The Western conference should beware of the Blazers if we land Sarr in the draft. Sarr isn’t as talented as Wemby or Holmgren or Mobley, but he might develop into just as good as a player without expectations of saving a franchise. With DA already in the middle, Sarr can back up either the PF or C position. He covers the floor so quickly on defense. I would love the direction the team is going in, a lot of long wingspans and guys who can break out off a deflection.
Another prospect to look at with the Warriors pick: Bobi Klintman Height: 6’10 (I’m assuming with shoes) Weight: 225lb Wingspan: 7’0 (no official measurement) 21.25 by the ’24 Draft Notes: - great off the ball player - great shooter with NBA range - can be a good rim presence (solid athlete that can be a lob target) - can get to the rim consistently from the 3pt line to the rim - needs to get stronger - defensively is raw but moves fluidly for his size (can maybe be a solid defender at the 4). Covers the floor well. - can maybe bring the ball up the court in grab and go situations Kind of reminds me of Cam Johnson. Even if he needs a little time for the rest of his game to catch up, his shooting would be instantly valuable on the court with Scoot.
Was just looking at video of this cat. I think getting him later in the first (as you said with the Warriors pick), and maybe Aday Mara with our own lottery pick would set this squad up phenomenally well in the frontcourt. (These are presently who NBADraftRoom has us picking at the slots last year's records would afford us)
A couple years ago the Warriors were a lottery team and took Wiseman. An injury to Curry or Thompson and that team could be fringe playoffs and we could get a decent little pick
I think so too. Klintman is someone who’s going to need a lot of in game reps, but that’s why I love having a GL team now. Mays feels like a vet now in the GL, I love having him as a main guy to run the sets that we run on the main roster to get these guys familiar with the system. Klintman is a potential two way player who can make decisions as the ball handler on the fast break and shoot 3’s. Rupert could potentially be an elite 3-D guy who can guard 1-3 if he can add 20lbs to combine with his height and wingspan for a SG. I don’t know what the reception on Badji was at SL, but in the one game I saw, he looked HORRIBLE. His size and athleticism make him intriguing but not great instinctually, GL action would help him greatly. Outside of the numerous 1sts we’re going to get, there’s also 5 2nds between now and 2030, with 2 coming this year. Plenty of other guys to take chances on like Baba Miller and others. I’m loving the Cronin decision to take the 2nds over Wiseman more and more. Schmitz is the truffle-pig. If he keeps picking the right projects and the organization develops them right, one or more of them are bound to hit.
I posted about this guy in the ‘23 draft thread but he reclassified to this year. Baba Miller is a really intriguing prospect with elite measurable. He could realistically play primarily SF and be great defending the top wings imo. Great defensive insticts. He grew up playing PG, then had a growth spurt like AD. He shows signs of being able to hit a 3 consistently one day. A lot of his qualities makes him sound like a 6’11 version of Rayan Rupert. Well like Rupert, I think there’s a possibility he could slip into the 2nd if he isn’t great this year at FSU. I think he’s a pretty good target to gauge with one of the 2nds we have. Physique wise, he’s build like he could be Giannis. I have no idea on his potential, he could be some version of that kind of player, someone who can dribble and also score at will because he is so tall and lanky.
This will be one of the most interesting years to follow all the Mock Draft's as it is very likely that we have at least a Top-5 projected pick. There are 4 projected 1st round picks on the G-League Ignite and quite a bit of length across a number of positions for next summer. NBA Draft.net Sarr - 7'1" C Proctor - 6'5" PG Holland - 6'7" SF Edwards - 6'8" SG/SF Buzelis - 6'11" SF NBA Draft Room Holland Sarr Castle - 6'7" SG Edwards Buzelis Sports Illustrated Holland Edwards Buzelis Sarr Collier - 6'3" PG Early on for me, Buzelis is the most intriguing as he was a 6'2" guard before a late growth spurt to 6'11". He can handle and create and with his size, creates matchup problems. Haven't seen enough of him to know if he plays defense. Baba Miller out of Florida St (6'11" SF) is someone D69 has his eye on as someone who could jump up the rankings. Draft Room currently has him at #30. Getting this pick right could go a long way towards balancing out the young guys with some added size.
