[00:00:00] Dustin: All right, everybody, welcome to the 368th edition of the Holy Backboard podcast. I am Dustin here in Rip City and they got my man.
[00:00:13] Sage: Sage, man, I’m so excited to talk about this draft. It’s, it’s, it’s not a good draft by any means, but I’d rather be talking draft than talking about a 60 point loss or a 30 point loss type of type of thing.
[00:00:28] So, you know, talking about talented youngsters that, and their development and what they can do on this team is much more exciting to me than, you know, we, we, our old veterans played 30 minutes and we lost by 60.
[00:00:43] Dustin: If the draft were to be held today, Portland would own the 5th pick their own, the 10th pick from Golden State,
[00:00:54] and Tankathon doesn’t, [00:01:00] where are we at Tankathon? There we go. Had to go to the mock draft. The 34th pick, which is Charlotte’s 2nd round pick, that is a very valuable pick. That’s better than anybody’s 2nd round pick. And then the 38th pick from Atlanta. So those are two very valuable second round picks Portland is is really stocked in this draft Probably not the draft you want to be stocked in but regardless of the draft whether it’s 1986 2000 2013 whatever bad draft class you want to say there’s talent 2000 is probably the ultimate outlier, but there is talent every single year.
[00:01:42] Uh, and if there is a year to take a home, not a home run, a grand slam swing. It’s this year. You need to swing for the fences, um, because this draft doesn’t have the Wimbanyama, there’s no Doncic, there’s no Zion, uh, you need to look for the Jokic, you need to look for the Giannis, you [00:02:00] need to really probably go overseas, and you gotta swing big, and you gotta be patient, and you gotta be willing to develop and pour into these players, and just wait.
[00:02:09] Two, three years and watch incremental growth because I guarantee you every one of those teams who passed on Giannis just like two years after that draft probably thought to themselves. We should have took that kid, and he would have been fine at number one, and he would have been fine at number ten, like, it didn’t, it didn’t matter, this, this draft, in my, in my memory, is most comparable to 2013, where there is a consensus right now, and that’s who we’re gonna be discussing as the number one pick, but no one’s gonna be surprised if this person falls to three or four, I mean, anybody could go number one, I mean, Anthony Bennett, like, I So I was working for the Blazers in 2013.
[00:02:48] I believe we had the 11th or 13th pick, something like that. It was a late lottery pick. It was CJ. And we took CJ McCollum. But like, mock drafts, leaks, I was doing all of the mock draft, uh, you [00:03:00] know, collations, and seeing who they had us taking. Anthony Bennett was dropping down to us, and I was like, Oh, this would be really rad, like, you know, young freshman from UNLV, like, a lot of potential.
[00:03:10] And then the hours before the draft, he just skyrockets to number one. And that’s what I think this draft is going to be like, you know, you can look at mock drafts now, take them with a grain of salt. Um, it’s going to be a lot like last year when Balakula Bali kind of came out of nowhere and all of a sudden you heard first round buzz.
[00:03:28] Okay. Late lottery buzz. Okay. We have teams trying to get him in the, in the top 10 and that’s what Washington did. They ended up, you know, beating out OKC and swooping up and getting their guy. You’re going to see a lot of that. I think this year just players that may be completely off the radar are starting to fly up.
[00:03:44] Um, a lot of
[00:03:45] Sage: foreign born players
[00:03:46] Dustin: are a lot of, you know, the NBA is a global game and I think that’s truly where the game is going. Um, And that’s, that’s one of the reasons I like this prospect that we’re about to talk about. Uh, so for the [00:04:00] first future Friday, uh, we are going to be looking at Alexander Saar.
[00:04:05] He played for overtime elite the past and now he plays for Perth, which is in the NBL. He is seven one, 217 pounds. Wingspan has not yet been officially recorded. Uh, 18 years old. Uh, I especially have a soft spot for him because he’s, because he’s born on my birthday and that’s a big deal because growing up like nobody famous had my birthday.
