I have as good of a feeling as I've had in years with Mike Schmitz in charge of scouting. Not sure how much input he had on Sharpe, but he definitely was high on him as a player. And it sounds like Walker was completely his selection and for the next to last player taken in the Draft, he seems like tremendous value. Now he is identifying G-League scrubs that combined with 19 year old Sharpe, nearly won 2 games in a row on the road against playoff/play-in type teams. They are getting contributions from players that have slipped through the cracks that aren't close to stars, but may have the ability to contribute in a positive manner. They threw a stat up during the game that over the last 3 years in the NBA, Skyler Mays has the highest PnR efficiency rating....in the entire league! Of course, that is with a much smaller sample size than the other players he was compared to, but it is still obviously a stat that raises eyebrows. It is those types of in-the-cracks characteristics that Schmitz seems to be identifying and it would seem to bode well for the Blazers as they could have their highest Draft pick since the Oden selection. In a very short span of time, Mike has had input on Sharpe, Walker, picked up length with the the 2-way positions (which I heard a good Badji story the other day from when he was healthy) and is now getting actual contributions from scrap heap guys that could be depth for down the road. All in all, he's done about as good with his opportunities as he could have, and I'm excited for what is next.
I'm kind of like Paul Allen. Not that I'm rich, or dead, because I am very much poor and alive. But, I am like PA, because I love the draft. No way I want to trade a lotto pick.
Depends on who’s available when we pick and what we could get for the pick on the market. I’m not really sure what to do yet.
Keep the pick no matter what! There's not enough veteran talent to contend regardless of what's available in trades.
Keep the pick UNLESS there's a Dame-level player we can get in trade. A difference maker that makes us HCA-competitive isn't enough for me, and there's aren't many players I see us getting who will have us actually competing for a title the next year or two.
If the Blazers are awarded the 2nd pick, the obvious selection is Scoot Henderson. Then what do you do? I think he could be the leading scorer for an NBA team. But not for the Trail Blazers.
Trade down to draft the player you want and get an extra 1st or other assets. ATL got the 10th pick from DAL the following year after trading down from 3rd to 5th.
Short of a trade demand from Embiid or Brown, there isn’t going to be a guy that drastically makes us contenders like you’ve said. Having a wingman with Sharpe for the next decade though…that’s what will really make us contend.
I couldn't pick an option where Cronin either takes a player in the draft, regardless of how amazing the trade offer has been. Or that he trades the pick regardless of have bad the offers are. The answer should always be to consider all options and take the one that appears to be the best for the franchise considering the short and long term.
You pick the best player available no matter what. Let the chips fall where they may. Never worry about duplicating the roster while drafting. After the draft field the calls and build your team. So my choice is whatever of the three happens to work.
If we get the 2nd or 3rd pick I'd entertain offers IF and I stress IF they were overwhelming, if not then keep it
Trading down or out hasn’t netted us great results in the past, so naturally trading a lottery pick in what’s perceived as a very solid draft is pretty much a non-starter for me. And yes, this follows for any of Portland’s lottery landing spots. Portland doesn’t have enough assets for a wildly inefficient trade that only gets them into the 4-5-6 seed.
Im not sure there's a single dominate player formalist years top 20 selections that you can contend with soon. Players are much younger drafted now and it takes time for a team to build around youth regardless how young. Not saying it can't be done but the chances are slim. This year with Wemby maybe but I think it will take whoever gets a at least 3-4 years. If a player like Embiid or Brown were available for say pick 4-6 the team might consider a pkg?
If Scoot is truly in a higher tier than those below him then passing on him has disaster written all over it. The draft is a crap shoot as it is, but the chances of a miss are increased the lower you pick. I didn't like it when we passed on Chris Paul /Deron Williams and I don't really want to repeat it. If no one offers a difference maker in a trade, then keep the pick and make a trade later.
