Mock Draft: Trail Blazers Targets at All 4 Picks in 2024 NBA Draft with @LockedOnCollegeBasketball

Mock Draft: Trail Blazers Targets at All 4 Picks in 2024 NBA Draft with @LockedOnCollegeBasketball

in today’s show Andy Patton from locked on college basketball and locked on zags joins the program and we talk all things Trailblazers and the NBA draft welcome to lockon Blazers let’s get into it you are locked on Trailblazers your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s up world it’s your pass first point guard and Trail Blazers reporter Mike Richmond you are listening to another episode of lock on Blazers part of the locked on podcast network available wherever you get Podcast and also on YouTube thanks for making this show your first listen come at you every weekday Monday through Friday so make it a part of your daily routine make it your first listen tell your friends to do the same it’s lock on Blazers your team every day in today’s show a very special one joined by my friend and friend of the program Andy Patton you’ve heard him as the host of locks on College right here on this network and also lockdown zags and if you read the internet he’s there too because he’s always doing he’s always doing the work and putting out fantastic college basketball content Andy I know you’re tired but thanks for joining the program thanks for having me Mike always love being on locked on Blazers this is uh it’s exciting yeah listen a onetime uh often emailer way back in the day four or five years ago a long time emailer of the podcast now a a cherished guest we are H happy to have you back and talk all things NBA draft um so I want to start with with the work you’ve done and then we can get into sort of the broader categories this week for college basketball wire over there on USA Today you did something Brave you did a two round mock two rounds is a lot to mock Andy uh there’s that that is a brave thing to do because that that doesn’t mean that you can get 30 picks wrong it means you could get 60 of them wrong probably not all 60 but a lot um and and um it is is a brave ask I want to talk about what you sort of um what you did for the Blazers and where where you see them landing and how your mock played out but are you a are you a fit or best player available guy let let’s get with it let’s go nuts and bolts first I was trying trying to do fit and first of all it’s a little less Brave when I don’t have the comments turned on so I just don’t see what anybody is saying I was like yeah I’m going to post this I’m gonna let it be out there it’s going to be in the world and I’m just going to ignore what anybody says about it and that that helped a lot I I try to do fit as much as I can because I think it’s just like unrealistic to to and fan bases tend to get really IR rate if you give them somebody that you know is already at a position they have if I had mocked uh you know Dillingham or Reed Shepard or even topic to the Blazers at seven I’ve seen what that fan base is saying when you mock a point guard to them uh in the top 10 so I try to go with fit obviously but even teams sometimes especially in a draft like this where it’s a little bit more wide open they’re probably just going best player available and certain teams cough cough Detroit Pistons like so you just take whoever’s there who who’s got the highest upside because you just need somebody to come in who’s got some Talent so it kind of varies team by team but when I try to make a mock I’m trying to focus on on who I think might actually work in that system yeah yeah I I think like I go back and forth I think I probably lean best player available more than most but I do recognize and I think my our friend friend of the program and and friend of the of the network Rafael Barlo has helped me kind of come to terms with the idea that if the player doesn’t fit they can’t be the best player available because if you can’t play and you can’t play Your Role then you can’t be the best player available so I I think I go back and forth on a little bit I’m probably not as Hardline as him but I I I do agree that like either of the Kentucky guards on the Trailblazers doesn’t make a lot of sense and I think that’s fair so so let’s get into what you what you’ve done here um you you’ve gone out of limb and you got Alex star going first overall I’m proud of you I’m proud of you for being bold I’m proud of you for being brave uh the Wizards go Donan kingan at two at three Rob Dillingham goes to the Rockets I think that makes a lot of sense so far so good uh for Zachary race to the Spurs The French Connection lands in San Antonio five the Detroit Pistons take Ron Holland the Detroit Pistons uh you are listening to Friday May 24th show they have hired a new president of basketball operations trade in Langdon uh famously lost in the national championship game uh at the school he attended and um so I think they’re going to they’re a real weird one right like what do they do does does he tear it all down does he say none of this stuff is my stuff anyone who’s not Cade get out of here or does he say okay we gota I like what we have we’re gonna build I think they’re really curious at five six the Hornets go with Reed Shepard and that puts the Blazers on the clock at seven who got the Blazers taken at seven in your mock Andy I got them taken uh mataz buellis from the g-league ignite uh I I’ll be honest I’m a little skeptical on him but I think if you’re looking at at