Couldn't happen could it? lol "For the past few weeks we’ve heard management’s stance on Portland making a move with the NBA trade deadline looming. And now with 10 days left until that deadline, chances are we’ll continue to hear the same “we like what we have” speak from Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan. I buy that. I really do. Both Pritchard and McMillan couldn’t be more proud of their team. But that doesn’t mean the Blazers aren’t making phone calls, listening to offers and already planning ahead for this coming offseason in making improvements. That’s where Steve Blake comes into play. Right now, the veteran point guard - who is coming off a career year yet has struggled at times this season to find his groove with Andre Miller running the show – probably finds himself wondering if his future truly remains in Portland. Many are wondering the same, especially knowing Blake is one of the more expendable players on the roster. Blake owns a $4 million expiring contact. That’s enough to make some GM’s around the league salivate over the next 10 days. Teams have inquired about the availability of Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless. It’s uncertain where Blake falls into those discussions. Pritchard’s track record speaks for itself. Making a move at the trade deadline isn’t his forte, unless you count acquiring Von Wafer’s expiring contract for Taurean Green trade two seasons ago between Portland and Denver. Even then, that was a move made for the future – which could play into the debate that now is the time to see what the Blazers can get for Blake. Does Portland trade Blake for an expiring contract? Before anyone gets too fired up on swapping Blake for a big man – with Kurt Thomas the fallback trade option – let’s remember who we are talking about here. Forget a package deal for a minute or trading the guy straight up. Blake is admired by management and the coaching staff. He is a Pritchard guy. When John Nash traded Blake away during the 2005-06 season, Pritchard brought him back in the summer of 2007. He is a McMillan guy. Why else was Blake starting over Miller when no other coach in the league would? Still, when it comes time to evaluate your roster – regardless if that is over the next 10 days or in the pending offseason months – Blake becomes the question mark for Portland. They’ve proclaimed Miller is not available. You can pretty much make that same case for Bayless. At least in the Blazers backcourt, Blake has reached a different point. It’s likely the point of no return. Update (1:30pm): Count the Orlando Magic and Miami HEAT as two possible teams interested in the services of Steve Blake, according to one trusted league source. "His value lies in the fact that he is a very serviceable and experienced starting point guard who, and as importantly, has a decent sized expiring contract," the source said when asked what teams - if any - are showing interest in Blake. "(Jameer) Nelson hasn't been great for the Magic, so they could use a solid back-up to (Jason) Williams. Miami now has (Rafer) Alston to platoon with (Mario) Chalmers and (Carlos) Arroyo, but Blake would be an upgrade over those three. His expiring contract would be vital to any deal (Pat) Riley would make." Alan Hahn of Newsday also chimmed in, letting me know to add the New York Knicks to the list. After starting Chris Duhon at the point for much of the season, head coach Mike D'Antoni inserted Nate Robinson into the lineup for a short spell, only to return with Duhon as the starting point guard on Monday. Not sure what's going to happen there at the point, and I'm not sure D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh know right now either. Clearly Duhon and Robinson aren't the answer"
Geez, I gotta do all the work! LOL http://www.beyondthebeat.net/20100208404/2010-articles/february/blake-a-point-of-no-return.html
If the Magic are interested, I would throw a pick with Blake to land Bass. They hardly ever use the guy.
No it couldn't. As the article states, Blake is a Nate/KP guy. They would trade Rudy, Bayless and Batum before they traded Blake.
