Draft prospects @ 10

[nickforthreee]

not a blazers fan but I can tell you this. if Portland drafts KCP, he will be the starting 2 guard by the allstar break. quote me on that.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

not a blazers fan but I can tell you this. if Portland drafts KCP, he will be the starting 2 guard by the allstar break. quote me on that.

People were saying the same thing about Lamb. KCP might have a better head on his shoulders than Lamb, and both could be fine role players, but airchair Gm's seem to overrate those type of SG prospects.

Also, it would be hard for KCP to move Matthews to the bench, since Matthews is a very good fit between Lillard and Batum. If KCP does turn out to be an offensive catalyst, and not just a floor stretching 3 point shooter, then we will want him as our 6th man for a few years to bolster the bench. About the only way KCP could replace Matthews is if he is a better 3 and D player - and I doubt any rookie wing plays as good of defense, in their first year, as Matthews.

[Shem]

Some mock drafts:

http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/Arti ... fault.aspx

[nickforthreee]

not a blazers fan but I can tell you this. if Portland drafts KCP, he will be the starting 2 guard by the allstar break. quote me on that.

People were saying the same thing about Lamb. KCP might have a better head on his shoulders than Lamb, and both could be fine role players, but airchair Gm's seem to overrate those type of SG prospects.

Also, it would be hard for KCP to move Matthews to the bench, since Matthews is a very good fit between Lillard and Batum. If KCP does turn out to be an offensive catalyst, and not just a floor stretching 3 point shooter, then we will want him as our 6th man for a few years to bolster the bench. About the only way KCP could replace Matthews is if he is a better 3 and D player - and I doubt any rookie wing plays as good of defense, in their first year, as Matthews.

if Portland had drafted lamb I think he would have been the starter as well. he also would have been the starter in Houston and the rockets would have traded k-mart. he just happened to get thrown into the worst possible situation of a coach in okc who chooses vets over young players and is stubborn as hell when it comes to switching the rotation. as far as KCP goes, Portland would be a fantastic situation for him, in college he was triple teamed and was the only threat on his team, he was the focal point of every defense and still managed to score. on Portland, he would probably be the 4th option. he could absolutely light it up for the blazers when the defense is so worried about everyone else.

[JD45]

I don't think kcp is a good fit. Screams another Nolan smith pick. This board reacts to these "rumors" and fall in love with a player because of said rumor. If kcp is our target at 10 I hope we trade the pick.

Nolan Smith is very different than KCP. KCP is 3 inches taller (w/o shoes) and was dramatically more productive as a sophmore than Smith was. KCP is a much better prospect. And should be since he will be a a top 10 pick vs #21.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

if Portland had drafted lamb I think he would have been the starter as well. he also would have been the starter in Houston and the rockets would have traded k-mart. he just happened to get thrown into the worst possible situation of a coach in okc who chooses vets over young players and is stubborn as hell when it comes to switching the rotation. as far as KCP goes, Portland would be a fantastic situation for him, in college he was triple teamed and was the only threat on his team, he was the focal point of every defense and still managed to score. on Portland, he would probably be the 4th option. he could absolutely light it up for the blazers when the defense is so worried about everyone else.

I think you overrate unproven young prospects and underrate proven veterans.

Could Lamb/KCP eventually be better than Matthews? Yes. Is there any significant chance they will contribute more next year than Matthews? No.

As talented as these kids are, a large part of the game happens above the shoulders - players don't just step onto the NBA floor and make a difference without knowing a teams offense/defense and experience going against NBA caliber players. This is why washed up old veterans routinely make more of a difference while playing than most rookies, and why coaches favor experience in high pressure/playoff type situations over raw talent. Brooks is not the annomoly you make him out to be - almost all coaches will choose vets over young players and be stubborn about changing that paradigm. If you truly believe you know better than the majority of NBA head coaches, then I guess that tells me what kind of salt I need to appropriately flavor your posts.

[Case2012]

McCullum, Len, and Zeller are mine in that order. Second Tier guys for me are Franklin, KCP, and Shabazz.

The guys in the top ten are going to be busts.

You realize 2 to 4 of those guys can go in the Top 10, right?

Yeah, I didn't write that right.

I thought I didn't need to state that since all those guys have been projected to fall to the tenth as well.

I guess top 5 guys look more like busts I suppose.

[Norm2953]

I think it likely the Blazers pick will come from a group of MCCollum, Pope and Zeller
for Portland seems to be working out a lot of projected second round picks and
don't seem interested in working out the project bigs. Portland seems to done
their draft calculations and at least one of their players will be available to them
at 10 unless a player like Len falls to them at 10 which is why they met with Len's
people.

Of the three players, I would prefer McCollum who should be a solid pro and fit
with his slashing offensive game.

[deanwoof]

not a blazers fan but I can tell you this. if Portland drafts KCP, he will be the starting 2 guard by the allstar break. quote me on that.

What if another team drafts him? You seem to rate him really high.

[Chanse503]

If we have a chance at McLemore with trades etc. It would be nothing short of a travesty if we didn't go after him! That might be the only prospect worthy of moving up for us, side from BPA falling to us at ten IMO. Otherwise, lets pray we trade down for EXTREME value!

http://youtu.be/Bq81MxSSxvc

[nickforthreee]

I think you overrate unproven young prospects and underrate proven veterans.

Could Lamb/KCP eventually be better than Matthews? Yes. Is there any significant chance they will contribute more next year than Matthews? No.

