Looking Ahead: Portland Trailblazers Brass Will Be Very Busy Very Soon

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

It's the Portland Trailblazers offseason—and that's Kevin Pritchard's Christmas.

This offseason has the makings to be spectacular.

There is, of course, the NBA draft to prepare for. KP will start with five picks.

Then there is the pending contract expiration of Raef LaFretnz, which likely will force the Blazers to make a trade.

Don't forget free agency. The Blazers have to make decisions on Channing Frye and Sergio Rodriguez. Travis Outlaw has an option that will need to be looked at as well.

And also, Portland has the opportunity to lock up Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge early with a six-year deal.  But what about a contract extension for Nate McMillan?

Mock Draft sites have virtually given up on predictions for the Blazers. That or they are just terrible at their jobs. One site has them taking three SGs. Another has them drafting every player on the Spanish national team not named Ricky Rubio.

The main thing the Blazers need to do in this draft is to get tougher. Selecting Jeff Adrien in the second round would be an ideal fit. He passes the eyeball test—and despite only standing 6'7", he has a 7'0" wingspan and is a terrific rebounder. He averaged 13.6 ppg and 10 rpg while playing alongside the gigantic Hasheem Thabeet.

The first-round pick though is really a luxury. Picking at 24 for the second time in the last three years could bring back as quality a player as it did in 2007 when Portland selected Rudy Fernandez.

It's hard to blame the mocks for not really doing any homework on that pick, because I don't see Portland making that pick for themselves anyway.

That brings us to Raef's contract. Something has to be done with this. Teams that didn't value the contract enough at the trade deadline will be far more envious of that contract now that it would only be on the books for a few weeks—then, poof! Eleven million dollars right at the start of free agency.

Speaking of free agency, Portland has some money and needs a PG. PGs need money—and there are a few unrestricted free agents who would make the Blazers better now. Guys like Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, or Mike Bibby could open a championship window in Portland instantly.

On the restricted side, there are PGs Ramon Sessions, Raymond Felton, and Nate Robinson. Sessions would be a very nice addition but Milwaukee may be able to match an offer sheet of the estimated $7 million the Blazers could put on the table.

Raymond Felton would be less expensive, but he may not be a large enough upgrade over current PG Steve Blake—and certainly can not shoot the ball as well.

Nate Robinson has expressed interest in heading west to play alongside Roy again, but Portland hasn't seemed too interested in extending an offer his way. CryptoNate is an obvious upgrade over Steve Blake in a vacuum—but he may not be an upgrade in the eyes of hard-nosed Head Coach Nate McMillan.

If toughness is a concern that Portland addresses through free agency, Ron Artest could be the answer. Many people in Portland and around America have become more and more enamored with the man that once was the most-hated player in all of basketball. The talent is there, he is a severe upgrade at SF, but is the franchise once tagged as the "Jail Blazers" able to forgive or forget what happened in Detroit?

It is safe to say that Frye and Sergio are gone. The Blazers would like to include them in any trade they may make, but that would be the only way those two get re-signed.

That leaves the Travis Outlaw decision. His fate this offseason has to be the most liquid of all the Blazers'. Outlaw had a solid season this year and was the teams third-leading scorer.

If the Blazers are looking to get better via a trade, it would likely include Travis. He is beloved by the organization, but is really the only proven commodity the Blazers may be willing to part with.

Now as far as trades go, the rumors are endless and spectacular. I don't expect anything roster altering by any means.

The Phoenix Suns are reportedly shopping PG Steve Nash. That is very intriguing—but likely too expensive. Nash makes any team a contender, but who knows how long Nash will stick around?  He is, after all, 35 years old and headed into his 13th NBA season—and has been plagued with a back injury for years.

But you can't argue his talent. He could take the reigns of the most efficient offense in the NBA in 2009 (Portland averaged 113.9 points per 100 touches) and make it one of the best ever. Imagine if Portland had a transition game run by Steve Nash.

I'm all in favor of bringing in Nash, but I would hate to see Jerryd Bayless involved in that trade. Perhaps the best thing Nash could bring to this team would be the mentoring that he would provide for Bayless.

Lastly, the Blazers can and should give a max contract to Brandon Roy as soon as next year's roster is set—and not a moment later.

LaMarcus, on the other hand, may or may not be a max player in the NBA. If he could get his rebounds up to around eight per game, there would be no questions. It's clear that he is a top-notch player, and his agent will likely stick to max or bust. The decision on him may be put off a year but lets hope that doesn't create ill will between his camp and the Blazers. Good thing Tom Penn stuck around to handle this one.

Coach Nate needs a new contract as well. It may make him the highest-paid coach in the NBA. He certainly needs to be in the top five. What his teams have done has been simply incredible.

No matter what free agents decisions are made, who is drafted or who gets traded, next year a first-round loss is not an option. The Portland Trail Blazers have just the people in place to make sure that does not happen again.