The Memphis Grizzlies offered O.J. Mayo(notes) as part of a package for Paul recently, but talks went nowhere. League sources believe the New Jersey Nets are willing to part with the No. 3 pick and every player on their roster except for center Brook Lopez(notes) to obtain Paul. Also, the Portland Trail Blazers – who’ve long targeted Paul – are expected make a bid for Paul prior to the draft, a source said.

This doesn’t really tell you much of anything. Really, the Blazers should be making a bid for Paul before every draft, and every trade deadline. In fact, there should never be a time the Blazers aren’t making a bid for Paul.

So, that said, without taking this very seriously, you expect LaMarcus Aldridge would be a necessary component of a CP3 deal. Is there any one among you that wouldn’t trade LMA for CP3?

Houston and Portland are two teams that will be working No. 3 Nets and No. 4 Wolves hard to move up in the draft, league sources say.

It’s an odd range to target, to be sure, as the players expected to go 3-4 are power forwards Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins. We’ll have to think on this to see what Portland could possibly offer — likely a combination of future salary relief and Bayless and Rudy, to start — but the main perimeter player that could go as high as three is Wesley Johnson of Syracuse. The other possibility could be future big-man insurance with Cole Aldrich or Greg Monroe, but that seems like a stretch.

Injuries, as you no doubt already know, are the first thing that has to be brought up when discussing the Portland Trail Blazers. They’re the reason that this team couldn’t throw itself into the ring amongst the championship hopefuls this season.

And, moving forward, they’ll likely be the reason why the Blazers don’t contend from here on out. Because as freak as some of these maladies are, rehab, and approximations (as opposed to full restorations) have to be taken into account.

I recommend reading the whole thing. It might not all be things you’ll enjoy hearing, but I’d be surprised if you disagreed with much. This team is probably going to come down to health, Oden and Aldridge. That’s just the way it is, and I think most people have accepted it.