Draft prospects @ 10

[GreenRiddler]

That brings up a good point. If we have a center available at that 12 spot, like say Len, should we choose him knowing we have Leonard, or go with someone else like DT said in GRIII

[whatchaknow]

You take Len no doubt if hes there imo, Leonard hasnt proven enough to consider him a shoe in as our starting C. If you draft Len because you think he can be that and Meyers develops into a starting C, then great you now have two potential starting Cs when most in the league dont have a single one. You wonder if having two young centers would be a problem, but i think you can get a vet backup 4 so that your whole frontline isnt inexperienced

[Downtown]

Seattle Supersonics drafted Robert Swift, Johan Petro, and Mo Sene in succesive drafts and in the end it hurt them and kept them as mediocre as it gets. I just don't want to see Portland end up with two raw projects that don't turn into much help. One I can handle but not two.

[UGotThrilled]

Personally, I think Leonard has a decent shot at becoming a solid starting center. He is currently atrocious at defense, but I think it is something he can get somewhat better at. His offensive game is decent, and should get better. In light of that, I'd rather not just grab a center.

I remember thinking that Cole Aldrich might be a good center for us a few years back. I hear somebody call him "Joel Przybilla with more offense," except, it turns out, the part where Cole Aldrich sucks at basketball. I'm not saying that one example proves anything, but I have also heard Hollinger say that the track record of big men at the end of the draft is terrible (probably mostly based on the sonics). I feel like we may be able to do better with a wing who can be our third wing. I am hoping for Mclemore, Porter, Oladipo, or Shabazz. Most likely, none of those guys make it past 8 or 9. But I think that realistically, we are better off taking a wing than a project center. If I were GM, I would be willing to trade anyone outside of our 4 returning starters and Leonard in order to move up and get a quality wing.

On the other hand, I watch almost no college bball, so my opinion on these guys doesn't count for much.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

I cannot get excited about a single prospect in this draft. Each one is dreadfully flawed, and I'm not even sure guys at the top (McLemore, Smart, Bennett, etc.) will be anything more than eighth men for their first couple years in the league, if ever.

This is the weakest draft class since 2000 and probably the worst draft class in the past 30 years. I would rather Olshey trade every pick away for future considerations. Portland is simply not going to get the help the team needs through the draft this year, and I've made peace with that fact.

[lukeyrid13]

I thought Dieng from Louisville had a pretty solid game in the title game. He still is quite raw but I wouldn't mind moving 2 of our 2nd's to move into the 20's to try and take him and see if he can develop.

[whatchaknow]

He is 23 though so thats gonna hurt him in the draft

[GreenRiddler]

I cannot get excited about a single prospect in this draft. Each one is dreadfully flawed, and I'm not even sure guys at the top (McLemore, Smart, Bennett, etc.) will be anything more than eighth men for their first couple years in the league, if ever.

This is the weakest draft class since 2000 and probably the worst draft class in the past 30 years. I would rather Olshey trade every pick away for future considerations. Portland is simply not going to get the help the team needs through the draft this year, and I've made peace with that fact.

Then your in for a surprise! Since that is not fact at all.

[GreenRiddler]

Three guys I like are Len, Glenn Robinson III, and Cj, with Oldipo falling, or Bazz falling.

Guys we could pick to help with LMA;

Len—He is the best guy to fit us I think he is a better version of Jonas Val, he scores well with his back to the basket can block shots well, more polished game with the ball in his hands than Leonard, solid jump shooter. Good rebounder (better than Leonard). If given good passing guards and wings (Lillard Maynor and Batum) he could do really well, and start out really early for us and would give us a good asset with Leonard to trade or if not Leonard does better next season and Len is the asset.

Adams—— Physical upper and lower body, can bang for rebounds better than Meyers, and block shots better too, but can’t do enough on Offense yet to stay on the court, will develop but will need time, look at Kanter in Utah 2 years on the bench.

Wings who would help our bench.

