Press Release on Second-Rounders
by Dave on Jun 25, 2009 9:52 PM PDT
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From the Blazers:
TRAIL BLAZERS SELECT DANTE CUNNINGHAM AND
PATRICK MILLS IN SECOND ROUND
Cunningham taken with 33rd pick, Mills selected 55th
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Trail Blazers selected forward Dante Cunningham with the 33rd pick and guard Patrick Mills with the 55th pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.
Cunningham, 22, played in a school-record 139 games during his four-year career at Villanova and is one of six players in school history to reach 1,300 points and 800 rebounds. The 6-8, 230-pound Maryland native finished his collegiate career with averages of 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.17 steals.
As a senior, Cunningham was named the Big East's Most Improved Player and was a member of the All-Big East Second Team after leading the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.1 points and 7.5 boards.
Mills, 20, was an early entry candidate for the NBA Draft out of St. Mary's (CA) College, where he posted averages of 16.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.97 steals in two seasons. He was a First Team All-WCC selection as a freshman and a sophomore.
Mills became the youngest Australian to play basketball in the Olympics after competing in the 2008 Beijing Games. He averaged a team-high 14.2 points to go with 2.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals, scoring 20 points in a quarterfinal game vs. the United States.
Cunningham and Mills round out a draft night that saw the Trail Blazers select Spanish forward Victor Claver with the 22nd overall pick and acquire the draft rights to forward Jeff Pendergraph, who was selected 31st overall.
--Dave (blazersub@!yahoo.com)
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So...
Pendergraph and Cunningham will compete this summer for the 10-15 minutes a game that Lamarcus in not on the floor? I can deal with that.
lol I don't think lamacus is eligible for summer league.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
Umm..that is not what I was saying
I’m saying the Blazers won’t have roster spots for two backup PFs, so Pendergraph and Cunningham will basically be competing against each other this summer to get the one backup spot to Lamarcus during the regular season.
by misterblack on Jun 25, 2009 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions
ohhh sorry...I've been explaining the draft to women for the last hour...
I’ve been dummed down.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
my apoligies to the women who dig basketball enough to know about the draft...
I don’t mean anything by that ^^ comment, it’s just the women I’m with don’t know.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
No Press Release on Claver?
Interesting. Blazer front office seems pretty quiet tonight. No interviews?
"I'm at the thingamajig talking the yakety-yak" - Kenny Smith
They gave some press conference on 95.5
KP was happy and praised Paul Allen’s willingness to spend and be aggressive.
I like the Claver pick, although I would have preferred him in the second round but not sure what their thinking there was. I like the Pendergraph pick. I think Mills at #55 is great value. I hate to pass up on Blair three times and end up with a guy who is basically Outlaw with less athleticism. Blair at #33 is incredible unbelievable value, even if his knees should go out in three years. You can’t sign a veteran with those rebounding skills for that money. Not even Shav or Ruffin would cost you less. I don’t get that one.
He won't get traded
Rudy sat out one year playing in Europe, Claver will too..
Proud member of Duck nation!
Right
Just sounded like they want to leave him there for a while. So at least the next year, probably longer.
He resigned with Pamesa even though he could get more money in Real Madrid, Barcelona and other European teams.
Big clubs pay more money but also ask for bigger buyouts.
I think Claver signed with Pamesa, among other considerations, for being able to go to the NBA when he decides.
exactly
Drafting him in the first round doesn’t save you any money to sign FA’s this summer. They must’ve assumed he wouldn’t be available at #31. That’s fine, but now you have to renounce Koponen IMO. You need every cent to work with if you’re going to take the FA route.
Freeland is worth his cap hold, and is easily tradeable because people might want him
Koponen is the suck. Getting rid of him is a very easy pain free thing to do.
like more contracts to work with in trade.... can't quite match the 10-20 mill guy's yet without giving up our bench...
now we have throw ins with upside…and signable for ?unrestricted amounts?
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
I really like Prendergraph
I think he could be a solid backup, esp. if we trade Frye (as I think most people would say is likely)…
Proud member of Duck nation!
The lesson this year
Players with injury history (Mills and Blair) were not trusted by the NBA.
Proud member of Duck nation!
Not an injury history for mills
just one minor injury and otherwise stellar play, even against elite competition. Jerryd who?
by T-Money on Jun 25, 2009 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Is Dante Cunningham any good?
Or is he a character guy that will struggle to make the roster, since he is a tweener with no 3 point shot.
Joel Freeland=Stud
Tweener for sure.
I’m not aware of his ability to guard 3s. Improved his mid-range jumpshot in college.
"I'm at the thingamajig talking the yakety-yak" - Kenny Smith
Not in the NBA imo
Classic tweener, lacks the speed/handle/shot for the 3, not big enough for the 4. Sounds like a good guy and a hard worker, but he will at most be an end of the bench guy in the NBA.
