The Trailblazers have waived 24-year old center Anthony Tolliver. Tolliver only played in 2 games for the Blazers this year and he averaged 2.0 minutes, 0.0 points and 0.5 rebounds per game. He has now played in 21 games (0 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 10.1 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Trailblazers won’t miss him too much as he has shown nothing for them this year.

32-year old shooting guard Ime Udoka is coming back to the Blazers at least in training camp. He played in Portland during the 2006-07 season in which he averaged 28.6 minutes, 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He also shot 40.6% from three point range that year. Last season Udoka played in 67 games (3 starts) with the Spurs and he averaged 15.4 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He has now played in 227 games (78 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.4 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. It was smart for the Blazers to give Udoka a chance to make the team.

UPDATE: The Trailblazers have released Ime Udoka. They just have too much depth at small forward and shooting guard to keep Udoka. He should be able to find another team soon as he is a talented player. This tells you that teams better watch out for the Blazers who are truly loaded this season.

30-year old center Jarron Collins is coming to training camp trying to make the Blazers’ roster. He played in 26 games (3 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 7.7 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Collins has now played in 480 games (206 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.9 minutes, 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. I think Collins picked a good team to try to make.

UPDATE: The Trailblazers have released Jarron Collins. The Blazers just had too much depth to keep him around. He should be able to find a new job with some team soon.

UPDATE II: The Phoenix Suns have claimed Jarron Collins off waivers from the Blazers. This move could come back to haunt the Blazers but I doubt it.

The Portland Trail Blazers have signed veteran forward Juwan Howard to a one-year deal.  The 6′9″ Howard has career averages of 14.9 Ppg, 6.6 Rpg, and 2.5 Apg.  However, the 36-year-old is on the last leg of his career and will probably not bring very much production on the court.  He will make more of an impact in the locker room than on the court, as he can be somewhat of a mentor to the young and talented big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden.  Howard will bring some solid veteran leadership to a young and talented Trail Blazers team, but don’t expect the Juwan Howard that averaged 15, 7, and 2.

The most important move the Trailblazers made was re-signing star shooting guard Brandon Roy. The Blazers didn’t stop there signing point guard Andre Miller who should move right into the starting lineup and make everyone on the team a better player because of his passing. The Blazers did trade away backup point guard Sergio Rodriguez and backup power forward Channing Frye signed as a free agent with the Suns. But, the Blazers won’t likely miss either of those players. The Blazers were busy in the NBA Draft as usual picking up F Victor Claver, PF Jeff Pendergraph, PF Dante Cunningham and SG Patrick Mills. They will all likely start out as bench players for the Trailblazers.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE SO FAR FOR THE OFF-SEASON: A