We got the #3 pick. Discuss the possibilities.

Makes me wonder for a moment, if we draft him, will he be looking to get away from Portland so he can get to the "big" lights?

 

Assuming that all the chatter that we are hearing from the likes of teams like the Nets, Raptors, Pelicans are smoke screens, I think trading the pick is still the more likely and preferred outcome for the Blazers front office... but I remain confident that they do in fact place tremendous value on #3 and they won't simply accept any old deal.

The Blazers assuredly won't receive an acceptable deal (or deals) until at least the day before the draft (and it will probably be a deal contingent on who is there at #3). I expect that we are going to be stuck in a non-movement, turbulent rumor whirlwind until we are on the clock... so we had better buckle up and keep our wits about us over the next week.

 

Yeah, it seems almost certain that the pick will not be dealt until draft night after Charlotte makes their pick. There will be a handful of teams that want to move up for Scoot, and likely a few that want Miller. Don't see a team making the deal beforehand, not knowing who they will get there.

 

With how obvious that pick will be, it very well could be made anytime this summer. Unless our plan somehow entails moving back a spot or two for an Amen/Ausar/whoever, whoever is trading up will be very obviously doing to for Scoot or Miller. I could easily see a scenario where we just take that guy and continue to auction them off.

 

Lloyd basically said that our team is bad so we can't afford to be picky about how we add talent to this roster. He thinks very highly of Scoot.

 

The safe play is to punt again and this time really do it in a big way. Right now you have a team that finished in the bottom quarter of the league two seasons in a row. You have a superstar at the height of his game but who knows for how long, the guy you went out and got last off season to complement him is a free agent. The other two guys you re-signed last off season don't complement your superstar or at least not in the team's current system. I think the shrewd move is to blow it up. If it's Miller that's available at three then you likely retain Ant but in general you build around that third pick and Shae, everything else that's got more than a few years of experience must go. Auction off Dame for the best young players, picks and expiring contracts you can get. Use that pick at 23. Let Jeremi walk.

However the fact is that some people (me included) feel some loyalty to the guy that has shown us so much loyalty. So instead of doing the shrewder and simpler thing which is to kick the can of expectation down the road and acquire a bunch of young talent that probably has a worse chance of ever being as competitive as a good GM could make our team next season... you ride with Dame. You cash in the best trade chip you've had in his entire career (pick 3) for some all star help, you re-sign Grant, you hope that Shae pops soon enough to help and hopefully right away, you trade Ant because he's not a fit with Dame and does seem to have value around the league, you move on from Nurk even if it costs you a little bit, you re-sign Matisse and hopefully build a solid bench unit around him. This is still a people business and even though the company that is over our team is called Vulcan we aren't Vulcans... logic doesn't always and shouldn't always rule in totality over emotion.

The simpler, cleaner idea is a total youth rebuild, the more fulfilling idea is to win with the guy that we've been rocking with for over a decade and still has quite a bit of gas left in the tank.

 

I don't think they were absolutely convinced but yeah, they seemed to believe it would be traded

meaning, IMO, they are operating on older assumptions. I didn't hear anything new in the video. The guys were easy to listen too and actually had logical trains of thought, but it was conjecture, rumors, and conclusions that are all really common in this forum. They were more articulate though

one of them was really really high on Scoot which is an opinion I don't share, or at least don't accept as gospel at this point. I think every one of the three guys talked about as the tier after Wemby have warts that can't be easily dismissed, and that includes Scoot

I do agree with them that the 3rd pick has very good value. But, IMO, that makes it more probable that Portland will keep the pick

 

Charlotte needs young talent. Bridges is in his prime, now. They don’t have the pieces, right now, for Bridges being their elite #2 guy. IMHO he’s exactly what the Blazers need … and his durability is a huge plus given recent history. That’s why I don’t care about an overpay (not including Sharpe).

