Blair will not be as ready as Ginobili was, and his knees will always be an issue. The Spurs have...

Blair will not be as ready as Ginobili was, and his knees will always be an issue. The Spurs have looked at the X-rays and, yes, he's ACL-less.

He also played only two years at Pitt, and rookies need some time. No one is certain his skill set and height will transition to the NBA, another reason he fell in the draft.

Then there are Gregg Popovich's demands: Blair will have to show a few things no one has seen, because Spurs scouts say Blair was not a good college defender.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/DeJuan_DeMan_Beyond_his_talent.html

over 2 years ago WarEaglePDX 18 comments 1 recs |

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Booya!

The backup PF everyone wanted had great intangibles. As in, "his ACLs weren’t tangible".-by ninjasocks on Jun 28, 2009

Seems like a no-brainer to pass on him. Besides being short and chronically fat, he’s a bad defender and has mutant knees. Is there any way he could have had more red flags? Maybe if they discovered he only has three fingers on each hand and plastered his college dorm room with Sean May posters.

I can’t believe I was ever upset about us not drafting him.

by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 28, 2009 8:04 PM PDT reply actions

you couldn't be more wrong

YOU DO NOT PASS SOMEONE WITH HIS TALENT LEVEL WITH SECIND ROUND PICKS! If it a first round pick, i understand, but with 2nd round picks there is no risk! You dont even have to give them a garunteed contract. If Blair only gives you two good years thats proabably more then what our 33pick will give us. It was stupid of the blazers to pass on him twice in the second round.

by ggassen85 on Jun 28, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions

It was smart to pass on him.

First of all the team doctors probably didn’t sign off on him. That alone might have prevented KP from signing him.

Blair was expected to be a mid-first round pick until being red-flagged by a number of team doctors over knee problems.

"This is the worst I’ve ever seen as far as doctors unwilling to put their butts on the line," said a senior executive of an Eastern conference team-SI.com

Also, If the appeal for Darius is still going on then signing Blair would have ruined any chance of getting his contract taken off our books. How do you retire a kid for microfracture and then sign a 20 year old PF without any ACLs? I don’t think they would have risked killing all chance of an appeal just to sign a second round pick, especially if there’s some other guys they still like on the board. Maybe Blair was worth it, but not if it cost them all hope of an extra 9 million in cap space.

If Blair only gives you two good years thats proabably more then what our 33pick will give us

Yeah, except KP already said he wouldn’t risk a players health for a couple years of play. That’s what the whole Darius thing was about. If he really meant what he said, then signing a 20 year old with rickety knees is against his morals.

"I didn’t want it on my conscience – that I had a kid have to go through a knee replacement surgery.

…I’m the kind of GM (that) I wouldn’t want that on my head that he ever had to have knee replacement."-Kevin Pritchard

Darius had at least a couple more years in him, but we had him retired for knee problems that COULD happen in the future. At his age and weight, Bliar is probably a greater risk.

by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 28, 2009 8:39 PM PDT up reply actions

I've always liked you Nick.

And I agree completely. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this web-site so seriously split over something that actually happened. I agree that the proffesionals know best, even if guys like Gilbert Arenas come along a few times a decade.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."

by GonzoFan on Jun 28, 2009 9:05 PM PDT up reply actions

I've always liked Nick a lot too.

Even though it sometimes seems I haven’t.

by staylost on Jun 28, 2009 9:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Thanks man.

by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 28, 2009 10:16 PM PDT up reply actions

agreed

I can understand passing on Blair with the 22nd pick especially as a move to increase cap room. However, using a 2nd round pick carries very low risk. We could have taken a chance on Blair and gotten the next Brandon Bass or David Lee, kept him or traded him away for an upgrade later. Or we might have ended up with a guy 1 season away from a career ending injury. It would have only cost us a 2nd round pick and some guy named Dante Cunningham. There’s too much value to just pass up.

