Well maybe we should keep this thread going with what we all watched last night. Pretty obvious they will be a lottery team.
I feel like Mackenzie Mgbako has been disrespected in this preseason process n these initial mock drafts.. Perhaps some of the concerns about his overall upside n athleticism are valid at the NBA level --- I still dont expect that to be really apparent in college.. Mgbako is a gamer too and that shot of his is reliable.. I think he's gonna outperform these lower expectations just on 'readiness' n 'moxie' 'polish' whatever you want to call it. and Mgbako is still 18 remember! turns 19 next month.. so lots of those other freshman you see projected above him are actually a year older.. I can't wait to see Indiana this season, they have a loaded out-of-conference schedule including UConn, Kansas and Auburn. That frontcourt of IU's with Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware is gonna be fun to watch, its gonna provide Mgbako a chance to try and pass the ball a bit more as he's got a little bit of a black-hole type of reputation. I have a feeling people are being hyper-critical with Mgbako.. he's tough, he's smart, he's skilled --- he'll figure out some way to stick! He represents an upgrade here for the Blazers.. I dont need to see him play this season to tell ya that.. I dont wanna name any names but some of the wings vieing for that 3rd string on the depth chart arent nearly on his level.
I'm a big-time believer in Oregon's recruiting class btw.. N honestly I'm a bit 'wait and see' with Mookie Cook --- but I'm a believer in Kwame Evans Jr.. I'd have him above Mgbako on my board and near the lottery.. Sweet shooting lefty looks a lot like a prototype modern 4-man if you ask me --- and how tall is Kwame Evans Jr these days? I dont think he's 6'9 anymore I think he's even taller now.. But I also truly believe their 6' PG Jackson Shelstad has a good chance to make the league as a backup.. N Kario Oquendo x-ferring in should be sneaky good for them too, hes a major plus defender, we'll see if his offense has improved any.
and Justin Edwards is going to be a player discussed ad nauseam in this draft... and rightfully so.. and he'd make a ton of sense for the Blazers.. Like Buzelis he represents a high upside high floor option at one of the positions the Blazers are least talented in. I kinda have favorite teams in each conference but Kentucky is my favorite team.. and I GRADE EXTRA HARD for the UK players so I didnt even want to mention any of them... but when you look thru the POV of a Blazers fan Justin really stands out as a major upgrade, and I mean if he really shoots the 3 ball lights out he could end up the #1 pick, ya cant really rule that scenario out at this point.
Matas is intriguing because of his size. I've yet to see enough of him to see how his skills might translate to the next level. Not sure of his athleticism, doesn't seem to have great wingspan, and his shot seems a touch slow on the release. Some of those things can be improved, some can not. Will be interesting watching him in the coming year.
He's actually a pretty impressive athlete even by NBA standards. He jumps well (easy lift) off of either foot and both feet and he's unmistakably fluid and smooth for that height.. Buzelis represents a high-iq player who's game transitions seamlessly from off and on the ball as well, which is where I think he helps the Blazers probably sooner than later (I wish we had him on this seaosns blazers roster, he'd help quite a bit!) But yeah the consistency on his 3 ball is really something to monitor.. n just overall consistency.. When Matas is making them they all go in, but when he's off, he's off.. like lots of youngin's Cooper Flagg will almost certainly be the #1 pick in 2025.. Here he is playing Matas 1v1..
and for 2nd rd picks --- I like Aiden Mahaney at St. Mary's I think he's a possible really good fit here to be groomed as a backup PG. this kid kinda has crowd favorite written all over him.. tough and he's skilled, shoots it well off the dribble and catch, and he's actually pretty acrobatic finishing around the rim given his limited explosion. I like what I saw from him last season, expecting big #'s and lots of clutch buckets from him. Kyle Guy wasnt able to stick in the NBA because he was more of an undersized SG than a PG or a combo guard... Mahaney I dont think will suffer the same fate as he's more of a pure combo.
So the Blazers will likely have their own lotto pick the Warriors 1rp the Hawks 2rd and the more favorable of Charlotte or Minnesota's 2rp Which is great for me cuz I like to discuss the fringe 1st rders and the 2nd rps more than the lotto guys who get all the pub... I'm ALL FOR Baba Miller with that GSW 1rp... As of now, that seems like a very good value pick for the Blazers. It was atrocious what happened to him(FSU as a whole had such bad luck) last season, and I did see him play this summer for France in some game where he was drilling 3's, n looked in form. Thierry Darlan with that Warriors 1rp could pay huge dividends too.. Can't wait to see what this players gonna do this season.. If this draft is as weak as they say it is --- players like Darlan who can dribble the ball are ones i'd gamble on.. You cant tell me that Darlan isnt a WAY better prospect than Rayan Rupert.. Sorry if i end up trashing Rupert a lot in this thread -- hope he proves me wrong.. Rupert seems out of control and like Bambi on ice compared to Darlan IMO... watch them dribble and shoot 3's, i rest my case.
