That may be a bit of an overstatement... But Batum was the only guy on the Blazers roster who could slow down Nate Robinson the other night. We've had a problem with keeping little waterbug PGs like KryptoNate and Speedy Claxton from penetrating for a couple of years now. KryptoNate torched us for his career high 40+ points last year. The last game the Knicks played against us, he was torching Sergio and Bayless off the bench again when in the 4th quarter finally McMillan brought Batum in down the stretch and put Batum on KryptoNate. Batum finally slowed him down a little. Batum stayed in the game defending Robinson until about 30 secs. left.
I wish someone would be interested in taking webster in a deal. travis is a better back up playing both the 3&4. i don't think you move batum and even if he becomes a backup to whomever we might pick up he is a specialty lockdown defender, and he's good now and he'll get even better. i do like the idea of bringing in a 3 that will attack the basket. get easy points and get to the foul line. especially if we deal sergio, but bayless is pretty good at this too. i think wallace was that guy, but it seems like a steep offer at this point. In KP we trust. Hasn't made a bad decision yet.
Webster can't pass a medical right now. Tough to trade a player who can't trade a player who can't pass a medical.
As for Webs, lots of teams are asking about him. He's been slow to return, but he was poised for a monster year before he hurt his foot.
But possible, I believe. The other team can waive the requirement that the player pass a physical. That rule is there to protect the team, but I think they can waive it if they're acquiring a player with a known injury.
Well, I'd think that in Raef's case, the acquiring team would want a physical to make sure that he is injured. Would be bad to have him show up after the trade wanting to play. barfo
Why? When RLEC is your trade centerpiece, you're going to want to show the fans something as a return for the player that's gone. Granted, a dancing dollar sign would be more appropriate, but I'm pretty sure league rules prevent costumes different from the team uniforms from being worn on the court during games. Though, some teams might want to adopt dancing dollar sign costumes as their team unis...
That's a helluva idea for a mascot ... might pep people up to see some money actually doing something besides evaporating into thin air.
Nobody cares about Raef LaFrenz - the player. It's the expiring contract and insurance policy accompanying that contract that pays 80% of his wages that's driving the interest. That's why you see people not even bothering to use Raef's name anymore... just calling it the RLEC.
Why? Because the insurance payments are part of the glory that is RLEC. If he suddenly becomes uninjured, you have to pay his salary. barfo
Physicals can be waived in trades. Trades with waived physicals must be announced as such, and there's a whole boatload more medical testing that's got to be done on players traded with physical issues. The insurance companies require it.
You're wrong buddy. WRONG! I CARE!! Oh how you'll miss the turgid whiteness that is Raef of Kansas when he's gone, witness how his pasty lumbering body sends shockwaves of fear into the hearts of his enemies and causes the ladies to swoon as he jumps nearly 10 inches off the ground to secure a rebound. Why are people being so insensitive to Raef? He's a legend! A LEGEND I tell you!!