NOT counting Wemby …

1. If a lottery team wants a more athletic forward who hits 3s, Miller might slip a little, but he’s athletic enough and the best bet as an all star forward — eventually.
2. Scoot has the higher ceiling with his athletic profile and what he can do, now. He needs better competition than the G league. I’ve never been as big of a fan of the scoring PG driving hard to get his points.
3. Amen is my pick at #3. 6’7 in shoes and 7’ wingspan and his skills and athleticism and court intangibles. BUT then again, I was a sucker for the bigger PGs and Euro point-forwards in the 90s and early 2000s. He makes having size at the 2 less crucial … but no problem there with Sharpe. Amen will operate in the paint for points, but his game will be a mix. More Penny less Westbrook.

 

doesn't seem like a practical plan. They'd have to stall signing the pick, maybe for weeks, and that's really awkward and could really sour the player on the franchise. Once they sign him, I believe he can't be traded for 60 days...so that could be approaching training camp. Just doesn't seem realistic

I think if Portland trades the pick/player-picked, it will be in the next 2-3 weeks

 

I think it will be on draft night or we'll keep the guy we pick.

 

I don’t think they said Scoot doesn’t have warts. They think he has the highest ceiling of anyone not named Wemby. He said it’s worth the risk because Scoot can be one of those superstar players. He sees Miller as a Khris Middleton, which is fine, but it’s not a top 10 caliber player.

 

I completely agree with them.

I mean I clearly don't want Scoot, but I'd rather take Scoot than trade the pick for some bullshit.

 

I haven't seen anyone (outside this forum) say that Scoot is over-rated.
Only that some people think Miller is under-rated and they have Miller slightly ahead of Scoot.
For the people here that do say that Scoot is over-rated, I think they are putting too much weight on his shooting numbers in the G league and not enough consideration of his high-level shot creation.

 

I love Dame but if it comes down to keeping Dame happy by taking "some bullshit" for the best pick we've had in sixteen years then it will break my heart but Dame will have to have that "other conversation" with Joe. In my opinion Joe's goal should be to build a winner around Dame but he has to be willing to go plan B and build around pick 3 and Shae... without Dame if that's how it has to be or even if that's just what makes the most sense.

I think there will be deals out there for the third pick that are not some bullshit but if that's all there is you have to keep the pick and then do what's best for the organization knowing that you're going to concentrate how you build the team on Shae and whoever we get at pick 3.

 

I pretty much agree, but if everything is executed properly, I do think we have a chance to make some noise.

Hypothetically, if we were able to add Bridges and Claxton for 3 and Ant, we could trade Nurk for a rotation player and add Bruce Brown in FA.

Dame
Sharpe
Bridges/Brown
Grant
Claxton

With another couple pieces, I could see this team competing in the west. But that requires them to go all the way. Are we confident Jody Allen will pay up? What I don't want is to trade the #3 pick for vets and then Jody say we can't spend anymore and we're stuck in purgatory. If we're going to go in this direction, we need to go all the way.

I'm going to feel uncomfortable when we trade #3.

 

Bridges and Claxton
Ingram + Herb + 14

These are about the only non-bullshit trades I see, preferably the first one.

Siakam for a 1yr rental... no thanks

JB not realistic...

We will see...

I think Brooklyn comes around on draft night...

 

C’mon. There are other possibilities! The Vulcans aren’t necessarily just un-emotional, bean counters. Wrong Vulcan!
They’re builders, inventors … the blacksmith and jewelry maker of the gods. The Roman Vulcan, or the Greek Hephaestus who was married to Aphrodite.

Cronin-Chauncy-Dame. The triumvirate.

 

Or something we're just not seeing right now. I think the opportunity will be there but if it isn't, Cronin has to be willing to abandon the preferred option of winning with Dame... which I think is the front office's preferred option and is still mine.

 

Getting Bridges and Claxton would be a win, but I'd feel more comfortable if it was Miller we were trading rather than Scoot. Miller's projected high-end tops out at a Middleton/Bridges level player.

Scoot can be much more than that.