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--> --> Blazers enter draft without a coach PORTLAND (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers are the only team in the NBA without a head coach, and they'll drag the process out a little longer while they ponder what moves to make during Wednesday's NBA draft. Portland has the No. 19 selection in the first round and the No. 50 pick in the second round. The Blazers haven't had a lottery pick in their history, and the only way they can get there this year is through a trade. Shooting guard Steve Smith and power forward/center Dale Davis are the likeliest players to be traded, mostly because of their age and their salaries, which are relatively low compared with a few of their teammates. Smith will make about $8.9 million next season, while Davis is due about $6.6 million. Both are 32. Compare their salaries with the ones belonging to Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire, who are scheduled to make an average of nearly $13.7 million next season. Bonzi Wells, an athletic 24-year-old guard who took over Smith's starting spot last season, will make only $1.7 million in the final season of his rookie contract, and he would command a high trade value despite a serious knee injury. While Whitsitt hardly needs a coach around to swing a deal, he said he'd prefer to have one hired before he makes any major changes to the roster. "I would be reluctant to want to do any roster moves without our coach and our coaching staff in place," Whitsitt said. "I'm not anticipating doing anything, but some guys may call you and throw some interesting things at you. I would hope if they did, they're the kind of things I can push off into summer until we have a staff on board." Having been spurned by Minnesota's Flip Saunders and John Lucas, who took the Cleveland job, Whitsitt apparently has set his sights on Philadelphia assistant Maurice Cheeks. The former All-Star point guard with the 76ers told the Philadelphia Daily News that if the Blazers offered him the position, he would have a difficult choice to make. With 47 college underclassmen or high-school seniors in Wednesday's draft, teams will be taking a chance on some unproven talent. That could put the Blazers in good position to get a player who could fill some immediate needs: center and power forward. Two centers who could be available at No. 19 include Stanford's Jason Collins (7 feet, 260 pounds) and North Carolina's Brendan Haywood (7-0, 268). Collins averaged 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Cardinal last season, but is only a sophomore. Haywood averaged 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks, and he broke Wallace's Atlantic Coast Conference record for season field-goal percentage at .637, but he's not that quick and has been criticized for being too soft. Guards Jeff Trepagnier of Southern California (6-4, 200) and Joseph Forte of UNC also are possibilities. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing