Zach Collins and his return to the Blazers: ‘I’m definitely not rushing back’

What I saying without opportunities they would be in same situation that Zach is in. Now do think all these players are better then Zach in there situation right there yes but I also think there opportunities if drafted by Portland it wouldn't not been there as they are with teams. All these players would been hold back if they would have been drafted by Portland. Especially playing Stotts style of ball. All this players need the opportunities to have ball in there hands to achieve what they do but Zach don't he fits with Stotts style of play. Mitchell Stotts but you would have to trade CJ or do want doing with powell but still about opportunities. He playing along side two ball dominating guards. All these players you mentioned all in great situations there teams have great ball movement so they get to touch that give them the opportunities to score.

 

I would guaranteed you that Mitchell would not be the player he is today playing along aside Dame and CJ and would not made the all star. These players went to teams that opportunities to fill there full potential I don't see in Portland. But if you have Zach 15 shots a game is offense stats might pretty decent. He was getting 6 attempt and 2 or 3 of them came offense rebounds. Do I think we mess sure because we don't play team basketball on either end and when do look good but that's 12 or less minutes each night.

 

But during the important moments of playoffs, we benched Mo/Aminu and played Hood/Collins. We would’ve been great last year with them as starters but they both got hurt.

 

My brain doesn't do the what-could-have-been stuff because it wasn't. In other words, you can't really say that.

(and that benched stuff just isn't factual either.)

 

You cannot guarantee events in alternate realities; it just isn't possible. And I guess it's kind of silly to argue about this, but it feels like the baby version of justifying picking Bowie over Jordan because we had Drexler.

Talent trumps all. You draft the best guys or you regret it, it seems. That being said, Olshey did think Zach was the future cornerstone of the franchise or some such thing, so he followed his gut. Thus far, it seems clear his gut was mistaken, and Zach's ceiling has sunk from such lofty heights to the borderline between an NBA player and not an NBA player...

 

Had Zach been injured much his first two seasons though? For any GM it's hard to plan on a guy who you're counting on to make a big 3rd year jump to basically not be available for two years when there weren't really signs of him being injury prone or anything.

It was different with Nurk because Olshey knew he'd be out a significant portion of the 2020-21 season thus making planning for it more realistic.

Then Skal goes down on top of that right when he was playing well enough to be inserted into the starting lineup. I'm not saying anyone should get a pass for this but when you already have an injured big on the roster like Nurk was any other big man injuries would've been devastating no matter what Olshey did. Aminu got hurt too and missed a good portion of the last two seasons. Had that happened here we'd be in the same position.

 

I wanted Mitchell in that draft. I grew to like what Collins brings but hated that pick at the time. Mitchell likely would've been good even if he had a limited role at first but doesn't everyone kill Olshey when he drafts a guard no matter how good he is?

As for Bam, I don't buy that he should've been our pick. He was an energy big who could rebound and score around the basket in college. He showed absolutely zero playmaking ability or defensive versatility on the perimeter like he's become now. Of course hindsight would've been great but with Bam I think he was a product of going to the perfect system to develop those hidden talents. He's a tough one to gauge how he would've been on another team.

 

Moe and Aminu were really bad in our WCF run and just about everyone unanimously thought Stotts should make the move to have Hood and Zach start instead of them.

 

Hindsight is 20 20. It's not worth second of your time to think what should have or could have been.

 

Glad I'm not the one defending Chief and Mo!

 

I'm not doing a coulda/shoulda thing. Not that I was super happy with the Zach pick, but I was open--and I still am. All I'm saying to whoever I can't remember, probably Eric, is that you can't just say things would not have worked. You can of course theorize, but it's crazy just to act like you can determine something like that definitively because you just can't.

That being said, I'd take either of those guys over Zach now.

 

I get why some don't want to give up on Zach yet. Maybe they are right....I can't see the future

but to parlay that sentiment into the idea that more talented players like Mitchell or Bam wouldn't be the same in Portland is not a justification for taking Zach. All it is is an argument for getting rid of Blazer management if they would bollix the situation so badly all-star talent would be wasted in Portland. Makes no sense and that anyone would think that a persuasive pro-Zach argument is baffling

I'm jaded I guess because I do not get very impressed when a young player flashes some future upside. Qyntel Woods flashed some upside; so did Travis Outlaw, Jarret Jack, Sebastian Telfaire, Channing Frye, Sergio Rodriguez, and Thomas Robinson. Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez flashed a lot of potential. But none of those guys came with a couple of zip-codes of the potential they occasionally showed. They were just role players, at best. That was their real upside, and odds seem to point toward Zach being another one

 

Not since the Sheed, Pippen, Smith, et al team had we made it to the WCF. Say what you will about Chief and Moe, but they were on that team, and like I said before, we've looked lost ever since (for many many reasons, I'm sure, but they are objectively gone. There is no theorizing that.).

And as to them being really bad in our WCF run. We still made the WCF! That was incredible. Maybe Terry used them wrong, haha, or maybe (and this what I think) the expectations for those guys got all weird. Why does Roco get to be who he is and Chief didn't? Same with DJJ and RHJ or whomever? They were who they were and it worked (kind of, or sometimes).

Hey, I know we needed upgrades, but I still appreciated those guys (especially with Zach coming off the bench).

 

I think you're right. And like @Scalma said the other day, and I'm paraphrasing: it feels like we've been watching the same movie ever since LA left. And that's on management.

 

That what he is a role that's all and fits the role.

 

Zach had DBPM +2.7 in the playoffs that year.

 

in only 17 minutes a game. He was 8th in minutes, and he was a backup. Plus, he spent 80% of his time at C

that does not look like a real solid stat to me, unless the argument is Zach should be a limited minutes backup C

 

Did you even the playoffs that year and I guess you forgot all those crucial defense stop he made in the Denver series to get WCF. Stats are only part of the makeup of player and yes I am high on Zach. But until he plays again this the last I will be talking about it.

 

Looks like a defensive savant compared to our current backup at -1:7. Seems he would solidify the kanter-melo second string considerably. adds up to like a 4.5 swing in favor of better defense as our big off the bench?

 

sure, if you're naive enough to believe that particular cherry-picked stat is actually Zach's norm and what you can count on; and, if you completely ignore the offensive end of the floor

for instance, last season his DBPM was -1.4. And before anyone says "sample size", it's not a smaller sample size than those playoffs; in fact he played more minutes last season than in those playoffs. His career DBPM is 0.1, not 2.7. And of course, there are two ends of the floor. Zach's career BPM is -2.6 because he's bad at offense; Kanter's is -0.2

if the Blazers decide to choose between Zach and Kanter for backup C, I'd be kind of OK if they chose Zach....as long as they don't pay him more than the 5M Kanter is making. I think it would be a mistake because Kanter is the better player, and more dependable, by a long shot. But in terms of Blazer mistakes that wouldn't be a very consequential one