PORTLAND, Ore. -- If Kevin Pritchard has his way, talented Spaniard Rudy Fernandez will be a Portland Trail Blazer next year.

KGW photo

New Blazer Greg Oden.

The Portland general manager acknowledges it may not be a slam dunk to pry Fernandez away from his Spanish team, DKV Joventut.

"He has -- and this is the good and the bad -- absolutely played above his draft position," Pritchard told OregonLive.com. "We picked him at 24 and if he was in the draft this year I think he'd be in the top 10."

That means the Blazers could end up in a bidding war with DKV Joventut, with which Fernandez has a contract through the 2011 season, and that Portland would likely lose if the money gets too high.

The NBA collective bargaining agreement puts a cap on the amount of money a team can offer a draft pick.

But Pritchard still plans to try to lure Fernandez, who is close friends with fellow Spaniard and current Blazer Sergio Rodriguez.

Fernandez, averaging 20.3 points per game for DKV Joventut, is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard but Pritchard envisions him playing alongside Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy.

"Brandon Roy is so good that he's whatever he wants to be (positionwise)," he said. "We need another attacker and I think Rudy will help us in that regard."

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PLAYERS LEND HELPING HAND: A couple of Blazers announced separate efforts to help out in the community this week.

No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden will work with the youth nonprofit Oregon Mentors to create Team Oden, a drive to connect 40,000 kids with adult mentors by 2010.

Oden said he will donate a block of 30 tickets to each Trail Blazers home game for kids and their mentors. He will also host events with the group.

"Every kid should have someone in their life that can support and encourage them," he said. "Without strong mentors, I wouldn't be here today."

Channing Frye is teaming up with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Oregon chapter for a breakfast event March 31 at the Oregon Zoo.

The Blazers forward, who has two aunts with MS, has previously worked with an MS group in New York, when he played with the Knicks.

Details about the event are available at 503.223.9511 or www.defeatms.com.

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WHEELER HONORED: Blazers broadcaster Brian Wheeler was named 2007 Oregon Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Wheeler, in his 10th season with the team, is receiving this honor for the first time.

"Anytime you can be singled out by your peers, it brings a special sense of satisfaction," he said.

Wheeler is the second Trail Blazers broadcaster to receive the award. Bill Schonely, the original radio voice of the team, was honored in 1997 and 2001.