Who is saying we "need" rookies? As long as this is balanced with the addition of some veteran help and some consolidation at the 3 then what's the harm of adding depth, be that young depth or old depth.
I don't really have any strong feelings about the draft either way. I didn't see any player that could help immediately . . . I do wonder if KP got pritch-slaped with Minny out of the blue taking Ty Lawson and trading him to Denver (KP and crew couldn't have saw that coming and Ty looked to be slipping to 22). My big frustration from today comes from the fact that there were a lot of big names moving around in the last two days and the Blazers weren't involved in any. If the Blazers have a big trade in mind, why hasn't it happened? Clev manged to already get Shaq, Magic made the Vince trade happen, Hawks went and got Crawford, Spurs locked down Jefferson. Why are all these teams able to get deals done and the Blazers haven't? I'm sure it's complicated on KP side, and maybe their real target is free agency instead of trades . . . but frustrating see a draft day go by (KP's specialty) with so many major moves and Blazers not involved in any of them. KP is now out of his comfort zone trying to create a trade outside of draft day or trying to lock up a free agent . . . PA gave him the green light this summer to make it happen, and I think KP is under the gun now to make a move to improve this team for next year.
If he does turn out to be a young stud, why won't he just stay in Europe where he can make more money than he can on a cheap NBA rookie scale contract? I disagree on the first count. If any of these guys are in our top 12, our bench just got worse. I don't see any of them "helping" us this coming season. On the 2nd count, if Claver stays in Europe, like it appears Freeland will, how does that help us in the future? I don't see anything that happened today that makes us a better team. At best, we stayed the same while most other teams got better. That makes this draft a net minus in my book. BNM
Honest question for those who think we did well in the draft: Do you really think that moving up 2 spots to get Claver with our 1st rounder was KPs plan A? How about Plan B? I'll be generous and call it his Plan C, though Plan D is probably more accurate.
Kevin Pritchard in an interview said the Blazers think very highly of Claver and targeted him going into the day. The Blazers had Claver in for workouts last year I believe. They like the guy. KP actually said everything went to plan to day and it surprised him, because nothing ever goes as planned.
How are we supposed to know? I suspect that his Plan A was to get us an upgrade at backup PG - and by making the minutes available to JB - he did...
If you are one of those people that were convinced KP was looking for a big time impact player in the draft then sure he was plan C, if on the other hand you believe that KP never really saw that much value in most of the players in this draft were projected as role players then I think Claver might have been Plan B, if Lawson had slipped to us he probably would have taken him, and if Hansbrough slipped to 22 he could have also been a target. What we really found out is that most of the predraft chatter that the Blazers were looking to move out was probably truer than the rumors that we were trying to move up.
F, but only because F- wasn't available. If KP couldn't get a useful player Portland should not have even bother selecting anyone in this draft. As it is, Portland moved up two spots to get a guy who might be useful someday. Probably he stays in Europe and has a nice little career there. For the people who believe this is all part of a Chicago deal, why do you think so? Are the Bulls going to get nothing in return for Hinrich and Deng other then Blake, Outlaw and Spanish Fly? That is an absurdly one sided trade, no way it happens. I would say I was disappointed, but this is what I expected. Pointless moves for losers who will ride the end of the bench. I am hoping Bayless, Batum, Oden and Rudy come back WAY better then last year. They are the only hope Portland has of making any noise in the playoffs next year.
I'm going to call BS. I don't think he was overly disappointed in how things shook out, but I get the feeling that if he'd had his druthers he would have taken Lawson or Maynor at 22, Claver at 31 and Pendergraph at 33.
As of right now 31 gave this draft a C or better, while 15 gave it a D or F. Frankly, its a little annoying how vocal those 15 are, they are making it really hard to read anything on this forum. I think I probably wont post again until after a trade or free agent signing (which I am guessing will be around July 8th)
It probably wasn't 100% truthful, but I think he did get most of the players he targeted. The only player he was surprised to get was Mills because he didn't think Mills would drop that far.
We should have traded out for a 2010 1st round pick (if I knew we'd blow it and pick Claver), Claver or Pendergraph would have been there at 31
Well, the trade deadline didn't go as expected as we let RLEC go. This draft was a little ho-hum with another Euro stashee. We've got one more big swing for a home run in free agency. I really hope KP takes advantage of this summer...
