WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #11 Portland Trail Blazers

Got our PG with the 6th pick. Now we have a tough decision to make.

There are a few prospects here that we really would love to have on our team.  This pick isn't easy, but it's a problem that we don't mind. It's a lot better than having a pick where we don't like any of the prospects available. 

We can take a shooting guard like Austin Rivers or Dion Waiters to pair with our new point guard, Damian Lillard. We can go big and look at a defensive center like Meyers Leonard or a more offensive center like Tyler Zeller.We can take a shot on a player with incredible potential that can play multiple positions like Perry Jones III or Jeremy Lamb.

Since we went guard with our first pick, ideally we want a big man here. Instead of taking a player who only thrives on offense or only thrives on defense (like Leonard), we are going to take a shot at a player who we think can thrive next to an established big man in LaMarcus Aldridge.

With the 11th pick, the Trail Blazers select Arnett Moultrie.

Howell Trophy Winner Arnett Moultrie!

In regards to the big men, we aren't overly thrilled with Meyers Leonard. His defensive potential is solid, but we aren't keen on taking a player who only had one productive season in college. Zeller is a solid prospect, but we find his ceiling to be low. We wanted to take a chance on a versatile big man who can play both the PF and Center positions, rebound (Arnett led the SEC in rebounding last year), and give us versatility on offense (he can finish at the rim and he has jump shot range out to 20 feet, and maybe even to the 3 point line eventually).

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #6 Portland Trail Blazers

This pick is a gift and a blessing for us.  The Basketball Gods owed us one (or three) and sent us a savior in the form of a King.  And this King bestowed upon us a second, better lottery pick to go with the one we earned on the court.

And the guy we think helps us the most is still on the board.  He should take a lot of pressure off our best player on both ends and fill a huge gap in our roster that we couldn't overcome last season.


We aren't over-thinking this one.

We want a PG, the best one is available here, and we are taking him.

The Portland Trail Blazers select Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State.

This guy is great in the pick-and-roll, but he brings his stupid dog everywhere and we question the legality of "Scooby Snacks" under the CBA.

WRG 2011 Mock Draft - #21 Portland Trail Blazers

We don't want to rely on Marcus Camby and Greg Oden to provide us with toughness in our frontcourt because they are rarely in our frontcourt.

Damn this draft. There aren't even any undersized bigs we can take here.  There isn't even a reach who suits our needs.  This is unfair.

So we'll have to table that and hope we can get someone better than the Chris Johnsons and Earl Barrons we had to use last year in a trade for Andre Miller.

Since that's the way we must go, we'll add to the PG stable of Armon Johnson and Patty Mills and up the odds that we will have a decent NBA starter at that position next season.

So which one of the available PGs might be able to break out sooner rather than later?

Most of these players are either projects or undersized, but there is a guy who is a bit older with good size who we think can give us both the court sense and scoring Miller did (and maybe even some defense Miller didn't).

We'll take the straw that stirs our half-caf skim latte,  Reggie Jackson.

Mr. June?

WRG Mock Draft #24: Portland Trail Blazers

No need to overthink this pick.

We need a point guard. He has to play meaningful minutes right away. We plan to be deep into the playoffs this year, so he has to be the kind of guy who won't be phased by that atmosphere. We need him to play great defense and make the other team's point guard work hard. He has to be able to run our offense and fit seamlessly with our many different lineups.

We also have a lot of young star players, so he can't have a big ego and he has to be used to playing with bigger stars and making them better. And he has to be a good enough shooter to draw a committed defensive assignment.

Oh, yeah. We'd also like it if he could shoot about 90% from the line.

Sound like we are asking too much from the 24th pick? Sound like we should have moved up? Well, it turns out we didn't have to.

The Portland Trail Blazers select Darren Collison - our made to order PG delivered hot and fresh to us right here at the bottom of the first round.

"OK, we'll take #2. That means the nerd in the mask is the rotten egg!"

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the clock.