Official 2013 Draft thread

Hmmm not sure how excited I am about Paul Allen and Chad Buchanan having a bunch of input on our draft pick. Hope we don’t get another Luke Babbitt or Nolan Smith.

 

I think any good SG would mesh with Lillard. He is pretty flexible with the way he plays. Certainly a big SG with excellent PG skills would be ideal. But that will be tough to find.

I think a big SG who we run plays for will also mesh with Dame. Right now the standing around the perimeter and waiting for Damian to get double teamed up top is not ideal either.

 

I think (hope) that Olshey is the primary decision-maker in this process, and that Buchanan is just a data-gatherer. Of course Olshey needs to convince PA and get his approval - but I don't think PA or Buchanan are steering the decision.
I know it's popular to believe that "the Vulcans"/PA are running things and the GM is just a puppet, but I don't think that's actually the case, other than PA being an involved owner who Olshey answers to.
I hope that Olshey gets rid of Buchanan this summer. I don't think it was a move he wanted to make within days of being hired, but now that a full season has gone by I think Olshey will look to put together his own scouting team...at least I hope so.

 

I can see Shabazz fitting in with Rubio as well. As noted he is in constant motion.

Although I think it is too early to say he won't be able to create for himself. I think Shabazz is more inclined to improve than most of his peers. I think he will be able to post up other SG's and
be able to pass out to someone like Lillard as opposed to Rubio who is not as good of a shooter.

 

Agreed. Also, we have Nic who is more than capable of setting up plays in the half-court despite his mediocre ball-handling. With Lillard and Nic setting the table, I think it's fine to have someone like Shabazz who seems limited in this respect. But with his movement and Nic's ability to feed moving players I think we'd have a very nice offensive trio with Lillard/Bazz/Nic. Also also, I envision Shabazz coming off the bench for AT LEAST the first half of the season, but probably the entire season.

 

I really don't think scoring is our main problem. We really need to improve our defense. So I don't want to hear about players who are known only (or even primarily) as (volume) scorers.

 

We do need someone to get to the Line a lot as well. Defense is a key but none of Stotts other teams were known for defense at all so I don't think he is going to work on that as much as people hope.

 

All the more reason to acquire players who are just naturally good at it.

 

That is the one thing that has always worried me about him. I have to wonder though if it is personnel driven though? Hard to blame Stotts for Hickson, Leonard, Lillard, Batum

In past years talking about teams with Dickau and SAR on them? Yuck

 

Here's my complaint:
The thing about a lot of scorers is that you can't expect to put them all together and get a super-score-y team. If you put Iverson and Kobe and Monta Ellis and JR Smith on one team, it would not be a world-beater. So volume scorers can take away from other players even more than they add (if they're less efficient, if they piss off the other players with their selfishness, if they take shots early in the clock, et. al.) But if you put great DEFENDERS on a team, they DO add up. And conversely, one really shitty defender can fuck up an entire scheme.

There's a reason Perry Jones fell in the draft and never gets minutes. And I also think of teams as workplaces: Muhammad's "lonerness" is not necessarily his fault, but it certainly doesn't increase team cohesion. There's also a reason why Rondo keeps getting shopped, despite his utter awesomeness: he's a moody bastard. (I wonder how much worse that will get when Doc, Pierce and Garnett are gone).

 

That is certainly not bad idea. Are we still talking SG? Who did you have in mind? Pope? He does look decent at it. Although I would not necessarily count Shabazz out of that discussion.

 

To be honest, I don't know why we're even considering a SG. I think we have much more glaring needs at C and even backup PG. Wesley's not the greatest SG but he's actually very important to the team (a la Tony Allen) and I'd be happy to see Will Barton get more minutes (not to mention Batum or Lillard at SG).

 

James Ham ‏@James_Ham 27m
Shabazz Muhammad will be in Sacramento for a second look on Saturday and C.J. McCollum on Monday.

 

I hear what you're saying, Rasta. I'm typically a big proponent of defense. But to me, defense has GOT to come first from coaching. A good defensive coach can take average players and still get good defensive results - outside of Duncan/Leonard the Spurs players are fairly average, but Pops makes them look like champions. Conversely, a team full of good individual defenders with a poor structure to work within will never be a great defensive team. No matter who we have on the roster we won't be a great defensive team until we get a coach who understands the nuances of team defense. Sure, a defensive-minded C will help, but it won't transform the team.
Given that I would rather try to find the best player at a position that typically dominates the league (SG). Right now there's Harden (and maybe Wade) and then a precipitous drop-off in talent. If a SG in this draft has any potential at developing into a dominant player then that'll be very valuable considering the absolute lack of SG talent in the league. By comparison there is a HUGE amount of C talent in the league.
Back to defense - given Shabazz's size and wingspan I think he has far more potential to be a better defender than Pope. But we also have a good defensive SG in Wes. And on the offensive end he can work in the post - something our PF is unwilling to do.

 

I don't get what you're saying. Why would having a good SG help the BLAZERS "dominate the league"? Harden's Rockets didn't do all that much. Not as much as teams with players like Danny Green or Tony Allen starting at SG. What matters is the team. All it means if we have the third best SG in a shitty period for SGs is that he's likely to demand to be overpaid.

A "huge amount of C talent"!? That's just false. I remember a time with Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq. They're all better than ANY center in the league now. However, the most important player on defense is the center. That doesn't mean you can't win without one (see Jordan Bulls, current Heat) but you better have all-world perimeter defenders if not. And oh, the Jordan Bulls and current Heat did and do. We don't.

Agree that it's not enough: we need a good defensive coach. But the best defensive coach in the world isn't going to do squat with Meyers Leonard or JJ Hickson. Except bench them.

 

Substitute Crabbe for Ledo and I agree. Oh, and substitute "pick to be named later" for Kostas Papanikolaou, because I think he could be special, in a "cult fave" kind of way.

 

So for you is it Dieng or bust? All the other centers in this draft seem to be uncoordinated on offense. A walking turnover.

Defense is huge, but we can't play 4 on 5 on offense. They have to be able to touch the ball with out everyone in the arena holding their breath.

 

Okay, given all that I've said about SGs, it's a bit rich for me to say this, but my first choice would probably be Oladipo. But mainly because of his defensive intensity. But of the players likely to be available to us, Dieng or Schroeder would be my first choice. Dieng because I think he would have the greatest positive impact, Schroeder because he has real star potential and we need a backup PG A LOT.

Dieng can hit a jump shot. He's probably the best C on offense right now as well! The only reason he isn't clear cut fave is because he's 2-3 years older than the others, and people seem to see potential superstars in Noel, Len, Adams and Gobert.

 

A cautionary tale about building a team through the draft.