Team Bayless - The takeover begins in 2009
by blazeraddict on Jun 25, 2009 10:38 PM PDT up reply actions
If he's 6 - 8 he's tall enough to play PF.
What he sounds like to me from the Portland press release is a typical KP / Nate kind of guy. A 4 year college player who improved every year and is a hard worker. Just the sort of guy who makes a nice bench player and possibly is the classic sleeper pick.
At the #55 spot, I certainly don’t expect to get a guy who cracks an NBA lineup. Therefore it is not as if you waste something if Cunningham doesn’t make the team. But on the other hand, you could have just landed a guy that surprises a bunch of people and generates the sort of comments about how could so many GM’s pass on this guy. I’m not betting that way, but the fact Portland drafted him tells me Pritchard thinks he has a chance.
hakkaa päälle !
they coulda let us know weeks ago...
jerks.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
My prediction for Mills
he will be the starter in a few years.
he’s better than bayless. would have been lottery if he hadn’t gotten hurt and subsequently missed the dance.
"I don't care what people think, people are stupid"- Sir Charles Barkley
by beam_us_up_scottie on Jun 25, 2009 10:11 PM PDT reply actions
Needs to work on his D
He’s a bit of a streak shooter. He also suffered by playing on a not well known team.
Proud member of Duck nation!
At least he gets on streaks unlike bayless
he’s the type of player that can singlehandedly demolish an opposing team.
"I don't care what people think, people are stupid"- Sir Charles Barkley
by beam_us_up_scottie on Jun 25, 2009 10:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Bayless did last year
Vs. NJ. I think if Bayless gets more regular playing time he’ll relax more and play better as we saw.
Proud member of Duck nation!
He has the foot quickness to be an excellent perimeter defender. Just a matter of
effort. Would be nice to actually have a PG capable of staying in front of CP3 and Tony Parker
my trade sugestion
Victor Claver,Jeff Pendergraph, travis outlaw, steve blake for rubio and whatever crap contract we have to take back.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
he'd come to portland.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
The biggest steal for me today though
Is I bought a quarter season from the Blazers, biggest package I’ve ever bought. GO BLAZERS!
Proud member of Duck nation!
congrats. do you know what section?
From Russia With Love
by L-TrainFTW! on Jun 25, 2009 10:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Why I am Not Worried About Blair
Watching the open draft thread tonight, it’s funny the reactions.
Will he be available at 16 for a rumored Bulls/Blazers trade? Yes. Cheers on the BEdge; then Da Bulls draft James Johnson. Much disappointment—though that could be that a possible exit for Trout seemed less likely.
Blair was available for us at 22—other prospects like Lawson were off the board? Was KP a genius? We grab a Euro, and a riot ensues.
But KP looks like a frigging genius when Sacramento, picking at #31 for us, is on the clock and Blair is still on the board. Whooping at KP’s genius—obviously he foresaw Blair would drop to the second round. Penderwho?
But then—we have #33. And we go and draft a guy named Dante? BEdgers are in the ninth circle of hell. And then people start to realize—maybe Blair really is damaged goods. Maybe he does have knees like Greg Oden’s grandpa. KP is a genius for passing him up.
Then the Spurs snag him at #37—and all of a sudden he’s the next Tony Parker, the next Manu, the next rabbit that Buford and Pops pull out of a hat. All that bit about Blair’s knees—it MUST be a misinformation campaign coming out of San Antone—and unlike last year, when KP snatched Batum out from under their noses, IT WORKED THIS TIME. All-Star games are predicted for the young Panther.
I am not worried. Why?
This isn’t the usual Spurs MO—usually they go after little-scouted foreign players in the latter part of the draft—not potentially lottery picks, well known to American scouts, who have fallen due to an injury bug. It’s not like the Spurs were the only team to work out Blair, and have access to his medical records.
Looks to me like the Spurs are taking a gamble on his health. If the docs are wrong, then they will make 29 other NBA gems possibly look foolish. But if the docs are right…
, gets announced—Penderwho?
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Jun 25, 2009 10:25 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Boozer who? Millsap who? Davis who? All second round picks team passed on.
And Blair moves pretty fine for a guy who has bad knees, in college and in workouts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxqEKssvgI
Maybe he does and his knees are shot in three years, although reports on DX and elsewhere said his MRIs from Chicago showed no further damage compared to MRIs done long ago. Would be sad for him especially because he seems to be a great guy off the court. But wouldn’t prevent him from giving a team something valuable until then at a bargain price. You can sign some aging veteran or stiff big guy any time. But I’ve rarely seen a guy with rebounding numbers like that. His overall stats in fact were better than those of Hill who is now a #8 pick.
Considering his teammates--
guys like Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavey Jr; as well as other Duke luminaries (before and after) in the NBA like Magette, Brand, Duhon, Dahntay Jones, Deng, and Battier—who would have thought that (based on college) Carlos Boozer would be the best NBA pro to come from Coach K’s program since Grant Hill?
