Back-Up Power Forwards in the Draft

Depends on who we get with our other assets. Like I said, I'd rather use those assets to acquire veteran help at PG and SF than use them on a back-up PF. I think we can get a back-up banger in the draft without giving up much, or anything, to get them. Paul Millsap was drafted at 47 and immediately became part of Utah's regular rotation and a solid contributor on a play-off team. So yes, I do believe we can get someone at 24 that can help this team immediately.

I'd rather have someone who can come in, bring energy, play smart and hit the boards than a 19-20 year old athletic freak that will make an occasional spectacular dunk, but won't box out, will lose his man on defense and make costly turnovers.

I'm not a big "upside" guy. Everybody has it, but few reach it. Therefore, I prefer a known "is" over a hypothetical "might be".

Teams that go deep in the play-offs have smart role players coming off the bench. These are always guys who have limits to their game, but are smart enough to know those limits and not make a lot of mistakes that hurt their teams. Shane Battier is just one example. He played center at Duke, but has successfully made the transition to 2/3 in the NBA. He gets by much more on smarts than athleticism or size.

I'm not comparing Hansbrough's game to Battier's, just giving an example of a player that contributes a lot simply by playing smart and not making mistakes that hurt his team. That's the kind of player I think Hansbrough will be in the NBA - a solid, but unspectacular back-up who helps his team more than hurts them when he's in the game.

I might be wrong on Hansbrough, but the Adam Morrison comparisons are completely off base. Yes, they are both white, but their games in college could not be more different.

BNM

 

I don't recall directly comparing Hansbrough's game to Morrison's. But I do think they are both players that excel(led) at the college level but project(ed) rather poorly at the pro level and that common thread between them is that they are both tweeners -- guys without a position at the NBA level -- Morrison an unathletic 3 and Hansbrough a severely undersized 4 (both in terms of height and bulk).

 

joel freeland = plays against grown men

but you reserve judgement because he does play against boys? *cough* college still wet behind years....

 

Yup, I'm on the Blair bandwagon. It's hard to tell where he'll go in the draft at this point. His upside is really limited, but he's very very solid. He's the perfect backup PF. It will be interesting to see if teams fall in love with his intangibles.

For whatever reason, intangibles are not a big factor in the NBA draft as much as it is in the NFL draft. It's probably due to the limited talent pool that can make it in the NBA.

 

Antonio McDyess

Please no more youth, we have to find minutes for the Young'ns

 

Severely undersized 4 (both in terms of height and bulk)? He's listed at 6'9" 230 lbs. While that's a bit on the small size for a starting 4 in the NBA, it's not bad for a back-up 4. If he measures out at a legit 6'9". or even 6'8" he'll be taller than many other back-up 4s (and even a few starters like Carlos Boozer and Kevin Love). Since he doesn't rely on athleticism, I'm sure Bobby Medina could help him add 15 lbs. of muscle to address the bulk "issue".

You do realize that our back-up 4 currently is Travis Outlaw who is also 6'9" (in shoes) and 23 lbs. lighter than Hansbrough. Plus, Hansbrough doesn't shy away from contact and draws a lot of fouls, He'll also be a better rebounder than Outlaw.

Concerning Hansbrough's lack of position at the next level, Draft Express characterizes him as "Stuck between 4 and 5". With Oden and Przybilla, the Blazers wouldn't need him to play the 5, just back up the 4 spot. Again, I'm not looking for a star here, just a guy who can back-up Aldridge for 10 or 12 MPG, play hard, play smart and not make mistakes. After watching Frye and Outlaw struggle at the back-up 4 this season, I can't imagine Hansbrough wouldn't be an upgrade at that position. At the very least, he'd play harder than Frye and smarter than Outlaw.

BNM

 

McDyess wouldn't be a bad pick-uop - as long as getting him doesn't use assets that could be used on an established PG - and possibly SF.

Even at 34 (soon to be 35), McDyss is still productive (when healthy). but he's probably only got a couple more years left in the tank. If the Blazers could get him on a cheap (about half the MLE) 2-year contract with a 3rd year team option, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

Minutes won't be an issue for the back-up 4 spot. Whoever we get to fill that role, young or old, will get PT. Frye is gone, and Outlaw isn't a 4.

BNM

 

BTW, this summer's free agent class is heavy on power forwards. Not even counting restricted free agents or guys who might opt out, in addition to McDyess, several other well-traveled, experienced power forwards will be unrestricted free agents this summer, including:

Juwan Howard
Joe Smith
Rasheed Wallace
Drew Gooden
Lamar Odom
Chris Andersen

There are also 2nd tier guys like Chris Wilcox and Mikki Morre, and 3rd tier guys like Stromile Swift, Shelden Williams and Melvin Ely.

As well Brandon Bass who should see a nice pay increase this summer, Carlos Boozer who may opt out, Paul Millsap who the Jazz may be forced to renounce if Boozer and Okur opt out and Utah re-signs them both to big contracts, David Lee who the Knicks may renounce if they think he'll cost them too much to keep, etc.

