According to ESPN's latest: Did I miss the announcement that he worked out for us? Is this news just to me?
I think Marang mentioned it on his podcast last week. I think he said there's a few more players that worked out for PDX which is private and not being reported. It's all agent driven if the workout is public, private but reported (closed), or confidential.
I'm a fan of using 7 on Saluun. Really open to any of the guys mocked as long as it's not an old guy or limited backup (Knecht, Clingan, Edey)
long term project? Outstanding, the Blazers are a good team to run experiments with. No pressure, here's a juice box. Smile and have fun.
Correct. If we were fighting for playoffs I could see the argument that a contributing role player with less variance is more critical. We don't have any of those situations so we should just do whatever maximizes long term value.
We are in the 3rd year of the rebuild anyway you like at it, and, we have swung away the last to years Shae & Scoot. Im not oppose at another swing at 7 but if we dont hit, we could end like Detroit for the last 5 years plus.
What happened before is all sunk costs - shouldn't have any impact on what decision we make going forward. Being impatient and trying to rush a rebuild is what leads to the longest stretches of losing or irrelevance. We should take whatever players have the best long term value. Now that could mean swinging for the fences or that could mean taking someone with lower bust potential. Think of it as building an investment portfolio. If there is higher risk we need higher return. Lower return with much lower risk is superior though.
“Sprained an ankle” did he? Sounds like Spurs Shenanigans! to pick him at 8. Dissuade Detroit at 5 and Charlotte at 6.
One of these guys (I can't tell them apart) thinks (a) that Salaun is the best of the three Frenchies, and (b) that he'll be gone by #4. Everybody on here was low on Risacher and thought that it was weird that there was so much stuff floating around about how the Spurs love him, because that NEVER happens with the Spurs. https://www.theringer.com/2024/6/19/24181661/grade-a-mock-draft-our-guys-draft
A good thing about older draftees is you know sooner if they are. It's funny how people dismiss players that have proven they're one of the best players at the college level but are fine with players that looked mediocre at the lower level. Is it just the excitement of what they "might become", which rarely pans out.
Sounds like you're suggesting that we would be better off taking older, more "NBA-ready" players like Knecht and Edey rather than low-percentage home-run hopefuls like Salaun and Holland.
I didn't say that. With those examples the return is so vastly inferior with Knecht and especially Edey that its not worth the lower risk - that is if we're evaluating them as lottery picks. Edey cannot ever be more than a limited backup due to his physical limitations. But yes there are times a player that is more of a sure thing with lower upside is a superior option. I'd certainly take both Edey or Knecht over 2nd rounders that have higher upside. Ultimately for a team like Portland it should just come to whomever has the best long term value, and the tradeoff between risk/reward is a dynamic in that calculus. I'm hoping Cronin/Schmitz have a good evaluation of that dynamic, the Scoot/Sharpe picks give me hope but all their other moves give me concern.
From https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro: Salaun is a bit bigger but not that big of a difference.
Nice! Dadiet has great size. I already liked him before, but I'd love to find a way get him in the mid/late first round.
So, now Salaun is in play for the top 6, who drops out of: Sarr Risacher Sheppard Clingan Castle Salaun Buzelis? What if it's Sheppard? Do we take him?
