Everyone expects Portland to be very good in a couple of seasons, but where they expected to win 54 games this season and come out of the regular season with home-court advantage in the first round? Probably not but that’s just what happened. To think guys like Oden, Fernandez, and Bayless still are developing and haven’t even began to reach their prime is a scary thought. This team has had an amazing stretch of adding great young players and the chemistry is there and when all of these guys hit their prime, it will be around the same time and if the front office can keep this core intact, Portland is going to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference for years to come.

The Blazers hold the 24^th overall pick in the first round of the playoffs and with the draft day success they’ve had in the past, there are no doubts that they’ll probably come away with yet another guy who can join this team and contribute to the dynasty in the making.

By: Dustin Chapman

Transactions

• Selected Brandon Rush 13th overall and traded his rights along with Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts to Indiana for Ike Diogu and the rights to Jerryd Bayless.

• Selected Darrell Arthur 27th overall (via New Orleans) and traded his rights to Houston along with the rights to Joey Dorsey (33rd overall) for the rights to Nicolas Batum (25th overall).

• Selected Omar Asik 33rd overall and traded his rights to Chicago for three future second round draft picks.

• Selected Mike Taylor 55th overall and traded his rights to the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2009 second round draft pick.

What can you say? Kevin Pritchard did it again. Somehow, someway, the basketball Gods looked down on the Portland Trail Blazers once again, as they were able to turn the 13th overall pick into Jerryd Bayless. Portland now finally has their point guard, and he’s mighty talented. Combine his upside with the likes of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, the returning Greg Oden, and a case of excellent role players, you’ve got yourself a tough team right away. Without Oden, this team won 41 games this past season. Now, they are adding Oden and Bayless to the mix at the same time. Truly remarkable.

In addition, they come away with the high upside of Nicolas Batum.

Kevin Pritchard is not human.

Grade: A

Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com attended day one of the Portland Trail Blazers’ draft workout process. Here is his recap:

Just returned from the Blazers practice facility where the team held the first of its 16 scheduled workouts. Today’s affair featured three point guards that are probably considered second rounders, Rodrigue Beaubois (France), Rudy Mbemba (Congo) and Mike Green (Butler), participating in various drills, shooting 3s and free throws. All this while Greg Oden quietly worked out (a little resistance training and cardio with trainer Jay Jensen) in the small gym just off the basketball courts. He looked huge, by the way.

Here’s my run down from the first day …

The first thing we were able to watch was some one-on-one drills. Each would take turns with the ball out top and another player would defend … the ball handler would take a few dribbles and shoot a pull-up jumper from the free throw line … after a few pull ups from each player, Pritchard then yelled “Drive!” and the players began to take the ball at the rim rather than settle for Js.

The players then moved to running the give and go … players would begin with the ball at the top of the key, swing out to the angle where Mo Lucas would come up and set a high pick for the passer, who would then cut towards the rim … McMillan got involved a little and play some on-the-ball defense … the players then threw alleyoops from the arc … the cutting went from down the lane to a back-door cut … all three had great athleticism for all being 6-1 and under.

The next drill involved driving at the rim with a :05 shot clock … Monty Williams passed the ball in to the player at the top of the key, he then had to get to the rim and try to score before the buzzer …

The better competition, though, came in a half-court drill with :06 seconds on the clock … one player would inbound the ball with with :06 to get it across half court against the other two PGs … all had good speed … Green excelled in this drill, using his ability to turn his back, then blow by the defenders … Mbemba had the most trouble in this area … Beaubois may have been the quickest of the three.

Next, the players shot free throws and went around the world shooting 3s … Beaubois and Green had the better touch from beyond the arch but none of the above (at least today) were terrific three-point shooters … I think Green had maybe the best looking shot of the three, with a nice, high release and gets his shot off quickly … Beaubois and Mbemba had longer strokes and more of a wind up before the release …

The final phase of the workout was the cone drill … four cones were set up on each corner of the key … the players would sprint forward from the stripe to the baseline, cut left and move side to side laterally, backpedal to the line, lateral right and go back the way they started … no one seemed to struggle with this one, all are extremely quick … I wish I could have got a look at the stop watch of the guys tracking the time.

You can click this link for the source, and also check out audio interviews with head coach Nate McMillan, general manager Kevin Pritchard, and former Butler guard Mike Green (also containing the video of Green’s interview).

Here is the rest of Portland’s workout schedule, leading up to June 26th’s NBA Draft.

Wed., June 4
Giorgi Shermadini (Republic of Georgia/PF)
C.J. Giles (Oregon State/PF)

Sat., June 7
Sasha Kaun (Kansas/C)
Steven Hill (Arkansas/C)
Gary Forbes (UMASS/SG)
Victor Claver (Spain/SF) *underclassman
Stanley Burrell (Xavier/SG-PG)
Mon., June 9
Lester Hudson (Tenn-Martin SG-PG)
Jaycee Carroll (Utah State/SG)
J.J. Hickson (NC State/PF) *underclassman
James Gist (Maryland/PF)

Tues., June 10
Bryce Taylor (Oregon/SG)
JaJuan Smith (Tennessee/SG)
Marcus Dove (Oklahoma State/SF)
David Padgett (Louisville/C)
Darian Townes (Arkansas/PF-C)

Thurs., June 12
Russell Westbrook (UCLA/PG)
Tywon Lawson (North Carolina/PG) *underclassman

Sun., June 15
Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga/PG) *underclassman
Bo McCalebb (New Orleans/PG)
Luc Louves (France/SF) *underclassman
Pat Calathes (St. Joseph’s/SF)

Mon., June 16
Davon Jefferson (USC/SF-PF)
Shawn James (Duquesne/PF)

Tues., June 17
Joe Alexander (West Virginia/PF-SF) *underclassman
Donte Greene (Syracuse/SF)
Marreese Speights (Florida/PF) *underclassman
Deron Washington (Virginia Tech/SF)

Wed., June 18
DJ Augustin (Texas/PG)

Thurs., June 19
Robin Lopez (Stanford/C)
Javale McGee (Nevada/C)
Kosta Koufos (Ohio State/PF-C)
Malik Hairston (Oregon/SG)
Darnell Jackson (Kansas/PF)
Richard Hendrix (Alabama/PF) *underclassman

Fri., June 20
Luc Mbah a Moute (UCLA/SF) *underclassman
Will Daniels (Rhode Island/SF)

Sat., June 21
Brandon Rush (Kansas/SF-SG)
Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky/SG)
Mark Tyndale (Temple/SG)

Sun., June 22
Maarty Leunen (Oregon/PF)
Juan Palacios (Louisville/PF)

Mon., June 23
Darrell Arthur (Kansas/PF)
Anthony Randolph (LSU/PF-SF) *tentative

Tues., June 24
Nicolas Batum (France/SF)
Sonny Weems (Arkansas/SF-SG)
Marcellus Kemp (Nevada/SG)
Shan Foster (Vanderbilt/SG)

Posted By: Dustin Chapman

Jeff Rabjohns of the Indy Star has put together a comforting piece about Portland Trail Blazers injury-plagued phenom Greg Oden. The top pick in 2007’s NBA draft recently returned home, where he visited his old high school (Lawrence North) for events and some lighthearted hoops with locals.

“I’ve got a long summer ahead of me. I’ve got to take it slow to make sure nothing happens so I’m ready for next season,” he said.

“Portland’s been awesome with the support they’ve shown me. Even knowing I wasn’t going to play this year, they’ve been there for me every step of the way.”

Oden was visibly bigger and stronger from his college days, partly because he became addicted to lifting weights, one of the few things he could do. Every time his teammates practiced, he hit the weights, eventually being told by the Blazers to back off for fear of bulking up too much.

“I was doing it just to do it. It got to a point I’d be in the weight room doing hard lifts five days a week. That’s where I had a chance to get some of the stress out of me,” he said.

Through all the hype and attention, the seven-foot stud has also made it a point to stay focused on the task at hand:

“My first thoughts are coming out there and having a good season. I don’t really think about all that. I just think about establishing myself,” he said. “I have to prove myself before I can become the face of anything, and that’s what I think about a lot.”

Let’s wish Oden as successful a recovery as possible, and stay hopeful that puts together a healthy rookie season in 2008-2009. It’d be a real shame to see a talent and genuine personality like this go to waste due to uncontrollable health issues. Let’s hope Oden doesn’t miss a beat and becomes the dominant force he was destined to be.

Posted By: Dustin Chapman

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