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Trailblazers Report
Matthew Harrison
May 31, 2006
 
Team href=/profile//> Name: href=/profile//> Portand href=/profile//> Trail href=/profile//> Blazers
Draft href=/profile//> Picks: href=/profile//> Draft href=/profile//> picks: href=/profile//> No. href=/profile//> 4, href=/profile//> No. href=/profile//> 30, href=/profile//> No. href=/profile//> 31

Background:

Worst href=/profile//> record href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> NBA. href=/profile//> GM, href=/profile//> John href=/profile//> Nash, href=/profile//> was href=/profile//> fired href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> May href=/profile//> 30th, href=/profile//> largely href=/profile//> based href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> expensive, href=/profile//> long-term href=/profile//> contracts href=/profile//> mistakes href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> Theo href=/profile//> Ratliff, href=/profile//> Darius href=/profile//> Miles, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> Randolph. href=/profile//> That href=/profile//> pretty href=/profile//> much href=/profile//> says href=/profile//> it.

The href=/profile//> popular href=/profile//> notion href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Portland href=/profile//> media href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> message href=/profile//> boards href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> summarized href=/profile//> by href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> “get href=/profile//> rid href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> everybody href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> start href=/profile//> over" href=/profile//> sentiment. href=/profile//> The href=/profile//> most href=/profile//> popular href=/profile//> players href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> those href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> new href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> team, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> hope href=/profile//> still href=/profile//> exists href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> High href=/profile//> School href=/profile//> draftees href=/profile//> Webster, href=/profile//> Telfair, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Outlaw. href=/profile//> Character href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> likability href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> top href=/profile//> concern href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> any href=/profile//> new href=/profile//> additions href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> team href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> far href=/profile//> removed href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> “Jail href=/profile//> Blazer” href=/profile//> label, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> seeking href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> regain href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> once href=/profile//> solid href=/profile//> fan-base. href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> very href=/profile//> aware href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> damage href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> non-motivated href=/profile//> players href=/profile//> can href=/profile//> bring href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> rest href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> locker href=/profile//> room.

Depth href=/profile//> Chart:

PG: href=/profile//> Sebastian href=/profile//> Telfair href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Steve href=/profile//> Blake href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Jarrett href=/profile//> Jack
SG: href=/profile//> Juan href=/profile//> Dixon href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Martell href=/profile//> Webster href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Voshon href=/profile//> Lenard*
SF: href=/profile//> Darius href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Travis href=/profile//> Outlaw
PF: href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> Randolph href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Brian href=/profile//> Skinner href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Victor href=/profile//> Khryapa
C: href=/profile//> Joel href=/profile//> Pryzbilla* href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Theo href=/profile//> Ratliff href=/profile//> / href=/profile//> Ha href=/profile//> Seung-Jin
*Potential href=/profile//> free href=/profile//> agent


Personnel href=/profile//> Assumptions:

(Pryzbilla href=/profile//> gets href=/profile//> away)
A href=/profile//> player href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> been href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> pleasant href=/profile//> surprise href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> therefore href=/profile//> fan href=/profile//> favorite href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> Joel href=/profile//> Pryzbilla. href=/profile//> Up href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> contract href=/profile//> this href=/profile//> offseason, href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> only href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> Early href=/profile//> Bird href=/profile//> Rights, href=/profile//> meaning href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> can’t href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> offered href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> mid-level href=/profile//> money, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> there href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> multiple href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> under href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> cap href=/profile//> this href=/profile//> offseason href=/profile//> all href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> big href=/profile//> man. href=/profile//> href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> may href=/profile//> luck href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> hang href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> that, href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> my href=/profile//> bet href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> gone.

(No href=/profile//> blockbuster href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> Randolph)
The href=/profile//> best href=/profile//> player href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> team, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> player href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> highest href=/profile//> contract href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> Randolph. href=/profile//> Clearly, href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> size href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> contract href=/profile//> was href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> mistake; href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> only href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> willing href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> it href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> those href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> contention. href=/profile//> However, href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> look href=/profile//> up href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> down href=/profile//> rosters href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> contention; href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> high href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> area. href=/profile//> Any href=/profile//> deal href=/profile//> involving href=/profile//> Randoph’s href=/profile//> salary href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> so href=/profile//> dramatically href=/profile//> impact href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> team href=/profile//> makeup href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> this href=/profile//> analysis href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> near href=/profile//> meaningless. href=/profile//> Let’s href=/profile//> assume href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> there href=/profile//> long href=/profile//> term.

(Miles href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> go!)
On href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> other href=/profile//> hand, href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> do href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> some href=/profile//> takers href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> Darius href=/profile//> Miles. href=/profile//> Unfortunately, href=/profile//> quitting href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> team href=/profile//> leaves href=/profile//> them href=/profile//> little href=/profile//> choice, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> other href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> know href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> can href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> away href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> less href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> market href=/profile//> value. href=/profile//> Several href=/profile//> years href=/profile//> into href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> career, href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> potential href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> still href=/profile//> there href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> shown href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> when href=/profile//> motivated href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> can href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> force. href=/profile//> It’s href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> sad href=/profile//> truth href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> players href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> worst href=/profile//> attitudes href=/profile//> sometimes href=/profile//> end href=/profile//> up href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> best href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> – href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> one href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> suddenly href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> motivated href=/profile//> if href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> were href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> better href=/profile//> team. href=/profile//> His href=/profile//> athletic href=/profile//> ability href=/profile//> makes href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> capable href=/profile//> defender href=/profile//> if href=/profile//> nothing href=/profile//> else, href=/profile//> comparable href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> Bruce href=/profile//> Bowen/Tayshaun href=/profile//> Prince. href=/profile//> Teams href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> consider href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> upgrade/contrast href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> their href=/profile//> current href=/profile//> wing href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> below:

Sixers href=/profile//> (Kyle href=/profile//> Korver),Pacers href=/profile//> (Peja href=/profile//> Stojakovic href=/profile//> - href=/profile//> defense), href=/profile//> Bucks href=/profile//> (Bobby href=/profile//> Simmons),Heat href=/profile//> (Antoine href=/profile//> Walker), href=/profile//> Wizards href=/profile//> (Jared href=/profile//> Jeffries), href=/profile//> Hornets href=/profile//> (Desmond href=/profile//> Mason), href=/profile//> Warriors href=/profile//> (Mike href=/profile//> Dunleavy),Nuggets href=/profile//> (Buckner), href=/profile//> Lakers href=/profile//> (Walton) href=/profile//> Knicks href=/profile//> (Q. href=/profile//> Richardson).

In href=/profile//> return, href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> should href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> looking href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> blue-collar href=/profile//> big href=/profile//> man href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> offset href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> loss href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> Pryzbilla. href=/profile//> Why href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> draft? href=/profile//> Draft href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> usually href=/profile//> based href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> potential, href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> opposed href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> immediate href=/profile//> contribution. href=/profile//> LaMarcus href=/profile//> Aldridge href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> probably href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> closest href=/profile//> thing href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> immediate href=/profile//> big href=/profile//> man href=/profile//> contributor href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> don’t href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> still href=/profile//> being href=/profile//> available href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> #4. href=/profile//> Further, href=/profile//> there href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> actually href=/profile//> several href=/profile//> big href=/profile//> man href=/profile//> who href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> expendable href=/profile//> by href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> above href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> whose href=/profile//> salaries href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> close href=/profile//> enough href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> Miles' href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> viable href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> trade. href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> include: href=/profile//> PF) href=/profile//> M. href=/profile//> Rose, href=/profile//> Croshere, href=/profile//> Najera href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> C) href=/profile//> Magloire, href=/profile//> E. href=/profile//> Thomas, href=/profile//> Mihm, href=/profile//> M. href=/profile//> Jackson, href=/profile//> Foyle. href=/profile//>

