2013 NBA Draft thread

[JimLeavy59]

Porter is such a better player on offense than Prince especially when shooting the ball.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I've been hearing the Tayshaun Prince comparison with Porter for months now as well. In fact I really can't remember any other player he's been compared to.

Al-Farouq Aminu. Heard that as a comparison to his "downside".

[FedEx227]

Portland just turned down #1 + #19 picks for Aldridge.

I think it's smart on their part tbh, I doubt you're gonna get another 20-10 guy with those picks, and they have the 10th pick anyway.

But where is Portland going? I understand what you're saying in regards to the talent level of Aldridge, but what's the end game for Portland with Aldridge as their "star"? At what point are you sick of being a mid-level West team and do a soft rebuild. #1, #10 and #19 picks are pretty damn nice.

[Argath]

But where is Portland going? I understand what you're saying in regards to the talent level of Aldridge, but what's the end game for Portland with Aldridge as their "star"? At what point are you sick of being a mid-level West team and do a soft rebuild. #1, #10 and #19 picks are pretty damn nice.

Not in this draft class. They have him for 2 more years why not hold on to him and see what you can get next year when there's supposed to be a ton of big names coming out

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

But where is Portland going? I understand what you're saying in regards to the talent level of Aldridge, but what's the end game for Portland with Aldridge as their "star"? At what point are you sick of being a mid-level West team and do a soft rebuild. #1, #10 and #19 picks are pretty damn nice.

In a terrible draft.

To be fair...if I were the Blazers...I might have done that deal and built around Lillard and Batum. Its a bad draft though. So, with 1, 10, and 19...who are you getting in this draft that will give some legitimacy building around Lillard and Batum?

You got your pick of the litter @ #1...so, who do you take...right now, its all bigs...Len (you already have Leonard), Noel (you won't play him much as a rookie). McLemore has slid down (although, he makes the most sense @ #1 for Cleveland, IMO), Oladipo is a reach @ #1, same for Porter.

Then @ #10, mock drafts have the Blazers picking a big. Steven Adams, Big Nog...or a guard...KCP. Then @ 19, you have a slew of players...who knows, but lets say...a role player.

So, for Aldridge, you move on and get say...Nerlens Noel, a guard (KCP, MCW, McCollum), and a role player (I've seen mocks with Shabazz sliding to around 19, so, lets say him on the high end or a Reggie Bullock or another kind of backup role player there)...is that a good deal in this year's draft?

Portland then has a roster of Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Hickson, Leonard, Noel, KCP, Reggie Bullock, and the rest of their bench (Claver, Freeland, et al). I'm not sure you are actually improving the team from a mid-level West Squad. Although, the team is a little deeper and one of the Blazers major issues was their depth.

Eh, now I've talked myself out of it...I probably wouldn't make the deal.

Cleveland has eyed up Aldridge all off-season and would be perfect for them.

[FedEx227]

I would do it only because Portland with Aldridge is okay enough to avoid a high draft pick in the next two years but obviously not going to be a winner in the West unless of course you think Lillard and Batum take steps forward.

I totally understand the bad draft thought, I just think given their position in the NBA and the West, I would definitely consider it. It's not about solely improving in year one it's about building the foundation of high draft picks over time. Yeah, Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Noel, KCP, etc. isn't a good team in fact it's a worse team but that's the goal in a lot of ways. Be bad enough to get another favorable draft slot next year and then you're cooking.

Instead, they can be .500, maybe slide into the 8th seed, have a non-lottery pick and do business as usual. Complacency kills in the NBA.

[FirstTimer]

In a terrible draft.

To be fair...if I were the Blazers...I might have done that deal and built around Lillard and Batum. Its a bad draft though. So, with 1, 10, and 19...who are you getting in this draft that will give some legitimacy building around Lillard and Batum?

You got your pick of the litter @ #1...so, who do you take...right now, its all bigs...Len (you already have Leonard), Noel (you won't play him much as a rookie). McLemore has slid down (although, he makes the most sense @ #1 for Cleveland, IMO), Oladipo is a reach @ #1, same for Porter.