CJ Mccollum——- Absolute complete player offensively, has a great iso game can get buckets and has some crazy sick handles iso/crossover/ hesitation moves. Probably better than Lillard in that regard. not a good PnR players like Lillard so he is not a pg but a combo G. good length athletic ability is solid. Can be a Jamal Crawford kind of guy for us, and will have a similar instant impact to a team like Lillard has for us.

Glenn Robinson III—— We have a 12 pick so those guys could get taken before us so a guy to help our bench could be GRIII he is a good athlete decent jump shooter good physical Frame solid 3 man that can attack the basket, Slash and pull up for jumper. Think Wilson Chandler type f 3 man. Will be there at 12. Doesn’t have a good handle and can’t create offense, but with Batum and Lillard and Maynor can be an excellent rotation 7th man off the bench to help our weak wing depth. Also a solid rebounder. Slight chance he develops into a Paul George type of player sine he is so young and talented.

[whatchaknow]

The thing i really like about Len is that he could make an immediate impact despite being quite raw, because he has some nice qualities that will translate. He is very tall and lengthy with a nice touch around the rim and some soft hands. He also seems quite coordinated in the low block as far as his footwork so i see no reason his back to the basket game wont translate at some point. His length can provide at least a presence on D and he seems to play his size where as Meyers seems to play more like hes a couple inches shorter than his height.

I also like Mccollum and Robinson III along with you

[Goldbum]

I thought Dieng from Louisville had a pretty solid game in the title game. He still is quite raw but I wouldn't mind moving 2 of our 2nd's to move into the 20's to try and take him and see if he can develop.

My thoughts exactly. We don't need to players down on the block but a big man who can defend block shots and pass it in to LMA could really help this team. All he needs to do is keep working on that foul line extended jumper and his screen setting and passing skills and he could be an EXCELLENT role player. I loved his presence inside last night. My wife kept pointing out his defensive rotations as being "way better than any Portland big."

[Brandon-Clyde]

Considering our history with big men I would rather have more talented big men than fewer. I would love a 3 man rotation of Len,Leonard and Lamarcus. That would give us rebounding,scoring(both inside and out) and defense

[Epicurus]

A hypothetical question to me is : Where would Portland's rookies not name Lilard get drafted if this was their year of being in the draft market?

I have seen much of Cody Zeller and am not sure if he and Leonard were in this draft together, which should be taken. I have also seen much of Victor O and am not sure if I wouldn't take Claver before him, ignoring the age difference. In sum, maybe Portland already had their '13 draft, and a good one, and what they will get is only gravy. I think sometimes folks get to carried away with college performance and the contributions to be made by rookies

[Blazinaway]

I thought Dieng from Louisville had a pretty solid game in the title game. He still is quite raw but I wouldn't mind moving 2 of our 2nd's to move into the 20's to try and take him and see if he can develop.

I agree, I want this guy, yes he is 23 but can play D and block shots and has developed a decent outsode shot, at 6 11 245 a nice fit with meyers IMO and he seems like hard worker/smart/great guy and reportedly has a 7'4' to 7'6" wingspan


http://www.nbadraftblog.com/2013-scouti ... dieng.html

[Blazinaway]

I thought Dieng from Louisville had a pretty solid game in the title game. He still is quite raw but I wouldn't mind moving 2 of our 2nd's to move into the 20's to try and take him and see if he can develop.

I agree, I want this guy, yes he is 23 but can play D and block shots and has developed a decent outsode shot, at 6 11 245 a nice fit with meyers IMO and he seems like hard worker/smart/great guy

http://www.nbadraftblog.com/2013-scouti ... dieng.html

more on Dieng:

