A few reasons to be positive

1. The Bucks drafted a PG. Sure, it's possible that they still keep Jennings and Sessions, but the chances of signing Sessions just increased. Given that he'll definitely be available with our capspace, that's a huge positive.
2. Hinrich wasn't traded and remains an option for the Blazers. I know that some don't like him that much, but since most agree that he's an upgrade over Blake, he's still a fall back option. On top of that, last season, the Wolves were reportedly interested in him. Now they're not, competition for his services may have decreased.
3. If Minnesota really does plan on playing both Flynn and Rubio, look forward to some easy wins for the Blazers next season. If you thought that Brandon Roy scored at will on Foye, how many points is going to put up against the Wolves' backcourt without even breaking a sweat?
4. Draft day is exciting, it's practically Christmas for us hardcore fans. Now imagine the excitement of draft day, drawn out over a whole month! ok ok I'm reaching on this one
5. For the ladies (or the guys, if so inclined) - We got another suave Spaniard who can [video=youtube;2_ufVzTs4FU] Go on, admit it... that cowboy hat one is pretty cool.
6. Thabeet has Samuel Dalembert, at best, written all over him. Memphis didn't improve their team that much and will be unable to match up with the Blazer bigs. Oden is too strong for Thabeet, and Aldridge too quick for Gasol.

any others? I know there's some legitimate reasons to be down after this draft, I'm not arguing that, but there's already plenty of threads about that. There are also some reasons to remain positive, hopefully we can focus on that in this thread.

OKC managed once again to come with what looks like a stiff at center.

number 10 said:

any others? I know there's some legitimate reasons to be down after this draft, I'm not arguing that, but there's already plenty of threads about that. There are also some reasons to remain positive, hopefully we can focus on that in this thread.

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You vaguely alluded to this, but not fully: Rubio may be available to acquire, since Minnesota drafted two point guards with high picks and Rubio is making noises about staying in Europe rather than playing in Minnesota.

I would feel a lot better with at least one of Blair or Brockman. That's all. And maybe Mills brings something we don't have.

I like that Valencia's team color is orange. Get it?

If we sign Turkoglu, then we get to spend 2 years waiting for a 3rd or 4th or 5th string SF. Be positive, be positive.

He's way to skinny to plan 3 or 4 in the NBA. Try to think positive.

The cowboy hat was cool. Blowing pick #22 isn't the worst thing in the world, really. We filled our need with Pendergraph, later in the draft.

Sorry man, when it comes to Claver, that's all the positive I can muster.

I don't think Claver was a bad pick personally....

Not picking Blair (or Young) with 31 or 33 is a little hard to understand....heck, they could have bought another pick with cash....

I'll show optimism after I see what Prichard does via FA and\or trades this offseason....

Some teams in the west got noticeably better...we did not...

Wizard Mentor said:

If we sign Turkoglu, then we get to spend 2 years waiting for a 3rd or 4th or 5th string SF. Be positive, be positive.

He's way to skinny to plan 3 or 4 in the NBA. Try to think positive.

The cowboy hat was cool. Blowing pick #22 isn't the worst thing in the world, really. We filled our need with Pendergraph, later in the draft.

Sorry man, when it comes to Claver, that's all the positive I can muster.

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I don't think Claver was a blown pick, I just think #22 was too high for him. I would have liked to have seen us trade back down and pick up some 2nd rounders in 2010 or 2011 and pick him up around #26-#28. Does anyone else think he still wouldn't have been around? It's not a rhetorical question; there are those in here who know much more about the draft than do I.

Minstrel said:

You vaguely alluded to this, but not fully: Rubio may be available to acquire, since Minnesota drafted two point guards with high picks and Rubio is making noises about staying in Europe rather than playing in Minnesota.

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There's a difference between being positive and dreaming
Nah, you're right that Rubio becomes more and more obtainable with each passing day. I highly doubt that KP has anything planned, but if he's available for the right price, the Blazers can definitely go get him.

Another one - the Suns are officially rebuilding. They're a team that's always given us trouble, especially Amare and Shaq. Nice to see Shaq in the East, hopefully Amare follows him. This also means that Nash is available, giving us another option to fall back on.

Chris Paul is still waiting to be traded to the Blazers

Some teams in the west got noticeably better...we did not...

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But nobody that we wanted, aside perhaps from Vince Carter, was traded. Every option that was available before the draft still remains so.

There are plenty of reasons to be positive.

Claver could turn into a huge steal down the road
Pendergraph is a good pick and should fill in like a backup should
Cunningham is a tough player that has some skills
Mills is great value where he was selected.

