tlongII
07-26-2012, 05:43 PM
http://portlandtribune.com/pt-rss/9-news/112647-blazers-peek-at-high-octane-future
LAS VEGAS — With the bright neon lights of the Strip as a backdrop, the Trail Blazers took an important step toward what they hope is a Renaissance last week in Sin City.
Rookies Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and Will Barton represent a big chunk of the future for the Blazers, and their talents were on display at the Las Vegas Summer League.
New general manager Neil Olshey believes that All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, newly re-signed forward Nicolas Batum, guard Wesley Matthews, Lillard and Leonard are key pieces for what can be a championship run.
The same was said, of course, five years ago after Greg Oden was drafted No. 1 a year after the Blazers selected Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
Now the Blazers, who were 28-38 and failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008, are rebuilding again, from the bottom up.
“Who could foresee that Roy and Oden would go out?” says Rick Adelman, the former Blazer player and coach now head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I went through it in Houston when we lost Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. They were All-Stars.
“It’s hard to retool when you lose that kind of talent. That’s what Portland is faced with.”
Olshey, hired on June 5 to fill a
position that had been left vacant since Rich Cho’s firing in May 2011, had a busy nine days in Vegas. He kept Batum by matching Minnesota’s four-year, $45 million offer sheet, watched Portland play five games and interviewed more than a dozen head coach candidates.
The Blazers went 4-1, but the important thing was getting a look at Lillard, Leonard and Barton along with returning players Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt. Smith, a rookie point guard last season, played well before going down late in the second game to a concussion.
“We got a lot accomplished,” says Chad Buchanan, director of college scouting, who served as interim GM prior to Olshey’s hiring. “The three rookies got a lot of good experience. Nolan established himself as a guy ready to make a step up.”
Double L offense
Concensus among the multiple representatives from every NBA team who watched from the stands was that the Blazers drafted a pair of building blocks in the “L&L Boys” — Lillard, a 6-3, 195-pound point guard taken with the sixth pick out of Weber State, and Leonard, a 7-1, 245-pound center drafted at No. 11 from Illinois.
“I love Lillard and Leonard,” says Boston coach Doc Rivers. “The Blazers had a great draft, which is the key for them. They’re doing some really good stuff.”
“First time I’ve seen either one of them, and I’m impressed,” says Erik Spoelstra, the Portland native who coached the Miami Heat to the NBA title last month. The Blazers “have done a lot of things that are good for their future,” he adds.
Lillard stole the show with his sterling play, averaging 26.5 points and sharing league MVP honors with Memphis guard Josh Selby. Lillard is expected to start next season.
Portland has had summer league MVPs before — Qyntell Woods and Jerryd Bayless come to mind, and neither panned out with the Blazers. But Lillard is close to a can’t-miss prospect, according to those around the league.
“Lillard is going to be terrific,” says Cleveland coach Byron Scott.
“He has a very bright future,” Spoelstra says. “He has a chance to be special.”
“A very good player,” says Adelman. “He’ll be a great addition to them. He can score, and it looks like he’s a willing passer. That was a very good draft pick.”
“He plays the pro game — great speed, no hurry, knows how to play,” Rivers says. “He can shoot, he can score when he wants to, but he also knows how to run a team. That’s nice.”
Leonard, 20, came out of Illinois after his sophomore year and started only one season. He was inconsistent but had his moments during summer league.
“I’ve had my eye on him for a while,” Rivers says. “I saw Illinois play a bunch of games last season. He has to do it every night. That will be his big challenge, but he has all the tools to be really good.”
“The big kid has a lot of things in terms of athleticism and competitiveness you can’t teach,” Spoelstra says. “The way the league is going, he is a natural fit for that center position.”
One NBA executive, who requested anonymity, wasn’t as high on Leonard.
“I’ve seen him play a lot,” the exec says. “He is athletic for a big guy, but not instinctual. He doesn’t always get to the right spot. Maybe he just hasn’t played enough.”
“Meyers is a typical young ‘big,’ “ Buchanan says. “He is going to have his ups and downs. Getting him to be as consistent as possible is going to be important. That’s going to take time.
“We’re not going to put a lot of pressure on him to be that right away. We want to develop him. We wanted to get a young center in our pipeline. You can’t say the kid doesn’t have his motor going at all times. Trying to channel that in the right path is going to be important for him.”
