Draft Day Reactions

Bold new direction. Bold new direction. Bold new direction. Just keep whispering that to yourselves Blazer fans. It's a load of crap, but at least it sounds positive, right? We didn't just fire the guy who changed our team from a cellar dweller to a perennial playoff contender, we just took a bold new direction.

Other bold new directions in history: Fidel Castro in Cuba. Trading for Shawn Kemp. Manifest Destiny.

Too bad our direction isn't really bold at all. Nor, particularly new. Out with Kevin Pritchard last night was Martell Webster, because honestly, why would the Blazers want a guy who has roots in the area, works his ass off on defense, and has a great outside shot? Okay, I'm judging too harshly, through the prism of Martell fanboyism. He was by far the most honest and funny (non French-speaking) Blazer on the team. It'll be sad to see him go.

Coming back in the trade, though, was Luke Babbitt, who basically is Kyle Korver Jr, minus the trucker hats and punking. Also involved was Ryan Gomes. Initial red flag: the dude can't even pronounce his own last name. Still, he could be the down-low banger that Blazer fans have been aching for ever since the departure of Brian Grant. He probably won't be. Overall, as a cost-cutting measure, this trade was a huge success. From a human perspective though, we came out way behind. Babbitt looks like the kind of dude who would try to steal your girlfriend.

Next, we got Elliot Williams, because why not carry four different point guards on the roster, right? Hey, at least NBADraft.net has his closest comparison listed as Larry Hughes. Jesus. Honestly, though, I could see him working out, if we get rid of Jerryd or Rudy, both of which seem pretty likely.

The final guy was Armon Johnson, who's big and strong and likes to create for himself and get to the line. Basically, PG #5. Here's the irritating part, does anyone think that either of these guys will actually end up better than Jerryd Bayless? Hopefully there's another move in the pipeline, because I haven't seen any improvement in this draft.

Still, the worst loss was KP. Before, as a Blazer fan, I always felt we had something on everyone else, like the Blazers were always going to figure out a way to be better than everyone, just because of KP. During this whole ordeal since the Penn firing, I've had my head buried in the sand, acting like the US before World War II. Who's Mussolini, don't care don't care don't care. Then we had the Blazer equivalent of Pearl Harbor firing Pritchard. Right now, the Blazers are a lot worse for it. For once, though, I'm happy we have a long summer ahead of us to get this sorted out.