Who's a keeper?

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Rastapopoulos, Mar 28, 2023.

?

Who's a keeper? (You can choose more than one)

  1. Cam Reddish

    33.3%
  2. Trendon Watford

    77.2%
  3. Drew Eubanks

    61.4%
  4. Keon Johnson

    5.3%
  5. Jabari Walker

    57.9%
  6. Kevin Knox

    17.5%
  7. John Butler

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. Ryan Arcidiacono

    1.8%
  9. NONE OF THEM

    12.3%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. BankTeller

    BankTeller Well-Known Member

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    I chose Watford and Walker.

    Watford is cheap for another two years and should still get better, and pretty much does everything you want out of a backup PF.

    Walker for pretty much all the same reasons. Although he isn’t a good shooter or rebounder right now, I think he’ll get there eventually.

    Thybulle wasn’t listed, but I’d keep him.

    Eubanks might be a keeper for me as a third string big on a minimum contract. I would not want him to be our backup C again. Maybe if we drafted Lively, then I’d be on board with bringing him back.

    Everyone else can go.
     
  2. Samuel

    Samuel James “Hollywood” Robinson

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    There's a question between the lines here, which is that I don't have a ton of faith/confidence yet in this coaching staff or front office to develop players. We sort of knew in Stotts/Olshey's system that after 1-2 redshirt years, players would come out at least serviceable in a motion offense setting and have stood in a gym for hours on end and become somewhat competent as outside shooters. Now, I have no real sense if players are learning any sort of offensive system, or defensive scheme, or if they have an ace shooting coach that can fix shots. What is this coaching staff good at besides 'player mentorship'? We don't know.

    I really don't like Watford because he seems to deliver on a lot of things you don't really need him to do, but not a lot of other things that you do need him to do. He seems to operate best with the ball in his hands in almost a secondary playmaker setting, yet the Blazers don't really have an offense where they need him to provide that. They need him to be solid against bigs, seemingly, at the 4 and the 5 spot. He can't really defend either of those spots. He's probably too slow to guard most 3s. The better outside shooting this season is nice though he has the 2nd lowest volume on the team. The push shot is interesting but he can't really get it off against bigger dudes. Classic tweener. They probably can keep him around because he's cheap and one of the few guys that can probably enter the rotation in a pinch, but his limitations seem physical and not super fixable. He's not going to get bouncier, faster or develop a better vertical.

    On the other hand, I loved Jabari Walker in Summer League but not having a G-League team was a real detriment to him this season. All of the heady confidence he seemed to have in Vegas seems to have fallen by the wayside into the yips. They're clearly trying to rebuild his shot right now, but it looks all kinds of hitchy when he gets it off now. Contrary to Watford, I do think Walker has physical tools to make it in the league, he just needs to work on his body and get leaner and faster. I suspect he could be an interesting 3/4 combo player if he sticks with it. He's played way too much center this season.

    I like Drew Eubanks as a 3rd string big but they don't seem super interested in bringing in someone ahead of him, so here we are with him as a backup. It could be worse, but there's not a lot of upside there. I'd like him to add a 3 point shot to his game in the offseason so he's at least competent there.

    I actually think Cam Reddish is going to have a moment in the league—it will just be in 3-4 years when he's bounced around and gotten his head right. Certainly not in Portland. His stuff seems between the ears.

    Kevin Knox's physical tools are intriguing but then does things that clearly remind you of why he's gone from Lottery talent to potentially out of the league soon.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2023
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  3. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Walker not a good rebounder?? He's a natural! That's the one thing he's great at!

    I can't understand anyone NOT picking Walker, unless they have implicit faith in Chauncey. Walker looked AWESOME in SL and then Chauncey just refuses to play him. Why? Is it that he just can't memorize plays? Walker will practically be a rookie next year, and here's hoping he's playing for a different coach. All the rest I've seen enough of them to know they're not rotation material (and sadly that goes for Watford as well - he'd be awesome if he was 4 inches taller or a hell of a lot faster, but he's stuck in tweener-land).

    If you could combine Walker and Watford you'd have a Zach Randolph-style player who'd be a really good starter...
     
  4. twobullz

    twobullz Well-Known Member

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    I am confused. Watford's official stats show him a inch taller and 37 pounds heavier then Walker. How is it he is to small and Walker is not?
     
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  5. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Watford is too small to be that slow.
     
  6. CJ_is_Gone

    CJ_is_Gone Well-Known Member

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    He's faster than Walker or Knox are during game action.
     
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  7. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Agree to differ.
     
  8. beast crnjo

    beast crnjo Well-Known Member

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    Scrubs are not relevant until your starting 5 is worth a damn.
     
  9. GrandpaBlaze

    GrandpaBlaze Predictions Game Master

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    Scrubs are VERY relevant right now.

    You gotta have the right scrubs to properly tank.

    Our guys are showing they are not only SL champs but also tanking champs.
     
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  10. Ripcity4life77

    Ripcity4life77 Well-Known Member

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    I only selected one and that was Walker but in hind sight should have selected Eubanks too and now will briefly go into why I chose those 2 and why the others can walk ....

    Walker -- He may never be a star in the league but he can shoot a little and does some of the little things teams need

    Eubanks -- I would keep him IF he was the 3rd center but he can GO if he is the primary back up

    Now for the one's I did not select ....
    Cam -- He will command 6 to 9m prolly and we have Walker who can do the same shit only better so no thanks -- cya Cam
    Watford -- Open to keeping him but would not break my heart if included in on a trade but I think he is a 10th man or worse type player -- needs work on rebounding and post D to be higher on depth chart
    Keon -- He will be out of the league in 3 to 5 years and in Europe or Asia -- might become an ok end of the bench guy but not worth a 1st round pick more like back half of 2nd.
    Knox -- open to keeping him on a min. deal but average at best and another project that will not work out
    Butler and Ryan A --- Let them walk dime a dozen of these type of players sitting in the g-league and late 2nd rounder picks
     
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  11. Mediocre Man

    Mediocre Man Mr. SportsTwo

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    I think this is really unfair. You aren’t giving any tanking credit to Chauncey, who is a disaster, at this point
     
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  12. GrandpaBlaze

    GrandpaBlaze Predictions Game Master

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    Excellent point. With a better coach, our scrubs might not be so.....scrubby.
     
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  13. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    None. We need better than these guys.
     
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  14. UKRAINEFAN

    UKRAINEFAN Well-Known Member

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    The only thing I would disagree is with your comparison btween Walker and Reddish. Reddish much better ball handler and has that wiggle and flexibility he uses sometimes to get to the basket. Don't think Walker will ever have that. But Reddish needs to develop a consistent shot and consistent good decision making to stick.
     

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