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

The link is big board which is different from his mock draft posted 4 days earlier, in his mock, he got us clingan at 7

 

I think it also reflects a difference in talent evaluation, the writer of the ranking list feels like GMs rate the talent differently than he does.

 

What do people think is most likely to happen:

• Cody Williams puts on 30 lbs of muscle / develops an outside shot
• Salaun develops a feel for the game and is more than just a physical specimen.
• Ron Holland develops an outside shot.
• Dalton Knecht becomes a solid defender.
• Buzelis develops a consistent outside shot.

 

Cody.

 

To me it would be Buzelis. I know a lot of people hate him, but I would take the bet on him figuring out his three over the others. He did shoot better from three in high school, proving that he does have the ability to find some range. His shot also does not look "broken." His form is decent. I bet he figures it out eventually.

 

Agreed. But weight is not Cody's biggest issue.

It's how passive he is when playing. He's Grant 2.0
He'll score a lot of points, but will rarely make the winning plays.

He still may end up as the best player of this group, but Id rather bet on Holland developing a shot over Cody changing his game personality.

 

Only for one year. Apparently he was a sub-30% shooter in the years before that. So his senior year could have been an aberration.

 

I'm fine with him deferring. Next draft is the one where you get your guy. I'm also hoping that Scoot could be our main guy as well. Or Shae.

 

Freshman deferring to two seniors and playing injured. Context matters. There's a reason why Holland seems to be slipping even past the lottery.

 

Idk at this point. The Bulls front office has proven themselves to be incredibly stupid.

 

Do you have a scouting report for Cody from HS that show s that he was NOT passive?

It sounds to me like it's more his personality.
https://247sports.com/player/cody-williams-46117532/

I agree that context is key here. Holland is almost a year younger than Cody, playing against much better competition. He became the leader of the team & put up just as good or better statistics than any of the past GLeague draftees

 

TOLD YOU (even if I misspelled Scheierman - dunno why I inserted that "L")


(Relax, this is actually a fantasy draft of just NCAA players.)

 

I can see why you would prefer Holland. He does have a very high ceiling. His shot will only get better. You add him to Scoot, Shae, Ayton, and a 3 and D stretch 4 you have the making of a very good starting 5 in a few years. Assuming they all improve as they get older.

However as difficult as it is to evaluate these teenagers by watching film and analyzing their stats, I am very skeptical about trying to think we have any knowledge about their personalities at that age. It is one thing to prefer a gym rat over someone who doesn't work that hard, but trying to figure out if he is too passive or not seems like a stretch to me.

As for his senior year in HS, he averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and four assists per game while leading his team to a 30–1 record and a second consecutive state championship. Maybe he was passive or maybe he was a team player who just cared about winning. I have no idea.

 

Cody getting functionally stronger by putting on 30 lbs over a few years is doable — There’s no rush. Working on core strength along with everything else makes for an easy 10 which is a good start. As he gets stronger and more experienced, at least some of the current weaknesses can be reduced or eliminated.

 

While I like Holland, Cody's perceived lack of aggression is less of a problem for me when taking into account all of a Holland's flaws. On skills, Cody is far ahead of Holland.

Saying all that, I wouldn't be opposed to taking Salaun at 7 and Holland at 14. I think Cody has higher star potential than Salaun but Salaun's profile is more scarce.

 

That's the draft I'm hoping for, with a late 1st addition on a C like Ware, Missi, etc.

 

I like Ware with the second pick if they can't get Salaun.

 

This sounds like bullshit to me.

 

Or he got a promise from the Spurs at 4 or 8 and doesn't want to be drafted elsewhere.