Oladipo, Greek Freak, Gobert.... That would've been... Wow but hindsight like you said. However we would have to pay those dudes A LOT. The Klay deal would've been better imo long run.
Which is why I want the Blazers to "fuck up properly" and get into that 4-7 range. I think Olshey might be able to find a gem.
Who would you say has a better chance at being an All-Star? Gobert? The guy screams role player to me. Realistically Giannis Antetokounmpo has the best shot at being a star, but he strikes me as more of a decent All-Star type guy, and not a superstar.
My post wasn't intended to say anything bad about what Olshey has done in the draft; he's picked 3 guys who are solid rotation players. CJ is probably the top 1 or 2 guy of his draft. My point is that there isn't likely to be the difference-maker that we're seeking available in the range we're likely to be picking. A full-on tank, like Nik is proposing, might get us into the 4-7 range and a better shot at a major talent, but there's no certainty to it. If we were talking about a reasonable shot at Simmons, I could get the excitement for the draft, but we can't tank hard enough to out-tank the bottom 3 teams.
Sorry, I guess I didn't write my thought out completely. I was basically saying that the CJ draft was pretty weak overall. Not a lot of talent, and really zero superstars, but stars can be had in that range. I think getting into the top 10 is key. Drummond was taken, what, 8th? I think Neil has a good eye for talent. I trust him. Maybe we don't get top 5, but I would personally prefer a top 10 pick over the playoffs and no pick at all.
And Drummond was the best big taken between 6-14 in the past decade, but I guess you could back up your point with that anomaly if you really want to.
Looking at some of the better Cs in the league now: Vucevic: 16th pick Gobert: 27th pick DeAndre: 35th pick D.Green: 35th pick M. Gasol: 47th pick Gortat: 57th pick Mozgov: undrafted Whiteside: undrafted hmm. There's talent to be found later in the draft for big man positions.
Absolutely. But Portland won't have a pick in that area this season so we would be waiting till after next season for this pick so they don't even arrive till Dame is 27....so that is waiting this year and next year to get Dame help.
FWIW The Blazers won 33 games and ended up picking CJ at #10 in the offseason. CJ is a rising star, but only in his 3rd season. Crabbe was taken at #31 and is a double digit scorer off the bench. Neil will do just fine no matter where we pick. A guy 4-7 might turn out to be another Vonleh.
None better than Drummond No, I went between 6-14 because everybody wants us to tank so we end up in the lottery. If there's a sleeper we like (like one on your list), then we could easily trade for a late first/early second. Let's make the playoffs and find a late round gem.
Doesn't have to be a power forward. I would love to have an All-Star small forward. Any forward will do.
Next time I should be able to make it. The thing with my wife's father is really recent, so it's been a bit chaotic lately. Plus I've been super-heads down on my music, getting another album done. Some years I'm louder than others, but this year has been fun so far. I'm not disappointed or down on the team at all.
Sometimes I wonder if journalists write things to kiss up to players...get in good with them so they get better interview answers etc...
I agree he could do well...but if the Blazers make the playoffs, their next pick is in the summer of 2017.
