Should the Blazers Even Want Their First-round Pick?

in the history of basketball, 20 year old pure centers...

http://www.basketball-reference.com...tat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

 

anything outside the top 3 are usually not impact players. Anything outside the top 10 are out of the league within a few years or are bench scrubs/journeyment.

All accounts are this is a weak draft anyway. If we're going to lose the pick, might as well do it now.

 

You're gonna have a whole lot of pie on your face in a couple years.

 

I'm not as down on Leonard as MM, but he really does look lost out there ... like he's an athlete and not really a basketball player. I wonder if frequent trips to the D-league could help him? But at a minimum he's got to get with some kind of big man coach in the summer and put in thousands of reps in different situations and play in as many organized pick-up games as possible, because teams just don't scrimmage or practice all that much once the season starts and he's got a long ways to go.

However, I love his athleticism and his mechanics when he shoots, that's something to build on.

 

I don't think we will have our pick anyway.

 

Well I don't think we're looking for a franchise player, we're looking for a possible starter or solid bench player.

But you do make me wonder what the bust rate on guys actually is for those picked between 4-14.

 

Wasn't hibbert going to sign the offer sheet? That's pretty much a max player yes?

 

Well I think that making the playoffs are important so losing the pick goes with that possibility. I think if the blazers can find a deal that can get us there this year; we should take it.

 

Yes ... but is he "truly elite?" The Blazers were willing to overpay to get him, but that didn't really make him worth all of that money. (For the record I was OK with the offer sheet because I thought he'd fit in pretty well with the rest of the team even if he wasn't necessarily a great value.)

 

There's not enough trade assets to push us from potential playoff team to definite playoff team.

 

Yeah but do we really need an elite player or a couple really good roles players. I'm looking at free agent signings years ago that would be like battie or Landry. Obviously not them now; but you get the point. Players that take a 5-7 mil per contract.

 

I read it as El Prez saying the Blazer bench is full of low-lotto/non-lotto picks.

 

I was thinking maybe the youth of Leonard and value of Matthews. Either it be a solid upgrade defensively or scoring off the bench. Then maybe move batum at sg

 

If that was his point then I'm not sure how it applies to our draft this year? All we're capable of getting is a guy from 1-12.

 

Who though and does this incoming player (or players) offset the loss of Wesley's floor spacing in the starting unit (especially with Nic nursing a bad wrist and unable/unwilling to shoot)? Seems like we might see a lateral move at best, certainly not enough impact players to turn us into a lock for 46 wins.

 

Point being that those who seem so convinced that a 12th pick is going to be an impact player who improves the team next year are most likely off on their assessment, based on the rookie seasons of players drafted in a similar spot, and even going on in their career.

 

just havin fun amigo, hopefilly in a few years at your expense, and if U R the Blazer fan I think U R I am sure you would love to have your opinion be wrong big time

 

Well I'm hoping we could find more of an inside defensive minded player. I don't even if any are available though

 

There's never a guarantee and the chance might even be just 1 in 4 that they get a guy who can really play, but I don't see the opportunity cost of that's pick's salary really hurting this team's chances of getting the kind of player(s) that they need to acquire in the off-season.

But who knows, there's no way to know for sure if the pick will be worth it or not. I'm just trying to look at this from a risk-reward perspective: not much risked (or lost) using the pick (or trading the player that you pick) versus the amount of cap-room that it would free up by surrendering the pick.

 

Back to the first question........

Yes, ideally you'd want the team to get its own draft choice under #15 (non-playoffs). Contract is long and cheap.
But, we have 6 rookies on the roster now. I think we can do just as well with smaller contract FA's this summer to fill in gaps.
Olshey is a salesman - to agents and players - and will get us opportunities with players like Hibbert, Crawford, etc. going forward. We'll shoot high first though.