I would love a quality upgrade at the point, or even at SF, but in the end, I think we have most of the parts and would not be bad off to just let things cook a little longer. Make some small moves, Ruffin, LaFrentz, Frye and Randolph, Sergio out, Freeland, Koponen in along with 3 more spots to be filled by picks and free agency. That would not be that bad. We start the year with Blake at PG and Bayless backing him with Kop at 3rd string. As time goes on, hopefully Bayless takes over. Webster is back and Rudy has a year under him making SF much more solid. And if things just aren't clicking, pull the trigger before the deadline. My main point is not that we should "let the cake bake", just that we don't NEED a change as much as many around here seem to think. If the right guy does not come available for a decent price, then we can do just fine as is.
I think that is always true. Knowingly overpaying for a guy is not the way to build a team in the long-term, which is clearly our goal.
LOL yeah thats the best part.. watching Houses Headband do this wave halfway around his head. I too apologize to the OP for the OT.
whatever gets bayless into the starting PG role , then do it. the kid needs a chance and major minutes. i bet he'd be the perfect asset next to Roy.
When I look at the roster right now I see it as a perennially good enough team to make the playoffs, but probably not tough enough or well rounded enough to get out of the first round (maybe the second round). Sure I think Oden has lots of room to improve, Nicolas has room to improve, but in the areas where this team is weakest (point guard, small forward, and backup power forward) there are holes that probably can't be filled adequately just with the players that are currently on the roster. General observations: The team is still minus a reliable backup point guard (The Sergio experiment has run its course and I have questions about Bayless) The team is probably still minus championship level starting point guard The team is minus another wing or a guard who can consistently put the ball on the floor and get to the rack The team is minus an effective backup power forward who can come in and give you a different look than LaMarcus' mostly jumper oriented game. The team is minus veteran leadership, and frankly there's not enough 'nastiness'; they need an infusion of a little bit of both. Secondly, this off-season's capspace is a use it or lose it commodity; this will be the last time for a very long time that KP will have the flexibility to sign an impact free agent, do lopsided trades, or otherwise take on a player another team doesn't want to pay anymore. As for just continuing to 'let it bake,' that's certainly an option, and if KP decides to do that this will still be a good team, but probably not a great team.
Put another way, Letting it Bake will cost us in Losses, just like a poor trade or draft choice would.
I actually think the Blazers have little choice but to let things bake. The draft this year is poor in talent, and the Blazers pick late. The type of players the Blazers need (point guard) just really aren't that available because when teams get them, they keep them. Really since the Blazers chose not to deal RLEC, they have gone from having the golden ticket, to having no ticket to trade. My only hope is that Bayless comes into camp pissed off next year ready to fight for playing time, shoring up one spot, and that Webster actually gets to come back and play next year, and solidifies the 3 spot. To be honest, both of those are huge dice rolls IMO.
How can that cost us? Oden, Batum, Rudy, Webster and Bayless have so much room for improvement. We should be much stronger next year without any additions.
This is pessimistic, and I think and hope it is wrong. My prevailing theory on RLEC has been that KP blew it. However, it may be that other teams actually didn't want Outlaw - they wanted Batum - KP said "no, how about Webster" - they said "not until he's recovered". Hence, no RLEC trade. I was really hoping Bayless would take over starting PG in the second half of the season - didn't happen. Now I'm hoping it happens in training camp.
Simple. In fact "Letting it bake" has already cost us. If we had Gerald Wallace or Caron Butler, we'd still be playing this postseason. We are paying for our inaction right now. Even KP has acknowledged this. His point, which is very debatable, is that we will have more net wins down the road by our current inaction.
At some point, when KP calls other GMs up with a check for $3M, they would have to think "wait a minute, haven't I seen this somewhere before?" However, every year it seems to happe again. With the team economies they way they are (and a relatively weak draft) this may be the best year to spend that $3M. I pretty much agree with the let it bake part. My only concern is that if Bayless doesn't step up as a starter, I think we have a real problem for our window. Sergio is done, I don't think PK is the answer. Blake is solid, but we need a little more.
This is the summer for the Blazers to make a move: -only summer Blazers will have cap space for a long time -NBA is hurting financially and you are going to see teams salary dump this summer like never before . . I'm predicting trades that fans will be sratching their heads and owners will be doing to cut costs -Blazers have an additional salary cap relief to offer teams via the trade exception they own -Blazer have several players with reasonable contracts (relative to their production) to trade. -Blazers have a rich and dedicated owner I think this summer comes down to how much does PA want to open up the wallet. And this is not a given for PA. He will already have to max out Brandon and possibly Aldridge. To convince PA to shell out another 8 million escalating contract to bring in key player (knowing Oden will be looking for an extention, bastard can blow out the summer and still command a fat contract ) . . . in this fininacial environment is asking a lot, even from PA.
