Remind me what we got for Zach Randolph.

My only issue with the Zach Randolph trade was that we didn't insist that they trade us Malk Rose for Darius Miles in addition. Rose would not only have brought a needed vet presence, but had a 2009 expiring deal.

Other than that issue, that trade helped everyone. We were able to clear the "leadership" in the lockerroom and allow it to be filled by guys like Brandon, Steve, Joel and LMA. Zach was able to hit rock bottom, getting traded for scraps a couple of times and making something out of his talent.

 

I was strongly against the move at the time, but not because we dumped Zach for less talent. I was against it because it didn't solve our Darius problem, and at the time, Zach was the best chit to rid ourselves of Darius. BTW, I don't include Rudy in that deal.

 

Still don't believe in chemistry, eh Ed?

 

That's what I thought too. I was hoping we could unload Z-Bo and Miles in one fell swoop. Zach was an idiot, and KP was backed into a corner - a prisoner of his own pledge to create a new culture here. When the entire league knows you want to dump somebody, good luck getting value in return. I actually didn't mind Zach as a player. Sure his defense is weak, but if you pair him with a good defensive center it isn't as visible. But his antics got old (to say the least), and it was time for him to go.

 

Well, if you judge success by wins, which I do, then clearly the "addition by subtraction" approach did work. Z-RO still hasn't played in a non-Blazer playoff game; we just enjoyed our 2nd consecutive 50-win season. Zach is Shareef Abdur-Rahim on steroids.

 

[video=youtube;yfa83E2Q5aY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfa83E2Q5aY[/video]

After the 20 misses, check out the defense at 1:20.

I can bring up Hoops Family, giving false statements to the Anderson police after a member of this group shot someone, punching a teammate because he was sticking up for someone with as low of character as Q Woods, and bereaving at a strip club. We could keep going about incidents like this.

As it has already been said, we do not get Andre Miller without cap space. We probably do not have the financial ability to give Camby an extension if Zach is still on the payroll next year. The Clippers and Knicks also got nothing in return for him.

 

From what I remember reading, there was a deal to include Miles with Zach, but Paul Allen nixed that idea, because of his infatuation with Miles. So I don't think you can complain about the deal, or blame KP for not also moving Miles, when ownership wasn't going to allow it to happen.

In regards to addition by subtraction, what exactly would you base saying it did not work on?

 

I've never seen that in an NBA game, not even in mop-up/garbage time. What a schmuck.

 

I was against the trade.

Look it up.

 

Or, the way he was able to lead all the young talent of the Memphis Grizzlies to the playoffs this year.

Zach Randolph is the Cedric Ceballos of Power Forwards, but with less redeeming qualites.

 

Got rid of the worst contract in the NBA. Pretty easy.

Zach wasn't worth anymore because of his contract + he was a headache and the Blazers simply took the highest offer. Zach wasn't worth keeping around.

 

No, that was "addition by addition." We added an improved Roy, improved Aldridge, in addition to wholly new players like Oden, Batum (later), etc.

The fact that those players helped Portland win more in no way shows that getting rid of Randolph, who wasn't part of getting any of them, made Portland better.

I agree with Ed, it was a terrible deal. As a major fan of Pritchard, that's one of the main disappointments in his body of work to me.

 

It didn't work?

Based on what?

 

Why would you want a guy like that to be around the rookies and young players who are your future core? Get that guy the fuck outta here before he's teaching them the ropes on AND off the court AND after all the shit we had just put up with.

This thread is a big giant "We're about to go out of the playoffs, OH NO'S!!!!!!!! PANIC PANIC, we never should have gotten rid of (Insert former player)" thread.

Not surprised who started it. We can't keep everyone we've ever had. I've noticed a sharp down turn in the "we never should have let Von Wafer go" threads this year.

 

We got an improved Aldridge who learned to rebound and play inside, something that ZBO was blocking him from doing.

 

The Blazers got their reputation back and they got the fans who had grown sick of the Jailblazers era back. I understand that to some of you who are only concerned with what happens on the court, that those things don't matter. I can understand why, if that's your starting place, then you think the deal was a crappy deal.

I think, bottom line, that both parties benefitted. It cleaned the slate for the Blazers and allowed them to work at building the current version of the team without the constant distraction of Zach's off-court issues. For Zach, it only took Portland, the Clippers, and NY giving up on him and trading him for next to nothing to come to the realization that maybe he ought to grow up. He seems to be finally hitting his stride in Memphis and, as far as I know, is keeping his nose clean (or at least his off-court business out of the press). Good for him.

 

Stat-Bo is the very definition of fool's gold. Bad in the locker room, bad in practice, bad for wins, good for your Fantasy Team.

 

He's poor as a first option because he'll have to do too much. As a second option with some help defensively from the centers (like a Marcus Camby), he would be a fantastic player. Rebounds and scores in high volume.

 

Code:

Rk  	Player  	From  	To  	G  	MP  	PER  	TS%  	eFG%  	ORB%  	DRB%  	TRB%  	AST%  	STL%  	BLK%  	TOV%  	USG%  	ORtg  	DRtg  	OWS  	DWS  	WS  	WS/48
1 	LaMarcus  	2007 	2010 	298 	9967 	18.4 	.529 	.491 	9.6 	16.5 	13.0 	8.5 	1.2 	2.3 	8.0 	23.3 	112 	108 	17.6 	10.4 	28.0 	0.135
2 	Zach  	  	2002 	2010 	587 	18231 	19.6 	.524 	.475 	10.4 	23.0 	16.7 	10.4 	1.3 	0.7 	11.8 	27.7 	105 	108 	22.9 	15.2 	38.1 	0.100

I want to highlight Win Shares per 48 minutes (WS/48), Offensive Rating (ORtg), Turnover Percentage (TOV%), effective and true Shooting Percentages (eFG%, TS%), and BLock % (BLK%). Also, total Win Shares. Remember that Aldridge has played half the minutes of Zach over the course of his career, but has racked up only 10 fewer wins total in cumulative Win Shares. All while having a lower usage rate than Zach.

LMA is a better offensive player than Zach, which makes up for his iffy defense (as bad as Zach's). A PF that can block shots a bit and not turn the ball over as much is nice. I'd trade his better block rate, win shares per 48 minutes, and scoring per 100 possessions for a lower rebounding rate. These all confirm what I knew: LMA is a better all-round player than Zach, and while Zach is a volume scorer, he is fool's gold for actually winning games, which is what matters.