizes them?

If you want to attack a specific poster, or set of posters, or even myself, call that person out by name instead of spreading these insidious generalizations. There can be no excuse for it, and claiming our defense as an affront is insulting, intellectually dishonest and plain disrespectful. If me telling you to stop making generalizations makes you think less of me, then I suppose I cannot care about your opinion.

Sorry for the strong language, but if people continue making generalizations about Blazer fans I will continue to call their arguments stupid.

[nuposse04]

if the draft was redone today the top 5 would go like:

Davis-Safe pick with Uber upside and fits Pelicans need
Drummond- Arguably most upside, something the Bobcats need
Beal- Great fit, high upside, no regrets.
Waiters- Honestly I thought he'd be a bust, but he's done damn good and fits well next to Irving.
Lillard- Sac could use a franchise saving PG

I think that'd make the most sense based on team need and upside factored in. I'm not sure how the rest shapes up after that.

doubt lillard goes below beal or waiters

based on team need as well. Lillard is better offensively right now then Wall by a lot, but Beal is massive upgrade in SG department, and until he recently rolled his ankle, leaves no doubt in my mind about taking him again(even knowing his early struggles). Lillard isn't on Kyrie's level so they'd take a positional pick. Lillard is still rookie of the year material, but I'm not so sure the teams picking the top 4 have much regret in passing over him. Sacramento on the other hand...

If the question whose the best long term for your franchise, and who do you take with arbitrary teams 1-5...

Davis
Drummond (the upside is just staggering)
Lillard/Beal
Beal/Lillard
Waiters/MKG

[dlts20]

if the draft was redone today the top 5 would go like:

Davis-Safe pick with Uber upside and fits Pelicans need
Drummond- Arguably most upside, something the Bobcats need
Beal- Great fit, high upside, no regrets.
Waiters- Honestly I thought he'd be a bust, but he's done damn good and fits well next to Irving.
Lillard- Sac could use a franchise saving PG

I think that'd make the most sense based on team need and upside factored in. I'm not sure how the rest shapes up after that.

doubt lillard goes below beal or waiters

not dissing Lillard. He's great but he has 1.5 years on Waiters and 3 years on Beal while there numbers are comparable since the new year. If thats the case then I like the guy who has 3 more years to play before he gets to Lillards age. Some might argue right now this minute that Beal is better, even, or just a step below him so if you give him 3 more years then where would he be at? He doesnt even have to be alot better by that time but just a tid bit better than him for you to say he's the better pick

[King d]

if the draft was redone today the top 5 would go like:

Davis-Safe pick with Uber upside and fits Pelicans need
Drummond- Arguably most upside, something the Bobcats need
Beal- Great fit, high upside, no regrets.
Waiters- Honestly I thought he'd be a bust, but he's done damn good and fits well next to Irving.
Lillard- Sac could use a franchise saving PG

I think that'd make the most sense based on team need and upside factored in. I'm not sure how the rest shapes up after that.

doubt lillard goes below beal or waiters

not dissing Lillard. He's great but he has 1.5 years on Waiters and 3 years on Beal while there numbers are comparable since the new year. If thats the case then I like the guy who has 3 more years to play before he gets to Lillards age. Some might argue right now this minute that Beal is better, even, or just a step below him so if you give him 3 more years then where would he be at? He doesnt even have to be alot better by that time but just a tid bit better than him for you to say he's the better pick

In Beal case you are probably right, but Waiters is just 1 year younger, you could be totally wrong assuming that Waiters has more upside than Lillard just because of that. If it was that easy then the younger player of the draft would be basically selected at #1 every time

[Seiklis]

if the draft was redone today the top 5 would go like:

Davis-Safe pick with Uber upside and fits Pelicans need
Drummond- Arguably most upside, something the Bobcats need
Beal- Great fit, high upside, no regrets.
Waiters- Honestly I thought he'd be a bust, but he's done damn good and fits well next to Irving.
Lillard- Sac could use a franchise saving PG

I think that'd make the most sense based on team need and upside factored in. I'm not sure how the rest shapes up after that.

Drummond in Charlotte would of been a disaster, that isn't a place a raw young big guy can thrive in. Detroit was the perfect landing spot with Ben Wallace hovering around camp (and I still think he's working out at the facility) and Monroe to give Drummond the space he needs. Biyombo and Drummond on offensive would of been a horrible sight to see

[Han Solo]

1) a. Drummond
1) b. Davis
3) Lillard
4) Beal
5) Waiters is my re-draft

[Jon1798]

A legitimate generalization?

This is stupid. I get upset about the broad generalizations going on this this thread - which are directed at me because I am a Blazers fan who has been very supportive of other rookies success while still being a fan of Lillard - and then you say my push back against these generalizations actually legitimizes them?

