June 7th Quick Chat

1. Orlando pre-draft camp:  “Highlight of the week was getting to see Durant and Oden work out in drills.  Oden was very, very impressive.  Portland fans will notice right away his ballhandling skills...footwork...and explosion to the basket, are all exceptional for a big man.”
2. “Durant...just didn’t look all that interested...just kind of went through the motions and didn’t take it as seriously as Oden.”
3. “I would put all my money on the Blazers picking Greg Oden in this draft...99.99%.”
4. “It’s very interesting how many point guards the Blazers are bringing in.  14 or 15; by far the most of any position.  This makes me think that Portland is looking for help at the Point Guard position this offseason.  I don’t know that this seals the deal that Jarrett Jack will be traded...”
5. “While the Blazers like him (Jack) and were satisfied with the job he did, I think there are questions regarding whether Jarrett Jack is a starting point guard in the NBA for a playoff-caliber team.”
6. “I think you can take Rashard Lewis off of your wish list.”  (He has decided he wants to go to Orlando.)
7. “Two western conference teams have offered their superstars for the number 1 pick.  And they are hall of famers.  And the Blazers have turned them both down.”  (Note from moderator: speculation here...could it be Seattle (Ray Allen), Denver (Allan Iverson) or Minnesota (Kevin Garnett)?)
8. Any further Aaron Brooks thoughts?  “I think he’s probably going to be an early-to-mid second rounder.  He’s awfully small but awfully quick, and he’s got great leaps...I was impressed mostly with his defense in Orlando.”
9. “I don’t know what’s going on with Travis right now.”  How does he think the small forward situation shakes out?  “I think the team views travis as a power forward.”
10. “I really think Houston is looking to trade Shane Battier...and at one point was looking at a Jarrett Jack/Travis Outlaw deal....they were considering Travis and Jarrett for Shane Battier...their next option was Jarrett and Martell for Battier...I think those trade talks were quickly swept by but they were brought up by the Rockets when talking about Portland.”
11. They may have Greg Oden on the chat next Thursday.