Sorry, man. Liked you as a person and a player, but there are championships to be won, and Miller will give the Blazers what they need until Bayless is ready.
You're wrong, btw. Bayless is the odd man out here. I'd be shocked if they parted with Blake unless it got them another experienced PG in return. The smart money is on a PG rotation of Miller and Blake.
Actually nobody is wrong until something happens. My money is on Blazer management fucks this up and keeps them all, and creates a playing time issue where nobody but Roy is happy.
This. Blake went from being the 3rd worst starting point guard in the NBA to one of the best second string point guards in the NBA. Bayless isn't even going to sniff any pt next season if he is a Blazer.
Here's a possible scenario: Blazers go ahead with the Hinrich deal, now including Bayless and Blake. Hinrich can back up both guard spots and is a better Blake and Bayless doesn't have to chew through his own leg suffering multiple DNP-CD. But then, what about Rudy? Maybe if Outlaw is included in the Hinrich deal, Roy plays more SF leaving SG minutes for Rudy?
I agree. I was fairly high on Bayless once upon a time, and I suppose given another two or three years he might actually turn into a competent or at least passable starting lead guard but frankly I was starting to accept that his timeline and the team's were increasingly incompatible. If he can somehow accept being a spot minute bench player for another year (and can actually demonstrate rapid growth in practice) I suppose I could see the team letting Blake go away at the end of his contract, but I find that highly unlikely; he basically needs to be moved at this point, both for his sake and development and for the team's sake.
Gerald Wallace or Shane Battier? That's like saying "Paul Millsap or Joe Smith." There's a major difference between those players. I'm actually a fan of Battier's and I think he's underrated...or was. Now, I think the needle is going the other direction and he's becoming quite overrated. I think he's below average in tangible production, but his defensive ability (which is largely what the "no-stats All-Star" article was about) brings him back to average or slightly above. Wallace is well above average in tangible production and has excellent defensive ability. He's much better than Battier (and Rudy). I would trade Rudy for Wallace in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't consider Rudy for Battier.
Maybe. But I don't think he's comparable to any of the three guys here: -- Koponen is under contract overseas. The Blazers are in no rush to bring him over and he has no other options in the NBA. -- Jeter was undrafted and is almost 26 years old. He's undersized and has not been particularly impressive overseas. -- Mills is more likely than Ramon (given his non-US citizenship) to play overseas for a year or two. He's also severely injured, which makes him less likely to stick on an NBA roster than Ramon (who was sent to the D League in November of his rookie year). Finally, Mills has a skill set (small, shoot-first) which is much less impressive to me at the NBA level than Sessions' (large, pass-first). Ed O.
I'd be for moving Blake over Bayless, but I'd shop both and see what sort of currency might come back. I'm not in favor of dumping either, but Bayless has years left on a cheap rookie deal and considerable upside. STOMP
