I mean… WOW. I am so impressed by what they’ve done over the past few years. This draft seems like the icing on the cake to push them into the playoffs, and with some experience in years to come, they will be championship contenders no doubt. First of all, this draft was amazing. They drafted Brandon Rush, which I thought was a fantastic pick. While I was watching the draft, my friend and I were discussing what a great fit Rush would be for the Blazers. Sure enough, David Stern comes out and calls the man’s name. Excellent pick by Portland. Except that, five minutes later, they turn around and trade the guy! But wait… there’s more. In doing so, they got a guy, who I think, is even a better fit for them! They traded Rush, along with Jarret Jack and Josh McRoberts for Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu. As previously documented on this blog, I think Bayless will be a very good pro. In Arizona guards we trust! Bayless should be a great backcourt mate of Brandon Roy’s for years to come, reecking havoc wherever they go.

They then drafted Darrell Arthur with #27 (via Phoenix). Not only a great value pick, but just a good pick in general. Arthur was possibly the best player on a championship team, and has an array of skills. He could have easily been a top 15 pick in this draft, and the only reason he slipped as far as he did was because of some concerns over the health of his kidneys. After nabbing Joey Dorsey in the second round (who I think will be an excellent energy and defense guy in the NBA), I was, and remain exceptionally jealous of any Portland fan. So basically these are you 2008-2009 Portland Trail Blazers as currently constructed:

PG - Steve Blake - a cheap, serviceable Guard who averaged 9/5 last year.

SG - Brandon Roy - All-star. Stud. Averaged 19/6/5 last year. 23 years old.

SF - Martell Webster- A young (21) up-and-comer. Averaged 11/4 in his 1st year as a starter

PF - LaMarcus Aldridge - Another stud. Just 22 years old. Averaged 18/8 in his 2nd year.

C - Greg Oden - We all know his story. Even if he doesn’t reach the hype… he’ll be good.

Bench:

Jerryd Bayless- Legit scoring PG, will probably be starting 20 games in, if not sooner.

Travis Outlaw - Another young (23) swingman who is interchangeable with Webster. Averaged 13/5 last year.

Channing Frye - A backup big man, just 25, averaged 7/5 in just 17 minutes last year. He can knock down shots.

Joey Dorsey- Should bring toughness. Ben Wallace type.

Darrell Arthur- 20 year old, 6′9″ PF who can shoot, score, rebound and play some defense.

Of all these players… Only Blake and Frye are older than 23. That is a 10 man rotation, not including guys like Ike Diogu and Joel Pryzbilla, who would certainly play on some NBA teams. But what makes this even more amazing is their cap situation. They only have $20 mil commited after next season, and only $7 mil commited the season after that (these numbers will be a little higher once they sign this year’s picks). Which means, in two years from now, they can be big players in free agency when some decent players will be on the market- Lebron, Dirk, Amare, Wade, Carmelo, McGrady, Bosh, Joe Johnson, just to name a few. And, they will have enough money by then to be able to figure out which of these young guys they want to keep, lock them up, and trade the others, or let them go.

This is a franchise that knows what they are doing. I am very, very impressed. And what makes it all the more impressive is that 5 years ago, 3 years ago, this franchise was an absolute mess. They were the Jail Blazers, and had no chemistry, bad contracts, and little hope for the future. They took advantage of teams like the Knicks to take bad contracts off their hands, and were patient and competent in the draft… and now here they are. I don’t see any reason why this team won’t be winning championships in 3-5 years…. if only…..

…OK, now back to crying about Gallinari.