Rudy Fernandez's play against the Redeem Team in the Beijing gold medal game gave the Blazers a reason to smile. Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated Steve Aschburner's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Steve. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Portland Trail Blazers

What went right:

The rich got richer.

Actually, we have no idea how owner Paul Allen's portfolio is doing. But in terms of roster-rich, the Trail Blazers are in buy mode, ready to pounce on opponents who, by comparison, are barely scraping by. Portland already was in good shape at the guard spots with Brandon Roy, Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez. Now the Blazers have added rookie Jerryd Bayless and Spanish import Rudy Fernandez. Bayless, acquired from Indiana in a draft deal, excited Roy with his summer league play. "I like the way he plays, his aggressiveness," Roy told The Oregonian a few weeks ago. "More than anything, I like his attitude.''

The two seem like a natural fit, with Roy directing the offense and Bayless capable of handling other point-guard chores. Then there's Fernandez, who spent last season overseas and brings that extra seasoning to Portland. Coach Nate McMillan, one of Team USA's assistants, had a VIP seat for Fernandez's Olympic performances. "I'm sitting there with a straight face, trying not to smile,'' McMillan said, after witnessing Fernandez's 22-point outing against the Redeem Team in the gold medal game. "That's my player and I want to [applaud].'"

Brandon Roy isn't done growing his game.

Already, Roy has demonstrated that he can handle playmaker duties from inside a prototype shooting guard's body. Lately, he's been working on moves more suited to his size (6-6, 229), including coming off screens and becoming a tireless catch-and-shoot threat. You don't want Roy off the ball all that much, but after a dedicated summer (and another recovery from minor knee surgery), he might hurt foes by doing that, too.

What went wrong:

Expectations are way out of whack.

Given the obvious talent and the team's history -- it won an NBA championship during its first taste of the playoffs back in 1977 -- it's understandable that fans see big things in store for the Blazers. But this team is not ready yet. It remains the youngest in the NBA and Portland's players are all still growing, on the floor and off, and learning what it takes to win. Better that the Blazers take a modest step this season and keep advancing beyond that, than to soar too high and fall back.

Darius Miles could end up costing them big bucks.

It's an indication of how well things are going for this team that one of the offseason downers has nothing to do with its roster. Still, Darius Miles will have Portland on the hook for nearly $18 million if he's able to play 10 games or more with the Boston Celtics this season. At that point, Miles' retirement due to injury would end, along with the insurance coverage and salary-cap concession. No team needs that big a number plopped onto its payroll when it has a wealth of skilled youngsters who'll need to be paid in coming years.

Grade: A

You'll notice that we got this far and did not even mention Greg Oden's encouraging summer workouts. That alone would qualify the Blazers for the best offseason in this division, and whatever adjustments the coaches and players have to make to fit Oden's game into last season's style -- minimal, actually, given his defensive leanings -- they will be well worth it and easily absorbed by the All-Star break.

Minnesota Timberwolves

What went right:

Al Jefferson's a beast and what's not to (Kevin) Love?

Kevin McHale's greatest moment as an NBA executive came back in 1995 when he gambled and drafted Kevin Garnett, who became an All-Star for more than a decade. Garnett is an NBA champion now, albeit with Boston, and will be a Hall of Famer soon enough. But what gets McHale out of bed these days is the opportunity to work with two new Minnesota big men. First there's Jefferson, one of just four 20-10 guys in the league and a dominating low-post scorer. Then there's Love, a feisty rookie from UCLA who sees the floor and loves to pass. Thos are skills that got McHale into the shrine in Springfield. Love is delighted to be working with both former Celtics, and Jefferson is happy to have more help up front.

They signed their key free agents.

No one is going to argue that Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith are the keys to this or any other kingdom. But for a team that has been selling rebuilding, softly at first and then infomerical hard last season, keeping the pieces together is vital. Telfair resuscitated his flagging young NBA career last season, Gomes is a "glue'' guy who can help any team, and Smith has added some small-forward skills to his previously burly game.

