Tue, Jun 28, 2005 at 11:00pm

BLAZERS TRADE FOR JARRET JACK

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired the draft rights to guard Jarrett Jack (No. 22 overall pick in the 2005 draft) from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the draft rights to forwards Linas Kleiza (No. 27 overall pick in the 2005 draft) and Ricky Sanch

What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
Finally, a solid regular rotation player on draft night. Jack is polished and experienced enough to become a regular right away, and he should help the Blazers establish a modicum of stability in the backcourt. He's actually more solid at this point that current starting point guard Sebastian Telfair, and will set a good example for the latter with his solid work habits and fundamentals. He even has the ability to spot a little at the 2-guard spot.

What does it give the Denver Nuggets
A character player off the bench and a project for the future. This pick makes very little sense for the Nugs, who already have a gritty sixth man gym rat (Eduardo Najera) as a seventh man, and so don't have a great need for Kleiza. And Sanchez is a bizarre addition, as he's realistically several years away from anything (if that). The team desperately needs a sharpshooter, and had that in Jack. Weird.

Fantasy impact

Player focus

Portland Trail Blazers

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