SB Nation User Blog: LicketyBrindle

Flashes of Oden (another one from Simmons' Page 2)

LicketyBrindle — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:14:19 -0000

On Greg Oden:

You can trot out every tired excuse you want to explain why a "can't miss" prospect is missing -- and remember, Oden was a "can't miss" 22 months ago -- but at some point, we have to see something. Remember when Detroit fans kept making excuses for Darko as he toiled away on their bench and looked spazzy and overwhelmed during games, and the months kept passing, and he wasn't showing anything, and, eventually, all those games added up and we realized, "Wait, Darko doesn't have it"?

We're getting there with Oden. Look how well Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah played in the 2009 postseason. Look how much Rajon Rondo grew from Season 1 to Season 3. Look at some of the beauties Durant had this season; same for Kevin Love or Brook Lopez, or even Russell Westbrook. If you're headed toward greatness, or even goodness, you're going to show us flashes of your ultimate destiny in your embryonic years. That's just the law. You can't go from "I am doing nothing" to "I'm an All-Star!" unless you're Jamaal Magloire (who immediately went back to nothing). It's a series of baby steps. And through two seasons, Oden has shown nothing other than a remarkable ability to suffer bad luck with injuries and draw empathy from his fans. I don't know what else to say. If he's good, let's see it. We could always use more blue-chippers. But he hasn't even shown hints of flashes. It's been a full-fledged blackout for two seasons. When you're clumsy, you're clumsy. We should have seen something by now. Just remember the lessons of the Darko era. After a while, it stops being an accident.

Now, I'm not super-high on Oden, and I tend to agree that Durant was the better choice, but I do feel like we've seen "flashes of goodness" from Oden this year. Even in the playoffs, against the second best center in the NBA, I think we saw some flashes of goodness. Apparently Simmons just didn't catch many Blazers games. Can somebody with adequate technology/acess put together a YouTube video for him? Or a list of games, or quarters in games, he might want to watch? We have a responsibility here, Blazers fans, and we can do this in a classy way. Go to it.

Bill Simmons says CP3 is available

LicketyBrindle — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:04:09 -0000

This from Bill Simmons on page 2 today:

If Steve Nash can win two MVPs, Chris Paul can win one. Where is he playing in two seasons, though? Rumors are flying that New Orleans might gut the roster this summer and that, as crazy as this sounds, Chris Paul could be had if you can save them a boatload of money in the process.

He goes on to propose a trade with Houston in which the teams basically trade starters, except for Yao.

Seems like Portland might have the tools to save New Orleans some money. What would you trade to bring CP3 and his future MVP award to Portland?

Buyers & Sellers

LicketyBrindle — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:28:14 -0000

I really enjoyed USMCR's post about what the Blazers should do in the offseason. I got really excited about the possibility of bringing Kirk Hinrich over, and all that he could do for this team. And then I went over to the Bulls' blogsite, to see what they were thinking. I really don't think there's any way we're going to get Hinrich away from them. I really don't think there's any way we could get Chris Anderson, either.

The Bulls are buying. They surprised themselves by making the playoffs, then energized their fans by giving the Celtics a run for their money. They are looking to add a piece - maybe a big piece - that will take them further. They're not going to part with anything that's working. There's a good piece over there on why they should keep even Ben Gordon, for heaven's sake, after all he's put them through. No way they're going to let a team captain go.

The basic theory here is that if you deal with teams that NEED to make a change, you're more likely to get better value for your trades. Teams that like the direction they're going are going to be reluctant to listen unless you make them a heck of an offer. But teams that are desperate to change direction will listen to anything - even the craziest, most lopsided deals. Which is how LA got Pau Gasol.

As we look around at who's available and who's desirable, it seems like it would be good to factor this in. Teams looking to start over are going to be much more willing to part with good players than teams that feel like they're on their way to somewhere. Briefly, we can give up less and get more to a team that's selling than we can to a team that's buying.

So here's my list of buyers and sellers. I invite discussion and correction, especially from team ambassadors, about the state a team is in and who might be staying/going from that team.

Lakers - now that Yao is out, this will be their second year reaching the Finals. Don't expect them to be willing to trade much, win or lose.

Denver - Very excited about their team, as long as Chauncey is in charge. Definitely buying.

San Antonio - Aside from their Big Three, I think they'll be selling. Always a savvy franchise, they can see they're going the way of the Suns.

Houston - They made it out of the first round - finally. They won a game in LA. Then Yao broke his foot. Maybe next year.... buying.

Dallas - Cuban yelling at the guys in the locker room, then getting swept by Denver? Selling. Basement firesale selling. If there are 7 players on this team next year who were here this year, I'll be surprised.

New Orleans - A 58 point blowout in the first round after almost beating the mighty Spurs in the second round the year before? Tyson Chandler traded, then brought back? Selling. But probably pretty conservatively. They might be convinced that they're one or two pieces away from greatness.

Utah - Team has pretty much backed itself into a corner and has to sell.

