First for the link: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/powerRankings

Blazers #6

Too much love for the Thunder in my opinion. Suns drop is huge. CP3 may as well come to the Blazers since his team doesn't crack the top 15. Blazers healthy with a couple acquisitions/deletions should keep us in the top 3 in the West.

Let's hear it. Does the rankings look right to you? How can Blazers move up? Do you care, it's only preseason?

OK, time to choose your Blazers team for the 09’-10’ season - before the draft happens! Tell us who is your starting five and your backups (1 thru 10), how you got these players (draft, free agency, etc. and who you gave up to make it happen), anticipated season record, and how far you go in the playoffs.

Make it realistic – you did not trade Sergio straight up for CP3, or trade a 2nd rd. draft pick for LeBron or K*be. Don't criticize others rosters unless you at least put up your own.

My team would be:

Hinrich/Bayless

Roy/Fernandez

Batum/Webster

LMA/Bass

Oden/Pryz

I would trade Blake/Outlaw + 2nd rd. pick + cash if necessary for Hinrich. S&T Frye/Sergio + 2nd rd. pick + cash if necessary for Bass. That leaves the 1st and one 2nd rd. pick to fill in.

58 wins, win the northwest division, win 1st and 2nd rd, lose in 6 or 7 games in conference finals against L*kers. 1 more year and we’re there!

How many of you watched Mike Rice as "Merlin" last night on Courtside predicting the Blazers making a trade for Steve Nash? Since no one has mentioned this, maybe I'm the only one who watched.

I have to admit that Mike Rice is not my favorite announcer or Blazer "personality", and his "Merlin" act didn't change my mind, but I would think that he would have some kind of inside info on the happenings of the organization. Maybe not. Still, it seems pretty far-fetched to me that we would make a deal to bring Nash here for maybe a year or two so that Bayless has someone to learn from. I think it's pretty inevitable that the Blazers are grooming Bayless as their future PG.  So, whether you like Bayless or not, what do you think?

Would you want the Blazers to go after Nash?

What would it take to get him?

How much longer can he be productive?

Who would be a better teacher for Bayless?