On Monday, Portland Trail Blazers GM Rich Cho joined Chad Doing on the Morning Sports Page on 95.5 FM to discuss the Blazers, including Brandon Roy's return, Gerald Wallace's arrival, LaMarcus Aldridge's development and Greg Oden's rehabilitation.
Cho didn't provide any major headlines, although he did briefly discuss his early thoughts on improving the team this summer. "We want to add some depth. I think we need some depth in some areas. I don't want to pinpoint any specific positions because then that's kind of pointing fingers at some guys, but I think we could use some depth, we could use some shooting. There's areas of improvement in a couple different spots."
As for Oden, Cho said everything is on course. "Greg is coming along well. He is doing some weight-bearing exercises now. He's working hard. He's lost some weight. He's in good spirits. His recovery -- if you talk to the surgeon who did his microfracture, he also really feels his recovery is coming along well."
Here's a transcript of Cho's comments. Thanks to Odenrising for the heads up in the FanPosts.
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Brandon Roy's return
Brandon's doing a good job. He's in a new role coming off of the bench and we're trying to bring him along slowly, playing him 15-20 minutes to start with. He didn't play on the second of back-to-back last week but we're bringing him along slowly. It's a different role for him, he's working hard and he's making sure he's ready.
Next step
Just to continue to mesh with the team and see how he plays and go from there.
Trading for Gerald Wallace
He's a guy we tried to get at the start of the season but the price was too high. We passed. We tried to get him again in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. In any negotiation there's back and forth, back and forth. We finally got to a deal we're happy with and we're just thrilled to have him. He's a guy who brings his hard had every night, plays both ends of the floor, was an All-Star last year, made first team All-Defense, he can block shots, he rebounds he scores, a little bit of everything. All the background work we did said he's not just a great guy but a great teammate.
Better at small forward or power forward?
He can really play both. That's what was really attractive for us. He can play both on offense and defense. He guard Artest or he can guard Lamar Odom. If we're playing New Orleans he can guard David West or Trevor Ariza. The versatility helps in a lot of ways.
Back to the basket game?
He can do that a little bit. He scores a lot of his buckets near the basket. One thing you'll get every night -- he plays hard, when you play hard you can make things happen.
LaMarcus Aldridge's development this year
A lot of it starts in the summer. He got his work done early this summer. He really made a concerted effort to get better. I think he was disappointed at how he played in the playoffs and he wanted to get better. He worked with our coaches on both his post-up game and his outside game. He's made a concerted effort to put the whole team on his back. I can't be more pleased with the season he's had.
Is there still room to grow?
He's having a great season. I think I was more upset than he was when he didn't make the All-Star team. He's only 25 and he's going to get better. The best is yet to come for L.A.
Nate McMillan's best season?
Nate and the whole staff have done a great job. I wasn't here in past seasons but he won 54 games two years ago, 50 games last year, so he did a good job those years. And they've done a great job this year with all the adversity, pushing the players, and they haven't made excuses either.
How to improve the roster this offseason?
We want to add some depth. I think we need some depth in some areas. I don't want to pinpoint any specific positions because then that's kind of pointing fingers at some guys, but I think we could use some depth, we could use some shooting. There's areas of improvement in a couple different spots.
Greg Oden's progress
Greg is coming along well. He is doing some weight-bearing exercises now. He's working hard. He's lost some weight. He's in good spirits. His recovery -- if you talk to the surgeon who did his microfracture he also really feels his recovery is coming along well.
How would Oden change this team?
When I was on the outside looking in, watching Greg play before he got hurt, it was kind of scary to see him at that level. He was really playing well. He would add a whole new dimension to our team and we certainly hope he's back.
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