"In a game that lived up to all the hype, Louisville won Rick Pitino's second national title with a thrilling 82-76 victory over Michigan. There were a number of NBA-caliber matchups on the floor, which was part of what made the game so intriguing. Even players in high-level conferences like the Big East and the Big Ten don't see other NBA prospects at their position all that often during the season. On Monday night, almost all of the Wolverines and Cardinals best players were tested on both sides of the floor. Some passed the test, but others came up a bit short.
1. The Big Men
The importance of individual matchups can't be overemphasized when it comes to evaluating players. In the Wolverines' win over Syracuse, Mitch McGary looked like a superstar, dissecting the 2-3 zone from the high post and using his bulk to push around the Orange's long and lean big men. Against Louisville, he ran into a reality check in the form of Gorgui Dieng, one of the only NBA-caliber centers in the college game. McGary didn't play that poorly, with six points and six boards, but he had a hard time impacting the game on either end of the floor against a big man who was taller, faster and longer than him. In the NBA, they're all going to be like that.
That's what makes evaluating college big men so difficult. They don't face NBA-caliber defensive players at the 4 and 5 very often. Last season, one of the biggest reasons why I was so down on Thomas Robinson was his struggles against Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones in two losses to Kentucky. As it turns out, that meant more than his ability to dominate teams like Missouri, who didn't have one scholarship player above 6'9.
McGary, at 6'10 and 250 pounds, isn't big enough to deal with centers like Dieng and he isn't quick enough to deal with the new breed of small-ball power forwards. He'll turn 21 in a few months, so it's unclear how much higher his ceiling is. He should have a long NBA career as a productive third big man off the bench, but the days of "Magic Mitch" and his super cool unicycle have come and gone.

The rise of Gorgui Dieng
More on Louisville's excellent NBA prospect.
And while McGary struggled, Dieng showed why he may be one of the most underrated prospects in the country. He controlled the paint, effectively eliminating McGary as an offensive threat, and protected the rim, blocking three shots. On offense, he smoothly knocked down mid-range jumpers and picked apart the Michigan defense to the tune of six assists. With his size, skill and athleticism, he'll be a serviceable two-way center on a rookie contract. In a league where guys like DeAndre Jordan make more than $10 million, that's great value.

[Norm2953]

What about the 6-10 Greek player that Danny Ainge has traveled to Europe to see?

It's quite likely OKC will draft this Greek player to stash overseas but I would not
mind Portland picking him for he could room with the Greek player that we got
from the Knicks.

[Wont Trade]

If we take the Greek guy (will be calling him that forever) I would be ecstatic. Hope we handle him similarly to Batum in his rookie year. Bring him over young, give him limited minutes, in this case off the bench, and hope he lives up to some of that ridiculous potential.

However I think it's entirely unlikely we will pick him. The hype train has started very quickly and he's already being mentioned as a lottery pick. The hype train will pass us by a few stops before the draft comes around and we'll be stuck looking at prospects like McGary and Olynyk again.

[lukeyrid13]

The guys at 12 don't seem to impress me. I think this year of any would be easiest to move up a few spots. I'd feel much better picking someone like Oladipo, Shabazz, Zeller, Porter etc than Olynyk or Robinson III

[DusterBuster]

The guys at 12 don't seem to impress me. I think this year of any would be easiest to move up a few spots. I'd feel much better picking someone like Oladipo, Shabazz, Zeller, Porter etc than Olynyk or Robinson III

Yeah, there's just a pretty unimpressive crop at #12, which makes me come to the opposite conclusion as you. I think this will be a HARDER draft to move up in because the talent pool is shallow. If teams are looking to use their pick to bring in a player this year, they won't want to drop from those 6-9 spots down to 12.

Personally, I still like the idea of moving down from #12 to somewhere in the #17-#21 range and unloading some salary (see: Freeland) in the process. For me, the talent level between picks 11 and 21 aren't all that drastically different this year. There's projected to be 6 difference project C's in that range, none of whom jump off the page as being better than the other. It's that 11-21 range where I think teams could do some moving up and moving down. Getting into the Top 10 will be tougher and I don't think Portland has any assets to do it tbh.

[King d]

After watching his scouting report and a couple of games I'm in the Muscala's bandwagon. He could be a steal in the 2nd round (I still don't understand how a big with his skill, rebounding, and more than decent defense can be a 2nd rounder in this draft) He seems to have few weaknesses in his game.