Paul Allen is a man of many exotic ventures and interests. Everything from space travel to yacht building, animal research to sports franchises. One of those interests that may get Mr. Allen even more excited than the rest is the draft process for the Portland Trail Blazers or his Seattle Seahawks.
With the interest of Mr. Allen piqued by the draft, you always know that he will be very aggressive toward acquiring the players that he wants. He has been known to attend the pre-draft workouts of the players that he is really interested in. The rest of us sit with our video game consoles and put together our "fantasy teams". Well the actual NBA Draft is Allen's attempt at putting together his ideal team. This excitement from the top of the organization has always led to trades, purchased picks, and exciting draft selections.
Draft day for Portland fans has been a bitter-sweet event over the past few years. Drafting Greg Oden was a huge success until we all realized that his knees were that of an old man. Then there was the Babbitt-Williams-Johnson draft that was ugly from day one. How about when the team passed up Kenneth Faried for Nolan Smith? But at least now, Blazer fans can have a little optimism after the new front office regime drafted the rookie of the year, Damian Lillard, last year.
Trades have been a common occurrence on draft day for the Portland Trail Blazers. More than common, almost expected. There has been a lot of talk that the Blazers should trade the number 10 pick in order to acquire a veteran center. The #10 pick wouldn't be enough to pull a Joakim Noah from Chicago or Marcin Gortat from Phoenix so they would have to add additional assets. I will explore the assets that Portland has to add into a draft day trade.
Draft Picks – The Blazers own the 10th pick as well as three 2nd round picks in Thursday's draft. The 10th pick has limited trade value because of the perceived weakness of this draft. Also, there are many of the other teams in the lottery trying to trade their picks. It is definitely a buyer's market when it comes to high draft picks in this draft. The three second round picks could hold value and be additional pieces to a trade but obviously not centerpieces. Future draft picks, not looking too good in that department. Next year's first round pick will most likely go to the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets.
LaMarcus Aldridge – Aldridge is a veteran all-star and according to many around the league, he is believed to be one of the best power forwards in the game. The future of Aldridge in Portland is unknown. He has never said anything to lead us to believe he is gone in a couple years but the media sure has manufactured that storyline in the minds of Blazer fans. The common thought is that if he's going to leave, might as well get something for him. If Aldridge is traded, I believe that signals a more long-term rebuild process which will do little to excite the fans in Portland.
Nicolas Batum – Batum is an interested trade piece. The Blazers just signed him to a long-term, high-dollar contract. A lot of people believed at the time that he was being overpaid, but he seemed to prove his worth this season showing that he is a very well rounded small forward in the league that still has more potential to improve. There is a trade kicker in his contract which may make it a little tougher to trade him, but his name on the trading block would intrigue a few teams around the league. Trading Batum would also open up some cap space for whoever the team would trade for or additional free agents.
Wesley Matthews – This is the name on the list that makes me most curious. I could really see Matthews included in trade talks. He is very average in a lot of aspects of his game and excels in very little. He is a great complimentary piece for the Blazers, but I'm not sure he is the one to take them to the promise land. The shooting guard position is a fairly easy position to replace. This draft has 4-6 players that could really compete for a starting 2-guard spot in the NBA.
Anyone Else – It's hard for me to believe that anyone would be interested in players like Joel Freeland, Victor Claver or Will Barton. It would be in the Blazers’ benefit to get rid of a contract of one of those guys, not the other way around. To sum it up, these pieces hold very, very little value towards a trade that will better the franchise.
I do believe that the Blazers will make some kind of trade on draft day, whether it be a blockbuster or a little shift of assets. If I were a betting man I would say that Allen moves two or three of the second round picks to move into the mid-to-late first round. There is quite a bit of depth in the first round and I think if someone starts slipping, Allen will want to move up to acquire him. Short of that, I don't see any groundbreaking moves happening on draft day for the Blazers. But with Paul Allen, you never know.
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