where the Blazers are at at this spot with with the players ahead of them who’ve already gone I think you want to go with a wing you want to go with some somebody who has some some significant upside and I do think the upside is there with him I think the floor is kind of low but unfortunately this is just not a class where you you get a lot of high floor and high upside guys they just don’t really exist um really at all in this class they certainly not outside of the top couple uh so that’s kind of where I’m going here I I like the idea of him being able to kind of space the floor a little bit he’s kind of a jumbo guard type I’ve seen him compared to Mike which I know is not like a super sexy exciting comparison he’s also white and floppy-haired so it’s like oh yeah he looks like Mike Dunley it’s a little bit of a lazy comparison we can acknowledge that I saw somebody said Mike Dunley or Gordon Hayward and I’m like yeah okay that’s okay come on come on now come on now we got come we got to do better with our comps every white floppy-haired guy can’t be uh Gordon haward if he was if he was bald he’d be big Steve Blake jumbo Steve Blake you’re you’re talking to somebody who is a Gonzaga fan so every White H White floppy-haired Guy usually just gets associated with us in the first place anyway but no I I like the fit alongside the guards I think that this is kind of the you want to get a bigger Wing if you can find them and if you can find a guy who has the ability to to eventually be a long-term starter at least a significant role player with the system with the with scoo and Shaden and everybody I think it makes sense here but again it’s it’s just not a particularly deep draft outside the top couple so you know he’s he’s a guy that I think you on the upside here yeah I I with both him and Holland I’m kind of bouncing around on him I can talk myself into either one and then like as soon as I do any research on people who’ve seen I I saw them play once I went to the remix game against the g- league ignites Holland had 30 mat pelis got Beast uh beasted he was just not he wasn’t he was not physically able to hang in that game like he was trying to post up and they were just pushing him right off his block and the on the post he did have one like end to end Grabber rebound push the length of the floor finish with a swooping layup type of move and it’s like and he had a putb dunk where he jumped like 13 feet in the air right caught the ball at the caught the ball at the square and dunked it it was like oh okay like I you know it was like it was I saw both things I worry about the physicality for him because like if he’s if he does fill out and he does get stronger which is something you can do like prospects get stronger that’s not unheard of then he’s 610 with some real skills but if he doesn’t get stronger then he’s like he’s probably just like a wiry skinny for like small forward that’s like it’s hard to figure out a spot for him right um you get like he becomes poku where it’s like yeah okay that’s a really interesting there’s a really interesting skinny person or like to some extent bbow I feel like suffers from this like where it’s like so what position does he play because he’s not big he’s not strong enough to guard people his height but he’s not fast enough to guard people his weight um and I I I worry that billis gets caught in that a little bit but if he can shoot and he was supposed to be a shooter coming out of high school he’s a really intriguing Prospect I want to ask you about people who are on the board here so Nicol toic you talked about him you’re kind of out on topic because the lead guard thing I think it’d be is an imperfect fit but a couple names that I think Blazer fans like that were on the board in your mock when you didn’t go that direction are um dalon connect and Stefan Castle why why Bellis over those two specifically yeah I think with connect I I really like the floor for Dalton connect but I just I’m not sure that the upside is really there like he he’s kind of who he is he’s an older Prospect obviously you know coming from the junior college ranks and then the Northern Colorado ranks but obviously you know in the SEC last year he he proved very definitively that he can play at that level uh he’s a he’s a big bodied guy the athletic testing was better than I think a lot of people expected I still see him as somebody who’s gonna have a pretty distinct role I I don’t think that there’s an upside for him to have more offensive versatility like much more offensive versatility I think he can be a a very good three-point shooter of course catch and shoot guy he can be a shoot off the dribble guy you can be a back door cutter type guy um maybe this is a Gonzaga bias comparison here but a bit like Cory kissper who’s a guy who who was a very good two-point shooter last year and doesn’t get a lot of credit for that obviously he’s buried on a team that nobody’s watching in Washington so that’s not helping but I I just think that that for connect like if I’m Portland and you’re in the situation that you’re in with the roster and the amount of picks they have coming up and the lack of competition for the next year or two I would rather gamble on a on a younger Prospect who’s got more upside I think there is absolutely a reality where connect is a better NBA player but the floor the floor is higher but the ceiling is lower and so I think for Portland I’m taking upside swings and I