Ok, but we're not sure how well he can pass or handle the ball under pressure. Are we? When are we going to find that out? He'll obviously be at least adequate and, in all likelihood, be above average at at least handling the ball. We know he's going to be excellent at getting his own shot, be a strong defender, and getting to the line. But, I haven't seen Bayless show many signs of creating for others. In the Playoffs, Brandon is going to be continually smothered. The offense will at times need to look elsewhere. Does Bayless become the first option? How well will he do at getting the ball into the post to LaMarcus? Run the pick-and-roll with Joel? Get lobs to Oden? There may be times when Brandon is injured or in foul trouble, especially given how hard he's having to work this season. How well in those cases will he play with Rudy or Martell? So, experience is a huge thing for me. This team has gone past the point of being able to dish out minutes so that players can learn the game. If we can exchange less experience for more experience and not give up anything in the "potential" department, I think we should strongly consider this. Secondly I'd rather have more players that excel at helping others score than just one. We have scorers.
I know. The motto "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to echo in my head any time I think of PG trade possibilities. Could the Spurs slide so far that they become open to dealing Parker? Wouldn't their asking price be way too high? Are either of the two Jasons in Dallas a big enough upgrade? Would they mesh well with our players? Will Atlanta fall off their "playoff" bound track? How would Bibby fit in with our guys? There is one player that really jumps out at me - Jose Calderon. Toronto is struggling. A rebuild may be necessary. A package of Bayless, Travis, and one of our international prospects might be too much to ignore.
Calderon is a horrific defensive player. He makes Sergio look half decent on defense. It's seriously bad.
We're not sure of anything, since we haven't had a chance to see him play. But from what I've read, there's no reason to believe his handle is suspect. I think his ball-handling should be solid for a point guard. His passing and distribution is supposed to be below par for a point guard. If Roy is the primary distributor, defenses collapsing on him will be great. Leaving Fernandez, Bayless, Aldridge, Outlaw or Oden alone should mean a lot of easy baskets. I would, too. The more people who excel at things, the better. But there are always trade-offs, since (unless we get LeBron James) we're not going to be able to get a player who excels at everything. Players who excel at distribution are rare and very expensive to trade for. The question is, does our team another distributor badly enough for it to be worth paying a steep, steep price to get a great distributor? I don't think so. Roy is a very good distributor and Bayless' passing should be sufficient to augment that. Off the bench, we have Sergio Rodriguez who's quite good at distributing (though flawed in other ways) for the second unit.
Nate has turned/convinced Blake and Sergio into more than adequate defenders. Calderon couldn't do any worse. Offensively, he'd fit in with Portland perfectly and be a major upgrade in all areas.
Not if Brandon can't get the ball because he's draped by defenders. As good as Outlaw has been for us, I don't think it's a high asking price to acquire Conley. We have Frye that, IMO, give us just as much from the PF position or Webster from the SF position. He's expendable. Even Bayless, I'd be willing to swap from Conley. Bayless has shown more promise as a professional, but Conley's skill set is more unique and his affect on Oden could be very positive down the road.
One other thing. Insert Chris Paul on this team. How does this affect Oden? Can you picture the number of lobs (high percentage shots) our offense would have? I didn't think that Sergio would make much sense as a starter, but I can't help but think that a Sergio/Conley combo would bring our offense many more high-percentage opps than Blake/Sergio, Blake/Bayless, or Sergio/Bayless.
Oh you just wait. People had the same appraisal of other struggling young players. Surround Conley with an experienced, talented team and watch the fireworks!
