For detail see link: http://www.clubblazers.com/blazer-blogs/will-there-trade-when-and-for-who-t1342.html
Stupid article IMO. Portland needs to upgrade their SF and PG possitions. What they need are players who have had success in the playoffs to help our young team get their. Age really shouldn't be an issue because the Blazers have ultra young players at both of those possitions, who could take over once the veterans retired or lost the job to either Bayless or Batum.
Good article, but I did find it funny that he referred to the Bobcats as the "Hornets" at one point in possible trades.
CTC...I loved that guy in your avatar. Wasn't he suing for like 800M or something? Someone has to let me know someday what kind of lawyer takes that case. "Uh, excuse me, I need a lawyer. People think I'm MJ, so I want his money." For the trades...no idea on dates. Best player available, and probably a shock to us that we got someone that good for (seemingly) what little we gave up. Wailing and gnashing of teeth b/c one of the polarizing favorites will be gone (Travis, Webs, Sergio, Bayless)
At the same time, I see why no trades have gone down. Most of those scenarios Portland has to give up too much.
I have a feeling we won't be making any trades this year. There is always a possiblity KP gets a offer of a player that is better then he thinks he could get next summer as a FA or trade. I think most of the players that will be offered have bad large contracts or are not any better then what we already have or such as slight upgrade it isn't worry giving up our future cap space.
I'm still a proponent of trying to get Wallace, since I think he's the kind of hustle guy and defender who would best compliment our other starters, with the only red flag being the his history of injuries and missed games. I'm less interested in Butler and Gay since both need lots of touches on offense to be effective and neither are outstanding defenders, plus the asking price for either would likely be very high. Right now, if I had to guess, I'd set the chance for a trade at about 10%; KP just hasn't shown himself to be an aggressive mid-season trader (yet).
I'm starting to think there won't be any significant move during the season, and this offseason will be more or less shoring up some of our little holes instead of making any big acquisitions. I can see no moves being made at the deadline, letting Raef/Ike/Frye expire and walk, trading Travis+picks to move around in the draft, and signing/S&T with picks a solid backup PF like Millsap. Top the roster off with bringing some guys like Koponen/Freeland over and stashing a few more euro's overseas and I'd be pretty happy going into next year. No really big moves, but as well as this team has started I'm not so sure we need any big moves to put us right in the thick of things at the top of the NBA going into next year.
It's a good article... and it talks about acquring a SF (which is leading me to believe you didn't read the article)... If age isn't an issue, why not try to land Rudy Gay and Mike Conley?
Because Portland needs players who have been there before. We have talent, but what we lack are players who can help lead our talent once we get into the playoffs. I read the article, and saw it only mentioned SF, It also only mentioned that we needed yet another young SF.
We need to make a 2 for 1 or a 3 for 1 trade. Championship-caliber teams do not have 11 man rotations. That said, I cant see it happening until the summer because 1) We have great chemistry this year, and 2) great teams rarely trade mid-season. Good news: We will get something very good back. I expect to see Outlaw, Bayless or Sergio, and /or Channing go, along with Raef's contract.
If it goes until the offseason, i wouldn't count on Bayless being moved... and if we wait until the offseason, I see it more realistic for us to sign a SF.
Why the hell do we need a SF? That's our most productive position. We could use more production from PF...maybe try Shavlik with the second unit. Anyone we bring in will have to defer to Brandon and that may be a problem with veterans in this league.
If Portland doesn't make a trade then his dollars come off of Portland's cap in the 2009 offseason. Combined with renouncing the rights to Frye and others, KP could have more then a max contract worth of capspace to play with. Most here have focused on Free Agency, but they could also make a deal where they take back far more in contracts then they send out. IMO thats at least as likely as scenario as making a mid-season move. STOMP
I think I tend to agree, STOMP. While I don't think we should avoid making a mid-season deal, I think that unless a sweetheart one becomes available, the Blazers will keep what they've got and see what kind of noise they can make in the postseason. If the team is a top 6 seed or so, making a big trade could derail them, while staying as they are would not be heavily criticized even if they went out in the first round. Ed O.
I also agree that this is where we are headed. In the recent past, I was a big proponent of a consolidation trade being done prior to summer 2009. I didn't really trust free agency to produce an impact player at anything short of an insane contract that could hurt us later. I didn't trust that sitting on so much talent would allow our bench players to be showcased, pumping up their trade value to needed levels. Events have changed the equations. The team is winning and thus extra reluctant to make a mid-season move at this time, unless very lopsided. We have been talking for a while about upgrading the 1 and/or the 3 spot. Yet, short of a prime star player, how will we upgrade the play at either position significantly? Look at the plus/minus numbers for our team by position and it shows the 1 and 3 spots are not weaknesses. The platoons we have been running have been holding their own. When you consider integration time and court chemistry, a trade - even a good one - could be a step back at first. The need to "showcase" certain players has waned. Frye and Diogu are playing so poorly, showcasing crap play wouldn't help their trade value. With Frye's demotion, Outlaw will get extra minutes, and potentially increase his trade value. Bayless is being stashed - no need to showcase. Sergio is finally getting the showcase time he needs. Coming into this season, the expiring assets were Raef, Webster, Frye, Diogu, and I would argue Sergio if he had been benched another season. Webster got an extension, solving that. Frye and Diogu have played their trade value down to zero. Sergio whined and played his way into the rotation. The only expiring asset we have is Raef's insured deal. If at the trade deadline a team offers a crazy deal to KP for that $ savings - great. If that doesn't happen, I agree with Stomp that he will clear cap room and attempt to make a lopsided deal with the cap space. If he has some room leftover, he can nab a free agent backup Power Forward to replaced the waived Frye/Digou duo.
I still do that occasionally. I still associate the Hornets with Charlotte for some reason. Can't get through my head that they've been gone for a while now and a new team is there.
It is also possible PA may be dishing out 3-4 huge contracts in the next couple of years . . . and maybe the Blazers aren't looking to have a starting line up filled with high priced contracts. I know it's PA and all . . . but the talk around the league is how much the economy will hurt revenue and I got to think you can put together a championship contending club with 3-5 huge contracts and a bunch of role players.
