Yeah, he (Rivers) will move up for sure.... As will Dion Waiters...I think Chad Ford was all over him just a few days ago....Both will be lottery picks and both could be top 10 picks....Waiters has the potential to be a Harden like player IMO.. I think any team that takes Marshall in the top 10, or in the lottery is seriously overreaching.... He is compared to Andre Miller which IMO is entirely inaccurate...first off a large part of Miller's success is his craftiness on offense, he has a wide array of moves to score\get his shot off...which Marshall does not have....You can be the greatest passer in the world (and I think people are overating his passing ability) but it doesn't mean shit if you can't create scoring opportunities for other players....I can totally see teams playing off him and forcing him to beat them from outside and I don't think he is quick\crafty\talented enough to find ways to slip inside\drive to the hoop and create scoring opportunities for himself or be able to consistently find open looks for his teamates IMO.... and furthermore as it relates to POR, he would be a bad pick...because POR needs scorers first and foremost...One of the major problems POR had last year was inconsistency in scoring...too many long droughts...because outside of LA...you never knew what you were gong to get from Batum, Matthews, Felton & Crawford, many times they couldn't hit open shots and were incapable of creating offense for themselves or others...and when teams double teamed LA, we were screwed.... POR needs to draft\sign players who can consistently create scoring opportunities for themselves...that needs to be addressed first and foremost...that needs to be the FOCUS...not a PG...It doesn't matter who the PG is if the guys around him cannot hit shots...That is what makes teams like OKC so damm effective...Westbrook\Harden can both create shots for themselves\others....POR does not have that, not even close....they need to find that first, at LEAST one more player who can do that...
Yeah I think he will rise...Especially if he gets into 1v1 workouts....The guy is an aggressive, crafyt scorer with a tough streak...not afraid to take it to a guy.... I don't know a ton about Lillard....but usually scoring PG from smaller conferences end up being picked mid\late in the first not in the lottery... I am sure someone will list a few that have gone in the lottery, but generally speaking I don't recall that being the case..... But teams overeach every year...I could see a team reaching for a PG (Marshall\Lillard) or a center (Zeller\Leonard) and passing over more talented players....Just hope it isn't POR...
It's all a crapshoot anyway! Remember..... Just a couple years ago people ranked Johny Flynn above Stef Curry, Derozen, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Daren Collisin and DeJuan Blair. Nobody really knows!
Never understood the Flynn over Curry pick to begin with, Curry had clearly shown a definable NBA skill (shooting) which IMO is at a premium...He was from a smaller school though...There you go, I just listed a small school PG myself...lol Thabeet was just a horrendous reach pick at the time, I recall they even mentioned it in the draft when he was picked...When the best they can say about you is that you are a project that could develop defensively...you know you got some problems...There were a ton of red flags on the guy...feel for the game...bball IQ...work ethic...raw defensively and rawER offensively etc...Truly a horrible pick....
Waiters is who I want Portland to target in the 18-22 range if they can get a pick there. I would be happy to trade both PDX picks to Houston for both of their picks + Lowry With the 2nd Houston Pick, Portland would need to select Waiters.
I think Waiters will be gone before #18.... If POR wants him they will likely have to take him at #11...maybe they could trade down with HOU at #14 or #16 to get him....
Curoius why all the PG love has been going to Marshall and Lillard and not this guy though even though he plays in a major conference. Why would shit change based on his workouts?
If, for some reason, we end up having a pick in that range, I'd want us to pick up Wroten. This of course assumes we didn't pick a PG with one of our earlier picks and he hasn't shot up the draft boards.
RealGm's draft simulator is amazingly detailed, do the entire draft (or just the lottery) on your own! http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator
I like Lillard. But, I just have a feeling he's gonna be a scoring guard like Monta Ellis, Lou Williams type. This team needs a distributor in a desperate way.
St. Mary's made it past the 1st round of the tournament this year. Lillard put 36 on em in their cracker jack box gym.
