2022 draft/prospects thread

[Dame Lizard]

The beauty is that the Pelicans draft pick is somewhat of a hedge. As it Portland makes the play-in, there's a good chance that the Pelicans don't.

it's definitely like a game of bop-a-mole. Chances get better in one direction, get worse in another

there is some added "beauty" to the situation. IF, Portland actually makes the play-in, and then makes the playoffs, while they also land the Pels pick in the 7-10 range (time to sacrifice a chicken of something), then, the silver lining, and it's a big one, is that immediately after the draft, Portland would have all their future 1st round picks as trade leverage. They'd be out from under the idiot protections on that Chicago 1st olshey committed the Blazers to. That's big IMO

I think there's another big question: if it looks like Portland has a legitimate shot at the play-in (and right now they have a 2 game lead on the 11th seed), will Dame come back this season? I'm kind of thinking he will. Get an early start on meshing Dame with the Ant & the new look Blazers. A secondary part of that question is if Dame comes back, will the Blazers activate Bledsoe?

Agreed that getting an early look at Dame + Ant would be very valuable.

Either it works and we can be more confident of a potential max contract for Ant, if his current trajectory continues (which going into this season would sound crazy). Or it looks a bit shaky and we might be able to justify offering Ant something below the max.

[Jsun947]

Let's say we are able to keep both of our picks and they end up somewhere in the realm of 8 & 10, and we are willing to trade both of them in conjunction with our TPE & Bledsoe to win now around Dame as well as retain Nurkic & Simons. How much are we thinking Simons & Nurk will cost us to retain them?

Dame
Simons/Johnson
Hart/Little/Louzada
Winslow/Brown
Nurkic

Realistically what are the best players we could trade for given our current roster? Or are there certain players expected to be available within that range that would be more beneficial to winning now more than the existing market?

You can’t combine TPE and Bledsoe. You could renounce TPE and do lopsided trade with Bledsoe I think. So let’s just assume portland could take on a 30mil player (just ballparking here)…

Realistically… with only a 8 & 10 pick… it’s probably a lot less than you think/hope. Blazers are still probably looking at a Jeremi Grant. I would hope maybe Blazers could only trade one of those two picks, but not hopeful they wouldn’t just move both to get him.

I know you can’t combine them but you can trade both, something like Bledsoe in a grant deal and then the TPE for a player like Wood, Turner, Barnes

[Goldbum]

If we really want to keep and maximize our pick GB3 should start. Also I think we are taking a gamble not locking Watford up for a couple years. Somebody is going to give him a minimum contract at least.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I still am not really sold on anyone from this draft... I would say right now our 5 most realistic targets assuming we don't move up in the standings are probably:

AJ Griffin - Low volume/high efficiency 6'6 scorer from Duke. Not super high end size or athleticism but can probably expand on an already smooth/polished offensive game. Defense a little questionable. High end comparison might be a smaller Wiggins.

Keegan Murray - Super high volume 6'8 scorer with solid efficiency, kind of a black hole and just shoots everything and rarely looks to pass. Effort on defense questionable. High end comparison might be a slightly more bouncy TJ Warren.

Jalen Duren - Very athletic 6'11 center, very mobile but raw athlete, may take a couple years but could have Ayton or Adebayo type defensive impact but without the offensive repertoire.

Kendell Brown - Pretty good defensive player and decent ball-handler for his size 6'8, smooth rather than explosive athlete. Efficient and low volume but does not have the shooting yet to be much of a threat at the next level. Reminds me of Hollis-Jefferson but obviously could develop better

Tari Eason - 6'8 power-forward, not quite fast enough to be a SF, not quite big enough to be a PF but conceivably could carve out a Jermi Grant type role. Two way player, contributes on both sides of the floor however so should be a safe NBA player.

[GEE]

After spending most of yesterday vegging, watching tons of college hoops, I'm fairly convinced there's some real deep talent in this upcoming draft, and I want MORE PICKS! It was reported a month or so ago(weeks before the actual DL) that several teams were calling about Dame. So if I'm Cronin, I think I'd be quietly making calls to all the other lottery teams, and a few others... just to see what additional picks we could get this year in a hypothetical Dame trade, because I am 100% on board with finishing a full transformation of this roster by the start of Summer League.

Ironically, I haven't been this excited about a draft since we drafted Dame, and I got to see him play in Vegas. But I continue to worry about how Dame's legacy wraps up in Portland, along with what Portland does with the assets they accumulated through recent trades.

I would much prefer us getting an addition lotto pick(3 total) this year, vs. trading them for win-now vets.

[Norm2953]

At least there will be some interest in the draft when players arrive for the workouts.

