I couldn’t find anything about this trade in my morning paper but it’s supposedly done — with the Minnesota Timberwolves ending up with the No. 5 pick in the draft alongside the No. 6 choice they already owned.

David Kahn is no shrinking violet and he now controls a key part of the draft. He’s busting his tail to improve a team that sadly needs it. I have no idea what he’s going to do with those back-to-back choices but if he picks (or trades) wisely, the Wolves have a chance to get better in a hurry.

It looks now to me that he’s not going to get a shot at Ricky Rubio, though. All signs point to Oklahoma City grabbing him after Memphis takes Hasheem Thabeet. That leaves Sacramento in a tough spot and the word down there is the Kings like Jonny Flynn.

I think the Minnesota trade — and Rubio apparently coming to some agreement to play in Oklahoma City — drastically inhibits Portland’s chances of moving up. The Blazers may not be able to get up to get the players who would make great trade pieces (Rubio and Stephen Curry) now. You could see a Portland draft where not much happens, other than the move everyone knows they have to make — shipping Sergio Rodriguez somewhere, with probably not much coming back in return.

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Tags: David Kahn, Dwight Jaynes, Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry

Over and over I keep hearing that from my friends around the league. Portland, they say, is trying to get up among the top five or six picks. The Blazers are chasing somebody at the top of the draft.

I keep thinking it’s Stephen Curry. I’ve said that before. He makes sense for them — a star-quality shooter to play alongside Brandon Roy. But a thought occured to me last night:

What if they’re going after Curry — or Rubio or someone else — for another team? What if they’ve got New Orleans convinced that if it can replace Chris Paul’s massive salary with a rookie salary that Curry or Rubio would serve the team just as well in the long run and help the team stay in business through tough economic times? Or what if Phoenix is wanting a big name to soften the blow to its fans for shipping Steve Nash to Portland?

Some NBA teams are going through some difficult financial times and Portland is in a position to take on salary. Could drafting one of these players lead to a lopsided deal in Portland’s favor?

I don’t know. It’s just one more thing to think about as we get inside a week before the draft. The Blazers are creative and gutsy — and I just don’t think they are going to get through this draft without a big move.

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Tags: Chris Paul, Dwight Jaynes, NBA Draft, Portland Trail Blazers, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Steve Nash

This is sort of a random guess, as I don’t have any inside information. Everyone knows how careful Portland is about giving away its intentions prior to the draft.

But if I had to guess about a player they’d want in this draft, I think I’d go off course a little bit from what many other people would predict. I would guess that the Blazers would have the most interest in Stephen Curry.

He’s not exactly a traditional point guard, for sure. But he’s smart, a very good passer and he’ll make shots. I think he could man the point well enough, given that the Blazers seem to want Brandon Roy to have the ball in his hands all the time, anyway, and stretch the defense with his outside shooting.

The kid’s got star quality. He might prove to be a whole lot better NBA player than people think, but the Blazers would likely have to move up pretty high to get him. But they’ve got plenty of ammunition, between spare point guards, draft choices and small forwards, to get that done.

For me, I’m still a lot more interested in getting a veteran point guard, but you know how this organization loves the draft. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them add yet another young player to the mix.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, NBA Draft, Portland Trail Blazers, Stephen Curry