If you want to attack a specific poster, or set of posters, or even myself, call that person out by name instead of spreading these insidious generalizations. There can be no excuse for it, and claiming our defense as an affront is insulting, intellectually dishonest and plain disrespectful. If me telling you to stop making generalizations makes you think less of me, then I suppose I cannot care about your opinion.

Sorry for the strong language, but if people continue making generalizations about Blazer fans I will continue to call their arguments stupid.

Just to replay these event.

"A" Blazer fan calls someone ignorant for no reason.

Response, "these are the type of things that cause people to make comments towards Blazers fans".

A 100% factual comment in itself.

"Another" Blazer fan, "how dare you lump all of us together, how horrible of you"

Me: "It's becoming less of a generalization if most of you do it and jumping on someone doesn't help the stigma. The comment was legitimate"

Different Blazer fan: "this is stupid, I don't care about your opinion"

I for one am not about calling someone out. That is why I don't like to comment by name. I will quote a person and talk directly to them if it's needed. Sebastian I thought deserved a call by name simply because I think he was being genuine and not combative. I think one of the only other people I've named in the past was Shem, but merely because he's so exciteable. More of a ribbing. While his posts can be a bit much, you can see he's truly excited about Lillard and I take no issue with that whatsoever. If he wants to post a thousand highlight videos, go for it. I like highlight videos.

Lets get back to basketball, again. For everyone, just tone it down, it never needs to get to "you'e stupid", "you're ignorant", etc.

[sabi]

Not saying anything one way or the other but the same thing was said about brandon roy about his age limiting his potential and he actually turned out to have the highest peak out of that draft crazy to think he never got to play during his prime.

Point is that potential has many other factors other than age so that point doesnt hold much weight

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Just to replay these event.

"A" Blazer fan calls someone ignorant for no reason.

This is a fact, that person shouldn't have done that, and I as a Blazer fan didn't condone that.

Response, "these are the type of things that cause people to make comments towards Blazers fans".

A 100% factual comment in itself.

You are right, it is true that other fans lump the whole fanbase together. You seem to be upholding that fine tradition.

"Another" Blazer fan, "how dare you lump all of us together, how horrible of you"

Me: "It's becoming less of a generalization if most of you do it and jumping on someone doesn't help the stigma. The comment was legitimate"

Gee, so me saying "I don't agree with that guy who called you ignorant, please don't make presumptions about my beliefs" is lumped in with the act of calling you ignorant? Do you not see why I want to make a distinction here?

Different Blazer fan: "this is stupid, I don't care about your opinion"

I don't agree with you lumping Blazer fans together. It is not just you, but when one fan says something don't apply that sentiment to the whole population. If your opinion is that one member represents the whole population, I don't know what else to say but that I think you are wrong. I submit as evidence the things I have said about rookies with the best future.

I for one am not about calling someone out. That is why I don't like to comment by name. I will quote a person and talk directly to them if it's needed. Sebastian I thought deserved a call by name simply because I think he was being genuine and not combative. I think one of the only other people I've named in the past was Shem, but merely because he's so exciteable. More of a ribbing. While his posts can be a bit much, you can see he's truly excited about Lillard and I take no issue with that whatsoever. If he wants to post a thousand highlight videos, go for it. I like highlight videos.

First of all, TSE is a she. Also, Shem is kind of his own anomaly among Blazer fans - he loves doing quotes and sharing media pieces. Cant fault the guy for getting the most out of his realGM account, and I always appreciate when I missed something and he posted it. I don't look at most of those high-light videos, but its been worth it for the games I've missed.

I do want to make a summative statement that, in my own humble opinion, lumping fans together does not further the conversation and only causes friction. I was unhappy you singled out TSE for saying something I thought was very reasonable, and wanted to agree with her.

[dlts20]

To kingd,

again, Im not one of these guys coming on here dissing Lillard. I think the guys doing that are just haters. All Im speaking of is what I think GM's would do. For all we know, Lillard is the best guy in the whole draft this season and could still be that 5 years from now but I think what has shown so far, I still think Waiters goes in front but that one is 50/50.

Infact, pretty much all these guys are rated so close and play so different that its all a tossup and shouldnt even be debated. I mean just take Beal, Lillard, and Waiters. There games are so different. Thats what makes this draft great. It all comes down to what you want and maybe a lil bit of age. It also comes down to what is there max and could they truly reach there max.

For instance, people compare Waiters to Wade & Beal to Allen. I dont think thats right on the money but lets just play with that for a sec. Allen is great but you would certainly take Wade over Allen. On the flip side, you would probably assume that Beal has a closer chance to get to Allen than Waiters has to get to Wade so then who do you take?

To me, I dont care. I made a post in this thread a couple of pages back speaking of how Im just more fascinated with Beal & Waiters for the simple fact that they play the same position, are in the same conference, and there games are totally different. I could see them battling eachother heads up for the next decade. Lillard is great but isnt really going to play against anyone in this draft in something meaningful. Drummond & Davis are beast but are in opposite conferences plus still are slightly 2 different positons.

