I don't think the team should make any trades, unless someone knocks their socks off. Let the season play out and when the offseason comes just use the cap space from the expirings to go after Deron Williams and re-sign Batum. Let Felton walk away and possibly Wallace. I like a core of Williams, Aldridge, Batum a lot better than anything we could probably get from trades.
I agree to a point. We are a player short of making any real noise in the playoffs (or making the playoffs for that matter), so if a trade were necessary then fine. However, i am now questioning Nate. Does he have control and respect of the team? I watch the upcoming games against Toronto and Detroit as key to the season; we get beat and we have big problems. We kick ass and play as we can against the Lakers - maybe we are back on track. One last point - start Nic over Wes for five games and determine if his can get us off to better starts.
I just don't want to see the team do anything in a knee-jerk way. I'm fine with trades if it's with an eye to the future, but if they start taking on more aged players or guys with big contracts trying to add that elusive "last piece of the puzzle" then that's going to be pretty irritating.
I think that's the plan. The moves to get Felton, Wallace, and Crawful, as well Camby's short deal all are indicative of the organization believing this is a rebuilding summer in 2012.
But Wallace doesn't have to walk away, and what guarantee is there that imaginary cap space will work out any differently than last time? Portland isn't a prime destination for premier NBA players
he does not "have to" walk away but with so many terams with big capspace and very few quailty FA's he will very likely opt out for one final big payday
a core of William's, Batum, and Aldridge would be amazing! I still am not holding my breath on D-Will going anywhere other than Dallas though.
we have too decent of a core to rebuild imo..... rebuilding typically means start from scratch. i dont see that happening....
They don't have to clear the decks (so to speak) but they do have some major holes in their roster looming. The idea of "rebuilding" or "retooling" or whatever you want to call it, is mostly down to semantics ... they've got a lot of work to do.
Wallace has already announced he will opt out at the end of the year. Not binding on him, but it makes a lot of sense to opt out and most likely what will happen.
I don't think that waiting for free agency is likely to be successful in getting a guy like Williams or another top free agent. First, there's the question of whether he'd want to play here over other places that will be competing for his services. Second, if the Nets think that they're going to lose him, they're likely to look for a trade prior to the end of the season so that they don't get left with nothing. Third, even if he's on the market next summer, there's the probability that he would want to push for a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets so that he can get a bigger contract. If Portland waits until the summer, they won't have some of their current assets available to use in a sign-and-trade.
He and his agent declined to enter a discussion with the Blazers about an extension. The only logical reason for that is that he wants to explore free agency.
He'll explore his options at the end of the season. The Blazers can offer a larger extension then... Hopefully they don't...
He has said he would be interested in retiring as a Blazer. But I think Wallace will be trying to get the most money he can this summer.
This is something I can get behind. Convincing Deron is going to be tough, though. He'd be the first above average PG in Portland since the 90's!
Assuming Gerald/Crawford opt out and don't return, and Batum receives a contract extension (I put him at $8M just to be safe), the Blazers would only have about $32M on the books. The Blazers can't squander that by giving Gerald and extension. Nice player, but he has MAYBE 3 years left, but probably more like 2. Absolutely not worth it. There's really an opportunity to get young and add a big FA here. Do not fuck this up.