Some of these guys will re-sign with their current teams. Some are of no interest to the Blazers. But, with so many PFs looking for work this summer, it should be a buyers' market. Perhaps the Blazers can take advantage of the situation and get a solid, experienced back-up 4 at a reasonable contract starting at $3 - $4 million a year.

BNM

 

I agree, I don't want to see Outlaw and Channing play backup power forward either, but I also don't want to see a rookie handed the job if it can be helped. If the team needs some emergency depth to play third string power forward or center then I can't see the sense in drafting (another) late first rounder to fill that role when we've already got the draft rights to a legit 6'10"- 6'11" forward/center having a great season in the ACB -- competition at least as good and maybe slightly better than NCAA hoops.

As for bringing Hansbrough in to backup LaMarcus because he'd be mistake free, I just don't see that being the case at all for any rookie (including Freeland). If that's the role you're looking to fill then this team needs a legit NBA veteran banger with a reputation of being able to provide bankable defense and rebounding. Hansbrough might or might not be capable of providing that, but I sure wouldn't bet on it.

 

That's my sincere hope.

 

From Freeland's most recent DraftExpress update:

"Offensively, he looked somewhat tentative, not being much of a presence for Gran Canaria, which is not a huge surprise considering his limitations on this end of the floor. He’s mostly a finisher at this point (albeit a very good one at that) and seems to struggle when asked to do much more than that, as he lacks great footwork or much range on his jumper. He’s also somewhat foul prone and clearly not very experienced, averaging a high amount of turnovers relative to his role."

They also say he's clearly not ready for the NBA, but that the Blazers may bring him over this summer due to his escape clause. If they wait another year or two, he may sign a longer term contract with another European team.

In any case, I'm all for bringing him over and letting him take Ruffin's or Shavlik's spot on the end of the bench, but I'm not counting on him being part of the regular rotation for a couple more years.

BNM

 

Thinking outside the box here...

What about Tiago Splitter? His contract is an issue but he's a player worth looking at. A player who'll make an instant impact whenever he does come to the NBA.

​

 

Interesting thought. I wonder what it would take to pry his rights away from the Spurs?

There was a thread on the Spurs' forum about SA using a loop-hole in the CBA to up their offer to Splitter. If that doesn't work, they might be willing to trade him for some immediate help. It would be a risk, but......

 

For a guy who is supposedly "severely undersized" for a 4, Hansbrough didn't measure out too bad:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Measurements-released-3236/

He's a 1/4" shorter than Blake Griffin, weighs 14 lb. less, has a greater wing span and a 1" greater standing reach. Yet, Grifin is consider a "beast" and an "stud" and Hansbrough is a "severley undersized 4"? Go figure.

BTW, I'm not saying Hansbrough is better, or even close to as good, as Griffin. There's a reason Griffin is expected to be the 1st pick in the draft and Hansbrough is expected to go in the 20s. I'm just dispelling the myth, based on actual measurements, that Hansbrough is "severely undersized".

BNM

 

What can you say. One cheerleader starts a rumor about a guy, and pretty soon it is all over the internet!

 

These were my thoughts as well. I just don't get the dislike of Psycho T. He plays hard, rebounds, defends and has some solid offensive skills. He isn't super bulky, but he is clearly PF size. If (big IF) we pick at 24, I would not be disappointed to see him on the team. He would be a solid backup PF. My only fear is that he might be too "psycho" and have troubles fitting in--similar to what Noah had his rookie year.

 

With the problems San Antonio ran into getting old last year, they would be pretty stupid to do this. They need to get every player they can to retool.

 

I like McDyess as a veteran option....

Splitter is an intriguing idea, but I don't see SA trading him away, nor do I think he is willing to come over in the next few years....

I really think POR is going to select Victor Claver with a pick, probably a late 1st rounder or thier early 2nd.....history has shown they like to use late 1st rounders on european players (Freeland, Koponen, Rodriguez, Fernandez, Batum).....

Claver also worked out with POR last year...another trend I have noticed about POR as well...

Claver was looking real good, he is real young still 19?20?...then suffered a year ending injury and kind of fell off the radar a little, he stayed in the draft and is hoping to slide through to the 2nd round and avoid getting locked into a late 1st round contract....

I don't think he would be the answer this year, he may stay in europe for another year...though it is possible they bring him over....

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Claver-336/

I also think Josh Heytvelt is another intriguing possibility as a back-up PF.....He can shoot, is efficient around the basket, can rebound...

Milan Macvan is another intriguing player as well.....

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Milan-Macvan-1356/

Kind of reminds me of Linas Kleiza...

 

Players that might be available NEAR our draft pick (in so far that we could trade up using a filler or 2nd round pick to possibly acquire, or they might slide to us):

BJ Mullins
Tyler Hansbrough
Gani Lawal
Derrick Brown
Damion Jones
Taj Gibson
Jeff Pendergraph
DeMarre Carroll
Josh Heytvelt
Goran Suton

Never heard of Victor Claver, but he sounds intriguing. Goran Suton showed he could shoot outside in the NCAA tournament, but hadn't done it for all of his college career. If we keep those second round picks, I wouldn't be surprised to see us take some backup big men and then see who pans out. In recent years that's been the position that people have gotten value out of in the 2nd round, for the most part.