think that buellis offers more of that that high upside again like you said if he puts the weight on if he kind of develops into the player that we think he’s capable of being I think that’s that’s a better player than dton connect and May and perhaps a better fit alongside Scoot and Shaden whereas connect I had him go into Memphis a team that’s in the lottery that I think is is trying to to win sooner and I think it makes a little bit more sense to add somebody who who can help right away and with Castle the main thing that kind of wor worries me for Portland is he is he is adamant that he wants to be a point guard he’s a point guard yeah he is dead set I want to be a point guard I’m going to play point guard I think that there’s a possibility that he’s capable of doing that but I’m not sure I’m willing to draft somebody who is like publicly stated they want to be a point guard on a team that has point guards like I just don’t know if there’s you you run the risk of there being some some potential issues that you have if you’re not playing him at point guard you’re playing him at a spot he doesn’t want to be that could cause problems having said that Love Stefan Castle love his game love his upside think he can be a really really good NBA player just not sure he fits in Portland be because of what he wants yeah it’s it’s interesting right he was like a five-star Point guardy type kid who came out goes to Yukon perfectly fits in a role as an off ball Wing where he’s incredibly good and helps them just dominate college basketball right and it was really good in the final four against Alabama he was he was fine in the national championship game like um he’s really good like he’s good and he’s he played an off ball role and he’s good and then he’s like okay I’ve checked that box I’ve proven I can be a winner as an off ball Wing I would now like to be a point guard I just I’m hoping this is stuff from his agent I’m hoping this is Agent and Camp stuff and that when he actually gets on a team he’s like yeah I don’t really care about that but I don’t that’s a risk I I feel like that’s a real thing it’s like if a guy this is like it if he views himself a certain way it’s hard to you don’t want to just be trying to fit that square peg in a round hole from day one you’d kind of rather have it be a smoother fit and because the Blazers are have a great deal of franchise investment in a young point guard um not to mention anrey Simons not to mention Malcolm brogen but but just you know you draft scoot at three overall last year as a teen you kind of you kind of owe it to yourself to see it forward to say like his 22nd birthday um so yeah I’m with you on Castle uh let’s let’s talk what you did at 14 and kind of uh some other thoughts on The Late Lottery that’s what we’ll do to close or to in the second segment rather I’m getting ahead of myself join us in that second segment won’t you first though I want to tell you that Today’s Show is brought to you by LinkedIn it’s the spot if you are a small business to hire professionals because you need professionals that are right for your role so check 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did at 14 we’re talking Andy’s mock draft it’s available over on college sports wire. usatoday.com I will link it below in the comment section or in the in the episode description if you are watching on YouTube or it’s in the episode description if you are an audio listener as well so you can check it out so at seven bzel goes to the Blazers eight nicovic goes to the Spurs I like that the the Spurs go International International Flavor in Your mock they got reash and then topich at 9ine dalon connect to the Grizzlies as you mentioned like that pick for I think they want to be bigger but they could use shooting they could always use shooting um uh 10 Stefan Castle goes to the Jazz I like that too that would make sense he could play point guard for them he could he could I guess they are somewhat invested with keontay George but maybe you could play him together he could have a lot of on ball opportunities there 11 the Chicago Bulls they take the big swing on tan salon out of Chalet in France uh 12 the Thunder get Kyle filipowski um they’re legally obligated to get 2.0 without the defense or the actual shooting um 13 Eva Mei from Baylor goes to the Kings and then 14 the Blazers on the clock what’d you do at 14 for the Blazers well I’m really glad I didn’t give Philip Housey to the Blazers Mike because I’m not sure You’ have had me on the show you know I would I would have but it would had a different tone would had would have been a little bit of angst there now 14 14 I went with Cody Williams uh small forward from Colorado again another kind of upside swing on a wing uh for the Blazers I think part of the part of the argument is like well one of these two guys is going to work out right so you get a wing of the future between one of these two uh I really like the upside with Cody Williams and I think there’s definitely concerns uh I think the the supporters of Cody Williams will point out that he had the injury last year and that that may have kind of impacted how he performed especially down the stretch where he just Flatout wasn’t all that good and was not playing very much and Colorado was relying on KJ Simpson and Tristan D Silva who are also both NBA prospects who are probably both going to be selected so it’s not like you know they were pushing Cody Williams aside