Lottery pick: #6, 2nd Rnd Picks: #36, and #57

By then we will be a year into the DeSantis presidency and he will have bombed Portland for being "too woke"

 

Portlanders will rally and defeat the douche DeSatan.

 

Honestly not one of these prospects will make an impact next season or three.

 

I wonder is Chicago would take the Milwaukee pick in exchange for the pick Portland owes them. Probably not

I wonder if they would lift the protections for the 36th pick + cash?

 

Portland won't need more talent in 3 years? Lol! News to me.

Given how little I think of most of the talent on the team today, the urgent narrative you're pushing of having to win in the short term seems a ridiculous/foolish expectation. Free agents with options have never chosen Portland & I don't see whats changed in the dynamics to believe they will this off season especially since ownership seems to be into shedding salary not adding and they've no cap space. Again, I don't think Portland has much to offer in trades other then picks. I'd much much rather see them utilize those picks themselves & draft wisely building for the future and then draft wisely again in 2025. It's the Portland Trailblazers not the Lillard Trailblazers

STOMP

 

Bud, why don’t you also quote the part where I said it’s almost impossible we draft him with one of the three bigs still on the board LMAO.

 

Virtually every year SOMEONE stands out. Even in the worst draft, like 2013, guys like CJ and Giannis shine

 

We will probably pick for position rather then the best player available and have regrets.

 

@AngryFan I totally agree with your thought that roster is likely to lose in the first round but what the fuck is Cronin going to do besides that. @boredinsalem this is probably exactly what Cronin will try to pull off, we will only be able to use the tax payer MLE if we use the TPE on Grant so we'll either have to draft our backup C instead or Agbaji, draft him in the second round or sign him with the TPMLE. I would only take Agbaji if I thought he could beat out Nas for starting SF because I think if Eason, Sochan, Sharpe or even Jovic are there, they might beat out Nas and all have more upside in my opinion than Agbaji. If you think Agbaji is our starter at SF next season then for sure you could take him instead of whichever of those guys I just mentioned.

That being said, again I have to think that if we end up 6-8 and Atlanta really likes someone in that range a lot that they might be willing to trade their picks at 13 and 14 to move up and that might salvage Cronin's plan to get an impact rookie and Grant.

 

Neither of those two guys shined in a way that could make a big impact on a contending team for at least three seasons. This season I think Paolo will be an immediate big impact scorer and if he got a coach like Chauncey he might be able to impact both sides of the ball positively. I know that Jabari will automatically have an impact on both ends, the question is will that be an impact as a 3 and D specialist PF or as a star level two way player. Boom or bust on Chet and I don't think he'll be booming next season on a playoff team or contender. I think Ivey will possibly be the most impactful of all of the players in this draft on both ends. His level of aggression and motor are insane for a guy with his talents and skills. We just wouldn't be able to play him enough minutes or get him enough usage on offense for him to have that impact on this team.

 

My response was to someone who said no one from this draft will make an impact in year one or the third year. That’s false.

 

Agreed, it has a ton of guys that could, so definitely some of them will. I just don't know if anything we can do with the trades we made and the subsequent tanking will propel us forward to a contender built around Dame like Cronin stated his goal was... not next season or in three.

 

I think Jaden Ivey will be the player teams regret not taking if they pass on him. It'll be something like 2018 when Ayton and Bagley were taken before Doncic and Trae Young.

 

The question that is Nassir Little was part of the equation for me, but now that the Pelican Pick evaporated, Little is the biggest question. [My assumptions: Lillard stays. Simons and Nurkic sign with the Blazers. Hart stays.]

How good is Little and what is a reasonable projection of his starting next year and moving forward? I realize his injuries make this more difficult to predict. There are people on this board -- both eyeball and stat people -- who have a good take on Little. I can see that both by 100 possessions and per 36 minutes that doubling his time on court per game resulted in increased production. He didn't get better in all categories, just most. He's reaching the threshold of 3 point attempts to see what he is from range (though a half season still leaves that as less than defined). His height is 2-3 inches short of preferred at SF, but his length and athleticism help. [Then again, if he was 6'8, he'd have gone higher in his draft class.]

I'm in the don't know category.

If SF is the draftee BPA's position, will he beat out Little? If the answer is likely to highly likely, then keeping Ingles as the backup (along with the bench crew who are worth it) and shipping Little + sweetener elsewhere makes sense. If Little is the guy, then draft the guy who logs PF minutes or go get one (even if it's Grant) with the pick.

This draft class isn't amazing, but the targets in Portland's range (presently) look good. Will they be better than RoCo? Nance? Chief? Easy Ed? ET? Hoodie? Mo? Batum? That's not a high bar at either forward position. In other words, are the draftees in range a significant improvement even if not at star level?

 

Ivey, and maybe Sharpe, look like guys who could be stars. I add Sharpe in there even with the lack of information on him. Maybe, maybe not. This draft doesn't look to have flat-out superstar prospects. I do like this draft for what Portland needs.

 

Are people overrating Ivey because of the recent rise of Ja? Why is he not just like Dennis smith jr?

 

6'10" wingspan for Ivey vs only 6'5" for Smith. Ivey is a better outside shooter. Ivey much better on D then Smith. Smith could explode and dunk on people but that was really all he could do in the NBA reliably.

I not saying Ivey will be the Ja of today but he will be much better than Dennis.

 

Assuming we keep the pick, that concerns me as well. Depending on how the balls bounce the BPA could be Ivey or Davis. I still think drafting a PF or big wing would be ideal, but don't pass on talent because of position.

 

Little...
Aint the guy.
I just think his ceiling is extremely low, if not already reached.
Kinda reminds me of a guy I had huge hopes for, years ago, Elliot Williams.
Showed flashes, never consistently, always had nagging injuries, amazing athletic skills. Never materialized.
And I truly hope I am so wrong about this.