LOL if anyone thinks Felton is capable of going on a tear, you are more optimistic than I am. That says a lot. I have a strong feeling that Felton will sulk the rest of this season. I have a feeling that many fans will turn on him and I mean BAD. Any mistake he makes is amplified like 100%. He is too much of a mental midget to prove anything. Crawford, on the other hand, actually could go on a tear. I think the trade was a huge distraction for him. He's the player to watch, IMO.
The Blazers could only be viewed as losers if you were to look at these moves from the very limited view point of the remaining games on this year's schedule. Having two lottery picks in a deep draft plus enough cap space to re-sign Batum and have enough left to make a max offer on a FA this summer puts this team in the position to become competitive again in a very short time. Camby and Wallace weren't going to be here next year and neither was McMillan. The fact that Felton and Crawford are here for the rest of this season is totally irrelevant. Spears is a pretty good writer in general, but he really muffed on this piece.
ESPN's Hollinger Trade Grades: Portland: A The Blazers are flailing, but this was absolutely the right move for them -- a means to a quickie rebuilding project that can have them back in the West's upper crust while LaMarcus Aldridge is still in his prime. Or so they hope. The top-3 protected draft choice from the Nets is the key. It's likely to fall in the 6-to-10 range, giving the Blazers a shot at a high lottery pick. There are two other angles here. First, they are assured that Wallace won't opt in for $9.5 million next year and screw up their cap situation; instead they're locked into $3.1 million for Williams and roughly $2.5 million for the first-round pick. If they also deal Jamal Crawford (or if he opts out, which seems likely), they'll be $25 million under the cap next summer, which means they have the wherewithal to re-sign Nicolas Batum and plunge into the free-agent market. Second, while Williams was useless in New Jersey as a 3, he's had some success as a 4 off the bench. That could be his role in Portland, since Wallace had effectively taken over as the backup power forward. Alternatively, the trade could open playing time for Luke Babbitt -- who has played well in recent garbage-time stints -- or the scandalously underutilized Craig Smith. Finally, this clears up a perimeter jumble for Portland. Batum gets to start at the 3, his natural position, and if Crawford goes, it appears Wes Matthews and Elliot Williams can share the shooting guard spot. link ESPN's Zach Harper: What was the trade deadline play of the day? I thought the Trail Blazers blowing it up and getting a very favorable draft pick from the Nets was huge. With the dismantling of their own roster and the firing of their coach, they're in prime position to tank, clear cap room for next season and end up with two lottery picks. Too many teams tread water before they realize it's time to blow it up. Have to sink or swim. link
This. They greatly helped 2-29 competitors while not really helping themselves at all. Bob Whitsitt would have gotten rid of both slackers, and received amazing value in return.
Not even Trader Bob could have gotten value for Felton. I am disappointed that they couldn't get something of value for Crawford, but you can't have everything.
So would you be happy if Crawford and Felton were both gone but we had to take back Steve Blake's contract? Screw that I'm happy we didn't. Theres only a couple days beyond a month left in the season, having to put up with Crawford/Felton for a few weeks isn't a big deal. This isn't some Darius Miles, Zach Randolph, Theo Ratliff screw up where we are stuck with a terrible contract for half a decade and prevented from using cap space. I think the team was hoping to get a pick for Crawford and was holding firm. If they didn't get a pick back there wasn't much incentive to deal him away. If you are willing to play hard ball you can sometimes get home run deals like the Wallace trade, but you have to be willing to walk away from a deal. Teams like NJ were in a panick and did a trade at all costs. I'm glad we didn't make a panick move just to close the deal on a trade that doesn't help the teams position this summer.
Question. Who is going to be deciding on which players are drafted in the mid-lottery? Because until that is resolved, nothing matters.
