With the #7 pick, the Portland Trail Blazers select....

I love this time of year. Ayton, Lavine, Randle, Wood, Grant, Collins, the glass is half full for this board. Only thing better is the epic meltdown thread surely awaiting.

 

Personally I saw him get played off the floor against the Mavs when Luka, Dinwiddie and Jalen Brunson started cooking him in the PnR.

 

17 minutes was because he got into it with the coach. He's literally the best mid-range shooting center and is as mobile as you can get. Short of Embiid or Jokic, there aren't many better options than Ayton.

 

I wish you'd stop talking about Wood. He's an undesirable.

 

Randle and Wood? seems like a bad fit

obviously Blazers let Nurkic walk?

 

Who thinks the players relegated to the #4 and #5 options out of the starting 5, are going to be happy?

 

Welcome to being on a talented team. Dame wants a title. If we want to give him that we're going to have to have a talented lineup.

 

Who's playing defense in that lineup?
It smells a lot like the team that started last season. They'll play great at home and wither on the road.
It'll be every man for himself.

 

Hart(sg), Randle (pf), Grant(sf) and Nurk are all solid defenders or at least long for their position.

 

Covington and Powell were good defenders too. When they felt like it.

 

That wasn't a balanced team and Dame wasn't right.

The team above is far more talented, longer, stronger, more athletic, and we'll balanced. Oh, and Dame will be healthy.

 

Yes, Dame will be healthy. So why have 5 starters who all want the ball, none of them notable defensive players?

 

It's not balanced defensively. It'll be bottom half of the league.

 

Highly doubtful, unless Billups can't coach.

That team could easily be top 10 defensively and top 5 offensively.

 

Billups has nothing to do with it.
Who's the guy who's going to dive for loose balls or defend a guy at the 3-point line then run to the hoop for a rebound? Nobody in that starting lineup.

 

Randle is a good defender when he's held accountable. Things have just gone bad in NY this season.
Grant is also a very capable defender with potential to be very good.

These guys just need a good leader and a good system. We've got the leader, hopefully Billups can coach.

 

Well, let me know when 2 all defensive players are available that we can get and I'll sign up to that plan.

 

Couple clips of why I'm higher on AJ Griffin. Already projects as a pretty wonderful off ball wing, but his flexibility and creativity with the ball stand out to me for a guy that age and size.

Lost a lot of development time being injured in high school, and who knows about the knee, but his high end outcomes are really interesting to me if he can stay healthy, get some of his pop back and start trusting his knee again.

 

The offense looks good on paper. I don't trust Randle and Grant together on defense. If we obtained one of them, and they play next to a SF/PF who plays defense on every possession I believe Grants/Randles effort on defense will be greater.