Looking these guys up, I was hoping that if they were projected early second round, indicating Blazers might be trying to obtain a pick there. Almanza seems to be the only one projected there, although Mgbako was once considered a possible lotto pick before they realized he wasn't that good. the rest of the guys might go undrafted. Here is a little about Almanza, who is almost 20, 6'10", 211 lbs. Almansa is an incredibly productive and efficient player who might not be the flashiest player around but really gets it done on the court. He’s an interior focused big man who loves to mix it up in the paint, plays with a lot of energy and effort and contributes in all aspects of the game. Almansa has great hands, catching everything thrown his way and doing a great job of securing rebounds. He also has a really good feel for cutting and getting himself into position for layups, post scoring and positioning for rebounds. Has a natural feel for the game. Moves very well up and down the court and is an overall plus athlete with agility, coordination and bounce. Expanding his shooting range will be key to his success at the NBA level.
So... what happened to these? The only prospects we've worked out are second rounders at best - is this a sign that we're trading #11 or have there been unannounced workouts with lottery prospects? Compare the lists: 2024 (first round prospects in bold): Melvin Ajinça, Saint-Quentin (France) RaeQuan Battle, West Virginia Adem Bona, UCLA Cam Christie, Minnesota Donovan Clingan, UConn Isaiah Crawford, Louisiana Tech Yongxi Cui, Guangzhou (China) Tristan da Silva, Colorado Thierry Darlan, G League Ignite Nikola Djurisic, KK Mega Basket (Serbia) Ryan Dunn, Virginia Zach Edey, Purdue Quinn Ellis, Dolomiti Energia Trento (Italy) Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State Kyle Filipowski, Duke Kyshawn George, Miami (Fla.) Malik Hall, Michigan State Ron Holland, G League Ignite Oso Ighodaro, Marquette Harrison Ingram, North Carolina Daniss Jenkins, St. John’s (NY) Keshad Johnson, Arizona David Jones, Memphis Dillon Jones, Weber State Spencer Jones, Stanford Arthur Kaluma, Kansas State Alex Karaban, UConn Dalton Knecht, Tennessee Pelle Larsson, Arizona Caleb Love, Arizona Jared McCain, Duke Igor Milicic, Charlotte Yves Missi, Baylor Ugonna Onyenso, Kentucky Noah Penda, JA Vichy (France) Quinten Post, Boston College Will Richard, Florida Tidjane Salaün, Cholet Basket (France) Tyler Smith, G League Ignite Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Memphis Nikola Topić, Crvena zvezda (Serbia) Armel Traoré, ADA Blois Basket (France) Jaylon Tyson, Cal Kel’el Ware, Indiana Bryson Warren, Sioux Falls Skyforce (G League) Cody Williams, Colorado Jahmir Young, Maryland 2025: Izan Almansa, Perth Wildcats (NBL) John Blackwell, Wisconsin Rueben Chinyelu, Florida Jack Clark, VCU Tae Davis, Notre Dame Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota Ben Henshall, Perth Wildcats (NBL) Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana Lachlan Olbrich, Illawarra Hawks (NBL) Otega Oweh, Kentucky Dink Pate, Mexico City Capitanes (G League) Devon Pryor, Texas
I don't think it means anything. I mean only eight or nine of those guys on that list were options #7. We still have a long way to go...last year's first workout wasn't until May 23rd
Who knows. These workouts were way earlier than usual and there just could have been some agent coordination that allowed them to get some in early. But a lot of these guys are early entrants too, so my best guess is that they wanted their guys to get feedback early so they can more quickly make a decision on whether to keep their name in. Of the college guys, only Jack Clark was an automatically eligible draft player.
Trading out — Zion? Sabonis? Trading up — Kon Knueppel? Edit To secure Knueppel you’d have to target the #3 or #4 picks.
Philly seems the most likely target for a trade. But what do we have that they'd want? I mean, I'm sure they'd be interested in Toumani or Deni, but I would be seriously pissed with THAT trade.
No surprises for me here, but here are the early entrant withdrawals announced today (ESPN Rank) Yaxel Lendeborg (26) Alex Condon (31) Milos Uzan (41) Karter Knox (55) PJ Haggerty (64) MacKenzie Mgbako (NR)
So little info out there about these guys, I suspect none may be second rounders either, maybe Caleb Love?
Yeah and I'd be surprised if Caleb gets drafted. Inefficient combo guards that are bad on defense are a tough sell. ESPN has him ranked 82nd right now.
Top two names on list are intriguing and one would prolly mean the end of 2 of 3 players on the roster within a year ish Jace drafted would mean Scoot , Ant and Sharpe -- 2 of those 3 would be gone -- period
