Sometimes the best way to deal with grief and beat down is through art. Here is my homage to Grandmaster Flash, The Sugar Hill Gang and this horrible, HORRIBLE season.



If you want to repost this elsewhere please give me credit. Without further ado:



"Bill Simmons Delight"



by the Sugar Bill Gang (Aka Idog1976 aka Ian)



Or



"The Therapeutic Massage"



by Grandmaster Flesh Wound (Aka Idog1976 aka Ian)



Coach Nate Dogg:



I said a hip hop the hippie to the hip hip hop

A you dont stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie



I say up jumped the injury boogie

and left and right the knees go kablooie



To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat down commencing

It’s as though the god of injury can’t stop dispensing.



To the black and red and the white it’s true,

And now the whole of Blazer nation is blue.



Now what you hear is not a test--Blazers getting beat it’s an injury fest!

And that jack-hole Bill Simmons is puffing out his chest.



See the Blazers rock but the injuries got em beat

I really can’t stand to read Canzano’s tweets.



See i am wondering Is Durant mike and GO that Bowie fellow?

I like to say hello to the black, to the white, the red and the brown, the purple and Yellow.



You see that’s the Blazer colors with some serious bruise action,

There ain’t one single rip city fan getting any satisfaction.



But first i gotta bang bang the boogie to the boogie

say up jump the injury boogie to the bang bang kneecap Kablooie!



Let's rock, you dont stop rock the riddle

Something in our water makes your body so damn brittle



Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the ledge

I'm trying not to read Blazers Edge, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?]



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



Well so far youve heard my voice but i brought some friends along

To help sing the song.

and next on the mike is my man Steve Blake

Here’s one guy who wants that cake to bake!



Steve Blake:



Check it out, i'm the coach c-a-s-an-the-o-v-a

and Nate he loves me as a point guard playa



ya see i go by the code of the doctor of the fix

On David Stern’s orders Nate keeps me in the mix.



Ya see i'm six foot one and i'm tons of fun

and as far as injury free I’m the only one.



Ya see the teams been beat worse then old muhammad ali

and the injury bug bites so damn viciously!



We got body casts, i got ten big surgery scars

we got major injuries to most of our stars!



I got a lincoln continental and a sunroof Cadillac

and just watched Oden’s kneecap get whacked.



You know you can’t blame the docs or Corey Maggette,

That poor motha f’er’s got tendons of spaghetti.



Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the ledge

I'm trying not to read Blazers Edge, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?]



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under





The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under





Now I gotta pass the mike to my boy KP

Talk about one sorry S.O.B



Kevin Pritchard:



My name is Kevin and once upon a time in 2007, I thought I had landed in GM heaven





The balls they bounced in just the right way,

It was like Ron Jeremy back in the day.



So what do we do, take the no brainer 7 footer,

Or the baby faced bean pole who seemed like a killer?



Well you can honk once or you can honk twice,

But at the end of the day big Paul Allen he buys my rice.



With that said the friendly giant we took,

And now I should be getting a cut from Bill Simmons next book.



The rest as you know is history,

I sure hope someone takes a bat to Bill Simmons knees.



Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the ledge

I'm trying not to read Blazers Edge, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?]



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



Now I gotta give it up to my man GO.

A hard luck brother who’s gonna give it a go.



He’s a real class act a top shelf bro,

But cruel ass fate has treated him like a ho.



Greg Oden:



Well it's on n on n on on n on

the injury beat dont stop until the break of dawn



I said m-a-s, t-e-r, to the G with a big fat O i said i go by the unforgettable name

but it makes me sick to say that bad luck is what has got me the most fame.



Well, my name is known all over the world, by all the foxy nurses and the pretty surgeons,

Looks like I got plenty of time this season to go fishing for some sturgeons.



I'm goin go down in history

as the unluckiest mofo when it comes to Knees.



Now i'm feelin the highs and ya I’m feelin the lows

I can’t take the court feel like I’m letting down my bros.



Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the ledge

I'm trying not to read Blazers Edge, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?]



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



When I look around I see broken bones everywhere

People pissing on my dreams, you know they just don't care



I can't take this hell, I can't take the noise no more

I feel like a god damn media whore.



They use me and abuse me from beginning to end,

Kick me when I’m down no time to mend.



At first they put me up on a pedestal,

Only to rip me down and treat me like hell.



What did I do to Simmons and Cowherd

To get spit on by them media cowards?



You’d think I’d killed the Sports Guy’s mom,

Cause every single article has a GO bomb.



He can’t let it rest, punk puffs out his chest,

Thinks he some kind of later day Nostradamus.



Simmons is a punk and Cowherd is worse,

Every little hangnail and they’re calling for a hearse.



The damndest luck, the freakish kneecap split,

And every damn day sports writer garbage they spit.



But karma comes and karma goes,

Sooner or later it will come back on those ho’s.



When you laugh when a guy blows out his knee,

You know when karma pays you back it won’t be pretty.



Whether it’s Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum or Blake Griffin,

That stupid Celtics fan is always celebratin’.



But you know what happens when you spew that hate?

All you are doing is flipping off fate.



It might take a month it might take a year,

But sooner or later Simmons will take it in the rear.



Got no health to move about, I guess I got no choice

And stupid A** B****s listening to Colin Cowherds stupid voice.



Colin came from Rip City back in the day,

Now he hates on us to make his pay.



I tell you what Colin go ahead and laugh it up,

When it comes to bad karma creating you got a full cup.



Rats in the press room, coaches in the back

Internet bloggers in the alley with the sportswriter baseball bat



I tried to ball all day so I could be a star

But you know man this injury bullshit has gone way too far.



You know this team really needs a boon,

No choice now but to shoot da moon.



Since half our team is unable to ball,

I’m really hoping that we land John Wall.



Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the ledge

I'm trying not to read Blazers Edge, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?] The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under



The NBA is like David Sterns jungle sometimes it makes me wonder

just what the NBA refs are betting on the over/under

Hi there, I was here a bit during the Houston vs. Portland series and came away from it a HUGE Battier fan. I've been floating alot of trade ideas to get him on a Blazers board and have been utterly lambasted for it. People claimed I was making a monumental error and massively undervaluing one of our players. So here is the trade. You can dress it up with filler and throw ins but here is the essence. Portland trades Joel Przybilla for Shane Battier. Now mind you the Portland fans called me numerous bad names and said I was an idiot. I have confidence you all will do the same in reverse. Gentlemen let 'er rip. Would you do this trade?

Poll

Would you trade Shane Battier to Portland for Joel Przybilla?

7%

Hell Yes I would!

15 votes

9%

Yes, I would with this alteration.

18 votes

30%

No, I would not

58 votes

52%

Hellz no I wouldn't do it!

102 votes

193 votes | Poll has closed

I think most people around here agree that Oden needs alot of coaching to become truly effective let alone fulfilling his pre-draft promise. Assuming for a minute that he regains most of his explosiveness and jumping ability and that he has the drive, who would you like to see coaching Greg Oden? I know that we all love coach Lucas but I think that his health issues might overshadow his coaching. I wish him the best but I would rather he be healthy then stressed out by the rigors of coaching NBA bigs.

As an aside I personally believe that Greg will regain most of his athleticism and also that he has the drive. I would prefer if we take both of these as certainties merely to advance my specific question of who his coach should be.

There are actually very few big man specialists in the form of former players out there that are available. To my knowledge Ewing is locked up in Orlando, Shaq is still playing, Hakeem lives part time in Africa and also coaches Yao, and Kareem currently coaches Bynum in LA. So I got to thinking what legendary big man is out there that might be a good coach? Of course Sabas leapt to mind but I felt he might have soured towards the Blazers and he also lives in Lithuania as far as I know. Thinking about people nearby it suddenly hit me. Who is the arguably the greatest former player big man of all time other then Wilt and Jabar?

