It is also a strong argument against tanking in order to get high draft picks. You are betting a lot on unproven players. Hell even the sure bets are risky. Look at Zion. Now as much as I love this kid,he is 6'6" and has weighed in at times around 285. Anyone else worried that he will fall in love with all the deep fried food in New Orleans. His nutritionist needs to be attached to him at the hip. His game is based on his athleticism. Too much weight will take a toll on those knees and feet.
Not saying there aren't similarities. But I mentioned in the draft thread, by the time Little is ready to contribute Dame will be on the decline. I can't see him contributing until the end of his rookie deal. Almost tempted to just throw him into the fire this season in a token starter role ALA Nic Batum. I mean fuck it, Nic was also drafted 25, looked awful in SL (like 2 years away from being 2 years away), and somehow became a contributor in year 1.
Because he did lose. He lost actual money. The Blazers had him at #12 on their board and he went #25. That's $1,035,900.
I'm in favor of it because frankly I think Harkless and Aminu are at their ceilings and neither one of them contributes consistently anyway.
I'm super glad the kid was National Honor Society and Salutatorian. Shows he is smart and motivated to learn. His minutes will be up to him. I think all he would have to do is learn how to keep his focus on defense, play within the team defense and hit open threes at an average rate to get minutes. Nothing super complicated.
Nico was really solid defensively and never got lost on that end of the floor. I think that tends to be the barrier for most young guys to getting PT in their rookie years. If Little can play defense and understand our schemes, he will play.
Okay, fine you talked me into it. Let's send Little to San Antonio for a few years. Pops can turn him into the next Kawhi and then send him back to us. Because turning low draft picks into great players is what SA does.
He was measured at 6' 4.5" at the combine w/out shoes, 6'6" with shoes. How did you come up with 6'3"? He has some kind of special shoes that make him shorter?
Harkless shot the 2nd worst 3Pt % of his career last season (27%). Aminu has improved, but opponents still leave him wide open because they want him to take it. For Portland to improve their attack, we need opposing Defenses to stretch out to the 3 pnt. line respecting the outside shot of others besides just CJ & Dame. Forwards shooting 3's at a combined percentage in the low 30s isn't going to get it done. STOMP
A lot of people slept on Wallace too coming out of the draft, despite him being one of the top rated players in his HS class, just like Nassir. It's eerie that they were both picked 25th, having similar frames and athletic ability, and were both top 5 in their class.
Or maybe we should let/make players shoot where they can make shots. I think it's a stupid rule in the offense if there's 15 seconds left in the shot clock that you have to shoot because you're wide open even though you can likely get a better shot. That's letting the defense dictate your offense. Why not primarily use Harkless as a post up and slasher type player? Why not create open 3-pointers for Dame and CJ that way? Aren't CJ and Dame our best 3-point shooting options anyway? It doesn't make sense to me to have Harkless spread the floor for Dame when Harkless is a good rim attacker and Lillard is obviously the better 3 point shooter. I know it's because Lillard is the star and Harkless is a role player. Maybe Lillard would be pissed if the ball went inside to Harkless and he had to wait for a pass out from Harkless, though that makes more sense to me than Lillard going to the hoop then passing to Harkless for a three pointer.
Harkless is incredibly limited as a playmaker. His handles are shaky and he's not a good passer. You want him to space for Lillard because Lillard can create plays for other guys, Harkless cannot.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2811408-nassir-little-is-learning-the-hard-way Nice article on Little.
You do know what "~" means in front of a number, don't you? Also, reading comprehension, yo! I'm not saying he's 6'4". I said that's what the NBA.com draft board listed him as.
Lillard can't pass effectively out of a double team. I see him as being limited too. I don't see him as a great play maker. If Harkless can't pass make a simple pass he shouldn't be in the NBA. I've seen many Trail Blazer players make excellent passes when they are playing team ball.
