I like the report up until the fact that the writer sees him as more of a back-up.  Indeed, the players they do compare him to (Watson and Duhon) are either marginal starters who should be reserves, or reserves.  

Plus, philosophically, I don't like the idea of drafting point guards if the need is immediate.  Point guards often take several years to develop (Paul and Williams being the exceptions).  Around the NBA, we see young point guards like Acie Law who really haven't contributed yet, or guys like Jameer Nelson who took a year or two to get their legs under them.  In fact, a cursory glance at basketball-reference.com shows that point guards really don't come into their own until their second or third year.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  Just that I don't know how comfortable we're going to be as fans and bloggers if it looks like the rest of the line-up is ready to go, but we still need more time for the point guard to develop.
As of this moment, I think the team's best move is to sign Calderon as a free agent.  Short of that, the team should try to trade for Andre Miller. (I'm from Philadelphia, believe me, he can play ball, plus he'll be a FA at the end of next year, so the Sixers may try to trade him if they feel they can't resign him)

Juniors: Darren Collison, Scottie Reynolds, Eric Maynor,

Sophmores: Ty Lawson, DJ Augustin, Russell Westbrook,

Freshman: Derrick Rose, Jerryd Bayless, Nick Calathes

Last year, the big FOUR point guard prospects were Conley, Lawson, Augustin, and Collison.  On ESPN college hoops tourney previews last year, Darren Collison was considered to be the TOP point guard in the country by a large majority of panelists.

Obviously, Collison is not a "sexy" pick for the draft since he is so old (tongue in cheek).  Because scouts now know what Collisons game is, and since he is a junior he no longer gets the "upside" benefit that more unknown quantities (see freshman or foreigners in the draft).  But after watching a few games this year with UCLA playing, and then seeing that Pac-10 tourney, Collison, to me, is still the best point guard in college hoops.

Does Derrick Rose or Jarryd Bayless have more upside?... Maybe.  Scouts will say yes.  But if the Blazers DON'T move up in the draft, if they stay where they are at, Portland could land this player who has been considered the top point guard in the college game for two years.  Which means, he has good odds to be ready to get in and contribute earlier than most.  Even if he has a GREAT tourney, and UCLA is a final four or winners, I am not sure that Collison will move up more than spots 13-10, keeping him well within Portlands draft-day reach.

I really like Darren Collison for the Blazers roster, and at their likely 13th draft position.

Weaknesses:

• Size
  
• Strength
  
• Scoring tools
  
• Explosiveness
  
• Finishing ability at rim
  
• Perimeter shooting potential?
  
• Limited number of attempts
  
• Slow release
  
• Role player
  
• Upside?

That's why I would go with Westbrook at 13.

Pros: Westbrook should be an elite defender (PAC-10 defensive player of the year, locked down guys like Mayo, and Bayless, great lateral quickness and size).  He's very explosive with the ball, and has plenty of upside.  Makes good decisions, unselfish.

Cons: not very polished, needs to work on his outside shot, needs to work on his PG skills.

But I'd rather trade up to O J Mayo.  

It depends on what you are trying to solve with the draft.  If you are drafting to solve your defensive problems, an outstanding defensive PG will probably be about as good on defense in his second year as he is going to get.  If he's a legitimate defender, he's going to be an NBA defender soon.

If you need a PG to be a threat from distance, that also doesn't take a lot of time.  If he's a good 3-point shot now, he'll likely be in the NBA fairly quickly, as well.

If he is an instinctive fast-break PG, he's likely to be fairly effective on the fast-break pretty quickly, though experience will obviously help him improve.

The role that really takes a lot of time to develop, I believe, is recognizing all the defensive sets that are thrown at you in the half-court, and responding effectively.  Learning to respond to bigger, quicker, stronger defenders.  Learning to throw your alley-oop that little bit higher because both the recipient and the defender are going to get a foot higher than the guys in college.

I'm not sure we need an experienced PG.  Because it is mainly in the half-court game that experience is so important, and Brandon is likely to have the ball a lot in the half-court game, anyway.  Perhaps experience is overrated.