The Portland Trail Blazers made a flurry of moves today, and none involved signing or acquiring a center, the only position of need. They waived Anthony Tolliver, who missed a three-pointer and grabbed a rebound in two games with the team, activated rookie point guard Patrick Mills, and assigned him to Idaho of the Developmental League, and, according to Brian T. Smith of the Columbian, are expected to sign power forward and ex-Blazer Shavlik Randolph with their second hardship exemption of the season.

Tolliver was let go, but didn’t necessarily have to be. Because Mills was assigned to the Developmental League, there is still an open spot. So, instead of becoming the 17th man, Randolph becomes the 16th. Now, the Blazers have the opportunity to make a trade, factoring in the open spot on the roster. However, to acquire multiple players without trading multiple players, the Blazers would have to cut their only non-guaranteed contract, Mills, but the team has no plans to waive a player of the point guard’s caliber, especially now that he’s near full strength. He was the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Blazers and was proclaimed a steal at that stage of the second round because of his immense talent. He isn’t the best of shooters, but is best known for his lightning-fast quickness and ability to run the point.

The Blazers will get a good look at the Australian-born Mills when he joins the Stampede on Wednesday. Because Mills broke his foot on the first day of practice this summer, Portland will be seeing him play for the first time. Presumably, considering Portland already has three point guards, he won’t be a factor with the team this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring him over for a cup of coffee just to see he would fare against the NBA’s fierce competition. If he excels, and perhaps even if he doesn’t, he will be an integral part of their future.

Current backup point guard Steve Blake is in the final year of his contract. He is a very formidable player, and though he is very popular amongst his teammates, I expect that he will elect to go via free agency, to see if a starting spot opens up elsewhere. It would be difficult to lose a player with his talent-level, leadership, and savviness, but the Blazers would most likely opt to move Mills into the rotation heading into next season, and let Andre Miller take him under his wing.

Looking far too ahead, Miller’s contract runs out after next season. If Mills struts his stuff in the Developmental League this year, and shines next year, there is no doubt in my mind that he will join Jerryd Bayless as the point guards of the future. This combination, on paper, would give Portland a dynamic duo of speed (Mills) and power (Bayless).

Because he wasn’t getting much playing time and isn’t NBA-ready, waiving Tolliver was necessary. So was assigning Mills to Idaho. Signing Randolph might as well. He was with the Blazers for ten games last season, and played sparingly. He hasn’t had much of a career, having appeared in 91 games over five seasons. But he played at Duke, which stereotypically means he has a high basketball I.Q. and excels at the fundamentals.

Exploited by Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert in their most recent game, a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Blazers need a guy who can block shots, rebound, and fill the middle more than ever. Given Randolph’s Dante Cunningham-like build, I’m not sure he can do the third job well, but if he can bring some energy, hit some shots, and crash the boards, things Cunningham does, Portland will be far better off.

Like Tolliver, he will temporarily be a member of the Blazers. Shooting guard Rudy Fernandez is due back in mid-January. So is Nicolas Batum. When they return, the North Carolina-native will be waived just like Tolliver. Yet, he can provide a lift in the meantime by spelling the aged Juwan Howard and taking the pressure of LaMarcus Aldridge. Hopefully he can do enough to catch on with another organization longterm.

The Blazers will waste no time ushering in Randolph. According to Smith (via Twitter), “Randolph [is] expected to be in Portland for [the Los Angeles] Clippers game [on Wednesday]. He was a very popular player in his short time with the team last year, and surely the reception will be warm for his return.

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Smith’s interview with Tom Penn, the Blazers Vice President of Basketball Operations, clarifying the hardship exemption and Randolph’s situation.

Randolph calls return to Portland a “blessing” in this article by the Oregonian’s Joe Freeman.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 8:08 pm and is filed under Breaking News, Most Recommended, NBA, News Headlines, Portland Trail Blazers, Right Column, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.