huh? You think that it is KPs fault we didn't get Turk? Turk used us to get a better deal out of Toronto. Get a clue man.
Oh and Cleveland's window will be wide open for as long as LeBron is there. L.A.'s window isn't closing any time soon. Nor is Orlando's. Howard's only what? 22? 23?
He is very serious. If you actually look at KP's record, he had the one good year where he drafted Roy and Aldridge, who are really the horses that carry this team. You can interswitch most of the pieces around them, it is up to them to get the W most of the time. Now go to the next year. What did KP do? He lucked out and got the #1 pick and took Oden. I still think it was a good move, but time will tell. He picked up Rudy with a late pick bought from Phoenix. That was over 2 years ago. Exactly what has KP done since then? Right now, unless Bayless turns into a special player, he hasn't really done a whole hell of a lot. He doesn't have one trade to his name that brought back veteran talent, ever. All of his trades have been for draft pick. I think the problem I have with it right now, is that he is running the team like San Antonio, when SA has a distinct advantage of having a winning basketball program to lure free agents into their fold. The difference being, San Antonio is negotiating from a position of strength when attracting vets, and the Blazers, are not.
But they didn't have to use it on Stat-Bo. So in a sense, if their plan was to add cap space for a player and use it on someone like Milsap or Lee then I think that is a good trade for them. Marc Gasol and David Lee is a really good return for Pau Gasol.
Some of you guys are so naive, its comical. Jerry West HANDED Pau over to the Lakers, so they would be good again. Not to clear space up for the Grizz. He did it for the Lakers, not his team. You really think Jerry West, or anyone else in the league (Stern, or fans) wants to see the Grizz win? No. They would all rather see the Lakers.
Actually that quote came from Wizard Mentor not me dude. However it is appropriate to point out that Paul Allen directed KP to "upgrade the roster THIS offseason" just a couple of weeks ago. I posted the quote in the other thread. Obviously its not an impossible task. Other teams have been able to do this. We haven't.
It's my hope we're going to wait for the cap holds to clear off our cap calculation before we make a deal. We'll have a little over $10MM at that point and can make a seriously lopsided deal. I then hope we make a 2-1 or 3-1 bench-clearing deal. It's apparent that KP doesn't like to make in-season deals, but we don't really have a choice. Even if it means fewer wins this year as the team has to figure out the new chemistry, it will be worth it in the long run.
The Grizz didn't give Pau to the Lakers as a favor to them. They did it because they have a cheap owner, who has worked hard to figure out how to make money in a small market. Making money is his goal. Not winning. Making money is number one on his business plan. Not winning. Unlike other owners who are in it for publicity, or because they can afford an expensive toy the bottom line is what he cares about most.
Interesting quote, thanks. It sounds like the old San Diego Padres model. However, you don't answer the question "Why the Lakers?" Surely at least 10 other teams would have taken Pau for Small. There weren't even rumors at the time. It's not like they put Pau on the block and waited for the highest bidder - my recollection (which could be faulty, admittedly) was that the deal caught EVERYONE by surprise. Under those conditions, it is not difficult to be a Conspiracy Theorist.
For what it's worth..... Turk was looking for money and a place to make his wife happy! He's a paycheck player, not a winner. He did us a huge favor!!!!! Yes the Spurs and Lakers all got better, but the Blazers weren't going to win the west next year anyway! The Spurs, Suns, and Mavs only have one year left. They are done after this coming season and eveyone can see that. This is a throw it for the endzone pass for he Spurs and that team will be sold off for scrap the year after next.... Don't be surprised if we don't end up with Parker and Pop the following year! The Mavs and Suns are going to limp through this year, and the only real fun will be watching Kobe and Artest not kill each other on the court. HAHA So I think it's conservative to say that we could be a 3rd or 4th seed this year depending on the Nuggs, know matter who we trade for or not. Anybody think that D Wade could be the person KP is waiting on...... Wade is not happy in what he sees in Miami and he'd take a hell of alot of pressure of Brandon. Just a thought!
Really? Because he has been the GM for Memphis since 2002 till 2007. Pau was traded in the 2007-08 season. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_West
Citing a rumour as a fact isn't compelling. You have an odd definition of the word "equal." There isn't an equal chance of a James for Blake swap being successful for Portland or a total failure. There's a chance that it could work out badly for Portland, but a very tiny one. The overwhelming likelihood is that it would be an amazing win for Portland. I agree that process is the issue, not results (when judging any single decision), but that's not the same thing as "there is no such thing as making the wrong deal." There absolutely are wrong/bad deals.
It's amazing how quickly threads spiral out of control anymore... I just want to say one thing, then I'm done, I think w/ this entire board for awhile... I started this thread to talk about how people were over-reacting to a minor bump in the Blazers plan and how we still have plenty of options left at our disposal before before we freak out. OBVIOUSLY it was disappointing to not have a better offseason, but one offseason doesn't define a franchise, and it won't make or break this dynasty that we're continuing to build. I've come to the conclusion that some people just WANT to be miserable, angry and frustrated. Fine, be that way. Why make any effort to look at potential positives when it's so easy to blame everyone in charge for things that didn't happen - whether those were in your head, or rumors on the internet. CLEARLY you all have a perfect concept of the options out there and would have ALL made better moves than KP, it's SO OBVIOUS TO ME NOW that you could do a better job than Pritchard! Jesus. No fucking wonder Oregon has the highest suicide rate in the country.
