Jeff Kramer will join Beyond the Beat this month for a closer look at trade rumors surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers, and the lastest with the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions with the NBA lockout looming. You can also read more from Kramer at his own site, Storyteller Contracts.

There have been plenty of trade rumors regarding Portland players making the rounds during the last week.  There was a rumor that Andre Miller might possibly be going to the Nets, talk that Portland might entertain trade offers for Joel Przybilla, and even our report from Friday afternoon that Dante Cunningham could perhaps go to the Sixers.

Now, Mark Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting several other trade rumors that are being mentioned and flaoted around during the All-Star festivities in Los Angeles this weekend, two of which include Miller.

Spears writes that “the Cleveland Cavaliers are also interested in acquiring (Andre) Miller for guard Mo Williams, but Portland isn’t hot on that deal.”

Spears also notes the rumored deal between New Jersey and Portland to swap Miller for Devin Harris might now also include Rudy Fernandez. There were initial discussions between the two teams, and one source told Beyond the Beat last week that Anthony Morrow's place in those talks could "make or break" the deal. 

We are used to hearing about Dante Cunningham wearing his protective face mask and playing out of position for injury riddled Portland, but hearing his name floated in trade rumors is something new.

Today, Tom Moore with the Burlington County Times and PhillyBurbs.com, noted some recent chatter involving Cunningham and Sixers' power forward/center Marreese Speights and refuting an initial swap which had been discussed between Portland and Philadelphia.

Teams around the league are heavily scouting Cunningham, with one NBA Western Conference scout telling Beyond the Beat recently, that front offices are intrigued by the second year forward out of Villanova, because, "the guy is everywhere and he gets the most out of his size." 

The guy is for sure a banger, and Cunningham also knows how to take a shot.

Ben Johnson is a former three-time All-PAC-10 shortstop at Oregon State University and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1990 MLB Draft. A four-time conference Coach of the Year in the Midwestern and Mt Hood Conferences while leading Sheldon High School and Hood River High School to conference championships, Johnson also coached at Willamette University and served as an Associate Scout with the Kansas City Royals. A featured baseball writer with Beyond the Beat, Johnson is also the creator of College Baseball Stars.com.

Several teams in the western region are playing monster schedules to open the 2011 college baseball campaign, and the University of Portland Pilots just happen to be one of them.

A simple glance at the schedule reveals the Pilots – with 21 letter winners and 8 position starters returning – will have to win the WCC to get an NCAA Invite, even if they match the 34 win total from 2010, which was the second most all-time in the history of the program behind the 1980 squad (36-12).

Portland plays a slew of PAC-10 schools – Oregon (3), Oregon State (2), Washington (1) and Washington State (1), as well as Hawaii (4) and BYU (2) from the WAC and Mountain West.

Remember those preseason whispers of being a sleeper team in the conference?  Long forgotten.  With only 5 games remaining before the Pac-10 tournament tips off, the OSU Beavers are in need of their first conference road win of the season.

But it won't be easy on Saturday, when the Beavers tip off at 1 p.m. against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.  OSU coach Craig Robinson acknowledged his team's challenge when he spoke with reporters on Tuesday.

"[The Ducks are] going to be playing their first Civil War game in the new arena, so there's going to be some motivation there," Robinson said, referring to Matthew Knight Arena.  "They'll be going for the season sweep of us, so there's going to be a lot of motivation there.  We've got our work cut out for us."  

Notes

Looking for Offense: The Beavers have scored more than 61 points only once in the last seven games -- a 68-56 win over Washington on Feb. 3 -- and they'll need more than that to take down a Ducks team that has played very well of late, especially at home.  The Ducks have lost only once at Matthew Knight Arena, a Jan. 15 loss to a very good, often overlooked UCLA team.  The Ducks held off a second-half surge by the Beavers in the first Civil War game of the season, a 63-59 UO win at Gill Coliseum on Jan. 22.

Offensive Keys: The pressure on OSU guards has grown throughout the Pac-10 season, as play in the post has virtually disappeared in recent weeks.  In OSU's wins over Arizona and Arizona State, power forward Joe Burton shouldered some of the offensive burden, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 rebounds against Arizona to follow-up 17 points and 9 boards against ASU.  He shot 66% over the two games, which helped put the Beavers atop the Pac-10 to begin conference play.

The Beavers need this kind of play inside for guards Jared Cunningham, Calvin Haynes, Ahmad Starks, and Roberto Nelson to find room to drive, pass, or knock down shots.

Undrafted.

It's the one word usually associated with Wesley Matthews. But the word is now starting to lose it's luster and is officially replaced with a new title and name for the gritty Portland Trail Blazers guard:

All-Star.

For Matthews, it's been a long road from Marquette - with a pit stop in Utah and now living large in Portland - to Los Angeles and the NBA All-Star Game, but the drive has always been there. Reaching the destination is much deserved too.

"At the end of the season last year, I got hungry and I just did everything," Matthews told Stephen Litel of Hoopsworld. "I tasted what the playoffs are like, what a little bit of success is like and I want to be great in this game. That's what my focus has been."

Matthews is Portland's one lone rep at All-Star weekend and he will compete Friday night in the Rookie-Sophomore All-Star game. It's the second honor bestowed on Matthews this month.