It's pretty hard to deny a player the ball on the perimeter. If two and three guys are chasing Roy to the three-point line, the middle of the defense is going to be vacant. Well, considering I don't (and never have) consider Conley a very good NBA prospect, I think it's a very high price. I don't think his distribution skills are that great, he's not a good shooter or slasher and while his defense his solid, he's small. You seem to like Conley a lot. That's going to create a pretty big divergence in opinion on what is "a high price." I think Bayless is a much better NBA prospect. He has excellent size for his position, he has excellent slashing ability, a very good shot and is a strong defender. If he also has elite distribution skills (something I don't believe Conley has either, though Conley is a bit better at it than Bayless), he'd have been a Derrick Rose type of prospect. As it is, he might be a flawed prospect for most teams (a point guard without top point guard skills), but he's quite perfect for this team since it has Roy to handle a lot of the distribution duties.
Well, considering I don't (and never have) consider Conley a very good NBA prospect, I think it's a very high price. I don't think his distribution skills are that great, he's not a good shooter or slasher and while his defense his solid, he's small. You seem to like Conley a lot. That's going to create a pretty big divergence in opinion on what is "a high price." I think Bayless is a much better NBA prospect. He has excellent size for his position, he has excellent slashing ability, a very good shot and is a strong defender. If he also has elite distribution skills (something I don't believe Conley has either, though Conley is a bit better at it than Bayless), he'd have been a Derrick Rose type of prospect. As it is, he might be a flawed prospect for most teams (a point guard without top point guard skills), but he's quite perfect for this team since it has Roy to handle a lot of the distribution duties.[/QUOTE] I agree 100% and think Bayless is a better prospect then Conley and a better fit for the Blazers. I would probably take a chance on Conley to see if he develops but I really doubt we are going to trade for him.
I would really like to get someone (either PG, SG, SF, PF, coach, towelboy, etc.) who could recognize a wide-open 7-foot guy running ball-to-the-wall through the paint to the rim and put the ball in the general vicinity of his hands (or the rim, if you think Oden's not too decrepit to jump). I'm getting a little frustrated with that...it's like when Jack would run the break last year and not recognize the two guys running with him in "Blazers" jerseys could legally be passed to. I agree that Oden's gunshy around double-teams and when he gets the ball 15 feet from the rim. I'm actually ok with that. on his 3rd dunk attempt, he got up really quick without gathering himself, so he's physically capable of doing it--I just want to see that more now.
Just a couple of comments: First, Blake has had hot streaks before. He has repeatedly shown that he can't sustain them. It's great to ride him while he is hot, but we still need a long-term alternative. Second, Terry Porter wasn't a "pure" PG either. We know Bayless is pretty fearless attacking the hoop. He finishes strong and is a good FT shooter. If he can add the drive-and-dish to his arsenal, he should be fine.
I agree about a Sergio/Conley combo helping our offense more than the other two. I just get driven nuts by our low points in the paint. All our points are jump shots or earned the hard way. I want easy buckets in the paint. I think it's half-way cancerous to expect a PG to learn with players at the wings and forwards who are learning to. I kind of feel like you either develop a PG with some solid guards and forwards or a you develop some guards and forwards with a solid PG. Conley's getting a raw deal as of now IMO. How would you guys feel about a deal like this? http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=1994~2015~3195~3197~2794~518~3439&teams=29~29~22~25~25~22~22&te=&cash= we trade: Blake/Outlaw we receive: Conley/Mason/Ibaka we don't sacrifice too much (keep Bayless) get an expiring Portland resident vet at SF in Mason to help us out this year, and though our PG position is inexperienced it'd be Roy/Rudy relied on at the end of games. Plus we get another low-risk young prospect to help us long-term developing in the spanish acb league (I heard they turn out okay).
I'm glad I'm not a GM. As much as I like Conley, I don't have the balls to trade Blake and not get back a sure-thing at PG, at least not while the team is playing so well. I'd need to see Sergio continue playing well for the rest of this road trip before making such a move. Otherwise, I like this move. I have a hunch that Conley is better for this team, long term, than Blake. I would hate losing Outlaw, but do like Channing a lot. Outlaws under contract for another season at $4M, but I think we can sign Channing to the same contract for longer and get similar production. Mason would be another happy camper and a positive influence on our wings. Ibaka would help even out this deal if the Thunder is willing to part with him.
