95.5 was asking this question the other day, so I thought I'd pose it here. For the purposes of saving everyone time, I've left off Roy, LA and ODen as untouchables, Shav because he's gone, and Juwan and Martell because there's no way we'd get back what they're worth to us, and our foreign prospects simply because if "the move" ends up being Joel Freeland for some minor bench player its going to be really anti-climactic and not worth discussing. SO... If you can only pick ONE player, which player do you think will be most likely traded?
Two weeks ago I would have said Andre Miller, now? I guess I'd lean Steve Blake, but I don't think KP will actually trade him or anybody else; it's not in his DNA
I think that Outlaw and Blake will be used to add expiring contracts to a trade, but to me the more important question was which blazer of value was likely to go. the centerpiece as it were. For that, I think Rudy will be traded. then other players like outlaw and Blake will be added to the trade to make it work and more enticing.
To me it's Outlaw by a longshot. Now that Blake is healthy, as much as I dislike him as a player, he adds a dynamic that Bayless and Dre don't by stretching the floor. As long as he's not in during crunch time I think he can help us win games. Miller has proven his value to us and is going nowhere. I feel the same way about Bayless, the flashes that he's shown and his ability to create at the 2 are valuable. I also think that KP is aware that we've only begun to tap into Rudy and Nic's potential. That said, Martell has really stepped up and is looking like he will be able to pair with Nic to provide us plenty from the 3 spot. Travis on the other hand is expiring, dumb on defense, and injured for most of the year. I don't think we're going to see a major trade which is why I think it'll just be Travis for a center. Travis for Bass works -- essentially is a "get out of a signing we don't want now free" card. Travis for Kwame Brown works -- just as a big man I guess... Can't find ALOT that works straight up for TO. I think the problem that we're going to run into is that we have SO many players that we won't or can't trade (won'ts: Brandon, LA, Oden, Nic, Tell, Miller, possibly Rudy... can'ts: JP2, Juwan) that we're left w/ Blake, Outlaw, Pryz, Patty Mills and Donte. The team likes Donte's toughness and hung onto Patty through our worst injury problems so they seem to want to hang onto him. Everyone knows about the Blake love affair w/ KP and Nate, and w/ his shooting coming on I don't see him going anywhere... I really think, unless we're looking at a no-brainer (very doubtful) or a HUGE trade (would be unlike KP, especially mid-season), we're looking at trading ONLY Pryz, Outlaw, and MAAAAAYBE Rudy, with our only throw-ins being 2nd rounders that we're going to be reticent to throw in.
I know a lot of fans might think Miller, but why would we trade our best guard, unless a better one was coming back? Not that we wouldn't, only that it shouldn't be our first offer. My thought was the same as GOD. The most expendable decent players imo are still Blake and Travis, although we may have to part with Rudy to get someone back worth trading for.
Travis is by far the most athletic player we have on the team, and possibly Paul's favorite. Not a chance in hell he gets traded.
While KP hasn't made midseason trades before, I suspect that this idea that he won't make them is largely board mythology. It seems that things get repeated around here so often that they become accepted as truth. I think KP hasn't made a midseason trade before because he hasn't needed to. This year is different. If the Blazers want to have a shot at doing anything more than a one and done playoffs (at best), they're absolutely going to need another big man. For that reason, I think that a deal is highly likely this year. As I see it, there are no easy guys to give up on this roster. They've all done everything and more that's been asked of them and they've all contributed to the team's growth and success. It has to be the hardest part of being a GM when you have to trade away a player or two that you really like. I don't envy KP this task, but I think he does it if he can find a deal that doesn't totally mess up the team's future. As to the poll question, I think it's unanswerable at this point without knowing who the trading partner is. KP may well have to include a player that he, and many on this board, would rather not see go just in order to get the player that he wants to bring in. As far as guys that I would probably most likely try to sacrifice, I'd pick Miller just because I don't see him as having more than a year or two more in his game and because his contract is large enough that it would be sufficient, perhaps combined with a draft pick or two, to pay for a guy like Haywood. Any of the other guys you might be willing to part with (say Blake or Outlaw) you'd have to include more players to make the deal work. Of course, from the Wizards or other trading partner's perspective, that's exactly what they'd likely be looking for. All of which leads me to say: Dunno.
That's nice. All of the other players on the team are possibly Pauls favorite as well. My guess is Paul's favorite, is a guy named Roy, and probably followed by Rudy.
That may be a fact, but the kids have now grown (and, subsequently, he knows what he has), so we're now in a different era. Therefore, I wouldn't put it past him to make an in-season trade.
That he hasn't made a major mid-season trade is fact. That he won't is pure speculation. Different circumstances call for different measures. It's perfectly possible that a rebuilding team that is developing young players doesn't need to make any major mid-season trades. Most teams don't make major mid-season deals in any given year, because those are used to make significant season route changes...which are usually only necessary when you're a team contending for something significant and you feel you need to change something to get there. So, in this case, past performances doesn't seem like a particularly useful predictor of the future.
To me, Outlaw, Bayless, Batum and Blake are all trade bait. Pendy & Cunningham brings toughness we will never have from Outlaw or Batum. They can defend and score and are more of what the NBA is about these days- being physical. Blake and Bayless are best suited as bit playing journeymen and can be throw ins to make a trade work.
I disagree on Batum. My order would be Travis, Blake, Joel, Bayless, Miller, Rudy. Patty, Dante and Jeff could of course be filler, but I really like Pendy for the backup tough guy we've been needing.
Blake and Outlaw could very likely be traded together as expirings. Rudy could be traded, since he is not likely to re-sign with the Blazers, as he will never start. Miller could be traded for multiple reasons - he may demand a trade due to conflicts with team, or traded against his wishes because of same conflicts, or traded because he can get the Blazers back a valuable asset.
right... except the guy who has been repeating this the most is KP. See the recent ESPN interview. STOMP
