Son of JayJamJah

Portland Trailblazers: I really like the way they've gone about rebuilding. instead of over spending for free agents they've built through the draft, sort of. Truth be told, they could be sitting even prettier but they have the curse of Sam Bowie still haunting them. They never get their lottery picks right. After taking Bowie one spot behind Hakeem and right before Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, the Blazers have lost in the conference or NBA finals to the eventual champion four times and are yet to get another title since the glory days of Bill Walton and the '77 champs. Since begining rebuilding following the Rasheed, Pippen, Steve Smith, Brian Grant, Sabonis teams the Blazers have had six lottery picks and selected Sebastain Telfair, Martell Webster, Randy Foye, Tyrus Thomas, Greg Oden and Brandon Rush, all of whom could be considered busts on some level to this point of their careers and only Oden is still with the team. Now to be fair they traded three of those guys on draft day fleecing Chicago of LaMarcus Aldridge for Thomas' draft rights and doing the same to the T-Wolves taking Brandon Roy for Foye's rights. They also added Jaryd Bayless last year in trade folr Rush which looks like they got the better o as well. Still what if they took Durant over Oden? They'd probably be in the discussion with the Spurs, Cavs, Lakers and Celtics.

The key for Portland is next offseason. The need to extend the contracts of Roy and Aldridge, but not until they use the money freed up from the expiring contracts of Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw and Darius Miles a total of 18 million dollars 13 of which should be available for them to go after an all-star level scoring small forward (Joe Johnson or Josh Howard?) and become a title contender.

In the meantime a core of Roy, Aldridge, a quickly improving Oden, Veteran G Andre Miller (Free Agent singing), Rudy Fernandez and Bayless along with atletic wing players like Outlaw and Nick Batum make them a real treat to watch.

Early 2009-10 Prediction: 55-27; Lose to Lakers in 2nd round


Atlanta Hawks: This is a make or break season for the Hawks. They've made a nice jump each of the past four seasons and now are a legit franchise for the first time since the late 90's. However now comes the real challenge, can they overtake Orlando, Boston and Cleveland, or at least 2 of the 3 and get to the conference finals or finals and convince Joe Johnson to stick around when free agency roles around next summer.

A nice core here too built in a little different way. They did nail it with draft picks Al Horford and Josh Smith but also flopped with Acie Law, Shelden Williams and lost Josh Childress to Italy. Their greatest blunder however was selecting Marvin Williams, a nice player, 2nd overall in 2005 directly ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul. They stole Joe Johnson from super cheap Phoenix for Boris Diaw essentially (In doing so Phoenix gave up an NBA title) and have put a band aid on the PG situation by aquiring Mike Bibby.

The concern here comes with player development though. Diaw did not thrive until going to Phoenix, Williams and Law never developed, and none of their last seven second round picks have cracked their (or anyone else's) rotation. In addition Horford seemed to hit a wall in his second season and Josh Smith took a step backwards seemingly as his average points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks all dropped last season.

As much as I like what they've done the last few years, I think they've peaked and will go back to being the Hawks within two or three years.

Early 2009-10 Prediction: 46-36 Lose to Orlando 1st round

Here's a few other teams I like going forward.

Seattle Supersonics: I Know, I know, I refuse to acknowldge that sham though. However this team has compiled an intriguing nucleus of young players. Kevin Durant looks like he's ready to become a top 10 NBA Player and Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook are good enough to be 2nd or 3rd options on a contending team. They added James Harden this year and though I'd have liked them to grab Rubio, Harden is likely to be another quality piece giving them flexability moving forward and buidling around their core. Still a few years away but on the right track.

Early 2009-10 Prediction: 37-45; 10th in the west

Minnesota Timberwolves: This one has me torn. I love the pick-up of Al Jefferson and the extra picks in the Garnett trade, Al Jefferson is the best offensive post player in the NBA and Kevin Love looks like a solid 10 year starter so the frontcourt is sound if they can stay healthy. On the Wing Corey Brewer is key, he needs to live up to his lottery status and stay healthy and Ryan Gomes is a solid role player. This years draft was big and despite how it may look, I think they did the right thing. Their was only one sure thing at #5 and #6 and they got it, Rubio will eventually be a star in this league for someone, however the selection of Flynn with the next pick makes me think it will be somewhere else. It's a shame too because Rubio, Love and Jefferson are a great core if you can add two mid-level talent high athleticism wings like Brewer could potentially be. The also bugged me when they fired McHale, who I always thought would make a great coach, the players, Love and Jefferson inparticular really like him, not sure what the thought was there. They'll likely be in the lottery again next year and I suspect they'll be targeting a 2 or 3, if Rubio comes over to play as well, and Brewer rounds into shape they could be an instant contender.

Early 2009-10 Prediction: 35-47; 11th in the west

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My Van Morrison Discography Thread