The Draft Short List

[riehldeal]

I rarely post any more but I have completed my pre-draft assessments and thought I'd share my short list of prospects that I feel the Blazers should target.

10th pick: Giannis, McCollum, or Gobert (my preference is Giannis)

2nd rd: Wolters, Muscala, and Jaiteh

So my recommendation is that Portland purchase another first round pick to jump whatever team made Jaiteh a promise. Then trade their two second rd picks to get an early 2nd rd pick to take Muscala, and then trade a future second rd pick and cash to acquire Wolters.

Giannis is unbelieveably advanced as a playmaker for his age and size. Explosive and fluid athlete who really seems to understand where to be on the court at all times. Some seasoning and work on his jumper is all that is needed. Being drastically underrated at this point, which I have to believe is the goal of many teams hoping to land him. Jaiteh shows tons of promise, including some amazing similarities to Zach Randolph with his innate nose for the ball and touch around the rim. Muscala I feel could wind up as the steal of the draft and a possible starter in the league thanks to his length, athleticism, and offensive skill set that contains many efficient weapons that easily translate to buckets in many ways. Wolters is the perfect floor general to backup Damian and even play alongside him for stretches (Damian plays very well with another playmaker).

Anyways... just my two cents on the record.

[riehldeal]

And yes people will say that 10 is too high for Giannis... with that in mind, I propose trading the 10 pick to ATL for their 17 and 18 picks where we select Giannis and Jaiteh or use one of the picks to trade even further down in the 1st rd while also accumulating another 2nd rd pick to take Jaiteh/Muscala. Lots of strategic options.

[Norm2953]

I would be happy with McCollum, Zeller, Len (if he falls) or Adams as our pick at #10.
Zeller would be the safest pick for us for while he's not the answer at center,
he might be the replacement for LA if he leaves as a free agent. Adams is 7-0 245 lbs
at 19 years old is going to be a decent pro in 2-3 years.

Guys like Gobert are a long ways before they can play and the cultural differences
cannot be underestimated. I do think Shabazz is going to be a better pro than
we think for guys like him who have always been touted will find a way to
succeed.

[riehldeal]

Doubtful Len or McCollum will be there at 10. I wouldn't mind Zeller. Adams at 10 would not be a good choice in my opinion. Gobert shows enough to make me comfortable that he is 1/2-1 season of NBA basketball away from making contributions in many statistical categories. He will only become a more refined athlete over the next short while and shows nice post promise with his hook shot and has great speed in the post as well. Shabazz I agree could wind up better than he has shown in college BUT he really struggles to create shot separation and that is a BIG one to be weak in when translating to the next level.

[TBpup]

I like Giannis but #10 is way to high for him. Depending on the Mock, he is slotted somewhere between #18-29. Taking him at#10 would be like taking Nolan Smith in front of Farid when no else had him going till the 2nd round....for good reason.

[riehldeal]

I would disagree with that analogy completely. Giannis has the potential to possibly wind up as the best player in this entire draft and Nolan Smith had the potential to be a pile of ****.

[riehldeal]

And that is why I would recommend the Blazers look to trade down to ATL as I mentioned.

[Norm2953]

Basketball especially in the playoffs is a game of physicality. Lebron is playing SF is
6-9 265 lbs. Players coming from overseas have enough challenges having to deal
with, without the pressure of being a lottery pick being paid Millions of dollars
and these guys are 2-3 years away from playing.

Compare Giannis to Nicolas for Nicolas was playing in a higher French league at
15 while Giannis has played at a very low level in Greece. Gobert physically isn't
ready to compete while Adams is also raw, he's 25-30 lbs heavier and tests
as the superior athlete.

I do think the comparisons to last year are relevant for Zeller like his brother
is the more refined player with less upside than either Gobert or Adams. Our
problem is we already have a developmental big in Meyers and how many
developmental bigs can we expect to find minutes for which is the reason
I think Zeller would be the safest pick for he's going to be solid pro.

[JasonStern]

Shabazz I agree could wind up better than he has shown in college BUT he really struggles to create shot separation and that is a BIG one to be weak in when translating to the next level.

if you think that muhammad's ability to score, regardless of the separation, is a bigger flaw than being a super-massive black hole on offense, then I recommend watching some scouting videos on him and taking a look at where he ranks among guards - hell, among bigs (which he isn't) - in assists.

I would disagree with that analogy completely. Giannis has the potential to possibly wind up as the best player in this entire draft and Nolan Smith had the potential to be a pile of ****.

unfounded hindsight. nolan smith had the potential to be ronnie price/cj watson:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nolan-Smith-1118/
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/nolan-smith

the hate on nolan smith comes from the fact that faried was right there for the taking. I have to imagine raptor fans feel the same way when they could have had drummond, but instead drafted... terrence ross?! or even better, trade the pick to portland so we could pick drummond and they could gain an asset while still drafting ross higher than anyone else.

[TBpup]

I would disagree with that analogy completely. Giannis has the potential to possibly wind up as the best player in this entire draft and Nolan Smith had the potential to be a pile of ****.

The point was, taking him at #10 when no one else would probably take him till the 20s is a reach. The Nolan reference was merely an example of the last time the Blazers reach so high above where a player was projected. Giannis may well turn out to be something and he may be like the 7'1" Russian that was playing PG in Canada a few years back that caught everyone's attention for a while.

[SinceClyde]

If the Blazers want a player like Giannis, they may very well need to look at grabbing a late teens, early 20s pick. I doubt he falls to 2nd round because of his potential/age and unique style of play.

I get really excited for him, but I don't think he is what the blazers need. Does he have the agility to play sg like Paul george? Or just the vision to play point forward?

[jhern87]

There are several players later in the first round of this draft that I think would be good picks for us.. Giannis is one of them. I also like Withy, Mitchell, Pope, Franklin, etc. I can't tell if I like these guys as players or that I was just so sick of watching our pathetic bench that I'm welcoming anything that resembles an upgrade..

And for the record I think Giannis is going to be the steal of the draft.. Love those long strides and how easy he gets in the paint. Not to mention how he loves to throw it down once he's done so.

[Khazim]

I'm completely sold on Dieng, Franklin, and Bullock. I think they will all be excellent role-players at the least, and would love if we could pick up one or two of them somehow.

[GreenRiddler]

This seems like excess to me..

[glide22]

Olidipo (trade required)
Zeller
McCollum
Len (probably will go earlier)

Would like to see how team workouts go for Muhammad and Gobert.
2nd round - Erick Green, Rice Jr., Andre Roberson, Trevor Mbakwe.

If draft happened today, I'd be pretty happy with a combination of Zeller, Green, and Roberson.

[Wickzki]

#10 - Victor Oladipo (trade up) / Alex Len / Kelly Olynyk

Buy a mid-to-late pick and get Giannis.

#39 - Reggie Bullock / Glen Rice Jr, Trevor Mbakwe
#40 - Augusto Lima
#45 - Matthew Dellavedova