Nate McMillan sat at the dais looking straight ahead, at times barely nodding or blinking as Kevin Pritchard discussed his draft decisions in what can be aptly described by some as an uneventful draft night for the Portland Trail Blazers. Needless to say, it was exhausting. "It's been a long couple of days," Nate McMillan said, drained from pre-draft workouts and the evaluation process. "I found myself not sleeping the last few days – you know, waking up at 4 o'clock in the morning and just going and going to bed late and just thinking about scenarios and what we want to do." It was merely minutes after the 2009 NBA Draft, a chance for management to address the confused expressions that faced them in a late night press conference at the Blazers practice facility. And after all the speculation that Portland would drop a draft day bomb, the selections of Victor Claver (22), Jeff Pendergraph (31), Dante Cunningham (33), and Patrick Mills (55) were a bit of a dud to the naysayers. The Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas trade rumor came and went with no avail. Portland chased Tyler Hansbrough (13 overall to Indiana) but couldn't catch up to him as he went just after the lottery. Yet it was addition by subtraction, as disgruntled reserve point guard Sergio Rodriguez (along with cash considerations) was shipped to Sacramento for the 31st pick. "Sometimes my eagerness needs to be controlled," Pritchard admitted. "The things we thought would happen, happened. Usually there is more audible calling. But we feel really good about what we did today." What Portland did was got younger. Four times. While Pendergraph, Cunningham and Mills will all compete for roster spots at the Las Vegas Summer League, Pritchard said Claver would remain overseas "for a couple of years", despite being someone the Blazers have targeted for the last two years and are apparently high on. But even as both Pritchard and McMillan applauded the "toughness" Pendergraph and Cunningham bring to the roster – and if Mills makes the roster coming out of summer league – the attention now returns to the open market. Will free agency help close the doors that were left open from the draft? That will depend on what the cap number will be set at, a figure which should be announced on July 7. It will determine just how much shopping Portland can do. "We're going to be active in free agency," Pritchard continued. "There is no doubt about it. We want to add the right pieces. We've talked about it and want to target some guys and will talk to some people and we're going to try and help our team with free agents. But we do feel that we helped ourselves today." If Thursday's draft provided help, this summer and free agency could be Portland's saving grace. Free agents with lengthy experience actually. "We need veterans. I know that," confessed Pritchard. Even still, Portland remains in the hunt for a backup power forward to LaMarcus Aldridge, and will also need to make a decision on what to do at point guard – with the likes of Jason Kidd, Andre Miller and Steve Nash being floated around in trade rumors and signings. McMillan said Bayless will "slide into that role" once filled by the departed Rodriguez, but speculation is on-going as to what the real plan is at the point. Reports also continue to surface that Travis Outlaw remains expendable. So look for him to draw interest from around the league as the offseason rolls on. It's certainly a tiring process Portland will undergo this offseason – trying to tighten-up the pieces of their puzzle. That's for sure. Hopefully, it will not be as tiring as Thursday night. http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13098 --

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