<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to acquire the 27th pick in the draft for cash considerations, a Blazers source told ESPN.com. The deal was agreed to verbally between the two teams on Tuesday night, according to the source. The teams have scheduled a trade call with the league in the morning to make the deal official. Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has been very active in the past few drafts acquiring picks. Armed with the financial might of owner Paul Allen, the Blazers acquired the 23rd pick in the draft last year and drafted Rudy Fernandez. They also used cash to acquire Sergio Rodriguez in 2006. It's unclear who the Blazers are eyeing at No. 27. One possibility is Croatian big man Ante Tomic, who the Blazers have coveted for years. Other potential targets are French swingman Nicolas Batum, who has slipped in the draft because of concerns about his heart, and Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts.</div> ESPN
Portland doesn't have roster space for all of the draft picks we have now. So what do we do? Get another pick! I have to think a trade to move up is coming.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gambitnut @ Jun 24 2008, 10:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Portland doesn't have roster space for all of the draft picks we have now. So what do we do? Get another pick! I have to think a trade to move up is coming.</div> Like the article mentioned, they've targeted Ante Tomic for a while, a player they can stash overseas. I guess the question now is, would Tomic come over to the NBA whenever they'd try to bring him over? He'd probably be offered more money in Europe than a rookie in the NBA can make on the #27 base scale. That's an increasing problem for internationals drafted in the late first, where the contracts are fixed and low paying.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Voodoo Child @ Jun 24 2008, 09:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gambitnut @ Jun 24 2008, 10:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Portland doesn't have roster space for all of the draft picks we have now. So what do we do? Get another pick! I have to think a trade to move up is coming.</div> Like the article mentioned, they've targeted Ante Tomic for a while, a player they can stash overseas. I guess the question now is, would Tomic come over to the NBA whenever they'd try to bring him over? He'd probably be offered more money in Europe than a rookie in the NBA can make on the #27 base scale. That's an increasing problem for internationals drafted in the late first, where the contracts are fixed and low paying. </div> That's the other thing I was wondering about. With the current European contracts and the problems some NBA teams have had convincing late first round draft picks to come over to the NBA, I was thinking that they could have just taken a chance on him falling to 33, or try to trade 33 and 55 for 31.
I have also seen Batum fall into the second round since he starting pulling out of workouts due to a heart problem.
I think Batum would be a good pick for the Blazers. Even though he's pulled out of workouts, he's got good skill.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gambitnut @ Jun 24 2008, 11:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Voodoo Child @ Jun 24 2008, 09:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gambitnut @ Jun 24 2008, 10:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Portland doesn't have roster space for all of the draft picks we have now. So what do we do? Get another pick! I have to think a trade to move up is coming.</div> Like the article mentioned, they've targeted Ante Tomic for a while, a player they can stash overseas. I guess the question now is, would Tomic come over to the NBA whenever they'd try to bring him over? He'd probably be offered more money in Europe than a rookie in the NBA can make on the #27 base scale. That's an increasing problem for internationals drafted in the late first, where the contracts are fixed and low paying. </div> That's the other thing I was wondering about. With the current European contracts and the problems some NBA teams have had convincing late first round draft picks to come over to the NBA, I was thinking that they could have just taken a chance on him falling to 33, or try to trade 33 and 55 for 31. </div> Yeah, who knows what they're up to, but I'm sure it's something good. I mean, this was basically a free pick for the Blazers. Maybe they're planning on trading their #13 but have players in the mid-first round area they like and think might slip.