[00:04:28] The only NBA player that had my birthday was Bill Wennington and nobody wants to share birthday with Bill Wennington. Like, no, no disrespect Bill. You got yourself some hardware, but. You, you definitely are the backup catcher of NBA centers. Uh, you know, you’re just kind of sitting there and, okay, Jordan passed me the ball.
[00:04:47] I’ll dump it off for a victory against the Knicks. But that’s enough Bill Wennington talk for this episode. Uh, from Bordeaux, France. Um, currently number one on Tankathon’s big board. And his season [00:05:00] averages, uh, through January 15th. Played in just 21 games. I believe he is currently, um, on the mend right now.
[00:05:07] Yeah, he took a bad
[00:05:08] Sage: one. Uh, I was watching the game, and I didn’t know that he was gonna get hurt, and I watch archived versions of every game. Uh, ESPN Australia has condensed games, so I’ve watched all of the Perth games, and he was just dribbling the ball, and then non contact fell, and I was like, oh well, it’s over for him.
[00:05:27] And then he came back in, and now I think it’s a smart move that he’s, uh, gonna stay, I, I, he should be 100 percent for the draft, he’s not playing, like, Perth is, Giving Bryce Cotton the ball and having him run the show.
[00:05:42] Dustin: Yeah, these international leagues, when you look at the statistics, you’re not going to be over, overblown because they play to win.
[00:05:48] Like, they’re not about developing talent. They know their talent goes, goes, uh, overseas to the NBA. Like, that’s their young talent. Same thing when we talk about Nikola Topic. That, that’s, that’s just what, what happens. Like, [00:06:00] they play vets and they play guys who know are going to get them victories.
[00:06:03] They’re not interested in being a farm system for the NBA. So, on the season, 21 games, 18.8 minutes per game, averaging 9.8 points. Doing so on 48.8% from the field on 7.6. Uh, field goal attempts per per night shooting 28.3% from downtown on two and a half attempts per game. Shooting 63% from the line on 2.6.
[00:06:27] Free throw attempts per game. Grabbing 4.8 rebounds, one assist 1.2 blocks, half a steal. Uh, doing so, um, like I said, just under 19 minutes with a player efficiency rating of 19. 06.
[00:06:42] Sage: So do you want to talk about, it’s been a minute since we did this, do you want to talk offense or defense first? Cause well,
[00:06:49] Dustin: it has to be I think you need to do it based upon the player strengths And the reason he is considered the top prospect in the draft is for his defensive versatility defensive impact You [00:07:00] see the the new wave of NBA player And I think we discussed this on a previous episode where you look at Kevin Durant just 15 years ago and like that was considered like an alien and now all of a sudden like Giannis gets drafted and then You know, when Bonyama and Chet Holmgren and players are getting bigger, they’re getting longer, leaner, faster.
[00:07:20] Alex Sarr is in the mold of the new wave. Yeah, I have a Mowgli type stuff. Whether you think he’s worthy of being the top pick or not. I think his value inherently, especially for a Western Conference foe, lies in the ability to at least match up the best possible way with when Bonyama and Chet Holmgren.
[00:07:41] Like, 7 1, moves fluid, has length, like, no defender is going to shut those players down. But you have to have your own version of a Wemba Nyama and a Holmgren, uh, make no mistake about it. He just has the ability to move his feet laterally really well. Um, so for a modern NBA [00:08:00] big, you’re able to do a lot of different things with him.
[00:08:02] His length allows him to play drop coverage just enough because he is quick enough to recover. And a contest shot, but he’s also good enough to block shots at the rim and he’s nimble enough to stay out on the perimeter. Uh, my favorite thing to do when I, when I look at prospects is to look at like the quote unquote flashes of brilliance, like what gets you up out of your seat?
[00:08:21] And they had two games this year, early November, which really skyrocketed
[00:08:26] Sage: when he got, when he got, uh, him in. When they got the G League Ignite,
[00:08:31] Dustin: like he had two defensive plays. One he was isolated on the island with, with Ron Holland, another projected overall top overall pick in this draft. And he just defensively just, just walled him up for a whole possession.
