For the second year in a row, the Portland Trail Blazers walked away from the NBA Draft as the undisputed winners.
All they took were the crafty trades of an aggressive general manager, a team owner’s deep pockets and, of course, a few lucky ping-pong balls that sealed the Blazers’ marriage to the next sure thing — Ohio State center Greg Oden.
Despite having the sixth worst record in the NBA, Portland defied all odds and won the right to select its franchise center for the next decade.
“He’s amazing,” Portland GM Kevin Pritchard told The Oregonian shortly after Oden’s workout one month ago. “You just feel he’s got to be the guy.”
The Blazers also reeled in four more rookies — two of which were bought outright from Phoenix (Rudy Fernandez) and Philadelphia (Petteri Koponen), thanks to owner Paul Allen.
The Seattle Supersonics quickly snatched up Texas forward Kevin Durant — also a consensus star-in-the-making — with the second pick.
“We are thrilled to have Kevin,” Sonics GM Sam Presti told The Seattle Times. “Durant is a player that makes the job of everybody on the team easier. He’s a guy that comes to work every day to get better.”
While the first two picks followed script, the rest of the league seemed to forget their lines. The Atlanta Hawks, starved for a point guard, passed on a bona fide playmaker for the third year in a row. They could have selected Oden’s running mate, Mike Conley Jr., with the third pick, but instead went with Florida big man Al Horford.
The Memphis Grizzlies, also with a need at the point, gladly took Conley with the next pick.
The draft’s biggest surprises, however, came in the form of several blockbuster trades.
Much to Durant’s delight, Boston selected Georgetown’s Jeff Green with the fifth pick and immediately shipped him, along with guard Delonte West and forward Wally Szczerbiak, to Seattle for aging sharpshooter Ray Allen.
“Playing with (Green) is like one of your dreams come true because we played every summer back in AAU,” Durant told The Seattle Times. “I guess God was working in mysterious ways (to) bring us back together in Seattle.”
Soon after, the New York Knicks agreed to send disgruntled guard Steve Francis and fan favorite Channing Frye to Portland for the talented forward Zach Randolph, who brings a 23-point average and a rap sheet of off-court trouble. New York also received guards Fred Jones and Dan Dickou from the Trailblazers.
The Golden State Warriors further shook things up and offered their star scorer Jason Richardson to Charlotte in exchange for an unproven talent in UNC’s Brandan Wright, whom the Bobcats had picked earlier with the No. 8 pick.
Portland and Seattle were not the only ones to help themselves in this year’s draft.
With the seventh pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves nabbed the ultra-athletic Corey Brewer from Florida. This pick may help Minnesota boss Kevin McHale save face, especially if superstar Kevin Garnett ends up in another uniform next season.
Another steal may be Georgia Tech’s Javaris Crittenton, who fell right into the Los Angeles Lakers’ laps at No. 19. Some experts predicted he wouldn’t slip past the 11th spot. The Lakers hope they finally have their point guard to run Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.
As in every draft, this year had its share of inexplicable selections. The Milwaukee Bucks took a chance on China’s Yi Jianlian with the sixth pick after Jianlian’s agent clearly stated there are only a handful of teams Jianlian was willing to play for, and Milwaukee was not on that list.
Late in the first round, the Houston Rockets took Aaron Brooks, a point guard from Oregon State. This move makes little sense in light of the Rockets’ recent acquisition of Mike James from Minnesota and Houston’s dire need for a power forward.
In last summer’s draft the Blazers were the major players, picking up four rookies, including LaMarcus Aldridge and eventual Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy. With the addition of this year’s rookie crop, Portland’s roster stands at 19.
If Nate McMillan can find a way to get all that youth to play together by the start of next season, the Northwest could be a very interesting division to keep an eye on.
Tyler CobbDaniel Timothy waits in anticipation during the NBA Draft party held at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday.