Blazers hit draft jackpot with first shot at Oden
MIAMI: The Portland Trail Blazers won the lottery for first pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday and believe their new face will be a "catalyst" to transform them into a major player.
Ohio State center Greg Oden and Texas forward Kevin Durant are the top two players available in the draft and Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said he had not yet plumped for which one the franchise will pick.
"No decision has been taken yet but it is going to be fun going through the process," he told a news conference after the lottery.
Seattle will have second pick and the Atlanta Hawks came out third for the draft which will be held on June 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The lottery and draft are designed to give the weaker teams in the NBA the best of the fresh crop of upcoming players.
Portland have not made it out of the Western Conference into the play-offs since 2003 but have a promising young side including rookie of the year Brandon Roy, and Pritchard said the new arrival could transform the team.
"We couldn't be more excited. This has the opportunity to be the catalyst to take us to the next level," he said, adding that Oden and Durant were players who could make the difference to a team which finished with a 32-50 record last season.
"They are both really good players. We have to figure out how to reach championship level and both have championship qualities," he said.
"We joked last year that it would be great to have this debate (about first pick) and now we'll have that debate," added Pritchard, who ruled out trading the right to first pick as part of a deal.
"I can't see us trading this pick, we are looking at players who are difference makers," he said.
Seven-foot tall Oden and the agile Durant are both in their first year in college and this year became the first freshmen to be named in the 'All American' team in 17 years.
The Memphis Grizzlies had the best mathematical chance of winning the complex lottery draw after gaining the NBA's worst record season, but had to settle for the fourth pick.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/24/2007 page24)