N im a huge Donovan Clingan fan for the record.... but it just seems to make no sense to draft him here now that we have Ayton and Williams.
Realistically, Williams will probably average 20mpg and will miss more than even half the season. So I'm a fan of drafting the best available big depending on where we land and giving him time to develop at PF/C behind Ayton, and whatever we get out of Williams is gravy.
Man it sure is ominous that Williams banged his knee right as he got here.. but I'm a big believer in him, I'm also biased and Houston Hoops is my favorite AAU team. I like the idea of playing these anti-small ball type of looks so Im thoroughly biased. and honestly if Williams misses a bunch of games at the end of the season and can concentrate on next year being healthy in his big contract year, thats not all that bad of an outcome for the Blazers. I truly believe Clingan can be a monstrosity for UConn and get drafted very high this season, even if he's probably far more suited for backup C duty in the NBA for a few seasons.I believe in Clingan's story too, ya dont bet against guys like him and Dennis Schroder n Derek Lively who lost parents when they were young, its just a bad bet. With Ayton here though.. Izan Almansa is a player who is far more proven than most in this draft field.. Even with all this time til the draft, he seems like an absolute lock for the top-20 and probably the lottery, n he's earned a ton of accolades along the way, won a a lot, collected a few mvp trophies... sort of how everyone knew R.J. Barrett was destined to go high in the draft in 2019 way in advance, Almansa has earned some of that 'staying power'. But I jsut cant help but think with seeing Jerami Grant grab 5 rebounds in 65 minutes this preseason that Almansa might be quite an excellent fit (from day 1) for the Blazers --- and this makes me hesitant about drafting a pure C like Clingan over him when we have Ayton (and I am SUPER high on Clingan, hes got a lot of room to improve n is just a monster defensively n in the paint) To overlook a PF/C like Almansa to furhter backlog the C position could be a really big mistake.. Cuz Almansa can grab boards n put up stats n he makes winning plays, very high intangibles, n next to a C like Ayton probably a good match. N lets see what kind of range Almansa's jumpshot is extended to this season in the G-League, he's been comfortable from midrange for a while -- if he lights it up from 3 stands to reason he'll go very high. Did Almansa grow? he was listed at 6'9 for years n now some say he's 6'10..Guess we'll finally find these things out at the NBA combine this year cuz they changed the rules n agents cant hide the top picks!! n the overall rebounding Almansa provides is one thing, but alongside Williams and Ayton -- those dudes are some demons on the offensive glass in particular... 3pt shooters, wings and guards should want to play with offensive rebounding like that!
Oh and let me say this.... Milan Momcilovic 6'8" 210lb PF freshman at Iowa State is underrated! I think he's actually a bit better than Peja Stojakavic's kid (Andrej whos much more of a wing) who's gonna be a freshman at Stanford. This kid is a pro for sure and he's an excellent shooter n scorer. I think he'd be a good match with the Blazers tbh, we need shooters. As the draft process goes on 3pt shooters tend to be valued more and more, and Momcilovic is the type of player who fits that archetype. 4-star Momcilovic is a bit overshadowed by his fellow freshman 5-star Omaha Billiew, who I thought played very poorly for an extremely underwhelming Team USA fiba squad this summer that didnt even manage to get a bronze medal. Billiew is more of a do-it-all powerfully built 6'8" forward. Momcilovic is the actual concentrated offense n he's a shooter but really he's a natural scorer as well. Iowa State also has a sneaky good 6'4" guard x-ferring in Keshon Gilbert formerly at UNLV, so they are gonna be a fun team to watch. They also have a 7'1 250 lb freshman named JT rock whos got a decent foundation -- but he's a multi-year player for sure. The fact that a player like Georges Niang has stuck around in the NBA on the strength of his 3pt shooting makes me think Moncilovic can stick too.
Scotty Middleton, 6'7 LONG armed freshman at Ohio State will FLY UP DRAFT BOARDS if he hits his 3's... Lets just put that out there.. He projects as a major plus defensively, so if the 3's are falling his stock just EXPLODES, no questions asked... n theres reason to believe he's made solid progress with that 3pt shot, so - we'll see. OSU's higher ranked Freshman, 6'4 or 6'5 scoring combo guard Taison Chatman has some Anfernee Simons to his game (maybe), one of the most fun offesnive players in the entire freshman class to watch score (for sure) so I'll be keeping a close watch over the buckeyes. Sharp and shifty, he's got 6th man written all over him.