Bill Russell.

Hear me out here. Bill took a shine to Oden and actually met with him prior to the draft along with other bigmen greats. I realize he is old (wooden still coaches in his 90's!) and that aspects of the game have changed. But blocking shots and playing defense and rebounding is the same as it was in Russell's era. Bill Russell lives on Mercer Island so he could fly down to Portland with Paul Allen or borrow his helicopter/jet. What's more Russel could help Oden to stop the greatest threat to someone exceeding his ring count ever. That of course is LeBron James. Indeed, if Portland is to stop "The King" then they will need a near to completely maxed out potential Oden along with Roy. Without Oden becoming the force we all hoped he would be I see an endless succession of LBJ rings. So then who would you bring in to coach Oden?

P.S. I know very little about college coaches and other potential big men coaches out there so please enlighten me O'fellow Edgers.


--EDIT-- I want to be clear I don't think Oden needs an Ex-player as a coach so I wrote that part badly. I am not knowledgeable about college coaches etc. so I took the path of least resistance and tried to think of players that could mentor him. I also chose Russell due to the fact that I believe greatness can rub off on players. Perhaps this only happens when one plays with them but I know for a fact Jordan and LBJ have had that effect on teammates.

Poll

Who should be Oden's big man coach?

14%

Bill Russel.

33 votes

16%

he should go to Africa and train with the Dream

36 votes

39%

Find out what David Robinson is up to.

88 votes

1%

Clone John Wooden and have him coach Oden.

4 votes

14%

Arvydas Sabonis

33 votes

12%

Other (Please explain below)

27 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

I'm a Blazers fan and just wanted to say great series and glad it never got dirty like *cough* *cough* Boston and Orlando. Stay classy and know that you have a great team. I grew to really respect your team during this hard fought series. I hope you don't think the Blazers are pushovers but realize that you are a matchup nightmare for us. We learned a ton from your veterans from the tricks to the tenacity it takes to get to the next level. You guys deserved to advance and I hope you mop the floor with those awful L@kers and their horrible bandwagon fans. I loate the L@kers and will be rooting hard fo ya'll in the next round.

By the way Battier is a gem and I even like Artest and have great respect for Yao. Brooks is a Duck like me so I like him. The only player you have that I don't like is Scola due to flopping and for no real concrete reason. Scola is a workhorse though and you have to respect his fundamental based game. All in all a great learning experience for my Blazers.

p.s. Just wait until Oden gets healthy and more skilled and we acquire a starting PG. Then we're coming for ya ;)

In the meantime go beat LA and get a ring. :)

maybe we should go with Rudy and Roy for clutch game winners vs. Houston instead of Outlaw?

I'm just curious does anyone think it's a good idea to continue to show inordinate faith in Outlaw based largely on performances that occurred over a year ago? I mean really come on. This one is on Nate and Outlaw again and if I see Outlaw out there for the game winner again I will just absolutely flip out. So sick of the Nate love affair with outlaw it's Jarret Jack all over again!

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!

Poll

Should Nate have gotten the rock to Rudy or Roy instead of Outlaw?

86%

Yes

113 votes

13%

No

17 votes

130 votes | Poll has closed

I plan on bringing this to Game 5 as well but as I will be in the ULTRA nosebleeds by then I am sure I won't ever get on camera. My wife helped me to make it but I think it's fabulous.

Here is the T-Mobile commercial that inspired it:







Props to my wife for the nice Paint work to simulate an as yet unseen facial dunk of Oden on Yao. I know it's coming. Hopefully, in the future I won't need to make a mockup but can use an AP photo.Now everyone show us your best signs or the favorite ones you have seen so far!

I would say that all of the most effective teams in the league have two things in common:

Number One: Collapse on the paint and deploy the octopus arms of death defense in which multiple players all rake the arms of the penetrator and attempt to swipe at the ball also bodying the penetrator.

Number Two: After a super aggressive defensive set you also employ the dreaded flop. Mixing up the octopus in the paint with flops on screens and the perimeter is a deadly and aggravating combo.

Until the league gets serious about stopping flopping it will continue to be a huge part of the game. Really, to stop flopping you would need a $100,000 fine or more based on tape replays and technical fouls for when it is caught in real time. The way to solve flopping aside the Blazers have to deal with the reality of it. You can't just flop whenever you feel contact or else you run the risk of your player taking it to the hole. You have to first really bump the crap out of the other guy and when he responds then you flop mightily. Look at Luis Scola, he is a master of tough D and then when you get him in deep he flops like an Oscar winning method actor.

It's funny because the roundly considered best defensive player on the Blazers is the only guy who employs the flop. That is one Joel Przybilla. For every true charge he takes there are two flop-o-rama "charges" that he takes. Basically, if the Blazers want to be as good as they can be they will have to employ the Octopus and the Flop-o-matic 3,000 defenses. It sucks but that's what ALL the big NBA teams do: Celtics, L@kers, Utah, Houston just to name a few all do the Octopus and the Flop-o-rama. It's a sad state of affairs but it's part of the game until Sith-lord Stern does something about flopping.

On a side note I loved what I saw from Oden last night and think he will thrive in the playoffs. He really enjoys the physicality of the playoffs and just needs to not get too physical on the perimeter and save the heavy banging for a bit deeper in the post. Also, they need to get him the damn ball!

I find it simply stunning that once again Oden has outplayed Durant in head to head matchups and this isn't even noticed in either write up. I saw an explosive powerful looking Oden last night and he doesn't even warrant a bullet point. Oden looks to be gearing up for the play offs with a number of solid games in the past few weeks and the silence is deafening. Lets give this guy some credit. He has now, if memory serves, out played Durant in 2 out of their 3 head to head matchups in which they both played and yet the media (Even BE!!!!) is dead silent about this.

If you are going to overhype a matchup and KD for godsakes give Oden the credit he deserves. He almost doubled up on KD's points and quadrupled his boards with one great block and kept his fouling under control. He looked happy and had at least one rebound where he got WAY UP for it.

It was the best I've seen Oden look speed and agility wise and yet I hear nothing. Oden deserves some respect for staying on the floor and cleaning up alot of his foul prone behavior. If we would have just fed him the rock last night he would have scored 40+ on poor Nenad. Meanwhile KD was being D'd up by noted lockdown defender...Travis Outlaw. Where is the GO love?!?!?!

For the record I was about 4 rows into the 200 level and I saw it all quite clearly. Oden looked great and was frequently grinning from ear to ear.

I think everyone's wondering. Did KP make a huge mistake not trading RLEC today. I for one am absolutely convinced he did UNLESS he has a FA he has talked to who has signed a blood oath on skin parchment sealed by lucifer himself that they will come to Ptown this offseason. The only thing I can think of is KP is targetting Ramon Sessions (oh please let it be so) or Hedo Trukoglu. My other thought is that he might be dreaming of even more leverage this summer. I hate to say it but I think KP made a mistake. I don't want to get to into it but with the financial world crashing down around our ears our window might be this season and this season only. Darn it I wanted a banner before doomsday and KP didn't pull the trigger!

Poll

Did KP make a large size mistake not trading RLEC etc. today?

20%

Unequivocally, YES!

56 votes

25%

Yes, but he might have a good reason (explain below)

70 votes

23%

Unequivocally, NO!

65 votes

29%

No, but I do wonder about it.

