Obviously, There Are More Moves Coming

Nobody will be able to convince me that Portland got as much value for Zbo as they could have.

Of course, I seem to be the only person who thinks Golden State got ripped off by sending Richardson to Charlotte for a #9 draft pick – so what do I know.

Back to Portland for a moment. Clearly, there are more moves coming, and the if the Zbo deal was made to make room for another deal that was already in place, then I reserve the right to re-evaluate it. Pritchard said in the press conference last night that “we have used this draft to acquire other pieces in a trade we can’t talk about yet because of the league requirements, and we feel like we have the “3” position locked down for next year.” So there’s more to come and we can all calm down a little bit. (“we” means “me”, for the record, since I seem to be in the minority amongst folks railing against the Zbo trade.)

I’m hearing that Portland didn’t get James Jones for "cash", but that he was a part of the deal for the #24 pick. And for the record , I really like the McRoberts pick. I don’t see him getting much burn behind Aldridge or Frye, but I do think he can be a decent backup PF – in the mold of a pooer man’s Shane Battier – okay, a homeless man’s – and getting him in the second round is a great spot.

So let’s talk about the new depth chart. Who's our backup shooting guard right now? Because Martell was pretty much playing "3" last year exclusively. I’m guessing they're going to try to turn him back into our backup 2. Maybe Steve Francis? I guess...but he's too small (even though his game is more like a 2 than a 1) and I think we all sort of know that he won’t be playing a single game for Portland this year.

Here’s the new depth chart, not including Koppen or Fernandez (staying in europe) or Nichols (part of Zbo deal):

PG: Francis, Jack, Rodriguez, T. Green
SG: Roy, (empty)
SF: Jones, Webster
PF: Aldridge, Frye, McRoberts
C: Oden, Pryzbilla, LaFrentz

I bet Taurean Green goes to the NBDL, even with a potential Francis buyout.

Thank god we have four points guards, six frontcourt players, one SG, and not a single starter-caliber SF. Obviously there are more moves coming.

Update, 10:14 am:

Following is a transcript of that portion of last night's press conference, as best I can understand it:

KP: “I can’t talk about it right now, but we’ve added some pieces in this draft through trade, and we feel like we’ve got that three position solid.”

(Are there other deals in the works right now?)

“Just the mechanics of it, that the league has to process, we can’t talk about them.”

(Does that mean there are other possible trades in the works right now?)

“Yes”

(Outside of the New York trade?)

“Yes”

(What’s the timetable for when it can be announced?)

“It’s one that’s not going to get processed tomorrow or in the next couple days, it’s going to take a week or so.”

(You’re saying it involves a small forward?)

“I am.”

(Can you explain the difference between the trades that can be announced today and the trades that can’t?)

Pritchard then turned it over to Asst GM Tom Penn: “We have to formally finish the New York trade before we can formally do another trade.”

(Is it a sign-and-trade?)

“No.”

Wow. You can bet we'll do everythign we can to try and figure out what this other deal for a SF is.