Friday, May 30, 2008

Second round picks: They want 'em, we got 'em

Kevin Pritchard is often talks about the importance of having "liquid assets," and in regards to the second round of the 2008 Draft, KP has one-tenth of the glass. Picks 33, 36 and 55 will technically be chosen by the Blazers, though it's hard to imagine a scenario where any of those second-rounders make the regular season roster.

So that leaves two options: stow the player away in Europe or trade the player away on draft night. I wouldn't be surprised to see both happen, and according to Jim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel, there's already a marked for Portland's second round picks.
The Magic are watching because they plan on trading into the second round, getting a pick from either the Portland Trail Blazers or the Seattle SuperSonics, who have a combined seven second-round picks. The Magic's pick is in Miami as part of the deal they needed to make to sign Coach Stan Van Gundy.

Here's my suggestion to the Magic: Trade your first round pick (No. 22) to the Blazers for all three of their second round picks (plus a point guard if necessary). Then the Blazers trade No. 22 and No. 13 to the Knicks (who are reportedly open to trading their pick) for No. 6 (plus another player if necessary). Blazers draft one of the many combo guards at the top of the draft with the No. 6. Everyone wins!

(Hat tip to Third Quarter Collapse, via Blazers Edge)

14 comments:

Manny said...

Fantastic suggestion Casey! I hope KP reading.

LaPrincipessa said...

Casey

my new t shirt says:


i <3 casey


Brilliant!

-Sophia

Colin said...

That would be great if #6 for #13 and #22 happened (if it did, I would be rooting for a Mayo pick) but it won't.

If the Knick's real motivation behind being willing to trade the #6 pick is because the draft isn't deep, why would they want to trade it for two more (later) draft picks? If you don't want something in the first place, why would you trade for more of it?

I don't like vehicles made in the 70's, but if I had to choose one, I wouldn't choose to swap a mustang for a couple pintos.

Casey Holdahl said...

Manny: Thanks.

Sophia: Send one of those shirts to my mom.

Collin: Here's how I see it. Maybe NY likes DJ Augustin, but thinks (correctly, by the way) that No. 6 is too high. So they trade him to Portland, and get another pick for their trouble. Basically they get the guy they want and a little extra. It's not really like trading a mustang for two pintos. It's more like trading a mustang for a car you like better (A Chevelle?) while also getting a cheap but sturdy car you can give to your kid.

Anonymous said...

I do not like the idea. I just don't feel that any of the guards besides rose are worthy of a pick that high. In fact I don't feel any pg in the first round we select will have an immediate impact better then Jack and Blake. The player I would like to draft is Darrel Arthur or Nicolas Batum if we keep the 13th pick. Otherwise trade the pick for a future first rounder. Build our team through free agency and trades, rather then this weak draft class imo.

futurenba23 said...

you said that portland would draft one of the combo guards at #6, but who would be available? I think that the heat seem to like oj mayo enough to perhaps swap picks with minnesota (who would take beasley after rose goes #1) so mayo's off the board. then the sonics seem to be in love with jerryd bayless right now, so he would go #4, so the top three guards are all off the board, and i can't see portland drafting eric gordon and #6 is still pretty high for russell westbrook.

Josh Borden said...

I would love the idea of trading up...but who are we trading away(as you implied...we aren't getting a #6 pick without trading away a player or two)? As well as changing the chemistry of the team, granted Jack and Blake aren't the "in your face" productive units that other guards can be...but that isn't where our focus is, at least with Aldridge and Oden in the post...We just need a solid experience PG...we have that...just need more time to develop. I say, lets get some cash, trade down and sign a good 2nd rounder..for the future

BRoyFTW said...

Not that hard of a deal to put together but Seattle may have more to offer. Also I don't think New York is looking to trade down to get two worse prospects than they would get with the number 6 pick. I'm thinking they are willing to trade it to move up, or for a proven player in the league. This idea is just wishful thinking. It would be great if it was a really happened though.