Team href=/profile//> Needs

With href=/profile//> Zach, href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> likely href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> some href=/profile//> time, href=/profile//> let’s href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> deeper href=/profile//> look href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> strengths href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> weaknesses href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> figure href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> who href=/profile//> should href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> floor href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> him. href=/profile//> The href=/profile//> following href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> excerpt href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> poster href=/profile//> “Dave” href=/profile//> who href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> making href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> argument href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> trade href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> at: href=/profile//> http://www.blogger.com/publish-comment.do?blogID=26692637&postID=114599021367478237&r=ok

"Clearly href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> world href=/profile//> class href=/profile//> scorer href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> offensive href=/profile//> rebounder. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> able href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> own href=/profile//> shot href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> inside href=/profile//> or href=/profile//> outside href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> amazing, href=/profile//> almost href=/profile//> instinctive href=/profile//> sense href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> basket. href=/profile//> On href=/profile//> nights href=/profile//> when href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> on, href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> nearly href=/profile//> undefendable...clearly href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> only href=/profile//> Blazer href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> distinction.

Beyond href=/profile//> these href=/profile//> areas, href=/profile//> however, href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> no href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> ordinary. href=/profile//> He's href=/profile//> short href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> position href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> far href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> crafty href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> athletic. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> no href=/profile//> better href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> average href=/profile//> one-on-one href=/profile//> defender, href=/profile//> maybe href=/profile//> slightly href=/profile//> above href=/profile//> average href=/profile//> because href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> upper href=/profile//> body href=/profile//> strength href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> nights href=/profile//> when href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> motivated href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> opponent href=/profile//> isn't href=/profile//> agile. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> cannot href=/profile//> defend href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> perimeter, href=/profile//> nor href=/profile//> does href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> jump href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> well href=/profile//> defending href=/profile//> pick href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> rolls. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> horrible href=/profile//> help href=/profile//> defender href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> shot href=/profile//> blocker. href=/profile//> His href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> completely href=/profile//> ineffective. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> ruin href=/profile//> your href=/profile//> transition href=/profile//> game href=/profile//> because href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> taken href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> playing href=/profile//> between href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> free href=/profile//> thrown href=/profile//> lines href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> because href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> just href=/profile//> doesn't href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> up href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> down href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> court href=/profile//> quickly href=/profile//> (due href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> surgery href=/profile//> or href=/profile//> effort, href=/profile//> you href=/profile//> make href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> call). href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> does href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> great href=/profile//> court href=/profile//> vision href=/profile//> nor href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> inclination href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> pass. href=/profile//> Finally, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> perhaps href=/profile//> most href=/profile//> damningly, href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> supposedly href=/profile//> great href=/profile//> rebounder, href=/profile//> he's href=/profile//> decidedly href=/profile//> mediocre href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> boards. href=/profile//> Twenty-one href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> thirty href=/profile//> teams href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> league href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> forwards href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> grab href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> boards href=/profile//> than href=/profile//> Z-Bo. href=/profile//> This href=/profile//> contributes href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> our href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> woes href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> our href=/profile//> inability href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> run href=/profile//> more."

With href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> mind href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> need:

C href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> rebounder href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> shot-blocker
I’ll href=/profile//> submit href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> Pryzbilla/Ratliff href=/profile//> provided, href=/profile//> this href=/profile//> last href=/profile//> year. href=/profile//> In href=/profile//> fact href=/profile//> may href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> “stole” href=/profile//> rebounds href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> Randolph. href=/profile//> With href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> likely href=/profile//> loss href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> Pryzbilla, href=/profile//> McMillan href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> healthier href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> motivated href=/profile//> play href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> Ratliff, href=/profile//> Skinner href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> something href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> whomever href=/profile//> we href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> trade. href=/profile//>

SF href=/profile//> defender href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> scorer href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> potential href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> #1 href=/profile//> option
At href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> spot, href=/profile//> Outlaw href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> good href=/profile//> defender, href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> sometimes href=/profile//> struggled href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> time href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Patterson href=/profile//> ahead href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> depth href=/profile//> chart. href=/profile//> He href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> entering href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> last href=/profile//> year href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> contract, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> opportunity href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> prove href=/profile//> otherwise href=/profile//> – href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> spot href=/profile//> appears href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> highest href=/profile//> area href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> need.

