NBA Draft Thread

[UOducksTK1]

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft

Any early mock drafts? Who will the Blazers take at #6, #11?

[lukeyrid13]

I was really hoping the Blazers would move up, for some reason I was optimistic going in.

That being said I think they should take Drummond or Beal if available at 6, or maybe try and add just a little(nolan smith, babbitt, maybe elliott williams) and get up to about 4 to take one of those guys. Then I'd say take Sullinger at 11 or move 11 along with wes matthews for igoudala

[UOducksTK1]

I was really hoping the Blazers would move up, for some reason I was optimistic going in.

That being said I think they should take Drummond or Beal if available at 6, or maybe try and add just a little(nolan smith, babbitt, maybe elliott williams) and get up to about 4 to take one of those guys. Then I'd say take Sullinger at 11 or move 11 along with wes matthews for igoudala

Why would we take two PFs when we have Aldridge already.

IMO add a PG (Rivers, Beal, etc) and a SG/SF (Barnes, Kidd-Gilchrist). Aldridge is our scoring big man. Then just trade for a good rebounding/defensive center. Center is my least worrisome position. It's not hard to sign a solid big for MLE these days.

[lukeyrid13]

I was really hoping the Blazers would move up, for some reason I was optimistic going in.

That being said I think they should take Drummond or Beal if available at 6, or maybe try and add just a little(nolan smith, babbitt, maybe elliott williams) and get up to about 4 to take one of those guys. Then I'd say take Sullinger at 11 or move 11 along with wes matthews for igoudala

Why would we take two PFs when we have Aldridge already.

IMO add a PG (Rivers, Beal, etc) and a SG/SF (Barnes, Kidd-Gilchrist). Aldridge is our scoring big man. Then just trade for a good rebounding/defensive center. Center is my least worrisome position. It's not hard to sign a solid big for MLE these days.

Beal is strictly a SG, he is very similar to Eric Gordon and Rivers is small enough to play pg but his assist rate is really low. I wouldn't mind Rivers at 11 because he has the ability to create his own shot which the Blazers sorely need.

Also Drummond is definitely a center and Sullinger is small but could play center cause he's 275

[lukeyrid13]

As for signing a center with the MLE
1. We won't have the MLE cause we have cap space

2. Kwame Brown, Brendan Haywood, Adonal Foyle etc all made 8 mil + a year and they aren't even good centers. Maybe average so it won't be easy to fill

[Duck24]

I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Beal is rated so highly. He's a 6'3 shooting guard who shoots "lights out" at 34% from 3. I'd love to see Drummond/Barnes and Lamb.

[UOducksTK1]

I was really hoping the Blazers would move up, for some reason I was optimistic going in.

That being said I think they should take Drummond or Beal if available at 6, or maybe try and add just a little(nolan smith, babbitt, maybe elliott williams) and get up to about 4 to take one of those guys. Then I'd say take Sullinger at 11 or move 11 along with wes matthews for igoudala

Why would we take two PFs when we have Aldridge already.

IMO add a PG (Rivers, Beal, etc) and a SG/SF (Barnes, Kidd-Gilchrist). Aldridge is our scoring big man. Then just trade for a good rebounding/defensive center. Center is my least worrisome position. It's not hard to sign a solid big for MLE these days.

Beal is strictly a SG, he is very similar to Eric Gordon and Rivers is small enough to play pg but his assist rate is really low. I wouldn't mind Rivers at 11 because he has the ability to create his own shot which the Blazers sorely need.

Also Drummond is definitely a center and Sullinger is small but could play center cause he's 275

Sullinger isn't a center. Drummond is a center, this is true, but I'd personally much rather bulk our back court. That's the reason we've sucked these days. LA + any serviceable center will be fine.

[thomas time]

I would trade the picks for a veteran, like Al Jefferson. Utah gotta trade one of their bigs since they have four of them.

[bellsduck]

I'm hoping Flynn can recapture his abilities and he ends up being a player for the Blazers. However, that's not a given so they need a point guard. Most say Lillard out of Utah State and I'd be happy with him. My opinion is that SG is another weakness and that Matthews is highly overrated by Blazer fans. I'd go with T.Ross at 11 if he's there.
If not then they need more size and youth at a big position also and a lot think this is more of a need than SG. Drummond is not going to be available, so I think the pick either needs to be Leonard out of Illinois or Moultrie out of Miss St.

[UOducksTK1]

I'm hoping Flynn can recapture his abilities and he ends up being a player for the Blazers. However, that's not a given so they need a point guard. Most say Lillard out of Utah State and I'd be happy with him. My opinion is that SG is another weakness and that Matthews is highly overrated by Blazer fans. I'd go with T.Ross at 11 if he's there.
If not then they need more size and youth at a big position also and a lot think this is more of a need than SG. Drummond is not going to be available, so I think the pick either needs to be Leonard out of Illinois or Moultrie out of Miss St.

With all do respect to Flynn and the people I offend, but he is garbage. A bust, if you would.

Gotta draft a PG. Ross is a good player, but isn't that why we have Wesley Matthews? Both are NBA perimeter players. Shooters. Unless we move Matthews, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to land Ross.

[briarduck]

Tough choices and I agree with TK but with our picks I would take the Best Player Available at this point...do we have good talent evaluators without our GM in place and more importantly a coach to kow what type of team we have going forward...so BPA is my take.

[Duck24]

Tough choices and I agree with TK but with our picks I would take the Best Player Available at this point...do we have good talent evaluators without our GM in place and more importantly a coach to kow what type of team we have going forward...so BPA is my take.

Outside of Batum and LA, do we have any players that we know are legit starters? Even then, say Thomas Robinson or MKG falls to 6, with the Blazers talent level, can they pass on him?

[Boom]

Drummond is the ideal choice if he falls to 6

I would take the best SG available at 11 (Waiters/Lamb/Ross)

And then sign some PGs out of the very strong free agency class.

[lukeyrid13]

Even if Flynn wasn't a bust he has a cap-hold of like 6 or 7 million which would eat up almost half of our cap space. There is no way he is coming back here

[lukeyrid13]

Tough choices and I agree with TK but with our picks I would take the Best Player Available at this point...do we have good talent evaluators without our GM in place and more importantly a coach to kow what type of team we have going forward...so BPA is my take.

Outside of Batum and LA, do we have any players that we know are legit starters? Even then, say Thomas Robinson or MKG falls to 6, with the Blazers talent level, can they pass on him?

I think it'd be fairly easy to move up a spot or two in this draft and I think we should. I think Robinson, MKG etc are much better options than Harrison Barnes who will likely be there at 6. Barnes is gonna be good, but as a 3rd option scoring 14 ppg where as the other two guys can be stars and with Robinson I think maybe even a Blake Griffin lite. Move up to 4 or 5 and secure one of those guys by just moving our 2nd rounders or nolan smith