This is interesting. I ran across a quote by Trader Bob today. I was browsing through The Sports Bigamist's excellent Blazers-themed SI vault stories and read an article about Sabonis. In it was this quote:

"We didn't want to wind up in the draft lottery," says Portland president and general manager Bob Whitsitt. "That's like the Bermuda Triangle. Teams get in it and never get out."

What struck me about this is the thought...would you ever hear Kevin Pritchard make that statement? It seems to me that Kevin Pritchard looks at the draft as an opportunity, not as a roadblock.

It really explains a lot. Whitsitt always traded for help now, not with the future in mind. He was of the opinion that it was the only thing that kept Portland in the playoffs. True, to an extent, but anyone want to talk about the Burmuda triangle of early playoff series exits?