The 2012 NBA Draft: 6th & 11th picks, and some random 2nds.

[JustBlaze52]

lol...I am

35+ years as a fan and season ticket holder and I can't recall a time where I was less enthused about this team and had as little regard\faith in POR owenership\mgmt than I do now....

They need to rebuild...It sucks that it didn't work out with Roy\Oden\LA...but bad luck happens sometimes...I just think POR mgmt needs to recognize this...Thier strategy WORKED last time...they just had bad luck...

Don't make a bigger mistake and try to patch this roster up with the hopes of being mediocre if EVERYTHING pans out the way you think it will (and it rarely does)....

Rebuild, through the draft, just like you did last time...You have LA...at 28 in his prime and if you draft right, pick the right free agents you can have him anchor a young and up and coming team again...and either trade him for other young assets down the road if those players develop slower than anticipated....or if they develop quickly then you are ready to go....

I asked Paul Allen about this on Twitter and he replied that this is the route we are going to take.

Check it:

@JustBlaze52: @PaulGAllen Do you intend on keeping our core young so that we can compete with the likes of OKC on a long term basis? Please say yes.

6 minutes later...

@PaulGAllen: @JustBlaze52 @pdxtrailblazers Yes....Ideally you have a young core that grows as they play together thru multiple seasons.

So I think we're definitely going to aim at staying pretty young and just building around LMA, Matthews, Elliot, and hopefully Hickson.

EDIT: And of course Batum!

[deanwoof]

Bradley Beal hired Mark Bartelstein today officially. According to his client list at HoopsHype http://hoopshype.com/agents/mark_bartelstein.htm
he has 43 players currently in the NBA. What sticks out to me is that not one has ever been a Blazer, except for Brandon Rush, who as we know was a draft day trade for Jerryd Bayless.

I didn't think he'd have a chance to drop to us at 6 to begin with.

[Chanse503]

I'll be happy if we grab J.Lamb at 6 and K.Marshall at 11.
H.Sims or R.Sacre in the second round.

[Wickzki]

I have a suspicion that the Blazers will buy a mid-to-late first round pick, say around 17-22 and get a guy you're speaking about being a Blazer with one of our lottery picks with that pick.

[TayP]

Most mocks have you guys taking Kendall Marshall now at 6. So I have a proposal what about Kemba Walker+your 2013 pick back, rights to switch 2014 pick+ next available 1st after we give one to Chicago for #6 and Shawne Williams. Then you guys take Lamb at 11I think gsw takes Barnes or Sullinger raps trade the pick for W.Chandler+20, Detroit takes Moultrie or Henson and N.O. takes a c or pg so Lamb falls to 11 if the lottery position stays the same. Then you guys trade Matthews for a mid teens or early 20s pick. Walker Lamb,Elliot would be a good young back court.

[Walton'sBeard!]

Most mocks have you guys taking Kendall Marshall now at 6. So I have a proposal what about Kemba Walker+your 2013 pick back, rights to switch 2014 pick+ next available 1st after we give one to Chicago for #6 and Shawne Williams. Then you guys take Lamb at 11I think gsw takes Barnes or Sullinger raps trade the pick for W.Chandler+20, Detroit takes Moultrie or Henson and N.O. takes a c or pg so Lamb falls to 11 if the lottery position stays the same. Then you guys trade Matthews for a mid teens or early 20s pick. Walker Lamb,Elliot would be a good young back court.

Trying to figure that out gave me a headache

[TayP]

Most mocks have you guys taking Kendall Marshall now at 6. So I have a proposal what about Kemba Walker+[uyour 2013 pick back, rights to switch 2014 pick+ next available 1st after we give one to Chicago[/u] for #6 and Shawne ]Williams. Then you guys take Lamb at 11I think gsw takes Barnes or Sullinger raps trade the pick for W.Chandler+20, Detroit takes Moultrie or Henson and N.O. takes a c or pg so Lamb falls to 11 if the lottery position stays the same. Then you guys trade Matthews for a mid teens or early 20s pick. Walker Lamb,Elliot would be a good young back court.

Trying to figure that out gave me a headache

Let me explain it better
your 2013 pick back: you guys gave us a protected 2013 pick for Gerald Wallace. I suspect you guys would want it back to include in a trade.
rights to switch 2014 pick: If we are picking 10 and you guys are picking 18 you guys have the right to switch it meaning you get the 10th and we get the 18th.
next available 1st: we owe Chi a 1st from the Tyrus Thomas deal( ).
next available 1st: In 2014 the pick is top 10 protected so if we stitch it with you guys then Chi. gets #18 in 2014 and we are able to give the Blazers a 2016 unprotected pick.

