There were several deals leading up to and during the 2014 NBA Draft on Thursday evening — but none of the drama in Brooklyn involved the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers were not poised to be major players in the 2014 draft in which the Cleveland Cavaliers took Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick.
The biggest form of Blazer news on Thursday was regarding one of their current players. Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that the Blazers offered Aldridge a maximum contract extension. Yahoo! Sports first reported the news.
As reported previously, Aldridge can sign for more money and more years under the league’s collective bargaining rules if he waits until he becomes an unrestricted free agent to re-sign with the Blazers.
The Blazers didn’t have a pick in the 2014 draft as they owed a first round selection — which would have been the 24th overall pick — to the Charlotte Hornets, formerly the Bobcats, for the trade that netted them Gerald Wallace in 2011.
They also owed the Denver Nuggets a second round pick in the 2014 draft for the team’s 2011 trade for Raymond Felton.
The Blazers were not the only team in the league to keep quiet on draft night, as the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers also stayed out of the draft.
The Blazers publicly entertained the possibility of buying a draft pick but that never came to fruition on Thursday.
Now all eyes are set on Tuesday, the first day of NBA free agency.
The Blazers will have two open roster spots and are armed with the mid-level exception which is expected to allow them to pay a player in excess of $5 million without it counting against their salary cap.
The Blazers will also be sending a team to the Las Vegas Summer League this July and will play their first game on July 12 against the New York Knicks.
While the draft came and went with very little noise from Tualatin, Ore., the most important decisions of the Blazers offseason appear as though they have yet to be made.
