Completely hypothetical and unrealistic, but pretend with me for a second: Blazers arrange pre-draft to S&T Batum to TOR (once allowed) for their #8 pick; Blazers agree to trade Aldridge to NOH for their #3 & #11 picks In this silly hypothetical, we now have 5 lottery picks (3,6,8,10,11), and it's your job to use those 5 picks to build a starting lineup that would be able to contend by 2015. Who do you take where? OK...GO!
I don't think you can build a contender in one year with that, but you would certainly be able to fill some holes in the next couple drafts. I don't see a sure fire center here, and there could be one next year. I would do all I could trade a few picks for Davis, but if I stay within the rules: 3: MKG (young team needs a good leader and wing defender, Robinson is backup pick) 6: P. Jones (go big or go home, huge ceiling pick) 8: Marshal (most ready PG in terms of making the offense work) 10: Henson (good defender and rebounder) 11: Leonard (team needs a C. Leonard has a higher ceiling than Ziller IMHO), he will be a backup after this team hits the worst record and nabs Noel next year. Starters: Marshall Matthews MKG Henson Leonard I would love to have any two of MKG, TRob and Drummond, but I think you only get one of those with the 3 and 6 pick. If one slips to 6 then you jump on it. I don't see it happening though. If it did, then: 3: MKG or Robinson 6: Drummond 8: Marshal 10: P Jones 11: Lamb
3: Drummond. Has elite size and athleticism for his height. Could be the next Bynum. 6: Barnes. Number one high school prospect at one point. History tells us that number one prospects do well in the pros. 8: Sullinger. Garbage man rebounder and scorer. 10: Lamb. Lengthy and shows promise on both ends of the floor. Would replace Batum. 11: Marshall. Elite court vision. Plenty of talent to pass to. Needs to work on jumpshot. Trade vets for future draft picks or to trade up to acquire above players. Team struggles next year and ends up with a top 5 pick for 2013 draft. Use picks+players to acquire Shabazz Muhammad.
I realize it's not part of the question, but wouldn't we be getting the short end of the stick with both of those trades? I doubt anyone available at #8 will be as good as Batum, and surely Aldridge is worth more than the #3/11 combo. #3 is a long shot to approach his level, and #11 is 50/50 to be above average. Looked at that way, it should be possible to milk those trades for more value (future picks, 2nd rounders, considerations from a 3rd team, etc.) and make the hypothetical much more interesting.
The beauty of this plan is all of the lottery picks to come over the next 4-5 seasons while these guys learn how to play at an NBA level. We could consistently be the Clippers of old.
Assuming I had to use them on draft picks, I would take #3 - Drummond #6 - Barnes #8 - Moultrie #10 - Rivers #11 - Marshall 2013 #1 - Muhammad Marshall/Rivers/Smith Muhammad/Williams Barnes/Babbitt Moultrie/Claver Drummond/Freeland
Drummond and Moultrie? That seems like an interesting tack to take. BTW, do you not think that Lamb would be available at #8--I thought you liked him significantly better than Rivers?
I think I go mostly high-ceiling guys 3 - Drummond 6 - Barnes 8 - P. Jones 10 - Lamb 11 - Marshall Or if Drummond goes 2, maybe 3 - MKG 6 - P. Jones 8 - Lamb 10 - Leonard 11 - Marshall
Interesting. In this scenario, you know that Davis, MKG, Drummond, Robinson, and Beal go top 5. Then you have yourself taking Barnes at 6, which means Lamb would have to go 7 for him to not be there at 8. Do you think Beal and/or Robinson will drop, or do you think Barnes and Lamb will separate themselves as clearly the #6 & #7 players in the draft?
I think Lamb goes before Beal because he will kill Beal in workouts, and GM's will see Beal is only 6'2.5" w/o shoes.
Don't forget we'd probably sign Hickson to start at PF. Or, could we sign-and-trade Hickson for a sixth lotto pick?
Well, as noted above, both the deals I based this off of would probably be considered bad deals for Portland. I don't think the same could necessarily be said about a Hickson-for-lotto-pick deal. Plus, really what I'm looking at here is the idea of creating a Michigan-1991-style fab-five out of this year's rookie class. A 6th pick would be overkill.
Gotta say I love the idea of trading LA for 2 picks, this team needs a rebuild, and not saying LA is old, but if this rebuild takes longer than a two year period and the Blazers are completely out of contention, they would probably be forced to deal him to some other contending team for cents on the dollar. I think this deal would benefit both teams in this proposed scenario, pairs Aldridge with a Roy-lite (Gordon) once again, which could feed his stats by no longer being the only focal point for defenses. I'd be giddy over the prospects of taking so many lottery picks this season, realizing that the Blazers would absolutely suck this upcoming season, thereby increasing the chances of top picks for a few upcoming years. This resembles the path OKC took, with them striking gold with their picks, so a front-office that could properly evaluate the potential targets would be critical. I figure a Durant caliber player shows up in the draft every 5 years, so the draft is due for one, although I don't see a surefire pick of that caliber this year. Off topic, but is anyone else completely unimpressed by Anthony Davis, after watching the NCAA tournament I was severely disappointed in his overall performance. Didn't seem like with his current physique that he'll be able to play his style of game in the pros. I see him being an adequate serviceable player, but I foresee that being his ceiling. Both Robinson, MKG, and Drummond all seem like better picks to me. I'm still hoping Beal falls to the Blazers, but it's probably an unrealistic hope. Seems to have the most upside of any player I see in this draft.
I don't think you could get both TRob and Drummond. I'd go #3 - Drummond #6 - Beal #8 - Marshall #10 - Perry Jones #11 - Rivers