Even if New York didn't want to make a trade with us we would have the 22nd pick and 13th to bargain with other teams. It's very possible by draft day a team with a top 10 pick may think their players stock has fallen and will swap their pick for our 13th and whatever else we can throw in. I love the NBA draft. Fun night.

Unknown said...

KP will do his homework and select the best player available. I think if all these players are broken down statistically, the BPA at 13, or 6, or where ever we might end up likely won't be a guard. Who knows, KP might like DeAndre Jordan or Anthony Randolph. The point is that everyone assumes we'll use this pick on a point guard, and I don't think that's really a valid assumption given Kevin's track record

Unknown said...

Love the trade idea with NY, but one problem... The Knicks have almost no extra roster spaces. In fact, the second round pick we traded to them last year was waived because the roster was already full. Portland would defiantly have to take a contract or two back, and given the size of the contracts of NY bad players that is a big problem.

hg said...

Any player we get would most likely sit on the bench or go to europe. I don't mind trading our draft pick but not in favor of trading players also
hg

Patrick said...

Brilliant idea trading with NY, very slim chance of it occuring but if any man can make it happen its KP.

Beyless and Mayo are gone before #6, so the best athletic guard left is Westbrook. Eric Gordon would be the consensus pick at #6 but Westbrook ticks all the boxes as far as Blazers' team needs.

In any event, this will probably be our last lottery pick in a long time, so I hope we do trade up rather than settle at #13. But if we do stick with our pick, I like Brandon Rush over Joe Alexander.

Unknown said...

Sitting at number 13 would be a great idea KP has made great decisions in the last drafts dating back to telfair. There are plenty of players in this draft who could make an impact by adding a sound athlete to the team. Joe Alexander, Deandre Jordan, Brandon Rush are all solid additions to our squad Alexander is especially intriguing adding another forward who can score and has the length to block shots and play good defense. Brandon Rush is deadly from behind the arc and another three point shooter will never hurt the team. Jordan is young 7 feet tall and extremely athletic and could add more depth with the bigs.(never can have too many shot blocking rebounding bigs) This draft is stacked with solid role players that can contribute to teams in many ways

Casey Holdahl said...

More great comments. Here's my best attempt at answers.

qpiid: I think you're right that Blake and Jack would be better than any point guard other than Rose in '08-'09, but in '09-'10? I think there are at least 4 combo guards who, with a year of NBA seasoning, have the potential to be better than Jack and Blake.

futurenba23: It's tough to say what's "too high" to draft a player you like, but I'm of the opinion that if KP likes someone, he's not going to leave acquiring that player to chance.

josh: That's certainly one way to go. I think you have to make a trade eventually if for no other reason than to maximize quality assets that might not have a chance to play, but there's a good argument to be made for sitting on this current roster as is.

broyftw: Teams trade down all the time to get worse players that they happen to prefer. Value is in the eye of the beholder, and no place is that more evident than the draft. If you think the player you like would be available at No. 13, why not trade your pick and get another pick for your trouble while also getting the player you wanted in the first place? It's a win-win.

vincent: I do think that KP will take BPA, but he hedged a little bit right after the draft, giving the impression that in the case of this draft and the current roster, BPA might not be the only factor in selecting the pick. If the BPA at No. 13 is a guy like Anthony Randolph, could you really see the Blazers taking and keeping him? They might take him, but only to move him to someone else, in my opinion.

And you have to consider just how much better the BPA is than a player still on the board. Again, take A.Randolph, and let's say DJ Augustin is still on the board. Now, maybe Randolph is deemed a better player than Augustin, but is he so much better than Augustin that you take him despite already being stocked at PF while relatively light at PG? If it's a large discrepancy, then sure, you take Randolph. But if it's pretty close?

mark: A solid point, but I would guess that NY's roster come the start of next season looks significantly different than it does now.