sa1177

It actually started for San Antonio a bit before that....if you recall David Robinson was injured early in the season the season before they landed Duncan. Robinson's injury obviously lead the Spur downhill to a position in which along with a stroke of luck they were able to land Duncan.

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sa1177

I am also going to say we draft none of these guys....the pick+ a player will be traded for a established veteran star or upcoming star. Just a hunch I have.

Otherwise we draft Morrison..word I hear is Blazers management has a hard on for that guy.

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crowTrobot

espn just updated their fun but meaningless "play the lottery" predictor -

http://sports-att.espn.go.com/nba/in...lid=gn_NBA_NBA

apparently we want morrison/noah/aldridge/and mcroberts(?) in that order lol

there is no scenerio where we take thomas or bargnani


edit: just hit a thomas after about 100 trys, so it might happen lol

ProudBFan

Interesting. I wouldn't consider that thing a "porn 'stache".

PBF

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Dan

Ive heard that they like Morrison a lot, but also like Thomas and Bargani..but that it's too soon to make a decision now before they have a chance to see them personally.

That is of course, unless they get the #1 pick and in that case I bet they know who they'll pick.

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It's_GO_Time

That was a somewhat different situation. The Spurs for the early part of the ninties were a very successful franchise. In fact a couple years before drafting Duncan they posted one of the best records in the NBA (62-20) and the year before drafting Duncan they were 59-23. Then Robinson got hurt the next year, the Spurs went 20-62 and they ended up with the top pick (via lottery) and drafted Duncan. Duncan's first year, Spurs picked up right where they left off (not counting that one fluke year) and went 56-26.

So although you can't understimate Duncan's contribution to the organization, that was one of the sweetest situations for a top pick to step into (a perinial palyoff and championship contender)

Just pointing that the Spurs situation was different from the Blazers (and most other bad teams) situation.

It's_GO_Time

Always a step ahead of me . . .

sa1177

If we get #1 I am saying 80% chance we trade it for a veteran like I noted earlier.

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Kmurph

80% chance? I doubt it....

and to you and others who advocate trading the pick, just whom do you think we are going to get for that pick? It isn't going to be a "star" player like you suggest...or if it is, it will be a guy who is on the downside or close to it, of his career or a guy with off court\on-court issues...

Teams don't trade "young established star players", that is VERY wishful thinking on your part...teams tend to trade guys who have a lot of tread on the tires, are nearing their eventual decline, or have worn out their welcome....

Talk about those not learning from the past are doomed to repeat it..Dale Davis for Jermaine O'Neal anyone? A #1 pick for a 30yr old Paul Pierce has ALL of the making of part 2 of that fiasco...and how happy is he going to be to come here...something about "holding out" comes to mind...

If POR has any sense of intelligence, they surely will NOT be trading the #1 pick....

I could only see themn trading DOWN, if a player\s they like wasn't available....

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mediocre man

Although I don't think they should, the Blazers will probably take Morrison. He is smart, a reason to discard Miles, "local", hard working and most importantly he could be a white superstar. Their thinking is probably that they might bring in more fans if they had a white superstar after all of the "jail blazer" past.

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Masbee

It is real hard for me to get into the spirit of this thread because:

You say Por(tland's) three most glaring needs, not the Blazer's needs. So this presupposes the Blazers will not move or fold. Thusly, Portland's Most Glaring Needs to Address:

1) New Stadium deal. This team will be stuck in the mud until this issue is resolved and everyone knows it. Free Agents will not stay (ie Joel), nor will they come here. Vets will try to force trades. Our young talent will flee (Outlaw due next summer, Telfair and Khryapa the next). We will be nothing more than a glorified development team.

2) New Management. The combination of Allen, Vulcan, Patterson and Nash has been a horror show. I have had it with these guys. I have disagreed with the majority of their moves at the time they happened (as have several others here), and surprise, surprise they have driven the team into the ground. Some of it is circumstance, some of it is bad luck, but they made too many wrong plans, and executed them too badly to get a pass from me. Everyone needs a fresh start. I don't care if these guys are the Rasheed Wallace of management who will flourish in another place, or the Derek Anderson of management, who will be exposed for the frauds they were. They just have to get out of town.

Oh, and only out of curiosity do I give a **** who REALLY is responsible for all the ****-ups. There will be plenty of time to place blame later. Right now all of the ownership and management group has the taint of this Titanic level disaster all over them. A quick shower (say firing Nash and whispering it was all his fault) will not do the trick. Throw out the baby with this bathwater - if there even is a baby in there.

Either Allen has to hire a new and powerful team president, with clear and sane marching orders, and then he and Vulcan get out of the way or he sells the team to a quality ownership group who does same. This ship needs a captain, not a bunch of blindered short-shighted money-men, dillatantes and mediocrities clutching at the wheel at the same time.

3) Talent on the Roster. Position is meaningless. There is talent on the roster. A couple of proven vets, who at their best are average NBA starters in Darius and Zach - but they have pissed off the entire fan base and the coaching staff. Joel is an average starter, who is injury prone and likely to bolt this mismanaged mess anyway. We have a couple of interesting prospects in Webster and Telfair. But neither is a sure thing on the level of a blue chipper. To draft around either is a mistake that has already been made, and likely will cost a GM his job.

That ain't much. Every draft, every signing and every trade moving forward has to be done with an eye to increasing the talent level.

Dumping players to clear salary cap room will not work at this time. The stadium/ownership issue must be stable and the team must have a rising star on the roster. Until then, Portland will not be able to sign a hot free agent. We must look to draft for the most talent and upside we can get.

BBert

For those who simply want more scoring, I say, play better defense and grab more rebounds. And then run. Get a defensive-minded, rebounding big guy who can score a little around the basket. I've heard we are the worst rebounding team in the league. If we took 5 more defensive rebounds per game away from our opponents, they would have 5 fewer scoring opportunities and we'd have 5 more scoring opportunities. That alone would get us 5 more points per game, and our opponents at least 5 fewer. Didn't we just get shellacked on the boards by the Sonics, of all teams?

I see no reason why Webster can't average 20 ppg on the Blazers in 2 years, especially considering that he and Zach (discounting Miles) will be the two best scorers on the team. We'll need a scoring SF to go along with them (by then), but if Telfair is a good scoring PG by then, the 12 ppg we'll be getting from Travis (or Viktor) by then will suffice.

For now, take the best player available, and I hope that's a big guy.

(Also, if it's up to Nate, sure he'd want the player that will help us win today. If it's up to management, they should take the guy with the most star potential in the long run.)

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