2019 Draft Thread - Tonight, 6/20, 4:00PM PST ESPN.

[zzaj]

Had to work this evening (played on the Alejandro Escovedo show at Mississippi Studios), so first NBA draft I've missed in at least 15 years...

Caveat: overall, I think this is going to be a VERY weak draft. Besides Zion and Morant...Garland, Hachimura, Langford and Alexander-Walker are my favorites to become NBA starting level players. I don't see any of them as All Star level.

I'm genuinely surprised that Little fell all the way to #25. I had him pegged in that 12-16 range. Also, surprised that Fall didn't get drafted and that Bol went so late. I guess that shows how far the league has developed away from size for the sake of size.

I'll say this about Little...I only watched 4 UNC games this year and came away really unimpressed, after watching him play great at the McD's game. The last game I saw (against Washington, I think) he shot well but again, something just didn't seem like it was clicking. He reminded me of a little bit of Alonzo Gee--athleticism for days, but too slow on the uptake to make use of it in a structured system. We've seen plenty of College level, streaky shooting, uber-athletes fizzle trying to take the next step...

That being said, I think it was a safe pick, and who knows? Maybe he'll turn out to be Yin to Simons' Yang. Simons seems to have a natural penchant for lob plays, and Little is the perfect target for him. That's something that the Blazers lack.

That being said, I hope he's already in a gym with a Blazer shooting coach working on his shooting mechanics, taking 2000 shots a day.

[monopoman]

After watching the in-depth analysis video on the guy I think his shooting stroke looks okay, the problem is he was dribbling into pressure and throwing up shots at the rim and in some cases pressing and rushing the shot. If he can slow the game down and get some better court vision, along with playing a bit smarter he has the tools to be a good player.

**** word was Little was a more coveted prospect than Zion coming out of high school. UNC might just have not been a good spot for him either, who knows not everyone works on every team we have seen guys rise on different rosters.

I also will say he has the tools especially to be a very impressive defender, good quickness, good lateral movement from what I saw. He could be a pest on the defensive end the type of guy that can really annoy another player.

[red_power]

Little reminds me much more Harkless rather than Iguodala but it looks like a reasonable pick up anyway.

[red_power]

The GSW acquired the No. 41 pick from the Atlanta Hawks for $1.3 million and a 2024 second-round pick. Seems reasonable to me.

$1.3 million for a pick swap involving a team that publicly announced they didn't want to use a dozen picks in this draft.

...and couldn't have been the Blazers why?

Throwing $1.3 million of cash for a pick in 50s when your team is heading for a major luxury tax hit next season doesn't look like a wise idea.

Especially when you can sign two way deals with guys who've fallen out of a draft range.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Little reminds me much more Harkless rather than Iguodala but it looks like a reasonable pick up anyway.

Yeah, Little will have to win me over, I wasn't a fan leading up to the draft and just don't see that it factor. If he's a hard worker though he's got a chance to be a good player and I'm never opposed to picking up athletic forwards whenever possible.


Blazers should pick up Louis King to give Little some competition. I know he didn't have a great year at UO but I'm surprised he went totally undrafted.

[dunlop212]

Sounds like he would be a better fit on a team that runs. I would rather have seen a move that freed up money to resign Hood.

[PDXKnight]

Sounds like he would be a better fit on a team that runs. I would rather have seen a move that freed up money to resign Hood.

Gimme a decent role player on a rookie deal any day as long as he can contribute relatively soon

[Masterfully]

Blazers should pick up Louis King to give Little some competition. I know he didn't have a great year at UO but I'm surprised he went totally undrafted.

It looks like you’ll have to settle for Jaylen Hoard.

[BlazersBroncos]

I am a fan of the pick. Much like the Simons pick, we understood that a late R1 guy isn't breaking the rotation and went with potential. Little has tons of that. He already has an NBA body and above average athleticism for an NBA player. He will be SF3 for a year and then hopefully break into the rotation in 2020/21 much like Simons is projected to do this year.

He has lotto potential and measurable but a raw game. I can life with that at #25. Chances he is more Stanley Johnson than Gerald Wallace but the potential is there and its worth a shot IMO.

I think it was an 'A' pick, but this draft could have been 'A+' if we dealt two future R2 picks to snag Bol Bol. I am still sticking by my scouting and believe he was worthy of a top-5 selection.

If Denvers risky picks of MPJ and Bol Bol pan out, that team is going to steamroll us moving forward.

[remi_222]

Jaylen Hoard signed as a 2 way contract, that's a great news for Portland !!!

[dunlop212]

Watching some YouTube on this guy. Some brutal footage. Doesn't shoot or pass well, with tunnel vision on the court. Apparently a good guy with the physical tools to be a plus defender. I usually get excited about Blazer draft picks and think Simons is going to be great this year, but I can see why this guy was still available.