83 votes

1%

Other (explain below)

3 votes

277 votes | Poll has closed

Here's my idea for a three team trade involving DET-POR-PHX

Portland

In:

Tayshaun Prince

Richard Hamilton

Out:

RLEC

Rudy Fernandez

Sergio Rodriguez

Travis Outlaw

Phoenix:

In:

RLEC

Rudy Fernandez

Sergio Rodriguez

Jason Maxiell

Out:

Amare Stoudamire

Leandro Barbosa

Detroit

In:

Amare Stoudamire

Leandro Barbosa

Travis Outlaw

Out:

Tayshaun Prince

Jason Maxiell

Richard Hamilton

Each team gets something from the trade.

Detroit gets younger and has a core of Stuckey, Amare, Barbosa and Outlaw to build around.

Phoenix gets tons of cap relief a positional replacement and lots of cheap young talent in Rodriguez, Fernandez and Maxiell.

Portland gets the final piece of the puzzle in Prince a replacement for Rudy off the bench in R. Hamilton. The veteran and playoff experience we need and consolidates the Point guard position. Well what do you think? Post your ideas for trades below!

If you're like me, you are sick of the Oden vs. Durant debate knowing it is not only crying over spilt milk but also a false dichotomy. I for one wish them both to have spectacular careers.

And so now without further ado a 4 team block buster that addresses the needs of 4 teams:

Phoenix:

Out:

Amare Stoudamire

Steve Nash

In:

Travis Outlaw

Sergio Rodriguez

RLEC

Marco Benelli

Ronnie Turiaf

Anthony Randolph

Ike Diogu

Let's face it all the reports say Phoenix is desperate. In the above trade PHX gets alot of young talent and some cap relief at the end of the season (15+ million). They basically blow up the team but have some nice young pieces to start building around.

Orlando:

Out:

Hedo Turkoglu

In:

M. Williams (pg)

Steve Blake (pg)

K. Azubiake (SF)

Orlando trades Turkoglu and gets a couple of Point Guards that they desperately need and a SF to replace Hedo. As a side note Blake is now near his family in Miami not a bad place to end up.

Golden State:

Out:

K. Azubiake

B. Wright

A. Randolph

Ronny Turiaf

M. Belinni

In:

Amare Stoudamire

Golden state gets Amare and gives up a bunch of minor pieces for it. They easily get the best of this deal and might need to throw more Phoenix's way such as cash draft picks and possibly even more players.

Portland:

Out:

RLEC

Steve Blake

Travis Outlaw

Sergio Rodriguez

In:

Steve Nash

Hedo Turkoglu

B. Wright

Portland gets the starting PG we need to open the window right now. We also get to test drive Hedo and resign him in the summer if he is a good fit. We also get B. Wright who has an excellent PER for a SF and could be the gem of this trade.



Thoughts? Show me your other trades this weekend and vote in the poll below!

Poll

Who is KP going after?

11%

No one.

35 votes

3%

Your exact trade.

10 votes

0%

B. Wright SF from the warriors

2 votes

3%

Amare Stoudamire

11 votes

3%

Steve Nash

10 votes

15%

Richard Jefferson

47 votes

0%

Ramon Sessions

2 votes

13%

Jefferson and Sessions

39 votes

3%

Kirk Hinrich

11 votes

5%

Luol Deng

15 votes

8%

Deng and Hinrich

24 votes

3%

John Salmons

10 votes

23%

Caron Butler

69 votes

3%

Other (explain below)

10 votes

295 votes | Poll has closed

I was watching Talking Ball on CSN just now and Ian Furness brought up an interesting idea. They were all talking about how the All-Star Game is a disgrace yada, yada. They talked about how Magic's return game seemed to change the intensity. Then Ian Furness said "Could they make the All-Star Game matter like you know how in Baseball it matters for home field." I'm not sure what he meant as I don't follow Baseball, but I got the gist.

Then I thought..hmm...would that work to incentivize the All-Star Game and make it matter by giving either the West or the East home court advantage in the Finals regardless of seed and record? I think that would certainly light a fire as a few of the best players on both teams would play hard.

Alternately, it was suggested that some of the main players such as LBJ and Kobe could talk about how it mattered this year. I'm not sure that would work but it would be cool if it did. Would it be nice to see a competitive game? I think so and I don't think I'm alone on this. Thoughts folks?

Poll

Should they make the All-Star Game matter?

24%

Yes the West or East would own home court advantage in the Finals regardless of seed or record.

15 votes

1%

Yes, but with the incentive I describe below.

1 votes

3%

Yes, but it should come from the best players in the locker room.

2 votes

67%

No, the All-Star Game is a show and I enjoy watching the spectacle.

42 votes

3%

No, for other reasons (explain below)

2 votes

62 votes | Poll has closed

Yes, I know it's not 02/10/09 yet but we're striking now during the night when the league least expects it. I will start things rolling with this:

Four team Blockbuster amended:



Milwaukie:

Out: Ramon Sessions, Richard Jefferson

In: Sergio Rodriguez, Atawn Jamison, Martell Webster

Washington:

Out: Caron Butler, Atawn Jamison, Brendon Haywood

In: Amare Stoudemire, Richard Jefferson

Phoenix:

Out: Amare Stoudemire

In: RLEC, Jerryd Bayless, Travis Outlaw

Portland:

Out: Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, RLEC, Jerryd Bayless

In: Ramon Sessions, Caron Butler, Brendon Haywood.



I think this trade works for all parties. We could possibly even figure out some more incentive to throw Milwaukie's way such as draft picks and cash or players from another team. I think it's a no brainer for Washington, Phoenix and Portland.

Let the trade speculation begin!

Poll

Will KP pull the trigger on..

4%

This trade

6 votes

10%

A variation involving Amare

15 votes

25%

Something else but Major

36 votes

36%

Something else but Minor

52 votes

23%

Stand pat on his pocket Aces.

33 votes

142 votes | Poll has closed

--WARNING THE FOLLOWING POST WHILE SEMI-SERIOUS, CONTAINS HUMOR AND HYPERBOLE!--

I'm sorry but I need to put to rest the absolutely absurd idea of trading Jerryd Bayless. Have you even WATCHED the last 10 games? This guy is precisely, exactly, down the quantum level, what we need alongside Roy. Bayless has shown every single tool we need for a starting combo guard alongside our other starting combo guard Brandon Roy.

Defensive Intensity?: Definite check!

Ability to distribute?: A work in progress but his decision making gets better every game. Witness his 6 assists to one turnover a couple of games ago.

Three point shooting?: He has gotten better at this after an ice cold start. Easily his biggest weakness currently this is also solvable if the player has the desire and work ethic to improve his mechanics. Gentleman we have the technology lets rebuild it. This is easily accomplished and will happen Sergio style over the summer. You break down his mechanics and rebuild his shot and have him take a few hundred shots from beyond the arc each day.

Ability to take it to the cup?: Are you kidding me? This guy is the 2nd best finisher at the rim on this team after Roy and Roy is one of the best in the league.

Drive?: UBER CHECK

Work ethic and commitment to improving his game?: UBER UBER UBER CHECK this guy shows up 3 hours before practice starts and locks up the facility when he leaves. His work ethic is Jordanesque.

Athleticism?: UBER CHECK (See also Baseline drive and dunk on the Nets.)

This guy needs one thing. Time. That's it. He has Tony Parker potential and is taller and stronger. He is just a hair less quick. Seeing as we are modeling our team after the Spurs Dynasty a scoring PG with some ability to distribute alongside a play making 2 guard is exactly what we want.

You might think I'm overstating it but I rank my current untouchables as follows:

#1. Roy
#2. Oden
#3. Bayless
#4. LMA
#5. Joel


Everyone else is on the table for the right deal but we would be fools, FOOLS to trade Bayless and I can't emphasize that enough. If KP trades Bayless he is going to get his GM genius card revoked unless the trade involves Rose, D.Will, Harris or CP3.

