9 days to the draft, we know just about all we're going to know about the first-round prospects. So post your personal big board--not the order you think the draft will go, or the players you think teams should take, but the top 16 players you would pick for the Blazers if you could, in order. It doesn't matter whether they will be gone long before the Blazers' pick, or if they're likely a 2nd-round pick--all that matters is if you would have the Blazers draft them if they (even unrealistically) were available with our pick. So go--who are your top 16?
1. A. Edwards 2. I. Okoro 3. O. Okongwu 4. P. Williams 5. J. Wiseman 6. O. Toppin 7. D. Avdija 8. T. Haliburton 9. Devin Vessell 10. K. Hayes 11. T. Maxey 12. S. Bey 13. P. Achiuwa 14. J. Smith 15. J. Green 16. A. Nesmith Realistically, I hope S. Bey falls t0 16
1. Avdija 2. Okongwu 3. Haliburton 4. Ball 5. Wiseman 6. Okoro 7. Edwards 8. Pokusevski 9. Precious 10. S. Bey 11. Green 12. Maledon 13. P. Williams 14. Hayes 15. Vassell 16. Toppin
Damn, that's a tougher question than just what someone's big board is. I have my big board but it's not necessarily who I'd want the Blazers to pick. 1. Anthony Edwards 2. James Wiseman 3. Obi Toppin 4. Onyeka Okongwu 5. Tyrese Haliburton 6. Saddiq Bey 7. Aaron Nesmith 8. Deni Avdija 9. Killian Hayes 10. Aleksej Pokusevski 11. Theo Maledon 12. LaMelo Ball 13. Isaac Okoro 14. RJ Hampton 15. Jalen Smith 16. Tyrese Maxey For the Blazers though I'd probably put Patrick Williams and Precious Achiuwa in place of Ball and Hampton. Edit: As you can most likely tell by how high they are it's Saddiq Bey/Aaron Nesmith by a mile for who I'm hoping for.
That's tough. I honestly haven't even thought about who the top 10-12 picks would be on such a list since we would have no realistic chance at them.
Do you mean who I think will go in the top 16 (honestly no idea), the players that I think should be ranked 1-16 (which would include players like LaMelo Ball) or my 16 fave players (which wouldn't)?
This seems relevant: https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/11/09/report-consensus-top-three-nine-emerging-in-2020-nba-draft/
Interesting...are you saying that there are circumstances in which you (were you Neil) would not take BPA?
He's number 6 on my board. He's going to be really, really good and I'm not afraid to go out on a limb and put him that high.
There's two kinds of BPA. There's BPA if you were starting a franchise from scratch, and there's BPA for your team (call it RBPA for relativized BPA). "But that second one is just "fit" and that's why the Blazers took Bowie over Jordan!!!!" No, Jordan was both kinds of BPA, because we would've won more with him. Here's the difference between "fit" and "RBPA": "fit" just means "if we have a good starter at X's position then we should pick a player at a different position". Relativized-BPA means you take the best player that won't require you to completely re-shape your team, but it's okay to take someone that requires you to change the way you play. So, in theory Wade and LBJ weren't a good "fit", but the Heat invented a new way to play (basically center-less) to make it work. ALSO: you can acknowledge that LaMelo Ball is super-talented and will make a lot of highlight reels without wanting to pick him for your team.
I also feel that way about Xavier Tillman. I am prepared to watch the Warriors or Lakers snag him, because that's what usually happens.
Another tough question, ha ha. For me, certain player's path to becoming a good player depend on what team drafts them. It's not necessarily that they aren't BPA, I just think in some situation it's a lot more difficult to become BPA, if that makes any sense. For example I think Mikal Bridges would've been an absolute perfect fit on Philly but they traded him to Phoenix where he's not the type of player that fits in well on a bad team. Also from that draft you have a guy like Mo Bamba who gets drafted and doesn't really have a path to major minutes playing behind Vucevic. If he would've gone to say the Knicks and gotten the opportunities a Mitchell Robinson has gotten to play, would he be thought of a lot more highly right now? I really don't like LaMelo's game but if he has a shot at succeeding I think he has to become the man on his own team. He doesn't seem like the type that would just be a good role player on a good team. I feel like he's either going to be a star or a complete bust and don't really see much in between. If he goes to a team like Portland sure he'd learn from two amazing guards and the culture is strong but he would be held back from becoming what he could be simply because the opportunities to play and run the team wouldn't be there like they would if he goes to say Detroit who has basically no playmakers (assuming they trade Rose).
One thing to add to that, if Ball was on the board at 16 (obviously he won't but hypothetically) then the temptation to take him simply as a trade asset would be intriguing. I'm just talking about who would be best in a Blazer uniform though.
Excellent. So then, to answer your first question... this thread is asking your personal rBPA top 16 rankings for this draft, for the Blazers. Or to put it another way, once you're done with your list, you're saying that if the Blazers draft anyone that's not on your list, you think they've chosen poorly.
But what is "BPA"? Is it best stats over the course of their career? Best stats in their prime? Is it contribution to team sucess? To put it another way, who was the BPA in their draft: Roy (short, brilliant career) or Aldridge (long, above average career)? How about Rondo (lesser stats but significant contributions to 2 titles)?
Huh. I'm still torn, because there are players (like Okongwu and Halliburton) who are projected to go high, and I'd probably feel peer pressure to take them if we traded up just because of perceived "value" even if I don't necessarily prefer them to lower-ranked picks. Oh well, I'm just going to list a bunch of players I wouldn't be unhappy about us ending up with. Okongwu Halliburton Avdija P. Williams (I'd be a bit worried about this one - it's more of a gamble) Tyrell Terry Devin Vassell Precious Achiuwa (like Williams, only I think he's a bit of a safer bet) Saddiq Bey Xavier Tillman (probably my pick at #16 if the draft goes roughly as predicted) Malachi Flynn Tyler Bey Leandro Bolmaro (also a gamble - worried that he's got Ricky Rubio athleticism and Rudy Fernandez handles rather than the reverse) Cassius Winston Mason Jones (I shouldn't like him because he's a high-usage scorer who'll be picked too low to get the ball as much as he wants, but the heart wants what the heart wants) Desmond Bane Killian Tillie (he's French, you know!) If I had to pick a five from that (something we did in a thread a while ago, much closer to when the draft would usually be) it'd be Bey, Bey, Tillman, Jones and Flynn, just because probably ALL of them will be available at 16, except maybe S. Bey.
