It’s almost time, folks. The 2024 Paris Olympics aren’t just within sniffing distance … they’re so close, we can feel the champagne bubbles in our nostrils.
While traditional 5-on-5 basketball will occupy the bigger stage under the global spotlight, 3-on-3 is the new kid on the block and has our full attention.
And we’re thinking about it differently and from a local lens.
Oregon Sports News’ Bryant Knox and Casey Mabbott accepted the challenge of drafting competing rosters with official 3-on-3 Olympic rules in mind—but they’re using only current Portland Trail Blazers.
No, these squads aren’t headed to Paris. But this is fun! This type of competition is what kids grow up on—3-on-3 tournaments. It’s why we spent hours playing at the park. It’s what we learned in the driveway.
It’s fun because basketball is fun in just about any format!
Now, let’s do a draft because that’s also fun!
And then, let’s pit the two final rosters against each other, with bragging rights on the line.
*Check out both squads below and then hit the Oregon Sports News comments to share who ya got.
No. 1 Pick: Donovan Clingan, C (Team Knox)
Is this bold? Is it batty?
Let’s go with Trail Blazingly brazen.
For starters, absolutely nobody is scoring at the rim. Yes, it will be easier for our opponent to spread the floor, create mismatches, and drag Clingan out of the paint with fewer players on the court. But the quiet part of Clingan’s scouting profile is that he may be quicker on the perimeter than originally expected—and besides, we’re going to draft at least one perimeter defender who can get around screens well enough to save Clingan the grief.
Offensively, I’m also banking on Clingan being a better shooter and playmaker than he showed in college (as scouts also believe he can be). If he can pass out of the elbow and genuinely pull the other team’s center away from the rim, the No. 1 pick is well worth it.
Team So Far: Donovan Clingan
No. 2 Pick: Anfernee Simons, G (Team Mabbott)
This kind of basketball is a game based on speed, quickness, and, most importantly, quick processing. The original Ant Man is just that, and the perfect foundation for a game of 21 with the literal world championship on the line. With his speed, passing, shooting, and ability to find the open man in the blink of an eye, he’s the guy you want leading your team when there are just 12 seconds every time your team gets the ball.
We don’t know who he will pass the ball to yet; we know he will be a difference-maker with whoever teams up with him.
Team So Far: Anfernee Simons
No. 3 Pick: Deandre Ayton, C (Team Mabbott)
If you’re going to build your offense on speed and getting to the hoop quickly, you need a monster in the middle to get put-backs and easy shots from up close. And someone who can be a crucial part of the pick-and-roll with Simons. Most importantly, you need a guy who can get the monstrous but super-inexperienced Clingan off his game and make him play physically, something we don’t yet know if he can do against NBA centers.
Ayton is a decent shooter from inside the arc, and while his buckets will be solely of the one-point variety (he made exactly zero shots from beyond the arc last season), he can also gain points for his team every time he stops someone from scoring which won’t be all the time but winning by one is still winning no matter what game you’re playing. I would also expect him to receive a lot of lobs from Simons, which would be exciting for everyone except the team they are playing. Ayton is an above-average free throw shooter, so if Clingan gets called for fouls, it won’t be a 50/50 chance they lose a possession like it is with many centers.
Team So Far: Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton
No. 4 Pick: Shaedon Sharpe, G (Team Knox)
Leaving Anfernee Simons on the board after No. 1, I figured there was a zero-percent chance he’d be available here. Which is why Shaedon Sharpe was always the target.
Unless Casey felt confident in two different score-first guards with his picks, I was ready to take the guy who I believe has the highest ceiling on the Blazers. I know that’s another Trail Blazingly brazen take (although maybe not exactly scorching hot), but I don’t think we’ve seen Sharpe scrape his ceiling, considering he’s rarely, if ever, held the role of primary scoring option.
This is Shaedon’s time to shine. And if he ends up matched up against Simons, I love his chance to beat Simons off the dribble, leading to either a mid-range special (which we know he specializes in), a dump-off to Clingan as Ayton helps…or a straight-up Ayton poster if DA is a step late stepping up.
Team So Far: Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe
No. 5 Pick: Deni Avdija, F (Team Knox)
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure Casey would take Ayton in the top four. I thought by taking Clingan, Casey might feel safe that Ayton would be available at the end. But he must’ve known that I was ready to pounce here and make Ayton a super-sub behind my starting big man.
Alas, my plan was foiled. It Turned out that this would be a common theme for the rest of the draft.
In this pick, I’m taking another Blazers newcomer, but Avdija is also someone who feels a bit like a known commodity. He’s been a plus defender with good size since entering the league. And he’s an emerging rebounder and shooter to boot.
Truly, Avdija feels like a Swiss Army knife of a glue guy for this format. Simply put, He’s a glue guy who can have a super impact.
