Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has the Portland Trail Blazers selecting Pittsburgh freshman center Steven Adams in the latest version of his 2013 NBA Mock Draft for Yahoo! Sports.
10. Portland Trail Blazers
Steven Adams (C, 19, 7-0, 255, Pittsburgh, freshman): Incoming GM Neil Olshey bagged a major steal with his first draft selection, reeling in the eventual Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard, with the No. 6 pick. The team was in the playoff hunt for much of the season but completely fell apart at the end, losing its final 13 games. Two additional major building blocks are already in place in LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, but the team will continue to look to add talent on the wing as well as at the center position, where undersized J.J. Hickson (a free agent this summer) rebounded admirably but struggled to contain the West's many talented big men. Portland ranked as the fifth-worst defensive team in the NBA last year, according to Hoopdata. Adams could bring some of the size, toughness and athleticism the team has lacked inside the paint in recent years, even if he's likely a couple of years away from developing into a consistent contributor.
Previously, Givony had the Blazers selecting French center Rudy Gobert.
Adams, 19, averaged 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in his one season at Pittsburgh. Listed at 7-foot and 250 pounds, he's originally from New Zealand.
More background from a very deep breakdown on Adams from DraftExpress.com.
Adams' main virtues as a NBA prospect continue to revolve heavily around his physical profile, as he has rare size, a strong frame, and excellent athleticism. He runs the floor well, is extremely mobile, and has very good quickness for a player his height, also being capable of playing above the rim when called upon.
Offensively, Adams was a very limited player at Pitt, averaging 7 points in 23 minutes, or 12.3 points per-40 minutes, which is the fourth lowest rate of any of the 75 college players in our top-100 prospects. While he was efficient from the field in his limited attempts (57%), he struggled badly from the free throw line, making just 44% of his attempts, a pretty good indication of where his skill-level is at in this stage of his development.
...
Adams has very crude footwork in the post and little in the ways of countermoves if the defender is able to cut off his initial action. He often decides what he wants to do with the ball seemingly before he even catches it, not reacting to how his defender is playing him and struggling to improvise on the fly if his initial plan goes awry. He's very mechanical with his movements and not overly instinctive with his approach to the game, which leaves some concerns about how much he can improve on this end of the floor in time.
...
Additionally, Adams has a bit of a subdued, non-chalant demeanor on the floor, rarely looking angry or in much of a hurry, which results in some relatively soft finishes. While he's very explosive, rarely did you see him getting angry and just powering up through a defender and jamming it home, which further hampered his effectiveness on this end of the floor.
A few notes and a snippet from Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who had Adams going to the Oklahoma City Thunder in his latest mock draft.
Positives
Long, athletic big man
NBA body with huge hands
Very physical player
Terrific rebounder
Excellent motor
Negatives
Needs to add experience/polish
Looks completely lost on offense
Very young for a NBA prospect...
If there's a guy worth being patient with in this draft it's Adams. He already has the NBA body, a killer motor and a terrific work ethic. If and when he starts figuring things out offensively (and it's going to be a process), he could be Oklahoma City's long-term answer in the middle.
Check out these videos from DraftExpress.com.
Hat tip on top link: Casey Holdahl, Blazers.com
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter