This is about as tough a call as you can have. the team is playing so well. Miller is an amazing leader at PG. Blazers are 5th seed and have sights on playoffs. By bringing in Harris (which sounds like the blazers target for the last 3 months) the blazers really out themselves in a dangerous situation. Team will have to adjust to Harris in a crucial time, LAs alley oop easy buckets likely vanish, and lose the vet leadership. look at this quote from LA.... "I was just tryint to make it to the fourth quarter with some energy left," said Aldridge, who played nearly 44 minutes for the Blazers. "I think we're in a great mindset, a great place." But you have to get a PG of future which isnt Miller. I believe Miller can play 2-3 more years but he might slow down and might not resign. Bringing harris kills momentum and team unity but solves a major problem in years coming at PG. Is it worth the gamble? I really dont know. But it sounds like this deal has a very chance of going down. Hollinger said it weeks ago that this was our guy. But man i will miss what miller has done if he does leave. What an amzing player he has been through the hardest of hardest times for this franchise. As amazing as LA has been.... miller has been the glue. Dre can be on my team any time.
I think if you're going to get an impact player that can help us in the future, you have to do it. I agree, it's a tough decision. However, I'm willing to sacrifice wins this season for the opportunity to win more in future season when we may actually remain healthy.
I'm not in favor of a 'Dre trade. I've said before that I would not be surprised if he plays until he's 40. In this snakebitten franchise, durability and reliability need to be treated like gold. I would rather we continue drafting point guards (but actual POINT guards, not short 2 guards) while starting 'Dre until we find one that can surpass him (Nolan Smith, anyone?).
I am in favor of this too. We still have Petteri developing in Europe (I would like to see what he can do in the NBA, he's looked good in summer league before, but so did Patty Mills). I am not convinced that Devin Harris is going to be the answer. I like the chemistry the team has now. I think we will all know when the time is right to make a move for a PG. This just doesn't seem to be the right time to me. As well as LMA is playing I think a talented PG is going to want to come play with LMA when it is time for Dre to pass the torch. I prefer targeting a PG with some potential to be Dre's backup for now for a cheaper price.
This is the time that good GM"s are made\make thier money.... Yeah, Miller has been very good for POR this year....he probably has a year left, maybe 2 or 3....but is POR going anywhere with him? Are they going anywhere period? I mean the team is playing inspired\no nonsense basketball right now and it is fun to watch, but a good GM has to see beyond the euphoric moment here and analyze this team dispassionately...and the bottom line is that this is still a middle of the road team...maybe\long shot they could win a playoff series, but advancing any farther than that? Come on now.... Miller is 35, Camby (whom I also think has 2-3 years left) 37, Joel is but a shell of his former self since the injuries......If you can use these guys to better your team AND get younger? You have to do it.... I think Cho is in the right mindset, at least from what I have read\heard, he is...No one on the team in untouchable, the team is a middling team (that is playing out of its head\inspired basketball right now) that is SEVERAL moves away.... A good GM has to be be able to see the big picture, recognize the ultimate goal (championship) and have the balls to deal away popular players or make deals at a time when the team is playing well... Is Cho capable of doing this? I guess we are going to find out.... Personally, I would hold onto Camby...trade Joel....only trade Miller if the return was good (and Harris is a good return).....and guys like Mills, Marks, Babbitt, Cunningham, Johnson would\should all be on the table if need be to fill out a deal.... I would not deal Aldridge, Matthews, or Batu at this point unless the return was a clear win\upgrade....
Right now my gut feeling is that the team would make the greatest strides immediately, by improving the bench. But if you want to improve long term, you are unfortunately going to have to trade up to all 3 of our older veterans. Any deal that would be made for them, would have to give us some flexibility and talent coming in down the line.
