As our primary scorer off the bench. He's not gonna start. But he showed last night that he can get his own shot like Outlaw and can get to the free throw line better than Outlaw. I'm fine with Miller filling that role if we keep him around. But if we can get a scoring forward for him, we should take it.
Miller isn't going anywhere, this team needs as many ballers as it can get. With the way we're going to be forced to play small and the likely anemic trade market for Miller we're going to get more production out of him playing than whatever castoff somebody may have been willing to trade for him. Trading Miller was a consideration when "fit" was a primary concern, "fit" at this point means "can you fucking play?" I fully expect KP to try and leverage expiring contracts, draft rights and youngish players like Mills, Pendergraph, Martell and Rudy in an effort to get a few decent players, be that flex forwards like Marvin Williams or a single power forward like Brand (though not necessarily Brand).
That's why I'd prefer to trade Miller. But if he plays like last night, I'm fine with him sticking around.
Like I said, this team is going to need ballers and Miller set free is a baller. Look for exprings like Blake and Trav to be shopped.
We don't need this many guards though, Nik. We have FIVE pretty good guards on this team. We only have ONE good forward. ONE. It does make sense to trade Miller, the guard with the 2nd most trade value on the team, for a forward.
That may be your dream, but I HIGHLY doubt Blake or Travis will be shipped. Roy loves both of them. KP loves both of them. Nate loves both of them.
Second most trade value? I highly doubt that. Rudy to me is the guard with the most upside, the most overlap with an existing rotation player and probably the most desirable commodity. followed closely by Blake because of his expiring deal, then Bayless because of the cheapness of his deal and the fact that he's producing (finally) and then Miller, and finally Roy (who is not only untradeable because the team wouldn't want to, but he's a poison pill guy). Miller is making 6.8 million, is 33 years old and has to date proven himself to be a tough nut to crack from an interpersonal standpoint. At this point I'd wager a role player like Blake with an expiring 4 million dollar deal and some outside shooting ability is a more attractive addition than Miller would be. Try to think like a potential trade partner. I can't think of very many teams that would be eager to add a player as old as Miller and with as many adjustment issues as he would carry. Blake is no great shakes as a player, but he can space the floor (when hitting) and with the cap likely to recede by maybe 7 to 8 million dollars saving 4 million (8 million when you consider the dollar for dollar tax) is probably going to be a priority for a lot of teams.
Who cares? In light of Oden's injury, we're out of contention anyways. Roy and Nate will lose their leverage. Travis and Blake are very movable due to their expiring contracts, and will be moved if the right deal comes along.
My dream? Try to pretend for a moment like you understand that there has been a major sea-change in this organizations plans and goals in the last 24 hours. Blake and Travis are not exactly going to be hot commodities around the league as players, but their expiring contracts represent considerable cash saving for teams that are facing the prospect of a luxury tax line dropping by 7 to 8 million dollars. Those cost savings are more meaningful than adding a 33 year old point guard who would require a major adjustment for the acquiring team and the way they play. This isn't about who loves so-and-so, this is about business and fielding a competitive team.
Miller's trade to the Sixers made them better. He could have a similar affect on another team that is looking for a floor general. Miller is a very very good player who could be a borderline All-Star in the right situation. He just doesn't fit with Brandon Roy.
I said you made good points. Which you did. I thought we were having a discussion. Not a name calling fest.
FWIW, these are my observations of the situation. 1) You aren't going to trade for an all-star caliber player. 2) Andre Miller is a short term stopgap player for the Blazers. He's not an all-star, and never was an all-star. His value to some team out there is that he'd be a great addition to a team near contending status or already contending status; someone playing all out for now. 3) My take on KP's statement about making some deals is that he's looking toward the end of the bench. Because: 4) There's no reason to blow up the team and start over, you just need to gut it out for the very short term.
Agreed. There's no more depth now, and there's no more deferring when Miller is on the floor. We're going to need him every night to put up some numbers if we're going to win. I think we're going to see Andre play real well for the rest of the season, and do some of the stuff we expected like the third quarter last night. He's going to get 30 mins a game, and there'll be no more of this 6-minute crap.
I looked at the Greg Oden Wikipedia page, and it said nothing except: Greg Oden is a joke. I then watched Dr. Phil for an hour thus after, and have now once again found full safety in my oblivious trust affair with Wikipedia.org
