Summer League

[Walton1one]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

[cdubbz]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

Warriors 52nd pick Quenten Post looked good in his first game. A 7'0 Center that can hit triples and set screens.

With Scmitz talent as scout too. The Deni trade makes a lot of sense, but got to trust the scout and draft.

[Shem]

Watch on YouTube

[Pattycakes]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

We’re not in a position to need/have minutes for second round picks, period.

[BlazersBroncos]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

We’re not in a position to need/have minutes for second round picks, period.

We should have dumped Kris to SAC (Or anywhere really) and drafted Fuprhy who is 19 and has shown more in SL than the nearly 24 year old Murray.

[zzaj]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

We’re not in a position to need/have minutes for second round picks, period.

We should have dumped Kris to SAC (Or anywhere really) and drafted Fuprhy who is 19 and has shown more in SL than the nearly 24 year old Murray.

There are a lot of second rounders that have already shown more than Kris (granted SL) and at much younger ages. Apparently, the Blazers are fine with Kris and his development and will likely keep him around, although not as part of the rotation.

IMHO, at this point in the rebuild the Blazers need to be looking for hidden gems, not wasting roster spots on older, low ceiling players that haven't shown an NBA caliber skill.

[Walton1one]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

We’re not in a position to need/have minutes for second round picks, period.

POR is ABSOLUTELY in a position of need to add ANY talent they can get, specifically through the draft, which is their primary avenue for acquiring players. Cronin literally stated at the end of the season media session, that this team needed better talent. I think they got some of that in Avdija & Clingan.

It doesn't matter if the roster is full, you still draft guys and if they are better than your 8th,9th,11th, 14th guy on your roster, you make room for them. The fact that Cronin spouts about lacking talent and then sells picks for cash is just an awful way to conduct business. Roster full, only 2-way available, have a lot of young players all ready is not a good reason, just a poor excuse.

There were multiple 2nd round players who played well in summer league that could have helped this team. Did anyone else watch the horrendous shooting by POR in summer league, including a 4-37 3pt shooting night (and 2 of those makes were by Clingan!).

POR was LITERALLY the worst shooting 3pt team in summer league @ 26.7% on the 4th most attempts per game (38.2) & 3rd worst shooting team overall @ 38.2%.

For a team that was AWFUL in shooting LY (worst 3pt FG% @ 34.5% and 2nd worst in overall FG% @ 43.9%), you would think they might have wanted to address that.

A short list of players that looked good and would have been worth drafting instead of selling picks for cash.

Tyler Kolek - 10/7/3
Jaylen Wells - 14ppg 41% from 3pt (5.4 att\g)
Ajay Mitchell - 18ppg 50% from 3pt
Bobi Klintman - 42% from 3pt (6.2 att\g)
Pelle Larsson - 12/4/4 nice all-around player
Cam Christie - 41% from 3pt (7.5 att\g)
Cam Spencer - 57% from 3pt
Johnny Furphy 14/6


Rupert 23% from 3pt, Murray (age 24) 26% from 3pt, McGowens 29% from 3pt

[zzaj]

Kinda interesting that Clingan isn't getting talked about more by draft pundits. Granted he isn't the sexiest pick, and showed out exactly how most thought he would, but he was easily the best big man defender in SL and projects to be a solid defender/facilitator right away at a young age.

Shows you what the league values, and it ain't defense other than flashy, athletic blocks.

[BlazersBroncos]

Kinda interesting that Clingan isn't getting talked about more by draft pundits. Granted he isn't the sexiest pick, and showed out exactly how most thought he would, but he was easily the best big man defender in SL and projects to be a solid defender/facilitator right away at a young age.

Shows you what the league values, and it ain't defense other than flashy, athletic blocks.

I dont even think WE are talking about him enough. He was dominant on defense and on the boards, his offense slowly looked better and while I was extremely vocal about not believing in the 3PT shot - his form actually looks workable.

I am very excited to have Clingan. I actually think of the 3 core young guys he easily is the most likely to carve out a long career as an above average starter. Not saying he has the same ceiling, but the guy already looks like at minimum a serviceable, defensive oriented, low usage starting center. with some pretty unique upside if the 3PT shot can develop over time (Something like Myles Turner meets Pryzbilla - which is a HELL of a player).

I see little chance he flames out in the same way Scoot and to a lesser extent Sharpe may.

[zzaj]

Kinda interesting that Clingan isn't getting talked about more by draft pundits. Granted he isn't the sexiest pick, and showed out exactly how most thought he would, but he was easily the best big man defender in SL and projects to be a solid defender/facilitator right away at a young age.

Shows you what the league values, and it ain't defense other than flashy, athletic blocks.

I dont even think WE are talking about him enough. He was dominant on defense and on the boards, his offense slowly looked better and while I was extremely vocal about not believing in the 3PT shot - his form actually looks workable.

I am very excited to have Clingan. I actually think of the 3 core young guys he easily is the most likely to carve out a long career as an above average starter. Not saying he has the same ceiling, but the guy already looks like at minimum a serviceable, defensive oriented, low usage starting center. with some pretty unique upside if the 3PT shot can develop over time (Something like Myles Turner meets Pryzbilla - which is a HELL of a player).

I see little chance he flames out in the same way Scoot and to a lesser extent Sharpe may.

Agreed. In a draft that had questionable top-end upside, I think the Blazers kinda hit it out of the park. I know you and others really like Matas, but watching him in the SL, I still think he's got a ways to go before his shooting translates and he brings his consistency up to NBA level...

Clingan already has some things that will always be valuable in the NBA--changing at the rim attempts using verticality (and not fouling), forcing mid-range shots (or running offenses into their 2nd and 3rd options), and size.

