The Blazers held an open scrimmage Sunday at the Rose Garden, and they have until 3 p.m. today to announce the final cuts and other roster moves. The players with the most cause to sweat are Mitchell Butler, Priest Lauderdale and Johnny Taylor, although coach Maurice Cheeks said he would not make any cuts official until today.

The top candidates for the injury list are Ruben Patterson (back), Will Perdue (right hamstring) and Bonzi Wells (left knee), although all three players were well enough to start in Sunday's scrimmage.

Patterson might start the season on the suspended list to serve a five-game league suspension imposed after he entered a modified guilty plea to attempted rape in May. Regardless of which list he's on, the suspended list or the injured list, he becomes eligible to play on the same date -- Nov. 8 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The same goes for anybody else who starts the season on the injured list.

"It's not easy," Cheeks said of finalizing his roster. "I mean, I never was cut during my playing days. It's probably one of the hardest things to tell a guy, and it's not going to be easy for me to tell anybody.

"Everybody wants to play and everybody wants to make a team, but everybody can't do it. When you go into a camp, I think all guys know there are only 12 to 15 spots available. So, someone knows they're not going to get in. I'll handle it from there."

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Portland Trail Blazers

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