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

i like cody.

but his older teammate tristan da silva is just as intriguing to me. he's what kris murray is supposed to be.

 

Brook, Robin
Keegan, Kris
Jalen, Cody

The dream is we draft him at 14 and he becomes better than Jalen

2 weeks before the draft and the mock drafts are still as unpredictable. Clingan is getting hyped and Topic dropped.

 

Been watching salune film
If he’s there I think you have to take him.
He looks like a guy with the highest ceiling

his shooting stroke is money
I think it’s no brainer now

 

I didn’t realize Sharpe is on the Canadian Olympic roster, hopefully he plays would love to see the kid play

 

This is why, if the deal is there, I could see them trading up to 5 and taking Salaun and then trading back to 9 or keeping 7 and taking Williams.

Salaun and Williams would be a really nice haul.

 

O'Connor on his podcast said Portland is among the teams trying to get another top 10 pick by moving up from 14.

 

Given our roster crunch, two high second round picks, and several expendable veterans of moderate value, this entirely makes sense.

If I didn't see Joe as more gun shy than aggressive in personality, I'd almost say it's a near certainty that we would be moving around in the lottery.

 

To your second point, this is absolutely true. He has given no indication that he can make moves on draft day. After so much anticipation the last two drafts for major moves, he has simply taken guys at the picks he originally had and nothing more.

 

Exactly. I see Joe as a more careful and deliberate thinker, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in general when running a team. However, it does mean getting a trade done with 5 minutes on the clock, when trades are often contingent on who happens to be available, far less likely to occur.

If a trade were to occur, a pre-draft trade (a day or two before) feels more like his M.O., but then you have to be comfortable with the possibility that your target player may not end up being available at that spot.

But hey, I'm an optimist by nature, so maybe he will surprise me and actually get aggressive in the moment.

 

I listened to the KOC pod in question.

He said Portland is pretty aggressive about moving up. Suggested 7 +14 for 3, then packaging 3 with something else to try to get to 1.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fDjDvUIwvVjTyOT0sUUnq?si=kBscLFaoQGyNQ--SxK8TRQ

13 min mark.

They are unsure who Portland would be after.

 

Man, is this draft really worth being aggressive in moving up? My thought is no, we'll see

 

If we somehow manage to get all the way to 1 and take Clingan instead of Sarr, I would not be happy.

 

14 with Simons/Grant/Thybulle/Brog/Walker and early seconds in any combo

 

Maybe Atlanta drafts Clingan for us via trade with players and 7&14? If Joe could pull that one off......lol

 

I am just not impressed with Williams, not at all

 

The deeper I dive on his film, the less I am inclined to select him, especially at 7.

Pretty much the same as I felt with Salaun.

Knecht and Da Silva and Holland, I'm going the other way on.

 

I'll listen later but the tweet above by him said Portland is trying to secure two top-10 picks. Trading 7 + 14 for 3 doesn't leave them with 2 picks

trading Grant or Ayton + #14 for #5 and maybe Duren does though

how about:

Simons --> Orlando for Black + #18 (and maybe a future 1st)
Ayton + #18 (or#14) + #34 --> Detroit for #5 + Duren
Grant + #7-->Houston for Adams+Jeff Green + #3

Blazers end up with 3 + 5 + 14 (or 18) + 40 +29M TPE + 18M TPE + Black + Duren + two expiring contracts

I know it's a homerific pipe dream, but maybe, with this draft being dismissed as much as it has been, this is the one draft where pipedreams might become real. #14 could definitely be thrown into the mix because it doesn't seem like there is a big difference between 14 and 18. For that matter, with 3 + 5 + 40, I doubt the Blazers actually need a 4th pick

 

A few minutes later in that podcast, KOC goes on to propose 7, 14, and Simons for 3... Ugh.

Fortunately, I've been less than impressed with KOC's recent track record when it comes to this kind of stuff, so I might just toss this idea aside.