Luka’s Corner

All I can say about the lottery is that the Portland Trailblazers are one lucky organization. Going into the lottery, Portland only had a 5.3% chance of winning the number one pick, but they beat both Memphis and Boston (unfortunately), who had a combined 44.5% chance to win the number one pick. When Brandon Roy heard Portland’s name being announced as the winner, he was not only glad because the odds were clearly against him at the start but also because the pick will most definitely bring in Oden or Durant. Either of these two prospects would form a dynamic trio with the quickly developing LaMarcus Aldridge and Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy.

Because of the top pick, Portland will arguably have the deepest front-court in the entire league, considering Oden (yeah…he will be taken first) and Aldridge’s potential and Zach Randolph’s impressive line of nearly 25 PPG and 10 RPG. Although I do not think that Portland will improve tremendously next year and make the Playoffs, they will surely become (unless one of the trio is traded) one of the best teams in the NBA in five years time and, I think, will even contend for a title. The reason why is that the key to any team, in my opinion, is a consistent big man down low. With such a reliable big man (in this case, Portland has three) you can look for him to score in a half-court set, create second chance opportunities, and intimidate the other team with shot-blocking. With the potential big three from Portland, Roy’s job will also become much easier because teams have to focus more on Oden and Roy will drain kick-out threes as long as Oden is doubled on the block. He will have better point and assist totals in the upcoming season because less attention is focused on him, but he can still feed the big men down low for easy layups. The Roy/Oden/Aldridge/Randolph combo will provide Portland with a nice inside-outside game.

With the top two picks going to the Blazers and Seattle Super Sonics, the Northwest is finally becoming the basketball region of the future and, in the next five years, a team from the Pacific will finally be contending for a title. Both of these teams needed a major change in their respective rosters, and the luck they encountered at the Draft Lottery will provide them that change. One of the deepest drafts in history (this one in June) will also provide Portland and Seattle with the chance to become the deepest teams in the league. So…all the other teams out there should definitely watch out because something dangerous is brewing in the West.

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