With the 7th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, The Portland Trailblazers select. . .

Risacher is already projected to be a much much better defensive player than Bargnani ever was. I think Zach is being a bit undervalued by casual fans. Seems like he could be a really good play finisher and complimentary piece, neither of which Bargnani was.

 

My comparison for Risacher is Trey Murphy III with potential for better defense.

 

... and your lawn service. You are 2 for 2!

 

Maybe I'm off, but I'm really hoping Reed Sheppard is there at 7. He's about as close to a sure thing as I can see in this draft. I can't see how he's NOT an effective NBA player. If they move Simons and Brogdon, there's plenty of time to evaluate which of Scoot/Reed/Sharpe to keep.

I can see a low end Steph Curry or Steve Nash without AS good playmaking but better on ball defense.

 

I don't think Brunson is similar to either Curry or Nash. I compare Sheppard to Curry and Nash as guys whose shot opened up the rest of their game and who have GREAT feel for the game. Sheppards feel is so good I just don't see any scenario he's not effective. I know Nash is a way better on ball playmaker, but if he played in 2024 I think Nash would be shooting 9+ 3s a game.

But if I could get Brunson with a top 7 pick in this draft - I mean, that's an easy yes, regardless of how guard heavy your roster is already.

 

Fair enough, but my point is mostly that he's the prospect I'm most confident will turn into a good player in this draft. Every other player I've looked at in the lottery range makes me squint so hard to try and see the vision. And while they could definitely get there, I wouldn't be surprised if we look back 5 years from now and Sheppard is the best player in the draft.

If we had 1 I think I'd draft Sarr based on fit. Starting at 2 I'm taking Reed, Scoot and Shaedon be damned.

 

Floor maybe, but I think Sheppard's ceiling is way higher.

For one Sheppard is almost 4 years younger and is already this good. Secondly, his feel on both ends far and away exceeds Knecht who is mostly just a scorer.

I dunno, I have way more confidence in Reed. I wouldn't touch Knecht with either of our picks.

 

I think you are breaking S2 rules by being to agreeable and diplomatic. You are supposed to rant/rave, cast aspersions and then block the other person.

 

Interesting tidbits from Sam Vecenie - He doesn't know what to make of Salaun. He just had a great playoff game and there are times when Sam thinks he's going to be something special and other times not. He says teams are definitely intrigued with him as a big swing pick and he has him going in the lottery.

Gimme some Tidjane!

 

They were also saying that they think Memphis would want to move up if Clingan is there at 7. How would we feel about moving back to 9 if Memphis made us a good offer?

 

Yeah, I'm warming up to Reed at 7 as well. He has a really nice skill set if Scoot is the guy as the third guard between he and Shae, but also serves as some Scoot insurance if he's not the guy ultimately.

His vertical is legit I think as well. Just shows up more defensively...



Yves Missi at 14 would be fun... He was late to basketball so his processing isn't where you'd want it to be, but if he can learn how to pass on the short roll, that would pair really nicely with his unique coordination and fluidity facing the basket.



He's like 80% Jarrett Allen with a little bit of Siakam mixed in.

For those that are fans of Stephon Castle, Jamir Watkins is a nice facsimile in the second round.

 

Depends who's still on the board. If Clingan and 2 of the wings are... then yeah, sign me up

 

I'm liking the idea of drafting Clingan if they really believe he can have a top of the league defensive impact. Is that Clingan? Is it Edey? It would be nice to find our defensive identity -- it would fast track us to getting better.

I imagine the inventive we'd be getting back for swapping would be a future first, which would likely be a late pick for the foreseeable future.

 

If Reed develops into a good NBA player though, he'll be starting next to Scoot. You can't really keep good players on the bench past their rookie year. But if he's a plus defender and rebounds that could work out.

His shooting % is off the charts. It's a small but not insignificant sample size. Curry never shot that well in college, neither did shooting greats like Korver. What if Reed is a generational shooting talent while also not being a defensive liability.

 

SA needs a PG badly, can't see why they wouldn't take Reed or perhaps Dilly, also Char at 6 may need some Lamelo insurance, for that matter Wizards need a PG (poole ain't it) and Houston could use one as well to groom with FVV being np spring chicken. I think Reed and Dilly are likely gone by the time we pick at 7

 

I might just go yolo route and draft Salaun at 7. I hate how he's bursting onto the scene at the last minute. Doubt he's available at 14.

 

Because they might take Topic instead? Topic is more of a pure PG. There's no telling how anything will play out aside from Sarr at #1.