Most likely Blazer to be traded as of today

To enhance the trade with Orlando:

Blake + Rudy + Outlaw

for

Gortat + Bass + Jason Williams (who we could cut later)


Trade works at RealGM.com[/QUOTE]

----------------------------------------
Miller / Bayless / Mills / Williams (until he's waived)
Roy / (some Bayless, some Webster)
Webster/Cunningham (Batum, when back)
Aldridge/Bass/Pendergraph
Gortat/Howard/ (some Pendergraph)


This would solidify our chances going forward. Add some "big" to the roster. I can see Bass and Gortat sticking around.


The above: we lost Blake + Rudy + an injured Outlaw [two expiring contracts plus Rudy]

= Rudy for two players of size that could stick around with this team!

 

[video=youtube;KuxwxBQNSQk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuxwxBQNSQk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuxwxBQNSQk[/video]

He's a 7' + giant. He's got some coordination for being so big too. He's a great back-up Center for when Oden is healthy.

 

The Polish Hammer

 

FROM REALGM.COM

Players with Trade Restrictions
Marcin Gortat from Orlando
Gortat has signed an offer sheet that has been matched which means he must agree to any trade which occurs before Jul 13, 2010. However, he cannot be traded to Dallas.

 

He looks good. Hmmm... Doesn't seem to bad, if he can actually play that well in Portland. It looks like he can play the 4/5 positions, and do it well.

 

Hmm, can't find any mention of that restriction anywhere else, and have never heard of that before. I know he can't be moved to Dallas, otherwise, I question the validity of that, but that doesn't really matter for this discussion.

Personally, I would prefer Rudy to Gortat going forward, and feel Rudy would be more valuable to us next season than Gortat would. Which makes me feel like it is a move primarily for this season, which would lead me to not doing it.

 

I guess the REAL question is will Rudy be happy being a back up for the rest of his NBA career? Will Gorgat be happy being a back-up?

 

I truly love Rudy. But he's a role player, coming off our bench - oft injured in his young career, etc. etc.

Gortat is not just a move for the remainder....he's a solid force for our future. Can we honestly count on Oden? Nope. We can hope....and if Oden comes back, then Gortat can be our "Joel Pryzbilla." And when Oden gets into foul trouble, etc., we have a monster in Gortat to play.

It is my opinion that we've seen the last of Pryzbilla in a blazer uniform. Unfortunately so - as I am a huge fan of Joel's and was hoping the team would negotiate an extension. At this juncture, we'll be happy to see Joel back in playing shape one year from today - so next December. This leaves us with half a season with Joel, and then he has an opt-out.

Truth be - we better trade him!

 

Maybe neither will be happy beign backups. What I do know is we have at least 2 more years of Rudy under contract, and would have him as a restricted free agent, where we can match any offer. He can go back to Europe, but I wouldn't move him for a backup C. I still believe him, Bayless and Roy will be our 3 Gs of the future, in some capacity, and he will get plenty of minutes.

 

Would you trade Blake and Webster for Gortat?

And hope Rudy comes back in a few weeks - healthy!


I would. Just asking if you would?

 

Well I'm sure Joel's value just dropped considerably with that injury. It's worse than Oden's because of ligament damage, so his price won't be as high as it would if he didn't get injured. Not that I wanted the injury. I just think even adding Gorgat and still having Pryz will still be a great thing. Gorgat looks like he has a nice mid range jumper, which will do well being a PF/C combo. I would love to see a twin towers type line-up on both the starting and back up positions.

 

Thanks Platy!

 

Thanks. Didn't see it in there. Appreciate the link.

Blake and Webster, I would likely do, but be really weary of doing it righ tnow. Would prefer waiting on Rudy coming back. And even then, it's fixing one problem(frontcourt depth) and creating another(backcourt depth, removing 2 healthy wings).

My thing is, I think Oden will return next season healthy. Can we count on him? I dunno. I am relying on him. And there are a ton of backup Cs available in free agency next season, that the backup C spot is not one I am worried about.

I also don't see why Orlando would move Gortat for Webster and Blake, personally. And it doesn't work financially. Gortat being BYC makes it difficult.

 

I'm all for having 3 Centers on the roster - especially if one of them is Oden! If Joel truly can get back - I'm all for having him around. I'm simply worried that the injury Joel suffered could pose problems for a 280 lb. 7'-0" frame. Oden was lucky he sustained no ligament damage, as did Joel!!!

WE NEED A BIG. We have nearly 50 games remaining this year - and by all accounts, our guys look "up to the challenge" - so give 'em some help! Howard will not be able to keep it up.

I say - whatever it takes to get Gortat makes sense.


And if we can bolster this trade by landing Bass (6'-10 PF) at the same time - do it.

Blake+Rudy+Outlaw +pick

Gortat+Bass+ Williams (filler)


Get 'er done KP!


This move will improve our chances at the playoffs - and doing some potential damage if we get there!

This also provides some security at the PF/C positions going into next season, permitting us to focus upon our PG and SF scenarios over the summer!

 

Bass isn't 6'10. He was 6' 7.25" in shoes pre-draft. And for everyone's complaints about Aldridge's rebounding, he's just as good as Bass is.

 

Fearing a couple of games a year doesn't wash for me. Ask yourself this, do you ever see Rudy dropping forty FOR us? I sure don't. In fact once he gets back I see him as just one more mouth to feed that is at his best scoring the basketball, so I guess Jerryd sits then right? I guess Blake could sit, but defensively Roy and Rudy on the court leaves a lot to be desired. Miller could sit, but the offense seems to be clicking early with him starting games.

Maybe this is what I get 'itchy' about when I look at the current roster (in the longterm). It basically has 4 sixth men instead of true 7th, 8th and 9th men. what I mean by that is most of our reserves seem to be at their best when they are scoring the ball, which is typically a sixth man role. Those 7th, 8th and 9th spots are usually best reserved for defensive players, rebounders and dirty work guys. Travis, Jerryd, Rudy, and even Steve (and even Martell can be added to this list) are all at their best taking and hitting shots; playing defense, making hustle plays and facilitating scorers are jobs each are capable of performing to one degree or another, but it's not where they are at their best.

The funny thing is, the team is probably playing as well as they are because it is whittled down to an 8 or 9 man rotation and roles are well defined. Roy and LMA carry the brunt of the offensive load in the starting lineup, with Miller filling a third scorer role, Howard makes hustle plays and rebounds, Martell defending, crashing the boards and taking periodic shots to relieve pressure, and then Jerryd comes in as the primary scorer off the bench, with Blake filling in the gaps, plus Pendergraph rebounding, hustling and doing the dirty work.

I just want to see KP stop falling victim to the 'Whittsitt trap' -- trying to plug every spot on the roster with a rotation player like it's some kind of fantasy team.

 

I agree that eventually Rudy will be gone, but I want to make damn sure it's to a Eastern Conference team. And I do think Rudy could be a guy dropping 40 on us. Just my own personal observation. I think with starting minutes and being like the #1 or #2 option on offense, he could easily be a 25+ scorer.

 

how many teams is Rudy going to be a top option on?