Beal & Waiters are heads up for a long time. It sucks because I think they are about to actually play eachother soon while they both are peaking but now Beal's ankle injury will probably put an end to that

[ComboGuardCity]

Not saying anything one way or the other but the same thing was said about brandon roy about his age limiting his potential and he actually turned out to have the highest peak out of that draft crazy to think he never got to play during his prime.

Point is that potential has many other factors other than age so that point doesnt hold much weight

Roy was a better athlete than Lillard though. The thing about age is, Beal, Davis, and Drummond have all proven they can play and be very good in this league. That was the biggest draw of the older players. They were more developed and less of a risk. At 19 years old, they have many years to refine their games before they hit their primes. All 3 players are good athletes that haven't utilized their athleticism to its maximum potential. Lillard has and its amazing to see as a Rookie.

[T-Blazin1995]

I would like to apologize. Ignorant was the wrong word to use just worked up on some of those just come to criticize lillard. I have edited the post and DO NOT want what i said to change your view of portland's fan base. Once again I apologize.

[The Sebastian Express]

This thread is getting ridiculous. Willbcock's post have been completely civil.. Whether you agree with him or not, theres no need to call him ignorant. This is why there are a ton of fans who come in here and make comments about Blazers fans.

No, a lot of people come in here and make comments about Blazers fans because it is easier for you to make broad generalizations about an entire fanbase.

Sorry Sebastian, I've seen you make this comment a couple of times, but it's becoming less and less of a generalization. At the end of the day, if you aren't the one doing it, you don't need to take offense to it. Attacking someone for making what was a pretty simple and legitimate comment/generalization doesn't exactly help the "Blazer" name in this thread.

At the end of the day, if everyone isn't doing it (not even a majority, it is three fans out of over ten Blazers fans that come to this board, and out of over 50 Blazers fans on realgm total), then other people shouldn't be making broad generalizations which are false just to try to make themselves look better with their nasty responses directed towards an entire fanbase.

You say I don't have to be offended, but I counter that you and others don't have to be lazy and disingenuous. It isn't that hard to add "some" or "a few" before "Blazers fans." It just makes it more dramatic and adds nothing to the conversation when you leave it off. You're you, I'm me. I don't generalize Pelinets fans based on your comments, nor NOKGAI (who I believe is a Hornicans fan). I don't generalize Wizards fans based on dlts20's posts, because he's not the Wizards fanbase, you aren't the Pelinets fanbase, and the two or three Blazers fans that come in here with whom you disagree on their approach aren't the Blazers fanbase. They're individuals, they represent themselves.

This isn't high school, these aren't cliques, we're adults and individuals each capable of expressing our own opinion which represents only ourselves. When two or three fans come in here from a fanbase and express opinions which you disagree with, or in a way you find rude, while another seven to ten from the same fanbase come in and express interest in other rookies from your teams, ask for videos, rank them long-term over our own rookies, and you turn that around and act like two or three equals a majority opinion..

That's on you. You're contributing to the disintegration of this conversation just as much as those others you're using to justify your broad generalizations.

[nin10doe]

Good game from Davis coming back from the shoulder injury

17 pts
15 rebs
4 blocks

Played 39 minutes because Jason Smith is out for the season and Robin Lopez picked up 4 fouls before he could break a sweat. Still think they're gonna try to keep him under 30 min per game though.

[Chalk1]

Meyers Leonard with his 3rd double digit scoring game in a row.

[DusterBuster]

Good game from Davis coming back from the shoulder injury

17 pts
15 rebs
4 blocks

Played 39 minutes because Jason Smith is out for the season and Robin Lopez picked up 4 fouls before he could break a sweat. Still think they're gonna try to keep him under 30 min per game though.

Someone should have told Monty Williams that Davis is a good player when given more than 20 minutes a game.

Meyers Leonard with his 3rd double digit scoring game in a row.

Yeah, he's really improved lately. Still not doing what you'd hope out of a C, his defense and rebound leave a lot to be desired, but his shooting touch is impressive for a guy of his size.

[marsblazer]

Good game from Davis coming back from the shoulder injury

17 pts
15 rebs
4 blocks

Played 39 minutes because Jason Smith is out for the season and Robin Lopez picked up 4 fouls before he could break a sweat. Still think they're gonna try to keep him under 30 min per game though.

Nice, hope he continues to get minutes and stays healthy.

[nin10doe]

Someone should have told Monty Williams that Davis is a good player when given more than 20 minutes a game.

I think they're limiting his minutes for legit reasons. Body-wise, he's not ready to take the pounding of 38 mpg. They decided about 2 months ago that it wasn't worth it and started keeping him under 30 minutes.

In the short team, its hurt his numbers and ROY chances, but its better for him in the long run.

[Shem]

Lillard with 20 points, 7 assists, on 8-15 shooting against the Cats.