[00:08:44] I mean, think Kevin Love on Steph Curry in the 2016 NBA finals game set. Like when K Love was just like, no, you’re not getting by me no matter what. And he just, he just clamped up. That’s that’s what. What SAR gives you the ability to do, uh, you’re going to, especially in today’s NBA, [00:09:00] when offenses are kind of breaking the game, he is, has the ability to switch on anyone and do a marvelous job.
[00:09:07] And then he is just an incredible help side shot Walker. Um, and the other, in the, in the same game, uh, modest Bezelos of the ignite, another top overall pit contender, uh, had a layup. He comes, you know, Basically from nowhere and blocks that shot. He stays grounded on the ensuing pump fake by Booz Ellis and swats it away.
[00:09:27] So you two blocks in one possession just really shows, uh, the quick second jump shows the defensive instincts, uh, the timing, you know, not everyone can, can just block shots just because you’re long, you have to have some sort of, um, And it’s just, it just, it’s a natural ability to be able to do it. Um, I also like the fact that he is a riser.
[00:09:50] Um, I like players who show progress, you know, he’s one of the youngest players in the draft and you’re not going to get like what you draft now is not going to be the finished product. I
[00:09:59] Sage: [00:10:00] mean, you, you, you brought up that he played at Overtime Elite, and I remember watching him at Overtime Elite, and he was missing shots left and right, like he wasn’t even getting it close to center, he was missing wide left, wide right, so there was something inherently wrong with his shot, and now he’s taking and making some really clutch three pointers.
[00:10:22] In Australia, but you bring up his defensive, um, abilities. In one of those OT, OTE games, I was watching and Asar Thompson, who we both really like, especially creation wise, they had this seven one Alex are guarding. Asar Thompson, the entire game, and it was Asar Thompson’s worst performance. He had him in jail.
[00:10:46] Like, the way that a 7’1 person can slide their feet and play defense on, I mean, like, a 99th percentile athlete and Asar Thompson. It showed some really great flashes [00:11:00] defensively. And then you look at what he’s doing against G the G league night in there, you know, uh, foreign verse G league ignite game, those two sets.
[00:11:11] And he put Ron Hollins in jail. I mean, he can fit in any scheme defensively with his athleticism, his foot speed, the way he uses his hands defensively. He is a really, really great defender in this league. And. You, you, you can move your feet with. One of the best athletes I’ve ever seen and it’s our Thompson.
[00:11:34] That’s pretty special in a 7 1 body Um, I really I really do think that defensively he gives whoever our head coach is next year a lot of options You can you can have him be aggressive like we do now You can put him in to drop The only thing that I think he would struggle with defensively is post defense against Joel Embiid But guess what?
[00:11:56] Everybody will get problems going against Joel [00:12:00] Embiid in single coverage. So yeah, I think
[00:12:02] Dustin: he He needs to add more muscle. Oh yeah, absolutely. But again, he’s 18. I also, like, the tools are there. Like, he’s gonna need more experience, he’s gonna need time, he’s gonna need nurturing, but the tools are there. He has tools that you can’t teach.
[00:12:17] He has fluid hips. He has nice lateral movement, go go gadget arms, solid shot blocking instincts, and he’s got a smooth gait. Like, those are, those check all the boxes of a big man. Like, you don’t want them to be, uh, slow prodding. You don’t want them to be flat footed. You don’t want them to have a hitch in their giddy up.
[00:12:35] You don’t want them to have, you know, lower leg injuries
[00:12:38] Sage: or history of Talk about Donovan Clinging without talking about Donovan Clinging. Exactly.
[00:12:44] Dustin: Yeah, that’s a dinosaur. Like they’re extinct. I love dinosaurs, but they are extinct. You need somebody who’s going to be able to move, um, and just move really well and smoothly on the court.
[00:12:55] Um, yeah, incredible agility
[00:12:59] Sage: with the [00:13:00] responsibilities that each center has to do for this, for their teams. He hits everything that you have to do defensively. And we’re not talking about rebounding because that’s probably his. Physicality and rebounding is his biggest weakness because he is,
[00:13:15] Dustin: he is not a cure all prospect.
