30 Teams 30 Days Portland Draft Preview

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30 Teams, 30 Days: Portland Draft Preview

Jun 9, 2008 3:22 PM

2007-2008 Finish: 41-41
2008 Draft Picks: 13th, 33rd, 36th, 55th

Pre-Draft 2008-09 Projected Starters:
PG Steve Blake
SG Brandon Roy
SF Martell Webster
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Greg Oden
Key Reserves:
PG Jarrett Jack
SF Travis Outlaw
PF Channing Frye
C Joel Przybilla

What the Blazers Do Well:

The Blazers had an amazing turnaround last season and were the toast of the league in the first half ? and this was all done without the services of the top overall pick in last year?s Draft Greg Oden. What?s even scarier is how talented this team is, and its average age is only 24.0 years old. And that includes the three oldest roster players: Raef LaFrentz (32), Steve Blake (28), and Joel Przybilla (28).

Brandon Roy continued to prove the five teams who passed on him in the 2006 Draft wrong, posting a team and career-highs with 19.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. The multi-talented guard also added 4.7 rebounds and 1.07 steals per game.

When Oden rejoins the team next year, they will have one of the biggest and most productive big man rotations in the league. Oden and second-year standout LaMarcus Aldridge could rival the Twin Towers' regime that David Robinson and Tim Duncan had at the onset of Duncan?s career except for the insane fact that Aldridge is 22 and Oden is only 20. Wow. Aldridge built on his strong rookie campaign by putting up a solid 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and a team-high 1.24 blocks per game. Throw in Channing Frye and Joel Przybilla and you have one of the deepest and most productive four-man rotations at the four and five positions in the league. And don?t forget about the senior citizen of the squad Raef LaFrentz and NBDL mainstay Josh McRoberts.

Another huge aspect to the depth of the Blazer organization is the fact that star shooting guard Rudy Fernandez has just announced that he will be coming over from Spain to join his buddy and fellow Spanish standout already on the roster Sergio Rodriguez. Last year overseas he averaged 21.2 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds for DKV Joventut Badalona. This team will have so much talent next year, it?s actually frightening.

Greatest Areas of Improvement:

Upgrade at Point Guard
When healthy this team has absolute studs at shooting guard, power forward, and center. Despite having a bevy of quality options at the point, Portland is still lacking at the point guard position. Steve Blake, Jarret Jack, and Sergio Rodriguez have been decent thus far and don?t forget about import Petteri Koponen waiting in the wings overseas. But an elite point guard like Jason Kidd would put this team into the upper echelon of the tough Western Conference.

Upgrade at Small Forward
As mentioned above, this team only has two holes in the starting five ? point guard and small forward. Martell Webster has been a suitable starter, and Travis Outlaw and James Jones provide plenty of punch off the bench, but if they wish to take themselves deep into the postseason, they need to consider packaging all of these extraneous point guards and small forwards and trade for an elite All Star level player at the three position.

Who?s Gone Number 13 Recently?

Over the past five years, the thirteenth pick has been a solid pick for a team looking to add a key rotation member to strengthen their bench. Marcus Banks and Sebastian Telfair have provided solid minutes at the point in their careers; Sean May has been a beast when healthy coming off the pine; and Thabo Sefolosha and Julian Wright have been key energy sparkplugs and defensive menaces in their limited time in the league thus far.

2007
Julian Wright, New Orleans Hornets

2006
Thabo Sefolosha, Philadelphia 76ers (traded to Chicago)

2005
Sean May, Charlotte Bobcats

2004
Sebastian Telfair, Portland Trail Blazers

2003
Marcus Banks, Memphis Grizzlies (traded to Boston)

Who Should the Blazers Target?

For more in-depth analysis and background regarding the players that the Trail Blazers should target in this year?s Draft, click on each player name to be redirected to Christopher Reina?s Prospect Report piece.

- Joe Alexander of West Virginia

Alexander is a perfect candidate to come in and compete for the starting small forward position next year. He is a supreme athlete who many believe will become one of the biggest steals in the Draft one day. He is an extremely high character guy and would fit in perfectly with the new regime of quality citizens who can play ball with the best of them. Alexander is very versatile and unselfish and would fit in perfectly with the current roster. This seems like the likely pick if he is still on the board at 13.

- Chase Budinger of Arizona

Budinger is another guy worth at look at this spot if Alexander, Russell Westbrook, and D.J. Augustin are off the board. He is deceptively quick and athletic and an incredible spot-up shooter. Many believe this may be too much of a reach for the Arizona small forward, but the Blazers have so much talent that they can easily gamble on a superior talent like Budinger. And if he cannot crack the regular rotation, they can let him fine tune his skills in the NBDL for a year before making an impact on the floor.

- Donte Greene of Syracuse

This may be a bit of a redundant pick for the Blazers since Greene is the type of do-it-all combo forward that would somewhat mirror the game of Travis Outlaw. However, Greene is a bit raw but an overall big-time talent who could evolve nicely with the collection of athletic playmakers already on the squad especially with Coach Nate McMillan teaching him how to properly play the game at this level.

- Danilo Gallinari of Italy

While it is fully believed that Gallinari will be long gone when David Stern is calling the Blazers from the podium, he would be a very intriguing option for Portland. They have recently been meddling in the international markets (Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, Petteri Koponen) and could use this pick as another placeholder to have Gallinari either step in and play right away or develop his game with one more year overseas. Another international option could be
Nicolas Batum of Le Mans.

Who Do the Fans Want?

According to Andrew Perna?s Portland Lottery Summit, an interactive column featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Trail Blazer Draft discussion, the fans of Portland have made it known that they would an upgrade at the small forward position. The consensus of the Blazer faithful suggested whom they want as the thirteenth overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft:

Nicolas Batum, SF ? France

Picks Over the Past Five Years

The Blazers have been building their team through the Draft for the past five years. They have been the most active team on Draft Day over the past two seasons and landed the ultimate prize with the top pick in last year?s Greg Oden/Kevin Durant Draft. They may have added the two best players in the entire 2006 NBA Draft with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy. They have been the best drafting team of the past three years.

2007
Greg Oden, 1st
Josh McRoberts, 37th
Derrick Byars, 42nd (traded to Philadelphia)
Taurean Green, 52nd
Demetris Nichols, 53rd

2006
LaMarcus Aldridge, 2nd
Brandon Roy, 6th
Sergio Rodriguez, 27th
Joel Freeland, 30th

2005
Martell Webster, 6th
Jarrett Jack, 22nd
Ricky Sanchez, 35th

2004
Sebastian Telfair, 13th
Viktor Khryapa, 22nd
Segei Monia, 23rd
Ha Seung-Jin, 46th

2003
Travis Outlaw, 23rd
Ned?ad Sinanovi?, 54th

Previous Editions of the 30 Teams, 30 Days Series

Who do you want the Blazers to draft at number 13? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments and questions.

Tags: NBA

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