Hey everyone!
I'm not sure about you, but I always really enjoyed talking about the Blazers this year in class, when we could! I just had a thought (and am getting completely distracted from the over a hundred pages - no joke - of reading I have to do for my classes tomorrow) that we should definitely have a NBA Draft Live Blog! For those that do not know, the NBA draft is where the teams select college players (or foreign players) to play for them. In essence, they are selecting the rights to negotiate with the player for a contract. Every year, there is always a lot of interesting stuff happening! I am guessing that the Blazers will be active too - their General Manager, Kevin Pritchard, is famous for draft day trades. In fact, that is how we got Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge!
So, come back and visit the blog THIS THURSDAY, starting at 4:00 PM. The draft will be held live on ESPN television, and I am sure on the radio as well. I will be live-blogging as it goes along - possibly on this main post. Who knows what exciting players Portland will get? Hope to see you then!
EDIT: Thursday - 3:40 - I'm here, ready to chat, but very saddened at the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Weird, weird guy, and quite possibly a pedophile, but my goodness, his music was incredible.
Anyway, I will be in the comments, blogging the NBA Draft. The Blazers have already made a trade, to get the #22 pick. I wonder if they are done? Lots of action in the league - Shaq has been traded to play in Cleveland with LeBron next year. Plus lots of others. Follow along in the comments!
TRADE #1: Sergio Rodriguez is no longer a Trail Blazer, according to BlazersEdge. We just traded him and the #38 pick for the #31 pick in the draft from Sacramento. To commemorate Serigo's Portland career, here's a picture I took last season:
DRAFT PICKS:
#22: Victor Claver, a forward out of Spain. The thinking here is that the Blazers can have him continue to play overseas for a few years, so they don't have to pay him, and when he is ready to come over, we will have the money and roster spot for him.
#31: Jeff Pendergraph, a forward from Arizona. He will probably take the spot of Channing Frye.
#33: Daunte Cunningham, a forward (are you seeing a trend?) from Villanova. He will have to compete hard to take a roster spot (unless we are going to trade him or other Blazers away).
#55: Patrick Mills, guard out of St. Mary's. I am pretty sure that the thinking here is that we will send him overseas to continue playing.
Thoughts: All in all, this is a draft that does not overwhelm. I am guessing that the Blazers have other moves coming, via signing free agents in the next months, or by trade. If they don't do anything, I will be seriously questioning the strategy. I guess it is just another "wait and see" approach!
Thanks to everyone that stopped by! Lots of fun! Take care, have a great weekend!
