When you think of the prototypical shooting guard, you may think of someone who can score, but mostly you think of someone who can shoot. This is where the Portland Trail Blazers could use an improvement in.
So here is part two of five articles in which I will be going over every position that the Trail Blazers could address this offseason in the draft and free agency. As you may already know, the Blazers have both the 6th and 11th pick in this year’s draft. They will also have a good chunk of salary cap space to go along with that.
The Blazers have two shooting guards on their roster for next season: Wesley Matthews and Elliot Williams.
Williams is a guy with a ton of potential. He showed it in spurts during this past season – after sitting out his whole rookie season with a knee injury. He got hurt again late last season as well. If the guy can’t stay healthy, then he may lose his chance to show this team his potential in full. He could be a piece that the team could put together with draft pick to move up a little in order to grab someone they have an eye on.
Matthews kind of took a step back last season after a solid sophomore year. He is one of our better defensive players. Both Paul Allen and new general manager, Neil Olshey, have stated that they want to get better defensively. If that is the case, then getting rid of Matthews might not be an option. However, if the team can upgrade offensively, then they should do so.
First up, I will cover some of the draft options at shooting guard. There are only a few options in this department. The best shooting guard is undoubtedly Bradley Beal. Beal will be a top five pick. If they want to move up to assure a shot at him, they may have to put Elliot Williams and the 6th pick in to do so. I do believe that his offensive game and rebounding ability is worth it. There is even the option of waiting to see who drops out of the top five, and then offer whoever took Beal, the 6th pick and Williams.
Aside from trades, there are three shooting guard that the Blazers could grab with either the 6th or 11th pick. Those three players are Jeremy Lamb, Austin Rivers, and Dion Waiters. All three of whom come from very respectable basketball colleges with great coaches.
Jeremy Lamb – Connecticut: He has a great offensive game. Like Kevin Durant, he is a prolific scorer who has length, but he has a small frame. He won’t be Kevin Durant-esque, he doesn’t have that much length, nor does he have that much talent, but I think that would be the closest comparison. Nonetheless, he is one of the top scorers in this year’s draft. He could be an option with the 6th pick, or he could fall to the 11th. Like I said last week, there are a lot of guys who could fall anywhere. Teams better be ready for whatever happens. I don’t think he is worth reaching for at 6. He isn’t aggressive enough. That is another thing that sets him aside from Durant. He has been known to be passive when pressure is applied. This is something I see happening in the NBA. No one in the NBA is going to sit back and let him or any rookie for that matter, score on all over them. If he can become more aggressive, then he can be a good player in the game.
Austin Rivers – Duke: Rivers is a guy that could be viewed as a point guard or shooting guard. I see him as a two guard with the ability to play the one. Kind of what Jamal Crawford was able to do for the Blazers off the bench this season. He isn’t a great defensive player. But maybe he could give us the offense we hoped for from Crawford.
Rivers will bring a lot of attention from other players in the NBA. When you’re the son of a good coach, as he is to Doc Rivers, that sort of thing will happen. He does have a high confidence level, so being a target should not affect his game too much. He is another player that I would not reach for at 6, but if he is there at 11, he is worth a look.
Dion Waiters – Syracuse: Waiters is a guy that I have seen scrambled all over the board. Some people love him, and others may be over looking him. He is a tough defender and a solid scorer in transition. He was a guy who was a big part to Syracuse’s success this season. Waiters isn’t one of the best shooters in the draft, but he is an efficient shooter. He knows how to run an offense as well, which could be a nice fit in a pick-n-roll option with LaMarcus Aldridge. I will be keeping my eye on his workouts leading up to the draft. He could go as high as a top 10 and as low as 20.
In the two second round picks you won’t be getting much. I see a few possibilities here.
There are two outstanding long range shooters that will be going early-mid in the first round. John Jenkins and Kevin Murphy can both shoot lights out. I see them as possible picks here.
I have heard Jenkins stroke compared to NBA 3-point leader, Ray Allen. He is more of an early second round pick. He is widely viewed as the best shooter in the draft. This is something that the Blazers could use as they shot a mere .346 percent from long range, oppose to their opponents .363 percentage last season. Jenkins shot more than 40 percent in each of his three seasons at Vanderbilt.
Kevin Murphy is another solid shooter. He shot more than 40 percent in two of his four seasons. His senior year was by far the best of his college years. He shot almost twice as many threes and improved his percentage from .333 to .416 in that final year.
Jared Cunningham is another guy we could target in the second round. He has a similar game to Elliot Williams. He is a solid defender, he can score, and he has some crazy hops. I think Williams has more offensive upside to him and Cunningham is a little better defensively, that is the difference between the two.
Now, that leads us to free agency. The top shooting guard is Eric Gordon. He is a restricted free agent, however, so he may be hard to pry away from the New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets also have two lottery picks this year. Beal has been compared to Gordon, so he may actually be an easier target.
There are quite a few free agents that we can bring in as role players. We can pick up scorers/shooters with either of these guys – Ray Allen, Nick Young, Marco Belineli, Brandon Rush, or Michael Redd. All of these guys can shoot the ball very well. There is also Rudy Fernandez, kidding! Alonzo Gee had a good year. C.J. Miles shoots lights out in the Rose Garden, or at least he did in one of the games I went to.
You also have some guys that can play some defense, like DeShawn Stevenson.
Point is, there are quite a bit of shooting guards out there. Most of which won’t be that big of an acquisition – they will be more of a role player type. I don’t think a first round pick, outside of Beal, would be the best option for the Blazers. The shooting guards they have should be fine with all the right pieces around them. I would like to see them bring in another shooter this offseason. That could be a guy in the draft like John Jenkins or a guy from free agency like Brandon Rush.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