for just average shows they were good players for Colorado but uh with Williams I think a lot of it is just maturation stuff that needs to happen just basketball IQ things some of it’s maybe innate but some of it I think he just will grow into finding like decision-making and and being more aggressive he he’s a he was a really highly efficient scorer at Colorado and that’s what that pops off the page when you look at the stats and for people who are just kind of casually like wow he shot 40 plus percent from three he shot 50 L percent from two like he was really efficient he didn’t take a lot of shots and he took a lot of 41 threes in college like exactly a little over one a game yeah exactly yeah he’s not a not a volume guy and I think he needs to to find a way to like to get to the star potential he needs to find a way to be more assertive and more aggressive and Hunt his own shot because the skill is there there’s also he’s skinny a little bit like balis in that way needs to kind of put on a little bit of weight I do think that the the family matters I think the fact that he’s jayen Williams’s brother does matter because I think that he’s in terms of him kind of maturing and learning the game and kind of processing the speed of the NBA it’s going to help to have a family member who has gone through it and who’s doing it at an extraordinarily extraordinarily high level with the Oklahoma City Thunder uh I I think Cody Williams I mean that that potential is probably not there maybe it is maybe that’s the highend outcome is that he becomes his brother but he’s he’s a guy who who is is strong and can get stronger and has proven he can shoot and has a lot of athletic ability and I think in the right system a team that’s willing to be patient with him that’s willing to kind of have him come along with the other younger guys like I can see a reality where Scoot and Shaden and Cody Williams is a really really Dynamic kind of backcourt wing Trio it’s just they’re just gonna all kind of have to get used to each other and I think Williams he’s he’s really young and I think that that’s yeah gonna come with age and and maturity we’ve seen him kind of fall on draft boards because of that that that week finished to the season but I wouldn’t really hold that against him he was injured he’s young I think there’s a lot of upside here yeah so I didn’t see a full game of him prior to the injuries I watched parts of a couple games early in the season and then I was like okay I’m G to lock in on draft stuff now um and then he was like coming back from injury and I was really underwhelmed yeah I was like okay I I mean I did like KJ Simpson a lot I thought he was good that that’s like when I watched Colorado I was like the point guard’s good I like him um it’s just I like I for me I worry that playing hard is a skill and it’s a skill that he will have to sharpen um but you know but maybe you can maybe in a in the right system or if just like in when you’re when you’re given the keys in a way like when you’re given like when they say okay we really need you to shoot like we you’re on the court to shoot I just worry um like I remember covering Allen crab and the Portland Trailblazers and the the coaching staff was begging him to be more aggressive begging him to be more aggressive now Allan crab um Turned not being particularly aggressive into $75 million so it can work out for you in a variety of ways but like um I I worry that that’s a thing that maybe sticks with some guys right if they don’t if they don’t have it I worry a little about with him the the weight thing like he measured real skinny he weighed like under 180 pounds um at his at his size at he’s like you know 68 but 175 pounds that’s a skinny person but like he’s Young and you’ll just F your frame will get bigger and if you draft someone who is a you know a oneandone teenager you kind of know that you are dealing with someone who’s going to physically mature right like that’s that’s part of the calculation that’s why I said you got to wait till maybe scoot’s 22nd birthday to really make some judgments uh because like there’s just like some stuff that goes along scoot I guess is like pretty physically mature he’s built like a linebacker um but it I I worry a little bit with Cody Williams like I don’t I don’t love him I I think at 14 totally fine at seven I wouldn’t be super excited about at 14 like where you have him going in your Mock I’m like yeah great like there’s no one behind him like the immediate picks right behind him in your Macker uh Devin Carter who I like but doesn’t really fit with the Blazers Tristan D Silva Cody Cody’s teammates um Isaiah CER again doesn’t fit uh Baylor shyan who who was a darling of the NBA draft games five on five played the best of the of the or the NBA draft combine games played really well in the five and five of the combine and then like Jared McCain who was like I I bet Jer McCain’s an NBA player but he’s just not I not big enough to be intriguing for what I view the Blazers next steps are so basically you’re getting to a range at 14 where if this was the board as you have it play out I think Cody Williams is the best pick on the board for me um before we get into your second round picks what do you do with Zach Ed you’re someone who covers college basketball for a living what do you do with him like he’s he’s hyper productive he’s going to be he’s going to have a physical advantage in the NBA most nights just cuz