Some of you may say but what about Rudy? Well as it stands currently without him putting on muscle and getting conditioning I can't say he is an untouchable. I love the spectacular plays Rudy puts together but lately he has had as many SPECTACULARLY bad decisions witness the between the legs post entry pass into the hands of a Hornet on Monday. I for one pray that Rudy gets in shape and works out over the summer because I love Rudy. That said I would part with Rudy long before I would consider trading Bayless.

Unless Bayless has a lime pit behind his house filled with the bodies of guys who made fun of him in Highschool or, he is secretly the kingpin of a South American drug running operation, I can't think of a single reason you would want to trade this guy.

Included is a poll for purposes of humor only and the kind of iron clad scientific proof of what ever statistical point I'm trying to prove.

--EDIT I ADDED A SELF-DEPRECATING CHOICE TO THE POLL SO PEOPLE WOULDN'T THINK I WAS A TOTAL PUNK--

Poll

Trading Bayless would be...

15%

Confirmation that Mitch Kupchak has blackmail material on every GM in the league.

24 votes

9%

The worst idea since making mini-black holes in the Hadron collider at CERN

14 votes

22%

The worst idea since Sub-Prime loans

34 votes

6%

The worst idea since the Atom bomb

10 votes

31%

Simply, the worst idea...EVER.

49 votes

4%

A great idea as I'm certifiably insane and forgot to take my meds today (explain in babbling nonsense format below)

7 votes

10%

A great idea and this post is proof (as if we needed any more) that Idog1976 has lost his mind!

16 votes

154 votes | Poll has closed

When we play teams that have powerful low post power forwards combined with a 3pt shooting center we run into a situation I call "The Utah Problem."

I was writing in another fanpost about how Millsap is a registered Blazer killer due to being a PF who likes to operate in the low block with his incredible strength. That strength is what makes it difficult for LMA, let alone Travis (LMAO), to guard Millsap and PFs like him. What's even worse, Okur is always dragging Oden out of the paint with his 3pt shooting, which takes away the threat of a block and our best defensive rebounder. Then it hit me: just as Bayless and Roy switch places on offense and defense, so should LMA and Oden when we are faced with "The Utah Problem".

With Okur, Utah uses an excellent 3pt shooting center to draw out either Oden or Przybilla. This really hurts our defense as our perimeter defenders are, let's face it, not very good. While we have two rookies who have a lot of potential in Rex and Batum, we don't have an established perimeter defender wary of veteran guile. Therefore, it is critical for Oden and Przybilla to patrol the paint. Oden, especially, needs to be down low to discourage drives and block out defenders for the defensive board. When Oden and Przybilla rebound we have a chance to run, which is something else we desperately need against Utah.

With Millsap one of the Blazers' achilles heel(s) is revealed. LMA, bless him, is not good at defending powerful post players. LMA is, however, an excellent perimeter defender for a PF, using his speed and length to make it difficult even for speed demons like Chris Paul to get past.

So then, you solve our problem by having LMA check the doughy soft Mehmet Okur on the perimeter and you have Oden use his beef to deny position to Millsap who doesn't have a great outside game. The bonus of this is you get an excuse to put LMA on the perimeter which then allows him to double team guards and still be able to deny the ball to Okur with his long arms and/or be able to cheat off with his speed. What's more, Oden is now battling Millsap for the rebound instead of LMA. I think this is the solution when defending "The Utah Problem."

Please discuss below and vote in the poll!

Poll

When faced with "The Utah Problem" should the Blazers respond by switching LMA and Oden on defense a la Roy and Bayless?

93%

Yes, I think this is a good idea.

293 votes

3%

Yes, I think this idea could work but with these changes... (post below)

10 votes

2%

No, here is why it wouldn't work... (post below)

7 votes

1%

Other

5 votes

315 votes | Poll has closed

While this post is not about Darius Miles it does reference the situation caused by him playing again. I think it's safe to say the blazers are going to lose whatever cap space is involved with the Darius Miles saga. So does that make Raef LaFrentz contract as a trade chip more important? I'm not interested in plowing all the previous threads to find the related conversation that I'm sure exists.


My question is simple. Assuming the Blazers want non-drafted players to add to this team for it's championship run, do the Blazers now have to make a trade involving RLEC rather then just letting it expire? Once we resign Oden we will be well over the cap and possibly even when we resign Roy and LMA. So then, is it true that due to Miles coming back on the cap the FA field narrows considerably and forces Portland to trade rather then be a player in the FA market? Someone help me out here!

There has been alot of discussion of the reaction to letter. The possible cap implications and of course speculation on the motives on the part of the Blazers and Darius Miles. I would like to devote this thread to just hashing out what people think was the motivation for the Blazers and for Daruis. I will start with my personal opinion, which is only that, my personal opinion based purely on the nothing but some neurons firing ever so slightly in my brain. It is just that as really probably only Darius, his agent and the Blazers Front Office really will ever know their motivations.

Motivations for Darius:

I don’t think it was a master plan at all. I think Darius knew he would make the money either way and was enjoying raking in millions and doing nothing. When the team started to look better with the addition of Oden I think Darius felt he would give a token effort. He certainly isn’t the training beast that Bayless, Oden or even Z-bo is but it didn’t seem like he was trying super hard.

It’s possible Darius or his agent want to hurt Portland but I think it’s more likely they are both simply greedy. If Darius had wanted to play so bad and that is his primary motivation, to play in the NBA, he would have worked harder during his recovery in Portland.

Motivations for the Blazers:

I think that if Darius could have played as well as he did in his last Memphis game the Blazers wouldn’t have sought to seek medical retirement. I think they would have opted to buy him out or trade him as an expiring contract for the ever-hot LeBron lovefest Free Agency summer of 2010. His contract would be valuable something I'm sure KP and Penn were aware of. Darius did not recover enough to play ball and so Medical Retirement seemed the best option. Darius hadn’t done enough to recover at that point and his knee was and is something that could go at any time according to two doctors. Once he was "retired" I think Darius ego may have been hurt or it might just have been his agent’s voice in his ear. Regardless, Darius magically became very motivated once either his ego was hurt by the retirement or he thought he could make more money.

I don’t think there are conspiracies on either side to either a) force a retirement that wasn’t warranted (Independent doctor) or b) that Darius and his agent planned in advance to double dip and hurt Portland. Once the double dip was possible they decided, hey lets get a few hundred thousand more and maybe millions down the road if we make a come back.

So then, no one is some super evil genius conspiring to harm the other on either side of this matter. I do think Darius and his agents are punks, just not "Master Plan" creating punks. I also don’t think KP is some evil genius conspiring with the league to take out unwanted players through "fake" medical retirements. I think the Front Office weighed their options and were trying to protect their owner and because of the insurance aspect of things the Blazers felt Medical retirement was the best option. You could call this greed and I think you would be right but then that is how virtually all for profit businesses are run. One could say that's the motivating factor for the Blazers greed.

All in all it’s quite simple, easily anticipated greed on the part of the Blazers, Darius and his agent and a stupid medical retirement capspace rule has created a ridiculous situation. The outcome I am hopeful of is that the league changes the rule Darius gets signed without impacting PA or our capspace and everyone but the insurance company is happy.

Weigh in below and don't forget to vote!

via images.smarter.com

Poll

What motivated the Blazers and D. Miles and his agent?

37%

The Blazers were acting from a business perspective and D. Miles and his agent were too (greed).

29 votes

7%

The Blazers were acting from a conspiratorial viewpoint to ruin Miles career for his lackluster effort in Portland. The also wanted to get insurance money / capspace. Miles is an innocent Baller.

6 votes

20%

The Blazers really felt it was best for all parties that Miles retire and let insurance pay. Miles was an innocent Baller that loved the game.

