Pritchard Talks Draft Day

Written by wendell maxey | 25 May 2009

You know it’s going to happen. The rest of the league does too. You just don’t know who is coming and who is going when Kevin Pritchard works his draft day magic. We can only guess.

Before the start of the Memorial Day weekend, I had the chance to touch base with Pritchard about the upcoming NBA Draft and his plans for Portland’s five picks.

With a story running in full over at HOOPSWORLD (Blazers Keep Draft "Options Open") today, Pritchard didn’t necessarily reveal any war room tactics. But he did say what Portland isn’t planning for come June 25 at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden: to stay young or get younger.

“We’ll look for opportunities but youth really isn’t an issue for us,” Pritchard said.

That could mean he’ll ship the picks. That could mean he’ll package selections with a roster player or two. Or it could mean Pritchard isn’t sure what’s going to happen because talks really don't start heating up between GM's until right after the long holiday weekend. Basically, it’s too early to tell.

What I do know is I’ve heard the spiel before.

Last year, Pritchard told me via a phone interview that, “getting younger isn’t at the top of our list”. Weeks later, Nate McMillan would say how acquiring more veteran experience should be the offseason focus. Well, I think we all know how that one turned out with four rookies on the roster, and three of those four (Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum) contributing significantly last season.

Maybe this is the summer where McMillan actually gets that “veteran experience” he hoped to receive last summer.

Maybe.