Ok everyone, we have established through a few recent posts that a lot of new blood is coming in and though we never cry out bandwagon unless you are from LA, this along with our recent (last 3 drafts) good fortune has made some of the aura around our fan-hood pickle (have fun with that one guys). I think we all need to be evened out a little bit, for the sake of karma. If we keep up the trash talking about other GM's and even our own incredible draft picks, we are bound to return to our old ways. So without further wait, the twelve biggest blunders and/or oversights in Portland's draft history.

The first two would be much higher on the list if we didn't end up with a great player one way or another:

#12: Portland Drafts Ronnie Lester #10, passes on Kiki Vandeweghe and Mike Woodson, 1980

Ronnie went straight to Chicago (I honestly don't know what we got out of it, this is only about draft choices) and faded into mediocrity. Woodson went for 14 ppg for his 10 year career playing with a few teams in that time. The man called Kiki came to us four years later as one of the all-time Blazers greats, an extremely prolific scorer. If it wasn't for him joining us later, this pick would look much worse, but we all know it's better to draft a star than to trade for or sign one.

#11: Portland drafts Mychal Thompson #1, passes on Larry Bird, Reggie Theus, 1977

First of all Mychal Thompson was a flat-out stud for us. I'm not sure if Reggie would've been better for us, the only reason this is here is because you don't pass on Larry Legend. If we didn't make a good pick inspite of this, the year 1977 would be hated by us as much as...well, you know.

This next group features some great talent that a lot of teams passed on (not just us), paired with some picks that make you go "Who's that guy?"

#10: Portland selects James Robinson #21, passes on Sam Cassell and Nick the Quick (when he actually was), 1993

James was a mediocre guard that hung around with a bunch of different teams but didn't accomplish a lot. The other two could be considered tier two or three stars in their prime (hence the position on this list).

#9: Portland select Sebastian Telfair #13, passes on Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Kevin Martin, 2004

I don't remember anyone liking this pick. That said, every GM ended up feeling stupid for letting Kevin Martin slip that far. Besides, the guy who was supposed to save our franchise actually did, just not the way he wanted to.

#8: Portland selects Shawn Respert #8, passes on Michael Finley, 1995

Again, every GM feels stupid about not drafting Finley. We shipped Respert to the Bucks where he dwelled in mediocrity. This one stings a bit thinking what could have been in 2000 if we had Finley with that group. Would we have more titles than we do now? Hang on, we aren't halfway through yet.

#7: Portland selects Erick Barkley #28, passes on Michael Redd, 2000

Well Redd is another guy who slipped much farther than he should have. Although he fits right into the Melo/Z-Bo mold, at the very least he would have been excellent trade bait.

#6: Portland selects Jeff Lamp, passes on Larry Nance, 1981

Lamp stunk. Nance? Not so much...

#5 Portland selects Wally Walker #5, passes on Robert Parish, Adrian Dantley, and Alex English, 1976

Wally was not impressive. But hey, we can pass on a dominant center who earned the nickname "The Chief", and a couple prolific scorers, right?

Next up, welcome to the "Doh!" moments.

#4 Portland trades down for Martell Webster, passes on Chris Paul, Deron Williams, 2005

Well you all knew it was going to be on the list somewhere. If Webster didn't have the ability to explode at any moment, this might rank even higher with me. This is truly an ouch moment in Blazers history.

#3 Portland selects Qyntel Woods #21, passes on Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozer

Well this guy (although he was the nicest guy around when I met him, probably because he was buying a blunt wrap from me) was and is truly a waste of space. A disgusting individual if ever there was one. And we passed up the player all the trade board guys are wetting themselves over scheming about. Hassenfeffer!

#2: Portland selects Sam Bowie #2, passes on Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley, 1984

Nobody needs to cover this anymore. I'm sure people are surprised I didn't rank this number one...

#1: Portland selects LaRue Martin #1, passes on Julius Erving, Paul Westphal, and Bob McAdoo, 1972

The reason why this is number one, our team would be almost as significant with Dr. J as our legend as it would Air Jordan (although we would be a dynasty), and LaRue is widely considered to be the biggest bust of all time. What a waste of a number one.

In conclusion, with the evolution of scouting and the amount of work that now goes in, teams all around the league have greatly improved chances of not making a horrible, horrible mistake. Just as important as that late 70's early 80's improvement in scouting is the evolution we are exclusively leading right now with quality of GM and owner.  Hard work and open doors have brought us back from the depths of despair, so let's not laugh at Indiana, Denver, or Dallas as they prepare to fall off the edge of the basketball world. Let's all bask in how cool it is to be on the forefront of the future...Welcome band-wagoners,  welcome. And may the good karma keep coming.