I don't know how you can give them an F, what the heck were you expecting? I gave them a C, underwhelming....I thought they liked Claver (they brought him in last year)...and some analysts said he could have been a lottery pick if he hadn't got hurt....I don't have a problem with this pick...he will stay overseas for a few years and we will see how he develops... Pendergraph and Cunningham are underwhelming for me, especially since DeJuan Blair was still on the board, I cannot understand why POR wouldn't at least take a chance on him with one of those picks...but Pritchard I thought gave something away in his press conference...He stated that they liked guys with length, he was talking about Claver, who is around 6'9-6'10, and you look at Blair and he came in at 6'5, and then the double ACL injuries and maybe they just decided to pass....But why not Sam Young? I guess we will wait and see, I doubt both make the team... Patty Mills is interesting...probably a longshot, maybe they convince him to play overseas...but he might be able to make it...not sure how he translates to the NBA....played well in the Olympics though.... You know this all boils down to free agency and what Pritchard does next....He has to make a move for a FA or a trade to upgrade this team....If he doesn't do that, then I will say that he choked...
That's the risk you take. It's a calculated risk. So, far the approach has worked out. Even Splitter, who's become a "stud" sounds like he'll eventually make it over to San Antonio. We've been lucky with Rodriguez, Fernandez, and Batum. It seems like Koponen is another successful product of this approach, where he can remain in Italy to gain more experience to develop into a player that's more useful to us. It's important though to have timing on your side. We don't have that any longer for Freeland. We'll need to let him stay and hope he becomes as skilled as Rudy became. Then, and only if, will we lure Joel to the NBA to get past his rookie contract to sign a lucrative after-rookie deal. Pritchard and company have proven to understand the timing of these situations.
I'd give KP an A+ on the draft. Dumped Sergio to open up some cap space. Stashed a guy in Europe who may have a chance at being a decent player in a few years but won't need to find PT for him now. Took a flyer on a few second rounders who will most likely never play a game for the Blazers but may be useful in trades this summer. All in all, avoided taking on any more projects, freed up more cap space for the moves he wants to make in July. Great job. Seriously, I read here over and over how people want KP to make moves for a stud veteran this summer and then they get their knickers in a bunch because he positions the team to do just that by clearing more cap space and avoiding taking on excess baggage that would limit his ability to make moves.
I think the poeple that think these guys won't make the roster have another thing coming. The Blazers have some minor spots to fill with Frye/Shavlik/Sergio being gone, and I see Pendergraph/Cunningham/Mills filling those roles. I'm curious why people think these players won't make the roster. Is it because you've never heard of them?
One or two might make the team as end of the bench guys, but the Blazers main emphasis is on getting better through trades and/or free agency. Trying to predict the end of the bench is pointless until that process plays out.
I give it an F because of what we could have had. DeJuan Blair would had been an instant updgrade at the back-up 4. I'm not sold on Pendergraf. Blair put up much better numbers in a tougher conference as a sophomore than Pendergraph did as a senior. I'll actually be surprised if we ever see Claver in a Blazers uniform (well, except maybe in the summer league). If Cunningham and Mills make our roster I'll be disappointed because it will mean we also failed in the free agent/trade market. So, I see it as we missed a chance to add a contributor who addressed a need (Blair at back-up power forward), didn't get anything that's likely to make us better in 2009-10, and almost every other team in the Western Conference got better today. So, IMHO, we lost ground on the competition. A net minus for the day. Claver is a tweener. Not strong enough to play the 4, doesn't have the quickness or handle to play the 3. He sounds a lot like the European Travis Outlaw. It also depends on what you mean by length. Blair has a greater wing span that both Pendergraph and Cunningham. His standing reach was the same as Cunningham's and 1/2" less than Pendergraph's. Did I mention he had far better stats as a sophomore than either of these seniors? Besides, we have plenty of length. What we need is a little width. We got pushed around in the Houston series by Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry. We could use a little more muscle to go with our length. Blair would have given us that. Claver, Pendergrah and Cunningham do not. So, an F from me for not getting any better, passing on a player I think was both BPA AND addressed a need, and basically losing ground on the competition. BNM
