Yeah, yeah, lots of excitement today/tonight what with the KP thing, draft and all but for me at least, there is no point in getting upset/excited, etc. at this point. Yes, I like KP. Yes, it was classless to handle things as they were. However, it is done and so we wait and pray we don't get another PatterNash nightmare. Lost Martell, I hope he does well. I would love to see him blossom and do well but I don't think he has the mentality to be really good. I think we got fair value for him but really, only time will tell. Picks, picks, picks. So what? Which are staying and which are potential trade bait? Of the other team members, who will go, who will stay? And, what about our stash of Euros? As I said, for me, there are just too many unknowns at this point to get myself into any kind of excitement or disappointment; unlike when we drafted Oden - it was all excitement then. For now, its a holding pattern. Gramps...
good analysis gramps, we still have all summer and the team could have more new faces before training camp next fall
Thank you Gramps for a rational perspective! The over the top reaction from most here makes today seem dark, but as us old codgers know there is always more to the story. Hopefully, the resultant will be amenable to all when next season starts. Some on this venue seem to think they understand business when in fact they do not. I ( one of many) will miss Kevin, but it wasn't handled near as bad as some portending to have business acumen would have others believe. GO BLAZERS!
Aside from the KP drama, here were the three biggest developments for me. 1. The Webster trade. I've heard complaints that we didn't get fair value for Martell with the 16th pick, but I think the biggest element to this deal is Gomes. It's another appealing contract to offer teams looking for cap space. The big question of course is, will he be moved before June 30th? I have a feeling we'll look back at this deal and realize Webster got more back for us than just the 16th pick. 2. Tony Parker hearing whispers of Portland. At least I'm hoping this is a development. Batum says Parker called him to ask about Portland, because he was hearing rumors. Maybe there's really nothing to it. Maybe Batum and Parker call each other all the time. Maybe Parker was joking around. Maybe Batum was joking around. Or maybe, hopefully, Parker thinks there's a chance he's coming to Portland. A dreamer can dream, right? 3. Victor Claver in town to work out. This one flew under the radar but it could be significant. Why now, on draft night when the talent evaluators are gearing up for the draft? The scouts were just in Europe, why not check him out over there? Is Claver getting ready to make the jump? Will there be a sudden need for depth at the 3? Is there another team interested? Am I just reading too much into this? I hope not. Not sure what the Claver visit means, but I'll bet it means something. Plenty of questions still yet to be answered. The new GM will need to hit the ground running.
Yeah, interesting.... San Antonio has Tiago Splitter coming over it looks like.... MIA still wants to offload Beasley's deal and was talking with MIN about Gomes.... SG & SF seem superfluous with Roy, Bayless, E.Williams and at SF Batum, Cunningham, Babbit & Gomes and POR has 3 centers, one of whose (Przybilla) contracts is an expiring one this year Miller's contract has a team option that could also make his contract an expiring one... POR also has some european players (Claver, Koponen & Freeland) that could be used as assets in a deal.... That is two nice expiring contracts (Przybila & Miller) and some nice young players (Rudy, Bayless, Cunningham, Pendergraph, Williams, Babbit, Johnson, Claver, Koponen, Freeland & perhaps Beasley?) to offer as enticement....that is a heck of a lot of young talent I think they are still going after Chris Paul, Tony Parker may be option B......but if they wait around too long waiting for Paul they could lose out on thier chance on Parker....
No offense Gramps - but the uncertainty and instability IS the story. The roster is a mess, a competent GM is gone, and the team President knows more about selling shoes than making basketball trades. "Wait-and-see" implies that there is some way this could end well.
I don't think the roster is a mess, but if it was a mess, how competent could the GM have been? Can you have it both ways?
Would it be classier if the Paul Allen told you why Prichard was fired and it was something very detrimental? Also note that legally the Blazers may not be able to comment on why he was fired. If he was involved in more sort of behavior that was criminal, but not charged and convicted (or not yet)… I don’t think they can say anything about it. I am not going to speculate that it was classless if I don’t know all the facts… and honestly I don’t think we know any. The Blazers have to be very careful from a legal standpoint about saying anything that will affect his future employment opportunities. All we have is speculation… and many are making opinions without any information whatsoever really. Something happened where two of them got canned… and it may have been one of those things were really Allen didn’t even have a choice.
Stability eh? I should have known better, but I was quite excited when we drafted GO and looked forward to great teams in the, hopefully, near future (at that time). We've had anything but stability since that time with considerable injuries, etc. Yeah, we lost a very competent GM and yes, the roster is in flux but, at this point in time, I don't think that is a bad thing. For that matter, if the roster WASN'T in flux I'd be much more concerned. The only difference between this year and years past at this same point in time is that we have a single additional point of uncertainty - the GM position. Each year there are trades that are expected after the draft and this year is no different. The only question is, who is it that will be making them and do they actually have a vision of what they are doing? I guess I don't look at one additional point of uncertainty as a story. Color me jaded. Gramps...
I agree Gramps. Good post. I think we'll see some good moves before the season starts and all will be well in Blazerland.
After the draft, the Blazers have 7 guards. (6, if you assume Mills is cut) OTOH, they have 3 centers who are hurt and/or injury prone. Don't you see a problem there?
It's really a matter of perspective. I will say this, the fact that they had a search firm looking for his replacement for the past few weeks and that PA opted to sack him on the day he did, the way he did, it makes me think (hope?) that they have an agreement in principle with a candidate, but that they can't do anything until the 1st of July when this person's contract is up with his current team. IF (man that sounds tenuous) they have a GM in place by July 1st (a presser is supposedly scheduled that day) then I see 7 guards, 3 centers (4 if you think Pendergraph is really an undersized 5) 3 (or 4) wings and 3 (or 4) power forwards on the roster and more guys rights than you can shake a stick at, stashed overseas, that looks more like an opportunity than a problem to me.
I think it's a difference of perspective. What you see as a "problem", others see as an opportunity. The new Blazers GM will have a lot of pieces that will be attractive to other teams for a consolidation trade. Joel's and Andre's expiring contracts are good assets that a team in cost-cutting mode may be interested in. The multiple young players that can be included in a package allow for the team dumping salary to end up with some talent in the exchange. Putting these kinds of deals together isn't easy, but the new GM will have all summer and up to the trade deadline next season to put something together. He'll also presumably have Paul Allen's trust and bankroll behind him backing him up.
No, I don't. Yes, in the old days you were allowed a 12-man roster, and carrying 3 PGs or 3 Cs was considered overly luxurious. However, now that we are allowed a 15-man roster for 5 positions, we should have an average of 3.0 persons per position. With KPs love affair with players who can play multiple positions, it's even less of a problem. The roster is fine.
The roster is anything but "fine" it's not horrible, but Johnson, Williams and Bayless all overlap quite a bit, Rudy wants out, Miller is no spring chicken, and we still don't really have a veteran backup power forward and no real replacement at point guard (unless you think Johnson is going to eventually become starter material). There are plenty of tweaks to be made to this roster.
