Certainly think the Blazers should explorer adding a pick, or moving up to Detroit/Houston/etc teams that don't want rookies. Just comes down to how much we have to give up and how high Schmidt/Cronin value those guys.
Reminds me of Jeremy Sochan. He was pegged as a (late) 2nd and I was like WHAT? He’s like 8th on my big board how tf? And of course, he flew up boards.
You got 3 late second round picks listed here that to date are total scrubs. Jabari Walker is on an expiring deal and shot 29% from 3 last year which was the highest of his career. Perhaps Murray 3rd year option will be declined and he'll be an expiring deal as well, he looks like a total waste to date especially for being 25. Scoot and Sharpe are the only players of any value here. Lottery picks 1 and 2 are unknown so yes have potential of value, but statistically its likely one busts, or maybe both do. Hell Scoot is pretty raw still and might even bust or be a career backup. Blazers should certainly look at adding a pick that would be their 3rd-5th most valuable young piece, if the price isn't too high. The Blazers can carry 15 players.
I’m not against developmental players but why people insist on the 2024 draft as the only way get there is silly. I know we’ve been staring at the 2024 draft pool for months now but we could very easily have 3-4 new young players coming onto the roster via trade and/or our 2nds without adding a single additional 2024 pick. No one is arguing this roster is stacked with talent. No one. It’s just a LOT of young players. Never go full pistons.
If teams don't value this draft as much as others, it might be easier to move vets for picks. Instead of generalizations about the draft, we would need to identify actual players. If they like guys like Dadiet theoretically, why not move off of a guy not in our long-term plans and get back someone we project to be a good long-term fit? I'm all for taking more shots at finding a long-term piece. Better if the draft is undervalued.
Exactly. My whole point is that a lot of people are undervaluing this draft and there’s a chance that we could steal a couple of good players from teams who want to trade out.
Some how some people forgot we're in talent acquisition mode. The draft isn't as strong at the top, but it'll have great players throughout if we can identify them.
This is why they won't do it. However, presumably in the process of acquiring that pick they would give up at least one player. That way we can tank without faking injuries!
Yes but really we'd be going all-in on the 2025 draft, because we'd be building to be the worst team in the league!
We already had the third worst record in the league with the current roster, so we will have a top 2025 pick regardless of any discussed action the Blazers take.
As other posters said it just comes down to how high the players are graded and the cost to acquire those pick(s). I wouldn't pay for a pick in this draft if the cost is similar to other drafts. However if there are much cheaper picks available because it's a weak draft then at a point it could become a valuable addition worth taking a gamble on. I'm all for having a number of vets on our roster. Even if we trade away any of Brogdon, Grant, Ayton, Ant, Thybulle, Timelord, etc Id like to see us have a number of vets in those spots. Agreed that we don't want 100% youth like the process 6ers. But ideally it would be vets that don't have win now rotational trade value to contenders. It's better for the Blazers to get draft picks or young talent in exchange for that value, then get vet experience from guys on overpaid contracts that were compensated to eat, or from a couple vet minimum signings. However the Blazers also have guys in their third year like Sharpe/Walker. They have a nearly 30 year old in Reath that Id consider more of a vet. Murray and Camara will turn 25 so their very mature for being 2nd year guys. Collectively that experience can substitute for 1 or 2 vets as well.
No one is forgetting that. A good exercise might be to look at the first round of a meh draft and ask yourself if you’re interested in those players. The Blazers are already properly capitalized on this draft.
But it already appears they’re going to make these trades. I don’t think anyone is arguing for ‘more vets!’ or ‘Heavy usage Ant/Grant need to stay and cook!’ ‘Just’ to make room for those two lottery picks, it’s likely that two of their vets are going to be dispatched for young talent/future picks. the point is that it looks like the FO is avoiding moving them for 2024 draft capital which by all accounts was what was on offer at the deadline.
There were so many Gleague scrubs and other useless players on the Blazers roster last season we can make room for two lottery picks without touching a key vet. We often didn't have a 15th player, even Jabari Walker types can be cut in training camp if need be - just as Watford was last season. I'm not sure why so many posters here are worried about the 15th man roster limit in May. That limit doesn't apply until October. The Blazers can have 20 or more player on the roster until that time and deal with any 16th man they need to cut in October. Might make camp and preseason more meaningful to have a roster spot or two on the line. We have the 2nd worst roster in the NBA after the wizards. We need all the talent and young talent we can get.
