Walker isn't supposed to be a star. He's supposed to be a role player. Role players play off the players around them. Surround them with shit and it's no surprise if they look like shit. Plus Chauncey jerked Walker around SO MUCH. He never knew game-to-game if he'd get minutes. There's definitely something weird going on there: either Chauncey just hates him or Walker has some issue we don't know about. He can't memorize plays? He's asthmatic? Something.
I'm not saying Scoot is a sure-fire star, but he and Dame aren't that similar. Dame's strength has always been his shooting and that's a Scoot weakness. Scoot plays defense, though. From what I can tell Scoot is much more like a young Russell Westbrook.
Walker finally started to get comfortable shooting the 3 the last week. He struggled mightily with his shot through the season. He looks to be a quality rebounder. Had a real knack for rebounding in traffic, and putting the ball in the hoop afterwards. If his shot can stay consistent, he will be a contributor going forward.
Kinda depends on what player we'd take with that pick. There's a strong likelihood that the player taken with the #2 pick turns out worse in the long run than Siakam. But there's a much stronger likelihood that there's a player AVAILABLE at the #2 pick who will be better.
Plus Dame is a fantastic facilitator. Those highlights didn't show many passes , but Scoot can finish with dunks. He has explosiveness for sure.
G-League may not be great, but it's probably similar or better to most college schools other than maybe the elite. At 19: 16.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.6 bpg, 43% FG, 27% from '3', 76% FT in 31 mpg 11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.2 bpg, 43% FG, 37% from '3', 84% FT in 29 mpg One is the better shooter at that age, one is better at almost everything else is very similar minutes. Who knows how Scoot will turn out, but if he has defensive tendencies, that would be a welcome addition here after CJ, Ant, Sharpe and Dame.
Siakam has plenty of mileage left. Not sure if any of the forwards in the Draft are really ready now. And Siakam is a badass.
It feels like when the Grizzlies traded Shareef Abdur Rahim for the draft rights for Pau Gasol. It could really bite us in the ass if we trade a top 5 pick for him. But I'm not sure how deep this draft is yet.
Man! I didn't even know he was a Blazer. I checked out of the Jail Blazer Era. I cam back full on as a fan in the Roy & LA Era.
Really big off-season for the blazers and excited to see how it'll transpire. Despite board-wide suspicion of Cronin, i've liked what i've seen/heard from him so far and drafting Shaedon is a standout on his CV so far. I think the other moves he gets lambasted for area bit of an over-exaggeration. His hands have been tied over Hart and I actually think the Jerami Grant trade is a net positive for us. Seems clear that the franchise are going to prioritise one last swing for Lillard. In balance, I think this is justified given his loyalty and the fact that as a small market, a rebuild could take 10 years +. Why not initiate the rebuild after Dame's window in the grand scheme of things? Having said this, we shouldn't be looking to trade away our entire future, which would be objectively stupid. This might upset Dame, but we can't work miracles and including Sharpe in a trade for an OG/Siakam in my mind is totally idiotic. Which take us to the next question, how and where where we look to get stronger. I think most have identified the SF spot (Bridges, Anunoby) and the 5 (Adebayo) as clear opportunities. Given our assets, I think this window only allows to upgrade in one spot, and maybe make another move at the deadline or next summer. If we somehow luck out and land the number 1 pick, does keeping Wemby satisfy Dame? I don't think you could trade him without at least giving it a year to see if that value increases, as we know the potential upside could be astronomical. My hope is that we land between 2-5, and throw everything at Bridges, keeping Dame and Shaedon at all costs. Dame-Sharpe-Bridges-Grant-Nurkic and look at upgrading Nurk further down the line is a good summer in my eyes, even if it means overpaying on future draft picks and loosing some young talent. Want to keep Watford but he might have to be sacrificed.
Never been a fan of any other team in the NBA other than the Blazers. But my total attentions was on the Broncos from 1995 - Roy Era began. Then i got League Pass and enjoyed the ride. Great post. I don't see Sharpe going anywhere. And i doubt Dame has any problem with that. And i'm sure Dame would love to have Wemby. Wemby could do for The Blazers, what Duncan did for the Spurs.
If the Blazers get Wemby, hopefully 3rd time is the charm. The Blazers crashed and burned on the 1st two. Because they're in New York, and need a splashy potential star like Scoot.
Because fans constantly come up with trade ideas for a player they have fallen in love with, tend to have no grasp on reality.
