Blazers

Arun Sharma · Jan 27, 2011

Am watching Von wafer

wakawakka · Jan 27, 2011

Did anyone hear the commentator for this game say that Houston is definitely in the playoff hunt now that AB is back and playing so well?

W22_STREAK · Jan 27, 2011

it is soooooo under the radar that batum was a draft pick of the rockets once...

no one seems to know that fact

Arun Sharma · Jan 28, 2011

wakawakka said:

Did anyone hear the commentator for this game say that Houston is definitely in the playoff hunt now that AB is back and playing so well?
Click to expand...

lol yeah... i was like "yeah right, ask houston fans please"

mrjuandiego1988 · Jan 28, 2011

wakawakka said:

Did anyone hear the commentator for this game say that Houston is definitely in the playoff hunt now that AB is back and playing so well?
Click to expand...

yea i heard and i was all like

rockets934life · Jan 29, 2011

Very interesting article and a blueprint I hope the Rockets plan to follow.

Get a look at your Trail Blazers while you can.

General manager Rich Cho says the roster is more than likely going to change at, or before, the NBA's Feb. 24 trading deadline.

"I'd say the chances are pretty good," Cho said of making a deal. "We are being pretty active, put it that way."

That Cho is poised to make a deal is not surprising. The types of deals he is contemplating, however, are not what he, nor anyone else could have expected six months ago when he was hired as a relatively unknown NBA executive.

It was a July day full of smiles when Cho proclaimed the Blazers "one or two pieces" away from contending for an NBA title. And nobody disagreed.

But since that day, the franchise has threatened to fall to pieces. There have been seven knee surgeries, three disappointing draft picks and a slew of missed shots on the court.

In the process, Cho's task has changed from ushering the Blazers into a championship era to making sure they don't decay into irrelevance.

The days of proclaiming this franchise "one or two pieces away" have faded. In it's place is this matter-of-fact assessment from Cho:

"This team is an average to a little-above average team, and our record reflects that," Cho said. "And there's not going to be any quick fix to make it into a championship team. This is going to be a process."

Cho waited until the Blazers had played about half of their games before deciding what his long term plan is for the franchise. He said that plan may become clear to fans after the trade deadline, but added that "winning is still important."

"But I think you have to think short term and long term," Cho said. "We are not going to sacrifice a long-term goal for a short-term benefit."

Draft picks valued

The tunnel that leads from the Blazers locker room to the Rose Garden court is often adorned by young fans waving programs and trading cards to be signed.

Last week before a Blazers game, Cho was stopped on his way onto the court and asked to sign autographs. When he was done, a fan from above asked him if he was going to make a trade for Denver superstar Carmelo Anthony.

Cho broke into his high-pitched, machine-gun laugh.

He says it is like that both inside and outside the Rose Garden.

"Everybody has advice," he says later.

Cho, however, knows exactly what he wants.

The most he will say publicly about his plan is that he values draft picks.

"Accumulating assets is a critical part of the plan," Cho said. "That's one of the big reasons New Jersey was the front runner in the Carmelo deal, because they had all those picks."

Since the day he was hired from Oklahoma City, Cho often points to how the Thunder was built into a contender: Amassing draft picks to gain flexibility.

Sure, they were blessed with the draft selections of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they also made trades that netted them future first-round picks. Sometimes, they used the picks -- like selecting big man Serge Ibaka (24th overall in 2008 draft). Other times, they traded their pick, like in 2008, when the Thunder traded a previously acquired 2009 first-round pick to Chicago for starter Thabo Sefolosha.

In his only major move as Blazers general manager, Cho in October traded reserve guard Jerryd Bayless to New Orleans for a protected 2011 first round pick. The move was met with a collective yawn, if not puzzlement, by the Blazers fan base, especially when it left coach Nate McMillan with rookie Armon Johnson and unproven second-year player Patty Mills as backups.

At the time, Cho sold the deal on the notion that New Orleans would not be very good this season, giving the Blazers two first-round picks in 2011, one of which would be the Hornets' lottery pick.

Now that New Orleans (30-16) has emerged as a very good team, and the Blazers look painfully thin at point guard, Cho is borderline defensive about the trade. Without prompting, Cho said the pick needs time to be used, either with a selection or in a trade.

"I will be the first one to admit that I thought the New Orleans pick would be a higher pick. I will be the first to admit that," Cho said. "But at the same time, I don't think you can say that is going to be a worthless pick, because if you look at two of the guys who are critical components of this team -- Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum -- they were undrafted and the 25th pick."

Looking ahead, the Blazers need a point guard and center for the future, as Andre Miller and Marcus Camby are still effective, but probably won't be around by the time the Blazers are ready to make another push into the West's elite.

Cho says he can satisfy those needs now in a trade, but it would dismantle what he sees as the team's emerging core: LaMarcus Aldridge, Batum and Matthews.

"If we wanted to make a trade to help the team right now, we could," Cho said. "But we would have to give up a guy like Nic, who is a big part of our future. We don't want to do that. And we could go out and get a young point guard, but it would cost L.A., and we're not going to do that."

The only factors that cloud Cho's plan are determining how effective Brandon Roy will be when he recovers from dual knee surgery, and determining the health and prospects of Greg Oden by June 30, when Oden becomes a free agent.

In the meantime, Cho continues to work the phones and put his stamp on the Blazers' culture. He has taken down much of the photography around the team's practice facility and made sure every player is featured in the new decor.

"I want the players to know this is a place to work, and get better," Cho said. "And I've said that to every one on staff. There should be something we work on every single day to get better -- whether that's a player or a staff member. They should be asking themselves, 'What can we do to help the team win?'"

With the trading deadline fast approaching, that question, more than ever, is directed at Cho.
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http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/01/trail_blazers_big_changes_on_t.html

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