Why? Swingmen are called swingmen for a reason...there's a ton of overlap between the 2 and 3 positions. And it's not like Batum is a "power" small forward, like a Gerald Wallace. I can't see any reason why Batum wouldn't work at shooting guard. I don't agree...I'll trade Roy for a better player, like Chris Paul. The only player in the league I'd say is "untouchable" is a contractually locked up Lebron James.
This was meant for bgrantfan who told me I act like I have no clue what agents do or what they are about . . . or something like that. I'm not an agent and maybe don't know all about what agents do, but the post was a huge attack on me for saying whatever the agent did after Penn's firing , it didn't do KP any favors . . . something along those lines and I believe it was that mild of a statement. Anyways I let it go at the time . . . but it didn't sit right with me so I thought I would bring it up again. Papag has pushed my buttons for a long time . . . usually it doesn't get to me, but every once in a while it bothers me . . . I'm seeing a therpist and working on though. Had nothing to do with OSU. Only quoted him because it was showing that Quick thinks the agent cause some harm between the relationship of KP and ownership.
I have a hard time believing we talked at length with N.O. about Chris Paul. That would imply they were actually listening & possibly negotiating, which implies we actually had/have a shot. I hope it's true, it's just hard to believe. If it is true, I sure hope talks start up again. As I think CP3 is better than anyone we have on the roster...I would be willing to give up A LOT for him.
I think Collison's surprisingly excellent play puts them in a strange position. They have millions tied up in a superstar who's blocking their best young player (who is also extremely inexpensive), they aren't drawing well even with that superstar and they have a ton of dead weight on their roster. And it's not like they have a hugely successful team that they'd be breaking up. While I'd still say the odds are against it, that could be the perfect storm that leads to one of the best players of his generation being dealt.
Amazing, a team in New Orleans drawing poorly? History repeats itself to those doomed to not learn from it.
If paul is really on the trading block (I don't think he is), could you imagine the offers around the league for him. Blazers have got to be a longshot, IMO.
A swap straight across of Roy for Chris Paul makes a lot of sense for both teams. Roy is probably the best young talent New Orleans would see offered for Paul. It's not a fair trade, but it's as close to fair as you are probably going to get when you are talking about trading a top 5 NBA player. For Portland, man, can you just imagine Chris Paul feeding Batum, Oden and Aldridge all night? We could even live with Webster or Bayless as the other starting swingman if you have Chris Paul creating wide open jumpers. We'd have to line up another trade to get rid of Andre Miller, but really, is that so hard? He's a solid starting point guard on a pretty short contract. And Miller is starting to get up there in years--maybe he's ok coming off the bench. He wasn't happy playing behind Blake, but come on--it was Steve Freakin' Blake. It sounds weird, but I'd actually rather see a trade that involves Roy as the main ingredient than Batum, if the guy coming back is Paul. I just think Batum fits in better with Paul's game.
Just said that Monty said Paul was the main reason he went there. I don't see them getting rid of him.
You can't possibly be serious, can you? Do you undervalue our players (and the cap relief that Przybilla and Miller would provide) that much? Oden is, despite his injuries, a tremendous prospect. Chris Paul is a wonderful player, but he's also had some significant injuries. Okafor is okay, but his contract is a millstone that New Orleans is desperate to remove from around their neck. This is a fair trade and I strongly believe that this is along the lines of what the discussion has centered around. Adding Batum greatly swings the deal in their favor. Just...greatly. We refused the #4 pick for Batum. We're not throwing him into a deal that already includes Greg Oden. The deal as I outlined it is just about the only thing that makes sense. We give up great potential for a great known quantity and they get cap relief.
You are left with Chris Paul, BRoy, and LMA are you kidding me? I do that yesterday today and tomorrow EDIT: For Cake
The problem is, they don't want talent, they want CHEAP talent and cap relief. So what does Roy for Chris Paul get them? Expensive talent for expensive talent.