[00:13:17] No, he comes in.
[00:13:18] Sage: You need to have like Jared Vanderbilt be his power forward. You need
[00:13:22] Dustin: a Buck Williams, Brian Grant, like Maurice Lucas enforcer power forward. That is going to be physical. That is going to rebound on the basketball. Uh, because that’s,
[00:13:32] Sage: he, he’s not that. And I don’t think he ever will be. No.
[00:13:36] And like, I think that makes him have like the. Evan Mobley type of, he can play center, but he could also play power forward. Cause right now his body is not ready for 82 games at center for any NBA team. He can barely handle 15 minutes in the very, very aggressive and physical NBL. [00:14:00] But you look at what he can do just defensively.
[00:14:04] It’s special. You just have to have a specialized rebounder like Paul Millsap or something next to him so he can, he can do all the dirty work that Sar just, his body isn’t ready for it. And, but you look at the shoulders and you think he could add weight, but I don’t want him to be like Donovan Clingan where he adds 20 pounds on his frame and then, you know.
[00:14:27] Issues begin to happen because you’re heavy, so it’s got to be a nice balance of what can Alex are due to be physically strong enough to handle the physical pains of going against Joel Embiid and, uh, you know, all of these other centers in the league that, you know, you’re going to have to. Do a lot of things for you.
[00:14:50] So slide your feet, try and get into position, but we, if, if whoever gets SAR has to have a rebounder at the four and the three. And right now, that ain’t really [00:15:00] happening with the Portland trailblazers, the 1
[00:15:02] Dustin: downside to him playing in Australia and not in the states where you can readily watch him readily get media coverage.
[00:15:10] Like, nobody is talking about Alex are obviously he’s not women, but there’s no, there’s not a lot of draft prospects. Thanks. In the current college basketball that I mean, like we said, this is a heavy for an influence draft class. The one thing that kind of eased my concerns about Chet Holmgren and how long and lanky he was was they would do so many features on him and you would watch him and you could just see the toughness and you could tell like he wasn’t going to back down.
[00:15:40] Like he had that that ability mentally that. He’s skinny, but he’s going to put up a fight, and I don’t know, I can’t answer that question for Saur, and that would go a long ways into how much I would be willing to go up in the draft and grab him or not, like I don’t know if he’s got that, that dog personality, where he’s just going to be an [00:16:00] absolute animal, and really enjoy that adversity in the confrontation that Holmgren does, like that gets Holmgren running.
[00:16:11] So,
[00:16:12] Sage: I watch Alexar quite a bit, and he’s, he’s about it, people talk shit to him because, you know, highly regarded prospect in the NBL, people, people try and bully him, he’s about it, and hits, like, really high leverage three pointers in like the last second, and wins the game cause of it and talks shit right back, but, he has a real hesitation when it comes to actually being physical, but if he can, he’s, attack via the perimeter offensively, he’s got the dog in him.
[00:16:46] I just think that he knows he’s weak physically and avoids it like it’s the plague. Like if let’s talk offensively, he does not go into the paint much at all. And no, yeah, [00:17:00] he shoots threes at a really good clip, like 29 percent from three as a center is really, really captivating. But unless the lane is absolutely wide open, that there’s no mess whatsoever.
[00:17:12] He’s not going into the paint and dunking. So that I think that is his biggest weakness is physicality. And his, his just absolute, he’s just, he reminds me of Anthony Davis on the Pelican. On the hornet where he goes out of bounds, so he doesn’t get hit by opposing centers like it’s that level of is he going to ever get physical because he he’s athletic.
[00:17:39] He could rim run and be a really, really physical. dunking machine with Bryce Cotton running and throwing lobs. He could do that, but he’s really just comfortable playing perimeter, which when you think of lasers in general, that’s cool. Cause Shane Sharp needs his two feet in the, in the paint. Uh, uh, Scoot Henderson [00:18:00] absolutely does Anfernee Simons.