Avdija might be a secret weapon here.
Avdija is our superglue.
Team So Far: Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija
No. 6 Pick: Scoot Henderson, G (Team Mabbott)
Sure, we already have a guy who can facilitate the ball, but have you seen Scoot move? You don’t get a name like Scoot without blazing speed, and that is what we are going for – some amazing combination of the 2007 Oregon Ducks and the 2011 Portland Trail Blazers. Speed that kills and more alley-oops than the other team can handle. Scoot has had some trouble adapting to the pro game, but he can run as well as anyone, and he can definitely get the ball to Ayton or Simons when he’s not taking his shots.
The game is 10 minutes or the first to 21; this is more like a soccer game than a basketball game; it’s a sprint to the finish, and you want the fastest guys available for that. If you’re playing a fun game of schoolyard basketball, you take the guy who can’t be guarded because he’s too fast for everyone else. Honestly, it’s impressive that Scoot lasted to the 6th pick.
Team So Far: Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Scoot Henderson
No. 7 Pick: Kris Murray (Team Mabbott)
You probably expected to see Jerami Grant or Robert Williams here, but not this time. Murray was an exceptional player in his final year at Iowa and can do anything you want your 6th man (or 4th man, in this case) to be able to do.
A capable shooter and defender with good length and size, he’s the Swiss Army knife this team needs to win it all.
We are playing a full-game half-court version of the full-court press here, and you want guys that never run out of gas for a competition like that and can be legit two-way players. Murray has the length, size, and speed to slow down the other team and can score in bunches from anywhere. He’s exactly who you want coming in as a sub at a moment’s notice in a game of death ball.
Final Roster: Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray
No. 8 Pick: Toumani Camara (Team Knox)
Okay…I really didn’t think Casey would take Scoot after already having Anfernee Simons as the primary on-ball option. I mean, come on … Who is he, Joe Cronin??
My big plan here was to take Scoot as my sub, giving us a speed-blinding option in the 3-on-3 format. And furthermore, it was to build a ridiculous pick-and-roll game with Clingan that would send Simons and Ayton straight to the spin cycle.
But again, Casey played draft chess while I was stuck on draft checkers.
As a result, we ended up with Toumani Camara. And we’re not mad about it. Perimeter defense has to play a part at some point, and his ability to defend bigs gives me confidence for small-ball spurts while Clingan catches breathers.
Speaking of Clingan’s subs, Duop Reath was a real option here. His ability to draw Ayton away from the rim would be invaluable in 3-on-3. The other option was Jerami Grant, who is almost an inexplicable omission from our draft.
Final Roster: Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara
Team Knox
Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija
Toumani Camara
Casey blew up my plan to create the ultimate pick-and-roll combo with Clingan playing alongside Simons or Scoot. I love having Shaedon Sharpe … but part of my taking UConn’s big man No. 1 in this draft was with that in mind.
Of course, that didn’t work out.
The thing I’m banking on now is Clingan’s offensive game shining when the floor is spread. A 3-on-3 competition could help that part of his game is actually to be unearthed.
Aside from Clingan, we have two scorers in Sharpe and Deni, and then both Deni and Toumani Camara are plus-defenders with seemingly endless energy. We’re lacing a true playmaker, which may be a problem in this style of competition. But we have the perimeter and rim protection to make up the difference. And I like our chances.
Overall…I’m a little nervous, lol. But we know one thing: If defense ends up proving valuable AT ALL, my team has a SERIOUS edge.
I’ll take that gamble. And I think Clingan will, too.
Team Mabbott
Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Scoot Henderson
Kris Murray
For the record, I really like Mr. Knox’s team. But I think he went a little too conventional in his team-building for what is more playground basketball than a real game. He has guys who can definitely win a game of 3 on 3 in traditional rules, but this format favors speed, creativity, and scoring above all else. I wonder if the other team can handle this specific matchup, even if they could be a force against just about any other trio.
In this game of three-on-three, you want to see a few blazing-fast kids with smiles on their faces going to the hoop at an exhausting pace until the final whistle blows, and that’s what this team is made to do. They can run plays at breakneck speed until the clock stops; you don’t need to worry about them losing steam or needing a break in a game this short. While the roster on the other side of the court is extremely talented, I have questions about their ability to play this level of up-tempo basketball for 10 straight minutes when every possession matters and you can’t win if the ball is going out of bounds or guys are waiting too deep into the 12-second shot clock to find their spots.
Lastly, in a game this fast, you don’t really need all-world defenders. You just need a couple of guys who can poke the ball out a couple of times a game and pick up an extra possession, which means even more sprinting. I hope they have some great thirst quenchers stocked up for the opposing bench; they’re going to need them.
