That would have taken away the cap space for the Blazers in 2009 FA. That was the year the Blazers were targeting. That's why KP took on LaFrentz and Francis. It was just unfortunate Miles' contract got in the way in the end.
What do I, as a fan, care if KP is paid a lot? Mostly in that it didn't work. They tried to do something and they failed. Ideas off the top of my head to make it work... Wait longer to do the medical retirement. If they did it in 2009 instead of 2008 it significantly lowers our screwability. Keep Miles around rather than unceremoniously cutting him. Try to work something out with Miles and his Agent. Sue somebody. I thought so at the time. I thought so at the time. I totally bought into the idea that Zach needed to go so our chemistry would be good and we would win tons of games. But our great chemistry has gotten us nowhere. I'd rather we still had someone with the talent of Zach Randolph and risk our useless chemistry.
Ah, this thread has been up so long I'm finally going to throw something out there. It keeps bothering me that we don't have an ideal PG; who for me would be somebody who could play above average defense and was either an outstanding distributor or outstanding scorer, or average at both. And I think Kp actually made the same mistake Nash made : drafting a PG one year early, before many good PG's would be available in the draft the next year. So because Nash drafted Telfair and KP drafted Bayless, they missed out the next year. Of course Nash actually was in position to draft two outstanding guys whereas KP didn't have a very high draft pick. But what if KP had traded Jack for a future pick, what if he had traded our pick that year for a future pick? Then he would have had some real ammo for moving up and drafting someone in the PG rich class.
You're over thinking it; if KP had wanted any of the middle round point guards in last year's draft many of them were available for nothing more than a future first (Ty Lawson in particular).
OOOH, that's a good one. You'd think with KP's greatest achievement being the acquisition of Brandon Roy that he would put more emphasis on finding him a back court mate. Seems to me that his methodology is to acquire a wide variety of guys and hope that one of them sticks. Blake, Jack (KP didn't have any control back in 05, but there have been reports that he was instrumental in the Jack acquisition.), Sergio, Taurean Green, Bayless and Miller haven't worked out. But I can't be too hard on him for that. Finding a good point guard to go along with a ball handling shooting guard is tough. It might take him a while to find that guy. He's still accomplished enough that he should still be paid like a real GM rather than an intern that got a promotion and should just be happy to be here.
Well, I believe that Denver had a future draft pick from another team (Charlotte?) that was more enticing than what we had. Also if KP didn't want another PG, I think he was wrong; and his decision was affected by his attachment to his pick Bayless, just as Nash's was affected by his decision to take Telfair earlier. (So, no I don't think I am overthinking; my assumptions may not all be correct, but i think they are reasonable assumptions.)
I don't know if KP is fully sold on Bayless, but everything he's said publicly seems to suggest he believes in him pretty firmly.
KP's successes. 2006 - Trading up with Chicago to get Aldridge instead of drafting Hassan Adams with the #4 pick. 2006 - Trading up with Boston, then Minnesota to get Brandon Roy, instead of drafting Ejike Ugboaja. 2007 - Buying the #24 pick to get Rudy Fernandez, instead of DJ Strawberry and a half kilo of Darryl Strawberry's cocaine. 2008 - Not signing Slavko Vranes to the midlevel exception, then immediately cutting him 15 minutes later. 2009 - Getting Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph in the 2nd round, rather than a case of Boone's farm and a Guatemalan hooker with hepatitis. 2010 - Not trading Brandon Roy at the deadline for Larry Hughes and a set of commemorative Dairy Queen Trailblazers glasses. am I missing any? This thread is fucking stupid.
