Portland needs anther big, obviously, but has a stocked roster. The inevitable waiving/releasing of Patty Mills only brings us down to 15, the max limit. So somebody else has to go. One solution being batted around is to waive Pendergraph, because he's one player who's obviously not tradeable, and who won't give us anything this season. Win/win, huh? But that would be so monumentally shitty, it would make the franchise hard to respect. The only way this would be remotely conscionable would be if (a) Pendergraph's contract is fully guaranteed, so he'd get paid anyway. (b) He would still be allowed to rehab with the team (something I imagine the NBA would frown on), and (c) the team promised to re-sign him next season. Otherwise, I say don't do it! Apart from anything, to treat a guy who's been one of our best soldiers, nicest guys and most-liked-by-his teammates players that way would send a terrible message to other players.
I normally don't do the "fixed" thing, but I thought I'd add in for all the Armchair Orthopedic Surgeons (tm) out there.
"Hardship". I don't know what that means, exactly, though, and I'm not sure that having three seriously injured players (as opposed to four) would get us one... Ed O.
It would be nice to get a roster exemption. And we might. But with Joel and Greg actually practicing, that might be hard to argue for. Of course, if they're practicing, we could just hold out until they can play. Another reason why it would be hard to justify a roster exemption: we have PLENTY of healthy players. It's not the League's fault that they're all 6'8" or shorter. They could just tell us tough shit, make a trade.
Joel, GO, and Pendergraph... anyone else? edit- Oh yeah Rudy... is his back thing gonna keep him out?
dude those are a bitch. Since 8th grade I have had my right one removed twice, and my left big toe nail 3 times. Watch a youtube clip of a removal
At this point I think Cho might actually be able to justify trading Rudy for table scraps to Paul Allen (who's reportedly the one who put the kibosh on the Chicago deal) given their current situation. Ideally, Cho would be able to package Mills and Rudy and maybe somebody else and actually acquire a decent backup 4 instead of just clearing a spot. Maybe the solution is to trade Rudy and Mills for a pick and then see if Joel Freeland is maybe feeling like he's ready to take the plunge ... of course who knows what his overseas contract is like and I can't remember for sure if he's released from the rookie wage scale.
I really like pendergraph I hope we don't waive him but I can see the reasons why we would. He isn't the best player but he is fun to watch at certain times and he is a very good locker room guy to have.
I'm against trading Rudy, mainly because right now he's our best player. I think he's really clicked with the second unit, partly because the addition of Wesley has made the ball move much more. (And if we got Oberto, they could chat in Spanish, and Rudy would realize that really he LOVES it here....)
He's our best player? He hasn't made a 2 point field goal or attempted a free throw. Just because he happens to be hot from three right now does not mean he is our best player.
