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Jun 13

Ford: Blazers Taking Lillard, Lamb In Newest Mock Draft

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By caseyholdahl Posted in: 2012draft, draft2012

Today is the start of a three-day predraft workout marathon at the practice facility. Should be exciting. And just in time, ESPN.com's Chad Ford released the seventh iteration of his mock draft, and he has the Trail Blazers taking some familiar names.

At No. 6, Ford has Portland selecting Weber State point guard Damian Lillard, but with a caveat ...

Analysis: If Drummond falls here, I think they take him. But if he doesn't, I'm hearing Lillard could be the man. He wowed at the draft combine and measured very similar in size and athletic ability to Derrick Rose.

While Lillard isn't nearly the same prospect as Rose, the Blazers need a point guard and Lillard has the potential to be very, very good. Taking him at No. 6 is no longer a reach. Harrison Barnes and Jeremy Lamb would also be in the mix here.

I'm just going to go on record here and say if Lillard is ANYTHING like Derek Rose, he's an absolute bank heist at No. 6.

With No. 11, Ford has the Trail Blazers taking another guard, UConn two Jeremy Lamb, but with yet another caveat ...

Analysis: If the Blazers get Lillard at No. 6, they'll be tempted to go ahead and reach for a young big like Leonard. However, this might also be a great opportunity to fill out their backcourt with another guard.

Lamb has great length for his position, is a smooth athlete and, combined with Lillard, would give the Blazers a powerful scoring punch. Don't count out Austin Rivers and Dion Waiters here, either; I hear Portland's new GM, Neil Olshey, is a fan of both.

Will one or both of these players workout for the Trail Blazers today? Tune into www.trailblazers.tv at around 1 PM and then again at 3 PM to find out. You'll find out who's here at the same time the media does.

Previous Story: Olshey: Team Narrowing Down Draft Targets

Next Story: Hollinger: 'I Don't Think It's A Rebuild' And Other Portland Thoughts

15 Comments

Portland would be stupid to take Lamb whose stock has really fallen over the last year in my mind. If they are going to target a shooting guard Terrance Ross would be a much better option at #11. He can shoot with Lamb, his defense is much better than Lamb's and at 6'7" he will not have any trouble getting his shot off at the next level. Also because he is 6'7" he gives Portland the option of playing him at the 2 or the 3. Lamb is far too skinny for that to be a consideration.

by cmeese47 on 6/13/2012 10:42 AM
Hey Casey:I agree with Ford on the 6th pick, I think we will pick the BPA at 6, whether that be Lillard, Barnes, Drummand or even Drool,MKG. At 11 if we get Lillard at 6 then I am thinking they will hope for Leonard, but if Lennard is not available, they would go for Marshall. or another big.
I personally am not looking at Rivers because He is compared to Jamal on the high side and low side.
If we get lucky and get Drummand at 6, I believe Lillard would be gone before 11 so, I am going for Marshall before Lamb. If we are going for position at 11

by Hg on 6/13/2012 11:07 AM
I only want us to a draft Lillard if we are taking a PG early on otherwise we can use the draft to fill other areas we cannot address in free agency. Terrance Ross, Meyers Leonard, John Henson, PJIII would all be better options than Marshall.

by cmeese47 on 6/13/2012 11:33 AM
i have a couple of concerns about Lillard.

first, he's elevated his stock to a possible #6 pick over the past few weeks. my question is, why couldn't he raise his stock that high during last season? playing well at the combine and draft workouts is absolutely great, but in real game action, he wasn't there. to me, that's a huge question mark.

second, does anyone realize this guy only averaged 1.5 assists last season? in the nba where players are bigger, faster and more experienced, you can't have your starting pg (if you pick him that high, you've got to start him), holding on to the ball. you need him to pass it and direct the offense. from the analysis and clips i've seen of his game, he seems more like Jamal Crawford starting at pg we all know how well that turned out now, don't we?

i'm sure he's a great guy who's mom loves him, but he's not, and i repeat, NOT, the sixth best player available in this draft.

~ KMM

by Kassandra on 6/13/2012 12:59 PM
Kass-

If you read Chad Ford's quote about Lillard from the combine, it has to do with him playing at Weber State., and not being on television every other week. He said a lot of execs had never seen him play so this is their first glimpse at him.

by DHawes22 on 6/13/2012 1:07 PM
Lillard averaged 4 assists a game. That 1.5 that you're referring to is steals per game, which is quite impressive. Just because he didn't average a ton of assists doesn't mean he can't play point guard. Rajon Rondo, one of the best passing point guards in the league averaged 4.2 assists per game in college. He's nothing like Jamal, he knows how to pass and run a team. In his interviews he said that he was forced to score in college because they didn't have many weapons, but he is a true point guard. The guy was the leading scorer in college basketball last year. He has good size at about 6'3" and great athletic ability (39" vertical leap). If he's not the "sixth best player available in this draft", then I'd like to hear who is.

by jarust91 on 6/13/2012 1:11 PM
Kassandra, I am not sure where you got your stats but here is Lillard's line from last season.

