Blazers agree to deal with Hornets for 27th pick

[timvp]

Blazers agree to deal with Hornets for 27th pick
By Chad Ford

The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to acquire the 27th pick in the draft for cash considerations, a Blazers source told ESPN.com.

The deal was agreed to verbally between the two teams on Tuesday night, according to the source. The teams have scheduled a trade call with the league in the morning to make the deal official.

Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has been very active in the past few drafts acquiring picks. Armed with the financial might of owner Paul Allen, the Blazers acquired the 23rd pick in the draft last year and drafted Rudy Fernandez. They also used cash to acquire Sergio Rodriguez in 2006.

It's unclear who the Blazers are eyeing at No. 27. One possibility is Croatian big man Ante Tomic, who the Blazers have coveted for years.

Other potential targets are French swingman Nicolas Batum, who has slipped in the draft because of concerns about his heart, and Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/news/story?id=3459658

[timvp]

Damn, would have been nice for the Spurs to purchase that pick. At least it's behind the San Antonio because the Blazers have similar needs to the Spurs.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:pctoss

Next target: Seattle/Boston

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I thought the Blazers were loaded with picks. Why would they buy another?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

One possibility is Croatian big man Ante Tomic, who the Blazers have coveted for years.
Well at least they're gonna spend it on a project big. The last thing they need is more immediate youth.

[Guajalote]

FLUSH!

That's the sound of my prediction going down the toilet. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

[Brutalis]

You don't know NOH might have refused to deal with SA being a division rival... my thoughts are if the rumor was NOH was shopping that pick for cash that SA didn't have a chance anyhow..

[ChumpDumper]

I don't think the Spurs would care much about getting a worse first rounder than they already have.

[Pistons < Spurs]

wow... I really thought we'd see NO get a replacement/backup for MoPete and Rasual Butler with that pick.

[Blackjack]

Could mean the 13th pick is getting packaged in a trade and they didn't want to miss out on a 1st rd. pick this year.

I heard Barbosa was a possibility, but there's been a couple of different rumors.

[timvp]

Well, at least Holt refused the urge to put $3M in his pocket.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Well, at least Holt refused the urge to put $3M in his pocket.

That's true.

[ChumpDumper]

Next year is when the Spurs should be buying picks outright.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I thought the Blazers said they wanted to trade their picks, not get more?

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[T Park]

Well, at least Holt refused the urge to put $3M in his pocket.


Its not thursday yet.

[ChumpDumper]

Blazers are probably not done dealing. It's slightly early for this to be the only trade.

[tlongII]

I thought the Blazers were loaded with picks. Why would they buy another?

They are obviously getting set to make more deals. I love Pritchard! He goes NUTS on draft day! :lol

[SequSpur]

Great...other teams are making deals to get better and the RC and Pop are still in Israel.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I thought the Blazers said they wanted to trade their picks, not get more?

This move isn't the end game. More deals are coming.

[wildbill2u]

Great...other teams are making deals to get better and the RC and Pop are still in Israel.

Are they checking out Caspi? I hadn't heard they were in Israel.

[angelbelow]

this really sucks...

its true, the hornets might not want to deal with the spurs, but arent the blazers viewed as an up and coming threat? wouldnt it be worst to deal with them since the hornets are a young team as well? so many questions...

[T Park]

Are they checking out Caspi? I hadn't heard they were in Israel.

They arent I don't think.

Ignore him.

[Bartleby]

I'm sure both Pritchard and Presti will be sitting pretty at the end of draft night.

[bigdog]

It's just the start of the dealing for Portland.

Pritchard is a badass, Presti is a badass, and RC is a puss. I hope he has enough pressure on him that he does something meaningful in this draft.

Anyways, I don't see Portland keep all of their picks. I think 13 will be going to PHO for Barbosa, so that's the reason for the trade with New Orleans.

[ChumpDumper]

spurfans are spoiled stupid

[anakha]

spurfans are spoiled stupid

You're assuming that those spurfans were smart to begin with. :lol

[bigdog]

I don't think I'm spoiled. I know our FO can do an excellent job, but have just had way too much pride on their international scouting after they hit the jackpot when they got Tony and Manu. They got a little excited and kept doing it. Now after the Scola trade and the raping that Splitter gave them, it should be a reality check for them, and I think they'll do a good job.