"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"

by Magnum on Jun 29, 2009 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions

Two things...

1.) If you are concerned about cap room then you don’t take Blair at all. There’s still a small chance the appeal goes through for Darius. If you sign a guy with crappy knees you pretty much destroy any chance you have of getting that 9 million back.

2.) You mentioned it would have only cost us “some guy named Dante Cunningham”. I don’t know anything about Cunningham. Maybe the Blazers feel he’s a better long term prospect. As fans we tend to gravitate towards name players, but really it’s possible that Cunningham is the better prospect. I remember how pissed people were that we traded Joey Dorsey for some guy named Nicolas Batum. Isn’t it possible that the Blazers are just better evaluators of talent than you or I?

by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 29, 2009 1:25 AM PDT up reply actions

> Isn’t it possible that the Blazers are just better evaluators of talent than you or I?

As a Blazer fan, I count on it.

I like you too Nick! – Elgin

Without you out there, we're nowhere here

by 22baylor on Jun 29, 2009 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

except

that it’s not my evaluation of Blair vs. KP’s

It’s that pretty much every draft expert said Blair has lottery talent and the only reason he is dropping is injury concerns. It’s lottery talent for 2nd round cost. That’s the only point I’m making.

"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"

by Magnum on Jun 29, 2009 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions

I wouldn't consider those guys "draft experts".

Chad Ford is a pretty terrible evaluator of talent and none of those guys in the media spend as much time evaluating prospects as general managers, team doctors, etc. It’s funny that a guy like Ford or Hollinger would say that Blair was worth the risk when they haven’t actually seen the X-Rays of his knees. How could they possibly know?

The real experts didn’t think he was worth it. They passed on him again, and again, and again.

by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 29, 2009 8:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Pop will say this about every rookie

So will Nate, or any defensive-minded coach

Ime Udoka was interviewed during his first year with the Spurs. He was asked why he wasn’t playing much behind Bowen (etc) and he said something like “that’s just Pop’s way, he wants all newcomers to practice and learn the system before he trusts them out on the court” If the player shows aptitude for their team defense, then they will have a “home” in Pop’s system, even if they aren’t the most offensively talented player in the league (I’m looking at you, Matt Bonner…)

So, Blair will get “challenged” by the Spur’s coaches and if he survives the gauntlet San Antonio will have one helluva power forward. RC Buford is no dummy, and the Spurs know exactly what they’re doing from the top of their organization all the way down.

by two4larue on Jun 28, 2009 8:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Another Quote:

From what the Spurs know thus far, his knees are not demonstrating instability. His function is not affected as long as this is the case, though the length of his career is in doubt. That’s why Blair left Pitt early, and it’s why the Spurs, like other teams, didn’t want to commit to a first-round contract

Ultimately I think it makes sense for the Spurs to draft him and for the Blazers to pass on him. Spurs are in championship-or-bust mode so Blair is a high risk, high reward player. I do think Blair having a couple quality seasons is a very real possibility, but his knees are going to have some problems in the future with a long NBA season. I think ultimately Pendergraph will play more minutes in his NBA career then Blair. Blair might very well show some flashes of greatness and put up some gaudy numbers from time to time, but he is going to have injury problems most likely sooner then later.

Gimmicks don't make dynasties

by WarEaglePDX on Jun 28, 2009 8:45 PM PDT reply actions

All this talk about Blair.

If his legs don’t give out is he Ike Diogu? I’m not sure he’s going to be better. Although, Ike may not be that bad, depending on your needs.

μὴ φοβοῦ, μόνον πίστευε.

Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?

by T Darkstar on Jun 28, 2009 9:25 PM PDT reply actions

I'm still trying to figure out

how the same Ike Diogu who struggled here in Portland went for 32 and 12 in a late-season game for the Kings. I think he’s got a lot more to offer than what he showed here. – Elgin

Without you out there, we're nowhere here

by 22baylor on Jun 29, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions