Joel Freeland, Victor Claver and Jon Diebler

notable players Blazers passed on to draft Victor Claver:

Dejuan Blair
Taj Gibson
Marcus Thornton
Omri Casspi
Chase Budinger
Rodrigue Beaubois
Jodie Meeks
Jonas Jerebko
Sam Young

To be fair we did pass on Blair an other 2 times. But we did still get Patty 55th.

Are any of these guys ever going to play for us or any NBA team?
I know Claver and Freeland were first rounders so they have some sort of guaranteed rookie contracts but I am not sure how that works with them not joining the team and playing else where.

Mowearwolf,
Please do not remind us that Blair was passed on three times ... well, go ahead ... because d69 and I wince in pain ... open mouthed ... flashbacks of that day at Buffalo Wild Wings ... speculation that KP had pictures of Blair doing unspeakable things as the reason why KP/Mr. Allen passed THREE times ... the no ACLs in his knees we tried to console ourselves ... it didn't work then or now.


On to Freebird. Joel is looking promising as our next Euro to cross the pond. I hope he arrives next season and is ready to bang. Good reports. Not great, but he sounds like a player.

Claver is sounding far far away. Promising early athleticism, size, skills ... and some clips that show it ... maybe never is the answer.

Diebler sounds like he and his wife are appreciating the opportunities overseas as a young couple and he sounds grateful for his chance to play and develop. The guy is a focused worker from all reports. Next season sounds early-ish, but Diebler has a far far better likelihood of being a Blazer than not. A guess is the 2013-14 season. With what he did in college and early reports overseas, he sounds like a guy who can have a nice NBA career.

Huge block by Victor Claver in top7 ACB league

http://acbtv.acb.com/video/4553-lacb-20 ... _el_rebote

borninspain,

Thanks for the link.
He shows the size, length, hops, athleticism that made not picking Blair in the first round "understandable." Claver looks good. His set shot 3's are smooth. His decent first step and handles are good for his size. I like the clips I've seen. He keeps getting dinged up, but I hope he can continue working on his core strength, skills, and D.

I don't expect Wallace to retire as a Blazer. If Claver gets ready, I actually expect room for him on the Blazers as a backup SF/PF. He'd likely beat out Babbitt.

Let us know what you see of Claver and thanks for the links.

Victor Claver; stats of the last game played on saturday Jan 28th

http://www.acb.com/fichas/LACB56154.php

Joel Freeland; stats game Jan 28th

http://www.acb.com/fichas/LACB56157.php

A gift for Blazers fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6IGVDNy ... re=related

one more gift this time freeland time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beifgxPvznY

BorninSpain, great job in providing the links. Joel Freeland looks like the real deal for coming over and helping the Blazers off the bench next year.

I'm impressed by his outside shooting by the free throw line, but more impress by his ability to crash to the boards for rebounds. Joel looks a like LaMarcus with his low post moves.

It looks like Freeland's agent is pushing for a contract extension overseas that makes Freeland a Blazer less of a chance. Bigger buyout, bigger money, etc. Blazers' management needs to get involved real quickly.

Valenciabasket game recap (easy dunk by Claver

http://acbtv.acb.com/video/4598-lacb-20 ... _un_fortin

Claver shine again after injuries

http://acbtv.acb.com/video/4741-lacb-20 ... _mira_alto