Alright, first off, what the fuck am I doing? Tossing around that word analysis? Like my ass played basketball past the 8th grade or beyond the recreational level like some learned academic in the nonform arts of armchair psychology?
Because goddamn there’s to be a lot of that stuff in here and I just want anyone reading this to get the disclaimer: I don’t have some secret source into the Blazers front office or Damian Lillard’s brain.
I just watch a lot of Blazers basketball and read a lot of Blazers news, mixed with the greater NBA news cycle. Probably an unhealthy amount, but goddamnit, I wouldn’t have the confidence to write my thoughts on this subject if I didn’t maintain this media consumption regimen.
Which brings up why now, why after the draft? Why no thoughts pre-draft or during the post-season? Three reasons: one, because the end of the season was fucking depressing; two, because I am fucking lazy; and three, because I can’t control time and peer into the future. I’m over the first, working on the second and, try as I might, unable to change the third. But I have a whole host of Greek legends to tell me why that third point is a bad idea.
Nevertheless, that finale took place on my birthday and holy fuck did the Blazers try to give me some shit in a box. I say tried because, God bless ‘em, Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors took that box and crushed it.
Then they maliciously and repeatedly curbstomped the Blazers to such a degree that I could only shout “Somebody arrest Kerr for manslaughter!” from the 300 section in the hopes that it might strike his frigid, black, Grinch-sized heart and those pale deaf goblin ears. He was probably thinking “I gotta avoid that fucking play-in at all costs, no matter how many shitboxes I gotta stomp.”
Fair play, Steve, you ice-cold, dick-killing, GOAT-punching birthday spoiler.
But that’s beside the point: yes, I would have preferred Brandon Miller. I also was originally in the trade-the-pick camp. But thank you, Brandon Roy. I don’t believe in luck so much as cosmic fate, but if Roy delivered another #1, I would have had to reconsider such a position. As it happens, the cosmos just likes San Antonio more.
*cough!*Rigged*cough!*
I’m just glad that I had the chance to witness that smile again. That goddamned smile. That’s where all of this modern trouble began.
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Why Scoot Henderson?
Because the Hornets selected Brandon Miller, a 6’9” guard-forward with a smooth three-ball stroke, great defensive instincts and a lean frame made to become a Jayson Taytum type-player. Albeit this all came with certain character concerns and a lack of finishing skill at the rim. Damn, he’s like Taytum already.
Regardless, at the #3 pick, the Blazers were essentially picking whoever was left over in a three-person draft. Thus the Blazers selected Scoot Henderson of the G-League Ignite. The correct choice.
All of you Thompson twin truthers, out.
Why was it the correct choice? Because no trade partners or packages materialized that could cash in the third pick for a bona fide star and immediate contention with Damian Lillard’s aging career. Lillard needs someone who could help him win now. And despite a fantastic hater’s playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Jayson Taytum were all off the board. Jaylen Brown too, despite a dismal performance against Miami.
Speaking of Miami, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were also removed the moment they reached a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston.
Recently, a potential New Orleans deal also surfaced, but never seriously considered. Trading Zion, despite his health and availability, constituted a major risk on both the part of the seller and the buyer. The moment that hulking bruiser plays more than 60 games is the moment his team becomes a juggernaut.
A framework with Orland was also floated with the Blazers trading down and exchanging the #3 and Nurkic for the #6 and #11 picks and Wendell Carter Jr. The problem is why? The #3 pick is worth more than #6 through #11 combined. And Wendell Carter Jr. is not necessarily the rim-protecting center that the Blazers crave.
Chicago, despite having its name tagged to a future first-round pick until 2028, had no players or package to speak of. Any trade for DeRozan or LaVine would have constituted major organizational malpractice. Therefore, as the draft approached, only two trade partners really remained somewhat viable, the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors.
Ever since Lillard visited the Barclays Center in April, the league went abuzz about a potential Dame to Brooklyn move. First of all, let’s just fuck off with all of those potential trades for the moment. They might be real, might be not. But who cares; general manager Joe Cronin has remained steadfast since the season ended that the ultimate project was to build a contender around Damian Lillard. Of the Brooklyn Nets, Mikal Bridges was the target.
An ironman small forward standing at 6’6” and only 26 years old, Bridges came into his own since departing Phoenix in the Kevin Durant trade. He has made great strides in offensive playmaking by virtue of being damn near the only offensive option for Brooklyn, with a sweet contract at 20 million per year, similar to Blazers’ flamethrower Anfernee Simons. The Simons-for-Bridges swap with picks attached was, therefore, a logical move if the Nets were considering a rebuild.
In truth, the only way to make this deal palatable would have included Simons, Jusuf Nurkìc, #3, #23, or a couple second-round picks in exchange for Bridges, Nic Claxton [a rim-running, rim-protecting big man], and the #21 or #22 pick. The chances of Brooklyn biting on a big trade when they wouldn’t on the small one were pretty low. As low as Miami biting on that Adebayo counteroffer from Portland after they leaked their interest and thinking that Lillard would become available this summer.