16 votes

12%

The Blazers really felt it was best for all parties that Miles retire and let insurance pay. Miles and his agent conspired to fake retirement to double dip and/or harm the Blazers with malevolent intent.

10 votes

14%

D. Miles hoopty raised the bar for vehicles and would have started an unsustainable arms race for "flyest ride" bankrupting the team and it's players.

11 votes

7%

Other

6 votes

78 votes | Poll has closed

An edited pre-face for illustrative purposes:

Allow me to illustrate the difference between being critical and being negative :

An example of critical -

"Oden has got to improve his foot work or else he will continued to be called for travels when he attempts to spin on his pivot in the post. If he doesn’t learn that and how to defend with good position and hands straight up he is going to be a long ways from the NBA’s elite."

Vs. being negative -

"What the hell is wrong with Oden? I mean can that idiot EVER not travel when he gets the rock in the post? I mean this loser mega-bust just can’t seem to even defend? Everytime this slack jawed idiot stiff steps on the floor he picks up a foul. I’m disgusted by his weak, weak game and hope he is perma-benched with the rest of the stiffs riding the pine."

They both are discussing the same thing, Oden’s offensive foot work and defensive positioning, and yet the second is negative where the first is critical.

End edit -

I am not the longest poster on this site, that honor goes to Ignacio, but I have been here for awhile. During that time I've seen a transformation take place. This site once was a place where there was a sort of joy to posting and analysis of the game. There were good natured critiques and definitely zingers from guys like TIH and others. We also have had our disagreements about players and coaching choices. Annthefan and I have disagreed and agreed and disagreed again about Travis Outlaw. I know I've had blow outs with some on this site and I regret times when I've been over the top in among other things my defense of Greg Oden.

However, perhaps part of the reason I have been so vehement in my defense of the big guy is because I've been just plain shocked at the incredible amount of negativity on this site. Even in the darkest days of the "fatty wars of late 2007" the site was never as negative as it is now. I don't just mean sometimes incredibly personal and harsh critiques of Oden or anyone in particular, but rather a vague sort of nastiness between people who like trades and those who don't and certainly towards guys on our team. In the past players like Jarret Jack would draw ire but it seems like the Game Day threads in particular have waxed extremely negative to the point where I rarely if ever participate in them.

I would love to see more well thought out posts and reasoned discussion of ways to improve with less emphasis on what is wrong and more thought as to what changes need to be made. Of course you have to be critical in discovering how the team can get better but that doesn't mean you dwell on the negative.

Come on ya'll this is Blazers Edge and being negative and knee jerk reaction isn't what made this site great in the first place. Let's try and support our team. I'm sure it has nothing to do with us, but I've seen a lot of frustration on the faces of this team. Lets do our part to make fandom the sanctuary that makes players feel supported even when they have a bad game.

I know I didn't like this loss tonight and I don't expect you to either. However, I'm not looking forward to the deluge of KILL ODEN, FIRE NATE, BATUM SUCKS posts I expect to see tonight and tomorrow. This isn't about old posters or new posters. Some of our new guys and gals like Norkstroll and KP Corleone among others are everybit as good as engineering problem and other oldschoolers. It's about an attitude of adding something to the conversation as opposed to sounding off about something. We're better then that and it makes for crappy reading. Let's try and add something to the site not just vent our negativity.

EDIT: To preface this post, this is a stop gap measure until one of the following happens; Batum starts to contribute again and/or Outlaw gets out of his funk and/or Martell gets healthy and/or we trade for a starting quality small forward.

The answer I think is to perma-bench Channing until further notice. You would then move Batum to 2nd Unit and redistribute minutes. It would look like this:

Starters-

PG - Blake 24 minutes

SG - Rudy 24 minutes

SF - Roy 30 minutes (By the way Roy has seen his greatest success this season as a SF someone posted about this awhile ago in something titled our Best SF)

PF - LMA 24 minutes

C – Oden 24 minutes

Bench mob 2nd unit/ guys who spell the starters not necessarily all playing together at the same time.:

PG - Sergio 10 minutes SG - Sergio 6 minutes

SG - Bayless 10 minutes PG Bayless 6 minutes

SF - Batum 10 minutes (Roy would pick up some of his minutes above here to stabilize the second unit. Also Batum has hit the rookie wall. He and Fernandez can battle for SF minutes depending on who is more effective and/or situational needs Defense vs. Offense.)

PF - 16 Outlaw (the #1 scoring option which he likes and his favorite postion PF picking on slower 2nd unit PF's)

C - Przybilla 16 minutes

Kill unit last 8 minutes of 4th quarter:

PG - Roy 8 minutes

SG - Blake / Sergio 8 minutes (for whoever is hotter situational needs)

SF - Rudy 8 minutes

PF - LMA 8 minutes

C - Joel/Oden 8 minutes (for whoever is hotter/ less fouls)

I think the above would solve alot of problems. It cuts into Outlaws minutes but frankly I haven’t liked what I’ve seen this year other then beyond the arc. he might very well fight back into more minutes with more touches in the 2nd unit. This gives us a LETHAL starting unit which is more or less identical to the finishing unit other then at center. You can of course change that unit depending on heath check and foul trouble.

It's past the quarter season mark and we need to make changes and start developing our young guys now that the schedule will allow for it. Also Batum and Rudy as mentioned above have hit the Euro-wall and will need to split minutes to keep them fresh. I also want to state the 2nd unit might not always play together just as it is now. Rudy and Sergio would get maybe 10 minutes a game together which is cutting it down but I think would be worth it to develop Bayless. Mostly this is to get Bayless on the floor while cutting down Frye and Batum's (who needs more rest) minutes. Thoughts?

No more rumor innuendo or gossip. This is straight from the big fella's mouth.

Credit to Jksnake posted in the fanshot's below a fantastic interview with Oden that will hopefully squelch all the rumors. I know this is fanshot material but this needs the exposure of a Fan post as no one seems to scroll that far down.

I think that this should put a stake in the heart of the he's depressed and awful to be around. I also note this is the third time now that he has spoken to the media just not Quick and sadly our own intrepid BE beat reporter/talent one Ben of the bathphone.

Ben you gotta get in there and get us the scoop from GO and let him know how much we all adore him! For my money Ben is as good or better then Quick at this point and tens times more respectful. Between Ben's flavor and Dave's rockin analysis BE beats the Oregonian hands down.

Hi all. Well my trade machine finger is itchy so here goes..

EDIT: If you don't like the first idea skip to the second beyond the other EDIT. I get that it's too much of a loss for Phoenix.

This first idea - I encourage other ideas below - is a three way trade between Portland, the Bobcats and Suns and looks thusly:

KP loves 3-ways!

Phoenix in:

Raymond Felton (PG)
RLEC
Travis Outlaw (SF/PF)


Phoenix Out:

Steve Nash (PG)
Leandro Barbosa (SG)


Phoenix reloads on the youth front and gets a talented PG/SG (Felton) in the TP mold. It also fulfills Amare's dream of being the MAN on Phoenix, gets a possible starting SF or back up PF to spell Amare in Outlaw and cap flexibility to resign Amare early for Max contract. Phoenix remains a contender and sheds age and salary.

Charlotte In:

Ike Diogu (PF)
Channing Frye (PF)
Steve Blake (SG/PG)
Leandro Barbosa (SG)


Charlotte Out:

Gerald Wallace (SF)
Raymond Felton (PG)
Nazr Mohammed (C)


Charlotte loses the big drag on capspace in Nazr and Wallace. They get a solid PG who can be a role player in Blake along with a reliable SG in Barbossa to go alongside DJ Augustin. They also shore up their weakest position PF with Channing Frye and Ike Diogu both of whom might flourish with good minutes.

