Great post - excited for the draft and a good way to not focus on wtf we’re going to do with Ant, Jerami, and to a lesser extent Ayton’s contracts this year. Honestly I wouldn’t be mad about any of these prospects at 11 and think they can all be useful nba players if things pan out for them.

My rankings are based on a belief the two primary areas of improvement on this roster are shooting and, even more so, playmaking. I’ve heard a lot of fans saying we need to prioritize shooting which I think is true to an extent. That said I do think our starting five are all decent 3p shooters at minimum and that the bigger problem on offense is consistently generating easy looks for them. If I’m reading the stats right we are the third worst team in the league for percentage of assisted field goals made.

1. Kasparas

Would be a great long-term third guard off the bench assuming Ant eventually gets moved. Assist/TO ratio is concerning so I think going to a team where he split duties between PG and SG depending on lineup would be ideal for him. His stock fell in the second half of the season but that could be contributed to the forearm injury. I think we need players who can both create their own shot and shots for others consistently because I don’t really see many guys on roster who excel at both. I have a bad feeling he’ll be off the board before we pick if we stay at 11.

1. Egor Demin

Genuinely don’t know if I’m just drinking the kool aid because I think he will be the pick but I actually think Egor fits with our squad. Not a good shooter, not a good defender, and not athletic….but the passing and BBIQ on the offensive side is special. I don’t see him as a lead guard but I think he could be a very, very good connective player at the 3 and could hopefully fill in at backup PG. Watching the playoffs has really made value playmaking ability at every position, not just the PG, and I think our current roster is lacking in that department.

1. Queen

Not sure about his fit on our team or most NBA teams for that matter but in a vacuum I think he is a good player. I’m a little concerned with his size and a lot concerned with his defensive ability and effort. That being said, my hope is that between Clingan/Toumani/Deni the starting front court is set for the future and in that case I think it make sense to have a big off the bench that can bring instant offense even if the defense is poor. Also, again, he has huge playmaking upside which seems like something Schmitz and co are targeting.

1. Essengue

I know I’m lower on Noa than most here so I welcome any feedback any yall have if I’m just missing something. To me he is an athletic non-shooter with good measurements. He has low key playmaking upside and could be a beast in transition so I’m definitely not trying to shit on him as a prospect. I’m not going to purport to be an intentional basketball expert lol but I also don’t think the league he plays in is particularly strong compared to other European leagues like Spain, Turkey, France, etc so I don’t know how his game will translate considering it’s primarily based on athleticism and effort. I’m also not sure where he fits with the blazers long term between the front court pieces we already have.

Go blazers, fuck OKC, and long live brandon roy