As talented as these kids are, a large part of the game happens above the shoulders - players don't just step onto the NBA floor and make a difference without knowing a teams offense/defense and experience going against NBA caliber players. This is why washed up old veterans routinely make more of a difference while playing than most rookies, and why coaches favor experience in high pressure/playoff type situations over raw talent. Brooks is not the annomoly you make him out to be - almost all coaches will choose vets over young players and be stubborn about changing that paradigm. If you truly believe you know better than the majority of NBA head coaches, then I guess that tells me what kind of salt I need to appropriately flavor your posts.

tbh man, Portland fans really overrate wes Matthews, Meyers leonard, and will barton. wes Matthews is a good player. but he is just not a starting shooting guard in the NBA. hes a bench player. I believe that KCP could come in instantly and produce the same if not more offense than him. there will be a learning curve on the defensive end but I feel like you give KCP the start because hes oozing with potential and wes Matthews has reached his ceiling. hes a good role player, nothing more nothing less.

not a blazers fan but I can tell you this. if Portland drafts KCP, he will be the starting 2 guard by the allstar break. quote me on that.

What if another team drafts him? You seem to rate him really high.

teams KCP would start for in the lottery:

Cleveland
Orlando if they play harris at the 3
Charlotte
Phoenix
Sacramento
Detroit
Minnesota
Portland
Sixers
Dallas if they don't resign mayo
Utah if they play Hayward at the 3

[Chanse503]

KCP would be 110% a fail pick at ten IMO~
This draft is so exploited for a good GM to RAPE it's sick.
10, we are in great shape! Mentally this draft is venerable--lets exploit?!
Move up for the best guy-–McLemore--It's our guy!
Think mentally, Lillard is the leader and with that leadership McLemore will be fine under our philosophy!


ONE TIME ! I"m all in on that pick!

[Wizenheimer]

tbh man, Portland fans really overrate wes Matthews, Meyers leonard, and will barton. wes Matthews is a good player. but he is just not a starting shooting guard in the NBA. hes a bench player.

and yet, he's started 240 games in his career...seems like that makes him a starting SG in the NBA

try and name 10 NBA SG's that are definitely better

[Brandon-Clyde]

[teams KCP would start for in the lottery:

Cleveland
Orlando if they play harris at the 3
Charlotte
Phoenix
Sacramento
Detroit
Minnesota
Portland
Sixers
Dallas if they don't resign mayo
Utah if they play Hayward at the 3

I believe that Matthews could also start for each of those teams. Minnesota has definitely shown interest in him and he did start for Utah at one point(48 games his rookie season)

[SinceClyde]

Whoever under rates Matthews ; do so at your own ignorance. The guy feeds off of it and improves every year. He is going to improve well into his 30s.

[DusterBuster]

There's only one player being overrated here, that's a soon-to-be rookie who hasn't played a single second of NBA basketball and one poster who's claiming he's be a starter for a third of the NBA right off the bat. I certainly don't care if the Blazers pick KCP at 10, but nickforthree is crazy to think he'd start over some of the established SG's on some of those teams......

Cleveland - They just invested a #4 pick on Waiters last year, no way he starts over him.
Orlando - Possible I suppose since they're going young.
Charlotte - Sure, I'll buy it here since they got nothing at SG.
Phoenix - Again, sure, I'll buy it for them since, like Charlotte, they got nothing at SG.
Sacramento - Nope, not starting over Evans or getting minutes ahead of Thornton. He's struggle to see minutes here.
Detroit - He wouldn't start on Day 1 over Stuckey, but could be the starter mid-season or next year.
Minnesota - They're high on Shved. It would be a battle in training camp, but I'd give the edge to the sophomore, so no, he wouldn't start here imo.
Portland - Not a chance he'd start over Matthews, that's pretty silly. Even if you think he could be better a better player, there's no way Stotts would disrespect Wes by starting an unproven rook over him.
Sixers - No way he starts over Turner, they have too much invested in him.
Dallas - Like you said, depends if they resign Mayo.
Utah - Again, like you said, they'd have to move Haywood to the 3 and Williams to the bench. Don't see them doing that, so no, he wouldn't start here imo.

So of those 11 teams, he's only REALISTICALLY have a easy time starting on 3 of them. Then he'd have a chance at starting on 3 others. That's it.

Again, I'm not dissing Pope, I don't mind if Portland wants to draft him at 10, but I'm being realistic about what to expect from him out of his rookie season.

[Norm2953]

It's totally absurd to be thinking any rookie SG (even Oladipo) would be starting
over Matthews in his rookie season. For one, Matthews is the closest thing to
an emotional leader on the court Portland has and he's 26 and has played four
years of college ball and four years on NBA experience. He knows how to play
and would abuse most guys in this less than stellar draft.

[Chanse503]

Lord christ JEBUS!
Mathews isn't "That Guy" Reminds me of the guy who blocks for AP; while Peterson can reach 2500 yards that LG isn't relevant. Yeah Mathews is on a nice contract--lets face it--he is not that guy! Lets move up for a GM fav--athletic NUT--McLemore. This draft is exploited, all these GM are stinking too hard! We can come away with the diamond if we play our cards right! \
ONE Time! Lillard we bae that leader and coach McLemore will be that guy--I see this as a weird mental, nutty, thing--believe me--lol.

[Chanse503]

In my heart--my dreams--don't go BIG!
Let's get McLemore! He is there for us to get. In my heart a leader of of Lillard, with rook--McLemore--is our only hope. We are not going to wake up in the WCF in this league. Lets bake a cake. If it takes LA, lets get McLemore. The kid is coachable and we have the bakers to exploit this situation.
So many tools to abuse this draft dam it--I'm excited!

[deanwoof]

This ****