After watching that, I am not angry anymore about no big trade. Outlaw is hilarious and only in the last season or two has he really started to show it. Who needs Gerald wallace, RJ or Butler bball skills when you have the personality of Outlaw? - waiting for mixum rant. LA - "how do you feel, we kept everyone here?" Outlaw - "we missin' one trooper." ha ha ha Clearly LA and Ike were not bff.
So would I, but we didn't make the move so I'm not going to fret about it. I still actually believe that KP will pritchslap the shit out of someone in the FA and blow us away and we will again think he is the creator of the universe.
Damn Travis cracks me up. I'm actually starting to feel inclined to see this "no trade thing" as a positive development. I'm really hoping that a huge weight has been lifted from these guys' shoulders and they are able to go out and play looser and freer ... I gues we'll see.
"We're missing one trooper..." "Well, I mean, you gotta give some to get some....I'm not really sure what that means here..." Ouch. Seems like a pretty crushing blow of both Ike and Ruffin.
"It's a great day to be a Blazer" despite what many on this board may think after seeing KP walk away from several trades on the table. Travis and LA are just two of the guys that make this team so entertaining to watch on and off the court. You couldn't ask for a team more lively and rooted in chemistry in the NBA. I was disappointed when we failed to make a deal for Wallace or Carter today, but I'll be damned if we don't make the playoffs with this crew. They are having fun, enjoying the season and setting their sights on a playoff appearance. KP reiterated something that we all should consider: He obviously knows we are overachieving and by refusing to cave into the pressure of dealing he's sending a message to his young team that he really does believe in them. What more could you ask for if you are a young player in the league? They've got the best fans in the NBA and management that wants them to succeed to the fullest. Besides, when has KP let us down before? As far as I'm concerned his decision making is superior to anyone else on this board or in GM's across the league. He has a track record and a list of pritch-slap victims to prove it, too. If KP wants to "go to war" with our squad, lets join them in battle. They may not win beautifully or by the largest margins because of their youth, but we are 4th in the conference with 30 games to go.
I do like Travis' personality. Unfortunately, I can't enjoy it much when he's out there bricking up shots and not rebounding. Oh well...at least he takes the place of Channing Frye at PF. "I was nervous, I was nervous, I was like golly" Haha!
Travis makes mistakes on the court, this is true. But he's also clutch. The best thing about him is his personality though as he keeps his teammates loose.
One underrated aspect of Travis is just how tight he is with a lot of the players. I know that a lot of statheads will say that chemistry doesn't matter, but when you have someone like Outlaw -- who is there for his teammates, knows his role and performs well in it -- it's really valuable. At home games, Outlaw is always THE guy to greet the starting five as they are introduced. He has his own little routine with all of them, whether it's a simple fist bump with Oden, a flying shoulder bump (that never actually connects) with Aldridge or a high-five at ankle-level with Blake. Then, as the starters walk to the scorer's table right before tip-off, Outlaw is always there to give 'em a few words of encouragement and slap high fives. The little things like that help make Outlaw a really solid part of this locker room. Quick mentioned that chemistry was a little "down" compared to where it was last year. The team lost James Jones and Jarrett Jack, both of whom were respected in the locker room. Travis is one of those guys. Having that attitude in the locker room is a very good thing. Not that RJ, Wallace or Carter would have brought something different, but with the dynamic the team has right now, I can see why KP wouldn't want to mix things up mid-season.
