SB Nation User Blog: JordanLeDoux

McMillian Ran Practice Drills Against The Wolves...

JordanLeDoux — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:07:09 -0000

McMillian Ran Practice Drills Against The Wolves...

...

The second half turned out to be a laugher, as the Blazers built a 26-point lead, allowing the team to rest Oden, Brandon Roy, Aldridge and Steve Blake for the entire fourth quarter.

It was also a time when McMillan started experimenting with new plays, particularly a new isolation play for Roy. McMillan said he has become wary of how teams are loading up against the Blazers' pick-and-roll with Roy, usually leading to a trap, so he is beginning to implement new plays to get Roy the ball without using pick-and-rolls.

...

Pritchard must prune this roster

JordanLeDoux — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:14:55 -0000

This is not a post about how our trades/draft picks/free agents have failed or aren't fitting in. Rather, this is a look at a reality that is putting McMillian in a very hard place: he has several guys, (Bayless, Fernandez, Webster, Batum when he returns), who deserve minutes that McMillian simply can't deliver. Some of these players must be cashed in to allow McMillian to settle on a solid 7-8 man rotation, with spot minutes for everyone else.

I'm not necessarily going to propose how to do that, but right now, we are a team in transition. Who is going to be here next season? Two seasons from now? It's difficult to say.

But this goes deeper than simply keeping players happy, such as Fernandez who knows he would be starting for most teams in the league. Rather, this is about McMillian having to make choices that will inevitably frustrate and stunt the production of some very talented players on our roster.

The issue with "too much talent" is that talent is very hard to turn into production in limited minutes. Channing is a great example of that, (but there was no real place for him on this team anyway). Bayless and Fernandez both have talent to be solid production guys, but without minutes, and consistency, it's difficult for them to turn it into something they can cash in every night.

I feel like McMillian has received a lot of criticism for something that really isn't his fault. As has been mentioned, you'd rather have "too much" talent than too little. But it is a problem none-the-less. And it's a problem that can't be fixed with coaching.

This season we'll discover just how good of a GM Pritchard really is. Will he be able to make the tough choices and do what has to be done, or will he be frozen by indecision? I have a lot of faith in Pritchard and McMillian. I think they're the perfect guys for our team and I hope both are around for a long time.

But something need to be done to clean up this roster. We've got too much talent and too few minutes, and that particular combination will always lead to inconsistency, which happens to be one of McMillian's least favorite traits.

I don't know who should be traded, and certainly can't even really guess at who *will* be traded, but mark my words, Pritchard will trim this roster up by the deadline or every analyst in the league, and every fan on this site, will be writing essays on his mistakes.

Delonte West Indicted On Six Weapons Charges

JordanLeDoux — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:05:33 -0000

Delonte West Indicted On Six Weapons Charges

A Prince George's County grand jury indicted Delonte West, a Washington area native who plays for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, on six weapons offenses Tuesday in a September incident in which he was arrested on the Capital Beltway with three loaded guns and an 8 1/2-inch bowie knife, authorities said.

In addition to the weapons offenses -- each of which is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of three years in prison -- the grand jury also indicted West, 26, on one count each of reckless driving and negligent driving.

...

The officer pulled West over for making an unsafe lane change, and as the officer approached the motorcycle, West told him he had a handgun in his waistband.

The officer called for backup and searched West and his vehicle.

Three guns were found -- a 9mm Beretta in West's waistband, a Ruger .357 Magnum strapped to his leg, and a 12-gauge shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back, authorities said.

West also had additional shotgun shells in a backpack, authorities said.

Who Will End The Season With The Blazers?

JordanLeDoux — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:28:14 -0000

Plenty of talk happens over what players Portland should attempt to acquire, or what players people would like to see gone.

But there are certain realities to a basketball team that make certain trades difficult, or others very easy, that might not otherwise be considered. A move that may seem lateral ends up being a huge steal, or a team gets rid of someone simply to not lose out on their value.

Right now, as Dave has mentioned before, I see no scenario where Portland has Outlaw after the trade deadline. Travis will want more than the MLE, and someone will it to him. He's a 6'10" player with crazy athleticism who's been in the NBA 6 years but is still only 24, knows how to score and can play multiple positions. Obviously his defense is suspect, but someone out there will be willing to open their checkbook to give him minutes.

