Hey guys, all the Blair lovin' in the dish made me think what would have happened had we taken Blair. My guess is we wouldn't have Chase B right now. Why do I say that? Well... a) From the draft you can see the Rockets targetted Taylor first, then Llull and Chase B was basically an afterthought (DM's reaction was probably "LOL, Bud's still on the board? Let's blow our last wad of cash on him"). b) For the Rox to have taken Blair, they would have to take him before the Spurs, essentially meaning they'd have to take him at Lull's spot (I believe the Rox targetted Taylor the most so taking Blair before him is unlikely). This would shift the order of the Rox draft, going from Taylor, Llull and Chase to Taylor, Blair and Llull. c) No matter how you look at it, drafting 4 players is excessive, so I doubt Alexander would shell out some money for Chase after getting Llull. This probably means some other team would be getting the gift that is Chase B. So knowing what you know now, which rookie would you rather have? Would you rather the Rox take Blair and miss the Chase boat, or are you satisfied with what happened and would rather have Chase than Blair? IMHO although scorers a dime a dozen, athletic scorers with great vision and nice bball iq like Chase are rare, while the undersized pf dropper seems to happen every draft so I'd rather have Chase than Blair.
I'd take Chase. We pretty much have the "undersized PF that exceeds expectations" market cornered. Blair would not get too much PT behind Chuck, Carl, and Luis.
I'd call it even as of now, but for the Rockets specifically, I'd opt for Chase. Our team is chock full of absurdly undersized PF/Cs.
Just as undersized 4's are a dime a dozen, so are guys like chase. For the rockets, chase made more sense and for the spurs blair made more sense. Blair is probably the better player though
beside the fact that Spurs drafted Blair, I really don't have any concern at all.. CBud is the player that fit well in Adelman system.. to think that Spurs drafted Duncan, Parker, Manu.. damn, their draft scout must be genius..
scola and landry aren't undersized........... I think u got the wrong impression of the teams players....I know chuck and aaron and kyle are really undersized for their positions...but the rest of the team is fine size-wise... remember we've got the 7 foot David Andersen.......it seems no one is paying attention to the 7foot part...
oh and I think the focus should be: LLULL OR CHASE??????? I love the taylor selection and the chase selection.....however I dont see any sense in blowing 3 million on some random Spanish unknown called Llull..(even though I suggested getting him like last year lol)
Like if Llull was ever going to play in an NBA game. Child Please. Blair > Llull I would have drafted: Taylor-Blair-Chase However, we can already be happy that out of our 3 2ND ROUNDERS 1 is really contributing.
It totally depends on the roster. For the Rockets in particular, I prefer Chase. At least through the first couple of games he has displayed a combination of size, smarts, shooting touch, and athleticism that we haven't seen on this team in a long time. I think most of his early mistakes are from nerves, which he has admitted to experiencing. With his set of skills and physical traits, he has a ton of potential. I don't mean to sell Blair short, because I see him as a steal too...it's just that the Rockets are so stacked in the front court that it really wouldn't make sense to add him to the mix. I also wanted to mention that Blair is not truly "undersized". He's 6'6.5" with shoes, but has a 7'2" wingspan. Last time I checked, you blocked shots and grabbed rebounds with your hands, not your head.
Llull's contract runs through the next Euro season, at which point he says he will take a hard look at the NBA. He has the talent, and will only be 23 at that time.
After losing T-Mac, Yao, Mutombo, and Landry to injuries, I would rather have the healthy player, if they are both equally talented. I don't see Blair ever being a starter. He's a career back up, due to him being 6'6-6'7". Coaches will go to small-ball and use him, when they rest the bigs. Chase Budinger has good size and passing ability. He would fit in nicely playing with star players, because of his great passing ability for a G/F. He could also a great catch and shoot player, when a franchise player is doubled.
I take Chase because of his potential and hopefully durability. I don't see Blair lasting long playing with no ACL's and playing around 100 games a season with the Spurs. Chase is also a better fit for the Rockets regardless of health and potential.
I remember reading on draft night that the ESPN guys were fairly certain that Llull was the best out of the three we grabbed. But as it is, he wants to play in Europe for now, and we can let him develop.
that's a good question. Given our current team, chase fits better. But Blair has been outstanding. People may knock him being undersized but he still boards like crazy. It still amazed me that these two players, who were among the best players in the NCAA managed to be taken so late. It just makes you wonder what the hell scouts are thinking/evaluating. I understand the obvious knocks, e.g. chase lacks defense, blair lacks size...but sometimes you just have to throw that out the window and say; hey, this guy can flat out play.
Blair is a monster despite being undersized. He has skills and a knack for getting the ball. We have too many small pf, but I still really like blair.
Agree, for those who are thinking Morey just "wasted" 3 million on a euro 2nd rd pick must not have seen this kid play...Check out his bio it can tell you alot what this kid is made of and why Morey made the effect to get him. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Sergio-Llull-5023/ Defensively, Llull lacks great strength or length, but he does possess ample size and lateral quickness. He's pretty intense on top of that, which is yet another reason he's managed to earn his spot in Real Madrid's rotation. Llull does a good job getting in the passing lanes and will also pick up the occasional block, but he tends to lose his focus and gamble at times and also lacks some strength fighting through screens. Llull has likely done enough at this point to solidify —now he just needs to find the right franchise to make the investment in him. He's unlikely to come over for workouts from what we're told and will probably be playing in the ACB league semi-finals at the time that the EuroCamp in Treviso is being played, meaning NBA teams need to do their homework on him now—not likely an issue considering the level he's playing at. He still has two more years on his contract (if Real Madrid picks up his option, which they certainly will) and after that will give the NBA a hard look from what we're told.