SG href=/profile//> lights href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> shooter href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> stretch href=/profile//> 'D' href=/profile//>
Webster href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> possibly href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> long-term href=/profile//> answer href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> SG, href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> currently href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> liability href=/profile//> which href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> put href=/profile//> even href=/profile//> added href=/profile//> defenseive href=/profile//> pressure href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> spot.


We href=/profile//> appear href=/profile//> set, href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> point href=/profile//> guard href=/profile//> position href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> unless href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> offer href=/profile//> comes href=/profile//> along href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> can’t href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> refused href=/profile//> – href=/profile//> expect href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> return href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> Blake, href=/profile//> Telfair, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Jack href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> point.

Draft href=/profile//> Analysis

Most href=/profile//> mocks href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> Toronto href=/profile//> taking href=/profile//> Aldridge href=/profile//> or href=/profile//> Andrea href=/profile//> Bargnani href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> first href=/profile//> pick href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> draft; href=/profile//> dependent href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> which href=/profile//> one href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> think href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> fit href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> "C"...word href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> Toronto href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> hot href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> Bargnani.

Chicago href=/profile//> doesn't href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> two href=/profile//> solid href=/profile//> ones href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> Nocioni href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Deng. href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> don't href=/profile//> really href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> specialist href=/profile//> like href=/profile//> Tyrus href=/profile//> Thomas href=/profile//> either, href=/profile//> who href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> same href=/profile//> height href=/profile//> as href=/profile//> Sweetney. href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> them href=/profile//> going href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> whoever href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Raptors href=/profile//> don't href=/profile//> pick href=/profile//> between href=/profile//> Bargnani/Aldridge.

Looking href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Bobcats href=/profile//> - href=/profile//> they'd href=/profile//> love href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> SG; href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> it's href=/profile//> simply href=/profile//> too href=/profile//> high href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> Brandon href=/profile//> Roy; href=/profile//> unless href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> want href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> trade href=/profile//> down. href=/profile//> Expecting href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> Okafor href=/profile//> back; href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> already href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> leading href=/profile//> "Steals" href=/profile//> defense href=/profile//> - href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> can href=/profile//> afford href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> deficiency href=/profile//> like href=/profile//> Adam href=/profile//> Morrison. href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> offense href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> their href=/profile//> last href=/profile//> few href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> been href=/profile//> from href=/profile//> successful href=/profile//> college href=/profile//> teams.

Of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> consensus href=/profile//> top href=/profile//> five; href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> leaves href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> deciding href=/profile//> between href=/profile//> Thomas/Gay. href=/profile//> Ironically, href=/profile//> these href=/profile//> guys href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> EXACTLY href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> same href=/profile//> age. href=/profile//> Check href=/profile//> it href=/profile//> out href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> yourself. href=/profile//> Roy href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> recently href=/profile//> snuck href=/profile//> into href=/profile//> some href=/profile//> top href=/profile//> 5s, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> widely href=/profile//> considered href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> “safe href=/profile//> pick”. href=/profile//> Dependent href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> personality href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> new href=/profile//> GM href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> fact href=/profile//> go href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> “safe href=/profile//> pick” href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> choose href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> pit href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> all-around href=/profile//> game href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> Roy href=/profile//> against href=/profile//> Webster, href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> battle href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> starting href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> position href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> easily href=/profile//> occurred href=/profile//> at href=/profile//> UW href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> year href=/profile//> ago. href=/profile//> (Webster href=/profile//> was href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> UW href=/profile//> commit, href=/profile//> Roy href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> UW href=/profile//> alum). href=/profile//> However, href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> hope href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> new href=/profile//> GM href=/profile//> realizes href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> won’t href=/profile//> climb href=/profile//> back href=/profile//> up href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> NBA href=/profile//> hierarchy, href=/profile//> by href=/profile//> making href=/profile//> “safe” href=/profile//> draft href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> – href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> chance.