[BlazersBroncos]

Watching some YouTube on this guy. Some brutal footage. Doesn't shoot or pass well, with tunnel vision on the court. Apparently a good guy with the physical tools to be a plus defender. I usually get excited about Blazer draft picks and think Simons is going to be great this year, but I can see why this guy was still available.

He has miles to go, but is a elite athlete and has the type of body that is prototypical for a SF. I think the expectations should be a guy that can play the Jae Crowder type role in 1-2 seasons. He strikes me as the type of guy that may be better in the NBA than in NCAA.

One year ago he was a consensus top-5 pick. 6 months ago he was a consensus top-10 pick. His stock fell, but his natural talent has always been there. That's well worth a shot so late in the draft. He is also about as clear cut a culture fit as one could hope to find. Great kid from a great family with a quality work ethic. He just needs to keep working. A lot.

[d-train]

Sounds like he would be a better fit on a team that runs. I would rather have seen a move that freed up money to resign Hood.

Gimme a decent role player on a rookie deal any day as long as he can contribute relatively soon

We have money to resign Hood. He can buy-in and invest in the building of a great team or he can seek a better financial deal some other place. I wan't him if he stays and don't mind seeing him go if he leaves.

[Wizenheimer]

some of my thoughts after the dust has settled:

* DB, I did watch a replay of the Olshey presser. Usually, I can't stand listening to the guy, especially when he gets into his defensive-condescending mode. But it was a benign press conference with generally softball questions so there was no reason for that mode. And definitely, him talking about Paul Allen was about the most sincere I've even seen him be. Obviously, he had a lot of respect and affection for PA, and judging by PA's history with GM's, you'd have to assume the respect was mutual considering Olshey is still the GM. And it's apparent that Jody Allen is aware of that mutual relationship the two had and may even share it. Even though I still believe Portland would be better served with a different GM, I do think it's a positive if ownership and management are on the same wavelength and have the same goals. I'm hoping JA decides to keep the team long term

* Nasir Little: that sure looks like a no-brainer to me. When he fell all the way to 25, he fit exactly into the template of an Olshey reclamation project. The general odds of even getting a role player at 25 have to be well less than 50%; swinging for the fences is the best use of a pick in that range( barring some beneficial trade). Last time the Blazers swung at 25 they drafted Batum. Obviously, Little is a completely different player than Batum; where Batum was finesse & smooth, Little is force and aggression. Where Batum tried to be cerebral, Little tries to be Westbrook. Sure, those are kind of extreme comparisons, but the thing is that Little does not fit the template of the rest of the Blazer rotation. I guess Aminu's recklessness might be the closest comp, but he's reckless with the ball while Little just looks crazy aggressive with his overall motion. I sure see the Gerald Wallace comparisons. Let's hope Little is more than just a poor man's Crash. And it's important to keep in mind that the Harkless contract will expire next season...and Aminu might not be back. Little might actually have been a need-based pick as well as a swing for the fences

* buying a 2nd round pick: I mentioned that heading into the 2nd round but in retrospect, the cost of 2nd's in the top part of the 2nd round was too high. And once you start dropping into the mid 40's or lower, there's probably no difference between the last dozen guys drafted and the herd of undrafted players; except that the undrafted players don't cost anything. Portland should really work their summer contracts hard. Guys like King and Dortz and Fall. They just about have to because of the uncertainty surrounding Aminu-Hood-Kanter-Curry-Layman and their tax situation.

* somebody asked if Bol Bol could have returned to Oregon if he was undrafted; that can also apply to Kenny Wooten and Louis King. The answer is no because they are in limbo. The NCAA has implemented a new rule that essentially says: any player who requests an Undergraduate Advisory Committee evaluation, participates in the NBA combine and aren’t drafted can return to school as long as they notify their athletics director of their intent by 5 p.m. the Monday after the draft. That's a great rule change. Unfortunately for players in this draft, that change is contingent upon the NBA and the NBPA adopting a very simple rule change that 'would make undrafted student-athletes who return to college after the draft ineligible for the NBA until the end of the next college basketball season'. The NBA and the NBPA haven't done that yet, probably because they are too damn busy counting their money. It's too bad because the Ducks would be a top-10 team next season if Wooten and King came back

and if nobody has noticed, it's now just a little more than a week till free agency starts. I sure hope Olshey has a sleeve full of tricks because he'll need them

[Capn'O]

I'll add - more than "not being a fit" at NC, from what I've heard is his issue was more starting from a base of zero for a coach that requires a detail oriented system. Nas mostly got to being a high level prospect on athleticism. There is a rumor floating around that at the beginning of the year he was asked to set a basic screen and had to ask what it was he was supposed to do.

So, that's a double edge sword. He's a smart kid so maybe he played to his weaknesses at NC in order to learn and can pick up a lot of what he missed out on. But, at a base level, at press time he still needs to learn the game.

