So KP is planning on picking Blake and Outlaw back up.

DING DING DING We have a winner

totally agree with you Minstrel

we might even have a team already who wants him at that now guarenteed price.

 

Rudy was a rookie only by name. He's played in much bigger games in his career than Outlaw played in, yet he struggled tremendously outside of one game of the Houston series. Plus, Rudy is only a year younger than Outlaw. Less than a year, actually.

 

the same bitch about Travis thread for the 500th time with everyone sticking to their same positions my position hasn't changed either

I'm looking forward to seeing Travis and Blake on the team next year or KP working his magic and improving the club with the upgrade that seems to come with every move he makes. I'd like to see a better defender/rebounder option off the bench at PF then Outlaw, but I like him better backing up both forward spots then any other option they currently have.

My best guess is that he'll be back and in the rotation for 25 MPG or so... can't wait for the next round of this.

STOMP

 

Oden was a rookie, and he didn't have a bad playoffs. His job was to front Yao, and he did that as well as anyone.

Outlaw is a 6th year vet and didn't do fuck all in the playoffs.

You are right, Outlaw WAS the same player in the playoffs as he was all year. Namely, a one trick pony black hole who is completely useless on the court if his pull up jumper isn't falling. A power forward in a small forwards body. The Blazer with easily the lowest basketball IQ. I guy who should be better, but clearly never will be.

 

The playoffs are a different beast, unfortunately, so you really can't compare the regular season and playoffs in that manner. If a guy goes through a 10 game slump during the regular season slog, it isn't all that big a deal. Even if every game is lost, that is only one eighth of all the possible games.

In the playoffs, if a guy has a one game slump that is at best one seventh of all the games in that round.

Portland can not afford, at any price, a player who lays a turd like Outlaw did. While it is all well and good to call him a bench player, that isn't how he is used. He typically finishes games with the starting unit. He is counted on to be the primary scorer on the second unit. A large number of plays are ran for him in the 4th quarter. He is a very large part of Portland's offense.

When they counted on him the playoffs, he failed miserably. Nate will count on him again next year in the playoffs, should Portland make it. Outlaw will fail once again. The team will struggle because of it. Unless a bunch of other guys step up huge, Portland will be out of the first round again.

Since I enjoy it when the team wins, I would rather they use Outlaw's 4 million on a vet who doesn't suck balls when the games really count.

 

His production was terrible. And who cares if he was a rookie? Your rule seems to be that we don't have time to wait and see how they do in the future, it's time to make decisions once and for all. You said you'd pitch Roy over the side if he had had a bad series, and he's just a third-year player.

And an extremely useful player if it is. His averages show that he's useful much more than he's not. So we agree, he's still the same decent reserve player he always was. Someone who should definitely be moveable in a smart trade, but not someone who should be ditched for nothing more than $4 million of cap space.

 

I'd just going to point out one thing. The Blazers are going to wait till the absolute last minute to pick up the options for both Blake and Outlaw. They are SUPER valuable assest due to one thing. . . . . . They are NOT guaranteed contracts unless the team picks up their options by JUNE 30th. So if KP trades them to a team during the draft JUNE 25th and the other team wants to dump IMMEDIATE salary (as in not wait one year in the case of other expiring contracts) then it's the other teams choice to pick up their options or not.

KP is in a position of super flexiblity here and he's holding some great cards to play. I'm so glad he's our GM!! That guy is friggin genius!

 

Like I said, its not about the money......he is a good value.....as a bench player that should only be getting 15-20 mins TOPS per game. Outlaw is what he is, everyone by now should know who he is and the type of player he is as well as his strengths and weaknesses. I dont see him (or want him for that matter) as a major component of this team. He is a role player that fills a hole as needed, but he just isnt being used that way. Nate (and/or KP) seem to be trying to make him out to be the #3 or 4 guy on the team and its KILLING us.

He needs to be moved and a legit roll player needs to be brough in that brings what we need from the backup 4......not a weak rebounding, jumpshooting, poor defending PF with a kindergarden BB-IQ.

 

I think this is where a lot of fans get messed up. IF Travis only played 15-20 minutes tops like he should everyone would think he was the greatest role player in the history of the franchise. The problem, however, is that Nate plays him a lot more than he deserves to play. This makes everyone lash out at Travis, when really he is doing the best he can. It's not his fault his coach has no fucking clue on how to use his players.

Travis is what he is. A shoot first, poor defense playing, doesn't really do anything else to help you win guy.

 

This discussion is veering into absurdity. In fact it follows the same pattern of bash/love.

To attempt to get back to the subject, KP picking up Blake and Outlaw's options was a no brainer. Unless a player is a major troublemaker/head case, you don't dump him/her until you have a replacement. Some may think Bayless is the point guard of the future but he's sure not there yet. Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez were the two scorers off the bench.

Picking up options means KP has the ability to sign and trade, if a deal looks good, or to keep if he can't get a good deal. I mean, is that so hard to comprehend?

There is a reason KP is paid a lot of money to be the GM and the people who spend the day posting aren't.

 

Had to rep you for that one.

 

Just a third year player? The difference between a rookie and a 3rd year guy should be enormous. I would expect the entire season to be a big shock to a rookie. A 3rd year guy should be used to the regular season.

Oden did play well in one game. That is enough for me to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As I said, only one player who got regular minutes sucked in each and every game.

It's not like I expect the world. Outlaw's regular season numbers would have been awesome.

If you think paying the weakest link on a playoff team 4 million a year is good, fair enough. I think it is an waste of money better spent on a free agent. If the signing was only to trade him away as a throw in for a package deal, then great.

But I already argued elsewhere that I don't believe the team will be making any deals this offseason.

 

The way I read it that was not her argument - it was her opinion. I am pretty sure she gave you the argument a line above it...

 

But we're not talking about the regular season, right?

He's not the weakest link. This season, he was a better player than Blake, Rodriguez, Bayless and, of course, Frye/Diogu/Ruffin/Randolph. He's been better than Webster every season that Webster has played. Outlaw will never be remotely the worst player on the roster. Do I think $4 million is a good value for a solid reserve who will be about the 7th best player on an extremely talented team? Yes.

 

Oden's PER blows Martell's rookie per out of the water. 11.75 his rookie year, 10.02 then 11.97. Greg Oden in his rookie year was 18.13. The league average by the way is 15.00


Outlaw's PER by the way is 15.15. His second lowest since being in the league.

 

Semantics regarding options aside, KP has indicated that the Blazers will retain the rights to Outlaw and Blake rather than cutting them. There are two valid reasons why he would do this: 1) He likes what they contribute to the team and plans to keep one or both of them; or 2) He thinks one or more of them is worth more in a trade for a player he wants than the extra cap space he could gain by letting them go. The Blazers in the KP/Penn era have always had the guys they want to get pegged and have had plans in place to go about getting them. More often than not, they've been successful. My bet is that the same will be true this summer and that when the dust clears we'll see why keeping these guys was a part of that plan.

I'd prefer that the Blazers acquire a better starting PG and a true backup PF. However, since we on this message board aren't privvy to whom the Blazers are targeting and the methods they plan to go about obtaining their objectives, I don't see any reason to get my knickers in a twist simply because of this announcement.

 

That's the way I read it, and that's why I repped her for it.