Think href=/profile//> back href=/profile//> when href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> acquired href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> - href=/profile//> what href=/profile//> were href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> trying href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> do? href=/profile//> Have href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> athletic, href=/profile//> defensive href=/profile//> stopper. href=/profile//> They href=/profile//> know href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> Randolph href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> liability href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> defense. href=/profile//> Morrison, href=/profile//> if href=/profile//> still href=/profile//> available href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> good href=/profile//> fit href=/profile//> - href=/profile//> Randolph href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Morrison href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> same href=/profile//> floor href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> make href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> atrocious href=/profile//> defense. href=/profile//> Rudy href=/profile//> Gay href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> criticized href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> being href=/profile//> aggressive href=/profile//> enough href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> offense; href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> no href=/profile//> one href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> critical href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> defense. href=/profile//> The href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> need href=/profile//> some href=/profile//> excitement href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> draw href=/profile//> back href=/profile//> fans href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> quoting href=/profile//> Draft href=/profile//> Express’ href=/profile//> profile href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> Gay, href=/profile//> “it’s href=/profile//> impossible href=/profile//> not href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> get href=/profile//> excited href=/profile//> about href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> potential”. href=/profile//>

The href=/profile//> news href=/profile//> about href=/profile//> Gay href=/profile//> wanting href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> challenge href=/profile//> Morrison/Thomas/Roy href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> others’ href=/profile//> tells href=/profile//> me href=/profile//> he href=/profile//> has href=/profile//> competitive href=/profile//> fire. href=/profile//> I’m href=/profile//> hearing href=/profile//> all href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> right href=/profile//> things href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> work href=/profile//> ethic href=/profile//> side href=/profile//> for href=/profile//> someone href=/profile//> wanting href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> shed href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> "all href=/profile//> potential/no href=/profile//> passion" href=/profile//> image. href=/profile//> That href=/profile//> negative href=/profile//> label, href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> scare href=/profile//> away href=/profile//> fans href=/profile//> who href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> concerned href=/profile//> about href=/profile//> character href=/profile//> issues. href=/profile//> However, href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> think href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> college href=/profile//> coaches href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> something href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> do href=/profile//> with href=/profile//> work href=/profile//> habits href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> if href=/profile//> his href=/profile//> Husky href=/profile//> pedigree href=/profile//> is href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> indicator href=/profile//> – href=/profile//> I’d href=/profile//> say href=/profile//> he’s href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> good href=/profile//> shape href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> company href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> Ray href=/profile//> Allen, href=/profile//> Richard href=/profile//> Hamilton, href=/profile//> Emeka href=/profile//> Okafor, href=/profile//> Caron href=/profile//> Butler, href=/profile//> Donyell href=/profile//> Marshall, href=/profile//> Ben href=/profile//> Gordon, href=/profile//> Cliff href=/profile//> Robinson, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> Jake href=/profile//> Voskuhl.

Turning href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> 30 href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> 31, href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> assuming href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> aren’t href=/profile//> traded href=/profile//> away href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> see href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> plethora href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> talent href=/profile//> available href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> picks href=/profile//> 20-40. href=/profile//> It’s href=/profile//> unlikely href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> Blazers href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> another href=/profile//> POINT; href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> could href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> both href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> WING href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> BIG, href=/profile//> but href=/profile//> assuming href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> scenario href=/profile//> above href=/profile//> & href=/profile//> keeping href=/profile//> an href=/profile//> eye href=/profile//> towards href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> probable href=/profile//> 2007 href=/profile//> lottery href=/profile//> draft, href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> think href=/profile//> they href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> be href=/profile//> best href=/profile//> served href=/profile//> by href=/profile//> taking href=/profile//> two href=/profile//> WINGs. href=/profile//> My href=/profile//> rankings href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> brief href=/profile//> comments href=/profile//> on href=/profile//> each href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> below.

