Grade the Blazers 2025 Draft Day1!

I appreciate they boldly went after their guy & realize that they've a lot more info then I do to consider. Without question they were going with who they thought was the BPA and not basing their selection on roster needs as another huge 5 seems the lowest need. While no one covering the draft had Yang rated so highly, they may well have had good reason to think other teams did. I gave it a B but would have gone with Incomplete if that was an option. We shall see...

STOMP

 

I read your summation after posting mine... I could have just hit a like as we're on the same page. Responding to this part though, Yang was faster then Clingan and Edey in all the running drills at their respective combines. I'd also note that his highlights show a much better jump shot as well, he shoots it with confidence. And at the risk of sounding blasphemous, some of his quick read passes to cutters reminded me of the great Sabas

STOMP

 

I think that long term they might feel they already have their future back-court (Scoot, Shae) and long-term wings (Deni, Tou) - but might not have absolute certainty about their long term big rotation other than DC.

Or, as you said, they just went BPA - either way, I like that they hd an idea of what they wanted to do and went and executed it. Much better than being indecisive.

 

Whereas Noa Essengue went off the board directly after our pick. And I'm not happy about it.

 

For some reason this reminded me of how surprised Evan Turner was at how much money Olshey threw at him.

 

I guess incomplete is a sensible grade for any draft so we just go on what we know. And from what I have read, this guy cannot guard anyone except at the rim. And he can't get back to the rim fast enough when guards blow by him. I don't understand why we are going back to a style of defense that doesn't work anymore. I hope that somehow this works out.

 

not that I recall

 

You're right, I was thinking of a different draft.

 

How about actually watching some game film and make your own determination?

From what I watched, he gets beat on closeouts a lot. But he does reasonably good at containing dribble drives off a P&R or DHO.

All things considered, I think he's a slightly better than average defender.

 

But people would be asking if they think Scoot is a bust. Why take a PG when we already have 2? He's gonna take minutes from Scoot and Sharpe.
With our young core 5, any position that was picked would have been scrutinised because we already have X there. If you're gonna pick a position to add depth, (I'm not counting DA, Reath or RW3) getting a backup for DC makes perfect sense.
Yang is not slow or plodding. He isn't strong enough yet. The culture change will be difficult. But, DC proved to not be able to play long stretches (especially staying out of foul trouble), big guys seem to be more injury prone, Yang duplicates some of the things they want from a center with rebounding, rim protection, sheer size, but he also is more of a threat offensively than DC.
Bottom line, if we're picking for depth and upside, Yang definitely does that at a position that historically needs depth. Better than relying on Reath and Walker, too. Trade DA for a rack of basketballs, too.
Damned if you do...

 

So cringe. If traded out pick for a future unprotected 1st and 2 future 2nd rounders, you'd give that trade an F? In NO OTHER YEAR would you do that - that's at least a C+, but probably more like a B. However, in addition to getting that, we ALSO got a prospect. That makes the "draft day" at least a B or B-. Seriously, you're usually much more reasonable than this. Step away for a day or 2?

 

Ditto. That's the exact feeling I had watching his highlights. In fact, his whole offensive game can be compared (not saying as good) to Sabas in that the outside shot isn't great but teams will have to respect it. They're both exceptional passers that use a lot of deception and take advantage of defenders turning their head. Both have good footwork, although Sabas' really faded by the time he came to Portland. They both are very intelligent. They both have very reliable hands in catching passes and having decent ball handling when needed.

 

What about his post is inaccurate?

 

The biggest “stretch” is that bringing in another center is needed. Don’t count “DA Reath or RW” seems weird. I mean, they are on the roster. Injury prone position? Ok but we don’t need 5.

 

We have 5 now, but fall camp doesn't start for another 3 months. I feel bad for Reath, but he can be cut, and RW never plays because of health.
If he is healthy, then he can be easily traded.

Drafting 20-year-olds is about the future, not the next season.

 

Stop pretending to be Gen Z.

 

If you watched a full game, you definitely did better than me.

 

To start, I don't care about second rounders. So to me, this trade was the #11 pick for the #16 and most likely another mediocre pick in a couple years because Orlando is going to be really damn good.

If Yang is a bust, and we end up picking in the late teens or early 20s in 2028, when we could have taken a swing on Carter Bryant or Essengue..... this is the kind of thing that bites you in the ass down the road. Like trading picks to move up and get Collins instead of picking OG.

I hate taking big gambles on bigs. It's not a pivotal position anymore in the NBA and they're too prone to injuries. Rather sign them in free agency or trade for them. I was okay with it last year because the draft was weak and there wasn't really anyone I was in love with. But there were guys on the board at 11 and then even at 16 that I think have a better path in the NBA.