What went wrong:

Point guard still is a problem.

It's Randy Foye or bust, to a large extent. The Timberwolves were encouraged by their overall play (14-25) once Foye returned from a stress reaction that cost him the first 43 games. Still, he is more Dwyane Wade than Chris Paul, and that won't do much for the other four guys who involved in each play. Telfair would be best as a third guard, and there are some who feel the throwaway draft-night deal that sent Kansas rookie Mario Chalmers to Miami could come back to haunt these guys.

Jefferson still will be logging minutes at center.

Jason Collins demonstrated in New Jersey that he's not a full-time starter, and after him, the cupboard is mostly filled with banging forwards (Smith, Mark Madsen, Chris Richard). Jefferson felt that his offense suffered when he was handling center duties, and his defense is an issue regardless. He isn't the type to stir up trouble over it, but Big Al is someone the Wolves need to max out, as a player. Playing him out of position won't do that.

Grade: B

O.J. Mayo might, someday, become a star with Memphis or another team. Trading him away on draft night for Love, a more limited and even positionless player at the pro level, seemed like McHale asking for more criticism of the sort that came his way for swapping Brandon Roy for Foye in 2006. But given Minnesota's obvious holes to plug, the chance to land two rotation guys (Love and sharpshooter Mike Miller) for one Mayo was a "must'' move. If only the point had been addressed.

Oklahoma City

What went right:

They got out of Dodge.

Actually, they're a lot closer to Dodge -- Dodge City, KS -- than they were up in Seattle. But you know what we're talking about: These guys can settle into their new home now and won't face another lame-duck season in Seattle, where emotions were turning sour and being directed at the basketball operation when there weren't owners around to boo. The love that will emanate from the folks at the Ford Center -- where they still stand, rah-rah style, until the home team scores its first points -- should be worth a few victories all by itself.

Russell Westbrook can play. Now.

Most veteran GMs will tell you that it doesn't matter where a player is picked if he does what he's projected to do. So the idea that Westbrook went too high at No. 4 in June really is wasted fretting if he gives this club what it needs at point guard. And based on his summer league play in Orlando (18 points, five assists, four rebounds in his debut; 15 points in the first half of his second game), that seems highly likely. No one figures to be nostalgic for the Luke Ridnour era. "I knew he was going to come in here and play well,'' prized second-year wing man Kevin Durant said. "He's a fun player to watch and he's even funner to play with." And who doesn't like funner?

What went wrong:

There still is no flag-planting, lightning-rod, go-to player.

Bringing Desmond Mason back, to the club and the city, is a nice feel-good move that added a helpful role player. Acquiring Joe Smith in the three-cornered deal with Milwaukee and Cleveland added another terrific personality and lunch-pail player. Mason and Smith also has those much-coveted expiring contracts. But they never have been fiery team leaders and they're hardly franchise players. The relocated Sonics remain a team of someday-will-bes and once-weres, with no star player in his prime.

Travel got a whole lot worse.

You might think it wasn't possible, considering how the Sonics were way off in a corner of the U.S. map with the longest flights possible for games in Miami and Orlando. Now they're centrally located, right? Right -- except that Oklahoma City is closer to a bunch of non-Northwest teams (189 miles to Dallas, 430 to Houston and Memphis, 420 to San Antonio, 688 to Indianapolis, 690 to Chicago) than to several in its own division. Trekking to and from Salt Lake City (860), Minneapolis (691) and what used to be a quick Hwy. 5 shot to Portland (now 1,483) will make for some of the worst in-division travel in the league.

Grade: C+

Most of this team's improvement will hinge on Durant and Jeff Green taking big steps as sophomores. Westbrook should be exciting to watch, too, both in his play and his development. The rest of them, though, will mostly be getting acquainted and learning where the best stores and restaurants are in Oklahoma City.

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