LOL, nice. Honest question for you... Do you give the credit for picking up B-Roy and LA to Steve Patterson? I mean, those two have been the major reasons for our turnaround as a franchise, and even though Patterson was the GM, Pritchard was given credit from Day One. While I'm not one of the fans who thinks KP is flawless, I do think he's earned his money. He's turned the team around, and he deserves some credit for that. I also question his guts, though. I mean, come on, we really haven't seen him pull the trigger on any real big deals.
Other way around, kemosabe. I think Mills was a great pick and said so draft night. But the logic for it is roughly similar--but worse, since we're loaded at PG and not at the PF position--than the given reasons for why Blair wasn't drafted. That missed pick is a decent part of recent KP criticism. Therefore, you bringing up the Mills draft pick as another KP victory (which it is) so that one can crush criticism of him ("not earning his money") doesn't quite grasp that it's another puzzle that Blair wasn't drafted.
Patty is a stud in college; a stud in the Olympics; a stud in D-League. People were down on Pendergraph's selection. He's appearing to be the enforcer/rebounder a contender can use in the rotation. People were down on Cunningham. He's appeared to be the real deal. People were down on Batum, etc... Maybe Portland knows what the fuck they're doing with their draft selections.
Well, I didn't exactly bring it up as victory for KP. Given the tone of the thread, I basically reiterated what everyone else was saying. I guess I needed to reference the tone of my posts every time I post so people know when I'm poking fun at a prior conversation (between Nikokolus and I). As for Blair.... there apparently was more concern about his health than Mills'. Dude was supposed to be a Top-15 pick. Nobody even thought of Mills as a 1st rounder, not in the 2009 draft, but maybe if he'd have waited another year or two. Several sources say that exams of Blair left doctors wondering where several key ligaments were, including his ACL's. If that doesn't scare people, I dunno what would.
Ding, ding, ding. Somebody tell CTC (Sheed says hi!!) what he's won. That exactly it. While Portland's draft record the last 4-5 years has not been flawless, I'd say it's been in the top of the league.
You're reading waaaaaaaaay too much in to my "Time for KP to earn his money" line the other night. I think KP is a pretty good draft day GM and a talent evaluator, but since about mid February of last year he's shown himself to be increasingly ineffective (or hestitant?) when it comes to actually making the next step to being a "real" GM, and that is the ability to consolidate and make trades and to surround his core with complimentary pieces. Injuries aside, this roster was showing major signs of chemistry meltdown in the first month and a half of the season and a lot of that had to do with too many young or rookie scale scorers and shooters; guys with the potential to earn a lot of money if they can manage to put up the kind of individual stats that get a player an extension like Roy and Aldridge just inked. Failing to account for how destructive it can be to try to squeeze 11 or 12 young guys into 8 or 9 spots caused me to reevaluate KP's ability to engage in roster building (which is quite a bit more difficult and tricky than simple talent accumulation) -- these chemistry issues are still alive but merely in 'hibernation.' So when I say it's time for him to earn his money, it means I want to see him take the next step in his evolution as a general manager, and being a brilliant talent scout and drafter does not quite make up for this lack (so far).
Can someone explain to me how the heck Dante Cunningham has shown he's the "real deal" of anything right now? I must've missed something. To put things into perspective, Patty Mills' running mate tonight took Dante's position in the rotation (such as it is) while he was up. He promptly got sent back down. What is Dante? Is he a 4/3? A 3/4? A defensive specialist? A rebounding stud? A pure shooter? A scoring threat? A "glue" guy who doesn't get into games? Seriously, which one of those is he he "real deal" in?
He's a classic tweener. Not quite fast enough to cover 3s, not quite big enough to guard 4s in the post. He's got some decent potential just because he's got a pretty good head for the game, but quite honestly I'd be shocked if he's still on the team next year. He'd be a perfect ACB or Euroleague 4 however.
Totally agree. He's got fundamentals, and he's got a decent-looking 14-foot J. I'm not positive that's enough in the league, and him not sniffing the floor behind Howard, Webster, our 3rd guard and Tolliver doesn't lead me to think he's shown he's the "real deal" in anything yet.
