And really, with tanking, is there any doubt that we'd take Davis or Drummond, once in a whatever they'd be described as big men, and a wing(Barnes, I dunno, someone else) will just become the next big thing while Davis would have his unibrow all become ingrown hairs at once, killing him the second he signed with us.
Blowing it up and tanking to get better someday in the future sounds a lot better on paper then it tends to pan out in practice. Even a team like Cleveland that "hit the jackpot" with that strategy...how long were they in the wilderness before LeBron James finally fell to them? Purposely reducing your talent for draft picks and cap space is usually a ticket to a decade of terrible basketball. Bottomed-out teams generally don't find blue chip free agents flocking to take their money and most top draft picks don't become franchise-changing stars. I'd rather the team plays out the season with Aldridge, Wallace, Batum, Matthews and Felton, attempts to draft well and trade in an attempt to get better, rather than worse. I'm always open to the team trading any player on the roster...but with an eye to improving talent in the present or the future. Not with an eye to reduce total team talent.
The team doesn't NEED to trade Wallace, but they should be open to offers. Same for Felton and Camby - as expiring deals they might have *some* value. At this point, turning Camby into a late 1st round pick would be worth it.
If they could trade Wallace for a 1st round pick without lottery protections I can see the argument for it, but just razing the team to bare earth probably isn't going to do much unless they go out and acquire several first rounders that could theoretically be used to move up into the top 7 of what many consider a talent rich draft. There's no clear road out of the current predicament.
Sorta. I believe that was allowed since the medical condition wasn't known until the failed physical during the trade.
Impossible to go into any kind of detail but what about a three-way involving Wallace for Al Jefferson? Utah is heavily shopping him and they are set at virtually every position.
I don't know if that's worth it. Jefferson is a better behaved ZBO imo. I would either try to work for a young big man or a young dynamic guard.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7tenvjl How about Camby, Felton, and Batum for Milsap and Harris? Harris Wesley Wallace Milsap Aldridge Harris is a little more dynamic than Felton and Milsap is a gritty young big who averages nearly 20 PER and is on a decent contract for two more years.
Love it. Portland needs to stop thinking inside the box. Although I can't see anyway possible that Utah and Portland play nice in trade talks
Sure, I'd do it it brings in the right player (and one not expected to bolt via free agency). Before though, I was worried about being able to retain Wallace, but with all the cap room we'll have next year, it won't be a problem. I don't know if he's the kinda guy that will bolt anyway, and take lesser pay to win a title (that's so cheesy). Chris Paul has his knee issue, Deron Williams seems to be one of those that wants to be in a big market. Rajon Rondo is probably a guy we could target with that package, he's locked into a long term deal. But it would make our roster pretty thin. Rondo/LA/Batum/....crap.
I'd rather keep Wallace than deal him for Al Jefferson. Have you guys forgotten how good he was for us last year? I know he sucked in the playoffs, and he's getting up there in age, but he's still a great player. And lord knows, if we had Al Jefferson, Nate would have the Blazers throw the ball to him in the post every play.
absolutely, it should be a fun team to watch, if we can get a little size up fron we'll be okay and we can have a lot of capspace next year. Blow it up? we still have a relatively young team and core so a "retool" on the fly IMO is a much better way to approach this.
"Retooling" sounds like a we just need to tinker with the roster and we'll be back in contention. This team needs at minimum one all-star level player and several more solid veterans.
If a blockbuster deal is out there and the other team has to have Wallace, then sure. If not, I am going to be happy as hell to watch him play for us. We were a sixth seed last year without Oden and a broken down Roy. We also had a less than 100% Wes, a PG that was a great play maker but poor shooter, and Rudy's drama. There is still a great core of players in LA, Wallace, Batum, Wesley, Felton. We should be able to get a player with injury exceptions that helps and Camby may still have something left. I may be drinking the Kool-aid, but I am optimistic. Teams that are going to be bad and ensure us atleast a playoff spot: Utah, Denver, Minnesota, NO, Sacramento, Golden St., Phoenix, Houston Of the other playoff teams, OKC and Memphis are the only clearly better teams. Tempted to put the Lakers with that group but think with the attempted Paul trade they showed they are desperate[edit vulnerable[. I put us anywhere from 3-7 in the West.