He has to be willing to make deals when the team is playing well or trade away popular players. Whether he actually does so should be entirely dependent on what deals are actually available. That's why fan appraisals of GM inactivity at any particular time or with any particular player are unreliable; fans have really no idea what was available. It's entirely possible, at a given time or with a given player, that the best deal is no deal. If the best (actually) available players for Miller in the next week or so are guys like Randy Foye or Yi Jian-Lian (as an example), then a competent GM won't make a deal. So we won't necessarily find out what Cho is capable of at this trade deadline. I certainly hope he doesn't turn down a good deal that significantly upgrades the team's future, but I'm not convinced such a deal will be there.
I'm guessing Miller's value won't be any higher than it is right now, at this stage of his career and contract situation. It'll take some balls though from Cho to move him...
UPDATE: This is just one version of a long-rumored trade between Portland and New Jersey involving Miller. PLEASE ... no more Travis Outlaw! All along I've thought that the Trail Blazers would make a move just prior to next week's trade deadline. And all along, I figured that move would include dealing Andre Miller. I didn't think that would be the only move, but I figured it would be a key piece. Now, I'm not so sure. In fact, the recent uptick in play by the Trail Blazers along with the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge as a big-time player has changed that. And I'm not usually the guy who confuses short-term success with long-term gain. This franchise needs to think big picture and that vision would normally see someone a lot younger at point guard -- a player who would be young enough to lead this core group of players on a deep playoff run someday. But Miller has forced me to look at things a little differently. For one thing, I think he has a lot to do with the team's recent improvement -- yes, real improvement. It's not just a different cast of characters out there playing recently, it's that those players have improved. They're playing much better together and making smarter decisions. I think Miller has a lot to do with that. He's one of the smartest point guards in the league, a man who relies on cunning, guile and experience rather than raw physical skills. He's tough, he plays hard every night and he doesn't ever seemed deterred by momentary setbacks or failures. He just keeps coming at you, play after play. He's set a great example of professionalism on the floor and I believe he's been instrumental in helping Aldridge become the player he's become. Watch how often Miller gets Aldridge the ball not necessarily when Aldridge calls for it, but when Miller sees he's established perfect post position. If he's not in that spot, Miller gives him time to get there. Small thing, big results. The Blazers could move Miller, yes. But I think it would be a most painful departure and it's something that would really complicate the team's progress for the rest of the season and beyond. If I were Rich Cho, it would be hard for me to make that move. I'd have to get a point guard in return and he'd have to be a good one. A good young one. And I'm not even sure Devin Harris -- the name most frequently mentioned -- fills that bill. I just haven't seen enough of him to know how well he could run this team -- and not just for the rest of this season but for seasons to come. I do think Portland will be moving Joel Przybilla. His expiring contract makes him an attractive piece and shedding that obligation brings the Blazers down under the luxury tax. And really, if I were a team looking for a solid big man, I'd be tempted to gamble on him. Right now, he's a shadow of his former self but I do believe as a veteran player, it's taking him longer to recover from his surgery than it might take other players. Nobody will work harder to recover, though, than Przybilla and I could make a case that he will get back to his old shotblocking self at some point. There are rumors out there now that the Blazers are looking to add another big man. If they do, it would probably be a precursor to dealing either Przybilla or Marcus Camby. Certainly there is a much bigger market for Camby than Przybilla. Although older, Camby is still a viable starting center in the NBA -- a defender and shotblocker who could help push a good team over the top. It's possible some people could be getting a little carried away with Portland's 10-4 record without Camby. But I'd tread softly there. The Blazers are consistently being outrebounded -- and that's a category that was a strength when Camby played. I'd be careful about dealing Camby, too. He's a double-digit rebounding guy in big games who will block a couple of shots every night. I don't see that coming from anyone else on this roster. All of this points out how seriously difficult Cho's job is right now. As his team sits on a six-game winning streak and occupies the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings at the All-Star break, he has to decide how much he buys into his team's recent success. Is this team, as constituted, good enough to build on? Or is it best to just get on with some major rebuilding? Is what we're seeing now the core of a championship team? Deep down, you have to doubt that. You have to think there are still major pieces to be added for that to happen. And to do that, some painful decisions must be made about trading away current players. And that will mean risking short-term losses to build long-term success. And it was just a few years ago we went through that same, painful process here.
