In the 12-7 Quick chat, JQ says the team the Blazers are keeping their eye on is the Utah Jazz. The reason: that's the team that's likely to be on top in the West when the Blazers' championship window opens. Therefore, according to Quick, the Blazers' brass is focusing a lot of attention on the Jazz--evaluating how to tweak their team to match up with them.

Personally, as I compare the two current rosters, what jumps out at me is the Jazz' edge in toughness and rebounding at the forward positions (OK, and Deron Williams, but that's another issue). Boozer, Kirilenko, Millsap et al are all very physical players. Hopefully, as LMA matures he'll be able to bang with those guys. But LMA will need help.

Fortunately, it's been shown recently that, with effective scouting, you can land talented, tough forwards late in the draft. E.g., the Jazz got Millsap at #35 and the Pistons got Maxiell at #27, I believe.

It could be argued that the Blazers can't count on that kind of success late in the draft; you need great scouting and some luck to boot. But I'd reply that it's actually not tough at all to land these types of guys. You just look for a big, tough forward (6-7 or 6-8) with a 6-letter last name beginning with "M" and including a pair of "L"s where one would do. Think we should tell Pritchard?