Nah. The odds are that most draft picks don't work out, which makes the ranters think that they're most often correct. The draft is a crap shoot. I don't claim to follow college prospects closely enough to have a valid opinion on the Blazers' choices, but from what I've read they seem logical. Only time will tell whether Olshey gets a gold star or a lump of coal for this year.
Honestly, an A. Not only did I did I think those two were the best players at the spot we took them, I was hyping them both for a couple months now. I knew that Olshey was a smart man when we got him. This draft confirmed it. On to FA signing period. Should be fun.
[video=youtube;SUroGQZQj-g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUroGQZQj-g[/video] They even got it in slow-mo for ya.
I say B. Depending on the POV, they either got lucky that the players they needed fell right to their spots or knew that they didn't have to move. But someone above said it....no tactics were involved. We're about a week away from either overpaying for Nic or having Luke Babbitt and Shawne Williams as the only SFs on the roster. And for about 2 weeks Olshey's been saying they'll probably just keep the pick. Honestly, they could've just played the "Take Bilas' best available" at each spot. I'm happy they got the players they did, but the riverboat gambler in me would've tried to move up from 6 and 11 to get MKG and Lillard, even if that crushed future drafts. And selling off 41? With O'Quinn and others left? I don't get that one. Additionally, of all the years to try to move up into the late-first, early-second, it seemed that there weren't even rumors of us attempting to make hay.
B Got 3 decent to good players, maybe one All Star of the future. No one bad, no one who will harm or embarrass the team, no one who makes me jump and shout. OTOH, Oden made me jump and shout. So maybe jumping and shouting is not the best indicator.
Re: Grade The Blazers Draft B+. I like the selection of Lillard. Barton, too. Not sold on Leonard. It's worth noting that Barton (7) and Lillard (8) were on 42N8Bounce's Top-10 prospects list from his analytics. Hope you're right!
I went with a "B". I like the Leonard pick and can live with Lillard, although I don't expect him to be an above-average starting PG in his career. It seems unlikely to me that Barton even sticks with the team, but he's a second rounder so even if he doesn't it wasn't a bad pick. Ed O.
GREAT DRAFT http://basketball.realgm.com/article/221871/Great_Drafts_Bad_Drafts_And_All_Drafts_In_Between
These. I like trades. Whitsitt saved #1s and made productive trades. Pritchard created smoke and mirrors and made 6 trades at the draft to produce 2 players. Half of his trades were this year's #2 for a #2 next year, just delaying things. The other half were stockpiles in Europe.
Granted I didn't see either play, but I sure like the picks on paper so I went with an A. Both are long & bring solid size and athleticism to their positions. I really like having a team with those attributes at every spot as collectively that equates to more boards, steals, loose balls & better team D. Lillard's smooth jumper off the dribble hopefully fills a crucial void on the team of someone who can get a decent look from nothing at the end of the shot clock. The ability to shoot from the outside is why I don't get the Bayless comparisons being made. Meyers hopefully develops into Przy II with better FT shooting. Pretty sure he'll be a foul machine next year though... I'd like to see a healthier/leaner Przy I showing him the ropes. I'm far from convinced that either rookie should be a starter from the get go, but both seem to have a bright future ahead of them. [video=youtube;UyFJOEjZPFw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFJOEjZPFw[/video] STOMP
C If the Lillard was loved by Olshey and the Scouting department as much as Allen 'loved' him, we may have something. Still think he was an Allen choice and we all know what happened the last time Allen fell in love with someone after watching their workouts. They drafted him. The results weren't great. With that said, I'm not sold on Lillard or the draft. I hope Lillard and Leonard can change my mind in summer league.
The reports and direct quotes from the Martell draft all pointed to it being Nash's call. I don't have any recollection of Paul saying anything and at the end of the season Nash was shown the door... STOMP
Just out of curiosity, who were these players that Allen made executive decisions on? I've read he wanted Deron Williams in 2005, and in hindsight should have been listened to. Mandated keeping Patty Mills as our 15th man over Ime. And was smitten with Johnson a few years ago and bought a 2nd rounder to grab him. Those are the only ones I know of. I agree with STOMP. Long and lengthy at all spots is ideal. Whitsitt stockpiled that way, and it made for some (at times) ferocious defensive clubs. Batum, Leonard, Aldridge is some serious length along the frontline, all longer than average for their positions.