[DannyT]

I don't think the Spurs would care much about getting a worse first rounder than they already have.

yeah but they could have also been calling it an early second rounder

[ChumpDumper]

Spurs don't need four picks this summer.

Three is a pretty big stretch, in fact.

[NicolasBatum]

Oden + Fernandez + 13, 33, 36, 55 and now 27 ???????

Crazy rookie team

[angelbelow]

too many players undercontract, theres a deal in the making.

[Spurtacus]

Whew. At least this means they likely won't get CDR.

[kobyz]

why the Hornets do it? for a couple of dollars!!?!?!

[Harry Callahan]

It's just the start of the dealing for Portland.

Pritchard is a badass, Presti is a badass, and RC is a puss. I hope he has enough pressure on him that he does something meaningful in this draft.

Anyways, I don't see Portland keep all of their picks. I think 13 will be going to PHO for Barbosa, so that's the reason for the trade with New Orleans.

For the morons on this board,
Paul Allen owns the Blazers (co-founder of Microsoft) - one of the wealthiest people in the U.S., not to mention the world. $3MM to him is like us throwing a bigger than usual tip in the jar at Starbucks. You can be so called "badass" when your owner can buy anything you want. RC does not have anything near to that kind of financial flexibility, nor does anyone else in the NBA.

BTW, don't forget Presti did trade away Ray Allen for a rookie player. Remember him? The guy who set the record for 3 pointers made in a finals series?

The owner of the Hornets, George Shinn, is a bad owner and is a cheapskate. I guess the Hornets think they have arrived. Wrong.

[Bruno]

It's quite surprising to see Blazers getting another pick. Getting the 27th pick when you still have the 33rd ad the 36th ones is quite strange.

It's also noteworthy that teams with pick between 27th and 30th (Hornets, Grizzlies, Pistons, and Celtics) are said to be interested in trading their picks.
This draft isn't just that deep which will make harder for Spurs to get a quality player at #26.

[Marcus Bryant]

spurfans are spoiled stupid

Agreed.

[Marcus Bryant]

I don't think I'm spoiled. I know our FO can do an excellent job, but have just had way too much pride on their international scouting after they hit the jackpot when they got Tony and Manu. They got a little excited and kept doing it. Now after the Scola trade and the raping that Splitter gave them, it should be a reality check for them, and I think they'll do a good job.

All low 1st and 2nd round picks. The Spurs were only able to land Scola and Splitter's rights due to their contract situations. They took a gamble on landing lottery talent with low picks. How many low 1st and 2nd round picks turn into stars?

So basically the Spurs set the bar high with the Ginobili and Parker picks. Spurs fans are spoiled stupid.

[Marcus Bryant]

It's quite surprising to see Blazers getting another pick. Getting the 27th pick when you still have the 33rd ad the 36th ones is quite strange.

It's also noteworthy that teams with pick between 27th and 30th (Hornets, Grizzlies, Pistons, and Celtics) are said to be interested in trading their picks.
This draft isn't just that deep which will make harder for Spurs to get a quality player at #26.

...and if the Spurs trade up the minimum price is likely greater than $3 mil.

[SenorSpur]

It's just the start of the dealing for Portland.

Pritchard is a badass, Presti is a badass, and RC is a puss. I hope he has enough pressure on him that he does something meaningful in this draft.

Anyways, I don't see Portland keep all of their picks. I think 13 will be going to PHO for Barbosa, so that's the reason for the trade with New Orleans.

It's clear that RC is still living off his reputation for finding Parker and Manu. Now that all NBA GMs are delving deep into the international market, there are few "gems" that are unknown. RC would be a "badass" if he was as adept and dedicated toward scouting, finding and developing domestic talent, as he HAD been in doing so in the international market. For all of our sakes, I trust he will redeem himself starting this draft.

[Marcus Bryant]

If you don't know why Portland and Seattle can make these moves and the Spurs cannot you need to go back to the sandbox (http://spursreport.com/).

[DANILO DRASKOVIC]

WTF Jeff Bower?
I was expecting the hornets to get a shooter and slasher like CDR

[TheProfessor]

spurfans are spoiled stupid
You get the feeling some would be far happier as a lottery team with tons of stockpiled assets.

