Very much unsure about that one. Somehow would have to find a team like the Pistons n probably trade em Grant or Brogdon for an expiring like Joe Harris, n then add in the 2nd 1rp from this season n a bunch of the extra 1rps --- problem is those extra 1rps are in like 2028 2029 and 2030, so idk why detroit would do such a deal.. but it'd have to look something liek that i suppose..
ngl totally absurd scenario, im all for these types of discussions tho its the preseason, n honestly it might shed some light on why I think Buzelis is a MATCH with this roster(and specifically Scoot and Ayton).. Its just one of those things.. Buzelis is so good, he's kind of like a star at just running up and down the court. which Scoot is like that too. When your 6'10 like Buzelis tho, the rest of this Blazers team might turn into "his supporting cast" even with like Simons doing by far the most damage.. Buzelis is just the maestro.. N he's decidedly unselfish too.. Not a ballhog whatsoever actually.. but also to describe him as a 'glue guy' is absurd too cuz hes got starpower.. Cuz Buzelis is precisely the player who doesnt actually play with a big ego.. give him the ball and he's ready to do all this fancy triple-threat stuff in just a few dribbles, just a few seconds, no questions, he's confident in that 3pt shot too... but he's always ready to like push the ball ahead if the pass is right.. he's not one of those guys who even hesitates to consider those Kobe hero ball decisions, he'll just fire the pass instantly if the read is good n then try to fill the lane/stretch the floor.. cuz Buzelis wants to RUN, he's completely devastating on the break n would be on the Blazers with our supporting cast... N NBA teams, like your teammates are ridiculously talented, its completely absurd, so Buzelis game is built to sort of seamlessly fit in to NBA rotations far as i can tell, n he can play shooting guard at 6'10... U gotta watch him closely n ull begin to appreciate how he's "In the game", Buzelis is an unrelenting competitor --- in a professional way.. U can tell he's a bigtime perfectionist from watching how he moves off the ball, he's always trying to measure how to be like in the EXACT spot to stretch the defense... N he's been studying so thats just how it is... but his awareness is so high he's a reliable teammate. N i mean do u see how he chains together these actions off the dribble at 6'10"? very acrobatic and athletic player for sure.. Hilariously 2 top 5 picks might not even be enough to land those players u might actually need the #1 and #2 pick.. plus like... the blazers are a team and a half in that scenario.. cuz like we have a sort of team set up for this '23-'24 season Buzelis AND Sarr, thats framework for a whole separate team almost.. but its unnecessary, just take Buzelis with the lotto pick and then the best PF who shoots 3's n blocks shots n grabs boards with the warriors 1st. -- thats the lowcost way to do this..
I'ma beliver in Tyler Kolek but I'm very interested to see how the loss of Olivier Maxence Prosper affects him and Oso Ighodaro, who should make one of the better high low 1-2 punches in college for Marquette.. At the same time for the Blazers purposes I'd have Aiden Mahaney from St. Mary's over him, Mahaney is more of a combo guard but he's better at getting downhill IMO, Mahaney can do some really acrobatic finishes n his floater is deadly.. Kolek is actually like an oldschool floor general, bit more station to station, but he's scrappy as hell n he can shoot, fearless player... Well you Blazers fans will remember Pat Connaughton... Kolek is from the same AAU program n the best player they had since Pat.. so he's been mentored by Connaughton for years.. n so he's got a lot of that same attitude instilled in him... I'm also a believer in Oso Ighodaro but Marquette is preseason over UCONN somehow n with big expectations so i'm waiting for the games to tip off before I go crazy with them.
This 6'5 PG from Tasmania -- Taran Armstrong. One of the many draftable players in the NBL this year. Turns 22 in a few months.. This player was good in college. Definitely on the radar.
oh this player could make plenty of sense to stash for the blazers..way better project than john butler was.. Eli John N'Daiye.. The folks around here who want to see a PF do some dirty work n grab boards would like him. he's on Real Madrid, turns 20 right around the '24 draft.
does anyone know where Bol Kuir went? he's about 7'3" and 220lbs so Id think u cant miss him.. Declared for the draft in 2023.. I cant find em.. this guy once grabbed 42 rebounds in a highschool game.. where did he go?
