austinpowers

I'm posting this as a reminder that KP will make the best decision on the #1 pick period. We are all getting our blood pressure up a little too high worrying about whom to take. Relax and know that we are in good hands and that the correct person will be a blazer on June 28th. I personally think that you really can't screw this one up because there are two truely great players to pick from. The following is from ESPN Inside/Chad Ford 2006 Draft grades...........


PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Round 1: LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, Texas (No. 2, acquired from Chicago)
Brandon Roy, SG, Washington (No. 6, acquired from Minnesota)

Sergio Rodriguez , PG Spain (No. 27, acquired from Phoenix)

Joel Freeland, PF, England (No. 30, acquired from Detroit)


Analysis: Six trades. Wow. They get points for just having the guts to pull that off in one night.

They get more points for having the fortitude to stand up to a mob of "Draft the 'Stache" groupies who wanted Adam Morrison in Portland.

But what gets them an "A" grade, ultimately, is the quality of the players they ended up with.

They started the night with the No. 4, No. 30 and No. 31 picks. They ended it with LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Raef LaFrentz, Joel Freeland and Sergio Rodriguez.

Of the four, Roy is my favorite pick, and I like the way they maneuvered to get him. The Blazers caught wind of the Wolves' plan to take Roy and trade him to the Rockets. So Portland drafted the guy the Wolves wanted, Randy Foye, forcing the Wolves to send Roy to Portland for Foye.

And the trade to No. 2, while it might have seemed unnecessary, took a player they didn't want off their roster and got them the assurance that they were getting the guy ranked No. 1 on their board.

Freeland and Rodriguez have a lot of potential and could be excellent assets in a couple of years.

Blazers fans might be disappointed that Morrison is in Charlotte, but the truth is that this is one of the better moments the Blazers have had in the last five years. Aldridge and Roy have a chance to be stars, and the Blazers rid themselves of another bad chemistry guy in Sebastian Telfair.

If they find a way to dump Darius Miles and Zach Randolph this summer, the purge will be complete. Paul Allen needs to give the GM job permanently to Kevin Pritchard. He earned it Wednesday.


Grade: A


Again, were are in good hands!!

Tortimer

I agree we are in pretty good hands but I think it sounds like KP already wanted Durant really bad before we got the #1 pick. I don't care who you are it is hard to be completely neutral after watching and loving all of Durant's games. He is only human even though a lot of fans think he walks on water. That is what scares me about KP and wanting to shock the world. He is a new GM and hasn't had any thing go wrong yet and he might think he can do no wrong. I still like KP but if he does pick Durant I hope for KP's and Blazer's sake Durant turns into the next what ever MJ, Magic, Bird or something close.

OntheRocks

Thanks for the reminder... Good Post.

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BlazerFanFoLife

This is the #1 reason why i dont get too worked up. I have complete trust in Prichard and also you can't really go wrong with the top pick in this draft, all i can hope is he has trades lined up to help the team after the pick is made.

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Oldmangrouch

This time of year, even the best GM can fall prey to over-analysis. Oden *seems* the obvious choice.......but that may actually work against him. People are so focused on finding his possible weaknesses, they lose sight of the big picture.

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wastro

KP has said, time and time again throughout this process, that he's going to keep an open mind and have the debate. I don't think, just because he's enamored with Durant, that he'll just, by default, go with Durant. But he's said over and over that there's a debate. It's not open and shut. He's considering EVERYTHING. He's a smart guy. He's doing his homework, and I'm glad to see he is.

B_&_B

Great post. On June 28th, I'll be happy either way.

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"People say we are coming, but I almost think it's to the point where we are here," he said. "I think it's no longer coming. We are here now."... Brandon Roy.

alext42083

KP needs to take Oden and then can do whatever he wants.

I'm not sure if I'm in the 'happy either way' camp yet.. I like Durant, but I love Oden. The guy is a funny dude, really engaging, and would have this city in the palm of his hand, which I don't think Durant would be able to as much. Kind of like what Sheed could have had here, but chose to be an idiot.

And if KP takes Durant, I can't imagine the fallout from it. It'd be the biggest shock of the offseason, on par with if Minny trades KG or LA trading Kobe.
I don't think I'd be able to get over passing up a dominant big man with great character, who looks like he's starting to fall in love with Portland. That Seattle press conferencce just didn't look like right.

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