July 13, 2005

Erik Lyslo
Blazers.com staff writer

Well it's official. John Nash and crew picked the right guy for the Trail Blazers future Tuesday when they selected the very young Martell Webster with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft.

Excited and relieved are the two words that come to mind at this point.

Excited because at 6'7 and 230 pounds, this kid has an NBA body right now. He's won't need to gain the NBA weight so many young players need.

Excited because he will play the shooting guard spot and he can actually shoot. When was the last time the Trail Blazers had a pure shooter in the backcourt? For as good as Clyde Drexler was, he never was a true shooter.

Relieved because you just had this scary feeling Nash and crew would draft Chris Paul, the little point guard from Georgia Tech. He very well could be a better ball player than Webster down the line, but you've already committed your lottery pick a year ago to Sebastian Telfair. The Trail Blazers picked a player at a spot they needed to fill.

Relieved because Portland made the smart choice and traded the third pick to Utah for two first round picks while still getting the guy you wanted at pick number six. You have to give Nash some credit for this one. The second pick was eventually traded to Denver along with the 35th pick for Jarrett Jack, the back-up point guard Portland needed. Jack reminds me a lot of Bobby Jackson and Chauncey Billups and Telfair needs somebody to push him in training camp. Nash knew this and he got two good young players for the price of one pick.

So now what? Yes, this is always the million dollar question once the draft is complete. What other needs does a team need to be competitive next season? Its clear Portland still has needs to fill and again the two-guard position is the number one priority. If not by trade, Nash will attempt to sign a veteran player who can come in and teach these young guys how to play. I'm well aware Derek Anderson is on the roster, but it's safe to say his days in Portland are numbered. The hard part will be trying to find a team to take him.

The other weakness will be the power forward position. Nobody is saying it, but I'm still a little worried about Zach Randolph and this surgically repaired knee. The type of surgery Randolph had is very difficult to come back from and in some cases creates pain in the knee that will never go away. Chris Webber has never been the same since this surgery. Jamal Mashburn can't even get on a basketball floor anymore and Jason Kidd wasn't the same player when we came back from it.

This makes the need for a back-up power forward key. I honestly believe Shareef Abdur-Rahim won't be back next season. He finally has a chance to pick and choose where he wants to play, and being that he's never been in the playoffs, he'll find a place that makes frequent stops in the postseason. I know he likes Cleveland and I know Minnesota has talked about getting him for the last year. Don't plan on him being back.

On an interesting side note, and from the words of free agent to-be Brian Grant last season after a game in Portland, "I would love to finish my career in Portland. When I feel I'm close to the end of my career, I would sign a contract with Portland and finish my career here." I'm sure Portland fans would love to see Brian Grant back in Portland, but with his history of injuries, who knows?

Either way, Nash and the Trail Blazers still have many options to work with. Remember, Nick Van Exel and his $14 million dollar contract is still being dangled out there to any suitor. There are a lot of teams who would love to have $14 million off the books at the end of the season and that type of money could land the Trail Blazers a good player.

Nash and the Trail Blazers still have Abdur-Rahim and his contract as well. Sign and trade deals are made all the time and Nash will hopefully use that option to gain a good player. Do you really want to let Abdur-Rahim walk and essentially get nothing in return for trading Rasheed Wallace?

And let's not forget about Damon Stoudamire. Again, a sign and trade deal could land the player the Trail Blazers are looking for. Don't be surprised if Ruben Patterson and/or Derek Anderson aren't packaged together somewhere in a deal either. Patterson has already said he wants out and Anderson is a walking soap opera.

Bottom line, we've talked about all this player movement and the Trail Blazers are still coach less. Paul Allen himself said they hope to have a coach within the next few weeks. For all those who think Terry Porter would be a good fit, you're wrong. Porter was a great player, but he's not a great coach yet. If the idea is to bring in somebody with experience and discipline, Porter is no different than Maurice Cheeks. I'm still hoping they bring somebody in who has experience coaching in the league and who will get these guys to buy into a consistent system. Again, I'm still glad I'm not in John Nash's shoes, but as always, he will make it entertaining.