kekgeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 26, 2025 5:18 pm
Camden hates the pick. So I like the pick even more. (He hates defensive first players)
Lol, it is a fact that he was stunningly wrong more than right on draft picks. And you nailed it...hr never appreciated the importance of defense. Strictly a 1-way poster.
But that's not the main reason I'm warming to this pick, and it goes beyond my belief in TC too. I'm noticing that analysts who know way more about Joan than I do seem to love this pick. I was assuming he was a skinny teenager who needed to get much stronger to be able to play center. But I learned on Dane Moore's pod yesterday (on which he and his guest Metcalf really praised the pick) that he is already a lean 250 pounds and still very quick and mobile. I also note that Sam Vecenie loves the pick. And finally, I put a lot of stock in Tom Crean's opinion (that's why I'm still bullish on Rob), and he absolutely loves the pick. He's likely still a couple years away from contributing, but it's not unlikely TC has drafted our eventual replacement for Rudy at 17.
Its totally fine to rip various of Cam's draft takes but saying he was "stunningly wrong more than right" I think goes too far. He hit on plenty of picks over the years and the thing about Cam was he was typically always going for the absolute most upside in general and yes some of that means offense which makes sense. There simply aren't that many guys so elite on defense that is the thing that matters.
Let's go back to his tweet of Hollinger's take. Hollinger himself said "Maybe I'm just dense" and that might be true. Lol He compared Joan to Goga Bitadze who wasn't known as a good athlete. Good for him that he was crushing PER or whatever in those leagues. We have seen lots of guys over the years that did well at lower level competition because they were big and strong etc but when it came to the next level they simply weren't good enough. hollinger LOVES production that's why he was a big fan of Minott. Meanwhile everything I read and see about Joan is that he is a really good all around athlete very different from Goga. What he is did as a teenager in international leagues seems pretty solid to me. It seems to me a lot of guys his age even at that lower level sometimes don't play that much and he was playing basically 20mpg which in Europe is not a small amount. Time will tell on this pick but I haven't seen any super compelling reason to not have some sort of rational optimism about him being a worthwhile player at some point.
Crazysauce wrote: ↑Fri Jun 27, 2025 6:45 pm
Just saw a video that the Wolves wanted to take Yang Hansen at 17 and Portland sniped him from us. Damn.
Hmm. Not sure I’m buying it. The fact that they had a special workout with Joan in Chicago tells me our front office guys were pretty zeroed in on him. It was pretty well known that the Blazers’ brass had their eye on Yang for a long time. They were following him closely to the last two years. A Portland fan I know was aware of that so certainly TC was as well. If TC truly coveted Yang over Beringer, he probably would have traded up for him. And if they weren’t really high on Beringer, TC probably would have traded down in the first round.
One thing I’ve notice about TC is that he’s really forthcoming. He doesn’t make stuff up or blow a lot of smoke like a lot of PBOs and GMs. TC was really clear that they liked Beringer a lot and didn’t think he’d fall to 17. He was honest in saying they had others ahead of them on their board, but he also said they got the guy they wanted at 17 and I believe him.
For those who might be worried that Beringer started playing basketball relative late in his life - at age 14 - consider how old the following all-star bigs, including future hall-of-famers, were when they started playing basketball.
Tim Duncan - age 14 (was previously a competitive swimmer)
Hakeem - age 15 (previously played soccer and handball)
Mutombo - age 16 (previously played soccer)
Joel Embiid - age 15 (previously played soccer and volleyball)
Giannis - age 13 (previously played soccer)
Bam Adebayo - age 12
Rudy Gobert - age 11
So it seems that Joan is in good company among great bigs who didn’t start basketball until their mid teens after previously playing soccer. Rudy started earlier - age 11 - but apparently didn’t play soccer before that. The coordination and stamina developed playing soccer seem pretty important as a foundation for success in basketball.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 27, 2025 10:59 pm
For those who might be worried that Beringer started playing basketball relative late in his life - at age 14 - consider how old the following all-star bigs, including future hall-of-famers, were when they started playing basketball.
Tim Duncan - age 14 (was previously a competitive swimmer)
Hakeem - age 15 (previously played soccer and handball)
Mutombo - age 16 (previously played soccer)
Joel Embiid - age 15 (previously played soccer and volleyball)
Giannis - age 13 (previously played soccer)
Bam Adebayo - age 12
Rudy Gobert - age 11
So it seems that Joan is in good company among great bigs who didn’t start basketball until their mid teens after previously playing soccer. Rudy started earlier - age 11 - but apparently didn’t play soccer before that. The coordination and stamina developed playing soccer seem pretty important as a foundation for success in basketball.
And what do these stars have in common besides staying basketball at a late age? None of them are considered playmakers off the bounce. Post moves aside, defense, and screen and roll offense, and ability to finish are a common denominator. If Beringer has heart and wants to improve, the Wolves should be able to provide that guidance. He just needs to work his tail off.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 27, 2025 10:59 pm
For those who might be worried that Beringer started playing basketball relative late in his life - at age 14 - consider how old the following all-star bigs, including future hall-of-famers, were when they started playing basketball.
Tim Duncan - age 14 (was previously a competitive swimmer)
Hakeem - age 15 (previously played soccer and handball)
Mutombo - age 16 (previously played soccer)
Joel Embiid - age 15 (previously played soccer and volleyball)
Giannis - age 13 (previously played soccer)
Bam Adebayo - age 12
Rudy Gobert - age 11
So it seems that Joan is in good company among great bigs who didn’t start basketball until their mid teens after previously playing soccer. Rudy started earlier - age 11 - but apparently didn’t play soccer before that. The coordination and stamina developed playing soccer seem pretty important as a foundation for success in basketball.
And what do these stars have in common besides staying basketball at a late age? None of them are considered playmakers off the bounce. Post moves aside, defense, and screen and roll offense, and ability to finish are a common denominator. If Beringer has heart and wants to improve, the Wolves should be able to provide that guidance. He just needs to work his tail off.
I generally agree, except with respect to Hakeem and Giannis.
Here is the tik tok I watched Lip. Apparently Portland kept there desire for Yang in secret. Not sure if this is legit or not but found it interesting
Interesting but I’m still highly skeptical. First, I wonder if that video shot of the Wolves war room really aligns with the moment Portland selected Yang. I suspect it doesn’t. Second, the Blazers didn’t trade up and leapfrog the Wolves for Yang; they traded down. So there’s nothing to suggest that Portland took steps to stop the Wolves from getting him. Third, the video narrator says Beringer didn’t participate in the draft combine, which is untrue. I’ll add that I don’t think Portland’s trips to China to scout Yang would have remained a secret over the past two years. TC is really plugged in and I don’t see that one slipping by him.
The video looks like a typical scam piece you see a lot on the internet selling conspiracy theories and false intrigue.