Portland In:

Steve Nash (PG)
Gerald Wallace (SF)
Nazr Mohammed (C)


Portland Out:

Ike Diogu (PF)
Raef LaFrentz (contract)
Steve Blake (PG)
Channing Frye(PF)
Travis Outlaw (SF/PF)


This consolidates Portland's roster and gives us a shot at winning right now while still keeping our young core intact. All in all I think this is a grandslam for Portland.

I'm not sure Charlotte would go for it but on the other hand they just might. I think it would benefit all teams in getting what they want and need to do. Phoenix gets younger and has flexibility. Charlotte shores up positions it needs help with and sheds salary. Portland gains experience and opens their window immediately.

What do you guys think?

Or as pointed out by blazeraddict the following trades are more likely to tempt Phoenix but probably still not enough...

Alternately you could do this trade and also give Phoenix Sergio.

Or Alternate version 2 where Phoenix gets Bayless instead of Sergio with things other wise the same.

EDIT:

Some think the above is way too heavily weighted in Portland's favor. What about this trade then?

KP STILL loves 3-ways

Portland In:

Mike Conley Jr. (PG/Oden's buddy and 2nd or 3rd string pg allowing Sergio and Bayless to develop while helping our Big Fella be happier right away.)

Gerald Wallace (SF)

Nazr Mohammed (Salary anchor 3rd string Center heaven forbid we need it)

Darrel Arthur (PF who gives us a new look down low)

Portland Out:

RLEC

Ike Diogu (PF)

Steve Blake (PG)

Travis Outlaw (SF/PF)

Channing Frye (PF)

Rights to Petteri Kopponen/Joel Freeland

Charlotte Out:

Gerald Wallace (SF)

Raymond Felton (PG)

Alexis Ajinca(C)

Nazr Mohammed (Salary anchor C)

Charlotte In:

Cash Compensation (Don't underestimate this in value to an owner who is losing money)

Ike Diogu(PF)

Rights to Petteri Koponen (PG)

Travis Outlaw (SF/PF)

Rights to Joel Freeland (PF)

Steve Blake (PG)

RLEC (Salary relief)

Memphis in:

Raymond Felton (PG)

Channing Frye (PF)

Alexis Ajinca (C)

Memphis Out:

Mike Conley (PG they are shopping)

Darrell Arthur (PF)

For Portland this consolidates our roster, fills in our biggest weakness at SF. Gives us a young post player to back up LMA. And possibly the greatest help we can give to a despairing Oden. A close friend who can give him a confidence boost. Portland has coveted Conley in the past and I trust KP to see something that perhaps I don't.

For Charlotte you shed Salary get a reliable veteran who doesn't complain in Steve Blake. You shore up the PF with Ike Diogu. Get a versatile SF/PF swing man who can score and hit the bigtime shot in Outlaw. Get massive salary cap relief by dumping Wallace and getting RLEC and get some long shot talent to develop in PetKo (PG) and Joel Freeland (PF). Finally, you get some cash to help staunch the financial bleeding.

For Memphis you upgrade your PG signifigantly with Felton, you get a long range bombing PF in Frye who can open up the inside and draw out the opposing PF to give Gay and Mayo room to operate. You also get a young Center project in Ajinca. Memphis gives up little and gets an upgrade in talent at PG that might really help your chemistry.

I just wanted to write a short post begging for forgiveness. I have been in the trade Outlaw camp for so long I forgot what it was like to not have that kind of thinking. However, I want to say it loud and say it proud. Outlaw, you are really upping your game! The number one thing I like about Outlaw this year is not his TORRID outside shooting, but rather his renewed (new?) commitment to defense and rebounding. To be honest if he keeps up that outside shooting he is worth keeping around regardless of anything else he brings to the table (See Korver, Kyle).

On the other hand, I must admit I often notice Outlaw looking confused on Offensive sets and occasionally on defense His decision making and BBIQ need work and he can still improve on rebounding and especially defense. You know what though? He has shown that he is willing to work on all aspects of his game and for that he deserves some props. Way to go Outlaw you've put your feet on the path to becoming an all around excellent baller. You've got the tools, you've shown the willingness, now just keep it up. I once was a doubter, but you're bringing me around. Way to go Steelhead, way to go!


P.S. We will just have to figure out how to have a 3 sf rotation when Marty gets back as Batum has shown he has a gift for defense that can't be ignored. My lord so much talent! If only our PG's were causing us the talent/minutes problem our SF's are causing this year!

It seems at the moment that the biggest minute logjam and resultant bad feelings is in the back court. The problem while having two main fronts comes from one truth - there ain't enough PG time for all this talent - and this extends to the Roy and Rudy playing together with Roy or Rudy at PG.

With that in mind the first of the sub-plots revolves around the "pure" point guards (I include Bayless in this group). As Ben has written in a great post on the main page Sergio is frustrated. I think in a silent, deadly kind of way so is Bayless. The only PG getting big minutes is Blake. I think Blakey has really improved his 3 ball but I think we've seen the best defense he will ever bring to the table and it ain't much.

As has been mentioned elsewhere when Martell returns you have two distinct units you could and should platoon until April when you go with your 8 best. You have your "Lock Down Half Court Death" starting unit and your "Chaos Magician Run and Gun" second unit. The first unit shuts it down rebounds like mad and only looks to push when the opportunity is begging for it ala San Antonio.

So with those two archetypes in mind what would be the best possible lineup to make these two types of game work?

I think the first unit works best potentially with the following:

PG - Bayless (after learning to distribute and defer to Roy)
SG - Roy
SF - Batum Martell
PF - LMA
C - Oden


Again, the team with the most potential for the 2nd unit Run and Gun:

PG - Sergio (Needs to work on a tear drop, 3 Ball, midrange jumper and most importantly defense.)
SG - Rudy
SF - Martell Batum (he just needs seasoning and a better shot mid range and from deep both things that can be learned. As Monalisa8 says below Batum's defense would really bolster the second unit and let them run more.)
PF - Frye
C - Pryzbilla


That of course leaves Outlaw and Blake out in the cold and would likely mean they had been traded. I'm not sure if Nate really buys the platooning idea (not 5 for 5 right away but you phase in the other team over a few minutes). If he doesn't then there will be an even greater consolidation trade or two.

The other interesting sub-plot is the seemingly apparent gulf between Roy and Rudy. This one is potentially more concerning as both of those guys are clearly part of our core. Rudy and Roy just haven't played that well together. I might be wrong about this but I feel like Roy might be threatened by Rudy's popularity with the fans and international stardom. The thing is Rudy seems to be totally fine with how things are right now and has seemed to defer to Roy. I just feel like Roy doesn't completely trust Rudy as a player. Unfortunately that missed 3 in Utah with the Roy dish to Rudy probably didn't help that feeling, if it does in fact exist. This is something I'm very curious about.

So everyone, what thoughts have you about our incredibly over-flowingly talented back court? Air 'em out here.

Continue reading this post »

Are we, as fans of this team, becoming not just spoiled but rotten? Are we starting to disrespect other teams and rip apart our own players? When I come to a site like Blazer's Edge I expect a more civilized discourse then one I might find at O-live. Indeed, I do find exactly that. This post however is about a trend in the greater Blazer community.

I know a lot of the behavior I'm about to describe has been there for years; it seems recently it has reached epidemic proportions. I find that whenever I go to read a story by Quick or Holodahl and I peruse the comments there are always those who are ready to leap on the smallest flaws of even our least consequential players. For example, Batum, whom I believe is now signed, is regularly skewered for his raw and hesitant play. I for one think Batum is a role-player project that KP wants to mold into a Tayshaun Prince-style lock down perimeter defender. Bayless is scorned for his supposed selfishness and average wingspan.