WING
Maurice href=/profile//> Ager href=/profile//> 6-4 href=/profile//> 202 href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> Mich. href=/profile//> St. href=/profile//> Sr. SHOOTER
Mardy href=/profile//> Collins href=/profile//> 6-6 href=/profile//> 205 href=/profile//> PG/SG href=/profile//> Temple href=/profile//> Sr. Best href=/profile//> perimeter href=/profile//> defender href=/profile//> available
Richard href=/profile//> Roby href=/profile//> 6-6 href=/profile//> 190 href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> Colorado href=/profile//> So. SHOOTER
Mike href=/profile//> Gansey href=/profile//> 6-4 href=/profile//> 205 href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> W. href=/profile//> Virginia href=/profile//> Sr. SHOOTER
Steve href=/profile//> Novak href=/profile//> 6-10 href=/profile//> 220 href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> Marquette href=/profile//> Sr. SHOOTER
Rudy href=/profile//> Fernandez href=/profile//> 6-6 href=/profile//> 172 href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> Spain href=/profile//> 1985 Skinny href=/profile//> dude; href=/profile//> good href=/profile//> decisions
Marcus href=/profile//> Vinicius href=/profile//> 6-9 href=/profile//> 235 href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> Brazil href=/profile//> 1984 Worked href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> out……(defense href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> concern)
Denham href=/profile//> Brown href=/profile//> 6-5 href=/profile//> 220 href=/profile//> SG href=/profile//> UConn href=/profile//> Sr. Worked href=/profile//> him href=/profile//> out……(solid, href=/profile//> limited href=/profile//> upside)
PJ href=/profile//> Tucker href=/profile//> 6-5 href=/profile//> 220 href=/profile//> SG/SF href=/profile//> Texas href=/profile//> Jr. href=/profile//> SLASHER
Shawne href=/profile//> Williams href=/profile//> 6-9 href=/profile//> 225 href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> Memphis href=/profile//> Fr. Work href=/profile//> ethic? href=/profile//> (1 href=/profile//> yr href=/profile//> school, href=/profile//> def href=/profile//> technique, href=/profile//> more href=/profile//> intensity, href=/profile//> strength href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> conditioning)
href=/profile//>
Hassan href=/profile//> Adams href=/profile//> 6-4 href=/profile//> 201 href=/profile//> SF href=/profile//> Arizona href=/profile//> Sr. Undersized href=/profile//> SF, href=/profile//> ala href=/profile//> Ruben href=/profile//> Patterson

BIG
Saer href=/profile//> Sene href=/profile//> 7-0 href=/profile//> 235 href=/profile//> C href=/profile//> Sen. href=/profile//> 1986 PROJECT
Hilton href=/profile//> Armstrong href=/profile//> 6-11 href=/profile//> 235 href=/profile//> C href=/profile//> UConn href=/profile//> Sr. Defensive href=/profile//> "C"; href=/profile//> Ratliff
Aaron href=/profile//> Gray href=/profile//> 7-0 href=/profile//> 270 href=/profile//> C href=/profile//> Pittsburgh href=/profile//> Jr. Offensive href=/profile//> "C"; href=/profile//> Brad href=/profile//> Miller
Kevin href=/profile//> Pittsnogle href=/profile//> 6-10 href=/profile//> 255 href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> WV href=/profile//> Sr. Raef href=/profile//> LaFrentz href=/profile//> type href=/profile//> Center
Josh href=/profile//> Boone href=/profile//> 6-10 href=/profile//> 237 href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> UConn href=/profile//> Jr. Rebounding href=/profile//> Specialist
Paul href=/profile//> Millsap href=/profile//> 6-7 href=/profile//> 245 href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> Lou. href=/profile//> Tech href=/profile//> Jr. Rebounding href=/profile//> Specialist
Leon href=/profile//> Powe href=/profile//> 6-7 href=/profile//> 245 href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> California href=/profile//> So. Worked href=/profile//> out; href=/profile//> similar href=/profile//> game href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> Zach href=/profile//> Randolph
Craig href=/profile//> Smith href=/profile//> 6-7 href=/profile//> 260 href=/profile//> PF href=/profile//> BC href=/profile//> Sr. Short href=/profile//> PF, href=/profile//> Poor href=/profile//> FT%