Raise your hand. If your hand is up, you’re lying. :)
Point is, the second round is a crapshoot. Which, if any guys from the second round of this draft, will have a decent pro career? Heck if I know.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Jun 25, 2009 11:37 PM PDT up reply actions
It's one of the biggest mysteries of the draft, for sure
The report that his knees had no further damage came primarily from his agent, Happy Walters. Who know what team MDs were seeing, and whether there were other things that came up in all of the vetting. The fact that so many GMs passed on him and Nate was so clear that he wasn’t an option makes me think that he was a bigger risk than can be reported in the media. People get so touchy about medical information these days . . .
(This may be a little OT, but his agent doesn’t look like he’s worked with a lot of NBA guys. Maybe his inexperience played a role in Blair slipping so far? )
He got Shawne Williams into the high first round, who is a much more troubled character than Blair by all I know
I understand that his knees are not pristine. But I bet he won’t miss more games in his first year than Oden. Or more than Miles. And teams still played Miles. Blair wouldn’t cost you more than Miles cost Memphis. I don’t see the risk. Will it give KP sleepless nights when Blair ruins his knees doing what he loves?
This isn’t the usual Spurs MO—usually they go after little-scouted foreign players in the latter part of the draft
That MO is getting tougher and tougher to follow in recent years, as other teams followed suit and everyone overseas is much better scouted now.
Hard to say if this was a desperation move (with nothing to lose) from SAS, or if they knew something other teams didn’t.
One thing I have noticed
is that the second round picks who do well are the guys who aren’t high on anybody’s draft board at any time during the draft season. Small-school players (Kersey), foreign players who aren’t well-known (Parker, Ginobili), guys considered tweeners (Arenas, Cliffy), and system players whose role doesn’t fully exhibit their skills (Boozer).
The guys who slip into the second round—tend not do do as well. Usually, I suspect, these guys have gotten much more scrutiny than the diamonds in the rough, and probably have slipped for a reason.
In the case of Blair—so much of his game depends on his athleticism. If he becomes ground-bound, does he still have the skills to make it? If Tyrus Thomas were to suffer a knee injury and lose six inches off his vertical—would he still be a good NBA player?
Blair is a definite risk, that’s for sure. I would have been willing to take a gamble on him, but I’m not gonna second-guess KP too much on this one.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Jun 25, 2009 11:42 PM PDT up reply actions
To clarify...
by “slip” I mean guys considered first-round prospects who slide down.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Jun 25, 2009 11:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think Blair is really that dependent on athleticism
He has always been pretty ground-bound, and has done quite well despite that. He is very strong and has good skills, but he isn’t very explosive (though that might have changed a little with all the weight he lost leading up to the draft).
I wonder what Kp is doing....
Victor claver…why did we trade up to get him the kings wanted omri cassipi so why did we waste 2 second round picks for a guy who wont ever be a blazer…patty mills good pick..pendergraph good get but cunningham over dejuan blair come on kp.
"Good, Better, Best, never let it rest until your good is your better and your better is your best." Tim Duncan
Clearing Cap?
What about clearing cap space for David Lee, Hedo, Steve Nash, or J Kid?
I'm not sure any of those guys make the Blazers better
Or are good to have on the roster 2-3 years from now.
a guy who wont ever be a blazer
They want him to come over in a few years.
From Russia With Love
by L-TrainFTW! on Jun 25, 2009 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions
From Casey
GM Kevin Pritchard talks about what Pendigraph and Cunningham bring to the Trail Blazers team. http://bit.ly/xIGWz
GM Kevin Pritchard talks about first round pick Victor Claver. Watch video and comment. http://bit.ly/SbP8Q
Audio of Kevin Pritchard/Nate McMillan full press conference audio talking about NBA Draft http://tinyurl.com/ng3z
Your last link took me to the Logitech website.
From Russia With Love
by L-TrainFTW! on Jun 25, 2009 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
clearing cap
if we are clearing cap its for brandon and lamarcus not for david lee who wont be a blazer, hedo turkoglu who wont be a blazer and why would we want jason kidd because our team really needs an aging 36 year old who cant shoot
"Good, Better, Best, never let it rest until your good is your better and your better is your best." Tim Duncan
it could be for a lopsided Hinrich trade
"...the primary focus of all obstacles is to induce labor, so progression can be born." - LiL C
Are you sure that Lee won't be excited to play 10 mpg behind LMA?
and wtf is up with Minny, talking about “We’re going to play Flynn and Rubio at the same time”?
One wonders how a player who "can't shoot"
managed to hit more than 40% of his 3-point shots and over 80% of his free-throws last year.
gesundheit
because I know you weren’t swearing in here. – Elgin
Without you out there, we're nowhere here
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