My car won't start and the alarm won't stop singing its siren song. Hopefully that's not a harbinger of things to come today. Now that I think about it though, my car is a perfect microcosm of the current Blazer's situation, in that, as of right now, it's basically worthless, but still draws a lot of negative attention. Hooray for analogies!
So this is it; the big draft day showdown. I'm pretty excited to have a new player to talk about, whoever he may be, but most of all; I'm glad that at least one off-season question mark is going to be answered today. But more than likely, as soon as one question is answered, ten more are going to be created. Another hooray for endless speculation!
Henry at TrueHoop does a little pontification of his own regarding the Telfair rumor, which at this point seems to be the most concrete of all pre-draft whisper campaigns. Henry's going to be blogging non-stop today with the help of many other NBA bloggers (myself would have been included if I had knuckled down and got some work done), so keep checking in over there, especially during the Blazer's picks, as Henry is as big a Blazer fan as they come.
And you know Eric at OregonLive is going to drop about 20 pounds as he furiously updates everything Blazer-related for the next 15 hours. Don't forget to re-hydrate holmes!
Going back to the Telfair rumor for a second, I'd like for people to forget for a moment about whether they thing Sebastian is the greatest thing since the crossover dribble or that he's nothing but blacktop handles and pearly-white teeth. I want you to put all of those pre-conceived notions to the side and think about what this team would look like if the Blazer's had two new players in the #4 and #7 picks. If Chad Ford's picks are correct (I know, fat chance) the Blazers could end up with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy? I know that is contingent on:
- the trade actually happening and,
- the trade happening before Boston picks (which might be a bone of contention).
But lets say that Chad Ford has the picks right, and the trade happens before the draft, so Boston can't punk out at the last second when someone they like drops to the #7. Can anyone actually tell me they wouldn't do that trade, even if you think Telfair is going to develop into an all-star caliber point guard? I know that's a lot of "ifs," but Aldridge and Roy for Telfair? That's a no-brainer for me. A future line-up of Jack at the point, Roy at shooting guard, Martell swinging in a three-guard set or splitting time at SG with Roy and SF with Khryapa or (groan) Miles, Aldridge at power forward, and (please god!) a re-signed Przybilla at center. That could be a real sick starting five in my opinion. And if we could unload all or any of Zach, Miles, and Theo, get some cap space to fill some holes, I think you're looking at a contender in no more than four years. And of course there's nothing but good and bad luck in-between, but guess that team would challenge for a title long before a Blazer team with Telfair running the point would.
Well, time to go indulge in another fantasy; the one in which I actually know enough about auto repair to get my Volkswagen running.