he’s bigger than he’s already bigger than everyone else so damn strong and he’s in great shape but what do you what do you do with him like how do you you have him going 23rd what how do you view him in this draft yeah Zach is such an unbelievable anomaly and it’s so funny to see the way people talk about him and they just try to lump him in of like well he’s he’s gonna be like boban or he’s gonna be like you know so and so because he’s ya he’s either Yao Ming or ban right and it’s like he’s so different than everybody like Jonathan gavon at Draft Express he has uh like a database of like it’s like 7500 for former college basketball players and like their measurements and and he he put Zack Ed in there and it was like it didn’t know what to do it was like Shaq but it was like oh that’s not right he’s not Shaq but like they couldn’t they couldn’t figure out what to do with somebody who’s his height and his weight and his athletic testing it’s he’s he’s a complete uh an anomaly and uh I think for for Zach there’s just no doubt in my mind that he can contribute at the NBA level yes his ceiling is capped and that’s what everybody likes to focus on and it’s like we’re talking about a player he’s not going to go he’s probably not going to go in the lottery some Maybe some team will take him but if Edge I would bet though yeah yeah if we’re talking about a guy who’s a mid first round pick in this class and people are focusing on like oh he you know his ceiling is capped it’s like let’s talk about his floor because most of the guys around him you mentioned Jared McCain and guys like jacobe Walker and other players who who are in this conversation like they have really low floors Zach edes is higher than all of them because at the end of the day he’s going to be able to score I I mean there’s just no debate that yes you’re not going to funnel your offense through him and I think that’s what is part of the conversation is like like well Zach is not going to go in the NBA and have the team just pass him the ball the whole time and it’s like yeah but he can still score off offensive rebounds if he gets mismatch mismatches excuse me you can get him the basketball and he can score he’s got touch with both hands like he’s yeah he’s dropped coverage you got to play that with him on the floor and that probably caps him at not being able to play 35 minutes a game but I have him going 23 to Milwaukee as a just a backup big for Brook Lopez he’s getting older like you you just need somebody to be able to come in and contribute Maybe maybe Brook Lopez can help him learn how to space the floor a little bit I think when you talk about bigs people really like to focus on free throw percentage as an indication of maybe their ability to space the floor Zack is a good free throw shooter he’s a better free throw shooter turned into a very good fre yeah turned into a very good free throw shooter yeah better than Clingan better than Missy better than Demona better than like basically all the other bigs that are in this class and I don’t think he’s going to be like a a three-point shooter necessarily but if he can just step out and hit 15 Footers on the Baseline and kind of move Defenders away like that’s really valuable I think about him on like a Milwaukee team of being able to to step out give Giannis some room to operate give Dame some room to operate it makes some sense to me so I think he’s gonna have a more productive career than a lot of people think that he will uh because I think there’s a lot of kind of blind bias against uh we’ve been so conditioned to be like big back to the basket bigs are out they’re they’re bad now and it’s like well he’s an exception yeah I worry about his defense capping what he can be because I like how long can he play on the floor I I think his ceiling is it might like really intriguing situational big guy but also his floor might be really intriguing situational big guy and like and so like if you’re drafting with the understanding that oh this dude’s probably not gonna be a star in the pros but he is going to be like really useful to mash second units because who on Earth is gonna have someone who can guard him and he’s only gonna play eight like he’s gonna play 16 minutes a night two eight minute stretches and you could just say like set huge screens and make make your right-handed jump hook that you’re so good at I think there’s a world for him if you want him to not be that if you need him to be more than that I think there’s room for disappointment but where do you have him at 23 I think is very reasonable if he goes at like eight then I’m gonna be but I would say like Edie probably has a higher floor than either of the two gentlemen uh Bellis and Cody Williams that you um that that you have mocked you know 10 and 15 spots ahead of him and yet I would take them in a heartbeat over him because I’m aiming higher if I’m the Blazers okay um I want to talk about some second round prospects and some guys who worked out for the Trailblazers on Thursday join me in join us Andy will come too in the third segment we’ll talk all about it first though I want to tell you about eBay Motors eBay Motors knows that it’s there’s three things passion drive and patience that’s what gets the job done that’s what brings home championships and that’s what keeps your car on the road so with over 120 parts to choose from for your number one ride or die you’re always going to find what you’re looking for with