But I agree on Baba Miller—although I see him possibly slipping like Rupert did so I’m hoping to select him with a 2nd rounder. Sarr with our pick, Klintman with the Warriors pick, and Miller in the 2nd round would be my current best case result for next year’s draft.
Blazers will make the 8th seed playoffs. Chicago inherits Portland's 1st round pick. Golden State has to cough up their 1st to Portland. start lookin' for a Dubs rookie in that 15-20 range
I'll be VERY active in this thread once college tips off. Im a big draft nerd, even bigger college basketball fan than the NBA tbh and I follow recruiting closely plus I like to check in on the international phenoms too.. speaking of; let me just say right off the bat ----- BIGTIME believer in Alex Sarr, those who have him projected outside of the lottery at this point are foolish IMO.. He looked SO much better than Holland to me in their showdown.. Look at some of those blocks! Unsure of his fit with this Blazers roster though, depends on if he can handle PF, it appears he's got that kind of body control and athleticism but they use him in space like he's a 5man.. Sarr's 7'1 with long arms but he's really got a lot of PF like qualities.. plus very young.. seems like he's got staying power in the lottery. Sarr would be on a fresh rookie deal with Ayton and Williams having 2 seasons left on their deals so maybe he could be groomed in a C/PF type of capacity.. There's a chance Sarr's really good n so the Blazers have to keep a close eye on this situation.
Trentyn Flowers is going to quickly work his way into lotto convos if he keeps doing stuff like this. .... 18 point 4th quarter in the NBL fresh out of highschool! He has some Kyle Anderson type of point forward qualities to him, actually like a 6'8 big framed guard. Kyle Anderson's teams always won everygame til he got to the NBA, but pound-for-pound in the skill department Trentyn Flowers is ahead of him at the same stage. He's probably closer to Talen Horton Tucker (but 4" taller) than Anderson tbh, and really Flowers isnt some gifted defender(smart and tough though..) he's sort of a wild swiss army knife type of offensive player --- but with his skills, if hes shooting that 3 ball well both off the catch n dribble -- some team is gonna bite, and their gonna bite early.. cuz he's a triple threat n can be trusted with the ball in his hands to make good reads, and he's slippery with the dribble n using his body to shield off defenders. N simply put the Blazers have quite a few players Flowers height but none with a skillset and big frame, so its gonna be a situation worth monitoring.. and the 36ers were smart to offer him that deal.. glad he's not in college even though Louisville woulda been more fun to watch... if hes dropping 18 points in the 4th quarter right away in the NBL -- he made the right choice. Flowers is exactly the type of player teams would be profiling as "built for the playoffs" (IMO)
That's awesome. I'll be looking forward to your draft thread contributions. Right now, I'm hoping for the Blazers to come away from the 24 draft with a couple frontcourt players with mobility and some passing skills. Mara and Klintman are the guys I'm hoping for right now, but there's a lot of ball to be played between now and then.
Well after just watching that brickfest in the preseason finale... I think an interesting guard for the Blazers to keep an eye on is Caleb Foster at Duke, he's a DEAD-EYE marksman and would especially help Simons and just the overall floor spacing. Scoota and Foster can function as a platoon at PG but also fit next to each other seamlessly. Now lets just immediately address the elephant in the room.. Tyrese Proctor is projected top5 in most mocks and he's the top PG on the board for many -- which is one of the reasons you dont see Foster discussed much, OR Jared McCain, whos another 5-star marksman fresh (a 6'2" SG, but also a prolific scorer and profiles as a pick, its just a matter of this year or next). But I mean if Proctor's 3pt % isnt very good, kinda hard for me to believe he can maintain that high projection.. So as usual theres a lot to unpack with Dukes roster/recruiting class. Caleb Foster isnt some crazy athlete, lets get that out of the way quickly... He has very good balance though, and he's unpredictable n choppy in his movements and scores with relative ease at all 3 levels cuz he's shifty n has excellent touch offensively, takes good shots so theres reason to believe he can shoot it well as a freshman from 3, maybe at high volume if he really gets rolling... The thing is with this overloaded backcourt at Duke (Jeremy Roach returned as well) Foster is gonna be asked to play on the ball and off the ball, so he's almost gonna be forced to show the versatility and growth n consistency in his game. Foster is also like 20 years old already as a freshman so he could be trying to go pro quicker than expected.. 6'5 combo guard with a skillset that seems to be in need on this blazers roster Foster is one of those guys... you can see the influence of PG's like Steph and Dame on the youngins.. Foster, to me, is in that line, he's got a little bit of that Jamal Murray/D'Angelo Russell to him too cuz he's at least 6'4
Very interested to see what Mara can do at UCLA, I believe he's got a good frame to really strengthen up. I think its good for college basketball if recruiting classes with some pretty big international recruits like Mara, Ilane Fibleuil and Berke Büyüktuncel can perform well. Team should be fun to watch. Klintman's transition to the NBL seems to be going well so far. I'm a fan of his too, I like to root for Wake Forest in the ACC when their good over the traditional powers so im a bit biased.
