Will be a draft we look at many years from now. Put it down for the record - what would you have done if this were your choice?
If Coward, Bryant, Jakucionis, or someone else becomes a star this will be a big Cronin career defining move we're seconding guessing for decades. Coward will always have the team that officially drafted him listed as the Blazers.
I had KJ, Coward, Bryant, in that order. Given that, gaining a future 1st, a couple of seconds and drafting KJ at 16 would have been a perfect night for me, as I was ok taking KJ with the 11th pick. With that said, I'm opting to trust our scouts. Going to root for Yang to crush fools, even if I would have personally made a different choice.
That's a tough question because I don't know what they might be exploring in regards to trades for Ayton, Timelord, Holiday or Grant. That might totally change my opinion. I like the idea of getting another first rounder. Getting a couple of 2Rs could be beneficial. My first inclination, though, would have been to stay at 11 and just take Essengue. I think there's a better chance he becomes a star than Yang does, and there also is a better path to minutes for him than for Yang. If we still did the trade down, ugh, I don't know what you do. Jakucionis might make sense if you know a Jrue trade is cooking. I'm not a believer in Clayton. Newell probably will be an OK pro. Yang has the most star potential and I trust Schmitz -- I guess they must have had intel that someone else was going to pick Yang pretty quickly after 16, but, man, I just think the odds that he becomes something playable let alone something special is so, so slim.
Based on what I know... I liked the trade down. It was good value. I had Yang as someone I was hoping the Blazers would select. I was thinking around pick 24-26 would be the ideal target for him... but I also don't have any intel on what other teams were thinking. At 16 - I would have tried to trade down again (say 19 + 26) and select Jaku at 19 and Yang at 26. Unfortunately, I don't know if that was feasible. At this point, I really want Blazers to pick up Thiero. (#34 for cash?)
I'd have tried to trade down again to snag another 1st if possible. Then take Jakucionis, Newell, McNeeley, Yang, Beringer or Fleming.
I liked the trade down to #16 for the 2028 1st and two future seconds. When we got to our pick (#11) I was thinking we would take Bryant or Essengue. KJ would have been good if we are moving Jrue. But, I think Bryant or Essengue will be the better players out of those three. I was very surprised with Yang. I was confused as hell and a bit upset. I hadn't heard of him. But, the more I looked into him, the more I watched and read about him, the more excited I got. Blazers went for it, and yeah it's a reach, but if it pans out, if this dude is as good as he looks, future redrafts of this draft will have us as a winner. I will be watching the guys we didn't draft but could have and Coward. This could be a really good move, but it could also be a stinker. Sometimes you have to take the risk when you see someone special. I know Mike Schmitz is supposed to be a pro with drafting players, especially international players. Kind wondering though after some misses like Kris Murray.
Yup. The evening was about to be absolutely perfect. So for me, fumbling that move makes this into an F.
