ESPN yakkers think Charlotte raped the Blazers

Charlotte's needs are two fold:

Shed salary and stockpile picks, so the NBA can find a buyer for them.

I don't think our needs were an overpaid, oft-injured, fading SF/PF in the twilight of his career.

ESPN nailed it.

 

The beauty of it is we don't care he is overpaid. He might be get injured a lot and starting the down side of his career, but he will give us more production than what we gave for him.

 

Considering how our 1st round draft picks have done the last few years, it might not have been a bad option anyhow.

 

Yes we do not need an player who last year was an all star an All NBA defensive team. We don't need a backup for LMA or a player who can rebound really good for his position. A veteran player who helps on both ends of the court. We do not need an explosive scorer off the bench... Everything I listed we already had right?

 

Our pick in 2013 could easily be a lottery pick.

Miller will be gone and Mills is our only replacement.

Wallace will be gone, no way we re-up with him for what he'll want.

Camby will be retired. Roy will be announcing for TNT. Oden's done.

We'll have LaMarcus, Wes, Nic, Rudy, Patty and some new kids from 2nd round picks.

 

At 28 he's in the twilight of his career? If he were 31 or 32 then I'd agree, but not at his age. He is injury prone...but given how much other players make, I wouldn't necessarily say he's really overpaid.

 

Don't get me wrong, he's nice to have at the moment, and the price seems about right, but he's gone in 2 years and we've supposedly been building for the future the last 6-7 years no without any sort of forward progress.

This continues the error of being sidetracked.

 

I think the Wallace trade proves that the front office does not want to rebuild. They want to go out and do some damage now. The trade for him is pure forward progress in terms of improving the team.

 

Pryz's contract, Dante, and 2 first rounders does seem like a lot to give up for a guy they wanted to get rid of. But oh well, I'm happy we got Wallace!

 

The NBA does not need to find a buyer for the Bobcats, Jordan bought them last year. You are thinking of the Hornets.

 

Oh I dunno. Dante is a back up and not building on his rookie season as we had hoped. Joel may never come back fully from his injury and will be a free agent after this season and I doubt will want to stay there. Either back here or Minny. Maybe Miami if they can sign him. Two probable non lottery picks is really all we're giving up. As much as I liked him as a player, Dante is a very replaceable player. I think we're easily getting the better of this deal. At least, that's the way it appears now.

 

Well, since Wallace is not a 2, that is completely irrelevant.

As for 3's, the Blazers have a grand total of ONE who is worth a shit - Batum.

Garbage In (Blazers have too many players at Wallace's position already) =
Garbage Out (their laughable assesment of the trade)

Of course, this doesn't surprise; ESPN LONG AGO abandon any pretense to using as a key criteria for their talking-heads, experience in credible sports journalism. Most important criteria seems to be an ability to make new catch phrases. Booyah.

 

Oh god, how will we ever live without Joel, Dante, and those two draft picks..... season over!

 

Which players would you have targeted, Maris?

 

You are correct, but as their team stands the same needs apply.

Salary dump, youth and picks.

Realistically that's what we need also.

If PA thinks he can patch together a title team in the next year or two this way he nuts.

 

I agree with all this except I suspect the picks will be quite high. We needed way more than a bandaid.

 

Nobody is taking Roy, so you can forget the salary dump, and with the way Aldridge is playing we have a good chance of making noise I think. We have a nice core of LMA, Wallace, Matthews, and Batum. Miller is a great player as well. I like our odds, especially if we can add someone like Bibby or Murphy.

 

If I was being paid I'd take the time to analyze them all, but for starters nobody older than 26, nobody who'd grossly overpaid, and nobody who has had more than 1 incomplete season due to injury.

That's just basic common sense for a team in need of rebuilding. To deny we are that team is silly at this point.

 

Call me crazy, but I'm not giving up on Roy as a very productive, but not elite, player. He still has his smooth jumper, he got into the lane twice on drives (Cunningham blew an easy layup on one, and Matthews hit a jumper off of the other) and defensively last night, he moved better than he did all of last season and earlier this season. I also won't call Miller "great", but that is a semantic difference, I suppose.

How about 80% Brandon and 80% Oden added to the "core". I'm probably being too positivie, but I think that can be excused today in BlazerLand!