How many times do people have to explain this? For purposes of signing a free agent, Freeland, Kopponen, and Claver all count against our cap space.
Pendergraph and Cunningham are NOTHING like Channing Frye, if you think so you are just wrong. They are both scrappers. While they may not be wide like you seem to need so badly (chubby chaser?) they both seem to have as much potential to be good backups as Blair. I don't think you know more than all those GMs who passed on him even though he was supposed to go mid 1st round. And its stupid to say that he's good cause the Spurs took him.. that just makes no sense. He was destined to get picked somewhere, it makes no difference who finally decided to take the risk.
Not to nit-pick, but Jerebko is not "wide", he is pretty athletic. The knock on him is that he is already 24, and was something of a late bloomer.
It was odd when Nate was asked why they passed on Blair. First he said it was because he was not one of their targets. Then he was asked where Blair was on their board, and he replied that Blair wasn't on their board at all because they didn't think he would be available when they picked. That seems to imply that they ranked him higher than their targets but didn't think he would be there when they picked. Then why didn't they adjust? Is it true that they picked Pendergraph for another team, to be included in a later trade? Or is there something besides the knees that Nate didn't feel comfortable discussing?
I'm a big Batum guy and all but George Hill looks to be a solid pick too. Like Nicolas, he's a very good wing defender. STOMP
I still would have been very pumped with a Blair/Mills draft, but oh well. Such is life. In KP I trust!
Why have someone "higher" at all, if you're going to pick someone lower? Isn't selection order based on the list sort of the point of the list? I haven't seen (m)any direct quotes about Blair from Portland, but I am still confused as to why we'd pick two players that are similar two picks apart. The best reason (aside from that we picked one for a future trade, which is exciting but doesn't seem that likely) is that KP and Nate just want them to battle it out and see if we can get a Millsap/Landry/whomever type of tough guy backup four. While that is possible, it seems like a really inefficient use of two very high second round picks. Ed O.
Guy on the ESPN boards makes a pretty good case of why we took Cunningham over Blair. Cunningham gives you a quicker option as a 4/3 combo forward. last year we got burned by power forwards with a quick first step and by strong SFs. as good as a defender as Batum is, he has no chance against the LeBrons and Artests of the league. just powerful SFs that will back you down or run over you. now im not saying that Cunningham is going to shut these guys down, but his physical profile is a much better option. and last year quick PFs killed us. Bass, Millsap, KMart, Jeff Green, Landry... we struggled defending the pick and roll. we need a quicker foward that can get out and hedge screens and slow down ball movement and can hopefully keep guards from penetrating and drawing fouls on help side defenders. Blairs biggest strength is rebounding. and he is damn good at it, but we are already a really good rebounding team. Przy is great. Oden is going to be great. LMA has improved. and now both Pendergraph and Cunnigham are decent rebounders. we should be fine in that regard. what's Blair's biggest weakness? from draftexpress: lateral footspeed, ability to defend pick and roll, ability to defend position at next level, defensive fundamental, conditioning...i'm not going to argue that Cunningham is a better player than Blair, but for what we need in a backup PF - he may be. the Blazers need some help on the defensive end. Blair draftexpress notes: Defensively, Blair is still being plagued by the many of the same problems as last season. When he is forced to step out and cover perimeter players he is susceptible to being beaten off the dribble. As far as his professional aspirations are concerned, he will certainly have to do a better job of defending the pick and roll in order to be a success. He just doesn't have the lateral quickness at this point to hedge, switch, go over, or trap the pick and roll, which means his team's only clear option here is to go underneath the screen--not an ideal option at all against a team with solid perimeter shooters. Moreover, athletic players with any semblance of ball-handling ability just blow by him at this point, which basically exposes his team's entire half-court defense. Already being severely undersized at 6-7 (most NBA big men will just shoot over him, even though his length helps here), this lack of quickness defensively really complicates things when talking about his NBA potential. He'll have to trim down significantly (ala Jason Maxiell), and become a much more aware team defensive player to have a real chance at the next level. On the defensive end is where Blair struggles the most. He lacks great lateral quickness to stay with anyone who drags him out and away from the basket. This is evident in isolations and pick and roll situations, where he's forced to switch or hold a hedge for an extra second. Moreover, like many college big men, Blair