[Wizenheimer]

a couple more things about the Olshey presser:

* my guess is that Olshey's good mood is because he was really surprised and happy that Little was available. That outcome was, to use Olshey's vernacular, about a couple of tiers above what they could have realistically expected

* he mentioned using FT% as a gauge of college shooting more than 3ptFG%. I've heard that before but never seen it really quantified anywhere. Dame shot 87% in college; CJ shot 83%, so I guess that fits, especially considering the degree of difficulty of Dame's shots. Aminu shot 69% and Harkless shot 68%, so those two fit the template as well. Turner shot 76% so as usual, he breaks the mold and continues his square-peg-in-round-hole-world streak. Little shot 77% so let's all hope he fits the mold and doesn't follow ET's twisted path

[Norm2953]

Little like lots of guys in this draft will need some time to mature into the league. I’d be fine if he were another Gerald Wallace for crash was a fine player in the league until his athleticism began to slip. Decent gamble at 25 as long as he doesn’t come here as a knucklehead

[dunlop212]

What makes me laugh are all the references to guys being a good pick because they fell in the draft, or being reaches because they get picked early. It is as if GMs are screwing up because they consult scouting reports instead of talking head or sportswriter mock drafts.

I noticed a long time ago that a lot of reaches were sound picks, and guys that fall are often out of the league in a year or two. Same goes for "draft grades" issued right after the draft.

I am a little negative on this pick, where I was positive on Simons, but he seems to be a good kid, so let's see how things go.

[Fitz303]

a couple more things about the Olshey presser:

* my guess is that Olshey's good mood is because he was really surprised and happy that Little was available. That outcome was, to use Olshey's vernacular, about a couple of tiers above what they could have realistically expected

* he mentioned using FT% as a gauge of college shooting more than 3ptFG%. I've heard that before but never seen it really quantified anywhere. Dame shot 87% in college; CJ shot 83%, so I guess that fits, especially considering the degree of difficulty of Dame's shots. Aminu shot 69% and Harkless shot 68%, so those two fit the template as well. Turner shot 76% so as usual, he breaks the mold and continues his square-peg-in-round-hole-world streak. Little shot 77% so let's all hope he fits the mold and doesn't follow ET's twisted path

Another pie in the sky comparison is Kawhi Leonard, and his college stats (especially shooting percentages) matchup pretty similar to Little as well

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kawhi-leonard-1.html#2010-2011-sum:players_per_game

We can only hope that Little has the jump in 3pt shooting that Kawhi had. Little's form doesn't look bad at all. It's just inconsistent. He sometimes fades to the left, sometimes kicks out his foot, sometimes goes straight up and down. Hopefully he can gain some consistency there

[Roy The Natural]

a couple more things about the Olshey presser:

* my guess is that Olshey's good mood is because he was really surprised and happy that Little was available. That outcome was, to use Olshey's vernacular, about a couple of tiers above what they could have realistically expected

* he mentioned using FT% as a gauge of college shooting more than 3ptFG%. I've heard that before but never seen it really quantified anywhere. Dame shot 87% in college; CJ shot 83%, so I guess that fits, especially considering the degree of difficulty of Dame's shots. Aminu shot 69% and Harkless shot 68%, so those two fit the template as well. Turner shot 76% so as usual, he breaks the mold and continues his square-peg-in-round-hole-world streak. Little shot 77% so let's all hope he fits the mold and doesn't follow ET's twisted path

Another pie in the sky comparison is Kawhi Leonard, and his college stats (especially shooting percentages) matchup pretty similar to Little as well

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kawhi-leonard-1.html#2010-2011-sum:players_per_game

We can only hope that Little has the jump in 3pt shooting that Kawhi had. Little's form doesn't look bad at all. It's just inconsistent. He sometimes fades to the left, sometimes kicks out his foot, sometimes goes straight up and down. Hopefully he can gain some consistency there

Yea.. but every iffy offensive wing with elite measurables is compared to Kawhi Leonard. It's getting old, non of them ever sniff the improvement Leonard made.

I see no Leonard from SDSU or his pre-draft workouts in Little. If Little does breakout into stardom, it will likely be more along the lines of Gerald Wallace with a better jumpshot, which is still a great player. But he doesn't have the ballhandling of even a college Kawhi. Little's ball-handling needs a ton of work.

His jumpshot actually looks solid to me, I think he'll be locked in as a league average shooter by his second or third year. He needs a ton of work if he's ever going to be an on-ball offensive weapon. His post game in the workout video looks pretty smooth though. Right now, I'm seeing a reasonable upside of Moe Harkless with a much better jumpshot. So, a solid, maybe Covington-like player at some point.

He's got continents to travel to get to the Jimmy Butler level of on-ball shot creation/making, let alone Kawhi.