MVN - Most Valuable Network

In KP We Trust - Blazers 2008 Draft Round Up

Well folks, despite the lack of posts around here I’ve been eagerly looking forward to tonight’s draft for the past month and, after all kinds of crazy rumors and a stream of player workouts in Portland, wonder-kid Portland GM Kevin Pritchard hasn’t disappointed.  In fact, I think KP, after two franchise-altering drafts in ‘06 and ‘07, has taken some low-key steps toward sanding off some rough edges on the roster tonight.

We started the week sitting on #13, with three 2nd round picks.  The ball got rolling early, when the Blazers added a second 1st round pick (thanks George Shinn - ask Sarver in Phoenix how selling picks to the Blazers has worked out for them).

Portland trades SG/SF Brandon Rush (#13), PG Jarrett Jack and F Josh McRoberts to Indiana for PG Jerryd Bayless (#11) and PF Ike Diogu
I love this for the Blazers.  I’m concerned that Bayless never worked out for the Blazers - KP is a guy who likes to evaluate players on his home turf before deciding if they’ll make good Blazers.  They didn’t get that chance with Bayless, but the guys they did workout (Westbrook, Augustin) saw their stock rise and were long gone by the time the Blazers and their lined-up trading partners could get them.

Aside from his Arizona Wildcat heritage, Bayless fully fits the bill of what I’m looking for in a future PG for the Blazers.  Not as good a defender as Westbrook, but not as vulnerable as Augustin.  Good size at 6′3″, even if his wingspan isn’t particularly great.  Good athleticism, and a good scorer - a PG that can work with Roy even when Roy is running the offense like a PG.  I thought Augustin would have been nice, but overkill - as long as we have Roy, we don’t need a traditional/pure PG. Size, defense, and someone who can score when the offense gets stale - nice.

Ike Diogu is fine as an insurance post-player - with Aldridge and Frye ahead of him, I’m not expecting to see a ton of Diogu in Portland.

I know KP was loving Brandon Rush, but our wing situation is more than crowded (well, less than it looked this morning, before James Jones opted out of his deal - more on that later).  Outlaw and Webster will man the small forward spot, Roy and Rudy Fernandez will handle the shooting guard spot, and now we have our point guard rotation with Bayless and Steve Blake (I’ll enjoy watching Faris try to figure out who to complain about - does he stick with the demand that Sergio needs to play, or does he back a beloved Wildcat - maybe Blake will become the fall guy now that Jack is gone!).

McRoberts was no great asset, so I’m not feeling anything there.  But Jarrett Jack, boy, am I glad he’s getting a new start somewhere else.  I always liked Jack - he could have been a great fit here, but not he took a major step back last year and just had the look of a guy that needed to go somewhere without the baggage he’d collected here in Portland.  Glad its the Eastern Conference.  A heartfelt good luck to Jarrett - and thanks for being a good Blazer for two tough years and the first of many good ones.

Oh, and lastly - finally, a 2-for-1 trade to ease up some roster space.

Portland trades F Darrel Arthur (#27) and PF Joey Dorsey (#33) to Houston for SF Nicolas Batum (#25)
Batum has been to Portland a couple times, and I know KP and Paul Allen are big fans.  We had NO USE for two more power forward prospects (see the paragraph above on Ike Diogu), this is just good use of all these picks to find a trading partner and ensure you get a guy you like.  This is classic KP.  Batum has been described as a Pippen-like small forward, thin and athletic at 6′7″ or 6′8″.  We can leave him in Europe and we might see him in a couple years, or he’ll be a tradable asset.  With the amount of players the Blazers still have under control, this is no surprise.

Portland selects C Omer Asik (#36)
Again, more euro-prospects we can stash until a later date.  What franchise did the Blazers hire KP away from again?

Portland trades PG Mike Taylor (#55) to Clippers for future 2nd
Sounds about right - if there isn’t a player you want, move off for the future.

A couple other thoughts…
I am anxious to see Petteri Koponen play point guard in the summer league this year.  With Sergio Rodriguez shooting himself in the foot by deciding not to play, we’ll actually be able to see what Petteri can do and he’ll have a better shot at winning a job in training camp.

James Jones decided not to exercise his player option this year, and like with Ime Udoka last year, I’ll say thanks for the great year and good luck.  James completely deserves to go get paid after the positive influence he had on this team, but now is on the time for the Blazers to sink mid-level money into a player like him, and its time to give the small forward sport to Outlaw and Webster and see if they’re the guys or not.

Thats all for now - great night to be a Blazer fan.  We got a point guard that may prove to be the guy we need, and we didn’t have to give up Frye, Outlaw or Webster to do it.  I won’t be surprised if KP has more up his sleeve, but our rotation today is much, much cleaner than it was three months ago - our primary depth issues have been addressed, and new talent has been brought in to boost the point guard spot.

PG - Blake, Bayless, Rodriguez
SG - Roy, Fernandez
SF - Webster, Outlaw
PF - Aldridge, Frye, Diogu
C - Pryzbilla, Oden, LaFrentz
(Subtracted Miles, Jones, Jack, McRoberts, Wafer)
(Added Bayless, Diogu, Fernandez)
(Koponen, Freeland, Asik, Batum in European storage) 

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 9:14 pm and is filed under Sergio Rodriguez, LaMarcus Aldridge, Petteri Koponen, Kevin Pritchard, The Inferno, 2008 NBA Draft, Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake, Josh McRoberts, Rudy Fernandez, Indiana Pacers, Channing Frye, Trade Rumors, New Orleans Hornets, Portland Trailblazers, James Jones, Travis Outlaw, Brandon Roy, Trail Blazers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.