NBA Draft Thread

[greenyellow]

So Blazers finish off the draft with SG Will Barton from Memphis and PG Tyshawn Taylor, who they trade immediately to Brooklyn.

[Boom]

I'm nervous about the Lillard pick, but if he pans out to be a starting caliber PG then I think this was an excellent draft for the Blazers.

Barton was a steel
Barton was an elite high school prospect who really came on in his sophomore season at Memphis. He has a great midrange game and is a very bouncy athlete. It's hard to find scorers like this in the second round. He could be the starter at the 2 for the Blazers someday. He's that good. -- Chad Ford

Now onto free agency =)

[briarduck]

I like the picks a lot, sure Lillard wasn't the BPA but damn close to it, and to finish wiith Barton was stellar...what a steal at 40!

So we got our PG of the future who management really wanted, an great looking center with upside and a steal in the 2nd Rd. well done Blazers, now 5 years from now we can see how it really went and the complaints that go with it.

[uostudent]

Hard to really grade the Lillard pick. Obviously a really talented kid and his numbers are great. He's a really good shooter and he's extremely efficient. If he can effectively run the point, I think it will be a really good pick.

Don't like the Meyers Leonard pick at all. I probably would have taken Tyler Zeller, who should be a solid player at the next level. Leonard is pretty athletic, but he looks like a slightly taller version of Josh McRoberts.

Barton in the 2nd round is a steal.

[Phenom]

Lillard had an amazing year and he tore it up at the NBA combine and workouts. I think you guys got a steal. Wouldn't be surprised to see him contending for ROY next year.

[thomas time]

Good draft blazers, now off to free agency!!

[gregspechtismyhero]

I honestly love the Meyers pick. I've never been a huge fan of Zeller, and since both Leonard and Zeller worked out for the Blazers I'm much more apt to trust the Blazers with that pick. The dude is huge, plays with passion, and is exactly what we needed. Loved our draft

[UOducksTK1]

I honestly love the Meyers pick. I've never been a huge fan of Zeller, and since both Leonard and Zeller worked out for the Blazers I'm much more apt to trust the Blazers with that pick. The dude is huge, plays with passion, and is exactly what we needed. Loved our draft

This. Plus I'm a full believer in centers must be athletic and have good shot blocking skills. Leonard has both. And he has better range then he displayed at Illinois.

[greenyellow]

I honestly love the Meyers pick. I've never been a huge fan of Zeller, and since both Leonard and Zeller worked out for the Blazers I'm much more apt to trust the Blazers with that pick. The dude is huge, plays with passion, and is exactly what we needed. Loved our draft

This. Plus I'm a full believer in centers must be athletic and have good shot blocking skills. Leonard has both. And he has better range then he displayed at Illinois.

Reports have come out saying that Leonard dominated Zeller in the pre-draft workout held at the Blazers' practice facility. That and he did fairly well at the NBA Combine in Chicago helped his stock.

[OreDucks01284]

Am hearing that Brandon Roy is attempting making comeback to NBA and his workout is pretty good but can't elevate like he use to. Timberwolves and Pacers is really interesting in him.

[buckmarkduck]

Ok, the more I hear about Leonard the more I'm ok with the pick. Sounds like he improved greatly from FR to SO year, and has a high ceiling. Honestly I'll be happy if the kid gives us a starter who avg 9-10 rpg and 8ppg and 2-3 bpg. I'm not asking for a all star C, just a solid starter who makes LA day easier and allows him to focus on scoring.

[thomas time]

Just looked through five or six sites and all gave them a B+ or better, I know it doesn't mean anything but still nice to see. SI.com gave them an A+ (only team they gave one to) saying Tremendous work by a Blazers group that prepared for the draft while dealing with a major transition period, as general manager Neil Olshey was hired just weeks ago after a year with Chad Buchanan running the show as an interim GM. Some site call opposingviews.com just graded the second round picks and said Maybe Paul Allen isn’t completely nuts! Maybe not. Barton is good at everything. Why did he fall so much? Who knows, but he’ll definitely help out the Blazers, A+ for Barton. Foxsports gave them a B-, ESPN B+ and Nbadraft.net B+ also.

[buckmarkduck]

Just looked through five or six sites and all gave them a B+ or better, I know it doesn't mean anything but still nice to see. SI.com gave them an A+ (only team they gave one to) saying Tremendous work by a Blazers group that prepared for the draft while dealing with a major transition period, as general manager Neil Olshey was hired just weeks ago after a year with Chad Buchanan running the show as an interim GM. Some site call opposingviews.com just graded the second round picks and said Maybe Paul Allen isn’t completely nuts! Maybe not. Barton is good at everything. Why did he fall so much? Who knows, but he’ll definitely help out the Blazers, A+ for Barton. Foxsports gave them a B-, ESPN B+ and Nbadraft.net B+ also.

CNNSi gave a A+

[Duck24]

I don't know enough about Lillard but what I've read, it seems like he could be a very solid player. The concerns about his competition are legit but the way I see it, will in college, teams game plans revolved around stopping him and he was still able to score 24 per game. On top of that, you hear a lot that despite his scoring, he's still known more for his court vision/passing ability.

I don't think I will ever be on board with the Leonard pick. He's a 7 footer who produced modest stats on a terrible team. He's got great athleticism for a 7 foot white guy but he's still very raw in his game. Not to mention, one of his biggest drawbacks is maturity problems. I'd rather have Zeller who may not have a big upside, but you know what you're going to get with him. But hey, that's why Olshey is thenGM

Barton was my favorite pick in the entire draft. Love him as a 6th man with versatility. A bit skinny but get him with a professional training staff and I'm sure he can put on 10+ lbs.

[oregontrack]

lillard vs. barnes will be an interesting thing to keep tabs on over the next several years. if barnes had any kind of a motor i would have been a big advocate in taking him, but of all the north carolina games i've seen over the last two years i never once thought, "wow, that kid really cares." super athletic kids with low motors translate to darius miles in the association. if barnes becomes a better pro than a college player, golden state got a steal and lillard will have to be really, really good for us to justify the pick.

lillard can obviously score, and by watching some tape he should be able to form a devastating pick-n-roll duo with lamarcus. looking forward to that. we'll see how he does as a floor leader.

leonard was the right pick at #11, imo. jeremy lamb never interested me, and zeller's ceiling in the nba is about a foot off the ground. leonard showed vast improvement at illinois and he's a 7-footer who actively wants to defend. you can't argue with that. his maturity issues were addressed a hundred times over during the interview process, and olshey signed off on him.

by all accounts, we got two gym rats who love the game and strive to succeed. that doesn't mean they can't/won't be busts, but they both seem like they have good heads on their shoulders.

now, with about 16-18 mil in cap space, we need to re-sign batum, add another scorer, sign some size, and improve the bench. hopefully we'll address two of those before the season starts.