Merged: Travis Outlaw - back after the All Star break

Re: Report: Outlaw back on court in February

Martell and Blake are imminently expendable at this point. So is Travis for that matter, but he may actually have more utility as the Blazers are currently constructed than the other two (once he's back in shape).

 

I tell you what, Bayless has played really well the last 2 games! He is always on attack mode and can basically get to the free throw line at will! He HAS to get more minutes!

 

And is also the very 1st player to arrive at the arena EVERY game to work out!

 

Very cool. I know a lot of posters hate on the guy, but I look forward to seeing him back on the court.

I've been preaching for a trade to balance the roster before Rudy came back. I like having 8-9regular rotation guys with the other 3 getting spot minutes. KP is going to have to decide who is the core 8 and be willing to trade a valuable assett to get a big man and to decrease the tension of certain players not playing.

It's an unpopular choice, but I think Bayless and Rudy are the ones with the most trade value that the Blazer can risk moving. Not both, but one of them with an expiring contract or two.

 

Cunningham, pending any trades, will see his playing time decrease to almost nothing when Travis comes back.

 

I don't understand how this isn't anything but good for us. We DESPERATELY need some offense in the 2nd unit. And Travis plays PF much better than SF. It means we can move Batum back to the starting lineup and run this rotation

PG - Miller, Bayless, Blake

SG - Roy, Rudy, Bayless

SF - Batum, Webster

PF - Aldridge, Outlaw

C - Howard, Aldridge

Cunningham and Pendergraph play only a few minutes when we need some fouls.

 

Roy coming back will create a bigger logjam than Outlaw returning.

Blake's gotta go.

 

Blake is the one who will complain the least if his minutes are decreased. Also, his contract is up at the end of the year so if the Blazers don't want him, they simply don't resign him.

Not sure it's Blake who's gotta go.

 

The risk with keeping Blake is that Nate will play him ahead of Bayless or Miller.

And his contract is pretty lucrative to other teams, so he could help us bring a big back.

 

I think Portland would miss Cunningham's toughness on the second unit along with his rebounding/defense. Outlaw is a good offensive player that doesn't really do much else.


Honestly, I think Outlaw coming back will be the straw that breaks Nate's back. He showed earlier in the season that he had no idea how to handle a deep talented roster. I see no reason to believe he has somehow figured it out in the last 2 months. I expect Outlaw's return to have a short term negative impact on the team. Long term I haven't a clue.

I do know that the negative impact will be attributed to Outlaw when it really doesn't have much to do with him. The same thing would happen if you switched the return times of Outlaw and Batum. Too much of a good thing has been a real problem for Nate and the team as a whole.

 

If he has trade value, then I'm with you, he should be traded.

If people believe this board, that Nate is clueless for playing Blake, then he should be traded.

If people believe that Nate knows what he is doing using Blake is certain situations (it not like he is getting tons of minutes now), and he has little trade value . . . Blake isn't the one that should be traded.

 

I am not so sure of that anymore. Batum has brought a lot of offense to his game this year.

 

Good to hear they're sticking close to the proven timeline of Martell's rehab from the same injury.

 

Well this brings up another question. Can we get Oden back in time for the playoffs? Everybody on this team is young except for a few geezers, and one pattern has been repeating itself so far this year, and that holds with a young team: Young players heal faster than old players. Rudy came back early. Batum came back early. Outlaw is coming back early.

Can Oden come back and can we get some semblence of jello before the playoffs?