I don't disagree overall, but I think Tolliver playing doesn't mean much. They signed him, it makes sense they'd throw him in for a few minutes to see what they bought. It isn't a reflection on Richie that Tolliver played. In fact, if they really liked Tolliver better, logically they would have kept him and sent Richie down to the D-league. barfo
Cunningham will never be a small forward for the reasons already pointed out. He's a four. He's undersized but as he showed in college, summer league, pre-season, and limited regular season minutes, he's crafty enough and a hard enough worker to fit in as a rotation player in the NBA. My opinion of course. Also, him not seeing court time says less about him and more about Aldridge, Outlaw, and now Howard. He's a rookie. Howard's not. Howard's producing. You give the nod to Howard, who you're spending more money on, IMO.
I'd be stunned if Cunningham isn't a part of the team next season. Stunned. I don't understand some of the expectations put on rookies around here. He's now averaging what, like 10 minutes a game. He has more experienced players in front of him. He's giving the team almost 50% shooting, a few points a game, and a couple of rebounds. Many undersized fours have come into this league and put up similar numbers on deep teams and have gone on to have NBA careers. When given the chance he sure has seemed to come through in the situations I've seen him in from college up to now. If Aldridge doesn't play, I'd expect to see some quality minutes from him.
Shannon Brown averaged 23pts/5reb/3ast in 11 games in the D-League. Nice to see him do well, but it pretty much means nothing. Him working himself into shape is more important than his actual numbers.
I wouldn't say we're "loaded" at the PG position. When we drafted Mills, we hadn't yet signed Andre miller. We had just traded Sergio leaving only Blake/Bayless, and JB's ability to play PG was debatable. I wanted Blair too, and was irritated when they picked Claver. Pendergraph may end up making KP look pretty good for passing on Blair (I know it's early)
I didn't have a big problem with either Pendergraph or Claver (would've preferred Casspi, but really for extortion purposes) or Cunningham (though I didn't have him going anywhere near 37). It's that we took all three without getting Blair, Brockman or Jerebko (all of whom would've been better picks at 31 or 33, imho). Pendy, Blair, Mills? Good 2nd round. Blair, Cunningham, Mills? Good. Jerebko, Pendy, Mills? Sure. Brockman, Cunningham, Mills? Fine. I just didn't (and don't) like that we took Claver, Pendy, Cunningham (all of whom are primarily 4's, though differently wired) while not thinking that there were better 4's on the board in Jerebko, Brockman and Blair.
But it doesn't mean nothing. If he continually shines when given chances, even if those chances are under less competitive circumstances than the NBA, that's a good sign that he's more likely to be an NBA player than not. Combine his performances in college and international competition with his debut in the NBDL and I'd say that's further proof that he'll stick, especially considering the general manager that drafted him.
As for Blair, given his health issues, can you at least understand why Portland preferred less-talented players? Pendergraph is a healthy five. Cunningham is a healthy four. With the departures of our end-of-the-bench bigs, we needed to stockpile differently skilled, and inexpensive, bigs with as much upside as possible. These weren't exciting choices. I would personally rather not waste a pick and development on Blair knowing he could become medical liability. I think we've all seen how injuries can affect a team. As a GM, I believe you need to factor this in to your decision making. I was not as impressed with Brockman coming in as a Pro as I was Pendergraph. I'm glad we got Pendergraph instead. I liked Jerebko as well, but possibly Portland figured we had our overseas pick for the year and instead needed more immediate help. Dunno. I think Cunningham will surprise a few people when he gets the opportunity.
Means nothing? Shannon Brown went on to be a key player on a championship team! And P-Mills is playing way better than SB did in the NBDL. Mills is clearly a stud. I hope we call him back and play him against GS.
38 pts 12 ast 1 TO It's the NBDL but it'll be interesting to see the battle at the PG in the future between Mills and Bayless. Patty's first step with his shooting is intriguing.