[Sabzi]

Most mocks have you guys taking Kendall Marshall now at 6. So I have a proposal what about Kemba Walker+your 2013 pick back, rights to switch 2014 pick+ next available 1st after we give one to Chicago for #6 and Shawne Williams. Then you guys take Lamb at 11I think gsw takes Barnes or Sullinger raps trade the pick for W.Chandler+20, Detroit takes Moultrie or Henson and N.O. takes a c or pg so Lamb falls to 11 if the lottery position stays the same. Then you guys trade Matthews for a mid teens or early 20s pick. Walker Lamb,Elliot would be a good young back court.

Trying to figure that out gave me a headache

Kind of like those Kemba Walker endorsements.

[DusterBuster]

Let me explain it better
your 2013 pick back: you guys gave us a protected 2013 pick for Gerald Wallace. I suspect you guys would want it back to include in a trade.
rights to switch 2014 pick: If we are picking 10 and you guys are picking 18 you guys have the right to switch it meaning you get the 10th and we get the 18th.
next available 1st: we owe Chi a 1st from the Tyrus Thomas deal( ).
next available 1st: In 2014 the pick is top 10 protected so if we stitch it with you guys then Chi. gets #18 in 2014 and we are able to give the Blazers a 2016 unprotected pick.

That honestly doesn't make it much clearer. Still confusing as all get out.

Overall, I'd pass. I'm really not a fan of Kemba at all, so even with all the pick swapage, I'm not really interested.

[deanwoof]

if we had a healthy roy, sure i'd do kemba. maybe not that that price, but kemba and roy would have been a good backcourt. kemba and matthews though? not so much.

[Norm2953]

I'm not opposed to Kemba for he's likely better than any PG we could get at 11.

Rather than mess around with the picks, just offer Kemba for the #11 pick for
the Bobcats could then re-sign DJ and build around hopefully the #1 and 11 picks
and Biyumbo.

[cucad8]

Let me explain it better
your 2013 pick back: you guys gave us a protected 2013 pick for Gerald Wallace. I suspect you guys would want it back to include in a trade.
rights to switch 2014 pick: If we are picking 10 and you guys are picking 18 you guys have the right to switch it meaning you get the 10th and we get the 18th.
next available 1st: we owe Chi a 1st from the Tyrus Thomas deal( ).
next available 1st: In 2014 the pick is top 10 protected so if we stitch it with you guys then Chi. gets #18 in 2014 and we are able to give the Blazers a 2016 unprotected pick.

That honestly doesn't make it much clearer. Still confusing as all get out.

Overall, I'd pass. I'm really not a fan of Kemba at all, so even with all the pick swapage, I'm not really interested.

It's Kemba, 2013 PDX 1st, 2014 Charlotte first, and say 2018 Charlotte first for
#6 in 2012 and PDX 2014 pick.
I'm not a huge fan of Walker, but I'd do that trade. We take Walker at 6, let's say, still have 11, get back our 2013, swap in 2014 if Bulls don't get the pick, AND have an unprotected pick coming to us down the road? Absolutely.

[cucad8]

Obviously, depends on who is there at 6. If Drummond fell there, I'd want to take him, otherwise, yes.

[Brandon-Clyde]

Kemba Walker did not impress this season. Yes he averaged 12ppg but he did it on les than 37% fg shooting. His rookie year reminds me more of Adam Morrisons rookie year than anything else

[Norm2953]

Kemba did might play on a what might be the worst team in league history.

[deanwoof]

OK what happens in this scenario:

Let's say NJ gets top 3 pick this year. can they trade it this year (for example to Orlando in a Dwight Howard deal) even though they would then owe one next year to Portland? I think yes right?

[Walton'sBeard!]

OK what happens in this scenario:

Let's say NJ gets top 3 pick this year. can they trade it this year (for example to Orlando in a Dwight Howard deal) even though they would then owe one next year to Portland? I think yes right?

On draft day, yes I believe they could.

[Blazinaway]

Since we have two pretty decent second rdr's thought a thread on possible players to pick there would be a good idea.

I'll start with Kyle O'Quinn, a PF/C who had a very good NCAA tournament and was voted best player at Portsmouth. He is 6'10 in shoes with a 7'5'' wingspan. Here's a solid analysis on him.

http://www.nbadraftblog.com/2012-articl ... quinn.html

[Downtown]

Here's a question for you. After watching the Clippers/Grizzlies games I wondered about Eric Bledsoe and if he could be a better option than either Marshall, Lillard, or Teague? I know he had an injury this season but even when healthy he wasn't used much with Paul and Mo Williams, plus Chauncy Billups all getting the bulk of playing time.

My question is would you trade a first round pick for Bledsoe, and do you think the Clippers would consider it?

[Fitz303]

No thank you on Bledsoe. He's shown nothing in 2 seasons to warrant spending anything on him. He started last season, and was garbage. If he were starting last year on the Blazers, the fan base would have ran him out of town by the all star break. He's shown no improvement this season when he was healthy. Not the player that we're looking for