It's been 2017 since Portland was invested in the draft process. Likely all but the top 3 prospects
will be here! It's a shame NO neglected building via the draft, for he drafted well whenever
Portland had a FRP.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Given the draft field, needs, likely draft positions [both being lottery picks] ... NIKOLA JOVIC is one pick. While videos are pretty selective favoring the player, it's easy to see a fluid big man with skills. He's not an athletic freak. He's got a good frame, movement and feet. He looks like a scorer at 3 levels and isn't shy about it. Good passer. He's not a glamour Top 3 choice. I see him as a very high floor kind of guy. He's a baller. Tom Chambers comparisons? Maybe another Euro -- Detlef Schrempf. It's not a matter of his ceiling or if he can have that kind of career. I like what he can do at a young age.

[PDXKnight]

Not saying i expect this but man id love if we could get AD in an la salary dump move. Unfortunately i think they’d demand Dame which would make it much more of a questionable move given the recent injury history for AD. Even still the prospect of AD-Anf is slightly tempting at least on paper but man that injury history..

[GEE]

Here's a draft day trade idea that most will likely hate, plus it's full of assumptions I'm not certain hold weight. Just an idea that Houston, Portland and Dame may have no interest in as well... but just an idea.

Houston trades: Wall(1 y/r) / Wood(1 y/r) / #3 & #19
Portland trades: Dame / Bledsoe / Elleby / #8 & #58

The biggest assumption is that Houston would have an interest in pairing Eric Gordon with Dame, and want to try to build on that through free agency. Also assuming Bledsoe's contract would allow them savings to do so. And that they would be fine moving on from Wood.

Blazers would need to have a fairly big interest in wanting to get a good look at Wood to even consider this (which I have no clue of) and look more at the big picture going forward vs. being concerned with overall trade value, as the resulting team could look like this:

Simons / Keon / Wall
Hart / MAC / BPA#9
Winslow / Little / GB3
Wood / Chet(#3) / Watford
Nurkic / M.William(#19)

At #38 either EJ Liddell(OSU) or Oscar Tshiebwe(UK)

My Frankenstein!

[BlazersBroncos]

Tari Eason is starting to stand out to me as a bouncy forward that can shoot. His passing scares me, but he has alot of other tools, and has been posting absurd advanced metrics, especially on defense.

I think I like him more than Keegan at this point.

Walker Kessler is another guy that I am pretty high on. He isnt going to provide much on offense, but he has some of the best block timing I have ever seen. His hand eye coordination on blocks and his ability to effectively use either hand to block is near unprecedented. Reminds me of Ratliff almost.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Walker Kessler is another guy that I am pretty high on. He isnt going to provide much on offense, but he has some of the best block timing I have ever seen. His hand eye coordination on blocks and his ability to effectively use either hand to block is near unprecedented. Reminds me of Ratliff almost.

Agreed on Kessler, I think he could easily end up a more effective player than Duren or Williams from Duke.

Given the draft field, needs, likely draft positions [both being lottery picks] ... NIKOLA JOVIC is one pick. While videos are pretty selective favoring the player, it's easy to see a fluid big man with skills. He's not an athletic freak. He's got a good frame, movement and feet. He looks like a scorer at 3 levels and isn't shy about it. Good passer. He's not a glamour Top 3 choice. I see him as a very high floor kind of guy. He's a baller. Tom Chambers comparisons? Maybe another Euro -- Detlef Schrempf. It's not a matter of his ceiling or if he can have that kind of career. I like what he can do at a young age.

Yeah, he is another name worth keeping an eye on.

[BlazersBroncos]

Jovic is a really good name. He is having a down season statistically, but he has tons of talent. He probably is a top-8 talent that might fall to the middle teens due to a poor season in Europe. But a year ago this time he was balling and projected top 3-5. I dont think a young guy having a poor statistical season should relegate him from top 3-5 down to 15-18, and if the winds of hype push him down jumping on him would be a good move.

Also, assuming we keep Hart and Winslow adding a swing forward that is more offensive oriented would actually be OK IMO.

I am huge on Christian Braun in R2 but I think a contender takes him late R1. But the guy looks like a consummate role player at the next level.

[Norm2953]

By all accounts, the mid-late lottery are going to the value picks in this draft. I'd love to grab one
of Kessler, Duren or Williams at pick 14 and think the team should go BPA with the other pick. Likely
the workouts will provide everyone a big clue where Portland is going to go in the 2022 draft.

Portland has a bunch of 6-4-5 guys that they need to evaluate but that $21 Million trade exception if
Portland decides (as they should) as a team above the cap this summer is going to be important.
Hopefully we will do better than DJJ, if we decide to sign someone to a MLE deal.

[BlazersBroncos]

Not sure where the hell he plays, but this big boy is a joy to watch:

https://www.tankathon.com/players/david-roddy

[Case2012]

Not sure where the hell he plays, but this big boy is a joy to watch:

https://www.tankathon.com/players/david-roddy

His metrics are insane and he looks like a really gifted scorer, especially in post ups but it looks like he has zero athleticism. I was looking at his percentages and advanced numbers wondering how he wasn’t a lottery pick and then i watched him play. He looks like a tremendous bb player but a very poor athlete. I would definitely spend a late second on him, but I wouldn’t be surprised
If went undrafted.

