To take our mind of the bloodbath: I was wondering if Outlaw was likely to return. He's a UFA and didn't do jack in LA. He's obviously much beloved by the Blazers' players, and, given the lovefest after the Clippers game, the feeling is mutual. I wonder if he's likely to want to come back, and if so if the team would re-sign him. I see the market for him being considerably less good than for Steve "triple double" Blake. But... do we want him back?
I'd like to see him back if we deal Rudy and/or Martell. I dont want another log jam at the SF position and I dont want anyone taking minutes away from Batum next year. I know we wouldnt have Camby had we not given up Outlaw... but Outlaw sure would have been nice to have last night for some scoring help with Roy out and Aldridge in foul trouble.
I don't think Travis can play SF in this offense; he's better suited as a PF. It depends on how we use Camby next season. If he's simply the backup C, then bring back Travis. If Nate wants to run a three man rotation at the 4/5, then there's no room at the inn for TO.
No, shoot first forward with low bball IQ.... No thanks. I don't care if he is Roy's friend or not...
No thanks. He would have just been another one out there shooting up 20 footers instead of trying to get to the basket against a team with no big shot blocking presence down low.
I gotta say pass ... I think more highly of Dante Cunningham's long term potential as a swing forward than I believe Travis will have entering his 'prime', and that's mostly because Dante is already a pretty great catch and shoot jump shooter from about 18 feet, has a better handle, more defensive intensity and a much better feel for the game. There's gotta be a better use of the MLE.
Fuck that. Outlaw sucks. It was about a year ago, he was stinking it up in the playoffs, and you think he is the solution?
I know KS would love him back but no way we need him. He is ok off the bench in the regular season but not the playoffs.
No thanks to Travis... unless he wants to get paid the minimum to be everyone's best friend on the team.
This team desperately needs a consistent scoring punch off the bench. Travis was far too inconsistent to be our sixth man. We already have a bunch of streaky shooters, we don't need another one.
+1 I wish we could get a Jamal Crawford-type. I used to think Rudy could develop but no longer. Not sure what's out there right now.
Jamal Crawford in two games of playoff action. Game 1 - 17 pts, 4-11 shooting Game 2 - 5 points, 2-10 shooting The only thing he's been consistent at doing in the playoffs is missing shots.
bullshit... Crawford averaged 17.9ppg during the season, the guy was fantastic, 4.7 boards 4.9 assists 45% FG% Let's compare that to our bench scrubs... Bayless 8.7ppg 41% FG% Webster 9.4ppg 41% FG% Rudy 8.1ppg 38% FG% Oh, and the game he score 5 points in? They won....
I was just pointing out that Crawford hasn't at all been consistent in the first two games of the playoffs. In fact, he's yet to reach his season average for scoring in either game, and he's shooting less than 30% from the field. If facts are "bullshit", then I suppose you're correct. Since I was posting specifically about the playoffs, I'd have to say you're the one posting bullshit. I agree that Crawford had a great season off of the bench. Let's see him prove it in the playoffs.
I'd be okay with bringing back Outlaw as a gunner off the bench. But some pieces would have to be shuffled. Someone like Fernandez would have to be shipped off. If Rudy and JPEC were dealt for something useful/interesting (perhaps include Bayless and bring back a point guard), then Webster and Outlaw could mop up the minutes that Roy and Batum leave on the table. Webster and Outlaw, I think, are a bit underrated on this forum for not living up to their perceived promise. If perceptions of them were re-calibrated to purely bench depth, I think they're perfectly decent players to have on the team. Webster provides some defense, Outlaw provides some offense.
+1 For all the griping about how inconsistent Trout was/is - which is all very true - I would still put more faith in him as as a scorer off the bench, than in anybody else the Blazers currently have.
If we got rid of Rudy and moved Webster to SG, then yeah. Other than that, we're better off having Cunningham/Webster manning that spot. Travis is an upgrade over Rudy, but I don't know how much time there is. We could definitely use his scoring now. He's been more consistent this year (but I still wouldn't call him consistent), and when he scores, he scores more than Rudy typically. His highs are higher and his lows are about the same as Rudy.