[tav1]

I've been advocating the Spurs coming out of this draft with two players, both selected in the 20s. I like the value there. But the Blazers just made that more difficult. But we've know for a few days that the Hornets, Grizzlies, Pistons, and Celtics selections could be purchased. I'd just assume see the Spurs trade their two seconds for something at the top of the second or end of the first. We don't have the roster spots available and the talent isnt there in the mid to late second.

Pritchard is to commended, though. He doesn't screw around. It's like a fantasy league for him. I think he'll either package the 13 and 27 for a pick around 7, 8, or 9 for Joe Alexander or he'll select Tomic at 27.

[Russ]

There is another rumor that Miami will trade Shawn Marion to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Luke Walton. :bang

[leemajors]

There is another rumor that Miami will trade Shawn Marion to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Luke Walton. :bang

Odom is much more of a matchup problem than Marion, at least for us.

[tav1]

Odom is much more of a matchup problem than Marion, at least for us.

Agreed.

[Kindergarten Cop]

There is another rumor that Miami will trade Shawn Marion to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Luke Walton. :bang

Why would the Heat do that?

I read that same rumor from the Miami Herald, but it was from an unnamed GM from a different team that went like this "One GM said if he were the Lakers, he would make a Lamar Odom-for-Marion swap."

[Marcus Bryant]

You get the feeling some would be far happier as a lottery team with tons of stockpiled assets.

:tu

Exactly. If the Spurs put Ginobili and Parker on the market they probably could come back with a bunch of picks. I'm sure Holt Cat wouldn't fire RC then....

[DannyT]

Spurs don't need four picks this summer.

Three is a pretty big stretch, in fact.

you can never have too many picks to trade remember that

[ChumpDumper]

you can never have too many picks to trade remember thatFor what?

[spurscenter]

damn picks for sale?

whats next?

[Marcus Bryant]

Apparently the Spurs intend to use their #26 or keep it for a trade.

[T Park]

package the 26 with Bonner and see if that gets ya anything.

Outside of that, I don't see any reason to NOT keep the pick.

[misterx91578]

The Blazers are in negotiations with the Nets in order to acquire the No. 10 pick in the draft, which they would presumably use on point guard D.J. Augustin.
The Blazers would send picks No. 13 and 33 to the Nets, along with PG Jarrett Jack

[T Park]

13 33 and Jarret Jack for the 10?

Hmm.

Nice deal for both.

[exstatic]

There is another rumor that Miami will trade Shawn Marion to the Lakers for Lamar Odom and Luke Walton. :bang

One choker for two.

[DPG21920]

This is interesting. I wonder if the Portland might try and trade the #13, #27 and a combination of Martell Webster/Outlaw and Jared Jack to the Bulls for the #1 and get the point guard they desperately need?

[T Park]

Sweet, Marion for the Lakers would be as good as any player the Spurs could get in the offseason.

[jack sommerset]

I love how so many people think Bonner is worth anything....... I mean anything.

[dbestpro]

Feerless prediction. The Spurs will give away there number 1 to anyone who will take Bonner's contract.

[Bruno]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/062608dnspomavslede.42e8c8a.html


It is possible that the only way the Mavericks will get into the first round is by buying their way in, which could cost up to $3 million. There were indications late Wednesday that Memphis was willing to deal its second pick, the 28th overall, for the right price.

So the 28th pick is up to sale.
I heard a rumor that Lakers will buy it for $2 . ;)

[DAINTX]

For the morons on this board,
Paul Allen owns the Blazers (co-founder of Microsoft) - one of the wealthiest people in the U.S., not to mention the world. $3MM to him is like us throwing a bigger than usual tip in the jar at Starbucks. You can be so called "badass" when your owner can buy anything you want. RC does not have anything near to that kind of financial flexibility, nor does anyone else in the NBA.

BTW, don't forget Presti did trade away Ray Allen for a rookie player. Remember him? The guy who set the record for 3 pointers made in a finals series?

The owner of the Hornets, George Shinn, is a bad owner and is a cheapskate. I guess the Hornets think they have arrived. Wrong.


Theoretically, Paul Allen could buy every NBA team at their Forbes market value...approximately $9.5 - $10 Billion total, and still have approximately $10 Billion left over (Forbes puts his total wealth at about $21 Billion). So he could buy every team and still have far more money than any current owner or ownership group. So a load of luxury tax is a very small matter to him. But at the same time, he's probably enough of a business man that just flat-out wasting money is not something he's interested in either.