Wasn't he supposed to have, like, no knee(s) cartilage? Yeesh, we coulda had that guy.....late! :MARIS61:
The Blazers passed on DeJuan Blair, who barely plays, yet drafted Brandon Roy, who was a ROY, All-Star, and All-NBA player. Horrible decision, considering the two weren't even in the same draft class.
If you think we lost out on him then we can sign him now. He is a free agent and SA has no intentions on making an offer. He will only be 24 next year. (And still only 6'7") He will come cheap.
Blair, the 37th pick, playing for a perennial title contender, has average nearly 19 minutes, 8 points, and 6 rebounds per game. This, for a guy the Blazers' medical staff passed on. I'm only making the comparison to Roy, because the Blazers took a HUGE gamble on him @ #6.
Cheap and an upgrade to a horrible bench. I'm sure someone will be along directly to explain why that is a bad idea........ (Sadly, I'm not kidding.)
Kinda the thing. He's not really a difference maker but on our bench he'd certainly be no worse than any other big guy (other than Hickson who's a better version of Blair).
At the vet minimum, why not, as I think about it. If Pop is willing to let him walk, though, I guess I don't see how comparing passing on him and drafting Roy is at all relevant. Hickson is a MUCH better version of Blair, though. JJ could start or play a key bench role for a team that doesn't need primary scoring or paint defending from their undersized PF. He would have been a great player on the Boston teams that were good a few years ago. He's been very good for the Blazers, and I appreciate how he helped make the team competitive for most of the season.
I didn't say one word about LMA tonight. (until now) If you are trying to make me feel guilty about bashing Leonard - not gonna happen.
I get the "why did our docs pin their hopes on one guy only to get gunshy about another guy who's still playing?" thing, and I understand the "why did a fatass like Blair keep going when a stud like Roy fell?" thing too. It hurts a bit. But it's just the past.
That one play when Leonard shrieked and jumped away from a rebound like it was a snake biting him was embarrassing; sometimes I wonder about his brain. But he's a young kid who hasn't been tall for long. I liken him to one of those kids they dig up out of Africa once a decade, only with better hands offensively.
Let me spell it out again: Everyone in the room wanted the Blazers to take Blair in the 2nd round (virtually no risk).....yet passed because of the knee. Yet, they took a big gamble taking Roy with, apparently, the same issue. Oh, and they knew Roy had the knee issues. It was a case of denial. But, yeah, it's the proverbial water under the dam.
