The Trailblazers picked 23-year old, 6′6″, 205 pound shooting guard Jon Diebler with the 51st overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Diebler played in 37 games for Ohio State last year and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 12.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He also shot 50.2% from three-point range last year as he hit 114 of 227 shots behind the arc. Diebler played in 144 games in his four years in college and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Diebler might be able to get on the floor for the Blazers in 2011-12 as a long range assassin.

The Trailblazers picked 22-year old SG/PG Nolan Smith out of Duke with the 21st overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft last night. Smith can handle either guard slot as he is 6′2″, 185 pounds. Smith played in 37 games for Duke last year and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He played in 143 games in four years in college and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Smith can handle either guard slot, so he will likely get minutes behind Raymond Felton at the point and Wes Matthews at shooting guard in 2011-12.

The Portland Trailblazers acquired 26-year old point guard Raymond Felton (from the Mavericks) and the #57 overall pick (F Tanguy Ngombo - who was sold to the Timberwolves) for 35-year old point guard Andre Miller and a future second round pick in 2013-14. The Blazers also dealt 26-year old shooting guard Rudy Fernandez and PG/SG Petteri Koponen to the Mavericks with SF Jordan Hamilton (#26 overall) going from the Mavericks to the Nuggets. The Blazers wanted to get younger and to play at a faster pace which was the reason for this deal. Raymond Felton played in 75 games (54 starts) overall for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 15.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Felton has now played in 474 games (423 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 35.2 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Andre Miller played in 81 games (all starts) last year and he averaged 32.7 minutes, 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Miller played in 163 games (147 starts) in his two years with the Blazers and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Rudy Fernandez played in 78 games (3 starts) for the Blazers and he averaged 23.3 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He played in 218 games (9 starts) in his three years in Portland and he averaged 24.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

I really like this deal for the Blazers as Felton will jumpstart the offense. The Blazers also got rid of Rudy Fernandez who never seemed happy with his role in Portland.

The Portland Trailblazers currently own the #21 and #51 overall picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. The Blazers are trying to deal Andre Miller so they might be in need of a PG. They also have a big need at center, but they won’t find one at #21. There are a few directions that the Blazers can go in at #21. They could take a point guard like Nolan Smith or they can take a small forward like Tyler Honeycutt out of UCLA. The Blazers will probably take a developmental center with the #51 pick of the draft.

The Trailblazers have two restricted free agents heading into this summer, center Greg Oden and guard Patrick Mills. Oden likely is going to miss the first two months of the 2011-12 season as he rehabs from microfracture surgery on a knee. That will likely keep his offers on the lower side. If Oden isn’t too expensive to bring back, the Blazers should do it. They passed on Kevin Durant to take Oden, so they don’t want him turning into a star for a different team. The Blazers are loaded at the guard spots right now, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Blazers let Mills walk.