Once again, fuck off.
By the week of the draft, it was clear that Brooklyn felt fine standing pat; no dice on what have been the best fit in terms of talent and contract. A secondary star with defensive and offensive potential at a reasonable contract remains a dream in Portland.
That left the Toronto Raptors.
A trade for Pascal Siakam has been tossed around the league for damn near two years now. The all-NBA power forward would easily be the most talented teammate for Lillard since the halcyon days of LaMarcus Aldridge. A key part of the 2019 championship team, he’s only become a craftier 25-point player and exceptional on-ball/off-ball defender who could slot in at a four or small-five position.
The problem is the Blazers already have a natural four, Jerami Grant, acquired for pennies on the dollar last summer and planned to return to the Blazers on a five-year, $150 million deal. Shifting Grant down to the three position is doable, but might come at the cost of reduced defensive capabilities against quicker, shiftier small forwards, not to say anything of the elite tier.
Moreover, Siakam’s deal is in its last year, with Chris Haynes reporting that the power forward desires to stay in Toronto even if traded. So trading for him might just end up with him back where you started but with fewer actual assets.
The even larger problem, however, isn’t on the court or with the agent, but in the war room. Masai Ujiri will not waver on a dogged determination to win every trade. Rather than find a workable compromise or framework that leaves both sides otherwise happy, he has taken on the Danny Ainge method of trading, extracting every last imagined ounce of value until it ultimately debilitates the trade partner. He wants to be the fleecer, not the fleeced.
“You fuck me? No, I fuck you.”
Great in theory. But what happens when those potential trade partners are fed up with this zero-sum game and decide not to play or look elsewhere? The Raptors have demanded multiple picks, Shaedon Sharpe and Simons for O.G. Anunoby, a much less talented player than Siakam. The price for a one-year rental of Siakam is thus just not worth it. Hard pass.
So where does this leave the Blazers and their vaunted third pick?
Having made their swings and come out with no veteran players to help Lillard, the front office chose to help the organization writ large by acquiring Sterling “Scoot” Henderson. As much as I preferred Miller, it was the right move, position/fit/minutes aside.
His talent is unquestioned, comparable to Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose. A rim-pressuring 6’2” guard with a 6’7” wingspan, he has excellent court vision, a good starting midrange game and excellent physical tools to become a defensive menace and on-ball pest. A consensus #1 pick in a non-Wembanyama team. He is absolutely built like a professional ball player, both in physique and mentality. The kid wants to ball hard according to every coach, journalist and league official who has met him. His only weakness is on the perimeter, with work needed on the three-ball.
Overall, he is a playmaker in a playmaker’s league. And his mononym is perfect for transitioning from the Dame era to the Scoot era. Once again, Dame-Traders, fuck off.
But that’s Scoot. What about the others?
The Moneyball Picks
At #23, the Blazers selected Kris Murray from Iowa State. The lefty twin brother to Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, the 6’8” forward is a natural fit at the three, with the opportunity to make an immediate impact. He’s a 3-and-D wing ready to plug-and-play off the bench. The #23 pick could have greased the wheels of any trade, but the decision to take a player with an Otto Porter Jr. floor was a solid one.
Twenty picks later, the Blazers selected Rayan Rupert of France at #43. At 6’7” with a 7’2” wingspan, the Frenchman was a switchable pest in the Australian National Basketball League, playing for the New Zealand Breaker’s championship-level squad. His three-ball needs work, but his comparison should titillate Trail Blazer’s faithful: Nicolas Batum.
Ooh baby. This prospect trained at Batum’s basketball camps and with Tony Parker’s program in France. Ooh, baby, baby. Tell me more?
On y va: he was invited by the NBA to their “Green Room,” which means he was projected by the league as a lottery-level talent. He only fell to the Blazers as he was promised a multi-year deal if he dropped.
With that promise, Rupert’s agent went to fucking work and voila: the Blazers selected their third lottery-level talent that can fill out an increasingly younger roster at a position of need.
So Does That Mean We Trade Dame?!?
No, you thirsty bastards. And I’ll write my thoughts on that topic further into the summer. The reality is the Blazers have other assets and moves they can make to improve the roster; Anfernee Simons remains a tradeable contract for value. Nurkìc as well, if the right picks are attached.
The Blazers can always negotiate with Chicago or, even better, find a three-team deal that uses someone else’s picks. There’s also always the option of a Jerami Grant sign-and-trade, but that comes with a risk of pissing off Lillard by trading one of his guys.
Regardless, the ball is in Lillard’s court; he will have to make his decision by the end of the summer if he wants to stay or if he wants to go. Fans of the Blazers can rest assured, however, that the organization is putting itself in a place to benefit either way.
That Mike Schmitz hire? Well, it’s aging like a fine wine.
The Casual Ramble 