Is that Connaughton in the red T-Shirt? I recognize a bunch of people including Dekker, RJ Hunter, Bobby Portis, Larry Nance Jr...
I checked for other threads, and this is where it becomes obvious that I have people on "ignore". My bad. (The old "ignore" wouldn't make ENTIRE THREADS vanish.)
Ranked right up there at the top of his recruiting class with Towns, Russell and Okafor, but didn't live up to it for a couple of reasons. One, his offensive game is non-existent. Two, there are questions about his basketball IQ. But anyone who thinks this team needs an infusion of toughness with love Robinson. He plays a man's game. He's similar to Thomas Robinson, and I don't think he's a poor man's TRob, I figured he might get drafted near the end of the first round. He just might have been a victim of expectations that were too high, where Robinson was drafted too high because of one great year in college in an exceptional program. This kid will do the gritty, workmanlike stuff, set screens, hit the boards, fight for position when on defense. And he's got upside. Aside from the fact that the Blazers seem to have a million guys at the 4-5 right now, this is a great situation for him. He fills a niche and it looks like a lot of similar-aged guys will be auditioning for who can take the next step.
Pretty spot on: "Alexander is an NBA athlete with length. He has a nose for the ball and he is willing to bang in the paint. He is not skilled (by NBA standards). Offensively, he can look herky-jerky, and rushed. His basketball I.Q. is suspect too. Alexander spent just one season at Kansas. He was an efficient Power Forward that excelled in transition and on the offensive glass. Alexander averaged 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while playing just 17 minutes per. ...Alexander shot 67% FT. He turned it over more than twice for each one assist. I thought Alexander was good defensively due to his ability to block shots. His standing reach is 9'1.5" (same as Jusuf Nurkic, Frank Kaminsky, and Andre Drummond). His DEFRTG was better than the Jayhawks team DEFRTG (usually a positive indicator). He did not attempt any three-point shots in 2014-15. ...Alexander played just 28 games before being ruled ineligible over concerns about his amateur status. ...I'm thinking Alexander is not ready for the NBA. The D-League may be in his future. But his size, and athleticism might be worth the long term investment. " -.basslinespin.com
Well that's our 15th roster spot. We still have ~$25 million in cap room. Pat and Luis have guaranteed contracts. I think Crabbe is basically a lock to be on the roster at his low salary. I wonder how much of Cliff's contract is guaranteed? Him or Tim Frazier need to be cut if we bring in anyone else. It would be great if this is a deal where we sign him to a training camp contract that lets us stash him in the DLeague and retain his rights. There was news this week that the NBA is allowing teams to have more of those players this year.
I think if Delly comes in then Frazier is cut. Both Stotts and Olshey seem to really want CJ to get some backup PG mins.
I like this signing. On my statistical look at this year's draft, Alexander came in at #12. http://www.sportstwo.com/threads/a-statistical-look-at-the-2015-nba-draft.284772/
He looks good, a smaller version of T-Rob but the same type of player and that type is what we're lacking. We have Vonleh who can play inside or out, we have Leonard who's a stretch 4 but can roll for the dunk and now we have Alexander who's more of the strong-inside-banging type.
