Less about Tiers, at this point, than “types” so here are some non-top 4 guys: 1. Jakucionis, Egor Demin 2. Knueppel, McNeeley 3. Essengue, Asa Newell 1. Taller PGs who play-make with passing … not pound the rock or black hole scoring guards miscast as PGs.. 2. Floor spacers as 6’ 6 to 6’7 shooters who are not uber athletes but meet the threshold and have other skills to play the 3. 3. PFs who aren’t heavy footed, have real spring and move to be in better position … not stand around guys. All of the above are types that fit Portland needs.
Feel like the targets for PDX should be in no specific order Danny Wolf Nique Clifford Rasheer Fleming Asa Newell Egor Demin
Depending on his actual height, Nolan Traore’s quicks are serious. Danny Wolf seems like an outlier once he gets in NBA shape and has 2-3 years for skill work.
Flagg played fantastic today against Baylor, but it's worth noting that a couple of the tall shooters that have been mocked to the Blazers in drafts looked really good, too. Knueppel had 12 pts on 5 shots, 3 assts and just 1 turnover. Had one really great looking drive for a reverse layup -- he's a thick kid but surprisingly athletic. There are things about him that remind me of former Utah SF Matt Harpring, but he's a better shooter, of a bigger, more consistent Pat Connaughton. McNeeley scored a team-high 22 on 16 FGAs as UConn just missed upsetting Florida. Hit a really deep 3 at the buzzer and it looked like a normal shot. Also got to the line 8 times and looked very solid handling the basketball. Combined 6 assts and 2 turnovers for those two wings.
If they keep the pick, Carter Bryant seems to be a good shout even if it takes a year or two to develop him.
A loss to Cleveland and Portland is almost out of the Play-in chase. That leaves them with the opportunity to go from 11/12 up to 8th if everything were to break right. They are closer to the #8 spot in the Lottery than to the #10 play-in spot. The game against the 1/2 squad Celtics shows how much more talent this team still needs. Yes, they are young, but they don't have a superstar yet and I don't see one on the roster. They need to get as good of a pick as possible and then get lucky.
I am good with trying to drop to the 8th spot. Luckily we are playing the other tanking teams left on our schedule on the road. It could get ugly if both teams elect to sit anyone who can help win. But yeah I am hoping for a 0-5 road trip and then hard-fought loss at home to SA. But if we are talking about a sure superstar, we are only talking about one player in this draft. It seems like Ace and Dylan will be very good, and I would love to get either. But if the goal is to get a superstar who can take over a playoff game in 5 years and win a championship.....we are only talking about Flagg.
Right. And I don't buy the argument that we could finally clear all our picks for trade. A current pick is always worth more than a future pick and we will probably be better next year and have a worse pick. Let's not lose this pick.
Somebody who's been watching him a lot - compare/contrast him with Sabonis Jr or Sengun please. I'm guessing you couldn't get away with playing him and Clingan at the same time? Wasn't there an NBA player last name Wolf? Any relation?
The more I watch of Essengue, the more he makes sense for Portland. I want to know if the recent push for length was from Chauncey or above. Essengue has a great looking shot, is pretty quick footed so he should fit the defensive mold, is a very good passer, uses his length very affectively on both ends of the court and once he puts on some weight/strength, I think he'll have 3-5 position flexibility. Knueppel is just too slow for his size. McNeeley will be a very good third or fourth option, but he's not suited for any more responsibility. I'm kind of lost on the love for Carter Bryant. Newell is another option, but his shooting will have to improve. I've had a draft crush on Nique Clifford for a while. All this attention he's getting now is nice to see, but I think he would be a great sg/sf backup. I think he still has a lot of ceiling left, too. The other guy I see as an easy fit is Rasheer Fleming. If he improves his handle, I see a very close comp to Deni. I really hope they don't even consider the undersized sg's that are being mocked in the mid first round. I also would like to see them acquire a srp and take a chance on one of these super-athletic bigs that would be a great compliment to DC. Guys that aren't really being discussed much like Felix Okpara from Tennessee, Clifford Omoruyi from Alabama, Johnson from UConn, Williams from Kentucky, Cardwell from Auburn, Aidoo and Brazile from Arkansas, Zuby Ejiofor from St John's, JT Toppin from Texas Tech, just to name a bunch.
Really surprised by the high number of 7 foot plus players on college rosters. Can’t remember that many in the past.
