You would think Kris would be the odd man out, but it's probably Jabari. Rupert has the most potential. I don't see the Blazers giving up on him yet.
Yeah I would keep Rupert and re-sign Walker as cheap as possible, and draft the best wing available. .
I think the Blazers will try for a trade or two during the draft, draft someone if they still have a pick (probably buy into the second roundn or sign an undrafted player for a 2way)then decide on who to resign/whether to take the option on Rupert (which I think they will).
You really believe Rupert has the most potential? He is by far the most raw of the players. When he first joined the Blazers - it looked like he could barely run & chew gum at the same time.... I'm amazed at the progress he has made thus far, but he still has to improve 2x more to be a rotation level player. Even in his G-League time, he's among the worst players on the team. Great kid. Hard worker.... Not an NBA talent.
I like Walker, but he has reached his full potential. I really hoped that he would be a Mark Bryant type of player for us. Just a steady role-player who knew his role. He's not. He has never been a 15-20 min a night player, and he never will be. His time with the Blazers needs to be over. Rupert, on the other hand, is still very raw and still has potential. You shoot for him to be Batum-lite. If he does that, you've got something you need.
No. Not for 12 mins a game, which is what he averaged last season. I think he's reached his ceiling. I'd rather use that roster spot and gamble on a 2nd rounder.
But he literally just improved his 3 ball? He's always been productive. Great rebounder. If he can shoot that 3 at a 37% clip, he's a keeper if it's cheap.
that 39% number is misleading for the first 5 months of the season, over 43 games, Walker shot 12-45 on three's. That's 26.7% conversion rate which was in line with his 28.6% as a rookie and 29.5% in his 2nd season. then, in 10 games in March, he shot 11-15 on three's. That moved his conversion rate from 26.7% to 38.3% for the season. When a single month of 10 games and 15 total shot attempts can move a rate from 26.7% to 38.3% that tells you nothing about his 3ptFG numbers is reliable in fact, prior to March, in 171 total games over 3 seasons he had attempted 240 three's and made 28.8% of them. In March he made 73.3%. Again, there's nothing reliable about that massive of a differential
Jabari has earned a spot way more than Kris (who is TWO YEARS OLDER) or Rayan, IMO. There's nothing that either of the others has on Jabari.
It's still part of the equation. What season is this for him? It's totally in line with when you start to see improvement in shooting.
yeah, it's part of the equation but the equation is flawed I'm saying you saw basically the same shooter for 171 games over 3 seasons. And after 43 games this season, when going 11-15 for one month jumps the percentage from 27% to 38%. It's probably unwise to discount it as a hot streak and instead believe he's become a better shooter than Dame lots of players do improve their conversion rates, usually over the course of 2 or 3 seasons. Sometimes a little quicker. But Walker's was a 3-month/29-game game trajectory of 27%-->41%-->73%. That's not usual. He only attempted 72 three's the entire season; and 267 over 3 seasons/188 games. Camara attempted 360, this year alone; Simons 593 again, over his first 240 attempts he shot 28.8%. Over his last 39 attempts he shot 56.4%. It would be risky to believe those 39 shots were more predictive than his first 240.
Young players improve. Especially at shooting. Nobody said he's going to shoot like he did for that month but it signals improvement. And why would it be risky? Nobody is suggesting you give him a fat deal. If you can retain him on the cheap then it's not much of a risk at all.
I've been one of Jabari biggest critics and other years suggested cutting him. But I'd resign him if the cost isn't to high. He is a good 3rd string option. Ideally we have someone better in the rotation but if not he's serviceable. The 3pt shooting might be a fluke but it might not, its encouraging at the least. He provides a small ball 5 option we don't have. Duop Murray Rupert Ayton all have been much worse on the court so he deserves a roster spot over all of them.
Agree that it's much more likely that it's a hot streak, HOWEVER, just to be devil's advocate, if this was the first time he'd got consistent minutes for a while, maybe we should discount the earlier shooting because he was playing 1 minute here, 1 minute there and never had a chance to warm up? It's not unheard of for a big suddenly to get a three point shot - see Frye, Channing.
Interesting fact about Jabari: he and his dad both averaged 8.9 points and 7.something rebounds during their second seasons. I’m guessing he’ll have a similar career to his dad. He’ll be around for a while as a journeyman. I was also hoping he’d be our Mark Bryant.
The guy hustles his ass off, is a good rebounder, a great teammate, and has "very possibly" improved his 3 pt shot. I think they will try to keep him unless someone outbids them.