The problem with that is quite simply that Portland will not, under almost any rotation, be looking to get huge production out of a combo forward, especially of the Travis mold. If we win a ring, it's because Oden and LMA come to play with Roy, and while having a good bench is important, both Rudy and Travis will want touches, minutes and money off the bench, and a team can realistically only keep one.

I am quite certain that KP will look at the situation and decide to cash in on Outlaw while he can and choose to bank on paying Fernandez, with the option to bring Claver and Freeland over later. KP will simply never be able to get any more for Outlaw than he could now.

In addition to being a type of player many teams seek, Outlaw is an expiring contract, meaning if you don't like how he fits, you have no financial obligation to keep him. Mark my words, KP will be fielding bids from several teams who will be chasing after Outlaw at the deadline, and he'll have to luxury of choosing which he likes best.

The downside (or maybe an additional upside depending on your perspective) is that to get the kind of piece KP is interested in getting, Blake will likely leave with Outlaw. Blake and Outlaw together represent a $9.6 million contract that you can trade to the Blazers and not have to pay after June. To put that in perspective, that's about one sixth of the salary cap.

Any team that's interested in trading a championship piece for Outlaw is looking for:

Youth
Flexibility
Cap Savings

This tells me that Blake is nearly the ideal piece to pair with Outlaw in a trade. A team receiving Outlaw and Blake could save nearly $10 million in salaries by cutting both, could sign Outlaw and save $4 million with Blake, or could sign both. Throw in a draft pick if necessary, and in this one trade any team could add some significant talent, consistency and youth to their team, all while saving money.

So who would be interested in such a deal? I'm not nearly as sure about where they'll go as that they'll go. Houston comes to mind as a team that needs offense, youth and flexibility.

But I don't expect to be seeing Outlaw or Blake in Blazer uniforms after the trade deadline. I wouldn't put it past KP to try and sign Blake for a third time after he inevitably gets cut at the end of the season, but for the rest of the year I don't expect to see him.

So, what say you? Who do you think will be gone before the season ends?

NBA.com's Top BRoy Plays

JordanLeDoux — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:57:31 -0000

NBA.com's Top BRoy Plays

Yes... he even got his own highlight video this year.

I have discovered something grave... David Stern is sexist... Behold... What's the slogan for the...

JordanLeDoux — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:02:14 -0000

I have discovered something grave... David Stern is sexist...

Behold...

What's the slogan for the NBA?

"Where amazing happens."

It's definitive and declarative. And emphatic. The WNBA?

"Expect great."

Not amazing, great. We can't guarantee it'll happen, just expect it to happen. The motto scream mediocrity and inferiority.

"Expect the women to be great. Really. You won't be disappointed again... please expect it..."

Compared to:

"See this? This is the N-B-A son. *THIS* is where amazing happens."

Conspiracy? I think so...

(This has been brought to you by the Hedo Turkoglu Fan-Strife Relief Coalition (tm). Have you relieved Hedo Turkoglu based fan-strife today?)

You have to choose between two PGs... which do you choose?

JordanLeDoux — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:30:39 -0000

Player A is 28, Player B is 34.
Player A is locked into $4 million next year, Player B wants a multi-year $10 million per deal.
Player A scored 11 ppg with 5 asts in the slowest pace and most efficient offense in the league, Player B scored 16 ppg with 6.5 asts in the 21st rated pace and 19th most efficient offense.
Player A shoots 39.2% from three on his career with 42.7% from three last season, Player B shoots 21.0% from three on his career with 28.3% from three last season.
Player A was TS%: 55.7%, eFG%: 53.6%, TOV%: 13.6%, Player B was TS%: 54.8%, eFG%: 48.0%, TOV%: 14.0%
Player A and Player B both have an individual defensive rating of 110.

Who you got?

Assuming we sign Hedo... roster clarification

JordanLeDoux — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:01:35 -0000

It's not an absolute necessity, but it's likely that we'll have to deal either Rudy or Batum if we sign Hedo. Just not enough minutes.