[Case2012]

Watch on YouTube

I can see why he's the number 2 ranked prospect in Europe. 6'10 but moves like a guard, amazing vision, very comfortable handling the ball in transition and very comfortable shooting from distance. I've looked at a lot of mocks and he's going everywhere from 5 to 20.

[BlazersBroncos]

Chet is really pulling away as the consensus #1. He is exactly what this team needs, a defender that as a rookie could improve a team from bottom 1/3 to top 1/3. He is that special.

I see it like this right now:

TIER 1
Chet Holmgren FC

TIER 2
Jabari Smith PF

TIER 3
Jaden Ivey G
Shadeon Sharpe SG
Tari Eason F
AJ Griffin SF

TIER 4
Paolo Banchero FC
Jalen Duren C
Bennedict Mathurin GF
Kendall Brown F

TIER 5
Nikola Jovic F
EJ Liddell PF
Keegan Murray PF
Jeremy Sochan PF
Walker Kessler C
Dyson Daniels G

[DusterBuster]

Here's a draft day trade idea that most will likely hate, plus it's full of assumptions I'm not certain hold weight. Just an idea that Houston, Portland and Dame may have no interest in as well... but just an idea.

Houston trades: Wall(1 y/r) / Wood(1 y/r) / #3 & #19
Portland trades: Dame / Bledsoe / Elleby / #8 & #58

The biggest assumption is that Houston would have an interest in pairing Eric Gordon with Dame, and want to try to build on that through free agency. Also assuming Bledsoe's contract would allow them savings to do so. And that they would be fine moving on from Wood.

Blazers would need to have a fairly big interest in wanting to get a good look at Wood to even consider this (which I have no clue of) and look more at the big picture going forward vs. being concerned with overall trade value, as the resulting team could look like this:

Simons / Keon / Wall
Hart / MAC / BPA#9
Winslow / Little / GB3
Wood / Chet(#3) / Watford
Nurkic / M.William(#19)

At #38 either EJ Liddell(OSU) or Oscar Tshiebwe(UK)

My Frankenstein!

Why would Houston do that? They get a star - sure, but Dame with a bunch of scrubs / rookies isn't going to do anything. Also, I think Chet is going to be a bust.

I'm very happy you're nowhere near the Blazers GM seat.

[BlazersBroncos]

Here's a draft day trade idea that most will likely hate, plus it's full of assumptions I'm not certain hold weight. Just an idea that Houston, Portland and Dame may have no interest in as well... but just an idea.

Houston trades: Wall(1 y/r) / Wood(1 y/r) / #3 & #19
Portland trades: Dame / Bledsoe / Elleby / #8 & #58

The biggest assumption is that Houston would have an interest in pairing Eric Gordon with Dame, and want to try to build on that through free agency. Also assuming Bledsoe's contract would allow them savings to do so. And that they would be fine moving on from Wood.

Blazers would need to have a fairly big interest in wanting to get a good look at Wood to even consider this (which I have no clue of) and look more at the big picture going forward vs. being concerned with overall trade value, as the resulting team could look like this:

Simons / Keon / Wall
Hart / MAC / BPA#9
Winslow / Little / GB3
Wood / Chet(#3) / Watford
Nurkic / M.William(#19)

At #38 either EJ Liddell(OSU) or Oscar Tshiebwe(UK)

My Frankenstein!

Why would Houston do that? They get a star - sure, but Dame with a bunch of scrubs / rookies isn't going to do anything. Also, I think Chet is going to be a bust.

I'm very happy you're nowhere near the Blazers GM seat.

Ya, thinking Houston would want Dame is pretty nuts, and using Dame to move up 8 spots silly too.

But I am interested in why you think Chet will bust. I think the general reasonings are pretty poor (White American, skinny, might get injured). Is it based on his play?

[JRoy]

After spending most of yesterday vegging, watching tons of college hoops, I'm fairly convinced there's some real deep talent in this upcoming draft, and I want MORE PICKS! It was reported a month or so ago(weeks before the actual DL) that several teams were calling about Dame. So if I'm Cronin, I think I'd be quietly making calls to all the other lottery teams, and a few others... just to see what additional picks we could get this year in a hypothetical Dame trade, because I am 100% on board with finishing a full transformation of this roster by the start of Summer League.

Ironically, I haven't been this excited about a draft since we drafted Dame, and I got to see him play in Vegas. But I continue to worry about how Dame's legacy wraps up in Portland, along with what Portland does with the assets they accumulated through recent trades.

I would much prefer us getting an addition lotto pick(3 total) this year, vs. trading them for win-now vets.

Any names in particular?