How I think is that at the #7 pick, you want to swing high and go for someone who will be dominant on offense, or dominant on defense, with adequate skills where they are not dominant. To me, Duren is best chance for the Trail Blazers at getting a player who can be dominant on both ends of the floor. And I think he will be a difference maker immediately, so his floor isn't as low as some people might think.
If we trade down to #13 and #15, I suspect one of those picks will be for this guy. Is he going to be quick enough to cover PFs full time as well as C? That would make him alot more interesting as a prospect to me.
He had a post workout radio interview… Blazer PR flooded social media with highlights… So far he’s the only prospect they’ve really put the spotlight on.
I'd be surprised if he were Portlands top pick, that they'd be that blatant in advertising it. Ideally, you keep the visit low-key like they did Matheruin. I dont like the idea of Ben....
Bamba: 30 mpg, 13 pts, 10.5 rebs, 0.5 asts, 1.4 turn, 3.7 blk, 0.8 stl, 59% TS, 28.3 PER, 89.6 DRTG Duren: 25.3 mpg, 12 pts, 8.1 rebs, 1.3 asts, 2.2 turn, 2.1 blk, 0.8 stl, 61% TS, 25.3 PER, 92 DRTG Not the same playing style, but similar impact. I think his ability to switch onto guards is over-exaggerated. He's not Bam. I think his hips are a lot stiffer and his lateral movement will get exploited at this stage. I re-watched his disastrous game vs Chet and implore people to watch that again rather than rely on the 40 second reel of him dunking and blocking Chauncey's brother in his 1 vs 0 workout. His guards at MEM were absolutely terrible, but it's really hard to see him do anything of value on offense early on. Frequently lost on sets, and in that particular game, he seemingly had his legs nailed to the floor. Also pay attention to how easily Chet gets past him when matched up from the perimeter. I don't see him making any impact on either end for at least 2 years. Would a bad pick at 7, given our situation with Dame and with potentially quite a few better prospects available. If we're hellbent on him, we better trade down. Here's the full game for those interested:
nbadraft.net has Duren at 16 and Sochan at 19. I don't put a ton of stock into their accuracy, but if there's even the slightest chance they're onto something, you'd have to seriously explore trading down for two picks in the 15-20 range and grabbing those guys. That would be the foundation of a top ranked defense for years to come.
I appreciated your thoughts! I think Duren is more of a project than people realized. He’s going to struggle reading nba offense. Fast guards will exploit him, skill posts will outsmart him. He does have massive physical tools. It would be fun to see how Billups develop him, but I will take a pass on him if Daniels or even mathurin still available
I'm just not seeing it. He's so, so, so raw. I don't think he's nearly the defensive dominator others here seem to think, certainly not immediately, and his offensive is light years away from that.
One of his worst games of the year for sure. Thought he got a tough whistle. Not sure if his right ankle was 100% either. Had a brace on it which he wasn't wearing in the previous game vs. Boise St. Still was a big force on the offensive glass and thought he had a quite a few good definsive sequences vs Chet and Timme...walled off a couple Nembhard drives (not the quickest guy to be fair). Showed some nice touch on the high low passes. But fuck man, playing with DeAndre Williams and sometimes another center on the floor at times gives him absolutely no shot to impact the game other than on the offensive glass. Teams weren't afraid to go under on pick and rolls even on re-screens. Best passer on the team couldn't shoot and the best shooters couldn't / didn't pass. He's not the only prospect that had to deal with a less than optimal context (Davis and Ivey to a lesser extent come to mind) but his was clearly the worst of all the top guys.
Yeah that would be awesome if Portland were to trade down and come out of this draft with those two... I'd be doing cartwheels. But give it a week and nbadraft.net will have them going in the top 5. They get more clicks when they switch things up so they do. In the days leading up to the draft the mock sites prioritize being accurate rather then exciting the masses. STOMP
There was a whole lot of Dame smoke coming from Portland leading up to the 2012 draft. Hell, Lillard wore Blazer colors to the actual draft. I'm sure Portland's interest in Duren is legit, but I'm also sure that they've interest in guys projected at the top and down to 2nd round guys... you've got to have your contingencies. I put the chances that Duren goes before #7 above the chances he drops out of the top 10 though. STOMP
even his game vs Boise St, i re-watched last night (easy to skip through in about a half hour). didn't look like a lottery pick whatsoever against a bigman that is not close to being in the NBA. he has no idea how to set screens either-- angles he takes are just weird and he looks so stiff with his movement. Hard to say how much of this just his age and lack of development of fundamentals. made some nice reads and passes from the high post and got a hard whistle, but i'm just not seeing it. he's really raw. But one thing is for sure, Chauncey should have the inside track on this guy after his tenure at Memphis while being coached by Sheed.
