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

yes....

 

Even if it is, it still means the possibility for growth and change. If you can’t see that, I don’t know what to tell you.

 

Cronin and Co can't endure too much more losing, maybe one more year before the grace period ends. It will be interesting to see if they go BPA or addressing team needs this offseason. What is the biggest positional need of the team? To me it's pretty obvious they could use a sweet shooting 3&D wing. Be it the draft or packaging the picks and making some moves, adding such a player would probably produce the most immediate W/L improvement other then internal growth among the youngins. I'm hoping this offseason's moves are focused on the team's long term future rather then immediate needs.

STOMP

 

More of this garbage on repeat? I thought you had matured and gotten over this? You've down post after post that your knowledge on this draft in miniscule and you've made little effort to learn.

Most of your posts are just raining on fans' parade over and over again.

Tell me you're not an NBA fan without telling me. The draft is ALWAYS an exciting time and an opportunity to get talent.

 

CW is not ready for the NBA next season. Not as a rotation player. Neither is Salaun.
With a change in metabolism and year-round training and skill building, they are 2 years away from knowing what they will be. [But not 2 years from 2 years.]

This draft and trade season will show if Cronin has embraced a rebuild — not some half-measure.
Scoot / Sharpe / SF / PF / Ayton

The HCP reminds of rational, reasonable expectations for this draft. So have others. Sounds about right. That’s why I’m all for lottery guys who are really good athletes already and who MAY fit the more rare archetypes in a couple years.

The draft is a futures market. Free agency is about filling needs and roster balancing and … — and for the “pretty teams” bringing in stars. Aka, not Portland.

BUT right now, the draft should be looked at as the Blazers’ free agency, too. Don’t go back to the barrel where everyone else will be and only too willing to take the Blazers lunch money — go to the tree to fill needs with dudes after the lottery. Swing for it as well, but get those Kolek, Scheierman, da Silva … and Furphy … players who just look like they enjoy the game and working hard and who fill real roles. Do the opposite. Get more picks, now.

 

I think at the moment the two players that I'd love to end up with in this draft are Knecht and Salaun. I like the idea of a big swing guy and a high floor guy.

Knecht just has the right attitude. He's the kind of guy that you want to have on a team. Everything we have heard is that he has that Dame "fuck you" attitude.

I think we probably need another top 10 pick, so if we could move 14 and 34 for something in the top 10, that should be enough.

 

While the talent may not be projected to be that of other years, I think this could be one of the more interesting Drafts in a long time. Last year we knew the #1 pick and knew the next two would be some order of Miller/Scoot or Scoot/Miller and then the Thompson Twins. It wasn't until after that that there was much difference on whom would go where.....more boring.

This year....it's a free for all and that makes it more interesting regardless of who is being picked. And there will be players that outperform and underperform their Draft slot....just like every year. We (most of us) hope that Portland does as well as possible and steals a player that outplays those picked above him.....because, what is the alternative besides constant grumpiness?

 

Where has that attitude been for so long? That is what concerns me. What took so long to get it together? Is it because he was playing against younger players?

 

Very few young players come in with an 'FU' attitude. The ones that are more confident, seem to be the somewhat older players like Dame who played 4 years before coming to the NBA. That is not the case for most top lottery picks anymore. But even Dame deferred to LaMarcus in the beginning.

 

Knecht is very Pat Connaghton like, which in my opinion would be a great get at 14 in this particular draft.

 

I beg your pardon?

 

I wouldn’t mind him at 14, not 7. But I’d rather reach for a Ware type player at 14.

 

He would be a very good get at #14, but I highly doubt he lasts anywhere near that long.

 

I can see Baylor Schleierman going higher than he's being mocked just because he's a complete player. He's a very good three point shooter AND rebounder AND a solid defender AND he can pass AND he's legitimately large for a wing. He doesn't have Knecht's hops, but he's taller and is a MUCH better rebounder. Knecht will struggle as an NBA SF, but Schleierman could easily play that role. I'm glad the Blazers have worked him out as well as da Silva so that they can compare them, because I don't know why da Silva is being mocked a good ten to fifteen picks higher.

I also see Enrique Freeman as a guy who can contribute from day one and I would use our #34 on him. Like Schleierman he doesn't have a real Achilles heel (and is an elite rebounder, a serious area of need for us).

 

...if you already have Giannis on your team

 

agreed...the entertainment value should be really high

unfortunately for my basketball fandom, my wife and I will be camping in eastern Oregon from the 17th thru the 27th. We will be at an RV park in Burns on the 26th so I'll be able to track the draft on the laptop.....maybe even watch it on ESPN. If so, it will be a vodka evening if my wife doesn't harass me too much

 

Make it a vodka afternoon for her, and she won't be able to harass you!

 

He made Divenczo good too and right?

 

So you gotta explain this one to me bro. Because I’m stating that this is a shit draft…. “I’m not a fan of the NBA”?
You 50 times a day go on and on about how amazing this draft will be and how excited you are….. what’s that? I come on once or so times a week and my opinion is “garbage and immature “?
How is that? Simply because I’m not excited about what might be the worst draft ever?

So next year at this time when I’m excited again about this draft like I usually am because it’s loaded with talent….. am I all of a sudden “ mature and an NBA fan”?

 

not a single person here has said how amazing this draft is.