A Conversation With the Owner
posted: 6/19/2006 at 10:07 PM
With the NBA Draft just over a week away, scouts and executives are putting the final touches on preparation. Some pre-draft workouts remain, but teams are closing in on a direction and a plan for June 28th. As many have stated, there is an amazing amount of uncertainty heading into this particular draft, and it'll be exciting and somewhat unpredictable right up until the end.
The Trail Blazers scouting team, led by player personnel director Kevin Pritchard, is putting in long hours going over every possible scenario, and is going over all of its year's work getting set for the big night. Obviously, so much of what will happen is out of their hands, and things will take shape as the draft gets underway. By the time the Trail Blazers select, at the number-four spot, the draft room in Tualatin will be buzzing.
There is so much speculation now, all over the NBA landscape, about how will go where, and who is leaning in what direction. The pre-draft workouts are, of course, huge, and the Trail Blazers have learned a lot in the past week. Last Thursday's workout was telling, but exactly what it told is yet to be seen. Adam Morrison, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, and Hasaan Adams, as you know by now, worked out on that day.
In town for that big workout was the owner of the Trail Blazers, Paul Allen. Near the end of the workout, I was able to sit down with Mr. Allen for an exclusive one-on-one interview. We ran the interview last night on our radio show, Courtside Monday Night presented by L.A. Weight Loss. If you happened to miss it,
click here for the entire interview. As you can tell, Allen is very well versed on this year's crop of players, and how vital this draft is to the Blazers.
Monday morning the Trail Blazers held another important workout. Texas sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge was in town and did a very nice job showing why he is being considered among the top four or five players in this year's draft. I had heard great things about not only his ability on the court, but his charming personality off the floor. Following his workout, I got a chance to talk to Aldridge for a few minutes.
Click here for that interview. He talked about his workout for the Blazers, the fact that one of his defenders during the workout was coach Nate McMillan, and how he is looking forward to the opportunity to contributing right away in the league. He told me Portland is a place he thinks he could do that. We also heard what has become a familiar theme- McMillan's workouts are very intense, and very challenging. Aldridge said it was the toughest workout he's been involved in so far.
The Blazers had planned to have LSU's Tyrus Thomas in for a workout on Tuesday, but that has been cancelled. Thomas' agent has informed everyone that his client is done with his pre-draft workouts. This has led to speculation that he has receieved a guarantee from a team in the top three that he'll be their selection. This may or may not be the case. As we've talked about many times, this is a strategic time for agents, and their plan is to get their clients into the best possible situations. In the past we've seen just about everything, so expect anything. We'll learn the truth very soon.
A reminder that next week's radio show won't be on Monday night, but instead on Wednesday, beginning at 4:05. We'll be live at the Blazers NBA Draft Party, at Outback Steakhouse in Tualatin. Several huge tents will house the party in the parking lot and everyone is invited. We plan to be on the air for at least three hours, possibly longer. This has been an interesting time, but I can't wait for the big night to actually arrive.
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just curious,is there TV's at the Draft Party so we can see whats happening.
I am a SuperSonics fan but I like Steve Patterson, I would select Andrea Bargnani or Patrick O'bryant because you need a young, talented, healthy team oriented, skillfull center and either of those men will help you get back into the NBA playoffs ASAP!
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