Anyone that thinks selecting Blair would have made a huge difference compared to these guys are crazy.

Also, considering the picks the Blazers had to work with, they did more than fine.

Another good draft for Pritchard. Not earth shattering, but it's the kind of draft a team that is a playoff team has.

maxiep said:

I don't think Claver was a blown pick, I just think #22 was too high for him. I would have liked to have seen us trade back down and pick up some 2nd rounders in 2010 or 2011 and pick him up around #26-#28. Does anyone else think he still wouldn't have been around? It's not a rhetorical question; there are those in here who know much more about the draft than do I.

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You are using semantics on the "blown pick" thing, but hey it's a reasons to be positive thread, so go for it.

Unless KP tells us specifically another team wanted to take him, I know of no internet sources (mock drafts or articles/rumors) that had him in the 1st round at all.

RoyToy said:

There are plenty of reasons to be positive.

Claver could turn into a huge steal down the road
Pendergraph is a good pick and should fill in like a backup should
Cunningham is a tough player that has some skills
Mills is great value where he was selected.

Anyone that thinks selecting Blair would have made a huge difference compared to these guys are crazy.

Also, considering the picks the Blazers had to work with, they did more than fine.

Another good draft for Pritchard. Not earth shattering, but it's the kind of draft a team that is a playoff team has.

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You are ignoring the fact that there is no spot in the playing rotation for any of them except maybe for Pendergraph.

By your definition, I am obviously crazy.

Who says they have to play? It's about depth.

Coming into the draft the Blazers pretty much already had their rotation down. Anyone that was drafted was not going to see big minutes.

I'll take Pendergraph/Cunningham/Mills over Frye/Shavlik/Sergio.

number 10 said:

Chris Paul is still waiting to be traded to the Blazers

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Do not need him. We got Mills

RoyToy said:

I'll take Pendergraph/Cunningham/Mills over Frye/Shavlik/Sergio.

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That's where we disagree.

But would you take Pendergraph/Blair/Mills? Or Pendergraph/Brockman/Mills?

RoyToy said:

I'll take Pendergraph/Cunningham/Mills over Frye/Shavlik/Sergio.

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I would take the latter, for sure right now. But I'll give the rookies a chance to see what they can do.

alex42083 said:

I would take the latter, for sure right now. But I'll give the rookies a chance to see what they can do.

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2/3 of those rotations will hardly see the floor. It's pretty much between Pendergraph and Frye and I think we've all seen enough of Frye to know he isn't what this team needs. Not a fan of 6-11 players standing 20 feet away from the basket.

Last year, George Hill was widely criticized for being a reach by the Spurs but is now considered a good pick. Here's hoping that our guys can do the same.

I Forgot about it, but Philly drafting Holiday is like the Bucks drafting Jennings - it makes it a bit more likely that their free agent PGs won't be retained. Hello Andre Miller...

RoyToy said:

2/3 of those rotations will hardly see the floor. It's pretty much between Pendergraph and Frye and I think we've all seen enough of Frye to know he isn't what this team needs. Not a fan of 6-11 players standing 20 feet away from the basket.

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Agreed, if Pendergraph can be a solid rotation player, then I'd love to see him take Frye's spot and it would make me feel better about the draft. I really hate the Dante Cunningham pick though. I don't see the point of getting him at all.

In the past there have been several PF's that were deemed too small, despite successful college careers, who have gone on to do well in the NBA after coming out of the second round. Landy, Bass, Powe, G.Davis, Milsap, C.Smith are all examples of this that easily come to mind. Sort of a trend that's been discovered.

Blair was supposed to go in the mid-first round. He slid a quarter way into the 2nd round. At that point, if you want a player, all you have to do if offer a future 2nd and go get the guy you want. To be honest, I don't know why we didn't get him over Cunningham in particular. Low Risk, High Reward. The guy can play, is tough, and will work. People say Big Baby Davis couldn't play at the next level and look at how he did in the playoffs.

Outside of that botched pick, and I really do think it was unless Cunningham is going out in a trade soon (I'm okay with Pendergraph, although would have preferred Blair I think). I'm okay with the draft. I'm okay with Claver, and think Mills was an absolutely great value pick. I would have prefered to get Calathes or Jonas Jepereko (sp) in addition to Pendergraph/Blair in the early first round, but oh well.

Not as good as previous drafts, but until KP shows signs, I think he's doing a good job.

