Yes, there was some improvement in Outlaw, but it certainly wasn't HUGE. He has an extremely one-dimensional game, and his skills are still, after 7 years, very raw. I don't think I ever saw him make one inventive pass the entire time he wore a Blazer uniform. Webster, to be fair, improved some as well, but his game was incredibly spotty, and also very limited. Webster and Outlaw had huge holes in their games, and they never overcame them.
Hmm... I actually think they'll be hard-pressed to make the playoffs, and getting a pick in the 9 or 10 range seems possible. I like it a lot more with that level of protection... Ed O.
Here's what's going to happen: everyone BUT Paul goes down, and they beg us for their pick back in exchange for Paul.
Man, you obviously don't remember what Outlaw was like as a rookie. The buy was beyond raw. He didn't have the turn-around-J that he eventually developed. He could really only dunk.
It's hard to say how good New Orleans will be, but if they somehow slip into the lottery, and get a pick between 8 and 14, it belongs to us. That's a better deal for Portland than was previously reported.
So you think Outlaw turned himself into a bonafide NBA player?? If so, we'll just have to disagree. I'll admit that he made some progress, and carved out a niche for himself on the team, but man his game is SEVERELY limited. Every time I watched him play I cringed, because his game was so undisciplined and undeveloped.
That's certainly the best case, but even if they end up with a pick in the 9 - 12 range (which is about what a 30-35 win team can expect) then that's pretty good value for an undersized shooting guard who can't shoot. Worst case the Hornets go on some unholy tear and end up with 50 wins and squeak into the playoffs, but I don't see that being very likely.
As they should be. We've gone down that road way too much, and it has usually ended badly. Sometimes a player will blossom in his third or fourth year, but the great majority of the time what you see in the rookie or sophomore year is what you get (unless there are injury problems, as in Oden's case).
How can you even qualify your statement when we barely saw Outlaw his rookie season? He played in 8 games for a total of 19 minutes for the season. You think that's a good sample of what a player can do? I watched the guy in practice all season and I'm telling you right now that he had very very limited skills as a rookie.
Good. Fine. Wonderful. You win. Outlaw was an All-Star and Portland was stupid to let him go. Happy now?
Don't get pissy. You're the one who said that Outlaw never really developed in 6.5 years in Portland, and I was merely illustrating that you were incorrect in your assessment.
Shoot me if this has already been posted: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/20627/blazers-add-another-asset-to-trade-chest
Jon Hollinger has a nice take: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/20627/blazers-add-another-asset-to-trade-chest
I wonder if this trade was made to appease Rudy a little bit. The dumping of Bayless means a few more minutes for Fernandez.