has a tendency to lack aggressiveness when he picks up a foul. He will drop his hands and get out of the way in order to avoid picking up a foul. The ability to play solid position defense without fouling is a skill he will have to develop in order to play in the NBA. nbadraft.net notes: Lacks great mobility at his current weight, hindering his ability to play an up tempo game. It remains to be seen how much quickness and mobility he can add by dropping some weight. His defensive ability is also diminished by his lack of foot speed. Combine Measurements: Lane Agility - 11.50 3/4 Sprint - 3.45 (tied for 3rd worst) Bench Press - 18 Cunningham draftexpress notes: Cunningham is a tremendously active player who brings a lot of hustle to the court; this is pretty evident on the defensive side of the ball. He is constantly on the move looking to make things happen and has shown both solid anticipation and great timing. Cunningham's lateral quickness is good enough that he is able to step away from the basket and cover perimeter players without being a liability to his team, and in fact forces a fair number of turnovers with his on the ball pressure. nbadraft.net notes: Versatile defender with superb lateral quickness: has the ability to guard much smaller players on the perimeter. Plays his guts out for the duration of every game. Willing to do the dirty work and whatever it takes to win. Combine Measurements: Lane Agility - 11.18 3/4 Sprint - 3.26 Bench Press - 18 Here's the best video on Cunningham that I can find. Its not the best production, but watch for the hustle plays - running back on defense to stop the fast break, pressuring the ball in the press, and chasing down loose balls. Offensively, his midrange game is going to clear the lane for Oden and Przy. Now I'm sure you can find very impressive videos of Blair bullying through Thabeet and using his length to make some big time blocks, but I don't think you will see him pressuring the ball full court or being the first one back on defense. [video=youtube;07eyQ-rnXvw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07eyQ-rnXvw[/video]
They are not exactly that similar to me - they are both tough seniors that do not mind banging in the post - but one is a classic PF banger/garbage man while while the other is a small-PF/large-SF that is a better scorer and more mobile with the ball and seems a bit more skilled. Kind of like a big version of Craig Smith vs. a smaller version Carl Landry maybe? The Graph is a better comparison to Blair in their style, I think - but while his rebounding is not as good on paper - I think that Blair played in a conference with very few big man - and the Graph was more efficient converting his possessions into points - which will likely continue in the NBA - even if Blair gets the ball because he takes so much space - he is not big enough and mobile enough to score over larger defenders in the post as well as the Graph can - simple because he is taller and can jump higher. Blair will likely get more rebounds - but the offense will either have to re-set or he will be blocked and convert next from these garbage plays - where the Graph will probably not get as many rebounds - but he will be better converting these garbage plays that he does get. Also - because these guys are more mobile - they are likely better to handle defensive assignments in the NBA.
The more I watch of Cunningham the more I like, I don't really know how any of his game is going to translate in the NBA, but he strikes me as somebody who has a good motor, pretty good ball-handling skills and a decent nose for defense. And every time I watched the Sun Devils play the last couple of years I always thought Pendergraph represented himself pretty well against some decent Pac-10 big men, I also have no idea how his game will translate, but he's got good hops, he plays tough and he rebounds pretty well. To me getting these two guys (cunningham who is kind of a 3/4 and Pendergraph who is kind of a 4/5) tells me that a guy like Travis Outlaw (and another player) could be on the move to possibly bring back a small forward or even a flex forward like Gerald Wallace who is a much tougher defender and rebounder. Honestly, I think all of these rookies were mostly picked not to step in and be rotation players, but to more or less act as emergency depth in roster spots 10-12. The real impact players are yet to be added in trade and through free agency. So Blair vs. Pendergraph vs. Cunningham? I think it's all pretty much window dressing and doesn't really matter as long as the guys you add can give you some defense, some hustle and smart play in limited minutes. STFU about Blair indeed
Really? You wouldn't trade the 31 and 33 for a solid chance of getting a Millsap or Landry on a dirt cheap contract? We'll see if either of these guys are any good, but I don't see what's so inefficient about drafting them. Summer league will be fun, though I fear for the sanity of the forum if Blair pulls down 20 rebounds the first game.
I really didn't see Blair making the roster. People are making a big deal about nothing. I've seen him play many, many times(in person) and he is not what you guys are making him out to be. Offensively and defensively he's a trainwreck.