24.5 PPG 46.7 FG% 40.9 3PT% 8 FTA 88.7 FT% 5.0 REB 4.0 AST 1.5 STL 2.3 TO
Those are pretty impressive numbers no matter where he played. But as Dustin mentioned very few people let alone mock drafters watched Weber State last season.

by cmeese47 on 6/13/2012 1:38 PM
yeah, my bad about the assists. i still think 4 assists per game is low for a starting pg who is being expected to initiate the offense. so Rondo only averaged 4.2 in college. that doesn't mean Lillard will do the same. i have major concerns about that 4.0 to 2.3 assist to turnover ratio. the same reason fewer people saw Lillard play is the same reason we should be weary of his statline. weber st. is not exactly a powerhouse and the competition level in it's conference, while perhaps entertaining, is not that of the major ncaa programs. additionally, if he is the sixth best player in the draft, even a weber st. player would have been ranked higher prior to the combine. sorry, that argument just plain doesn't fly. have nothing against the guy, and if we ended up taking him, i'd pull for him to do well. however, as much as many have a good feeling about him, my feeling at the moment is not so good. but please, let the Lillard lovefest continue!

~ KMM

by Kassandra on 6/13/2012 2:20 PM
@Kassandra The reason why Lillard's assist stats are so low, is because he carried Weber State with his scoring stats. And his scoring stats alone are very impressive. The reason why his stock has risen so much now has already been mentioned, and it's because he played at a small college.
I am absolutely drooling over having Lillard on the team next season, but I think we would have to take him at 6, otherwise he will probably be taken by New Orleans with their 10th pick at the latest.

by CameraOn on 6/13/2012 3:02 PM
his statline is impressive; i'll give you that. then again it's not like weber st. plays in a coference containing the upper teir of teams. if he played in a major conference, those numbers would not have been as good -- hands down. combine or not, small school or not, i highly doubt that so many people -- including team scouts -- know so little about the guy who led college basketball in scoring last year. that's just plain not realistic. bottom line is, as i've said, he is NOT the sixth best player in the draft. about the only thing i agree with Chad Ford on is that if Drummond is available, which is an extremely good possibility, we'll probably take him. the real draft workouts are beginning this week. i would presume that there will be a much better guage of who may -- or may not -- be taken when the workouts are concluded. i will say that i think Ford is off the mark; if we take Lillard at 6, we won't take Lamb at 11. on the other hand, i would say if we don't take Lillard at 6 then we might take Lamb at 11.

~ KMM

by Kassandra on 6/13/2012 3:23 PM
The four assists/game isn't fantastic, but he did average 5 rebounds a game though, which is impressive for a guard. That strikes me as one of the reasons he's being compared to Derek Rose.

by caseyholdahl on 6/13/2012 3:28 PM
Hey Kassandra: Of course I need to put my 2 cents in. I am not picking on you and you know how much I love you, mushy mushy; on the defense of Lillard, he was recovering from a broken foot last year and is just now getting completely over it. He was needed to pack the load therefore he shot most of the time. OTOH, Marshall had great players around him and he needed to get the ball to those scorers. DHawes22 and I discussed this and came to the conclusion that Lillard could increase his passing and Marshall can increase his shooting, Marshall is still in pain from a broken elbow, and Lillard has a chip on his shoulder trying to prove just because he is from a small college, it doesn't mean he isn't as good. I have been the underdog all my life, and I can tell you that will give you more motors to prove everybody wrong. Of course that doesn't help him as a human but will add up on the athletic field.
As you know, I have no idea as who is BPA, I leave that up to the FO. I am just saying that if we get him at 6, get a PG through trade or FA, to make him compete for the job, I would be fine with that.

by Hg on 6/13/2012 3:42 PM
Thank god no one has really come out in favor of Lamb on here that would be a wasted pick for this team imo.

by cmeese47 on 6/13/2012 5:11 PM
@cmeeze47 yeah I agree, I think what should pan out is if Lillard is selected at 6, then Meyers Leonard or Tyler Zeller should be selected at 11, and if Drummond is selected at 6 then Lillard (if he is still available, which he probably won't) should be picked or if unavailable, then Kendall Marshall at 11.

by CameraOn on 6/14/2012 2:51 AM
I agree completely with Kass, I think she has nailed the problem with Lillard. Do we really need someone who passes second and isn't a good defender,......again?

by Mieke Appel on 6/15/2012 4:33 PM