If this translates effectively to the NBA that'd be the textbook definition of good value for the 22nd selection.
If you take a "best player available" approach, virtually all of the experts had Portis as the best player on their boards at 22. I saw him as high as 13 with a mode of 17 in the mocks I read. I understand that it seems like more than half of the Bulls roster plays power forward, but I'm still a fan of the BPA line of thinking.
Regardless of their combine #'s, I don't see the same springiness to Portis' game that Taj has. Ie, I'm not expecting the same shotblocking prowess or many angry-man dunks from Portis like we get from Taj. For that reason I don't see his game having as high a ceiling. Otherwise I agree......he seems like he'll project out to be a pretty good defensive role player.
Also, though Portis is considerably heavier, I think Gibson "plays stronger." All I'm looking for is useful.
I think his defense will translate better than his offense. He has a good shot, but an unconventional release, and despite having good skills, I'm not sure he has very good feet on offense, which will hinder his ability to use them. This is a big difference between him and Mirotic, despite having athleticism that otherwise is pretty similar.
Defensively his feet look fine, and I think one of his best attributes next season will be his ability to defend multiple positions. On offense he doesn't strike me as particularly explosive (a la Taj) or shifty (a la Mirotic) so I'm not sure his offensive skills will translate very well except when left open. Keep in mind I've never watched him play in person and am only basing this off highlights so I could be dead wrong.
rosenthall, my guess is that we're not far apart on Portis. If it's a bet of Portis against the Taj Gibson standard, I'll take the under. This said, too often late first-round NBA picks turn out to be more trouble than they're worth. I think Portis will at least be a useful bench big.
You're probably right. I argue against Portis' upside because I don't see a lot of his skills translating and it doesn't seem like he's going to have a trait to his game that'll stand out. He's not a Rudy Gobert type of late 1st round pick. But he seems like he has a good shot at being useful. But we'll have to wait and see how far above/below he is around replacement level.
Running the floor at an elite level is not a bad thing to be elite at...particularly if you're 6-10 and 240.
I made this comment in the game thread, but I think Boozer provides a good measuring stick for how Portis's release will fair in the NBA. Boozer strikes me as a the type of player who intermittently has trouble getting his shot off. I think Portis is a little bit longer; his release is a little bit quicker; he has a similarly high release point as Carlos Boozer; he has a wider vocabulary for getting his shot off; and he's more of a threat to take it off the dribble, so defenders won't be able to crowd him like they do Boozer. All of which is to say, I think Portis is going to be able to get his shot off. I think the primary question for Portis is whether he's going to be able to hit consistently when open.
Boozer's a good comparison WRT form, I agree. And I have to say that after today's summer league game I'm more optimistic than I was after the draft about his shot. He seemed pretty fluid getting it off, and at the very least it doesn't look like he'll have a problem shooting it with his feet set off of kickouts. I'm still skeptical about his inside game translating very well, particularly on offense.
Agreed. It's one thing to trust the measurements and another to see it with your own eyes. With only freak exceptions (Kentucky), the smallest NBA rosters are bigger than the largest college rosters. Portis at times looked more like a three four than a four five yesterday. I also have worries about his efficiency. Portis's numbers in college were just mediocre, but his team's offense was terrible and put him in a lot of bad situations. We shall see.
When he's great, it's because he'll be great in the association. When he's bad, meh, it's only summer-league. Blogabull said he was obviously gassed. That first game might have been pure adrenaline.
