<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If the Blazers wind up with the first pick, they would have a hard time passing on Utah center Andrew Bogut. ?He?ll be a 15-year player in the NBA if he stays healthy,? Nash predicts. But the Blazers, well-stocked at center with veterans Theo Ratliff and Joel Przybilla, might elect to trade Bogut for a lesser pick and a veteran. ?The pick has greater value as an asset that way,? Nash says. If Portland decides to pick a shooting guard, the top three prospects are Rashad McCants, a 6-5, 205-pound junior from North Carolina; Martell Webster, a 6-6, 225-pound high school senior at Seattle Prep; and Rudy Fernandez, a 6-5, 185-pound 19-year-old from Spain. Recent mock drafts have McCants going somewhere between the 11th and 17th picks, Webster between the ninth and 18th picks and Fernandez between 13th and 26th picks. What it means is if the Blazers opt to take a shooting guard in the draft, they?ll likely deal down to take him. Gerald Green, a 6-8, 195-pound swing man from Gulf Shores (Tex.) Academy, is one player assigned to Portland in a mock draft. Nash says he considers Green more of a small forward than a shooting guard. ? Portland has had 15 players in for personal workouts at its Tualatin training facility, including forwards Wayne Simien of Kansas, Hakim Warrick of Syracuse and David Lucas of Oregon State. But the Blazers are looking at those players as candidates for their second-round pick, the 35th overall selection. ? Blazer scouts John Gabriel, Jason Filippi, Mike Born and Chad Buchanan kick into extra gear evaluating draft talent over the next month. ? The Akron Beacon Journal reported Portland has offered Flip Saunders a $40 million, five-year contract. Would owner Paul Allen pay his new coach $8 million a season? ?Whatever it takes to get the right guy, we would probably do,? Nash says.</div> Source
