Honestly guys, do we need a trade?

I think Outlaw is our best bet, for a smaller piece. Once Rudy is back, I think he can fill Blake's role. Doubtful it would happen, but with him out for the season, I would include Joel in that list as well.

 

A lot of folks forget that Juwan Howard has been a very good player in his careeer every time he has got consistent minutes. He may be in his 16th year in the league, but becauase of playing time issues on many teams he has been on, he really doesn't have 16 years of play on his legs.

I am really happy what I have seen from Pendergraph and Cunningham so far. Pendergraph definitly brings "the tough" to the team, and he looks fundamentally strong. Cunningham, while still adjusting to NBA speed, is also defensivly fundamentally strong, and knows his limitations on offense.

 

Blake and Outlaw are expiring, and if I understand correctly, Pendergraph, Mills, and Cunningham are all non-guaranteed. (which is just as good)

That means the Blazers could throw around $10 million of cap relief to a desperate team.

Probably a pipe dream.

 

You thinking of some sort of "Herchel Walker" type deal of like 7 for one?

 

We would only be able to use it for next season, or this offseason, if Joel is determined to be out next season as well. We would not be able to use it this season.

 

Just throwing this name out there: Tyson Chandler.

He has one year left on his deal and the Bobcats suck (once again).

 

He's out with a stress reaction in his foot. Says 1-2 weeks. Our luck, he would walk off the plane and snap it in two.

 

Isn't that the same injury which has pretty much plagued him the last several years? I think it is chronic.

 

Tyson Chandler and Chris Kaman are a couple of great ideas. That is the type of deal I want to see KP investigating.

I wouldn't be very interested in Dalembert though, he has never been a quality NBA player, he is more of a specialist with glaring limitations in his game. I think we can do better if we are looking at bring on ~$10 million of payroll. The Hornets received Eric Maynor and they only have to give out a few extra million in cash (although the lux savings are quite a bit more for Utah)

Or even the guy he was traded for, Emeka Okafor. The Hornets don't look like they're going to be serious contenders in the next few years, historically cheap Shinn might look to save major lux tax payments in the near term and position the franchise to add pieces around Paul a couple years down the line.

 

I thought Maynor went to OKC. Did he get moved again?

 

If I had to spend 10 million on salary coming in from Philadelphia it would be to get Brand, not Dalembert. Brand isn't fitting in there, and he isn't really happy with the teams effort. He is a great shot blocker and solid rebounder, and has solid fundamentals in the post. I don't expect him to fully recover from his knee surgery until next year, but he is playing well enough.

 

Brand still has about $52 mil on his deal for three more seasons after this one (14.6 this year). I don't think acquiring him would be a sound decision financially.

But, he is feeling out of sorts there. He's calling out teammates in the media and is bitching about rotations: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/new...mber/24/brand-fumes-as-sixers-struggle-2.html

 

If they have the juice to get Washington interested I'd do it, but I'm not sure why the Wiz would let go of a 6 million dollar expiring contract.

 

Yep he is calling out team mates. But he is calling them out on stuff which he is correct to call them out for. I know he is expensive, but Brand fits into a slower team, and I have come to terms with the fact that the Blazers are a slow paced team. He is expensive, I will give you that. But he knows how to play basketball "the right way".

 

Tyrus Thomas.

I think he'd be a very good backup PF. He's been injured this year but last year he was a 11/6/2(blks) in 27 min/per.

He brings something we desperately need: rebounding and shotblocking. Now, if we can only convince him to be a garbage man instead of a mid-range jumpshooter.

 

Yea I am a little concerned about his complaining about playing time in Chicago when he was there before. I had felt last year he had started to mature as a player, and even though they have Taj Gibson playing now, you can tell his inexperience hurts them. Gordon was a bigger loss, but Thomas was in addition to that when he broke his arm. That is taking 2 of your major rotation players from your playoff roster out of the equation, which effects any team.