Blurgh! Yeah, I'm not feeling it ... unless he thinks he's going to have more leverage to get a guy like Wallace over the summer, say by throwing a newly minted draft pick acquired through our trade exception ... Overall, I'm pretty luke-warm to KP's lack of "chutzpah" and his reluctance to go "all in"
I very much agree w/ Minstrel in this thread. But while our record says we are the 4th best team in teh West, I think we are closer to 6th or 7th.
KP on Oden: "I don't think he needs surgery. At least that's what the doctors are saying. We'll reevaluate after the weekend, but I think he'll be fine." -Pop
You mean just waited on the knee, and lo and behold, it turned out okay? No invasive action was necessary? No pieces needed to be removed or replaced? They baked his knee. And it worked.
I admit I'm an odd duck, but I love Draft Day. I like having extra picks. Trying to be more rational about it: KP and his team are great at the draft b/c they are able to do a lot of homework, especially on the psychological/mental side. Can't really do that with established players, though the longer they go the more they'll be able to build up a dossier on everyone in the league. Culture's a big deal for them. I can see them not trading for Sean Williams, even though I (like most) may say something to the effect of "who cares who our 14th man is and what he does or how he acts"? But for KP--if you're not sure on someone, and you're unable to put them through your own battery of interviews and tests, it may not be worth the risk of trading, say, Travis or Batum or Rudy (people who meld well w/our team's culture) for someone that you don't have a good handle on, even if they're a great player.
The only guys I would have attempted to trade for are Wallace and Butler. My guess is that in those deals we would have had to give up RLEC, Outlaw, and a Batum/Bayless. I would not have done that deal either.
I think most of us would be reasonable if Jerryd was the holdup for a deal. Nicolas in the G Wallace trade? Who knows...
Kevin wasn't going to give up a whole lot for a 2-3 year rental player essentially. He'd rather have Batum over that same time span, and then 10 years after that. Smart man.
It was probably anyone on the roster except Raef. KP: I'll give you Raef for Carter, but you have to add the GS pick. Thorn: Ok, fine, but you have to add Channing Frye. KP: No. Thorn: Really? That guy will hold up a deal? KP: Yes, that guy.
I already said it in another thread - but I will repeat: What we have seen in the last 8 games is a team that is very inconsistent (with the exception of Brandon and to a lesser degree Aldridge) - who was not playing as good as you would expect them (but this is somewhat expected without Blake and having a rookie and a change-of-pace floor general fill in him for him - and despite what they say - the trade deadline had to weight on some of these kids) - and they still managed to win at a 0.625 clip - which tells you that while they can not play consistently as good as their talent allows them - they can still strike pretty efficiently when it matters. I fully expect them to get hot again in a couple of weeks or so and go on a little run - because they can play much better - and I suspect that now that they know they stay together and can remove the obstacle of being distracted by the possibility of being traded - they will. Maybe I am just a glass-half-full guy - but I think that it is wonderful that they won as much as they did when they did not play as well as I think they can.
That would have been a bad trade...... for the Blazers. And, I was a big proponent of making a run at Gerald Wallace, even before he was officially shopped. Part of the thinking was that Wallace was a good target as he might be had in a good deal. The above is a not a good deal. I would have turned the above down if I was GM.
Potential, the crack cocaine of NBA GMs. Can't give it away for free, can't have enough and in the end makes you look like a fucking moron.
Indeed. I can't believe that the kid is starting and not making a mess of himself out there. Remember when Jermaine played as a rookie? Outlaw? The growth between first and fourth years is immense. Look at Roy now versus Roy as a rookie. Look at LMA. Hell, look at Joel's growth in the last three years! Invest in their growth now, and reap the benefits a few years later. Stagger that growth so that a new player or two is growing every year (if Oden hadn't gone down, he'd be one year beyond Rudy/Batum/Bayless), and you essentially set up what successful college programs have: continuity. Only you also get the benefit of more than four years with a player.
That made next to no sense. You can't give cocaine away for free? From what I've heard, the prices tend to be pretty high. Can't give potential away for free? Cleveland couldn't have given LeBron James away for free the summer before his rookie season? Basically...what?
This would be true if every player got better over time. A huge number of players get to a certain level, then cap out. Batum might get better next year. He might not. Maybe he decides he likes hookers and acid as much as he like basketball and starts fucking up. We haven't the slightest idea. If the only hold up for getting a guy you KNOW is good right now was Batum then they fucked up. I kind of doubt that was the only road block, though.
Most players do. There are pretty well-established career path curves for professional athletes based on averages. 19-20 year olds tend to have a lot of development left prior to their prime. Obviously, there are significant outliers, so there's no guarantee. But it's certainly not a crap shoot. The best bet is on Batum improving quite a lot.
