Don’t Forget Nate

With all of the talk about Cedric Simmons’ and the NBA Draft last week, many Wolfpackers ignored the fact that Nate McMillan‘s Portland Trail Blazers were The talk of the draft!

When the dust had settled on the draft, the Blazers looked like a brand new franchise and had most media pundits – like USA Today – proclaiming the organization the big winner in the draft.

The Portland Trail Blazers were the big winners in Wednesday’s NBA draft as they wheeled and dealed their way to a series of moves that resulted in them landing four players in the first round.

This is a major step as the franchise tries to repair its tattered image and waning popularity. “A lot of great things happened for us tonight,” Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson said.

The Trail Blazers, who were last in the league in home attendance last season (15,053), were also able to move their second-highest-paid player for next season, Theo Ratliff ($11.17 million).

* CBS Sportsline gave the Blazers a grade of “A”

* A+ for Portland

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One Response to Don’t Forget Nate

  1. choppack1 07/03/2006 at 9:07 AM #

    I thought that Roy was the best combination of proven basketball skills and athleticism in the draft. Also, Aldridge was considered by some to have the most upside of any player in the draft. Just as important, they got rid of Telfair. I still wonder if in today’s NBA it is possible to build through the draft since a) no one knows what they are getting and b) the best players often leave small markets for bigger market teams – but we’ll see.

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