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

Eason is a player many here have pined for. Brooks has three seasons left on his deal that goes down each season. Type of trade a team makes if they have spotted a player they love in the top three.

 

That would be beyond amazing trade for Portland... but not very realistic.

Why would Houston entertain that trade even for a minute?

 

Why not Dalton Knecht at #7?

He's not my 1st, or even my 2nd choice, but let's lay out a realistic scenario:

The Spurs take Castle. Risacher is taken top 3. Buzelis goes after Castle. Schmitz then has to choose between upside (Holland, Williams) and the only immediate firepower option...

The good:

**Hot take warning** Knecht,offensively, is probably better right now than Risacher will be by the time he turns 23.

- Knecht is a good fit. His off ball and movement shooting will help Scoot tremendously.

- Knecht will probably win ROY?

- Knecht is still 4-5 years from entering his prime. Yay?

- Can play passable defense in terms of positioning and on help. Won't be asked to carry an entire team, thus freeing up some energy.

- Legit 3-level scorer who plays within the flow of the offense. This should translate. He Doesn't give me Johnny Davis vibes.

- Underrated athlete. He's both crafty around the basket and capable of playing "above-the-rim."

The Bad:

- His defense is not good. Risacher and especially Holland are better right now across all metrics. He's a lot like Sharpe in that his good defensive plays stem from his athleticism.

- Age. He's a late bloomer, though. Maybe there's still some upside here.

- Not a great pull-up shooter. Only 28% on pull-up 3's and 32% on 2's. A guy like Knecht, I imagine, could fix this in a year.

- Not a big wing. I think he's as tall as Sharpe and 2" shorter wingspan.

After another year of tanking, we move Knecht to a microwave bench role and welcome Flagg, Bailey, Edgecombe or Harper into his place. Also, Knecht is the last bad defensive player I'm willing to take. From there on we prioritize good defense in anyone we trade for or draft.

 

I will pay Brooks salary if he never plays here. Matter of fact, don't let him touch down in Portland unless it's with a different team.

 

Shot creation and passing. Manu Ginobili was a terrific passer.

 

Both fair points, I forgot when Kanter played.

 

He’s a bad defender, I think the only thing you can say about his defense is that his usage will be so much lower in the NBA that he should have more juice to play defense. But there’s no indication he’ll be a neutral defender at the next level.

I think Knecht would be much more useful to a team further along in its development. At 14 I’d be okay with him but I’d rather swing for the fences at 7.

I’m pretty agnostic about all of the draft picks this year though so I can understand the rationale that you want to stick shooters around Scoot.

 

don’t wanna be knechted.

 

Probably my least favorite out of all the realistic scenarios.

 

2016 NBA Draft

• 1st Pick: Ben Simmons (3x All-Star)
• 2nd Pick: Brandon Ingram (1x All-Star)
• 3rd Pick: Jaylen Brown (3x All-Star)
• 11th Pick: Domantas Sabonis (3x All-Star)
• 27th Pick: Pascal Siakam (2x All-Star)
• 29th Pick: Dejounte Murray (1x All-Star)

 

Nice analysis



“Since 2008, the only underclassmen to post >22% DRB%, >10% BLK%, and >14 BPM are Anthony Davis, Chet, and Clingan.”

 

two of those do not move the same way the 3rd does lol

 

I 100% agree that the Hawks should take Clingan as the #1 pick.

 

lol.......

 

We need a half dog, half duck, on this team!

 

ESPN has us taking Clingan. I'd be ok with that pick. Players with his size and ability don't come around very often. He's like 7'2 in socks 9'7 standing reach, and a big frame. He's listed at 280 and he's lean. Imagine when he puts on some muscle, as he's only 20 years old.

 

When he puts on muscle he puts on weight and loses a large part of his mobility.