GOD

Well Beaubois is going to be coming to the NBA next year, but I could see spending a second rounder on him and seeing if he develops. He certainly has the tools.

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zagsfan20

I haven't found anything that reports him being a good defender. From what I read it says he has the chance to be one because of his really long wingspan.

Can't hit shots yet?

Next.

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"I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything".
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Rodney Stuckey is the future of the league.

ThatBlazerGuy

I was thinking more of as a 2nd round stash player. We do have 3 2nd rounders.

It's_GO_Time

So how do you rank Gallinari, Batum, Ajinca and De Colo and which would be the best fit for the Blazers?

Genjuro

I love Gallinari. He's a stud, a guy you can feel will just be an excellent basketball player. However, I'm not sure how much you guys need a SF given that Webster and Outlaw are in the team. Besides, he's much more of a ball-handler than an off-the-ball guy, and with Roy in the team it might not be the best fit. Still, he's so talented that it would likely work regardless.

Batum is being a bit underrated at this point IMO. Ok, unlike Gallinari, there are issues about his character and aggressiveness playing the game, but he's just a more consistent shot away of becoming a super solid role guy, because he's a physical wonder, a very good defender and really understands the game. And still he enjoys star potential. Could be a decent fit, but again you guys have some decent SFs.

I don't think Ajinca is worth the risk for the Blazers considering they already have Oden. The French big has the most potential on defense, changing shots with his sick length, but still he draws serious doubts about his consistency and physical development (he's very skinny), despite the fact that his stock seems to be on the rise (still it would be really interesting to see Blazers' defense with these two guys playing together, since Ajinca might be able to play PF, but it's not working because you should use a much more skilled guy next to Oden).

If I have to rank them:
1. Gallinari
2. Batum
3. Ajinca - De Colo

The last two guys are difficult to rank. Ajinca has great potential, but he's the typical guy that comes too early and fails miserably. However, with the D-League in place, that might change. Meanwhile, De Colo is already a player, but still not sure if a NBA-caliber player.

By the way, my personal guess is that the Blazers went out to watch Batum and Gallinari (the Frenchmen played all at the same hour, so Gallinari was one of them for sure).

STOMP

Nice post Genjuro... keep them coming

Ajinca was a participant in the Nike Hoops summit here in Portland within the last month so Blazer management did get to see him recently. Like you said, dude is big long and can move... he definitely has some defensive ability as a shotblocker. I wouldn't be surprised to see Portland package some of their 2nd rounders to move up to select and stash him overseas until he's ready. They've a lot of guaranteed contracts on the books already so the sign and stash plan is a likely course until they purge some of these contracts in the 2009 and 10 off-seasons.

STOMP

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