Those who don't rip on our project role players and rookie combo/PG turn their disrespect onto other teams with gloating declaration of a Pritch-slap and how stupid the management of other teams is. I myself am guilty of dropping a P-bomb now and then and even reveling in our glorious drafts. Nonetheless a point comes when it gets absurd.

Then there are those people in Blazer land that are so freaking greedy they are losing it with pipe dreams of CP3 and D. Will manning the point. (Thank god that's been put to rest.) Meanwhile, a 27.7 average with 5+ boards a game causes a player to be labeled selfish regardless of the level of talent he has to pass to.

I guess I just wanted to publicly proclaim the following:

We, as Blazer fans, are perhaps the luckiest fans in the league. Nowhere else will you find such a youthful, talent-laden group of gentlemen. Many mistake Bayless focus and media non-savvy to be signs of a "bad seed" or "team killer" attitude. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is this group of guys is nothing short of breath taking and I just praise god that with Summer League and then Olympic hoops and early training camp I just hope I make it to October without going into a diabetic coma over this sweet, sweet lineup.

This post is a bit of a response to 12Sharks Fan Post regarding Bayless being traded for Devin Harris.

I think KP's two possible targets for veteran players are Tayshaun Prince and Devin Harris. I think Devin Harris would be an immediate upgrade but he may not have the ceiling that Bayless has. You have to trust KP to judge ceilings with his "Golden Gut". I also worry about Harris in terms of injuries.

While trading for Harris might be an upgrade it might also poison the well. By this I mean his LARGE salary. This could cause problems with some of our younger players. I also wonder about trading away Martell whom I think is a superior Forward to Outlaw due to his defense. I have this really strong feeling he is going to blow up this year. I think he will have spot up three's til the cows come home. I think he could be a great 3 points specialist that plays decent defense. I sometimes think KP is trying to drive up Travis' stock with the near untouchable status.

You see KP isn't straight forward in the slightest. He is a devious so and so. Look at this draft! I can tell you right now Westbrook and Augustine were below Bayless on KP's board yet both went higher. Seemingly on KP's recommendation after working them out Westbrook and Augustine along with Joe Alexander SOARED up the boards. Thus I think all this talking up of Travis is merely to drive up his price. Look what KP did with Jack and McBob! KP always leverages every ounce out of his players in a trade. KP is silent on Martell as is Nate and that actually makes me think he is not on the block. I also think KP might have a hard time trading Martell due to that heart thing. Travis is an amazing guy and a cool player, but he doesn't do the little things that Martell does.

Travis for all of his majesty on the offensive end doesn't bring rebounding, BB IQ or defense. He is a wonderful, wonderful person whom I would love to see retire a Blazer. However, not at the expense of losing Martell Webster. Unless Webster has an attitude problem that we don't know about he is a keeper. If he is willing to accept his role making shots, getting some boards and playing tough defense, then Webster is a perfect fit at the 3.

If you look at Batum and especially now that we have Bayless you get a sense of what KP really wants right now. He wants a 3 who has length and can clamp down on the perimeter possibly guarding positions 1 thru 3. Bayless I think will be a decent defender although his lack of length will probably prevent him from being a lock down 3. The new philosophy in the NBA is that your 3 is your best defender on the perimeter see: Bowen, Bruce. KP clearly buys into this theory. Look at Nate talking about Martell at the end of the season NOT during trade time...

"Martell might be our Bruce Bowen he has the potential to be a lock down defender. He has embraced this role"

You seen anyone praising Outlaw's defense? No, but you do hear Nate say "Outlaw will be playing the 3 full time next year". This statement was made just prior to the draft. He doesn't say he will start him or talk about Trout's defense earning this designation. He is simply saying he will play him at the 3. He is also talking about how much he loves Outlaw and there is a lot of media talking about Outlaw starting as a forgone conclusion. I believe this is a smoke screen / pumping of Travis' stock.

Here's what I think. Detroit needs to get rid of Sheed and they need some young blood on that team. Detroit's defense has been great but they have disgruntled players and need to retool probably in favor of more offensive pop. If we got involved in a three way trade like this one.

(Keep in mind Blake, Pryzbilla and Ike Diogu represent RLEC in this trade as ESPN trade machine will not allow RLEC to be traded right now. The salaries of those three are within $100,000 of RLEC)

I think this helps all teams. I will now break it down for each team:

Detroit: They get young talent in Lee (Energy SF/PF), Frye (Offensive Rasheed-lite PF) and Outlaw (Versatile SF/PF). They have a Euro prospect they can stash in Freeland, They get cash and they also get a potential starting Power Forward who can pack an offensive punch in Curry who's contract ends one year after Sheed's and is considerably less. Most of all they move Sheed who is disgruntled to say the least. Detroit might continue with another trade at the deadline after looking at their new PF's and seeing who is the best fit starting and back up.

New York: This season will be about developing Gallinari and Sergio while weeping at the horror of the line up. After Isaiah's reign of terror it will take two seasons to clean up the mess at least. This is a great first step. Come the summer of 2010 you have 48+million come off the books with Sheed, Marbury and RLEC and a few role players contracts all expiring summer of 2010. This puts New York in a position to romance LeBron. You also pick up a nice D'Antoni style PG in Sergio Rodriguez. This makes NY a near lock for the lottery but that lets you stock more young talent to put around King James at a low price.

Portland: This speaks for itself. Malik Rose is a cumbersome contract but he can back up LMA along with Diogu. Prince more then makes up for the loss of cap space. Malik Rose will come off the books just in time to extend Oden a generous offer.

This would leave Portland with the following lineup:

PG: Bayless/Blake/Koponen
SG: Roy/Rudy
SF: Prince/Webster/Batum
PF: LaMarcus/Diogu/Rose
C: Oden/Pryzbilla

I'm probably forgetting someone but that might leave up to two Roster spots open as well. This would consolidate our roster and remove all the Cap holds next summer although it would be irrelevant as we would be set at every position. Prince unlike Harris is an Olympian and so I don't think Martell will complain about coming off the bench when we need more offense. Also I don't think the other players would be as likely to complain about Prince's Olympian salary.

Prince will absolutely complete our defensive scheme by giving us a proven lock down defender. Prince can also help Martell get better. Martell won't need to feel pressured now and can come off the bench and give us offensive pop while developing his game. He can then replace Prince in a couple of years when Prince starts to slow down. Martell also can get spot minutes at the 2 backing up Roy and Rudy.

Batum will get spot minutes backing up Webster and Prince at the 3 and can develop under Prince and Webster's help. If I'm wrong about Webster and he doesn't play up to snuff we are still OK and will be able to trade him or waive him this summer. This gives us a chance to see what Webster has to offer. If Webster complains about backing up Prince we can still trade him but I think Webster will accept it this year. It also will light a fire under Webster. You could even do the above trade and substitute Webster for Outlaw in the above trade. Although I doubt Detroit would do it then. If Detroit would allow the Webster for Outlaw substitution you would get the following line up:

PG: Bayless/Blake/Koponen
SG: Roy/Rudy
SF: Prince/Outlaw/Batum
PF: LaMarcus/Diogu/Rose
C: Oden/Pryzbilla


Either one of those is a death line up that would destroy most of the NBA at virtually every position. We would be at least two deep with a Solid 9-10 man rotation. This would make us immediately elite and vying for Western Conference Champion without hurting our window and taking advantage of Pryzbilla and Prince now. We would add a savvy veteran and Olympian and plug our final hole, Perimeter Defense.



