I think Montero, Connaughton, Layman, Vonleh and Alexander are going to impress folks in summer league.
Just don't start a rookie C.J. McCollum at PG or else we'll have the league's worst FG% again. Start a real PG.
PG Russ Smith and C Jordan Bachynski to join the Blazers Summer League roster. http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...oin_trail_blazers_sum.html#incart_river_index
Smith was FA camp and now the summer league it looks like the Blazers real good look at him at the point. He could be biding for back up point next year.
I will keep big eye 7'2" center bachynski this kid can play. Great rim protector watching d-league highlights and was impress he might be the diamond in the ruff that we been looking for he actually have low post game and stretch out 18 feet.
Here is a game in which he went 14-14 for 31 points and added 6 blocks! Is left-handed but started with a decent right-handed jump hook.
Yea pretty impressive at any level. Neil just might have guy that could help right out the start. But we will see this summer. But I like what I see so far.
From the time he steps on the court, he will have the best low-post moves of any Portland center unless they add someone new....a bit sad. He has a nice jump-hook with either hand out to 8' and a soft touch around the rim. Not very explosive but you can't teach 7'2" with a 7'4" wingspan. Also, he is 26 so that fits into Damian's age range, right?
Very impressive video. He seems to run the court not too badly for a 7'2''. And he even made a nice looking jump shot. I am already excited for the Summer League
Russ Smith will make the team in November. Hopson and Bachynski won't. The 6 foot Smith is better than Tim Frazier, and plays at our position of need, backup PG. Bachynski would be age 27, 1 year out of college undrafted, who only blocks shots. Scotty Hopson has been nothing since getting overrated in high school 9 years ago. Brian Roberts will be gone in the chaos. We only paid cash for him, but he's a better player than we saw (good shooter with Charlotte who led the NBA in FT% in 2013-14).
Russ Smith is very different than Frazier, he's maybe a PG but more like a small SG, a better comparison would be Juan Dixon
Smith got 8 apg and 28 ppg last season in the D-League. He's different from Frazier, yes...he's almost as good of a PG, and a much better scorer. Not a top 3-point shooter, though. Smith http://www.basketball-reference.com/dleague/players/s/smithru01d.html Frazier http://www.basketball-reference.com/dleague/players/f/fraziti01d.html
What got Frazier moved was his lack of scoring, not his playmaking. Smith is almost the same playmaker, but a better scorer. So in both categories (scoring and playmaking) Smith meets the minimum requirement to stay a Blazer. Frazier meets it only in one out of two.
Brian Roberts is better than both of them. But I think he'll get lost in the shuffle. While Olshey plays his options, Roberts will get an offer, and not be willing to hang around with a team that played him a lot fewer minutes than his other NBA teams. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/roberbr01.html Stotts believes he has to play Lillard for infinite minutes so that Lillard can jack up crazy long misses. Then in the last minute he can bail out his team with Hero Ball from the damage he caused earlier. A real NBA player like Roberts is well-advised to be on his way, to be replaced by a D-League star.
Smith might be fine but enough with the barely 6' backup PG's. I'm not asking for a Shaun Livingston-like 6'7" option but someone with a little size that can play some defense...because someone in the back court needs to.