Barton, a 6-5 swingman and second-round pick out of Memphis, scored 48 points in the final two games, showing shooting range and athleticism after displaying erratic play in the first three contests. He is expected to vie for rotation minutes at shooting guard and small forward.
“Will finished very strong,” Buchanan says. “He’s an active player who plays both ends of the floor and is in constant motion. Guys who do that influence the game.”
Positive moves
The Blazers chose not to extend 23-year-old Batum’s contract before last season, hoping to use salary-cap space to sign a big-ticket free agent before going over the cap to retain Batum this summer. They offered a maximum deal to Indiana center Roy Hibbert, also a restricted free agent. When the Pacers matched Portland’s offer sheet to retain Hibbert, the Blazers were forced to use most of their cap space to keep the 6-8 Batum.
“I’ve always liked him,” Scott says. “He’s a very serviceable basketball player. He always does good things for you on the court.”
“Batum is a unique player,” Spoelstra says. “When you play against him, you have to respect him. With his versatility, he is Scottie Pippen-ish.”
“He is not the LeBron James type of player, but he’s a glue guy you need to have on your team,” Rivers says. “When you get guys (through the draft), you should pay for them, too. Those guys get overlooked. He’s a guy who will be with them for 10 years and always help them win. That’s important.”
After the Blazers shut down most of their regulars late last season, Babbitt came on and wound up leading the team in 3-point percentage at .430. But the 6-8 left-hander didn’t shoot well in summer league — .378 from the field, .290 from 3-point range — while averaging 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games.
“Luke needs to keep his game really simple,” Buchanan says. “We’ve told him, ‘Just be who you are.’ I know guys want to expand their game this summer, which is the time to do it. He didn’t shoot it great, and some of the other things we’ve been trying to work on are still a work in progress.
“Luke was probably disappointed with how he played at times, but that’s part of growing as a young player. Keeping his confidence up is important for him.”
The Blazers entered last season with the goal of winning at least one playoff series for the first time since 2000. From their 2011-12 opening-night roster, gone are veterans Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby and Jamal Crawford, among others.
Soon they’ll have a new coach and a whole new cast of characters.
“They’ve done a good job of making positive moves this summer,” Spoelstra says. “You have to have talent, and you have to have luck. The right people have to be there when you draft, and you have to be injury-free. All those things have to be working in the same direction. With Portland, that hasn’t happened.”
“They’re headed in the right direction,” Scott said.
LAS VEGAS — With the bright neon lights of the Strip as a backdrop, the Trail Blazers took an important step toward what they hope is a Renaissance last week in Sin City.
Rookies Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and Will Barton represent a big chunk of the future for the Blazers, and their talents were on display at the Las Vegas Summer League.
New general manager Neil Olshey believes that All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, newly re-signed forward Nicolas Batum, guard Wesley Matthews, Lillard and Leonard are key pieces for what can be a championship run.
The same was said, of course, five years ago after Greg Oden was drafted No. 1 a year after the Blazers selected Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
Now the Blazers, who were 28-38 and failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008, are rebuilding again, from the bottom up.
“Who could foresee that Roy and Oden would go out?” says Rick Adelman, the former Blazer player and coach now head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I went through it in Houston when we lost Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. They were All-Stars.
“It’s hard to retool when you lose that kind of talent. That’s what Portland is faced with.”
Olshey, hired on June 5 to fill a
position that had been left vacant since Rich Cho’s firing in May 2011, had a busy nine days in Vegas. He kept Batum by matching Minnesota’s four-year, $45 million offer sheet, watched Portland play five games and interviewed more than a dozen head coach candidates.
The Blazers went 4-1, but the important thing was getting a look at Lillard, Leonard and Barton along with returning players Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt. Smith, a rookie point guard last season, played well before going down late in the second game to a concussion.
“We got a lot accomplished,” says Chad Buchanan, director of college scouting, who served as interim GM prior to Olshey’s hiring. “The three rookies got a lot of good experience. Nolan established himself as a guy ready to make a step up.”
Double L offense
Concensus among the multiple representatives from every NBA team who watched from the stands was that the Blazers drafted a pair of building blocks in the “L&L Boys” — Lillard, a 6-3, 195-pound point guard taken with the sixth pick out of Weber State, and Leonard, a 7-1, 245-pound center drafted at No. 11 from Illinois.
“I love Lillard and Leonard,” says Boston coach Doc Rivers. “The Blazers had a great draft, which is the key for them. They’re doing some really good stuff.”
