Oh, very nice. Since I first saw video of him I couldn't see how he could play SF in the NBA anyways. 6'11" finesse power forward seems right.
To that you can add the impending changes to the CBA, which will make signing here even more of a financial sacrifice.
So, another Channing Frye? __^__^__^_______________________^__^__ Sorry, for a minute there I died of boredom.
If I may Nik, the problem with your wager is it is almost a no lose situation for the person who bets you. You wanna bet that we will never see Claver in a Blazer uniform. Never is a long. The only way someone loses that bet is if Claver dies or the Blazer organization shuts down. However if the Blazers sign Calver in the next few years (or longer) and puts on a Blazer jersey, they win. Having said all that, I'll take that bet.
Let's modify it a bit so it's at least realistic (hey I wanna get paid someday). If he dons a Blazers uniform in the next five years you win, if not, 100 bucks coming my way (sorry no adjusting for inflation). EDIT: and by don a uniform, I mean he's on the active roster and isn't signed and traded.
Nope http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Victor-Claver-336/ Definitely not a bruising power forward, and probably something of a stretch 4 if he ever comes over, but he's a 'power' forward.
No, he's a SF, he plays SF on offense (moving around the perimeter, shooting 3's, slashing) and he guards the opposing SF on defense. He doesn't even seem oversized for the position.
To summarize my opinion on the subject: I do think we should bring Claver over. I didn't get to see much of his offense but based on what I've heard it shouldn't be bad (also, the fact he doesn't NEED touches could be a plus) and his defense I foresee, based on this very small sample size, as being very smart and good and probably the reason we picked him. If we make him the backup 3, and assuming he could play PF in a small lineup or SG in a big lineup (he played only 3 when I saw him but when he was subbed-out the coach replaced him with a PG...) he would make someone else expandable or make himself a possible trading chip. It's worth the bet, as far as I see it, it's not that much more risky than signing Travis Diener and he probably has a much bigger upside. I wouldn't put money on it, but I would be surprised NOT to see him in Blazer uni, maybe even next season.
Here's the stat line for Claver, I found on the news-paper: 4 points (0-3 2p, 1-3 3p 1-2 ft), 7 rebounds and an assist in 30 minutes. He started at SF next to the PG Martinez, combo-G De Colo, Neilsen at PF and Perovic at Center. Kelati, off the bench (mostly in place of Martinez, who was the player subbed-in for Claver late in the game), led the team with 17 points (5-8 3's), 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 31 minutes. De-Colo was the other player to log more minutes than Claver with 34 (reminder: Euro games are 40 minutes long). De Colo started at 2-guard then moved to Point-guard with Kelati playing the 2. Pooh Jeter, who I wasn't impressed with (bad decision-making down the stretch), scored 13 points (3-5 2p, 1-3 3p, 4-4 ft) with 2 assists and one rebound in 22 minutes. BTW, Claver may have had 1-2 steals/blocks but wasn't the team-leader in these categories so he wasn't listed.
I'm not sure how helpful stats are. For example, De Colo has been putting up gaudy stats for Claver's team, but watching him, you just get the impression that he would really struggle in the NBA. He's a bad tweener of the Jiri Welsch/Sasha Vujacic variety - not athletic enough or a good enough PG. But he gets to shoot a lot on this team. It reminds me of the Bayless vs. Batum deal in Summer League. Everyone thought Bayless would either be starting on the first day or at least by the All-Star break, and that Batum should go back to France, possibly never to return. But it turned out that Batum had skills that didn't show up in Summer League. Now, does Claver? His defense is encouraging. And every once in a while he breaks out a length-of the court dribble and slam. But he's not going to be a PF without serious steroids, and Batum is our SF for the forseeable future, and Dante our bench tweener. It's annoying that Claver hasn't lived up to his "next great Spaniard" billing (how much his progress has been slowed by that injury, I don't know) because that would make him a useful asset.
To get back to you . . . I have no good guess what will happen with Claver so I'm going to pass on the $100 bet. I would say a pitcher of beer . . . but not really a prize worth keeping up on a 5 year bet.
I haven't seen him play prior to the injury (or the Blazers selecting him, for that matter) so maybe I'm judging it all wrong and the Blazers wanted a different Claver (pre-injury) and the player he is now isn't good enough. But I'm telling you, he didn't get the 3rd-highest minute-total in an off-night based on his pre-injury reputation. He's a smart, heady player, making his teammates feel more comfortable on both ends of the floor. Is he a big scorer? based on the one quarter I'm recapping and the one game box-score - no, but he could be a very good choice at the 3 next to Rudy in the 2nd-unit, and not just because he's spanish (though that's a plus), mostly because he's... "clever"? makes few mistakes, plays smart defense and doesn't need to score in order to be effective. Another point - When I first saw Batum, he scored 20+ without missing one shot from anywhere, he came to the NBA and became our best defender. That shows you how much you can learn about a player from just one game... But I do remember telling a friend of mine, who's a Knick-fan that they should take him (with their high-lotto pick) and I remember being extremely happy we got him. Now, I thought Batum was 5ish, I'll give Claver, based on just one quarter, but a more concentrated look, somewhere around 27, where we picked Batum. So, Batum was a steal and Claver, we could have traded down a bit maybe and still grabbed but he's definitely worth discussing in the Koponen, Freeland, Claver conversation.
