Portlands Draft, Your Opinions

[Spykes]

B Gordon for the pick

Gordon is a RFA this summer and can't be traded until July first. Portland would have to pick for the Bulls on draft day, wait for a few days, then the 2 teams have to do a S&T with the Blazers sending out a big contract (likely Raef LaFrentz). There's too many complications for something like that to go down.

Mayo seems like a really good fit if Pritchard can move up. The Blazers would likely have to eat a big contract to do so however. I'm not sure if they would want to do it, even though it worked out pretty well when did it to get Roy.

However, I think Portland may seriously look at moving the pick all together to get some kind of veteran help.

Like PNF said, Pritchard and the Blazers are in a fun position this summer. They have a lot of pieces to play with and a lot of directions they could take things.

If nothing can get done and Portland is forced to stay at 13, it's possible they might just take the BPA and be done with it. I think most fans and Pritchard himself would be disappointed with that outcome.

[5DOM]

i think both collison and augustine will be available at 13.

i really like collison for you guys.

[Jsun947]

I think Portland will look in the following order...

1.) Look to move the pick and other assets for a sure thing type player... i.e. Calderon, Granger, etc.

2.) Move up in the draft for the player Prichard wants which would have to be a point gaurd or combo gaurd (Rose, Mayo, Bayless, Gordon.)

3.) Move assets or the pick if necessary to ditch Miles' contract.

[TradeMachine]

I don't understand where the "Mayo is a combo guard" idea is coming from. The only PG attribute he has is his height (6'4) and propensity to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time. He is primarily a SG, and imo, would not fit will next to Roy. Bayless is a similar prospect but from what I've seen has better handles, as does Westbrook.

From looking the schedules, I think it's safe to assume the Blazers will end up at #13, where a talented, starting caliber PG will be available. DJ Augustine would be my pick as he can score off the dribble, play decent on-ball D, and step in immediately to contribute.

If we forego the draft and try to trade for proven players, my list for possible targets include: Ford, Mo Williams, Calderon, and Hinrich in that order.

[Cammo101]

Mayo would be great next to Roy. Augustine is a steal at #13.

[TradeMachine]

Mayo would be great next to Roy.

aarrgh!!

He is a SG. Brandon is not a PG. The fLakers do well when Kome has the ball. That doesn't mean he should be their PG. What the Blazers need is a decent defender, good slasher, a floor general that can set up the offense, and a guy that has handles to take the pressure off Roy. That is NOT Mayo. His A/TO ratio is less than 1! If anything he's a glorified Ben Gordon, who again does not fit well next to Roy.

[Cammo101]

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aarrgh!!

He is a SG. Brandon is not a PG. The fLakers do well when Kome has the ball. That doesn't mean he should be their PG. What the Blazers need is a decent defender, good slasher, a floor general that can set up the offense, and a guy that has handles to take the pressure off Roy. That is NOT Mayo. His A/TO ratio is less than 1! If anything he's a glorified Ben Gordon, who again does not fit well next to Roy.

Portland runs the offense through Roy in the halfcourt anyways. Mayo is plenty good enough a ball handler to bring the ball up and play PG as long as Roy is making the decisions in the half court. Mayo is a much more all around player than Ben Gordon. Mayo can defend NBA PG's.

[TradeMachine]

I do agree that he is a decent defender and could possibly guard PGs at the nba level.

However, if the offense is run primarily through Roy, then that makes Mayo just a shooter off the ball, which again takes away from the point of having a PG (essentially, a slasher that can create) in the first place. Maybe we can agree to disagree, but I don't see him being a good fit at all.

[waverider]

I do agree that he is a decent defender and could possibly guard PGs at the nba level.

However, if the offense is run primarily through Roy, then that makes Mayo just a shooter off the ball, which again takes away from the point of having a PG (essentially, a slasher that can create) in the first place. Maybe we can agree to disagree, but I don't see him being a good fit at all.

How about the times ROY is not in the game? or when he is then he can take a bit of a breather and let Mayo do some of the slashing/creating? How about having TWO guys that can do that and create havoc on the other team? Mayo would be a great fit IMO.

[ponder276]

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aarrgh!!

He is a SG. Brandon is not a PG. The fLakers do well when Kome has the ball. That doesn't mean he should be their PG. What the Blazers need is a decent defender, good slasher, a floor general that can set up the offense, and a guy that has handles to take the pressure off Roy. That is NOT Mayo. His A/TO ratio is less than 1! If anything he's a glorified Ben Gordon, who again does not fit well next to Roy.

