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Blazers begin to fill summer-league roster

Las Vegas action begins next week

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jul 7, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (17 Reader comments)

Petteri Koponen, a 6-4 guard from Finland who was a first-round draft choice in 2007, played last summer for Portland and is expected to be on the Blazers' Las Vegas league team again.

ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN / GETTY IMAGES

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The Trail Blazers open a five-day mini-camp for their summer league team Wednesday at their Tualatin training facility, but the roster could byeshy on recognizable names.

First-round draft pick Jerryd Bayless presumably will be on hand, though the draft-night trade that brought the rights to Bayless from Indiana can’t be completed until Wednesday. That would mean Bayless – the former University of Arizona guard – won’t join camp until at least Thursday.

Late first-round selection Nicolas Batum, a 6-9 forward from France, will take part. So will Petteri Koponen, a 6-4 guard from Finland who was a first-round choice in 2007.

Other possibilities include Ike Diogu, the 6-8 forward included in the deal that landed Bayless, and Joel Freeland, a 6-11 forward from England who was a first-round pick by Portland in 2006.

Surrounding the small veteran cast will be a group of undrafted rookies and free agents to make up a 13-man roster that will head to Las Vegas Sunday for five summer-league games next week.

Assistant coach Monty Williams will run the camp and summer-league team. Head coach Nate McMillan will be on hand to observe players in Portland and Las Vegas. Soon after summer league ends, McMillan will leave to fulfill his duties as assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

SHARING SPURS

The newest Trail Blazer assistant coach goes way back with both Williams and General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

Joe Prunty – an assistant coach the last three seasons with Dallas after nine years in the San Antonio organization – was video coordinator during Williams’ 2 1/2 seasons playing with the Spurs. Prunty, 39, had moved into an assistant coach position when Williams served as a coaching staff intern in 2004-05, a championship season in San Antonio.

Pritchard was a scout for the Spurs (2001-03) during Prunty’s time there.

“I have a history with Joe,” Pritchard says of Prunty, who fills the position vacated when Bill Bayno left to become head coach at Loyola Marymount. “Nate and I interviewed many, many candidates, and Joe was as impressive as anyone in his interviews. We feel he meets our criteria for that position – to help develop our younger players, but to also provide a good framework of NBA experience. Joe is young, hungry and hardworking.”

NOTES

• Pritchard says the main goal during summer league is to get the newcomers experience in what the NBA game is about. “How the game is called by the refs, the speed, the rhythm of the NBA life,” he says.

• One of the goals surely will be to see how Bayless – a shooting guard at Arizona – handles himself in a point-guard role.

• Batum, 19, was presumably drafted with the idea he would spend another year playing professionally in Europe. Pritchard says that’s not necessarily the case. “We have 13 guys under contract, including (Bayless), which leaves two spots,” the Blazer GM says. “Batum may come over (next season). The question would be, why shouldn’t he? He’s long and rangy, has the potential be a very good defender. He needs to be pushed a little bit, but he has some physical tools that are intriguing.”

• Blazer veterans Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw are slated to scrimmage with members of the summer-league team during the mini-camp.

• Freeland, 21, who spent time with Portland in the 2007 summer league, played this season for Gran Canaria of the Spanish Pro League. Gran Canaria “doesn’t have to give us permission” to have Freeland come this year, Pritchard says. “It’s a work in progress. We would love to have him. Hopefully, he has improved and making steps toward getting in the NBA. He didn’t play as much as he’d like (for Gran Canaria) last season. He is a rugged, tough kid who has a chance to be a good rebounder in our league. He plays with high energy and has a pretty good mid-range shot.”

• Portland has sent shooting coach John Townsend to the Canary Islands to work with point guard Sergio Rodriguez. Rodriguez was cut last month from the Spanish Olympic team. “Sergio is doing a lot better (emotionally) now,” says Pritchard, who has spoken with Rodriguez. “He feels good about his spot on the (Blazers), sees that maybe there might be more minutes for him.”

• former NBA point guard Mark Price was among those interviewed for the assistant coaching opening filled by Prunty.

• Unrestricted free agent James Jones “is getting lots of interest” from other NBA teams, Pritchard says. “We’ve had a lot of talks with his agent, but nothing is definitive yet, with us or anybody.”

Among the teams negotiating with him is Detroit.

Does Portland maintain interest in re-signing the small forward? “It has to be right for both sides,” Pritchard says.

• Fourth-year pros Webster and Channing Frye became eligible for contract extensions on July 1 and can sign until the start of next season. “If we do address that, it will come later in the summer,” Pritchard says.

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