Having browsed David Thorpe's chat earlier today I couldn't help but notice that the Blazers were brought up several times.  Here are the questions and answers from that chat and some thoughts on what was said:

Demar (Chicago): Who will be the better guard, Jerryd Bayless or Eric Gordon? 

 David Thorpe: Bayless

No rebuttal needed on this one.  At this point in time, Thorpe is on point.  Eric Gordon should be solid as well, but I have a lot of confidence in BayBay becoming our answer at point, more than the haters at least who have been springing up despite his solid performances.  Oh no, his J is shaky or he plays too much like Brandon.  Wah, wah, wah, homie can ball.  

Nathan (DC): Do you think that with Oden, the 2008-9 Rookies have their first legit chance to beat the Sophomores on all-star weekend? Or are Durant, Horford, Scola, etc. still too good? 

 David Thorpe: Soph's in a rout. 

Psh, assuming Oden, Fernandez, and Bayless participate in the Rookie-Sophomore game, how could you say they would get routed?  Throw in Beasley, Rose,  Mayo, Westbrook, and Love.  I'd say it will at least be competitive.  My guess is that Oden will be too good next year and will decide to pass playing in this game.  I don't see Rudy being too stoked about trying to show-off with a bunch of rooks either.  

John (Dallas, TX): Your thoughts on how terrible Nicholas Batum has been thus far? 

 David Thorpe: I think he's been terrible

Can't argue with statistics, or people's eyes for that matter.  It has been plainly seen that Batum has underperformed,  especially when he was perhaps touted as the most NBA-ready of all our draft picks  Now he's no higher than third on that list as Bayless and Koponen have impressed.  

Willie (Portland, OR): Do you think Portland will sign Koponen, or send him back to Europe? I think this kid can make an impact this season, he looks really good. 

 David Thorpe: I don't know, but I like him. 

Juan (Dallas, TX): Have Bayless & Peterri Koponen showed enough that the Blazers need to be looking for a taker for Steve Blake? 

 David Thorpe: Not if they want to win this year. 

I think Portland should sign and keep Koponen.  The fact that he's playing well now adds to the likelihood that he's offered a lucrative long-term contract somewhere in Europe.  If not now, maybe never on this kid, and I think we like him enough a snatch him up right now even though he's not absolutely needed.  

It's interesting to me that Thorpe see's Blake as being a necessary component to our team should it "win."  I don't know if Thorpe's use of "win" means "win it all" as in championship, or just "win games" in general.  I disagree on both counts in any case.  I love Blake and he would make for an excellent back-up, but I don't think his presence or lack thereof would significantly alter next season's win-loss totals, or our ability to compete for a championship for that matter.  Rondo, Cassell and House just won a championship.  When Oden, Roy, Aldridge, and even guys like Fernandez, Frye, Outlaw, and Webster are hitting their stride, I could be playing point.  Mateen Cleaves could be playing point.  It won't matter, Bayless will be the guy in the future and it would be nice to have Blake around as a back-up, but how important is a back-up PG in terms of wins?

Also, Thorpe contradicts himself by saying that he heard a rumor PetKo will get signed even though above he stated that he didn't know if Portland would sign him:

wil (yuba city, ca): Is Petteri Koponen ready for the NBA? I like what I see from him so far in summer league 

 David Thorpe: Me too. I heard he's coming to Portland this season.

Dan (Portland): Dave, instead of using a traditional PG, do you think Portland will just go with Roy and Bayless and let them drive and score from the wing? 

 David Thorpe: No, I think Roy will be playing the 2. Finding a top notch pg seems a good priority if they want to compete at a high level. 

So now Thorpe suggests (as many others have in the past) that we still need a top notch PG to "compete at a high level."  PSH!  Please, like I said before, Mateen Cleaves would win rings with us.  

Harry Manback (Portland, OR): If things get dicey with Chicago and Deng, does it make sense for Portland to pursue him in a sign-and-trade, or do they need more of a distance shooter at the 3? 

 David Thorpe: I can't think of a better fit for both parties. 

So I guess Thorpe's answer would be "No, we don't need a distance shooter at the 3" if he thinks Deng would be perfect for us.  I agree we don't need to be shooting a lot of 3s in the first place, but trading for Deng would likely have us including Webster in the deal, since it's hard to imagine Deng, Webster, and Outlaw coexisting with limited minutes.  Martell will be money for us next season, his life will be easy and he can shoot open 3s whenever he wants.  He will also be able to slash to the bucket more since he will be other team's last priority on our starting unit.  And you know what else? Webster IMO is already better than Deng.  Luol fell off a little last year and wasn't nearly as impressive as the year before.  Martell on the other hand got better and showed us that he still has plenty of untapped potential.  I didn't even mention the fact that we have no dukies on the roster and there's no reason to start now.  

Jordan (Slinger, WI): Are Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernandez for real? Seriously better than Rose and Mayo? 

 David Thorpe: Yes, 

better than Rose and Mayo? Come on Dave. 

 David Thorpe: Not better in terms of talent, per se. Better chance to put up better numbers? Yes. This season. 

Not many would say they'd rather have Rudy and Marc Gasol over Rose and Mayo.  But at least it shows that most respect the work Rudy has already done to make it this far.  He's definitely a special player worth cultivating and hopefully we can find a niche for him on this team for a long time.  

Lenny K: Pure talent please your Top 5 rookies? 

 David Thorpe: Beasley 
Rose 
Randolph 
Bayless 
Greene 

Again, either Thorpe doesn't think of Oden as a true rookie or he is simply a hater.  Bayless has more pure talent than Oden or Fernandez...uh...we'll wait to see about that one.  I'm pretty sure he just forgot about Oden somehow, because Greene and Randolph definitely don't have more "pure talent" that Greg, whatever that means. 

g (nyc): is it possible Oden can be as bad as Kwame Brown? i mean, is it even possible? 

 David Thorpe: No. 

Good answer, however Thorpe then goes on to say that he thinks Craig Smith is the strongest player in the league (I would currently argue Dwight Howard) and that JJ Hickson will be the strongest rookie this year.  Huh?  Uh, what about Greg Oden?! A guy in Houston actually calls him out on it but he stands pat by his first ridiculous answer:

Tye (Houston TX): You don't think Greg Oden is the dtrongest guy in the league? He has to be the strongest rookie 

 David Thorpe: No, and no

He gets called out a 2nd time and this is his response:

Sidney Lowe (NC State BBall Coach): JJ Hickson stronger then Greg Oden? Laughable! 

 David Thorpe: My dad can beat up yours!

All-in-all, interesting stuff.  The Blazers were mentioned more than any other team by far which shows the buzz is not restrained to blogs like this one.  The word is out on Ptown, even if it does lead to people being slightly more misinformed like some of Thorpe's comments suggest he is.