I think the Lakers are a perfect example of why a score-first PG works well beside a play-making SG. Fisher's main weapon is his 3-point shot, not his play-making abilities. The same is true to a lesser extent with Farmar. The Lakers PGs are 5th and 6th on the team in apg (behind Kobe, Odom, Gasol and Walton), but the team is still EXTREMELY effective!

If I'm the Blazers, I want to make sure I have a PG who can:
a) Score, and just generally be effective on offense when the ball is not in his hand
b) Defend
c) Make plays when needed, but doesn't have to be the primary play-maker in the half court, because Roy is such an excellent play-maker

To me, Mayo fits that description perfectly. Out of Mayo, Bayless and Gordon, I think Mayo is the best fit. He is the best defender, and I think he has the best PG skills (he certainly more of a PG than Gordon, who is a pretty pure SG despite being 6'3", and he seems to be a slightly better play-maker than Bayless).
I like Augustin, but to be effective he needs the ball more than Mayo does, and he's definitely a worse defender, especially against bigger PGs. Still, if the Blazers don't trade up, and they can snag Augustin anyways, it'd be a great pick.

[Goldbum]

Bayless is my #1 option for PDX. Discovery69 who is known to have inside sources said in a post earlier that Pritchard has tagetted Bayless and Westbrook as the two players he thinks would fit best with this team. The thing about Bayless is he is sooo aggressive and skilled, that it is not hard to imagine Roy and him bringing the best out of each other, and their team-mates. Best of all he's a good kid who has that Kobe type persona on the court, it's an assasin like mentality that a group of nice guys could use. I would be willing to trade Outlaw #13 and probably quite a bit more to make Mr. Bayless a Blazer.

[Spykes]

Westbrook is a guy I could see shooting up the mock drafts and the real draft if he goes out and has an exceptional run in the Tourney.

[NBAMAN2006]

Mayo is my pick as the best fit next to Roy.

He is a better defender than anyone outside of Westbrook(But Westbrook is so jumper challenged I dont think he would be a good fit at all). Yes, I just said he is a better defender than Rose.

He is the best NBA ranged 3 point shooter(Making more 3's this season than Rose, Bayless, Gordon & Westbrook)

He can create his own J off the dribble and is a capable fast break court-leader.


I rank him as the #3 prospect in the draft, and hope to high hell the Blazers can get their hands on him.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

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Portland runs the offense through Roy in the halfcourt anyways. Mayo is plenty good enough a ball handler to bring the ball up and play PG as long as Roy is making the decisions in the half court. Mayo is a much more all around player than Ben Gordon. Mayo can defend NBA PG's.

Exactly why Mayo is the best fit on the Blazers. The problem is, the Blazers may need to really trade up in order to get to him.

[FutureKnicksGM]

I think the Lakers are a perfect example of why a score-first PG works well beside a play-making SG. Fisher's main weapon is his 3-point shot, not his play-making abilities. The same is true to a lesser extent with Farmar. The Lakers PGs are 5th and 6th on the team in apg (behind Kobe, Odom, Gasol and Walton), but the team is still EXTREMELY effective!

I think Mayo is actually a play-making SG, just like Roy(at least now), whereas Bayless is the scoring point, who is at his best when looking to score , but has just enough PG skills to take some pressure of Roy.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

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I think Mayo is actually a play-making SG, just like Roy(at least now), whereas Bayless is the scoring point, who is at his best when looking to score , but has just enough PG skills to take some pressure of Roy.

I saw both players in person; I think you have them reversed.

[DanBlazer]

In order, for the Blazers I'd like to see Mayo, Gordon, Bayless out of the three, however I'm now not too picky on whoever comes the Blazers way, any of them would be a massive boost to the lineup. I'd prefer Mayo because he will be a superstar in the League, and having a backcourt of him and Roy would be so nasty.

However if all are taken early, I'd be happy to see Augustin playing in a Blazers uni also. He isnt a bad 2nd option

The good thing is, that even if all the good point and combo guards are taken, it probably means Batum and Galinari will be available at 13, which could both be good Small Forwards for the Blazers. Most importantly, we have a lot of flexibility when it comes to draft day, and I'm sure it will be busy yet again, as Pritchard tries to round out the roster.

[Spykes]

Augustin's size really bothers me. Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan have never been fans of undersized PG's and at 5'11" 165lbs, that's exactly what Augustin is.

[Kush]

Blazers can draft Westbrook with the 13th pick without moving up..besides Westbrook is a perfect fit beside Roy.

[Kush]

Blazers can draft Westbrook with the 13th pick without moving up..besides Westbrook is a perfect fit beside Roy.