Only reason would be that he would see his future in Portland as being a part of the Blazer Broadcasting crew. I like Channing, but as a player he doesn't work with this team. He is by all accounts a stand up guy, and I would like to see him here when he retires. I do think he would be terrific on tv or radio.
Absolutely, that would put us up with the elite in my opinion. Hinrich can provide good perimeter defense, and when he tries so can Roy. Turkoglu isn't the best defender but he is a smart defender with good timing. And he could force other wings into our bigs.
I just really don't want Sessions. He's going to get overpaid due to a weak FA class, and he has no jumpshot. I'd take Hinrich over him any day, and that way we could also develop Bayless behind him, who I'm not convinced can't be as good or better than Sessions. I also believe Prince's defense has been overrated for years.
There are a few PG/SF combos that I'd kill for: Hinrich/Turkey glue - a defensive player at PG, an offensive player at SF Sessions, Nash, Miller/Prince, Artest - see above, with the positions reversed We don't need to add two offensive players though, our defense was already bad enough, take Batum out of the starting lineup and it's a whole lot worse.
Yes, that is my favorite realistic roster going into next season. The only addition I make is we also sign a vet PF (joe Smith,??) for the vet minimum.
Would I take it? Yes. Not the ideal dream off-season, but I would take it. Hinrich upgrades the point guard spot and adds defense to the perimeter. We lose Sergio, but he gave the team little. Replace his spot with a steady journeyman that Nate can feel comfortable with in case of injury and that may teach Bayless a trick or two. We lose Blake's outside shooting, but Hinrich is almost as good, and Blake's camp in the corner role is taken over by Rudy, and by committee: Hinrich, Batum, Webster, Turk. I think the thought that we will sorely miss Blake's outside shooting is overstated with this roster. Turk is not a great defender, but we can improve the overall defense of the SF spot by using Turk's IQ, size and length to our advantage (hint, take away guy's dominant hand and guide them into our shot blockers), by the expected improvement in Batum, and by trading away Outlaw a below average defender. I would tweak it a bit, and let's assume that Pendergraph is traded to Chicago along with Blake and Outlaw. So, for backup 4 we need to get the best old vet we can with the minimum salary. Hopefully they would be a good one with some legs left. McDyess is ideal, but won't happen. When all healthy, we would also see a lot of Turkoglu at the 4 spot - either when LaMarcus sits or for small ball with LaMarcus at the 5. In reality, with that roster, Turk would likely be best coming off the bench with Batum starting. Or, you could make Turk the nominal starter for PR/ego reasons, but play him with the second unit a lot. Hinrich / Bayless / Journeyman Roy / Fernandez / (Bayless) Turkoglu / Batum / Webster LaMarcus / (Turkoglu) / Old Veteran Oden / Pryzbilla Assuming that Bayless and Batum develop like we hope/expect that would project to a possible playoff rotation when fully healthy of 9 players. Hinrich, Roy, Turk, LaMarcus, Oden, Bayless, Rudy, Batum, Pryz. That is what you look for. Time to consolidate! Moves to get this lineup: Trade Blake, Outlaw and Pendergraph (and Clavel if needed) to Chicago for Hinrich. Renounce Freeland/Kop if need cap space. Sign Turkoglu as a free agent. Sign journeyman point guard to minimum vet salary, which is all the team has to offer. Sign old veteran big to minimum vet salary, which is all team has to offer.
So the original proposal is basically to upgrade Blake to Hinrich, and upgrade Outlaw to Turkoglu. I guess the Blazers do that by getting the Magic to sign-and-trade Turkoglu, taking back Steve Blake, and saving money? And the Bulls, as has been rumored already, would take Travis Outlaw for Kirk Hinrich, with the Blazers using their cap room to accept the difference in salary? Assuming those both work, those are both small upgrades as far as the Blazers are concerned, and only the acquisition of Turkoglu would do anything to shrink the Blazers' championship window. However, considering either Nicolas Batum or Martell Webster is likely to emerge as a dependable small forward for the future (or both), it's not a bad idea to take advantage of a vet SF for a couple of years. In the unlikely event that neither Batum nor Webster solidifies as a good SF of the future - it's a position that's easier to fill than practically any other, so no big deal. I'd miss both Outlaw and Blake - Outlaw for his occasional breakout games and Blake for his steadiness and intelligence - but I think Turkoglu and Hinrich would more than make up for it.
With no drop-off from what was a top offensive unit. Might even improve a bit offensively. A top offensive unit with a better than average defensive unit...seems title-caliber to me. That's why I think people are undervaluing Hinrich. Portland is not that far from being title-caliber. Going from bad defense to good defense at point guard and keeping Oden on the floor more minutes could be enough to propel the team to elite.
Cept, there is a problem: Turkoglu is an unrestricted free agent, with the rare situation of his current team being out of the running for either resigning him or any sort of sign-and-trade. For the Blazers to obtain Turk, they only have to outbid the other few teams with cap space: none of which seem as good a fit for Turk (as things now stand). It sure seems like Turk is there for the Blazers IF they want him. And, it only costs them cap space. Wallace on the other hand is not a free agent. How do we use our cap space to pry him away from the Bobcats? Salary relief alone won't be enough for the Bobcats. The rumour was they demanded Batum. Maybe you talk them into Bayless. So, the Blazers 9 man rotation will be missing one of the super-subs. I don't think you can sub Wallace for Turk AND still keep all of Batum, Bayless and Rudy. It seems the Blazers the choice might be Turk in a nice looking 9 man rotation or Gerald Wallace in a nice looking 8 man rotation. Considering Wallace's injury history, that would be tough.
"new guys"? What is that? Can't trade Webster. He can't pass a physical right now. And, even when he can, he will have a negative trade value until he proves for an extended period of time he can play at a high level and stay healthy. Not so. Stern made an announcement before the deadline so that teams working on trades wouldn't be blindsided this summer. All teams were well aware the cap was coming down. I think I do know. Larry Brown has come out recently and talked about Gerald Wallace and how much he loves him as an important cornerstone for the team. Either this is true, or he wants to trade him for big value. Since they demanded Batum at the trade deadline when Larry Brown wasn't saying these kind words, you can guess what direction their price for Wallace has gone. As I laid out, it is plausible and doable to get BOTH Hinrich and Turk. On the other hand, it would be very tricky to pull off getting Hinrich and Wallace. We don't have the juice to get it done without giving up one of our young good prospects.
