B.Roy On The Draft: In KP He Trusts

I noticed a fanshot over at Blazer's Edge on the topic of which player Brandon Roy would like the Kevin Pritchard to draft. The rumor goes (and I'm only calling it a rumor because I didn't hear it myself) that Roy told Brian Wheeler who he'd like to see the Trail Blazers target, and that maybe it was someone in the draft. It's a story tailor made for the internet: short on facts, long on speculation.

I don't have much insight into the mind of Brandon Roy, but I can report what he has told me, which is that he doesn't have the slightest idea what Kevin Pritchard and his staff are going to do on draft night.

"I don’t have any thoughts (on the draft)!," said Roy. "I don’t know what’s going on. I know we’re picking, what, 24th? I don’t even know."

Now that's not to say Roy doesn't like particular players in this draft. As far as I know he hasn't endorsed a specific player in the draft, but he has endorse a tactic: taking the best player available.

"I know those guys will do a great job analyzing and getting the best player possible with that pick," said Roy. "We were able to get Rudy around that range, Nicolas around that range, so we’ve gotten a lot of good players in the twenties."

That's what it comes down to for Roy; getting the best player for the Portland Trail Blazers. Brandon's not a personnel guy. He's a helluva ball player, but he's not investing the time and energy trying to come up with a draft plan. And like most anyone who has followed Kevin Pritchard's tenure in Portland, Roy has faith in the management team making the right decision.

"I’m sure they’ll do a good job," said Roy, "but I don’t have any idea what they'll do."

Which means we've all got at least one thing in common with Brandon.