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Portland Trail Blazers 2013 NBA Draft results

The Portland Trail Blazers selected CJ McCollum, Jeff Withey and Marko Todorovic in the 2013 NBA Draft. Portland acquired the draft rights to Allen Crabbe, the 31st overall pick, from Cleveland in exchange for a 2015 second round pick and a 2016 second round selection. The Trail Blazers also traded 40th overall pick Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations.

“It was a great night for our team,” said Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen. “CJ McCollum was the player we wanted going into the draft, and I’m very excited to watch him thrill our fans in the Rose Garden next season.”

Portland selected McCollum, 21, with the 10th overall pick. The Canton, Ohio, native averaged 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.05 steals and 32.9 minutes in 111 games over four seasons at Lehigh. A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, McCollum is the all-time scoring leader in league history with 2,361 career points. McCollum (6-4, 200) is the first player from Lehigh ever selected in the NBA Draft.

“We’re pleased with how tonight went because we were able to select the players we identified as priorities in addition to some that we didn’t think would be available given our original draft range,” said General Manager Neil Olshey. “Now we’ll get into Summer League, see what we have on the floor with our young guys and add high-caliber veterans as we work to create a more competitive team for next season.”

The Trail Blazers selected Withey, 23, out of Kansas with the 39th overall pick. The two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is the Big 12’s career leader with 312 blocks. Withey (7-0, 235) averaged 8.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.67 blocks and 19.8 minutes in 117 games over four seasons.

Portland drafted Todorovic, 21, with the 45th overall selection. The Podgorica, Montenegro, native made his Spanish ACB league debut with DKV Joventut Badalona at the age of 18. Todorovic (6-10, 243) spent the 2012-13 season with F.C. Barcelona, averaging 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 6.0 minutes in 20 games.

Crabbe (6-6, 210) played three seasons at California, averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 34.7 minutes in 98 games. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year by coaches in 2013 when he garnered All-Pac-12 honors for the third consecutive season. Crabbe, 21, led all Pac-12 players as a junior last season with 607 points scored.

Blazers hope to strike gold again in NBA draft

The Portland Trail Blazers hope to strike gold for a second consecutive year during Thursday night’s draft.

A year ago, Portland used the No. 6 pick to select Weber State guard Damian Lillard, who became the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. The Blazers pick at No. 10 this year.

What Blazers management has thought about this year’s draft in recent weeks is anyone’s guess. Portland general manager Neil Olshey and coach Terry Stotts haven’t spoken to the media since the team’s first individual draft workouts in late May. But Olshey has often said the team’s preference is to take the best available player over need.

The Blazers’ needs include a defensive-oriented post player and depth. During a season in which Portland went 33-49, starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Lillard ranked among the NBA’s top 10 in minutes played because of a thin bench.

Though some have tabbed this year’s draft as weak to average, the Blazers believe there are players available who can improve their roster.

Reported by the Associated Press

Trail Blazers continue NBA predraft workouts

The Trail Blazers on Friday continued their predraft workouts, evaluating six more players at the practice facility in Tualatin.

The group of prospects included multiple players with NBA bloodlines (Glen Rice, Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard from the D-League and Larry Drew II, a 6-2 guard from UCLA) and another with ties to Oregon (E.J. Singler, a 6-6 forward from Oregon). The rest of the workout included: Ian Clark, a 6-3 guard from Belmont; Ed Daniel, a 6-7 forward from Murray State; and Trevor Mbakwe, a 6-8 forward from Minnesota.

Reported by Joe Freeman of The Oregonian

Blazers enter next phase of offseason with predraft workouts

The next phase of the Trail Blazers’ 2013 offseason begins on Thursday, when the team hosts its first predraft workout in preparation for the NBA Draft.

Blazers GM Neil Olshey does not release the name’s of predraft visitors until shortly before workouts open to the media, so it’s unclear who the visitors will be or how many prospects will be roaming the practice facility in Tualatin. But it’s an important day, nonetheless.

NBA front offices place significant value on predraft workouts. Sure, Olshey and his staff have evaluated many of these players extensively for nearly a year. In some cases, they’ve been monitoring the players since they were in high school. But bringing them to Portland allows the Blazers’ brass to put them through tailor-made workouts and to test their athleticism and basketball ability in a variety of ways.

Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

Wesley Matthews has elbow procedure

Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews has undergone an arthroscopic procedure on his left elbow.

Matthews’ recovery should take three to four weeks. The procedure, an arthroscopic debridement, was performed at a St. Louis hospital on Wednesday.

Reported by the Associated Press

A look at Trail Blazers offseason needs

If the Blazers keep their lottery pick — and that’s a big if as it appears Olshey will look for willing trade partners — it is likely the team pursues a shooting guard.

The Blazers have four pressing needs this offseason: a starting center, a backup point guard, a high-scoring shooting guard and depth at small forward. With $11.6 million in cap room, a lottery pick and three second-round picks, they have enough assets to probably solve two, maybe three, of those issues this summer.