The 3pt shooting I see as more of a "relief valve" on broken plays than a featured weapon--he'd have to take at least 4 per game before teams stop daring him to shoot it, but I have no doubt he'll get continually get better as a shooter.

He's also got some baby fat on him it looks like. A full season or two of working on his body in an NBA gym every day may change things for him somewhat on the athletic front.

[Butter]

All-Summer League First Team
Two rookies made the All-Summer League First and Second Teams.

1st Team -
GG Jackson II, Memphis Grizzlies.
Jordan Miller, LA Clippers.
Scotty Pippen Jr., Memphis Grizzlies.
Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets.
Kel'el Ware, Miami Heat

2nd Team rookies
Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards
Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers
Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
Jarace Walker, Indiana Pacers
Jalen Wilson, Brooklyn Nets

[Norm2953]

A lot of late second round picks looking good in summer league, for a team that talked about needing to improve their “talent pool”, not sure how selling picks for cash is a positive step towards that.

We’re not in a position to need/have minutes for second round picks, period.

POR is ABSOLUTELY in a position of need to add ANY talent they can get, specifically through the draft, which is their primary avenue for acquiring players. Cronin literally stated at the end of the season media session, that this team needed better talent. I think they got some of that in Avdija & Clingan.

It doesn't matter if the roster is full, you still draft guys and if they are better than your 8th,9th,11th, 14th guy on your roster, you make room for them. The fact that Cronin spouts about lacking talent and then sells picks for cash is just an awful way to conduct business. Roster full, only 2-way available, have a lot of young players all ready is not a good reason, just a poor excuse.

There were multiple 2nd round players who played well in summer league that could have helped this team. Did anyone else watch the horrendous shooting by POR in summer league, including a 4-37 3pt shooting night (and 2 of those makes were by Clingan!).

POR was LITERALLY the worst shooting 3pt team in summer league @ 26.7% on the 4th most attempts per game (38.2) & 3rd worst shooting team overall @ 38.2%.

For a team that was AWFUL in shooting LY (worst 3pt FG% @ 34.5% and 2nd worst in overall FG% @ 43.9%), you would think they might have wanted to address that.

A short list of players that looked good and would have been worth drafting instead of selling picks for cash.

Tyler Kolek - 10/7/3
Jaylen Wells - 14ppg 41% from 3pt (5.4 att\g)
Ajay Mitchell - 18ppg 50% from 3pt
Bobi Klintman - 42% from 3pt (6.2 att\g)
Pelle Larsson - 12/4/4 nice all-around player
Cam Christie - 41% from 3pt (7.5 att\g)
Cam Spencer - 57% from 3pt
Johnny Furphy 14/6


Rupert 23% from 3pt, Murray (age 24) 26% from 3pt, McGowens 29% from 3pt

The Knicks drafted Kolek with the 34th pick that the Blazers were so determined not to use.

Sheer stupidity to not draft a hedge for Scoot for the team has no other natural PG besides
scoot

[Shem]

Donovan Clingan to me is Joel Przybilla on steroids.

[BlazersBroncos]

Donovan Clingan to me is Joel Przybilla on steroids.

This isnt a bad comparison for defense and rebounding but Donovan, even while being a very underdeveloped offensive player, is light years ahead of Joel on offense. Pryz played like his hands were covered in Vaseline on offense and the 3PT shot Clingan played with in SL would never happen with Joel.

I can easily see Clingan as a 15 / 12 / 2.5 / 2.5 guy with a 2.0+ DBPM. Thats a player.

[Wizenheimer]

I'll admit that Clingan looked a little better in SL than I was anticipating. But he was playing mostly against SL scrubs. The Duop Reath's of the world, or worse

and against that competition, the Achilles heel of Clingan was visible: he shot 36% on FG's; 23% on three's, and 50% on FT's. Those are concerning numbers about his offense. He also averaged 2 assists vs 3 turnovers. He has strengths, but he also has flaws

so, I really need to see how he performs against real starting NBA C's instead of SL C's. How he does against Jokic, Gobert, Sabonis, AD, Embiid, Adebayo, etc. before I consider him a Przybilla on steroids or a poor man's Gobert. I just don't know how he'll do. I do know he'll have to be a drop-coverage C. Meaning he'll be easier to exploit and play off the floor unless Portland's roster is a lot different than it is now

if I had to guess, I'd probably say his ceiling is somewhere between Przybilla and Gobert

[tester551]

if I had to guess, I'd probably say his ceiling is somewhere between Przybilla and Gobert

Isn't that Zubac?
That's been my comp for him all a long.

[BlazersBroncos]

Clingan is a far, far better shotblocker than Zubac.

Ivica has never passed 0.9 DBPM. I would be shocked if Donovan wasnt breaking past that number by his sophmore year.

Then there is the 3PT shot. I think despite my skepticism that Clingan showed pretty good form from 3. On the other hand, he was still a poor FT shooter in SL. I really have no idea where his shooting ends up but he certainly has a wildcard at play with that 3 - whereas Zubac never has pushed his range to 3 (Then again, he has a solid FT stroke).

[Tim Lehrbach]

I saw exactly 0 seconds of Summer League. Were there any players unlikely to make other teams' rosters who looked good? The Blazers don't have room currently but might if an unbalanced trade happens.

[Walton1one]

They have an open 2-way still

[Shem]

Donovan Clingan to me is Joel Przybilla on steroids.

This isnt a bad comparison for defense and rebounding but Donovan, even while being a very underdeveloped offensive player, is light years ahead of Joel on offense. Pryz played like his hands were covered in Vaseline on offense and the 3PT shot Clingan played with in SL would never happen with Joel.

I can easily see Clingan as a 15 / 12 / 2.5 / 2.5 guy with a 2.0+ DBPM. Thats a player.

Hence the "steroids" reference.