Outlaw was at the game last night. Good to see and talk to him. He was his normal cheery self. Was wearing the big boot and said he has to for a total of 2 months. I don't remember when he had surgery, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see him again this season. Maybe if we were contending, but not the way things are going for us. Wonder how this injury will affect his free agency. Good luck Trav!
Man I thought that was really tough to take when they showed the sideline during one of the timeouts. So many of our guys in suits. Sad.
Thanks for the update. It looked like he was having fun. I'm sure the injury is going to cost him money. He's been really durable up until this - there isn't any reason to think he's injury prone. Injuries just happen sometimes. MJ missed 64 games his 2nd year. Then he missed a TOTAL of 7 games with the Bulls when he retired (for the 2nd time) in '98 - obviously not counting his baseball hiatus as games missed due to injury. Travis seems comfortable as a Blazer, and his teammates love him. I hope he comes back this year, but if not I hope we resign him and he's a Blazer next season. I'll live with the occasional mental lapses he's famous for, as long as the price isn't TOO steep.
I never thought I'd see myself writing this, but despite his up and down play and penchant for bat-shit crazy shot selection, he has been an enormously productive player for his modest salary. If he's willing to take another contract in the Martell range I'd probably keep him as a small ball power forward who can stretch the floor with his shooting. I'm sure I'll be bitching at him for killing us with those two dribble, off-balance, fade away 21 footers in the near future, but he's not a bad guy to have on your side. (Damn, I feel like I need a drink and shower after that )
I would probably like him back at a reasonable MLE-ish price, but I could also see them going another way with their dollars especially if they think Freeland is going to deserve real minutes. I really doubt ownership will want to go over the lux tax line, so some finically driven decisions will probably be made in the next few years. STOMP
Depending on the next CBA, of course, Freeland as of now will be priced lower than Rudy on his rookie deal. A late-round first-round pick probably won't break the cap over the duration of the Roy/LMA/Oden years.
That's the one big positive I'm hoping for with these injuries, a thrifty Blazer offseason. Travis will probably get a contract quite similar to what he's getting now. I could see Oden accepting a deal in the $8 million per season range. Signing Oden to a reasonable deal could benefit the franchise's success over the next 6 years, as that would leave more room under the luxury tax to sign an MLE player or to keep both Rudy and Bayless whereas if Oden had a near max deal we might have to choose only one of them. From watching Oden I think he knows he doesn't yet deserve a huge payday, he is disappointed in his own results. Even though he is a very unique talent and could get a large extension with a cutthroat agent, I see him welcoming a moderate deal with less public pressure and scrutiny.
I sort of doubt they work out an extension, Greg is going to be very tricky because of the injuries. He's going to want long term security, but he's not going to want to be underpaid if he stays healthy for an extended period, secondly, even at 8 million per year, that's an awful lot of money for the organization to invest in a guy who will have missed 2/3s of his games to injury. Don't be shocked if he plays out the last year of his contract and goes into restricted free agency, or if he does work out an extension, I'd wager it comes in at around the 2 or 3 year mark for who knows how much -- this is a pretty unique situation he's finding himself in.
I doubt that. Players go for as much money as they can get. Money equals respect. If Portland doesn't pay, then Portland doesn't believe that Oden can stay healthy and produce. I can see where his contract may be the albatross that dashes our championship hopes. Hopefully he will be over his rash of injuries. Like Pryzbilla and Ilgauskas who had several years of injuries and then have stayed off the injury list.