POINT
Rajon href=/profile//> Rondo href=/profile//> 6-2 href=/profile//> 171 href=/profile//> PG href=/profile//> Kentucky href=/profile//> So. ATHLETIC href=/profile//> PG; href=/profile//> POOR href=/profile//> SHOOTER
Jordan href=/profile//> Farmar href=/profile//> 6-1 href=/profile//> 170 href=/profile//> PG href=/profile//> UCLA href=/profile//> So. Redundant href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> Telfair
Kyle href=/profile//> Lowry href=/profile//> 6-0 href=/profile//> 185 href=/profile//> PG href=/profile//> Villanova href=/profile//> So. Redundant href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> Telfair

4 href=/profile//> YEAR href=/profile//> PLAN

Sketched href=/profile//> below href=/profile//> are href=/profile//> possibilities href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> map href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> what href=/profile//> I href=/profile//> have href=/profile//> described href=/profile//> above. href=/profile//> While href=/profile//> fans href=/profile//> would href=/profile//> love href=/profile//> a href=/profile//> return href=/profile//> to href=/profile//> prominence href=/profile//> immediately, href=/profile//> it’s href=/profile//> clear href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> rebuilding href=/profile//> will href=/profile//> take href=/profile//> some href=/profile//> time. href=/profile//> With href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> in href=/profile//> mind, href=/profile//> Blazer href=/profile//> fans href=/profile//> can href=/profile//> dream href=/profile//> of href=/profile//> what href=/profile//> our href=/profile//> roster href=/profile//> might href=/profile//> look href=/profile//> like, href=/profile//> particularly href=/profile//> if href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> same href=/profile//> fate href=/profile//> that href=/profile//> gave href=/profile//> us href=/profile//> the href=/profile//> #4 href=/profile//> pick href=/profile//> this href=/profile//> year, href=/profile//> smiles href=/profile//> and href=/profile//> delivers href=/profile//> Greg href=/profile//> Oden href=/profile//> next href=/profile//> year.

*indicates href=/profile//> speculation

2006/7
Rat/Ha/*Pryzbilla-D.Miles href=/profile//> Trade
Randolph/Skinner/Khryapa
Outlaw/*Gay/*#31
Dixon/Webster/*#30
Blake/Telfair/Jack

2007/8
Rat/*Oden/*Pryzbilla-D. href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> Trade
Randolph/Skinner/Khryapa
Gay/*#31/*Outlaw href=/profile//> (If href=/profile//> resigned)
Webster/Dixon*#30
Telfair/Jack

2008/9
*Oden/*Pryzbilla-D.Miles href=/profile//> Trade
Randolph/ href=/profile//> *Free href=/profile//> Agent
*Gay/*#31/*Outlaw href=/profile//> (If href=/profile//> resigned)
Webster/*#30
Jack/*Telfair href=/profile//> (If href=/profile//> resigned)

2009/10
*Oden/*Pryzbilla-D. href=/profile//> Miles href=/profile//> Trade
Randolph/ href=/profile//> *Free href=/profile//> Agent
*Gay/*#31/*Outlaw href=/profile//> (If href=/profile//> resigned)
Webster/*#30
*Jack/*Telfair href=/profile//> (both,if href=/profile//> resigned)

’07 href=/profile//> BIG href=/profile//> MAN href=/profile//> Lottery href=/profile//> Possibilities:
Greg href=/profile//> Oden
Joakim href=/profile//> Noah
Tiago href=/profile//> Splitter
Josh href=/profile//> McRoberts
Julian href=/profile//> Wright
Kevin href=/profile//> Durant
Ante href=/profile//> Tomic
Al href=/profile//> Horford
Spencer href=/profile//> Hawes
 
The opinions expressed above are strictly of the author (a DraftExpress user/fan) and not of the staff. You can see the staff clubhouse for this team here: Trailblazers Clubhouse