| Is Portland In The Green? Authored by Billy Ray - June 12, 2005 - 11:50 am
With the third pick in the NBA Draft the player that seems to make the most sense is Gerald Green, but that does not mean anything in the wild world of the NBA.
Gerald Green a 6’8” shooting guard and small forward fresh out of his senior year at high school is listed by many as one of the top prospects in the draft. In a draft that does not sport a high volume of quality shooters, Green is considered the best in the draft.
One of the glaring weaknesses of the 2004-2005 Trail Blazers was a lack of consistent shooting. Portland’s top three shooters: Damon Stoudamire, Nick Van Exel and Derek Anderson all went through slumps for large portions of the season. As the season wound down and Stoudamire finally found his touch Van Exel had been placed on the injured list permanently and Anderson floated back and forth between the 12th spot on the bench and the injured list.
So it would make sense to pick the top prospect at a position that is the biggest area of need for the Trail Blazers, right?
Not necessarily.
With less than a month to go before the draft, there is still a lot of uncertainty about where the top prospects will land. The consensus is that the top two players in the draft are center Andrew Bogut from Utah and forward Marvin Williams Jr. from the University of North Carolina. After the top two there are varying opinions about how the rest of the draft should shake out.
Chris Paul is one player that is expected to draw a lot of interest leading up to the draft. At 6’1” in shoes Paul is also a point guard—possibly the area of the least need for the Trail Blazers who just spent the first lottery pick in franchise history on high school phenom Sebastian Telfair.
Paul though is considered to be further along in many aspects of his game than Telfair. There have been comparisons to Jason Kidd, and some have said Paul is one of the best prospects to come out of the draft in years. It’s this promise that has the Hawks debating whether to take Williams or Paul at the second pick. If the Hawks elect to select Paul, the Blazers will almost assuredly snap up Williams. If the Hawks elect for Williams, the Blazers could find themselves in an interesting situation.
Green meets the need, but Paul will most likely be the best player available. Taking Green fills a need but puts the Blazers at risk of having egg on their faces if Paul turns into the better player. Picking Paul means the Blazers either have a trade in place, or will be anticipating a position battle through the beginning of the following season and possibly to the trade deadline.
Of course, the possibilities of a smoke screen are very good. Williams has long been rumored to be a target of Portland. Williams fits in as a small forward right away with the potential to supplant Zach Randolph at the power forward spot. Travis Outlaw would most likely be moved to shooting guard—a position that he admitted suits him better.
Despite the fact that Green may fit the need and all signs seem to point to him becoming a Trail Blazer there aren’t any guarantees. With smoke screens, agent dealings, work out schedules, and the new not-so-secret draft system there is no telling what will actually happen. |
