MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
After he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2006-07, the Blazers knew what they had with Brandon Roy. But the 6-6 guard from Washington exceeded expectations in his second season, becoming the first Blazer since Rasheed Wallace in 2000-01 to make the All-Star team.

With the departure of Zach Randolph to New York, Roy took over as the Blazers unquestioned leader, on the court and off.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER
The letdown to Blazer fans was tremendous when Greg Oden's season-ending microfracture surgery was announced before training camp began. The team had set up an extensive marketing program involving Oden, and the 18-year-old told general manager Kevin Pritchard that he felt like he'd let the team down. But Oden was a familiar presence around the team all season, doing his rehab at the team practice facility and attending almost every game, home and away. Oden dealt with the boredom of rehab by buying a dog named Charles Barkley McLovin', getting a Mohawk haircut and taking part in several team community events.

FREE AGENT FOCUS
James Jones has a player option for $3.16 million for 2008-09 that the team expects him to exercise, although Jones has said he isn't sure yet what he wants to do. Jarrett Jack is due a qualifying offer of $2.9 million for 2008-09.

Don't expect the Blazers to be big players on the free-agent market in 2008. Pritchard's master plan has been to wait until the summer of 2009 to make go after free agents, when he could have as much as $25 million to $30 million of cap room to burn.

PLAYER NOTES

--Odds are highest that Portland will wind up with the 13th pick in the draft, because that's where the Blazers are slotted. There are plenty of small forwards who will be available in that vicinity, including a pair the Blazer brass watched while in Spain -- Danilo Gallinari, 6-9 and 210 from Italy, and Nicolas Batum, 6-7 and 185 from France.

--The Blazers will have 12 players under contract plus their first-round draft pick, if F James Jones doesn't exercise his opt-out clause on July 1.

--G Sergio Rodriguez will be involved in tryouts at the end of the month for the Spanish Olympic team. Rodriguez was a backup on the Spanish team that won the World Championships in 2006.

--Little-used G Von Wafer will not be back with the Blazers next season.

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