I just think the rest of the league is catching up. Look at how teams are positioning themselves. OKC is young and on the rise with a fantastic core of players. Imagine if the Chandler trade had gone through last year. Minnesota has lots of good young pieces in Love/Jefferson/Rubio/Flynn. The Nets don't have too shabby of a core either, having a ton of capspace to add to their core of Harris/Lee/Williams/Yi/Lopez.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention, but I don't remember a time ever where so many teams were aggressively on a youth movement..even if that means to acquire young cheap players and free up cap space (which is very smart).

So I don't think KP is getting lax, it's just everyone else is playing catchup faster than KP can keep ahead of the ball.

Wizard Mentor said:

If we sign Turkoglu, then we get to spend 2 years waiting for a 3rd or 4th or 5th string SF. Be positive, be positive.

He's way to skinny to plan 3 or 4 in the NBA. Try to think positive.

The cowboy hat was cool. Blowing pick #22 isn't the worst thing in the world, really. We filled our need with Pendergraph, later in the draft.

Sorry man, when it comes to Claver, that's all the positive I can muster.

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have you ever seen claver play?

I stand by my point, with Batum on the roster, there is NO POINT in Claver

MAS RipCity said:

I stand by my point, with Batum on the roster, there is NO POINT in Claver

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When talking about 2-3 years in the future, there's no way to know. Batum may not have progressed. Batum may have been traded in a deal to net a top point guard. Batum may be injured. Portland may need more than one good small forward.

Even if none of those things are true, a lottery-talent small forward can be a nice trade chip.

Barring a MAJOR injury, there's no way Batum is not a Blazer or still a major piece to our puzzle.
Again, I'm doubtful on stashed Euro's trade value

MAS RipCity said:

Barring a MAJOR injury, there's no way Batum is not a Blazer or still a major piece to our puzzle.

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Just asserting it as fact doesn't make it fact. If Pritchard could get Devin Harris or Rajon Rondo by giving up Batum and others (not Roy/Aldridge/Oden), I'm pretty sure Batum would be packing his bags.

Again, I'm doubtful on stashed Euro's trade value

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What about a "Euro" who's been brought to Portland and had a very successful rookie season as Batum's backup in 2012-13?

I think the problem is too many of us have forgotten what it's like to be a winning team. When you have a really good team you draft late and most of the picks will sit on the bench or hopefully be role players. If you get a decent role player out of your draft you've done well.

Bad teams draft early and expect, and need, immediate results. They need impact players like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, Greg Oden.

The Blazers were there. But they are no longer. And that's a good thing.

Through most of the 90s, the Blazers drafted around 24 or so and if they were lucky got a guy who could plug a hole, or be traded for someone who could plug a hole - like trading Byron Irvin for Danny Ainge. That's what most good teams do, although sometimes they get lucky (example Tony Parker).

We've just got short memories. The Blazers don't need another impact rookie. They need to plug a few holes. If any of the picks, even one, either fills a role or is traded for a player who fills a role, it's a good draft.

Minstrel said:

When talking about 2-3 years in the future, there's no way to know. Batum may not have progressed. Batum may have been traded in a deal to net a top point guard. Batum may be injured. Portland may need more than one good small forward.

Even if none of those things are true, a lottery-talent small forward can be a nice trade chip.

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Where did this come from? Claver was project in the mid 2nd round.

To get back to positives:

* OKC whiffed on Rubio. They could've been amazing.
* Minnesota either botched it completely or are putting Rubio up for sale. (Which leads to the question: why couldn't Washington do that?)
* We're not Washington fans: we could've had Rubio but now have Mike Miller and Randy Foye.
* Blair went to San Antonio rather than, say, the Lakers.
* We could've drafted Austin Daye. (Actually, we couldn't, but in some parallel world, perhaps.)
* We got one of my .sig requests. And three are available in free agency!
* If you wanted Rubio because of how good he looked against the "Redeem Team", well... we got Patty Mills!

USA v. Australia

Minstrel said:

When talking about 2-3 years in the future, there's no way to know. Batum may not have progressed. Batum may have been traded in a deal to net a top point guard. Batum may be injured. Portland may need more than one good small forward.

Even if none of those things are true, a lottery-talent small forward can be a nice trade chip.

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I think the times of stashing dudes overseas is coming to an end. It seems to be getting harder and harder to get them over here after their first couple of years. Europeans teams are luring them into high buyout contracts, or offering them very good contracts after they develope, and you know, there is something to be said for staying some place that you have established as your home. A move is hard on anybody. It is one thing to draft a guy that says his dream is to play in the NBA and they are coming over no matter what. It is another thing to draft a guy who has no such known inclination.

The only thing that happend that was postive from yesterday was Sergio was sent packing. That ought to be worth about 5 more wins alone.