eBay Motors whether you’re looking for superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights it’s all there whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need and the prices you want it’s easy to make your car an MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusion Supply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers all right still chatting here with Andy padon those are locked on college basketball locked on Gonzaga I usually say pass first point guard Still Still Mike Rich still pass first point guard still listen to lock on Blazers but uh I was clicking too many buttons so I screwed up the intro but we’re back baby third segment let’s talk some second round stuff um okay the Blazers held their first draft workout today it was mostly second round undrafted types but two the the the two names that are like highest up on the most commonly commonly on big boards are are uh Jaylen Tyson of Cal who worked out uh for the Blazers and AD Demona from UCLA let’s talk about both of them they were in the building I you know with with with pre-draft workouts just as like a real quick caveat it’s easier to get second rounders in the building which is why the Blazers will hold more workouts with second rounders nobody’s agent with a guy who’s going to go 55th is like no I will not be sending him to Portland if your dude’s gonna if someone’s going to go like if their range is like middle of the second round those dudes are going to 16 workouts they’re flying everywhere so who knows how many Lottery types of blazers get in I assume they will get some uh I would I would I would estimate in the four to1 range of Lottery types but they’re going to get a lot of second rounders and the and the biggest names on on the group grouping today were ADM Bona and and Jaylen Tyson let’s start with Tyson um he’s a wing from Cal what do you like about him you have him 28th in your mock what do you like about him yeah he’s a guy who who really popped in a situation where he had the ball in his hands a lot at Cal he he’d previously been a Texas Tech and he’d been a decent player at different programs but when he got to Cal and coach Mark Madson said okay you’re you’re our guy we’re putting the ball in your hands we’re letting you go to work they had a lot of role players around him that were kind of like low usage players like dos ax a big man who didn’t need the ball in his hands a lot their other guards were kind of catch and shoot Specialists so I think for Cal he was for Tyson EXC he was in a situation at Cal that really allowed him to put up ey popping numbers and I do think that that is an important distinction because that’s not the role he’s going to have in the NBA and obviously I mean this is like scouting 101 is like you have to be able to evaluate a player is if what role they’re in in college and whether that role would be I mean this what we talked about with Stefan castle and like you have to be able to to see whether that role translate but with Tyson I do think that it does I do think that the fact that he was productive at Texas Tech in a situation where he wasn’t as ball dominant and kind of go two scoring option does allow him to be somebody who could be more of an off ball player I think he could be a catch and shoot specialist I think he could be kind of like a a high energy sixthman microwave type scorer I I could see that being the role for him in the NBA I mocked him to Denver because Denver just collects like w like older Wing college prospects they’re just like 21 to 21 to 22 exactly they love that they love they love those guys and it’s worked for him I mean Christian Brown’s been fantastic I mean I think clearly D pton Watson’s been great like it’s clearly working for them so Tyson kind of strikes me in that in that mix I don’t know like for for Portland if he’s available at one of their second round picks I think there he totally makes some sense he’s a talented player he’s not exactly the fit for them just because he’s an older Prospect uh and he is a guard but he’s a he’s a bigger guard he’d probably play some two three uh for Portland but he’s he’s a talented player that I think is going to carve out a nice NBA career kind of a floor guy not really a ceiling guy but but a quality player yeah measured 65 and a half at the combine without shoes so I think that’s small forward is size yeah depending on how depending on the physicality yeah um I I I honestly never never seen him play a minute but I know you watch Lot C basketball last year hey they’re gonna be in the ACC next year I’m good listen once Carolina starts coming to the West Coast with regularity they’re not traveling next year to the to the West Coast but once they start coming to regularity I’m not only going to be watching cow basketball I’m going to be attending games at Berkeley every year I’m gonna go see my beloved in that sounds fun yeah let’s do let’s go to Berkeley let’s go to the farm and see him play Stanford I’m all in I’m I’m ready I do hate it with all my heart but I I’ll if they get closer I’m going to watch them I’m not stupid I’ll I’ll buy the plane ticket whatever um speaking of West Coast games and teams relocating demon of a big 10 prably the Big 10 at UCLA um you have him at the end of the first round is what is he gonna bring in the NBA what’s his upside well I’m going to shamelessly promote that I wrote an article today about ad damona specifically so if you what read the mock