EDIT:
Alternately we could work the following trade with Denver and Detroit. Here it is:

Detroit:
Outgoing Players: Rodney Stuckey, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince

Incoming players: Carmelo Anthony, RLEC, Marcus Camby, Taurean Green (Obtained with a trade exception)

Denver:
Outgoing Players: Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Taurean Green

Incoming Players: Joel Freeland, Rodney Stuckey, Rasheed Wallace, Channing Frye (Remember Frye KILLED Denver), Travis Outlaw (As did Outlaw) a trade exception and they would also receive cash and future draft picks from Portland.

Portland:
Outgoing Players: RLEC, Travis Outlaw, Joel Freeland, Channing Frye.

Incoming Players: Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess

When all the dust has settled on draft day what will KP have done? Not before not after but what will KP do on draft day itself? I hear a lot of conjecture and some of us have put forward our own pet ideas. I know by some I've been branded a virtual Blazers fan heretic by pushing the LMA for Rose move. Others have said they would go for Westbrook. Others push for Mayo or Bayless after moving up in the draft. A few maverick voices have spoken of picking up a big or rolling the dice on a new small forward. Others say stash a Euro overseas and let him season ala Kopponen and Rudy. Others feel a veteran PG is the answer; someone you can plug right into the system and don't need to worry about unknowns in talents lived up to. Others assure us that KP will stand pat. Now with all those different scenarios in thought try and imagine you are a calm cool GM who operates with an elegant yet powerful understanding of talent and needs on a team. I know what I would do but that isn't very likely what he will do. What will he actually do? Please vote and explain below.

Poll

What will Pritchard actually do on draft day?

10%

Trade up for Russel Westbrook

14 votes

6%

Trade for a Veteran PG

8 votes

2%

Trade the pick for future picks or a non PG player

3 votes

9%

Trade up to snag OJ Mayo

12 votes

3%

Trade up for Bayless

4 votes

1%

Trade up for Rose

2 votes

3%

Blockbuster multi-team trade

5 votes

5%

Trade for Kirk Hinrich

7 votes

3%

Trade for Jose Calderon

4 votes

4%

Trade for Devin Harris

6 votes

6%

Draft a Euro or other foreign players (stash overseas)

8 votes

6%

Some combination of the above

9 votes

6%

Stand pat draft at #13 and various 2nd round picks

8 votes

30%

Something no one has thought of...

40 votes

130 votes | Poll has closed

I'm sorry but I'm just too excited about this not to repost in a side diary!

 

I've seen a lot of excellent analysis but I want to chip in a bit.

It seems to me people are cherry picking both sides of the argument people complain that D. Rose is an unproven quantity and should "Play a game first" yet everyone assumes Oden is a lock for HOF (Please god let this be true). So that is a ridiculous statement and should be thrown straight out.

People are mostly wondering about whether D. Rose or LMA would help us win a championship. I think the answer is that both could help us win a championship. So then it comes down to who has the better package for this team and what are their strengths and weakness and what are the relative values of their positions?

I think that it is a well known fact that the Center position is the rarest and most coveted position. Next in line is the ultra-skilled PG. Easily the hardest position to master and the position after center most filled with so-so players in the league. Power forward is probably the next most coveted with SG and SF being a dime a dozen.

By the way if you take the league back to 1979 and count up championships won by dominant PG's and dominant Power Forwards you have: 5 rings for Magic, 2 rings for Isaiah Vs. 4 rings for a PF driven team Duncan and the Spurs (and 1 for Rasheed Wallace although Chauncey Billups was on that team as well....).

Oh wait Duncan had a top shelf PG for a couple of those rings...and a dominant center for the other two...

Also the other non-Jordan rings during that era were by Shaq (4) and Olajuwon (2) Bird (3), Moses Malone and Dr. J (1).

So it looks like Centers and PG's are definitely the way to go and if you take Duncan out of the equation you have a REALLY hard time finding a PF who led their team to anywhere other then frustration. Read: Barkley, Karl Malone, Tom Chambers, Nowitzki etc. etc. The only one I can find in the past 30 years who didn't have a dominant center or awesome PG is Moses Malone who had Dr. J.

By position it would seem D. Rose would be a rare and precious commodity assuming - las we are all doing with Oden - that he will be an excellent player. I think that anyone who DOESN'T think Rose is going to be an excellent player is as silly as Bulls fans saying TT will surpass LMA or that LMA sucks.

So let me put that to rest with my authoritative but meaningless opinion. They will both be great for their position.

So now what about individual skills?

LMA

Strengths: Excellent outside touch to 18 feet, myriad and improving post moves, can handle a double team, is a decent rebounder especially on offense, has shown marked improvement on weak side blocks, is a good to man defender, very fast for his size. Almost certainly will be one of the best PF's in the league for some time (unlike TT).

Weaknesses: Strength, inability to consistently establish an inside position in the post (strength again), needs to work on back to the basket moves, must become a better defensive rebounder, needs to develop killer instinct and will to dominate.

Rose

Strengths: Excellent ball handler, Blinding speed, excellent size for his position, Good defender with potential to become great, will to dominate and killer instinct repeatedly shown, excellent slasher, great on the fast break distributing or finishing, great rebounder for his position, can dominate the ball or defer to team mates.

Weakness: Needs to create more opportunities for team mates, must develop long ball, needs to work on jump shot, room for improvement on defense.

So then given the above...what do the blazers most need on this team? And is it something Rose or LMA bring or something we might already have on our team?

The blazers suffered when we shot the long ball inconsistently. Neither Rose nor LMA will bring this talent although Rose might develop it. Martell, JJ33, or Rudy could plug this hole.

The blazers suffered on rebounding. LMA had all the opportunities in the world to show dominant rebounding and he rarely came through. Near the end of the season Frye appeared to be a better rebounder although that is the ONLY area he is better then LMA. Rose could help with back court rebounding but this wouldn't be his contribution. Frye, and of course Oden can take care of this need. Oden likely will take care of the problem single AND doublehandedly.

The blazers were repeatedly burned by penetrating PG's and to a lesser extent 2 guards. Obviously LMA won't help with this and no one with the possible exception of Martell showed any signs of doing this. Rose would help TREMENDOUSLY in this area.

The blazers suffered from an inability to create on the offense unless B. Roy took over. LMA didn't help at all here, Rose would. Unless Rudy gains 20 - 35 lbs over the summer it is unlikely he will help in this regard.

The blazers suffered and were exposed repeatedly as a poor ball handling club that frequently got burned by trapping defenses. Again LMA no help Rose would break this.

The blazers never had much in the way of fast break offense except for rare flashes from Sergio. LMA did not help in this regard.

The blazers had weak interior defense. LMA certainly made us a better team in this regard but was not a show stopper by any means even when paired with a more then adequate defender in Przybilla.

The blazers WILL need someone to take the pressure off of Oden by knocking down the shot when he is doubled. LMA would EXCEL at this and would create a nightmare scenario for other teams...However, both Outlaw and Frye could perform this function.

I'm probably missing a few things here but this is my conclusion. Assuming a full potential being reached by LMA and Rose who would help the Blazers more?

I gotta go with Rose. Killer instinct, great defense, take pressure off Roy on both ends of the court and more potential then you can shake a stick at. LMA is far more replaceable with Outlaw and Frye around then a top shelf PG.

LMA is a great player but I feel he lacks the killer instinct. I also think he is a big disappointment on the boards an area where he should flourish. I will gladly keep LMA and I think he would help us win championships, but given the chance to trade LMA, Jack + some picks...I think you have GOT to pull the trigger on that.

P.S. Hire Avery Johnson we don't even need to trade for this!

Poll

Who do you think would be the better fit with Roy and Oden?

20%

Rose

20 votes

79%

LMA

76 votes

96 votes | Poll has closed