Just checkin' in

Long time, no read.

I've been pretty busy of late. Lots on my plate at work, just as much on my plate away from work.

First, of course, is the impending kid. Much nesting has ensued.

Second is my ongoing attempt to see all of Hollywood's recent renderings. I've hit a snag, as my new car has swallowed my movie-watching capital. However, I can report that Batman is great, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is fabulous (JLowe, you still have to come see it with me and The Missus, so don't tell your wife...) and The Longest Yard was a disappointment, mostly because I knew how good the first one was.

Finally, it's softball season again. Not only has Hit & Run re-emerged (although our first game last night was rained out), but I'm also on another team that actually plays well, for the most part. Of course, we got our asses handed to us tonight, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, enough with the pleasantries. I want to talk about the NBA draft, and more specifically, the Blazers.

First, let me say that I like Martell Webster as a first round draft pick. The Blazers have been looking for a new shooting guard for some time, and have been zeroing in on Martell and Gerald Green for the last month, at least. In recent days, it has become clear that Gerald Green, though an athletic dynamo with tremendous upside, is a headcase who doesn't pass The Pieman's character test, simply because he's too dumb to do so. We have enough physical specimens on the team. Zach is a specimen (more or less). Darius is absolutely a specimen. Neither is ideal.

Though I've never seen Martell play, I have to give credence to those draft "experts" who say that he's a solid character guy, a good shooter, and though not as great in terms of potential, is more ready to contribute immediately than Green.

The only disappointment is that we didn't find a way to make Utah swallow Ruben's contract in the trade. Although Ruben has played his way into my list of reasons to watch the Blazers, he made it pretty clear at the end of last season that he wanted out, and the primary difficulty in dishing him has been the "trade kicker" in his contract, which entitles him to some serious $$$ if, and when, he gets traded. Utah was obviously hungry to move up in the draft, and Portland, it appears, was the only willing party to a trade to get them as high as #3. All that said, we really should've forced them to sweeten the deal a bit. A bit meaning taking Ruben off of our hands, thus making it easy to figure out who to waive (Derek) when the new CBA goes into effect.

Not like we won't waive Derek anyway. That guy's absolutely worthless, and Trader Bob should be shot on sight for ever giving him that much money for no apparent reason. Although it's clear to me that Martell won't be our starter at the 2 when the season starts, it's also clear to me that he's going to get fast-tracked, the same way Sebastian was, into starting by the end of the season. The only question is who we will fill the starting 2 spot with for the first 4 months.

Regarding our taking a PG as our second pick (via trades)... I've heard great things about Jarrett Jacks. Despite that, many people have questioned the wisdom of taking another point guard with such a glaring need at power forward. Imagine, the Blazers, who used to have a logjam at PF, are now in need of a good back-up as we're letting Shareef walk and waiting to see when (er, if) Zach recovers from the microfracture surgery.

Myself, I like the pick. It was clear, as the season wound down last year, that Bassy was developing a bit of an attitude as he got comfortable with being the only option to start at the point guard position. Many media outlets indicated he was starting to let his success go to his head.

I like Bassy. But I also like competition, and its good to see the team throwing some at him so that it's clear that he has to earn, and fight to keep, his job.

Besides, having a big PG to throw in at times will be good, considering that Sebastian is in the midget mold so nicely created by 6 years of Damon.

My questions for you:

1. Where does Damon go from here?
2. Where does 'Reef go from here?
3. What more needs to happen for you to buy some tickets?

Me, I'm almost ready to buy in. I want Darius gone. I want Zach challenged at the 4, so that he has to develop a passing game and some defense. I want Derek waived and a viable option at the 2 brought in. If these conditions are met, I will buy my first Blazer ticket since the year they choked against the Lakers. I might even buy a pair, so The Missus can join in.

That's enough checking in. Sorry I've been such a lay-about. No reason to expect that I won't disappear for another few days. However, keep checking back, as I may surprise you.

Catch ya later.