I'm buying the Garwey Dual hype for now too, among many things - I like how low he keeps his dribble for a player 6'5".. I kinda want to believe he can put it all together, this is the type of combo guard im glad he'll get evaluated as the star of the show at Providence and not part of one of these loaded recruiting classes, cuz he needs as many reps doing everything as he can get. Dual has the talent, for sure! He's got a near 7-footwingspan n really sharp handle like a PG. Its just a matter of efficiency with him n making smart decisions. He's got some Ayo Dosunmu and Alec Burks to his game..
how will Jevon Porter (Michael Porter Jr's younger brother) respond at Pepperdine now that Max Lewis is gone? of all the "west coast" storylines this one is pretty high on my list (Scuse the spam/rapidfire posts I'm getting ready for the season!!!)
I really cant wait to see what Vincent Iwuchukwu is gonna do for USC this season.. and USC obviously has a bit of a "the circus is in town" vibe with the Bronny James entourage n all that surrounding it, n theres' these horrible health scare stories with Iwuchukwu and now Bronny.. (*this is going to affect Isaiah Collier's draft stock n the difficulty of his tasks bigtime too, Bronny was gonna space the floor for Collier, now thats on hold.) But Iwuchukwu used to be a promising prospect before suffering from a massive heart failure and almost dying.. He was a 5-star prospect n he was building major momentum in his senior season... He easily looks the part of an NBA player he's got a frame like LaMarcus Aldridge except hes a bit taller.. When you start to follow these stories closely like me... Horrible things happen.. Terence Clarke dies in a traffic accident.. So players like this who's momentum sorta derailed from non-basketball stuff, idk I just cant help but root for them bigtime.. N Iwuchukwi is one of those BIGTIME.. N like this kid isnt 'on the radar' right now --- but if he outperforms the media will roll the red carpets out n treat him like a hero, and deservedly so, cuz his story is crazy n deserves to be told.
Elliot Cadeau is a volatile name on mocks n preseason prognostications.. He's got a wide range from the late 1st to the mid-2nd it seems.. and he's at UNC trying to replicate Cole Anthony's one-and-done success from 2020. Cadeau is probably MAXIMUM 6'1.. probably more like 6', so he profiles much more as a backup PG than a starter which limits his draft stock.. I think some of the projections with him in the late 40's, thats going overboard.. I'd probably have him pegged very close to the final pick of the 1st rd.. Cuz Cadeau is a real point guard, with very advanced feel for the game, he's EXCELLENT at operating the P'n'R, anyone who tells you otherwise doesnt know what their talking about cuz he's just very advanced for his age... plus he can dunk it, he's got plenty of burst n first step, its a matter of his defense thats gonna be in question. So I kinda give him the benefit of the doubt tbh.. Some of the other "PG"s projected above him arent very PG-Like compared to Cadeau, ya know? their more like combo-guards... Cadeau is a real floor general, n really he could make sense for the Blazers for one of the later picks in this draft.
hahaha yeah i couldve written that better.. IDK.. thats how it was/is he used to be talked about as a 5-star prospect now he's like the walking wounded ..I was like "oh lets see how Iwuchukwu does at USC" and then boom he has a heart attack...I guess theres not really any graceful transitions into stories of 20 year olds having heart attacks.. N really the same exact type of thing happened on a grander scale in the public eye this summer with Bronny James... Strange how that happened to 2 blue chip prospects for USC in such a short window of time..
Consider me a fan of 6'10 Portugese PF Ruben Prey.. He's often projected as a bottom of the 2nd rd pick... This player is fun to watch he has a knack for getting steals in the passing lanes n getting free dunks.. Mobile big guy.. Neemias Queta is a portugese player who sat in the Kings G-League system for a few years and just signed with the Celtics, I wonder if Prey might have a better game for todays NBA, as he's really quite mobile n plays hard, might only be a rotation type of player but Prey's skillset seem to be quite modern. Interested to see how he performs this season. They're gonna let him take a bunch of 3's so if he makes a bunch of them surely his name will rise up boards. Buncha international players who wont figure to be 1st rd prospects but could sneak into the 2nd eventually.. I think Lucas Langarita and Sergio De Larra the 6'5 and 6'6" guards from Spain born in '05 are pretty good.. I like what I've seen from Alexandros Samodurov even though he has short arms for 6'11" Pacome Dadiet 6'7 wing looks liek the french player whos the best that doesnt get much pub to me.. but more and more I'm seeing 6'5 Serbian guard Nikola Topic's name linked to this draft.. Though I dont think I've seen him play only highlights.
