Deep at small forward? Who is, us or them? By my count all we have is a defensively challanged rookie and Nic Batum (Maybe Wesley Matthews if you're feeling generous).
At some point, you have to give up on Paul, not restrict moves based on "but then we can't get Paul anymore" sentiment. I don't know if now is the point that we should give up on Paul being a Blazer (the Blazers front office might have better insight into whether New Orleans has any desire at all to move him and whether Portland's offers are attractive to them), but until anything new breaks, I'd rather proceed on the assumption that Portland isn't acquiring Paul (which I always viewed as a longshot anyway) and seeing what other good deals might be struck...with New Orleans or anyone else.
I agree. It comes to a point where just waiting and hoping on Paul, as I saw someone else mention, becomes almost like passing on deals or signings because of our cap space plan. Take the improvements when you can get them and where you can get them, if they actually improve your team.
Sure, but we have time on our side. I'd wait until the trade deadline before I would take NOH's salary burden from them. Again if the front office is CERTAIN that CP3 is staying in NOH then getting Okafor and Collison is the best move available. Besides the CP3 trade isn't dead Minstrel it's just sleeping or very, very heavily medicated after severe head trauma.
I think we could move Miller for SF later this year if Collison is ready. Posey isn't awful, but Okafor is clearly the superior talent and having LMA/Camby/Oden/Okafor looks mighty fucking tasty to me. You can always swing Camby next summer as an expiring if guys show they are suddenly healthy as an ox. EDIT: Duh just hit trade machine Miller or Camby would have to be included for Okafor. Hmm, let me rethink this.
I can understand that. You just risk things moving on without you (like another team picking up Collison) and then not getting Paul either. But then, Collison is not so remarkable that that's a scary risk. So I could see playing it that way. Agreed. In fact, I don't think I'll ever fully accept the Paul trade is dead, even after he and the current Blazers have retired.
Batum, Wesley, Rook and Roy can play minutes there as well, it also seems like Dante's improved handle will allow him to play a little there. Yes, we are deep at this position.
How do you plan to get Okafor and Collison? Rudy, Joel and Bayless would get it done, but would the Hornets be willing to go with only Aaron Gray and a rehabbing Joel as their centers? I highly doubt it. Maybe you throw in JP, the rights to Freeland and Claver and that gets you over the hump. http://www.realgm.com/src_checktrade.php?tradeid=5652705
yeah I just realized that. had two different trades in my mind and didn't check salaries see my edit. Whoops.
You could do this and preserve the expirings and still help NOH shed two years of Okafor's contract: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2fda7fc They are definitely getting fair value on that trade. Then you could swing Joel and/or Miller (if Collison is ready) for a SF at the deadline.
No wonder we never brought over Joel Freeland, the guy is shorter then Spud Webb and he's supposed to be a Power Forward?!??!
Maybe something like this with Milwaukie? They like saving money. http://www.realgm.com/src_checktrade.php?tradeid=5652712 They probably wouldn't go for it, but they have a few SF and PF's they might be a good trading partner for us if not this specific trade.
Because they are secretly Blazers fans? Yeah not enough on our end. That's why trades are so damn hard. Obvious trading partners rarely need what you have. I will note that all of those guys are going to be behind Magette, Salmons and Gooden. Gives them cap relief and a viable option if Jennings is injured.
A lot of talk. But that's all it is is talk. I see Rudy is still a Blazer, now days after he was supposedly going to be traded, and supposedly after another trade was supposed to happen before that one. It seems like Jason Quick is up to his normal par on accuracy. My money is on that the team Portland has now, is the team they go into training camp with.
Well he said the Rudy talk was put on backburners until Sunday. So I guess he's technically right, so far...
Logjam at too many positions for that to be the case. I'm willing to bet that were about to make a cosolidation deal in the next week or two.
