Bill Simmons and Steve Kerr Talk Trail Blazers On The BS Report

We're not even sure what type of player we have in McCollum yet. Pass.

 

Yeah it would be a gamble....for both teams. Seeing that he has broken his foot twice.

 

Is Asik going to make us a title contender this season or next? I think the answer needs to be yes or at the least a maybe before we should make this trade. We do have some more time to first evaluate this roster before the trading season. Asik will be an UFA while CJ will have two years left on his rookie contract so if our window is past that point I'm not sure I'd make the trade.

 

Well is Lopez going to make us a title contender? He may be a fan favorite but that does not mean he should be off limits.

 

I'd just like to reiterate, (or for the first time on this board) I love me some Steve Kerr. One of the few national media guys that had gushing and unsolicited praise for Aldridge last season and despite the Barkely/Smith on Blake bandwagon. He also had great things to say about Portland's off-season moves this summer. I honestly believe that media types have to have played/worked for (or with) the Blazers to appreciate them. The lack of it seems to lead me to the only conclusion that those people simply aren't watching Portland with any regularity.

Aside: Do y'all remember when Kerr had the Blazers doing yoga in practice when he played for Portland? I'd would have paid to see that, assuming they were all rockin' lululemon pants.

 

That's not fair value. At all.

Two of those people haven't played at all this year, Leonard has played against Howard.

Houston would never do it.

 

Who do you think you are? John Warfin?

Gramps...

 

I would hate to give away CJ before seeing what he can do (and I really think he can contribute), but Wessy's resurgence and strong play definitely makes letting go of CJ easier.

CJ/Leonard to Mil
Ilyasova to HOU
Asik to POR

Get it done. Contend now. Usually, I'm vehemently against trading youth for vets who have reached their ceiling to try to contend in the present, but Asik's contract is very reasonable, and think he would perfectly complement the rest of our team.

We can somewhat deal with any potential injury to Wes because we have some guard depth, but if we lose Rolo, we're screwed.

 

Really? I always thought the $8mil figure was what was official everywhere, including lux tax calculations. Nvm. Still potentially worth it if we think he puts us in contention for one of the top spots in the WC.

Look at how many other teams at the top are in lux tax territory. Gotta pay to contend.

Another thing, if we're gonna get Asik, I wanna keep Lopez as a backup. Trading them for each other defeats the purpose of going after Asik in the first place (ie needing C depth).

 

Unless Morey scouted CJ and really likes him. There are many who do. Look how split it is on this board. I am not sure if I would do it either, but I still think it is fair value, hell Houston may be getting a steal for all we know. But like I said it is a bit of a gamble on both parts.

 

I've got no problem giving up on CJ before we can see what he can do. Just think back to Outlaw, Telfair, Sergio, Rudy and about a dozen other promising looking prospects over the past decade that we had to wait on, because we couldn't trade them and "risk another Jermaine O'Neal." Part of CJ's value is the mystery. Nobody buys a scratched lottery ticket.

I think Asik would be fine with splitting minutes with Lopez, assuming we do a 3 big man rotation of Aldridge/Asik and Lopez on the bench. Lopez is a good center, but Asik is a much better one. We can live with 10 minutes of Lopez/Asik a night at PF/C--just let the three pointers fly.

It's Robin who gets the table scraps, and I think he may not relish that. But he's been a backup for most of his career mostly because there are better options.

Of all the guys, it's Robinson and Freeland who get really fucked. Those guys have shown some nice improvements already this year, and it kind of sucks to put more established vets ahead of them. But Portland has to get better at interior defense, and that isn't happening enough with either of those two.

 

Ya I kinda figured that poison pill was only in effect for CHI/NYK.

 

This is the first time in a long time where I would not make a trade. The team is playing so well, and there isn't a glaring hole. We're developing chemistry, we have a really good bench, we have two stars, I just don't see a reason to mess with any of that. Asik is good, but he's not a huge difference maker. Not enough to warrant messing with our chemistry. I like Lopez. I think he's worth every dime we're paying him.

 

I still believe CJ will be the SGOTF.

Asik is a better player than Lopez but the gap isn't huge.

Lopez is in the right situation and is a legitimate starting caliber center.

Easy pass, especially if they ask for CJ.

 

Even if they aren't asking for CJ, I'm not sure the deal is worth it. We're developing some real chemistry. I wouldn't even consider making a trade until later in the season when we have a better idea of how good this team will be.