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

Grant could most likely play the 3.

And the crazy(!) thing about Sochan is he could play the 3, 4 or small ball 5(!) and he’s a better ball handler and passer than Nas already. Grant’s shooting would make up for Sochan’s underwhelming shot (as of now).

You’d have essentially a positionless 3/4 with Grant and Sochan that you could manipulate based on matchups but neither would be undersized. So we would be long and athletic.

And as I’ve harped on many times, Eason and Grant is a terrible fit if you’re playing them together. Essentially two hall stopping 3/4 hybrids that don’t create for others.

For me it’s Eason OR Grant

Or

Grant AND Sochan

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/33980075/the-four-players-break-2022-nba-draft-big-three

Portland listed as one of Daniels “best fits”.

 

Jabari
Chet
Banchero
Murray
Ivey
Sharpe
Daniels

I would prefer Sochan but I think Daniels potential is going to be hard to pass on.

 

I have no idea. But it seems we really have to go after a difference maker.

 

Agreed. Definitely need difference makers, especially if we trade the pick.

 

Daniels compares himself to: Tyrese Haliburton on offense, Lonzo Ball or Caruso on defense.

Says it’s a tough comparison because he has a unique game. Wants to develop into a “Luka Doncic” type role. (Doubtful, but like the confidence).

Tari Eason:
Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant. Says Kawhi is his ceiling.

Beauchamp:
Bridges/Thybulle defensively, Paul George “potential” offensively.

 

I've firmed up my opinion on trading the 7th pick. I kind of liked Wood but concerned he cannot play as a PF and is not tough enough. I would only trade the pick for a guy like Siakam or Collins. Warming up on Collins. He is even better offensively than Wood, who I have shown is much better than Grant or Randle. His rebounding not as good as Randle's and Wood's in the last three years but if you look at his first three years it was, so this may depend on the scheme McMillan uses and who is playing along side him. His defense on advanced stats is negative but his DBpm has improved the last few years and is now neutral.
I guess I would trade it for Anunoby also; he is a two way player with length and really good offense until last year. If we can't get somebody like one of those three (Siakam, Collins, Anunoby) then I would use it if somebody we really like is there at 7 or trade downs and still draft. Only interested in a guy like Grant if we can use future picks.

 

Love the ideas.
Problem with Wood is he is duplication with Nurk. I don't think we can get a Siakam or Collins (though that would be awesome, please share if you have seen anything that would suggest they are available for what we could offer).

Randle's offense would mesh perfect with Dame, and his rebounding would be incredible. He's also shown that he can be a VERY good defender. I don't like the idea of trading the 7 for Grant. But if we could get Grant and Randle out of the 7 (which seems agreeable to all sides)...

I just don't know if we can get a better influx of talent and fit any other way.

 

This is Billups’ guy lol

 

he also has insane advanced numbers, especially defensively. And he's been coached by BRoy in HS. And his improvement after transferring from Cincy has been insane. it's why i had been pimping him up for the last month.

but the mocks don't like him for some reason, which is why i would like to maximize the value of #7 to trade down for him AND another asset.

 

if you believe the discourse on this forum as a guide, add sochan to that list to go before 12. #13 might be a reasonable estimate for Eason.

My worry is San Antonio at 9. I said about two months ago I got Kawhi vibes from Eason because of his hand size and the way he pounds the ball to the floor on every dribble (as well as the right hand dominance). Ain't no way they don't get the same vibes when they bring him in in-house.

I've also referenced this echo chamber of sorts among some teams and strict adherence to mock drafts. It's why guys like Jimmer get drafted 5 spots ahead of Kawhi. I really hope Cronin is not that kinda guy. I also hope he does his due diligence to get a clear idea of how other teams are tiering these guys so he can predict the draft order. For all the criticism they got, this skill was among Olshey's/KP's best. They could figure out exactly how to land their guys and correctly predicted when they needed to trade up or stand pat to get them.

 

The reason mocks don’t like Eason:

Low BBIQ.
Can’t do anything going left.
Insane foul rate, mostly due to his low BBIQ.
Poor decision making (once again due to BBIQ).
Horrible passer.

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/draft/bestavailable

Although there is no way this is how it shakes out, you most likely could grab Mark Williams + Eason.

 

Ugh... that seems like such a weak haul for Dame.

 

Trade up (Kings?) for Keegan

Stay at 7: Sharpe if he falls - if not, Sochan

 

What the hell. Dyson Daniels compares himself to Tyrese Haliburton on offense?

Haliburton shot 41% on three-pointers in 2020-2021 and 41% again in 2021-22. 5 attempts per game in both seasons. He's an 85% free-throw shooter.

Dyson Daniels shot 25.5 % on three-pointers in 14 games averaging 3.6 attempts per game. He was a 74% free-throw shooter in those games.

It's a tough comparison because he doesn't want to compare himself to anyone with his shooting numbers.

 

How is Daniels a good fit for Portland? A 6'8" guard who can't shoot.
The Blazers need someone who is 6'6"-6'10" who CAN shoot and wants to play small forward or power forward.
Besides, the Blazers already have Justise Winslow and Trendon Watford on the roster, two forward-sized players who like to dribble and pass the ball, but aren't good shooters.
I say Daniels a horrible fit.