[00:18:02] If Jeremy Grant’s on the team, if Alexar is there, which I think would be one of the worst pairings in NBA history, he needs the paint too. So. It’s cool with us because we’re so paint dependent, but if you’re seven one and athletic and can have fluid hips, like set a screen, run to the hoop and get some, some easy points in the paint.
[00:18:24] I actually am really impressed with his decision making with the ball in his hands. Like he, he, if he was on the blazers, he’s probably our second best. Passer right now because they give him the ball in the high post He makes a decision whether to give it to a corner sitter or hash setter point guard or in the rare occasions drive it So I’m really high on his playmaking his decision making He’s just scared shitless to go in the paint and bang with you know, the Andrew Boguts of Australia So it’s like that’s the real big thing.
[00:18:58] Is he going to get physical enough? [00:19:00] In nature to really want to compete in the paint with people, or are we going to have to have a 7 1 softie that won’t go in the paint and get that much needed board?
[00:19:12] Dustin: It’s, it’s going to be the latter. I think when you play basketball, like physicality just It’s inherent.
[00:19:19] You’re either born with it or, or you’re not. Doesn’t mean you can’t be a good player. Well, Marcus Aldridge was a good player, but he was one of the, the softest, most finesse big men in Blazer history, yet he’s still what is a, is a, I don’t think he is, but he’s a borderline hall of fame player. Um, Channing Frye had a very long NBA career shooting threes.
[00:19:38] Um, it, it can be done. You just have to really cheer your roster around him and Make sure that’s the pairing that’s, that’s going to work with, with, with what, with what you’re building, because I do think he has grab and go potential, um, capable of dribbling in the open court, I definitely, [00:20:00] you know, I think the biggest thing for me, because I don’t think he’s ever going to be physical, so I think you have to just take him who he is, like, I think he can grow into, you know, uh, Um, a better defender, I think he can grow into a good jump shot shooter, like I think he can do tools improvement, but like style of play, I think this is who you’re going to get.
[00:20:18] So, it’s not like you shouldn’t be expecting, um, him to become a completely different monster, you know, three years out of, of developing, in terms of. Aggressiveness, physicality, like that’s just that’s not his his makeup. That’s okay. You can still win with that type of player But knowing that my biggest swing skill for him is is that jump shot?
[00:20:41] Because if he’s not gonna be physical rim running he needs to be a legitimate threat from the perimeter Believe in a job. I think I think right now the jump shots will work in progress I don’t think the form is terrible. It does have a bit of a catapult Um, before the release, I think he does need a little time and space to [00:21:00] get the shot off.
[00:21:00] Hopefully he can speed that up with more repetition. I do think he’s catch and shoot, given the mechanics I don’t see off the dribble. Um, being an option.
[00:21:10] Sage: I mean, how many 7 1 dudes can move off and shoot?
[00:21:14] Dustin: I’m just, that’s my notes. That’s what I had. Like, I’m not, that, again, this is the nature of this draft.
[00:21:20] I think if we’re talking other years, last year, he’s not a top 5 pick last year. Is he,
[00:21:25] Sage: would you have Alex Sarr over Jairus Walker?
[00:21:28] Dustin: No, Jairus Walker is a better prospect in my opinion. I think if he was last year, he would be. I value rebounding, playmaking. And toughness. And Jairus gives you all three.
[00:21:43] Sage: I, I really do believe in what I
[00:21:45] Dustin: think it’s a debate between SAR and like a Taylor Hendricks.
[00:21:48] So I Taylor like nine, 10 on my board. So I think that’s where SAR would be, um, this year, if he were in last year’s, uh, draft class. So as much as I think he [00:22:00] could help the Blazers and as much as I do think he is going to be the top pick in the draft. Uh, I know a lot can change, but especially if he
[00:22:07] Sage: doesn’t play for the rest of the year.