draft you can click on my name and go find the article on a Demona specifically um I really like it I really like his game I like it a lot he’s again he’s not a he’s a a big who’s not gonna space the floor he was a sub 70% free throw shooter last year he’s a sub 60% free throw shooter as a freshman so that’s probably not an area I think if you watch his jump shot and you saw Clips at the combine he looks like a capable jump shooter so maybe maybe it develops down the line but you’re not taking him for that you’re taking him for the fact that he has a 7 foot4 wingspan that he has a vertical leap of 40 inches that he’s got a standing reach of 9 feet tall and that despite being 6 foot n without shoes on he is going to be able to be an impactful rim protector and low poost Defender and a rim Runner offensively he’s a he’s a really good athlete in the open floor it’s kind of shocking watching him get up and down the floor this dude can move he’s got quickness he’s short burst speed athleticism uh the actual basketball skill is still coming around he’s young uh UCLA was absolutely terrible last year and I think it really didn’t do him any favors that the collective team just couldn’t score the basketball at all it was they were a a really atrocious watch uh so I think that that hurt him a little bit but that’s why the testing like kind of opened a lot of people’s eyes to like oh this dude can really play and he can really move uh I’ve seen him compt to Time Lord a little bit to Robert Williams I I I think that’s a high-end comp for him but I I wouldn’t be shocked if he was like kind of a mini version of him just with that that he’s an undersized big who’s who’s really athletic and uses that in a in a positive way I mocked him to Boston but I honestly if he’s available if if this mock had continued without him and he was available at 34 I would have hit him for Portland immediately because I think he’s a quality fit as a backup big and and there’s a lot of teams that could use a guy like him with his energy yeah if he’s there at 34 or especially 40 like he’s at 40 I think he’s really worth taking a flyer on um Blazers don’t have roster spots necessarily for two second rounders yeah but they do have two-way contracts available for them most likely unless you really think they’re like pot committed to Ashton haens which I’m going to say that they’re probably not deep not a lot of deep organizational commitment to Ashton Higgins and Justin manah so I think they have two and potentially three depending on what they want to do with IU baji um like uh two-way contracts for him and if if Bona would be cool with that if he gets into the you know it’s it’s a weird spot 34 is a weird spot it’s so close to the first round that maybe guys are like oh I don’t want a two-way deal like please don’t draft me you know if they’re going to get that but obviously can’t always make your own decisions um yeah my worry with him was that he measured 68 and a quarter with his socks on at the combine but um when I’ve watched him I have I have seen some UCLA games because they were on television despite being terrible early in the season particularly um and um he just he pops as bigger than that like I would I was stunned when I I looked up his combine measurements today when when I saw he worked out for the Blazers and I was like he’s not even he’s not even 6 eight and a half like he’s like he’s like a not quite 610 with his shoes on um I’m surprised to hear that because he feels he feels much bigger when he plays I I like him in those spots okay real quick for I get you out of here because we’re running long and I respect the format we’re not going to drag people on too long um at 34 you have the Blazers taken donon Holmes of Dayton I really like donon Holmes I like him I’ve even said the Blazers could consider him at 14 which is probably insane but like I like him I like I I watched him play a couple games in the tournament um and right around the tournament and I was like yeah I’m I’m all in I’m all in and I like uh Blaze have done well with dayon Flyers what’s your Don Holmes read quickly yeah basically that I think the the the range between like 14 and 40 in this draft is really close so yeah Holmes would be would would shock some people at 14 but I don’t think there’s a big Talent discrepancy in a lot of ways it’s about fit and Holmes I mean 20 points per game last year for Dayton he’s he’s athletic he’s got some floor spacing ability he’s a menace around the rim I think he can develop into a very good defensive player I I really liked Ron Holmes and if he was around at 34 uh there’s very unlikely the Blazers would find a better option than him yeah this was like when I was reading your mock I was like nice I was like oh okay good I love donon nice I love I love the pick at 34 at 40 the most Andy Patton pick you could possibly make Hunter Salis of wake um where did he where did he go before he went to wake I wonder I can’t remember Hunter Sal former zag yeah Gotta Throw the former zags out there every once a while but look H St is good he is he was very good once he got to wake he was very good yeah this is the he he did not do much at gin zaga he was behind some other guards he got in foul trouble pretty much every time he came in the game he was a little working on his defense a little too aggressive in that regard he goes to Wake Forest Steve Forbes over at Wake Forest somehow is a guard Whisperer every time they get a