Olshey has been frank about searching for a starting center either in free agency or via trade. Olshey has also expressed an interest in retaining Eric Maynor as his backup point guard, which will likely come using a $2.6 million exception for teams over the cap.

This draft class is largely considered a down class, but if there is a strength, it is at shooting guard, where Ben McLemore (Kansas), Victor Oladipo (Indiana), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia), Franklin and Glen Rice Jr. (Georgia Tech/Development League) as well as combo guards like CJ McCollum (Lehigh) and Carter-Williams.

— Reported by Jason Quick of the Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers hire Nate Tibbetts as assistant coach

The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Nate Tibbetts as an assistant coach, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

Tibbetts, 35, joins Head Coach Terry Stotts’ staff from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he served as an assistant coach for the past two seasons.

“Nate is an exceptional addition to our staff and I am very excited to welcome him to the Trail Blazers,” said Stotts. “He possesses a strong work ethic and a passion for coaching. He has been instrumental in developing young players in the D-League and in the NBA. Additionally, his successful head coaching experience in the D-League provides a unique ability, which will complement our current staff.

“Along with the rest of the staff, he will also assist in game plan preparation and execution.”

Prior to joining the Cavaliers, Tibbetts spent two seasons as head coach of the NBA Development League’s Tulsa 66ers. He guided the Oklahoma City Thunder’s D-League affiliate to a 64-41 (.610) record and two trips to the playoffs during his tenure there.

Tibbetts was selected to be the United States head coach in the 2011 Pan American Games, where he led the group of D-League players to a bronze medal, USA’s first medal since 1999.

Tibbetts was a member of the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce coaching staff for four seasons and was promoted to head coach after his first two campaigns. The former University of South Dakota standout was an assistant coach at the University of Sioux Falls from 2001-05.

He joins current assistants Jay Triano, David Vanterpool, Kim Hughes and Dale Osbourne on Portland’s coaching staff.

2012-13 NBA All-Rookie Teams

The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, the unanimous selection for the 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year, headlines the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.

Lillard was the lone unanimous First Team selection (58 points, 29 First Team votes), while the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and the New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis totaled 57 points each, including 28 First Team votes. Rounding out the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Dion Waiters of the Cleveland Cavaliers (50 points, 21 First Team) and Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors (47 points, 18 First Team).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

Lillard, the sixth overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, made a clean sweep of the NBA Rookie of the Month Award in the Western Conference this season. Among first-year players, Lillard ranked first in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (6.5 apg) and minutes (38.6 mpg). According to NBA.com/Stats, the Trail Blazers had an offensive rating of 105.0 points (per 100 possessions) when Lillard was on the court compared with 93.5 points when he was on the bench.

For the season, Beal averaged 13.9 points to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. On the season, he recorded 13 games of 20-plus points and six games with a least four three-pointers made. The overall top selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, Davis excelled after the All-Star break, averaging 15.3 points on .520 shooting from the field and 9.3 rebounds. He posted 11 double-doubles. Overall, Davis averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds 1.8 blocks and, 1.2 steals in 64 games.

Sporting averages of 14.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.8 minutes per game, Waiters scored in double figures 45 times, including 14 games of 20 points or more. While his 81 regular-season starts ranked second among rookies, (Lillard, 82 games), Barnes helped the Warriors secure a playoff spot by averaging 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.8 mpg.

The NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond (35 points, 10 First Team), the Toronto Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas (31 points, six First Team), the Charlotte Bobcats’ Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (29 points, three First Team), the Detroit Pistons’ Kyle Singler (17 points, one First Team), and the Cavaliers’ Tyler Zeller (15 points, three First Team).

Damian Lillard wins 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year award

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today. Lillard was a unanimous selection, having totaled 605 points as he received all 121 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was the last unanimous selection (2010-11).

The New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis finished second with 306 points and the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal finished third with 94 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Among first-year players, Lillard ranked first in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (6.5 apg) and minutes (38.6 mpg). According to NBA.com/Stats, the Trail Blazers had an offensive rating of 105.0 points (per 100 possessions) when Lillard was on the court compared with 93.5 points (per 100 possesions) when the first-year player was on the bench. When on the court, Lillard assisted on 36.5 percent of Portland’s field goals while scoring 23.9 percent of his team’s points.

Lillard, the sixth overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, made a clean sweep of the NBA Rookie of the Month Award in the Western Conference this season. He set an NBA rookie record by making 185 three-point field goals, surpassing the 166 triples made by Golden State’s Stephen Curry during his 2009-10 rookie campaign.

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Trail Blazers waive Jared Jeffries

The Portland Trail Blazers have waived forward Jared Jeffries, General Manager Neil Olshey announced today.

In 38 games during his only season with the Trail Blazers, Jeffries averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game in 2012-13.

In 11 career NBA seasons, Jeffries has averaged 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 21.6 minutes in 629 games (335 starts) with Washington, New York, Houston and Portland.