[00:22:10] Dustin: I still this is a draft where I really don’t think you want the number one pick for whatever it called a hunch Call it just a feeling in the gut But I think the best player in this draft 10 years from now is going to be someone taking 7 12 27 like you just don’t know it’s going to be a very weird draft where your scouts They’re going to earn this is where they earn their money, bro this is where you earn the money because it could be a draft where Kevin McCuller is the ends up being the best player like, or at least has the best rookie year.
[00:22:43] Remember when Malcolm Brogdon, rookie of the year in 2014, I was supposed to be a loaded draft class. Brogdon comes in as a fifth year guard out of Virginia and second round pick wins rookie of the year and six man of the year. He’s had a great career. He’s had a better career than I would argue Andrew Wiggins.
[00:22:58] And Wiggins was considered [00:23:00] the golden
[00:23:00] Sage: goose. So it was
[00:23:04] Oops, I’m, yeah, I was like, so like, so as
[00:23:07] Dustin: much as I wouldn’t like Alex are on the blazers. There’s there’s just an inherent pressure That comes with being a number one overall pick part of me still believes if anthony bennett Didn’t go number one and what slid down further that maybe he has a bit of a better year Like there’s just so much pressure that comes with Being that top dog like I think deandre eight and two like you look at him And you’re like, that’s the number one pick.
[00:23:32] But it’s like, if somebody would have taken him at 10, you’re like, that’s, that’s awesome. He has had a 10th overall pick career. And he’s had a solid borderline all star, uh, career. He’s a top 10 big, like, yeah, that, that is a really good pick, but he was picked ahead of Trey young and Luca Donchic. And now all of a sudden, you’re like, You’re getting the word bus maybe thrown out, like, or under, underachiever, like, expectations determine how you look at somebody [00:24:00] based upon where they were drafted.
[00:24:01] So, uh. It’s just a really weird, really, really weird draft. Uh, my comparison, uh, for him is Miles Turner meets Evan Mobley. Um, Is that
[00:24:12] Sage: the lowest? The, the meatiest?
[00:24:14] Dustin: I, I don’t have it in me this year to do the, the bottom and the upper. Like, I would say like, if, if he, this is my, like, you know, yeah. If, if you draft him and he hits, I think you’re getting Miles Turner meets Evan Mobley.
[00:24:26] Yeah, I
[00:24:27] Sage: I think his lowest tier because I don’t have a child I can think of this I think it’s Zach Collins like because Zach Collins with a with a good three point shot is kind of what I see at the lowest tier like Zach’s not gonna stop you a post up, but he’s gonna help side defense. He’s gonna play really good switch defense I mean And if Zach Collins had a really consistent jumper, and I believe that he’ll be like a 37, 38 percent three point shooter.
[00:24:56] So I kind of believe in that, but yeah, Zach Collins is kind [00:25:00] of the low. I honestly think that he could come in and be Miles Turner. Like day one, because Miles Turner has some of the same weaknesses that he does, um, I think if he, if he becomes Evan Mobley with a jump shot, that’s his 99th percentile because Evan Mobley is so special defensively, but I also think SAR can be too, but it’s kind of the mentality, Evan Mobley is absolutely willing to mix it up defensively and physical physicality in the paint.
[00:25:30] And I think we both yeah. Don’t really believe in that if he becomes of jump shooting soft Evan Mobley That’s that’s an all star guy, maybe once or twice, but I I don’t know how you get him to like embrace Physicality and try and get to the line or the rebounding is just so scary to me for rebounds and being that tall Especially
[00:25:56] Dustin: when you’re on a team that features Jeremy Grant as your partner.
[00:25:59] You [00:26:00] cannot have
[00:26:00] Sage: Jeremy, you cannot have Tumani who does not rebound well. You can’t have Jeremy Grant who does not rebound well. And you can’t have Alex Sarr who does not rebound well. On the, on the floor. I don’t think that he’s a center day one though. I think he has to be a power forward until he builds up some sort of, you know, strength to deal with some of these bigs in the league.
[00:26:19] But I think that this is the number one pick because His warts are the least scary out of all of the other draft, like, you know, top five guys, like topage.
