Thursday was the 2012 NBA Draft and surprisingly, nothing too surprising happened. Picks around the league were just as reported the weeks leading up to the draft. One of the only surprises in the earlier stages of the draft is Syracuse guard Dion Waiters going 4th to the Cavs, which led to Harrison Barnes falling to Golden State at 7.
The Blazers stuck to the script by drafting Damian Lillard at 6 and Meyers Leonard at 11. Lillard and Leonard fill the two biggest holes for the Blazers and each has tremendous upside.
The pick that excited me most was the #40 pick, Memphis guard Will Barton. I don’t know if it was that Barton excited me as a prospect or that the beginning of the draft was so uneventful I just needed something to be excited about. Either way, Barton definitely struck my interest.
Leading up to the draft, there was a lot of talk about possibly drafting Austin Rivers or Jeremy Lamb at the 11 spot to sure up the backcourt for years to come. I agreed with that methodology but on the same hand, a quality 7-footer is hard to come by and Leonard has a high ceiling. That’s why I was pleased to see the Blazers draft Barton with their 2nd round pick.
Barton, last year’s Conference USA Player of the Year, had two great years at Memphis. A lot of the draft experts expected Barton to be selected in the first round. All week, you heard a lot of things such as, “first round talent”, “energy player”, “possible steal.” The great thing for the Blazers is that he fell into their laps at the 40th pick. Barton is a versatile 2 guard. Last year, he averaged 18 points per game, along with 8 rebounds.
The stat that really intrigues me about Barton is those 8 rebounds a game. That shows me that he is capable of playing hard and has some grit to him. Not many NBA shooting guards have that capability to get to the boards like Barton does. If he can put some weight on in the weight room, he could be a force when it comes to rebounding. He was also fairly solid with another key hustle stat with 1.5 steals per game.
As high as I am on Barton, I know that he has a long road ahead of him. The Blazers already have Wesley Matthews and fellow Memphis Tiger, Elliot Williams, at the 2 guard. But Barton could really be served well to sit behind those energetic players for a couple years to learn the ins and outs of the NBA game.
Barton is up for the challenge though. One of his college coaches, and Portland favorite, Damon Stoudamire is reported saying about Barton, “Definitely will come in there with a chip on his shoulder cause he’s pissed about being a 2nd round pick.”
No matter how Barton pans out, I think the draft was a fantastic success and a step in the right direction for the Blazers organization. The next step in the process is free agency. After Olshey’s first success with the Blazers in the draft, it’s really time for him to prove himself. I believe he is the right guy for the job but we will see for sure in a couple weeks what he really has in him.
After these free agency questions are answered, then it’s time to intensify the coaching search. My vote for coach would be Brian Shaw, but we will see what happens. The reports are the Orlando Magic are getting into serious discussions with Shaw.
This is an exciting time to be covering this team and it’s really just beginning. Free agency, the coaching search and then summer ball will all help to set the stage for this exciting season to come. Stay tuned Blazers’ fans.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