“First time I’ve seen either one of them, and I’m impressed,” says Erik Spoelstra, the Portland native who coached the Miami Heat to the NBA title last month. The Blazers “have done a lot of things that are good for their future,” he adds.
Lillard stole the show with his sterling play, averaging 26.5 points and sharing league MVP honors with Memphis guard Josh Selby. Lillard is expected to start next season.
Portland has had summer league MVPs before — Qyntell Woods and Jerryd Bayless come to mind, and neither panned out with the Blazers. But Lillard is close to a can’t-miss prospect, according to those around the league.
“Lillard is going to be terrific,” says Cleveland coach Byron Scott.
“He has a very bright future,” Spoelstra says. “He has a chance to be special.”
“A very good player,” says Adelman. “He’ll be a great addition to them. He can score, and it looks like he’s a willing passer. That was a very good draft pick.”
“He plays the pro game — great speed, no hurry, knows how to play,” Rivers says. “He can shoot, he can score when he wants to, but he also knows how to run a team. That’s nice.”
Leonard, 20, came out of Illinois after his sophomore year and started only one season. He was inconsistent but had his moments during summer league.
“I’ve had my eye on him for a while,” Rivers says. “I saw Illinois play a bunch of games last season. He has to do it every night. That will be his big challenge, but he has all the tools to be really good.”
“The big kid has a lot of things in terms of athleticism and competitiveness you can’t teach,” Spoelstra says. “The way the league is going, he is a natural fit for that center position.”
One NBA executive, who requested anonymity, wasn’t as high on Leonard.
“I’ve seen him play a lot,” the exec says. “He is athletic for a big guy, but not instinctual. He doesn’t always get to the right spot. Maybe he just hasn’t played enough.”
“Meyers is a typical young ‘big,’ “ Buchanan says. “He is going to have his ups and downs. Getting him to be as consistent as possible is going to be important. That’s going to take time.
“We’re not going to put a lot of pressure on him to be that right away. We want to develop him. We wanted to get a young center in our pipeline. You can’t say the kid doesn’t have his motor going at all times. Trying to channel that in the right path is going to be important for him.”
Barton, a 6-5 swingman and second-round pick out of Memphis, scored 48 points in the final two games, showing shooting range and athleticism after displaying erratic play in the first three contests. He is expected to vie for rotation minutes at shooting guard and small forward.
“Will finished very strong,” Buchanan says. “He’s an active player who plays both ends of the floor and is in constant motion. Guys who do that influence the game.”
Positive moves
The Blazers chose not to extend 23-year-old Batum’s contract before last season, hoping to use salary-cap space to sign a big-ticket free agent before going over the cap to retain Batum this summer. They offered a maximum deal to Indiana center Roy Hibbert, also a restricted free agent. When the Pacers matched Portland’s offer sheet to retain Hibbert, the Blazers were forced to use most of their cap space to keep the 6-8 Batum.
“I’ve always liked him,” Scott says. “He’s a very serviceable basketball player. He always does good things for you on the court.”
“Batum is a unique player,” Spoelstra says. “When you play against him, you have to respect him. With his versatility, he is Scottie Pippen-ish.”
“He is not the LeBron James type of player, but he’s a glue guy you need to have on your team,” Rivers says. “When you get guys (through the draft), you should pay for them, too. Those guys get overlooked. He’s a guy who will be with them for 10 years and always help them win. That’s important.”
After the Blazers shut down most of their regulars late last season, Babbitt came on and wound up leading the team in 3-point percentage at .430. But the 6-8 left-hander didn’t shoot well in summer league — .378 from the field, .290 from 3-point range — while averaging 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games.
“Luke needs to keep his game really simple,” Buchanan says. “We’ve told him, ‘Just be who you are.’ I know guys want to expand their game this summer, which is the time to do it. He didn’t shoot it great, and some of the other things we’ve been trying to work on are still a work in progress.
“Luke was probably disappointed with how he played at times, but that’s part of growing as a young player. Keeping his confidence up is important for him.”
The Blazers entered last season with the goal of winning at least one playoff series for the first time since 2000. From their 2011-12 opening-night roster, gone are veterans Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby and Jamal Crawford, among others.
Soon they’ll have a new coach and a whole new cast of characters.
“They’ve done a good job of making positive moves this summer,” Spoelstra says. “You have to have talent, and you have to have luck. The right people have to be there when you draft, and you have to be injury-free. All those things have to be working in the same direction. With Portland, that hasn’t happened.”
“They’re headed in the right direction,” Scott said.