[00:26:35] Dustin: I think I would disagree. Really? I think, I think he’s the top pick, but I think it’s because his, his unicorn ness is the best of anybody in this draft.
[00:26:43] Like if you get Evan Mobley, if Evan Mobley’s in this draft, even take, turn on the physicality. If you’re telling me Evan Mobley’s in this draft and that’s what you’re going to get, you take that a million times. Over, you know, as great of a player as Toppitch could be, or, you know, [00:27:00] one of the French wings, whether it’s Risa Shea or Saloom, like, if they bloom, like, I just think if Tsar hits, I think that’s the best player in this draft, and that’s Like you’re just not going to find 7 1 players who move like that and when the Western Conference you’re going to have to go through Oklahoma City and San Antonio, you need somebody that’s going to, that’s going to match up with those two guys.
[00:27:22] I mean, that’s just, that’s just like when Shaq was running it in LA, the Blazers had the best collective group of big men to try and slow him down. And that’s why they were the Lakers biggest hurdle and obstacle to get to any of their championships. And If Joe Cronin is worth his salt, he, he’ll realize the teams, not now, but in five years, who are the teams and the players that you’re going to need to go through those two bigs.
[00:27:49] You got to take care of it. You got to find some sort of resistance for them. Right. They’re not going anywhere like they’re, they’re, they’re under contract. They’re going to be locked up. Um, those franchises are both really well run and operated. [00:28:00] I don’t, you can’t anticipate the moving away like they’re going to be big hurdles.
[00:28:04] You have to figure a way to do it. That’s why the blazers were so improved and, and, and, um, Made those runs when they added Buck Williams. Like, who, who did they have to go through? They had to go through Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Well, Buck Williams was their, was their vice. He, he went there and he, he was Karl Malone’s kryptonite.
[00:28:22] And made life absolute hell for them. That’s what Portland has to start to do and I think that’s why, why Sar is, is, is the top pick. I just wish the top pick didn’t come with so much pressure.
[00:28:34] Sage: I mean, like, let’s just say Detroit
[00:28:36] Dustin: and in Portland, top pick pressure, big man, number one, like I would feel really bad for SAR and I would pray to the basketball gods that didn’t, uh, that he could just block out all that noise and he could have a healthy career.
[00:28:47] But that, that must be real, that that is a lot of hurdles for a young pan to go through. And then
[00:28:53] Sage: all of the changes that he has to make physicality wise to go against all of these players. [00:29:00] Does he fit with the Blazers core? Does he fit with Scoot Henderson and Shaden Sharpe?
[00:29:09] Dustin: Well, I think he would be really good for Scoot.
[00:29:11] I mean, you look at the success. With, with Dwaparith, and Dwap is such a, a really improved three point shooter. He, uh, catch and shoot, uh, spaces the floor really well, uh, and you’re also kind of seeing the deficiencies. You know, he does have deficiencies rebounding the basketball, but if Sar can set the type of screens that Dwap can while also playing, uh, man and off ball defense at, at a higher clip, I think that’s going to elevate.
[00:29:37] I do think sooner or later, the Blazers have to find Scoot a finisher because you watch the tape and you see how many just dimes he’s dropping, but the shots just Portland does not have play finishers on the rim. So it’s not a masterful fit. Um, But at the same time, when you’re looking at a defensive prospect like that, you, [00:30:00] you find ways to get shade and sharp the ball to play finish.
[00:30:03] Um, you’ve got Chris Murray, who can, can hit threes. Uh, hopefully you can go out and get a wing that can also play finish as well. Um, I don’t think Portland really has that. That small forward quote unquote just guy like they’re looking for another guy like that. Maybe it’s maybe it’s repair You’ve only seen a little bit From there, but I think if I think that’s the beauty of scoot past first point guard He’s gonna fit in this spot.
[00:30:31] He’s gonna hopefully unclog the paint for scoot and I just think With Scoot’s tenacity on defense, I think they could do a lot of really fun things. Shane’s got a lot of the same tools. Like, you want to get guys with just a ton of tools that you can mold. Like, it’s much easier to make something when you have all of the ingredients.
