Portland Trail Blazers - Draft Day Preview Team Needs: Experience and a point guard. 2008 Draft Picks: #13, First Round – Right now the possibilities are endless surrounding the Blazers selection – draft a player, keep the selection, or trade the pick - even GM Kevin Pritchard has said as much. "We're going to explore all of those options. We'll explore trading it (the 13th pick) and see what it brings - evaluate that instead of the actual pick itself - so we are going to look at every option we possibly can." Knowing this, it's hard to speculate what Portland will do come draft day. Where do you begin? By making guesses on who the Blazers will draft (keep a point guard in mind – Texas' D.J. Augustin or UCLA's Russell Westbrook could be available) or who they will wheel and deal with (Toronto has a couple point guards to make decisions about in T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon, and there are those Kirk Hinrich rumors floating around, too). Either way, expect Portland to be busy with the 13th pick. #33, Second Round – Portland heads into the second round with three picks – 33, 36, and the 55 overall picks. Will the Blazers look to package these picks as well? Don't put it past Pritchard, who has initiated nine draft day trades over the last two years. He likes having the picks available to use as leverage, but it's not likely Portland will have room to add four new players so management is going to have to make some decisions. If the Blazers do draft a player, look for Pritchard to bolster the Blazers backcourt with some more athleticism. Mario Chalmers, a junior point guard from Kansas, is a shooter and if he slips into the second round, he may not last past the 33rd pick. #36, Second Round – This is where it gets kid of tricky. Portland could use a true scrappy post player of the bench, one you don't have to run plays for. If that player exists – and is available in the middle-second round, Portland should snag him – D.J. White, an 6-8 power forward and senior from Indiana fits the mold. But will the Blazers keep the pick is the real question? Portland is all about making moves. And if they are going to take a risk, it's better to do itwith a long shot second round selection they found at Pre-Draft Camp than not at all. #55, Second Round – Yet another second rounder Portland will have the option to use as a piece in a bigger move. Trade Probability Factor: High – Even before the lottery balls dropped through the hopper, the Blazers were rumored to have a couple players on the market – namely Jarrett Jack. It's no secret Portland is eager to acquire a consistent playmaking point guard, and considering Jack hasn't flourished in that role since being in Portland the Blazers may try and move him. They may have to include the 13th overall pick, another roster player (read Martell Wester, Channing Frye, or Sergio Rodriguez), or a couple second rounders to get what they need: experience and a one-in-all point guard, but Portland hasn't ruled out dabbling in free-agency either. Regardless if it is on draft night or the coming offseason months, expect Portland to be active in trade talks. http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=8891 --

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