Bodog Beat

Steve Francis joins Greg Oden on the retooled Trail Blazers. (AI Wire photo)

The Portland Trail Blazers got the best player in Thursday night's NBA Draft in Greg Oden, the first overall pick, and they may have gotten a steal in the second round, when they chose Demetris Nichols with the 53rd selection. Nichols, a 6-6 shooting guard from Syracuse, is an outstanding scorer who could develop into a perimeter complement to Oden's interior game. He will likely have an opportunity to apprentice behind one of the game's most talented guards.

It was a busy, busy night for the Trail Blazers, who revamped their franchise in one spectacular flurry of moves. Prior to the second round, they acquired Steve Francis from the New York Knicks in exchange for a package that includes promising power forward Zach Randolph, and guards Dan Dickau and Fred Jones. The Blazers also received forward Channing Frye in the deal.

Before choosing Nichols, Portland took University of Florida point guard Taurean Green with the 52nd overall pick. Green was the fifth member of the two-time NCAA champion Gators to be selected on the night.

In New York, the trade of Francis and the acquisition of Randolph was greeted with wild cheers, including a standing ovation from Spike Lee, who was watching at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks' faithful, though, may only be receiving a bigger headache. Randolph has been in trouble with his team and with the law throughout his six-year career. On the court, however, he does rank among the best-producing power forwards in the league. He averaged 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds last season and has averaged at least 18 points and 8 rebounds in each of the past four seasons.

For a complete list of first-round selections in the 2007 NBA Draft, read this earlier report on the Beat. Here is the complete second-round selections:

31. Seattle (from Memphis) – Carl Landry, PF, 6-7, 252 (Purdue)
32. Boston – Gabe Pruitt, PG, 6-3, 173 (Southern Cal)
33. San Antonio (from Milwaukee) – Marcus Williams, SF, 6-6, 207 (Arizona)
34. Dallas (from Atlanta) – Nick Fazekas, PF, 6-10, 243 (Nevada)
35. Seattle (to Boston) – Glen Davis, PF, 6-7, 313 (Louisiana State)
36. Golden State (to Charlotte via Minnesota) – Jermareo Davidson, PF, 6-9, 230 (Alabama)
37. Portland – Josh McRoberts, PF, 6-10, 243 (Duke)
38. Philadelphia (from New York via Chicago) – Kyrylo Fesenko, C, 6-11, 248 (SK Cherkassy, Ukraine)
39. Miami (to Indiania via Orlando, Sacramento and Utah ) – Stanko Barac, C, 7-0, 238 (Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia)
40. L.A. Lakers (from Charlotte) – Sun Yue, SG, 6-7, 212 (Beijing Aoshen Olympian, China)
41. Minnesota (from Philadelphia) – Chris Richard, PF, 6-8, 25 (Florida)
42. Portland (from Indiana) – Derrick Byars, SF, 6-6, 231 (Vanderbilt)
43. NO/Okla. City – Adam Haluska, SG, 6-5, 210 (Iowa)
44. Orlando – Reyshawn Terry, SF, 6-7, 238 (North Carolina)
45. L.A. Clippers – Jared Jordan, PG, 6-0, 183 (Marist)
46. Golden State (from New Jersey) – Stephane Lasme, PF, 6-5, 213 (UMass)
47. Washington – Dominic McGuire, SF, 6-7, 219 (Fresno State)
48. L.A. Lakers – Marc Gasol, C, 6-11, 267 (Akasvayu Girona, Spain)
49. Chicago (from Golden State via Denver, Boston and Phoenix) – Aaron Gray, C, 7-0, 272 (Pittsburgh)
50. Dallas (from Miami via L.A. Lakers) – Renaldas Seibutis, SG, 6-4, 176 (Maroussi Athens, Greece)
51. Chicago (from Denver) – JamesOn Curry, SG, 6-3, 190 (Oklahoma State)
52. Portland (from Toronto) – Taurean Green, PG, 5-11, 177 (Florida)
53. Portland (from Chicago) – Demetris Nichols, SG, 6-6, 211 (Syracuse)
54. Houston (from Orlando via Cleveland) – Brad Newley, SG, 6-6, 201(Townsville Crocs, Australia)
55. Utah – Herbert Hill, PF, 6-8, 243 (Providence)
56. Milwaukee (from Houston) – Ramon Sessions, PG, 6-2, 185 (Nevada)
57. Detroit – Sammy Mejia, SG, 6-6, 195 (DePaul)
58. San Antonio – Giorgos Printezis, SF, 6-9, 210 (Olympiakos, Greece)
59. Phoenix – D.J. Strawberry Jr., SG, 6-3, 199 (Maryland)
60. Dallas – Milovan Rakovic, PF, 6-10, 235 (Mega Ishrana, Serbia)

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