So what PG can we get with Blake + Outlaw + Webster + Rudy/Batum? I think that's enough to talk about Harris or Rondo...

Personally I think that Harris would be a good way to go after a signing like Hedo, and I think New Jersey would be interested in a package of Blake + Outlaw + Webster + Rudy/Batum...

Would we be asking for anything else back, or do you think that package isn't going to be worth an All-Star quality PG?

OT: Jail Time For JR Smith

JordanLeDoux — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:58:07 -0000

OT: Jail Time For JR Smith

Why Outlaw Must Be Traded

JordanLeDoux — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:10 -0000

This is not a post about how Outlaw isn't a good enough player, or similar garbage. Very simply, I would like to explain to people here why Portland really has no option other than to trade Outlaw before the draft next year.

To recap our current situation:

This draft Portland picked up Pendergraph, who might turn into a backup PF, Claver, who might be a wasted pick, and might be a future star... we now have the option to wait and see, as well as Cunningham, who like Outlaw can slide between the 3 and 4.

At PG we dumped Sergio and drafted Mills, who will probably play in SL, then play overseas or in the DL.

We'll be losing Frye, Shav, Raef and Ruffin. After dumping sergio and presumably giving roster spots to Pendergraph and Cunningham, we have three roster spaces left, and approximately $7.5 million in cap space.

Why Outlaw must be traded:

Put simply, Pritchard has almost no option but to trade Outlaw at this point. We have invested a lot of time into developing him, and he has turned into a fantastic scorer, with still more potential to round out his game. He's friendly and likeable, and gets along well with everyone on the team, all while doing what he is asked to.

But... but through developing him we have come to three very important realizations:

Outlaw plays signifigantly better at PF than at SF, where he can exploit his quickness without giving up length.
At SF we perform signifigantly better if we have a spot up shooter who is athletic and can play defense.
At PF we desperately need someone who can be physical and grab rebounds while providing weak side defense.

These three things together spell disaster for keeping Outlaw in Portland. Like Sergio, very little of the problem is talent. With Sergio we had problems with team role and commitment to defense, but no one would question his talent... the guy is a stellar passer and fairly good at not turning over the ball.

On the other side of the coin, I don't think anyone should question Outlaw's talent either. Like Sergio, he has flaws that are obvious, including his one dimensional play and his allergy to rebounding. But talent is not his problem. And it isn't our problem.

The problem is something we've discussed ad nauseum: fit.

Every team can use an Outlaw. Players like him a well regarded, especially one's as young as him. But NBA teams are built around stars, and our stars do not have complimentary talents to Outlaw.

Rather, the stars on our team have talents that are much more complimentary to players like Fernandez, Webster and Batum.

If you noticed, all three of those names can play SF, and given the three points we went over before, and the reality that we have the ability to sign a banger at PF, we are left with one simple reality: there is no room for Outlaw.

As a team, we perform best with a different skill set his positions.

Now this in itself does not always spell the end for a player and their team, but there are two other points that make trading him almost non-negotiable:

Outlaw is on a reasonable, expiring contract.
Outlaw has a fair amount of trade value.

To the right team, Outlaw is nearly the perfect player. He doesn't complain much, he's fearless, he can hit big shots, and he knows how to score. A team like the Celtics for instance would probably fall all over themsevles if they thought there was a way they could get him. (NOTE: I'm not implying we could get Rondo for Outlaw... be serious...)

The General Manager's job is to improve the team. To win a championship. And this year that wasn't Pritch, it was Mitch.

For KP, improving the team means making space for the kind of players that will improve our performance, and making space means getting back value for players that won't improve our performance. And that is quite simply Outlaw.

Yes, we will probably trade Blake as well, but his situation is much different. We are not trading him because he doesn't fit, we are trading him because he just isn't enough. With Outlaw, the question was never talent... with Blake, that is the question.

Does this mean we should focus on trading Outlaw? No... You don't focus on trading a player when their talent isn't in question. Instead you look for the player you want and figure out a deal that will send away the assets that don't help for those that do.

By no fault of his own, Outlaw is an asset that will not improve the team any more. And KP is not committed to maintaining the status quo.