transfer guard they become all ACC it’s happened it’s literally happened like three years in a row Tyreek applebe Jake laravia who’s with Memphis now now Hunter Salis like literally Lis Williams too yeah yeah like I would it automatically transferred to Wake Forest if you’re a guard who didn’t get enough playing time like just go there it it works magically and it was partly because they put him in an on ball role and just let him do whatever he wanted but what he wanted to do was shoot and he was a 26% 3point shooter at Gonzaga and he was over 40 at Wake Forest that kind of development was fantastic I’m not sure if Hunter Salis is going to he still has the option to return to school I wouldn’t if I was him I think he should stay in the draft process I think he’s he’s better suited if he’s going to be a second round pick uh Portland obviously doesn’t need guards they are not going to keep all these roster spots but if you could get him on a two-way contract I would he would tear it up for the Rip City remix folks he would be amazing to watch for that team yeah I like him at I like him at 40 I don’t know what to do with the second round picks right like you got to assume they’re not going to play in the immediate term right because the Blazers already have six guys who are going to be second and third year players on the team next year much less two lottery picks much less you know the the veterans and Young Veterans and even they trade some of the veterans they’re going to bring players back like this they don’t like I don’t think anyone who gets drafted in the second round you should pencil in them likely to to play right at least early in the season likely to play so it’s like you can take Hunter Salis because if you if you like the upside because you’re not worried about the TW like the 2024 Blazers you we worried about maybe when the calendar flips and Beyond and I think he has some upside there um I don’t have the allegiance that you do towards him I don’t have I don’t have the strong I don’t have the strong Allegiance I know that um wake was tough this year like I know he was good and wake was tough this year so um I I I like him and he was obviously really really productive in the ACC one of the most underrated conferences in the country obviously but yeah I I I think I think with with these picks in the second round it’s like you just try to hit guys that you could develop on a two-way contract and could be something in the future and that like if things break right you convert them to to to full-time contracts I don’t think you I don’t I don’t think you worry about with with this stuff I think it’s all best player available I think there’s no fit concerns no fit considerations in the second round for me yeah no there like there’s some there’s some point guards that it’s like oh I’m sure the Blazers fans wouldn’t love to see KJ sson for example or Jamal shed because they’re undersized like peer point guards but like those guys are good and if they’re around grab them and and see what they do if nothing else they’re going to push your guards and practice like if there’s nothing wrong with using those picks for those kind of guys I think yeah I’m with you I think once you get deeper particularly 40 it’s just like whoever’s the highest on your board take them bring them into your system and see what you can do because the second it’s so hard to get it’s so hard to get picks in the top 10 right much less picks in the top 40 so like you know throw darts Blu have been historically over the last 10 years very good at drafting players in the second round so hopefully uh for for the sake of the franchise they continue that Trend Andy if people are looking for more of you where can they find you you can find me on Twitter uh Andy Patton CBB if you want to be on Twitter that’s where I’m going to be uh obviously locked on zags locked on college basketball you can find those two shows wherever you find locked on Blazers uh you can also find the written content at college sports wire. usat today cool and he’s always doing work he’s covering college basketball year round from a whole bunch of different angles he’s a best go go read his stuff listen to his podcast and uh listen uh zags don’t have a football team so it’s a he’s got basketball talk and recruiting talk year round my man is on the hardwood doing work uh check out his stuff appreciate you Andy it’s it’s always a pleasure yeah Mike thanks for having me on always dear listeners come back for next week five more shows where every you get Podcast and also on YouTube it’s freaking May you’re not getting this type of Blazer content anywhere else so do me a favor tell your friends about the program you can like and And subscribe and leave reviews I don’t care about that I want you to go and tell a friend if you were listening to this program you were at the 40 minute Mark of a show in May about the Portland Trailblazers go tell a friend say I like the Trailblazers and you do to go listen to lockon Blazers it’s available wherever you get podcasts and also on YouTube I appreciate you’re listening I’ll talk to you soon [Music]

Andy Patton of Locked On College Basketball and Locked On Zags joins the show to talk about his latest mock draft

Projecting every pick in 2024 NBA mock draft post-lottery and combine

We run through picks for the Trail Blazers at each of their selections: 7, 14, 34 and 40.

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