Travis Outlaw

I will say this right off the bat..........THIS IS NOT A POST THAT IS MEANT TO BASH OUTLAW although by the time I am done saying what I am going to say I know many will take it that. This is merely a post to start dialogue on whether you believe Outlaw is a player the Blazers should keep around or is it time to move him in a trade while his value is high in order to get a more complete basketball player. Here are my thoughts about Outlaw. Feel free to add your own.

Outlaws benefits to our team:
-great scorer when he is own
-spark plug off the bench (again when he is on)
-a willingness and has the ability to take the big shots in the 4th quarter when the game is close or on the line
-Improved 3 point shooter which helps spread the floor

Outlaws detriments to our team:
-Very jekyll and hyde from game to game ( Was huge against Chicago in Chicago then disappeared the next few games)
-Is a complete black hole as far as ball movement goes (once he gets the pass to him he shoots and never looks for others)
-Is for the most part an unwilling rebounder (has great size, length, speed and jumping ability but never uses those gifts he has been blessed with. Rather it seems he save all his energy for scoring).
-Last but not least, his defense which, and I am not trying to be a flamer here, is probably the worst on the team.

Here is an exerpt from Quicks article today:

"Once again, though, I ask: Why does anyone expect this team to be good defensively? It is a roster filled with below average defenders.
Travis Outlaw continues to watch players drive by him at an alarming rate. How many embarrassing film sessions does it take before pride sets in? How about a teammate calling him out"?

Keep in mind if you listen to the Quick chats for over the past year, he has been a big Outlaw backer but he threw him pretty far under the bus with that quote. So here we are, what should we do about Outlaw. Do you feel as if he is part of our future or do you include him in a trade to get something of value while his value is high. Personally, I would include him in a trade for a solid rotation player that plays defense, rebounds and passes the ball. We would be very unlikely to find a player that does those same things and contributes offensively the way Outlaw does but I think we do not need that as much on our team. We need a savy vet, that will be the glue of this team. Also I think once Martell comes back (shouldnt be to far of now) he is an able and willing defender, maybe not the greatest but much, much better then Outlaw. Thoughts????

 

Al Harrington

 

Harrington isn't a good defender.

 

Harrington's not bad but the problem with him is he plays mostly at power foward and if used as a small forward he would most likely get burnt by quicker players night in and night out. Besides I think he is more like Outlaw where his belief is that if he isn't scoring, he isn't contributing.

 

I'm sorry, I meant that TO and Al Harrington have a lot in common. TO just has a better image and looks better bald.

 

i agree with pretty much everything. you can also throw in the bone headed mistakes that a 6 yr player shouldnt still be making. he still looks lost sometimes out there. it boggles my mind at how many times i have seen people saying that we should keep him and trade martell. i like outlaw but we should trade him while his value is still high, if it werent for martell's injury travis' value may have already plummeted.