By Anne M. Peterson
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The Portland Trail Blazers were busy in the hours before the NBA draft, pulling off several deals _ but none for fan favourite Adam Morrison.
The flurry of trades landed Portland four first-round picks.
The Trail Blazers traded the No. 4 pick, Tyrus Thomas, to the Chicago Bulls along with forward Viktor Khryapa and a conditional second-round pick for the No. 2 overall pick, LaMarcus Aldridge.
Portland also traded away guard Sebastian Telfair and centre Theo Ratliff to Boston for the No. 7 pick, Randy Foye, then swapped him to Minnesota for the No. 6 pick, Brandon Roy.
Aldridge, a 6-foot-11 power forward/centre who played as a sophomore last season at Texas, is known for his defence and could provide immediate help if the Blazers fail to re-sign free agent centre Joel Przybilla. He averaged 12.4 points last season and was selected the Big 12 defensive player of the year.
``I really didn't know where I was going to end up,'' Aldridge said.
Khryapa, a six-foot-nine Russian forward taken in the first round two years ago, averaged 5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds last season and showed promise when injuries gave him extra minutes.
Making the No. 4 pick before the trade was formally announced, the Blazers took forward Thomas, who played for Louisiana State as a redshirt freshman last season and averaged 12.3 points.
Despite wearing a Blazers hat, Thomas told ESPN he was ``looking forward to being in Chicago.''
Blazers president Steve Patterson, also serving as interim general manager, said the Blazers wanted Aldridge or Italian forward Andrea Bargnani, who went with the first overall selection to Toronto.
``We had to get up to No. 2 to do it, and we did,'' Patterson said.
The Trail Blazers dealt Telfair and Ratliff and a 2008 pick to Boston in exchange for the No. 7 pick, centre Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau. The Celtics took six-foot-four Foye out of Villanova.
Foye was an AP All-America first-team selection as a senior last season when he averaged 20.5 points. But his time as a Trail Blazer was short-lived. Soon thereafter, Portland announced the deal with Minnesota for Roy, the Pacific-10 Conference player of the year after averaging 20.2 points for Washington.
``We have a young group,'' Roy said about the dynamic in Portland. ``And now we get to go it together.''
The Blazers finished last season 21-61, the worst record in the NBA. And the team's ownership situation is in limbo, with owner Paul Allen claiming the franchise is losing too much money.
Allen, nonetheless, participated in the draft, ensconced at the team's practice facility just south of Portland.
Portland also acquired the 27th pick, guard Sergio Rodriguez from Spain, from the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations. With the 30th overall pick, Portland took Joel Freeland, a six-foot-10 forward from England.
The Blazers opened the second round by taking guard/forward James White out of Cincinnati with the 31st pick. They then traded White to Indiana for the 45th selection, Florida State forward Alexander Johnson, and two future second-round picks. Johnson was then traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for another future second-round pick.
Telfair was drafted with the 13th overall pick two years ago. The prep phenom out of Lincoln High School in New York was expected to be the face of the franchise, but struggled last season with a thumb injury, and watched as Steve Blake became the team's starter at the point.
Telfair averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 assists over two seasons with the Blazers. His shooting percentage was .395.
``You've got to give up value to get the seventh pick; it's not an easy pick to get,'' Patterson said.
Martell Webster, drafted last season with the No. 6 pick, said he was told about the probable trade by his agent on Tuesday. He planned to call Telfair Wednesday night.
``It hurts. Me and Sebastian were close throughout the season. I definitely saw him as my 1, running the backcourt,'' said Webster, a shooting guard.
Morrison, who went to Gonzaga, was the fan's choice for Portland. A local sports radio station organized a ``Draft the 'Stache'' campaign _ a reference to the forward's shaggy hair and moustache.
