Blazers signed a center from UCLA!

d-train · Post #1 » by **d-train** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 6:48 pm

Not Bill Walton, not even Sidney Wicks. Former McDonalds All-American and all-freshman PAC-12 selection, Moses Brown.

d-train · Post #2 » by **d-train** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 6:52 pm

I'm watching some youtube highlights. I can't believe college basketball is even an official sport. This guy is 7' tall and it's remarkable how many highlights there are of him standing unguarded under the basket in a half-court set.

BlazersBroncos · Post #3 » by **BlazersBroncos** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 2:34 pm

I actually liked him as a middle R2 talent. He is long as hell, athletic enough and has pretty good hands and timing. He is a horrific shooter (35% FT) and has zero feel for passing or basically any offense outside catch and dunks. But he would be worth a 2-way on size/athletic profile IMO.

He isn't going to be a JaVale McGee but could be a bouncier Saleh Merji possibly.

d-train · Post #4 » by **d-train** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 2:43 pm

BlazersBroncos wrote:I actually liked him as a middle R2 talent. He is long as hell, athletic enough and has pretty good hands and timing. He is a horrific shooter (35% FT) and has zero feel for passing or basically any offense outside catch and dunks. But he would be worth a 2-way on size/athletic profile IMO.

He isn't going to be a JaVale McGee but could be a bouncier Saleh Merji possibly.

From watching his highlights, we know opponents put his shadow in charge of defending him.

Goldbum · Post #5 » by **Goldbum** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 5:02 pm

Young and fits the size and mobility profile. Worth a look

Post #6 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:38 pm

Continuing to load up on bigs I see... I just want another diminutive ball handler who can shoot a little bit.

Ball handlers: Lillard, McCollum, Simons
Bigs: Collins, Tolliver, Skal, Hezonja, Whiteside, Gasol, Hoard, Brown

You can get by without a big for a few minutes if necessary by going small. You cannot survive even a few minutes without a competent ball-handler on the floor.

We are not setup to survive an injury to either Lillard or McCollum. Even Simons going down for significant time would mess up our rotation. I know Neil doesn't trust Stotts to play the young guys if he gives him a veteran but come on. Depth is important for managing minutes and keeping players healthy for the post-season. Which should be our TOP priority this season, as the West is as open as it has been for 5+ years.

Masterfully · Post #7 » by **Masterfully** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 11:45 pm

DeBlazerRiddem wrote:Continuing to load up on bigs I see... I just want another diminutive ball handler who can shoot a little bit.

Ball handlers: Lillard, McCollum, Simons
Bigs: Collins, Tolliver, Skal, Hezonja, Whiteside, Gasol, Hoard, Brown

You can get by without a big for a few minutes if necessary by going small. You cannot survive even a few minutes without a competent ball-handler on the floor.

We are not setup to survive an injury to either Lillard or McCollum. Even Simons going down for significant time would mess up our rotation. I know Neil doesn't trust Stotts to play the young guys if he gives him a veteran but come on. Depth is important for managing minutes and keeping players healthy for the post-season. Which should be our TOP priority this season, as the West is as open as it has been for 5+ years.

Brown is just a camp/preseason player. I highly doubt he sticks. And Hezonja is much more of a wing than he is a big. But yeah, if the Blazers backcourt gets hurt they will need to sign a ball handler.

Village Idiot · Post #8 » by **Village Idiot** » Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:34 am

Brown has been a pleasant surprise thus far. Less raw than the UCLA videos indicate. It's a great sign that he has improved so much in half a year playing ball full time under professional coaching but then again not all guys do. I hope we keep him

d-train · Post #9 » by **d-train** » Sat Oct 12, 2019 7:34 pm

Village Idiot wrote:Brown has been a pleasant surprise thus far. Less raw than the UCLA videos indicate. It's a great sign that he has improved so much in half a year playing ball full time under professional coaching but then again not all guys do. I hope we keep him

I think this is true. I notice the players and NO talk about him or mention his name. This indicates to me that his work is earning some respect. I started this thread as a joke. I guess Moses is taking his opportunity to make it in the NBA seriously.

GEE · Post #10 » by **GEE** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:10 pm

Olshey has such an eye for talent. Brown did some really nice things in that first game. I hope we keep him and give him the same timeline and expectations that we gave Collins. If so, he'll be a steal.

d-train · Post #11 » by **d-train** » Fri Oct 18, 2019 5:46 am

Moses got his deal converted to a 2-way. Good for Moses. Hard work paid off.

viewtopic.php?f=415&t=1897872

GEE · Post #12 » by **GEE** » Fri Oct 18, 2019 6:58 am

d-train wrote:Moses got his deal converted to a 2-way. Good for Moses. Hard work paid off.

Smart move. He's already more worthy of a roster spot than Gary Chucker Trent. Thanks for the update D.

Norm2953 · Post #13 » by **Norm2953** » Fri Oct 18, 2019 7:00 pm

Most teams are going to need to find guys like Hoard and Brown who they can work with for little money, especially with the star players taking up in case of Portland taking up 75-80% of their cap when their extensions start. Nice job finding these guys