It sure is luxurious being a Blazers fan **kicks feet up** dunno bout y'all, but I'm feeling pampered and decadent We have Ayton and Robert Williams so I dont have to worry about really going thru the Centers closely(thank goodness.. cuz these C's all need so many years of polish its often mind numbing to be hypercritical over their feeble progress ) We've got Scoota Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Malcolm Brogdon, dont have to worry about PG Swingman supreme Dr. Shae I'm actually a fan of Jerami Grant too even though I dont think I saw him grab a single rebound all preseason Blazers got stuff to fix, but they are SIMPLE fixes far as i can see.... U want a star n to run? draft buzelis. U want a PF to do the dirty work bluecollar stuff, draft izan almansa.. ez pz
so the G-League draft is in a week on the 28th.. Some of these players who declared for the draft from the OTE league who didnt get selected apparently have signed waivers to become eligible for the G-League draft... THIS STUFF IS SO COOL.. NBA is really doing an excellent job setting an example for other leagues on how thorough amateur systems can be with the right foundation.. I still think Adam Silver is a bum for letting all this gambling stuff go on, but this side of the equation, n also with liek the basketball without borders stuff, they do a great job.
Wait Jalen Lewis has gotta be eligible for this draft I just realized... He's a Powerforward.. worth keeping an eye on.. from the OTE.. Yep born late 2005.. n 2023 woulda been his graduation year so he's gotta be eligible..
I dont understand what these OTE people are doing making these dumb videos but I guess thats something targeted for an age group below mine.. could give a damn about 'behind the scenes' content just lets see what kinda progress is happening n the gym stuff.. there honestly is something alarmingly tone-deaf about some of these OTE videos tho.. Ive read stories about NBA scouts talking about not knowing what to really make of the OTE competition level (especially the defense is just trash) n content like they make only adds to my confusion tbh.. Seems like one of those things that means well but is kind of overly idealistic n needs better direction -- obviously they have boatloads of $$$ but are they really using it the right way --- obviously not.. bigtime no..
Oh the OTE has a good player from Brazil --- Samis Calderon he's like 6'7 with a 7'3 wingspan or something crazy like that --- frame proportioned like Bilal Coulibaly put me all aboard the hype train for this player!!!! use the lowest 2nd rd pick on him!!!! That 3pt shot of his looks pretty good if u ask me.. Looks nice and easy for him.. Ok I know the picks Lotto --- Buzelis 6'10 SG/SF/PF Late 1st(warriors pick) -- The best PF who can shoot 3's and block shots n grab offensive rebounds (lets say Henri Veesaar, Trevon Brazile or Bobi Klintman for arguments sake) Early 2nd -- Samis Calderon 6'7 SF Late 2nd -- Lucas Ugolin 6'5" SG PG - Simons/Scoot, Brogdon, Buzelis SG - Sharpe, Brogdon, Simons, Thybulle/Buzelis, Rupert, *Ugolin SF - Buzelis, Grant, Brogdon, Sharpe, Thybulle, Camara/Murray, *Calderon PF - Grant, Brazile, Buzelis, Walker, Murray/Camara C - Ayton, Williams, Reath, Brazile That team can vie for the playoffs... I think.. If one more season of ~30 wins results in thing itll be worth it.. or lets see how many weeks it takes for me to start panicking.. Buzelis takes a lot of the suspense away with the lotto pick cuz he fits here quite well..
All aboard the hype train here.. he's got a 7'2 wingspan, 8'8 standing reach and a 37" vertical and his jumpshot looks good.. looks like he's got a solid set of legs on him for such a skinny weight listed too.. Not that it'd matter but this player isnt even redundant with Rupert cuz Rupert actually is more of a giant guard (IMO) and this player is actually a bit more swingman-y or Small-forwardy which is how it was when comparing Colibaly n Rupert.
