The New Blazers – Oden's in, Randolph's out (to Knicks), and much more has changed

Allen spends big to help Pritchard be "aggressive," and another trade (for a small forward) is on the way

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Jun 28, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (21 Reader comments)

Greg Oden wears his new Blazer uniform.

JENNIFER POTTHEISER / GETTY IMAGES

The face of the Trail Blazer franchise may never have changed as much in a single day as it did Thursday.

Portland selected Greg Oden with the first pick in the NBA draft, traded Zach Randolph and chose a pair of European guards through additional first-round selections acquired on draft night.

The Blazers took the 7-foot Oden as expected, deciding on the Ohio State center over 6-10 forward Kevin Durant from Texas. Durant went to Seattle with the second pick.

Shortly thereafter, a trade sending Randolph and veteran guards Freddy Jones and Dan Dickau to New York in exchange for forward Channing Frye and guard Stevie Francis was announced.

For the second straight year, the Blazers used owner Paul Allen's wallet to purchase a late-round draft pick from the Phoenix Suns to select a Spanish guard.

On Thursday night, the Blazers bought the No. 24 pick from Phoenix and chose 6-5 shooting guard Rudy Fernandez. A year ago, Allen paid $3 million to buy the 27th pick, with which Portland got Sergio Rodriguez.

The Blazers then sent a second-round pick – No. 42 overall – and cash to Philadelphia for the 30th and final first-round selection. With it, the Blazers took 6-4 point guard Petteri Koponen from Finland.

Among Portland's three second-round picks were 6-10 Duke forward Josh McRoberts, a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference choice last winter, at No. 37, and Florida point guard Taurean Green at No. 52.

And another deal is in the works, Blazer execs admitted — one that involves a small forward, believed to be James Jones, a 6-8, four-year veteran who played the last two years with Phoenix.

"It'll probably take a week or 10 days" to complete, Portland assistant general manager Tom Penn said. "We have to formally finish the New York trade before we can do another trade that we hope would happen. That can't happen sequentially before the first one is done."

Indications are that Francis, 30, may wind up with another team, too. The veteran guard, a career 18.4-point scorer who averaged 11.3 points in 44 games last season, is set to make $16.44 million in 2007-08 and $17.18 million in 2008-09, the final year of his contract.

General Manager Kevin Pritchard had promised he wouldn't be afraid to make moves, and he was good on his word Thursday. A year after the Blazers had participated in an NBA-record six draft-day trades, the club's war room was again a flurry of activity. All in all, Portland acquired seven players during the day.

"I don't know how Kevin and Tom are going to top this next year," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "It's an unbelievable day. We pretty much got everyone we targeted. We became more athletic, and we've added a lot of speed and shooters. We've added nothing but winners to this roster.

"I'm thrilled to death with what has happened. Besides our summer league, our veterans (training) camp should be exciting."

"We had a good plan today," Pritchard said. "Mr. Allen was absolutely incredible in the draft room. We wouldn't have been able to do what we did without him. He's really a special owner, and gave us an opportunity to be aggressive.

"Our goal has been to put together a really young nucleus and have some (salary cap) flexibility to bring in a closer. We're not there yet, but we've moved toward it."

Oden was the plum of the draft, and though Pritchard very much liked Durant, he couldn't pass on a big man with the potential to develop into one of the greats. Pritchard said after a Wednesday meeting with Blazer executives, coaches and scouts, a consensus was reached on Oden.

"The biggest thing was, who would get us to the championship?" Pritchard said. "We felt Greg would do that. They are both unbelievable players who will have huge careers, but we felt like Greg is a championship piece. We think that about Durant, too, but there's a slight edge to Greg. He was dominant (last year) playing with one hand, and he is the caregiver."

Modest and unassuming, Oden nevertheless displayed a quiet confidence when asked about his goal with the Trail Blazers.

"One day we can possibly win an NBA championship," he said. "That's what we're striving for."

Told of the enthusiastic response by Blazer fans after his selection at the Rose Garden Thursday, Oden laughed, "I heard they stormed the court. I wish I was there right in the middle, jumping up and down, too."

Thursday was a mixed bag for Oden, under the weather as he spoke with reporters at Madison Square Garden.

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