the best season bayless has had is probably his second year in portland that said he might turn into a player one of these years
Yes by all means if this team gives up Wes it's headed straight toward the shitter and will never be good again.
The thought of trading Mathews reminds me of the days when Portland could have traded Kersey in a trade for Barkley they are both fans favorites and the fans so NO but would have been good for the team.
Let us know who the current "Barkley" would be before we decide whether your analogy makes any sense. There's always somebody better out there to dream about, but it has to be someone who's actually obtainable and who would work better in the Blazers' lineup.
Another thing that others have commented on, SG is hardly the biggest issue for the Blazers. Center, second string PG and firepower off the bench come to mind before I start worrying about an upgrade for Wesley. Fill those holes, and I think the Blazers do just fine with him as their starting SG.
im just saying, 40 interspersed games over a 6 year career isnt necessarily indicative of his hypothetical production over 40 (or 82) games starting in a row lou williams has almost the same bump in his 47 games as a starter, as do many more players im sure
I think the SG position is thin and difficult to fill. Wes is not a Dwyane Wade caliber SG, but there are few of his caliber at any position. Wes is actually so good that he's been the starting SG on every NBA team he's played for. Your certainly not going to find as good a 2-way player to replace him. The only guy that could be had that might be an upgrade is Mayo. You'd gain 2-3 PPG but lose a lot on defense. Mayo, though, is a capable #1 option and far more likely to put up 50 in a game.
^Exactly, we need a 6th man SG, a la Jason Terry that can come off the bench for a spark and run with the first unit late in games when points are needed.
Maybe the Bulls would do this deal. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=alawbl2 Only if it gets them under the LT though.
Nate Robinson is instant offense off the bench. Can play both guard positions. He has a 18.6 PER, and just won player of the week in the east. A bargain going forward, too. Isn't that incentive?
He's an expiring contract who we can sign in the offseason, meanwhile Rip takes away a million in our cap space to waive him. A tiny tiny bit of incentive for this season? Sure, I suppose. But not at all worth it. Memphis just sent out a first round pick and 3 young players to get under the tax. Nate Robinson expiring isn't incentive. Sorry.
If Rip signs anywhere for $1m, you're off the hook. Memphis got rid of a guy with a ginormous contract running past this season. They had to offer more for that reason. If they needed to shed $1m to get under the LT, they certainly wouldn't offer a 1st and 3 players to provide incentive.
I don't think that's the case with Rip's 1 million. That's guaranteed money for him, regardless. As for Memphis, they moved Gay AFTER getting out of the LT. They traded Ellington, Speights, Selby and a 1st to get under the tax. I understand there is less savings for the Bulls, so the incentive doesn't have to be equal, but it sure as shit isn't going to be Nate.