All of those guys are KP guys. He made draft day deals to land all three of them. He made a big deal about convincing Rudy to sign with the Blazers when he could have made more money stating in Europe. Batum is definitely a Nate guy. He started 76 games as a rookie and plays great defense. While Bayless isn't a Nate style PG (neither is Andre Miller), he is an incredibly hard worker and I think Nate admires that quality. Rudy is the least Nate-like. He is flamboyant and takes a lot of chances on both offense and defense. He doesn't play the way Nate wants to play. He will also never be a starter and never average more than 20 - 25 MPG back-up Brandon Roy. In fact, with Bayless capable of playing both guard spots and Batum back, I see Rudy's minutes being cut when Roy gets back after that all-star break. Along with Blake's expiring contract, I see Rudy as our most tradeable commodity. He has talent and is on a cheap rookie scale contract. He'd be great for a team that plays a more up tempo game - like the Knicks. Since the Knicks are supposedly interested in Blake, this trade works. It sends Blake (expiring contract), Outlaw (expiring contract) and Rudy (cheap 2-year contract) to the Knicks for David Lee, Winston Chandler and Jordan Hill. I'm not sure how willing the Knicks would be to part with David Lees, but with both Blake and Outlaw expiring, they could get even further under the cap this summer. I'm sure they would rather dump Jared Jefferies and his 2-year $13 million deal on the Blazers, but Portland wouldn't be interested. Portland can add a pick or two (lottery protected 1st plus a 2nd), and some minor contracts (all of our 2nd rounders, Pendy, Cunningham and Mills are on cheap $457,588 contracts). Mills would fit well in D'Antoni's SSOL offense. He's cheap, expiring and the trade still works if he's added. So, that gets us to: Blake + Rudy + Outlaw + Mills + Lottery Protected 1st + 2nd for Lee + Chandler + Hill David Lee would help solve our immediate need at center. Next year, with Oden and Joel back, we would have a temporary log jam at the 4 and 5 spots - assuming Joel opts in (why wouldn't he?) and we re-sign Lee (we'd hold his Bird rights). Lee is actually better than LaMarcus Aldridge, and would deserve to start, but knowing Nate, he'd bring Lee off the bench to back-up the 4 spot and play spot minutes at center. A year later, when Joel's contract expires, we'd be left with a three man rotation of Oden, Aldridge and Lee at the 4 and 5 spots. That would be fantastic big man rotation, with all three players averaging around 32 MPG. BNM
Blake knows the score. He likes it here and his wife likes it here. We'd rent him out for half a season and then he'd re-sign with us. He'll slide down the depth chart until he retires and grabs a clipboard as a coach.
I agree that trading Blake to Miami or Orlando would be a good move - and it would be fair to Blake, since he would be traded to another competitive team in or near where he grew up. Problem is, I still think the Blazers feel guilty about the previous Blake trade (via Nash) and that it would upset Nate and Roy or mess up some chemistry. The other problem is Blake is too damn selfless. If he were your typical selfish NBA player, he would see the writing on the wall with Bayless, Miller, and Mills; then asked to be moved to better pastures. For Blake's career, it would be better to get out of Dodge - especially if he can get to another competitive team with less competition. Some things are just hard to explain I guess.
I'd absolutely love to get Lee on this team. I think New York is crazy to do it, but who knows. They've made much worse decisions before. And Rudy and Mills are definitely D'Antoni-type players. I really doubt they trade Jordan Hill, though. They just drafted the guy (#8 pick) and although he's not putting up huge numbers, his PER is very nice. They'd really need him if they lose Lee. Wilson Chandler also logs a lot of minutes right now for that team. Hard to imagine them just giving up on him too. This trade works, although it's a freakin' massive consolidation trade. We get the best player in the deal, and New York sheds Jeffries. We'd wind up with: Miller/Bayless Roy/Webster/Bayless Batum/Webster/Roy Aldridge/Jeffries/Landry Lee/Aldridge/Jeffries Ok, that's a pretty thin front court. And any deal that loses us 7 players isn't likely to happen mid-season. But it makes a lot of sense to me.
I threw Chandler and Hill in for two reasons - to make the salaries work. And, because they both have another year left on their current deals. With the Knicks trying to clear cap space for the Summer of 2010. The trade I proposed lets them free up another $9.6 million in cap space if they choose to let Blake, Outlaw and Mills walk. Compared to the $7 million they could free up if they let Lee walk. The advantage to them is, either way they loose Lee, but if they do the trade, they get an extra $2.6 million in cap space AND a player (Rudy) that fits their system well, plus a lottery protected 1st round pick. I'm sure there are other combinations of players that work, but I was primarily targeting players on their roster whose contracts extend past the end of this season - with the goal of maximum cap space this summer. I'm sure they would REALLY love to dump Jeffereis, but I don't see a trade that includes him that makes sense for Portland. BNM
the problem with that, as i understand it, is they dont' have to lose lee. they can sign free agent X, then go over the cap when they sign lee. i don't think lee is going anywhere and that is ny's plan.
Lee counts as a big cap hold until re-signed or renounced. Precisely to avoid that sort of gaming of the cap system.
