With the #7 pick, the Portland Trail Blazers select....

No defense malcontent. We've gotta find guys who can function without a high usage. Wood is definitely not the one. There's a reason why he hasn't been able to find a home all these years. His box scores are fun to look at but don't contribute to actual winning.

 

ok, I see the direction you are headed. The one big question I have is are either or both of Randle and Woodcapable of stretch-4 defense; switching onto wings and doing a credible job? I haven't seen enough of either of them to know. Aminu & RoCo were, but both of the 'new' guys are much bigger

if I play that fantasy I'd really want to keep one of Little/Winslow for bench wing depth...even though both are injury magnets

how much would that team cost:

Damian Lillard $42,492,492
Josh Hart $12,960,000
Justise Winslow $4,097,561
Didi Louzada $1,876,222
Greg Brown III $1,563,518
Trendon Watford $1,563,518
Andrew Nicholson $2,844,429

Julius Randle $23,760,000
Jerami Grant $20,952,381
Christian Wood $14,317,459

about 126M for 9 players

that actually surprises me, assuming my math is right. That is only 4M over the projected salary cap; and 23-24M below the luxury tax threshold. Which means it's 29-30M below the apron. That's an important number because with that kind of margin the Blazers can consider using the full-MLE and even the BAE without any fear of the hard-cap. And they'd still have plenty of room for unbalanced trades

maybe this is the kind of flexibility Cronin was shooting for with his deadline moves? Couldn't be the case because we all know he's dumb as a rock

anyway, that an interesting team. I don't know who Portland would target with the full-MLE, but they are weak at wing.

 

I really, really don’t want to trade this pick.

 

We don't need a Whitside2.0

 

Chet Holmgren was asked who the best player in the NBA is and he said…

“Myself in two months”.

Lol

 

At this level it is good to have that type of confidence. It’s almost a must to make it all the way. Self confidence is what separates the good from the great at the top levels, in my opinion.
Still funny though. Haha!

 

Is this true? If so, my response was suckered.

 

I think Dame is an amazing leader, but I also think maybe his ability to control the lockerroom might be a little overstated.

There was very clearly an issue with Roco. He had checked out on the team.

I just see a lot of comments about how Dame will change this guy or that guy. It came up with Simmons. It came up any time Randle was mentioned. I'm just not so sure. I think Dame is a great influence and a great leader, but Nurk has been pretty hot and cold. I'm just not sure how much Dame can impact these guys if they have a bad attitude already.

 

I would like to add that Dame seems like a very loyal teammate and great locker room buddy.
This can be great in creating locker room synergy but does little for individual motivation when one is slacking. Dame seems more of a teammate to be there for you when you are down, but not really the type to know the way to get you back up.
I have loved Dame since he was drafted though so i don't mean this as any type of slight on him.

 

Love that confidence, thanks for sharing.

 

Nurkic had a problem with Stotts, and the rumor was RoCo had a problem with Billups. I think it's quite a stretch to diminish a decade of leadership because of a coaching/player issue. Nurkic came into Portland with a rep of being a malcontent and Dame was able to modify that attitude in a couple of weeks

 

I think it is fair to say it is overstated, but nonetheless, he is still better at it than most. The last time I can recall a major lockerroom problem was in 2011-12 with vets like Wallace, Crawford, and Felton. That was the year before Dame arrived.

 

You may be right. He was listed as a PF by basketball reference for his first five years but I started checking game logs for the only season he played much. And the games he played most minutes, Drummond was not playing and Wood was definitely the tallest guy. And when Drummond did play, Wood's minutes were down, sometimes just enough to play C when Drummond was out it seems.

 

I'm not trying to diminish it. I'm just saying that if we're targeting guys who are a known issue in the lockerroom, we can't just dismiss it with "Dame will take care of it."

 

Some more sleuthing... among the projected picks in this draft, Dame is now following only two prospects on IG. Jabari Smith for a few months. And one recent addition: Keegan Murray.

 

His numbers are poor when he plays at PF.

 

I would be very happy with Murray, Sochan, or Daniels.

 

I don’t mind rolling with…

Dame
Ant
Grant
Murray
Nurk

If it doesn’t work we still have Ant/Murray to build around and can sell off Dame/Grant for picks. I think we need to make a selection at 7 to keep our options open at next years deadline. If we go all in on vets and it doesn’t work it’s 2-3 years of rebuilding.