Running list of prospects meeting/working out with Portland

He's not close to being the BPA....
He's a good shooter, but other than that - he had very little impact on either end of the court for Duke last season. The 'idea' of Griffen is much more tantalizing than the reality of his play.

 

I like Mathurin, but on the Locked On Blazers podcast with the guy from NBA Big Board, he said Ben really struggled not only in spot up shooting (33%) but even worse on jumpers in the half-court offense. (26%) That is not very good.

 

I don't know who will draft him but it won't be the Trail Blazers.

 

Agreed. He should be much closer to the ~20+/- range IMO.

 

Yeah, Jeremy Sochan outshot Mathurin on spot up 3 pointers. Sochan shot 36% on those. I wonder what the rate is for Daniels.

 

Another thing is shot creation. Daniels has his floater and Sochan has his spin move. I don't think Mathurin has a go-to move in the half court.

 

Agree. I watched his clip directly after Ivey's. That juxtaposition WAS NOT flattering for AJ. At all. He is like molasses out there for a young supposedly top 10 pick. Moves like a laggy PF out there and was barely getting over the rim for dunks. With his knee history, he is a total no-go for me personally. He could have a solid bench career on par with Kyle Anderson and the like though, which is not your goal with a lotto pick.

 

You all may be right. The injuries are certainly a concern. But if you take that out of the equation, I am not sure I am buying everyone's reasoning. I respect it but I don't necessarily buy the notion that because he had little impact on Duke's season that he won't be better than the others in 2-3 years. Every time I watch Devin Booker I think "how the hell did he slip to 13". Oh yeah, he didn't show much on a Kentucky team that had a lot of talent.

 

Exactly. I love Kyle Anderson, and hope we sign him, but he’s no lotto guy

 

Gueye has withdrawn from draft

 

Damnit

 

There are several players that have withdrawn. Some of them can get more NIL money than they will what they would get as a late 2nd round pick or an UDFA.

 

Casey said some more prominent prospects are coming to the PF over the next few days

 

A good decision for him. He needs to learn to shoot better.

 

Did a little research on these guys. Darius Days, a 4th year senior 6'7" PF, doubt that he will be drafted. Russell, 5'11" PG, 24 year old 5th year senior, can't see him gettin drafted, Walton 24 year old senior, don't see him getting drafted. Gueye has withdrawn. Champagne 22 year old junior SF looks like his forte is defense, not an efficient offensive player, would not be in play until our second pick.

 

A friend of mine went to Grad School at U of A (so long ago that while there, he played a pickup game with Brian "Bison Dele" Williams) and has followed Arizona ever since. I asked him what he thought of Mathurin and he replied:

"On the court, the guy can be a two way player, athletic and smooth, good first step. Will need to develop as a reliable outside shooter from NBA distance, but there’s nothing funky about his form and with his size, he should be able to do that. He can finish the break against college guys. He seems to be a sensible kid, played cool in close games and didn’t make stupid mistakes (knew his personnel—didn’t give the ball to guys who were unlikely to score in the position they were in), so mature for his age (by comparison, Dalen Terry, his backcourt mate, can’t shoot, played solid on-ball D, and got credit for having vision but seemed to make bad decisions). I’d say he’s worth investing in—seems like he’d respond to good coaching. But youth is youth—hard to predict."

So, there you are. I asked him if he thought Mathurin was worth the 7th pick and he was pretty noncommittal. Damning with faint praise, if you ask me. But what's this about some kind of scandal involving a cheerleader?

 

much ado about nothing.


mind you, this came after a ridiculous game he had in the tournament to help his team advance.

 

i think if everything works out for Mathurin he projects to be someone like Jason Richardson with defense. I think that's a kinda high ceiling dude I would not be opposed to.

Glad they're working him out even if there are rumors of a possible promise for him to Indy @6.

 

If the Blazers were rebuilding aka trade Dame and put Ant in the PG spot and then draft Mathurin at SG/SF i might be ok with that BUT if the Blazers are trying to Win in the next 2 yrs or less not sure he fits in that time line.