Trail Blazers begin draft evaluation process this weekend

The threat of a lockout is hovering over the NBA's 30 front offices as they prepare for the offseason, but Rich Cho says he will embark on his first full summer as the Trail Blazers' general manager just as he would any other.

"I just approach it business as usual," Cho said earlier this week.

And that business will start to intensify this weekend for the Blazers -- and the rest of the NBA -- as front offices across the league gather to evaluate college prospects during a group workout in New Jersey. The workout, which will feature nearly 50 draft prospects, is the first of several opportunities that teams will have to scrutinize prospects in preparation for the June 23 NBA Draft.

The NBA will hold its annual predraft combine May 18-22 in Chicago, another group workout will follow May 23-24 in Minneapolis and an international workout (EUROCAMP) will take place after that from June 11-13 in Treviso, Italy. In between, starting in late May or early June, the Blazers will hold a series of predraft workouts at the practice facility in Tualatin for a select group of draft targets.

The Blazers, who hold the 21st and 51st picks of the draft, have been particularly active in recent seasons, reworking the roster by acquiring young talent with a barrage of draft-day deals. But that was under general manager Kevin Pritchard, who helped orchestrate 18 draft-related trades over five years with the franchise.

This will be Cho's first draft as a GM.

"You'll see us be aggressive as always," said Chad Buchanan, the Blazers' director of college scouting. "If it helps the team, we're going to pursue it."

Cho said the Blazers' biggest needs are size, depth, "speed in the backcourt" and "better shooting." It seems free agency -- not the draft -- is the best way to fill these needs, especially since the 2011 draft is not considered particularly deep.

But, Buchanan said, if the right player falls to the right spot, it's possible to attain someone who can become part of the regular playing rotation.

"I think you judge the draft a lot by who's up at the top, by how many potential stars there are," Buchanan said. "I think once you get to the middle and late first round ... you have to be ready to take the right guy. There are guys that can help an NBA team. There may not be many stars, but when you're picking where we're picking, you hope to get a guy who can be in your rotation at some point."

Over the last seven drafts, high-level players have fallen to No. 21, including Boston point guard Rajon Rondo (2006), Indiana point guard Darren Collison (2009) and Orlando forward Ryan Anderson (2008). Of course, No. 21 selections have also been used on Craig Brackins (2010) and Pavel Podkolzin (2004).

The last time the Blazers had the No. 21 pick? They selected Qyntel Woods.

"It's hit or miss," Buchanan said. "There are guys there in that range, but there's just as many guys who are not going to make it in that same range. You just have to do your work and make the right pick. There are some guys in every draft, including this one, that are capable of helping a team."

And the work begins this weekend as most of the Blazers' brain trust -- including assistant general managers Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry, director of NBA scouting Michael Born and Buchanan -- will be in New Jersey. The two-day group workout will not feature any draft lottery talent, but will include many of the 69 college underclassmen who have declared early for the draft.

For those who are merely testing the NBA waters and have not yet hired an agent, the weekend will be their only opportunity to receive feedback from NBA scouts. The NCAA requires underclassmen to declare or decide to return by Sunday.

The biggest week of the draft scouting process will occur later this month at the predraft camp in Chicago and subsequent group workout in Minneapolis. Fifty-five prospects will be invited to the predraft camp to undergo interviews with NBA front offices, a battery of medical testing by team doctors and participate in skill workouts.

Predraft workouts in Tualatin will start as early as late May and Blazers intend to be more selective with whom they invite this offseason. They brought in 54 prospects for workouts last year and have invited nearly 70 in past summers, but Buchanan says they will bring in closer to 35 this summer.

"We're going to scale it back a little this year," Buchanan said. "We want to really focus in on the guys we need to focus in on. We're going to see these guys enough. We just feel like through all the group workouts and combines, we'll get to know these guys well enough."

The search for the next Rondo -- not Woods -- is on.

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