Notice Official Blazer Press Release - TRAIL BLAZERS ACQUIRE DRAFT RIGHTS TO JAKE LAYMAN

After watching the workout tape, he reminds me of a shorter+thinner Meyers (small ball stretch 4 maybe?). Maybe this guy is a roster spot filler if Leonard gets something completely unreasonable.

 

Always difficult to judge a player on a 2-3 minutes workout highlight with 95% of open shots made. But I like his form. Looks very fluid. I am very confindent in Neil Olshey regarding draft picks. So I give Layman the benefit of the doubt and will be happy to "scout" him during Summer League.

 

He already has the requisite hipster facial hair. He just need a man bun and he'll fit right in in Portlandia.

BNM

 

Luke Babbit wasn't a lottery pick. He was selected 16th.

Still, big difference in their draft position. Babbit was a reach at 16, I said it at the time. Maybe Layman will be a steal at 47. Time will tell.

BNM

 

This is a zero risk, insurance pick by Neil.

Picked in the second round = no guaranteed contract == no cap hold. Does not impact our cap space and ability to sign free agents. A 1st round pick would have come with a guaranteed contract and a cap hold.

We currently have 6 free agents. 3 unrestricted (Henderson, Kaman, Roberts) and 3 restricted (Leonard, Harkless and Crabbe). Henderson, Kaman and Roberts are likely gone, to clear the cap space needed to sign an impact player. 1, or more, of Leonard, Harkless and Crabbe may also be gone. They may get toxic offers from other teams, or we may just need additional cap space to get the player(s) Neil has targeted in free agency.

There is a very good chance we will need a few cheap players to fill out our 15 man roster. Layman my be one of those players. He has a 3-point stroke, which makes him potentially useful in Terry Stotts's system. He can play the 3 and maybe stretch 4, which is insurance against losing Harkless, Leonard and possibly Crabbe. He won't be as good as those guys. The players in front of him (Connaghton, Montero, Vonleh) would need to step up, but he could help backfill the bottom 1/3 of our roster.

Again zero risk and basically cost us nothing (a current 2nd round pick for a future 2nd round pick plus $1.2 million). In the end, if we don't need him, or he doesn't pan out, we are none the worse for the effort. If he does make the roster it's only because we blew our cap space wad on one, or more, worthwhile free agents and needed a cheap 14th or 15th man to fill out our roster.

Smart move by Neil to get a little cheap insurance without getting caught up in the draft day feeding frenzy and jeopardizing our ability to target the player(s) he REALLY wants and can REALLY make a difference come July 1.

BNM

 

I don't know. Why don't you try to touch him and see. If he punches you and/or gets a restraining order, you'll have the answer to your question.

BNM

 

One thing you can say about most 4 year college players - they are good chemistry guys. They've been with the same team for 4 years and played with a variety of players. That experience usually makes them good team players and not the me-first prima donnas that are often 1-and-done college players.

I mean look at Dame and C.J. Dame was ROY, but has never had a sense of entitlement or me-first attitude. He's a great leader, but an inclusive leader. C.J. was a lottery pick that came in and quietly worked on his game without bitching about PT or causing problems. When the opportunity was there to get that increased PT, he was ready and took advantage of it. Both very mature players that helped make this team's chemistry work.

Layman doesn't have nearly their talent, resume or expectations, but as a 47th pick, I think he'll just be happy to have a chance to make an NBA roster and not make waves or cause problems.

BNM

 

Young Batum was 19 with greater upside and much higher expectations. He was considered a lock to go lottery, many mock drafts had him in the top 6, until the "rumors" of his "heart condition" came out just two days before the draft and he fell to 25th.

Layman is 22, with less upside and much lower expectations. Nic's defense won him a surprise starting role at 19. Let's hope we don't see Layman starting 76 games as a rookie. If we do, either something went horribly wrong, or he's either the biggest steal in the history of the draft.

BNM

 

Brandon Roy won Batum a starting role over Travis Outlaw. If Layman starts its because he's better than Aminu.

 

If this guy is smart, and actually has the foot speed to do it, he would come in and BE a defensive stopper in practice. He will absolutely get PT if he does that

 

He says he models his game after Hayward and Bowen, which is awesome, but he should model his game after a less assholish Draymond Green. Shooter, defender, antagonist

 

He's far from a sure thing and even far from a prospect that's likely to develop into a properly good NBA player but it's a low risk as it has already been pointed out, the price was low and he will take any cap space.

Still wish we managed to trade up to get Deyonta. He'll be a steal at #31. Well I just realized that Grizzlies got him and #35 for Clippers 2019 pick, we could have easily offered Cleveland's 2018 and had it. Disappointed.

 

Started my day off with a belly laugh. Good Lord I adore you guys and this board! That is all.

 

Laymbeer!

 

There's risk that we overpaid. As I said in the other thread, we paid the better of the Lakers' or Wolves' 2019 2nd round picks...not our own 2nd round pick. At least one of those teams will suck, so the pick will be early in the 2nd round...to get this year's mid-round pick.

http://www.sportstwo.com/posts/3926377/

No, it was Martell Webster missing the whole season. That's like saying that Vonleh's defense won him the starting job over Ed Davis, Meyers Leonard, and Harkless. It's just the way the combinations came out best. McMillan needed a 2nd-squad scorer, so Outlaw didn't start and the passive Batum (Vonleh) did.

 

https://www.blazersland.com/blazers-target-jake-layman/

What a crazy Draft night but the Blazers don't sit it out entirely. Outside of the media speak, I wonder what Neil saw that he liked in Layman over any of the other possibilities he had?

 

A hopeful parallel to Layman is Jeff Withey, whom Olshey drafted #39, then dumped as garbage when New Orleans was begging him to take the Robin Lopez contract off their hands. Withey has played 1601 minutes with a PER of 16.6.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/witheje01.html

 

Can you give me an estimate for how many months before people on this board start calling him Jake Lame-Man??

 

The CBA is so fucked.

Rookie scale contracts are not adjusted to the increased cap?

No wonder first round picks are so valuable. Having such cheap labor for essentially 4-5 seasons on miniscule deals is a massive benefit. Neil better not trade any more of our future picks. Once CJ's max kicks in and Mason starts getting his big $ deal, we will have very little flexibility to add pieces. Need to keep those picks

 

Probably not big enough in today's NBA