Far as Im concerned too.. Lets hope Calderon shoots 25% from 3... hahahahhaha cuz if that kid shoots it really well from 3 he could go flying up the board.. get him on the g-league team.. that kid looks worthy of a two-way deal at a minimum if u ask me.. got a good feeling about that one
Ibou Dianko Badji's stats (and footage im watching now) in the g-league last season look very promising to me.. I was gonna mention a few older 7-footers in college that wont get drafted but shoot 3's n block shots (brandon carlsen) who might be legit to take his spot on that 2-way contract if Badji doesnt have a solid year in the g-league..... But judging by last seasons stats Badji is gonna cruise in the G-league til he gets called up.. n Badji has a superior athletic profile n guys like him usually get much better when their like 24 or 25 and he just turned 21 last week.. so he's well on track.. thats a GOOD two-way Badji's Offensive rebounds, blocks even near 65% ft's all look promising.. So actually rather than maybe signing a 7-footer as an undrafted free agent.. Id probably lean towards an oversized PF like PJ Hall who's gonna be one of the best bigs in collegebasketball (again) n show off more offensive versatility.. cuz he's an ox in the paint n on the boards, n jumps quite high even if hes not the quickest.. the bluecollar fans who want to see the dirty work done would love Hall, n there might be a spot on the roster for such a player tbh.. not that he'd get many minutes..
Portland is probably a good landing spot for Jan Vide as well, if all goes according to plan for his freshman showcase at UCLA.. He's got some Bogdan Bogdanovich (the one on the Hawks not Bojan on the Pistons) to his game
Alexandros Samodurov's an interesting player with a lot going on. Seems like he might be a match with the Blazers. He's listed at C, but the Blazers would need him to play PF, he's of no use to them at C. The Greek national team needs him to function as a C/PF but thats not his role in the NBA. He has a short wingspan for his height.. He's about 6'10.5" with a 6'9" wingspan. good basketball player though can do a bit of everything n he's mobile, isnt crazy explosive but relatively light on his feet.. and he's 18 years old.. 1st year of draft eligibility.. wont turn 19 til like 6 months from now so he's considerably younger than the avg player discussed in this thread.. He's skilled, n could really use some time in the g-league vs better athletes.. So I've seen Samodurev at a few Fiba tournaments the past 2 summers, always stuffs the statsheet.. but he can pass n shoot n dribble n block shots.. He's playing in the 2A greek league which is sort of like a G-league lesser competition youth league so he should have nice stats n highlights by seasons end.. Alex made 4/5 3's in his first game of the season so his 3pt % is really good but we'll see how that fares..
BPA and tiers are the S.O.P. for any draft … but the needs and greatest opportunity for Blazers’ growth is at least at one forward position. We’ve seen getting that dude through trade hasn’t been Portland’s greatest successes (and I’m not counting trades during a draft to get a dude like Aldridge or Roy). Having the opportunity to get Matas Buzelis … a guy who moves efficiently around the court making basketball plays … just playing … shooting from wherever he wants … he looks like a guy who loves being out there. He’s my early favorite as the Blazers’ pick.
Shooting is an issue sure, as it is for many players coming into the league. But like Amen, he does so many other good attributes (like his physicals, playing defense, and being a secondary playmaking) that you just gamble on him becoming a good shooter one day. If Baba falls to the 2nd, it’s almost a no brainer gambling on this guy right? I’m more high on Baba than I am on Rupert.
I’ll be completely honest, Buzelis didn’t really pass the eye test for me when I first watched him, but you’re starting to convince me that he seems like a really good fit. I’m interested to see the rest of his measurable, but guys who are that tall who can do a bit of everything are invaluable. I kind of compare him to Franz, except Franz can really get to the basket and seems like he was a better defender coming into the league. But the season is still early. You’re speaking a lot on his character if it’s true how unselfish he is. Those are the kind of guys we need to build around. Guys who are a threat to score but who love to push the ball and find the open guy—Scoot looks like that already, and Shae was showing me a lot of promise in that aspect as well. I don’t necessarily care about our guys having a high apg, just that they’re making good reads in the games.