IMO Matas Buzelis is quite a good fit for the Blazers.. I already get a sense that a lot of fanbases projected in the lottery are weary about him at this stage.. For Portland it looks like he'd be a shoe-in to add a big spark.. I find Buzelis to be way safer and more versatile fit than some of these other guards you see projected in the lottery overall and especially for the Blazers.. While still skinny, if you look closely, Buzelis has added solid strength to his frame in recent years and now hes like 210lbs.. which is encouraging moving forward and really gonna help his transition to the league. N specifically he can provide some defense and some 3pt shooting, which is what its gonna take to play .500 ball. So he represents a high upside high floor option tbh, n really the blazers fast break would be quite devastating.
With Scoota, Brogdon, Ayton, Timelord and Thybulle on-board the Blazers have a nice blend of tough defenders across the depth chart so on a way-far-out timeline It still makes sense theres a strong case to be made for just drafting the best 3-and-d player on the board and Buzelis should figure to stay near the top of that conversation.. or at least it seems that way heading into the season. But I do have a feeling i'll be vouching for mostly players who can shoot the 3 for this years pick, unless ofc the team shoots the lights out.. Buzelis would be fun to watch here IMO, cuz he could actually make an impact quickly, n this is a good roster for him to get minutes switching between SG-SF-PF.
Now AJ Johnson's 3 games with the NBL, didn't go so well. but he's still 18 and he's listed at 160lbs, doresnt turn 19 til january so he's quite young in a draft field where many of the highly ranked freshman are actually close to 20 years old. Johnson is a 6'6 combo guard... Is he completely redundant with the young guns we already have? good question, lotta moving parts with that one, if I knew how players would shoot the 3 this season that'd help determine things. He does seem to represent one of the most explosive 1st steps in this draft and surely he'll do better as the season gets underway.. Turns out AJ Johnson isnt the only possible draft prospect on the Illwarra Hawks, their 6'10 PF Lachlan Olbrich appears to be on the radar as a possible late 2nd rd pick as well, he might have what it takes to be a backup in the NBA, smart player with a good feel for the game, whos mobile n shows good body control, looks like a bit of a triple threat player, he's confident in that handle of his. Fun highlights.
I've got my eye on 6'10 18-y/o Tyler Smith for the G-League Ignite and 6'9" Tadjane Salaun on Rudy Gobert's old team Cholet. I refuse to believe that Rayan Rupert is of the same quality as Salaun even though their very different. Salaun is playing in ProA, n his 3pt percentage is sure to be low-- but their letting him shoot a ton... Salaun flashes really great athleticism and body control at that size so he's gonna get the benefit of the doubt -- doesnt turn 19 til after the draft. This draft, lotta people dont like the talent compared to the last few years and the next few.. If thats the case, taking flyers on some young high upside forwards like these 2 might be a sound strategy.
N this 24 point outing from Zaccharie Rischaser deserves to be posted here too.. I know a lot of people are gonna try to downplay this draft but I'm sure gonna have a fun time tracking all these players. So sorry for the spam but i've been busy this summer(didnt catch all the fiba tourney's like i did last summer) n i need to catch up cuz some of these seasons are underway already.
