Who is it Going to Be?
posted: 6/27/2006 at 10:28 PM
This is the big day. We've all said that before to describe NBA Draft Day, but when you're picking in the top five it really applies.
I drove by Outback Steakhouse today in Tualatin, and saw the crews putting up huge tents, preparing for the Trail Blazers Draft Party, and I started to get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I can't imagine how the players, and executives are feeling.
We take the air tonight at 4:05 from Outback tonight, and our draft show will go at least three hours. If you can't join us at the party, listen to the show on KXL in the Portland area, and kxl.com if you're outside the listening area. We'll be giving you coverage you truly can't get anywhere else. If you listened last year, you know what I'm talking about. We'll have Martell Webster and Steve Blake with us on site, and will get their reaction to everything that happens. Brian Wheeler will be sitting outside the door to the war room at the Blazers practice facility, and will have the green light to jump in at any moment with breaking news. He'll also have interviews with Steve Patterson, Kevin Pritchard, and owner Paul Allen, the moment they set foot outside the hot box. We'll also have the first interviews with the Blazers draft selections live from New York City. You'll want to be part of this.
Over the past several months I've tried to give you some idea of what goes into scouting in the NBA. Teams invest big-time resources in scouting, and the Trail Blazers are no exception. We're not talking about just money here, but also time. As you know, in today's NBA, you've got to be ready to scour the globe in search of talent. In the end you use everything at your disposal to determine who to select. It's an extremely complicated formula and it's a very inexact science. History has shown us that.
Trail Blazers player personnel director Kevin Pritchard, and his team of scouts, have putting working practically around the clock in this effort. Pritchard told me recently he's personally seen all of the top players in this draft many times. He's seen them play in games, either in Europe or college, and he's seen their pre-draft workouts. They have intellegence reports on the players, have talked to their high school and college coaches, and have investigated every possible positive and negative about these individuals. In short, take the time that you have researched the draft, times it by 1,000 and you're probably getting close to what these guys have invested.
It's amazing to me that here we are, on the day of the draft, and no one really knows what the top five is going to look like. NBA historians have all agreed that this is a very unique draft, one they haven't seen the likes of before. Not only is there no clear-cut number one, we're not even sure what teams will be drafting for themselves, and what teams have selecting for trade partners. I have a feeling that most of the excitment will come
after the draft tonight, when it'll start to be revealed who's trading with who.
Is it possible, with so many teams trying to move up and down, and with so many different scenarios and opportunities out there, we'll actually see fewer trades? It could happen. I've heard it described that there are "too many cars on the road" and this has the makings of one huge traffic jam. That at the end of the day it'll be a lot more uneventful than expected. Anything is possible, but I still think we'll see a major shakeup, a draft day for the ages.
If you're the Trail Blazers you have to be ready for every possible scenario. You can usually put out feelers, or just plain call teams and ask them who they'll be taking. None of this applies this year, because I don't think teams know. Between all the smoke screens and agents using the media to market the best opportunities for their players, we've got information overload. I just can't wait until it's over and we can start to sort it all out.
I do know the Blazers have explored every player, every situation, and every opportunity. Those trades ideas you fans always e-mail to me late at night? Yes, the team has thought of them. I would love to be able to hear, after the draft, all the moves that almost happened, or could have happened. But, in most cases, we'll never know. I just trust that these guys know what they're doing, and they've got their reasons, in all cases.
This could be a wild ride. Talk to you tonight on the radio.
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Adam Morrison has big time stats and is likely to be a offensive juggernaut in his rookies season. I know there are questions regarding his health, but he will sell tickets thanks to his popularity and unique ability to be a big man and shoot three's.
Do whatever it takes to get that #7 pick from Boston. Take Sheldon Williams at #4 and take J.J. Reddick at #7. They were the best combonation in college, and in a few short years they will be the best combonation in the nba.
The stash at #4, reddick or roy at #7 (get that pick somehow). Trade away the whole team if needed.
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