Once again the NBA franchise from Portland is blazing new trails, but this time it's a little different. Instead of charging for the title they are going down a path they have never ventured, the NBA Lottery. A team only qualifies by ,missing the playoffs, something Portland hadn't done in 22 years, the actual lottery has been around for 20 years.
The lottery was held on May 26th and as expected Portland didn't land one of the top 3 picks in the draft (they had less than 2% of a chance) and will pick 13th in this years draft. In addition Portland will also be selecting the 23rd pick after acquiring it from Memphis in the Bonzi Wells trade.
Now before we get ahead of ourselves and start thinking that 2 first round draft picks can instantly help the Blazers, let's take a look at the players taken at #13 and #23 from each of the past 5 Drafts:
- 1999: #13 Corey Maggette, #23 Devean George
- 2000: #13 Courtney Alexander, #23 Deshawn Stevenson
- 2001: #13 Richard Jefferson, #23 Brandon Armstrong
- 2002: #13 Marcus Haislip, #23 Tayshaun Prince
- 2003: #13 Marcus Banks, #23 Travis Outlaw
All in all you have about 4 solid players, 3 decent role players and 3 guys who need more time to prove their worth. So realisticlly those 2 picks should yield relatively good players should the Blazers play their cards right.
The Blazers are in a fairly unique position having made several changes in their roster, which affords them a good blend of youth and experience. As a team that played around .600 basketball after the all-star break they do look to be a better team next season without making any changes. This in a way affords them the opportunity to gamble on young potential that they can spend some time developing if need be.
This years draft features more High School players likely to be first round picks than ever (8). There are also somewhere between 6 and 9 foreign players likely to be selected in the first round. This years draft could become known as the Year of the Big and Little with 7 point guards and as many as 9 centers, many in the 7'3" range, possibly being drafted in the 1st round.
The 2004 NBA draft is extremely difficult to forecast at this point as there are at least half a dozen potential 1st round caliber prospects who, based on their feelings of where they may be selected, may withdraw prior to the draft. Players like Tiago Splitter, Kosta Perovic and High School phenomenon LaMarcus Aldridge are likely to pull out before the draft.
There is another variable that may shake things up. The Rumor mill is really starting to tremor, with indication that any of the teams holding the top 5 picks may be looking to move down in order to target a player that they want a little further down the draft as well as other commodities.
I really expect the Clippers will trade down perhaps swapping the #2 pick for Atlanta's #6 and #17 picks. Another pick that is drawing interest is the 3rd overall pick held by Chicago. The two teams apparently most interested are the Indiana Pacers and our own Portland Trailblazers. Things change daily but with that being said lets roll into my 2004 Mock Draft the way I see it with 2 weeks until the draft.
- Orlando Magic: Emeka Okafor 6'9" PF UCONN Sr.
(Photo)
- L.A. Clippers: Dwight Howard 6'10" PF GA HS Sr
- Chicago Bulls: Luol Deng 6'8" SF Duke Fr
- Charlotte Bobcats: Ben Gordon 6'2" PG UCONN Jr
- Washington Wizards: Andris Biendrin 6'11" C/PF Latvia
- Atlanta Hawks: Shawn Livingston 6'7" PG IL HS Sr
- Phoenix Suns: Andre Igoudala 6'6" SG/SF Arizona So
- Toronto Raptors: Devin Harris 6'3" PG Wisconsin Jr
- Philadelphia 76ers: Josh Smith 6'8" SF GA HS Sr
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Josh Childress 6'7" SG/SF Stanford Jr
- Golden State Warriors: Pavel Podkolzine 7'3" C Russia
- Seattle Supersonics: Rafael Araujo 6'11" C BYU Sr
- Portland Trail Blazers: Kirk Snyder 6'6" SG Nevada Jr
(Photo)
- Utah Jazz: Peter John Ramos 7'4" C Puerto Rico
- Boston Celtics: Al Jefferson 6'9" PF MS HS Sr
- Utah Jazz: Sergei Monya 6'7" SG Russia
- Atlanta Hawks: Kris Humphries 6'8" PF Minnesota Fr
- New Orleans Hornets: Luke Jackson 6'7" SG/SF Oregon Sr
- Miami Heat: Predrag Samadziski 7' C Maced
- Denver Nuggets: Dorrel Wright 6'7" SG/SF CA HS Sr
- Utah Jazz: Robert Swift 7' C CA HS Sr
- New Jersey Nets: Jameer Nelson 6' PG St. Joe's Sr
- Portland Trailblazers: Sebastian Telfair 5'11" PG NY HS Sr
(Photo)
- Boston Celtics: David Harrison 7' C Colorado Sr
- Boston Celtics: J.R. Smith 6'5" SG NJ HS Sr
- Sacramento Kings: Anderson Varejo 6'10" PF Brazil
- L.A. Lakers: Sasha Vujacic 6'7" PG/SG Slovakia
- San Antonio Spurs: Victor Khyrapa 6'8" SF Russia
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Forfeit (Joe Smith signing violation)
- Indiana Pacers: Roko-Leni Ukic 6'5" PG Croatia
There you have it, so count the days check the blogs and get ready to head to the draft party. Let's see what happens. One thing is for certain, this will be an exciting draft day for our Blazers.
