There's a slim chance we could get a Damian-Lillard-level player in the draft. But there is pretty much a zero chance we get one by trading away the 7th pick for a current NBA player. I will take the slim chance over the zero chance.
Height/Length he’s on par with LaMarcus: LMA: 6’10” w/o shoes — 7’4.75” wingspan JD: 6.9.5” w/o shoes — 7’5.25” wingspan *Duren was 17 going on 18 when these were taken, LMA was 21 during his combine
Again, is there a link to this Duren measurement you can provide? I've searched some and came up empty so I'd appreciate it STOMP
They showed a pic of Duren doing a vertical jump test at the Blazers workout; it would be nice if the figures on that were released.
That's nearly 50% on elbow area/ paint shots not at the rim. Higher than I expected. I can understand why he has a tough time shooting from the side. Harder to judge distance. It might just be a matter of practice to get those up near 50% too.
Duren looks more graceful and athletic to me. Ayton reminds me more of Greg Oden, strong but not graceful in his movements.
Ayton is a good athlete with a really nice jumper. He's more focused on getting his on offense. Duren is an even better run/jump athlete more focused on D. Of course he's really young having reclassified and essentially being the age of a HS Senior. He's definitely more of a work in progress then Ayton was when he was coming into the league. STOMP
Duren reminds me of a younger more motivated Hassan Whiteside. Rebounds/putbacks, blocks and defense. Hassan was just lazy at times, he had plenty of ability. Jalen certainly checks a bunch of boxes.
Not trying to be combative, but is this eval from games or highlight vids? Whiteside was prolly my least favorite Blazer in recent history, but even I can admit that he had terrific touch, while Duren doesn't. Whiteside also rarely rolled on P&Rs, while that's pretty much all Duren relies on. He's about three yrs away from being able to put up offensive numbers like Hassan did in Miami. I don't see the comp at all. They don't play anything alike
I just really don't understand why so many people are excited about throwing away a top 10 pick on a project center.
When I see duren I see a little combination of Ayton and Bam. He’s more physically gifted than Bam. He can pass but not quite the level of Bam. He great on defense, a better rim protector than Bam but not quite as good on guarding the perimeter. He’s now showing a nice touch from 3s. To me Duren is a couple year away, from living up to his potential. That doesn’t mean he can be an effective back up and starter when Nurk get hurt. His potential is so high that it worth to take the gamble on. The reality is that any rookie may have a hard time being a starter. I love duren, but I trust Cronin new scouting team more
I was watching a video of a young Whiteside, everything was put-back dunks, rebounds and blocked shots. He looked great! That's what I see Jalen able to do right now. Yes PNR if he can develop that with our guards that would be amazing. Our PNR would be better if we could just finish the shot instead of going up soft. Jalen doesn't go up soft, so there's that. Hassan got lazy after a big payday or an injury if I remember right. Maybe he always had that in him. Not combative at all...
