Hell no. Blake has been doing fine, for one. And while I like Noc's toughness, we simply don't need another mediocre SF. I would have to see how hard Hinrich defends. Because I think he can play SG, which is what you need to do to be our PG. Roy was saying how Jack would get mad that he'd always have to play SG out there on offense, because Roy was the PG so much. So the fact that Blake can do the PG duties, but is also a veyr good shooter is why he is effective on this team. If Blake could imrpove his defense, that would be even better. But no, we don't need both of them, as IMO, if we are going to make a trade, I think it is time to start trying to condense some of our talent to get a better rotation of 9-10 men instead of 12 like it could be now (not counting Ike)... if you add Bayless and Webster to our current 10 man rotation.
In a way I'm glad. This now forces KP's hand to do something with Raef. This contract is something we aren't going to have in a long time, if ever. Not only is it a huge exp. deal but most of it is insured. The buddy-buddy-father-figure KP has with each player wont be a factor now. And no, Hinrich is not what you go after with this trading chip. Just what exactly has he done to warrant such a price? Are we trading for his reputation from 3 years ago when he actually was decent? The Hinrich of today is a clone of Steve Blake. No thank you.
While I would love to see a trade I dont understand how Darius signing a contract would force KP to make a trade. I would think letting Raef's contract expire would be more appealing (from a financial standpoint) then to make a trade and have someone else's contract on the books.
I'm not sweating having to appeal Miles' salary being put back on our books. That rule was put in place so that teams couldn't circumvent the cap by getting a player medically retired and then re-signing them for a league minimum. No one foresaw this scenario. This scenario would be no different if the Knicks had a league doctor arrive at the conclusion that Cuttino Mobley should retire because of his heart condition, so they cut him and he still gets his salary. If he risks death by playing basketball again, the Knicks can't be held responsible. The same holds true for the Blazers. The fact we didn't want him on the team in the first place has nothing to do with it. It's not healthy for him to continue playing. If he decides to risk his own health by suiting up, that can't be on us.
Darius signing with anyone won't force KP's hand, but it simplifies our idea of cap space for summer. Trading RLEC is our best option to add a good player to this team. I hope they don't waste the opportunity. I like Hinrich - I'm not at all concerned with his lower level of play during the past two years of no-bullz-post-players. It's been all on the guards to keep themselves in games. I think he'd be great for us and reasonably priced.