[00:30:50] When you’re trying to substitute and you have to keep substituting, like, that’s when the finished product’s gonna go. Like, this tastes like ass. But if you have every ingredient, this is, you know, five stars. [00:31:00]
[00:31:00] Sage: Yeah, I think that he fits with what we’re doing, especially offensively, like, the fact that he isn’t a paint guy is gonna help Scoot, it’s gonna help everyone, and I think that you can find a lob threat a lot easier than finding a guy that can be this versatile defensively.
[00:31:18] There isn’t that many dudes, like, I said how well DA moves for a big. But if we compared how DA moves versus how Alex Tsar moves, it’s a complete, like, it’s different planets of how well he moves, how well his hips move. Like, this guy could be one of the best defenders in the league and stretch out the floor for Scoot and Shaden, and I think that’s great.
[00:31:41] You just, you just have to find a roster. That makes his weaknesses not as big of a deal I don’t think you’re ever gonna make him turn into ed davis with the physicality So you need to find a guy that you know rebounds really well and can [00:32:00] pass on the ball But like I I I would really love to see dribble handoffs between alexar
[00:32:05] Dustin: and scoot henderson.
[00:32:06] So I think um if you’re portland Just, and you really want him, just hope the Wizards don’t move him to the top spot, because I, I don’t think he’s a good fit with Wemba Nyama, I don’t think he’s a good fit in Detroit with Jalen Duren, uh, I don’t think he’s a good fit in Charlotte, they’ve got, they’ve got Biggs forever, I mean they’ve just got a ton of centers that they’ve been cycling through, um, And obviously there are other teams that could jump them, but the teams ahead of Portland right now, like, I think Washington’s the one team that makes a lot of sense, uh, for, for Alex Saar.
[00:32:40] So, I mean, there is potential for Portland to get him at three or four, or if they wanted to package some picks and move up. But, um,
[00:32:47] Sage: you know, this is the first Wow, and they would be pretty awesome defensively.
[00:32:50] Dustin: This is the first of, of many, uh, prospects. Uh, I don’t know who we will do next, but it will be coming out.
[00:32:57] You know, it’s fun. Once the calendar Flips to [00:33:00] the actual draft year. That’s when I really start to get a little bit excited, especially having two picks and just knowing like, Hey, like we need to keep adding like best player available. The Blazers are in no position to really say no to a prospect. Um, you got to go out there and you got to swing for the fences and take the highest upside, especially this year because you know, we’re not trying to win next year.
[00:33:21] The year after like we’re really looking three to five years down the line and you want to look back at that draft and say we took. We took what we thought is the highest upside, and we’re gonna get him to that point.
[00:33:33] Sage: I agree with everything you said. But you also have a, you need to find someone with a floor good enough to actually be in the NBA.
[00:33:40] There’s some high upside bets, like Matas, that I don’t think he’s that.
[00:33:45] Dustin: I don’t know if he has the highest sub upsides, if I’m being honest. But that’s another But
[00:33:49] Sage: he They fuckin had him featured at like Combine talking about joining the G League Ignite last year. [00:34:00] Honestly, I only see two bigs that are This is a quote unquote good big draft.
[00:34:05] I only see two bigs that can do everything that you need defensively. So, yeah, I think that there’s a pretty good chance that we have three first round picks because of all of our tradable assets in this one. So, you know, as evaluators, you have to stand on your toes a little bit to, you know, you know, look at French players, look at Americans, G League, all of these, uh, Australia.
[00:34:29] There’s a lot of Australian people that I think is going to be good. So, you know, it’s, it’s going to be a, uh, an experience trying to watch all this basketball along with watching our Portland Trailblazers lose against good teams. Um, so thank you all for listening. The, uh, this will be out Thursday night or Friday.
[00:34:49] I don’t know how, uh, you know, excited I will be about posting this, but this was Alex R the, the, the chalk version, number one, [00:35:00] uh, of this draft class. So thank you all for listening and we are out of here. Peace.
Holy Backboard 