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Givony: Blazers GM Neil Olshey Fell For, Promised Dion Waiters?
Link
yahoo.com
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has posted his latest 2012 NBA Mock Draft for Yahoo! Sports and the Portland Trail Blazers are targeted to select UConn center Andre Drummond and Syracuse guard Dion Waiters.
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6. Portland (via Brooklyn) -- Andre Drummond -- The Trail Blazers have been looking for a strong interior option to pair with LaMarcus Aldridge for quite some time, and this draft will finally give them an opportunity to do so. Going into next season with only Kurt Thomas and Aldridge under contact, Andre Drummond certainly appears to be an attractive option here, as his terrific combination of size, length, athleticism and strength give him more upside than any big man in this draft outside of Anthony Davis.
New General Manager Neil Olshey has come into Portland saying all the right things about realizing the importance of building slowly with a solid long-term foundation. Drummond presents little risk at this stage of the draft and could be a real homerun pick with proper patience and development.
11. Portland -- Dion Waiters SG -- The Trail Blazers had a disappointing season, partially because of injuries and partially because of the lackluster performance of their backcourt. Offseason acquisitions Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford both struggled to live up to expectations, while Wesley Matthews regressed somewhat after a promising sophomore season. Both of the top point guard prospects, Damian Lillard and Kendall Marshall, will get extended looks here, but we're hearing that it's Dion Waiters who has caught the eye of new GM Neil Olshey. Many teams around the league are now speculating that it's Portland who actually gave Waiters a guarantee he'll be selected if he drops to here, causing him to cancel all of his remaining workouts.
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-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