Then @ #10, mock drafts have the Blazers picking a big. Steven Adams, Big Nog...or a guard...KCP. Then @ 19, you have a slew of players...who knows, but lets say...a role player.

So, for Aldridge, you move on and get say...Nerlens Noel, a guard (KCP, MCW, McCollum), and a role player (I've seen mocks with Shabazz sliding to around 19, so, lets say him on the high end or a Reggie Bullock or another kind of backup role player there)...is that a good deal in this year's draft?

Portland then has a roster of Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Hickson, Leonard, Noel, KCP, Reggie Bullock, and the rest of their bench (Claver, Freeland, et al). I'm not sure you are actually improving the team from a mid-level West Squad. Although, the team is a little deeper and one of the Blazers major issues was their depth.

Eh, now I've talked myself out of it...I probably wouldn't make the deal.

Cleveland has eyed up Aldridge all off-season and would be perfect for them.

While it's a bad draft at the very top end Bilas said something last night that made some sense to me. He basically said that if this draft started out at pick #7 it'd be a pretty good/solid draft class. The #1 pick may not be as good as some other drafts but I think the depth is pretty good overall. It's not 2003's draft but it's also not the turd farms that 2002 or 2000 were.

[FirstTimer]

I would do it only because Portland with Aldridge is okay enough to avoid a high draft pick in the next two years but obviously not going to be a winner in the West unless of course you think Lillard and Batum take steps forward.

I totally understand the bad draft thought, I just think given their position in the NBA and the West, I would definitely consider it. It's not about solely improving in year one it's about building the foundation of high draft picks over time. Yeah, Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Noel, KCP, etc. isn't a good team in fact it's a worse team but that's the goal in a lot of ways. Be bad enough to get another favorable draft slot next year and then you're cooking.

Instead, they can be .500, maybe slide into the 8th seed, have a non-lottery pick and do business as usual. Complacency kills in the NBA.

Or trade those guys to some dipshit organization like Charlotte for one of their top picks in the future.

[Argath]

Why the need to trade him now? They have him for two more seasons. If they trade him next year they can have 2 picks in a very good draft class instead of 3 in a mediocre-very sub par class

[FirstTimer]

Why the need to trade him now? They have him for two more seasons. If they trade him next year they can have 2 picks in a very good draft class instead of 3 in a mediocre-very sub par class

Because there might not be an offer out there for him next season?

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I don't see Portland getting a deal that resembles 1/19 for Aldridge next year.

[FedEx227]

I don't see Portland getting a deal that resembles 1/19 for Aldridge next year.

Right. lol. Why is Argath assuming that this is a static deal that will always be on the table?

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

While it's a bad draft at the very top end Bilas said something last night that made some sense to me. He basically said that if this draft started out at pick #7 it'd be a pretty good/solid draft class. The #1 pick may not be as good as some other drafts but I think the depth is pretty good overall. It's not 2003's draft but it's also not the turd farms that 2002 or 2000 were.

Nearly every NBA Draft will have "depth" of some kind where good players will emerge. Even the 2002 and 2000 draft's had a fair share of good players come out of them. Not at the top, but there was Amare, Boozer, Caron Butler, Tayshaun Prince, Luis Scola, Jamal Crawford, K-Mart (who, I think Noel reminds me of a little bit especially with the injury), Hedo, Michael Redd, etc.

Does this draft have more of those types? Probably. Its still not one I'd want to load up on picks with. I'll take my picks if I have them, but its not a draft I want to load up on bullets with, especially not at the expense of one of the better bigs in the game.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Right. lol. Why is Argath assuming that this is a static deal that will always be on the table?

Next year's draft looks like one where picks 1-10 are going to be coveted picks. There is a lot of good potential players after Andrew Wiggins comes off the board. Put it this way...just for comparisons sake...Dario Saric was projected anywhere from 5-13 in this draft...in next year's draft, he's projecting as a late first.

[FedEx227]