Phoenix - has been selling since the trade deadline.

Golden State - Who knows? They don't look like even they know which way they're going. Might as well call them and float a deal and see.

Minnesota: Probably buying more than selling. Looks like McHale's trying to build through the draft.

Memphis - Not sure. No blog. They've got some good young players in Mayo, Gasol and Gay, so they may want to stand pat for a few years and see what develops. Plus, they have Darius Miles - superstar in the making.

OKC - Potentially buying, but most likely staying put. They have a good young core and just need to watch it develop.

LA Clippers - Can you remember the last time this team WASN'T selling? Or the last time they had anything we wanted to buy?

Kings - No coach means selling. They're trying to piece something together.

Cleveland - Are you kidding? They've done all the buying they're going to do, and now they're just going to reign supreme for a few years.

Boston - they can blame their playoff struggles on the absence of KG, so they're probably not selling this year.

Orlando - Forget it. On the rise, definitely buying.

Atlanta - Probably going to stay put, but potentially buying. They're young, and good, but not good enough to knock off Cleveland or Orlando in the near future.

Miami - I think they'll be selling. They know they've only got a few years left to put a championship team around Wade, and will be willing to try a thing or two to get them back in the upper echelon.

Philadelphia - Their blog page shows a lot of turmoil. Looks like they're going to be selling.

Chicago - Totally buying. Hey, they almost beat the champs. Sort of.

Detroit - They should be selling, but Dumars is stubborn and got burned with the Chauncey/AI deal. I think they'll probably stand pat this offseason.

Indiana - I'm kind of surprised by the lack of talk on the Pacers blog about offseason moves. Maybe they just really like their team, even if they don't win many games. Buying, but barely.

Charlotte - Definitely buying - look at the Phoenix trade. They'be bought in to Larry Brown's system and are expecting to be in the playoffs in the next few years.

NJ Nets - Probably selling, as they haven't amounted to much lately, and Carter was definitely on the block at the trading deadline.

Bucks - not much action on the SBNation blog makes it hard to call. They're hoping Bogut will come back and lead them back to the playoffs, so - probably buying.

Toronto - Selling. Everything must go, 24 hours only, make us an offer selling.

New York - you know, I think they might've turned a corner and are buying these days. D'Antoni made a difference, David Lee's good, Nate Robinson isn't but he won the dunk contest.

Washington - Selling, selling selling. I think there are more fanposts about trades on Wizards forever than on any other blog.

So. Where does that leave us?

IMHO, we should be looking hard at Washington, Toronto, NJ, Philadelphia, Miami, Sacramento, LAC, Golden State, Phoenix, Utah, Dallas, New Orleans (a little) and San Antonio (a little) to see what they've got that we might want. There are good players on even the worst of those teams. We are buyers in those situations.

And we should pretty much leave alone New York, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Indiana, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Boston, Cleveland, OKC, Memphis, Minnesota, Houston, Denver and LAL - there are lots of good players on those teams, but those teams are going to want too much in a trade to get anyone worthwhile away from them. We are sellers in those situations.

Please discuss.

BRoy gets a mention in MVP conversation.

LicketyBrindle — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:58:38 -0000

BRoy gets a mention in MVP conversation.

It's not much, but it is a mention.

Trade Drawer: How About This One?

LicketyBrindle — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:52:00 -0000

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=cts5t5

There aren't many guys I'd be excited to add to the current mix, but Tayshaun Prince is one of them.

Detroit makes significant upgrades at two positions (PF and backup PG) and could be excited about the possibility of Amare playing with Sheed and the Answer. The drawback: they'll have to start Herrman at SF, or rework that front line.

Phoenix gets a cheap, serviceable guy with a bright future to replace Amare, and two expiring contracts.

And we get Tayshaun. Man, I love that guy. And Bayless gets more playing time.

It's a win-win situation.

LicketyBrindle — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:52:00 -0000

Halfway through the season, I just want to point out how great it is to be a Blazers fan.

The Western Conference is tough. There are nine good teams here, nine teams whose fans really expect them to make the playoffs. We are in the mix: Hollinger gives us a 95% chance of making it. That's awesome. But really, does anyone have less to lose than we do? Look around at the other 8 teams.

Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas are aging, and watching their windows slowly disappear. If they don't make it this year, they may need to scrap everything and start over.

Houston and Denver keep making early exits in the playoffs. If they don't go deep soon, they may need to scrap everything and start over.

New Orleans and LA need to make it to the Finals - or win - in order for this season to be a sucess. If not, they may need to scrap everything and start over. (Probably not, but some fans will be calling for it.)

But us? We're young. We're talented. Our best days are ahead of us. If we don't make it to the playoffs this year, so what? No big deal. No closing windows, no questions about chemistry, no retooling needed. All we need to do is....wait. We'll make it next year for sure. And the year after that, and the year after that, and so on.

It's a great time to be a Blazers fan. Enjoy it!

Another Trade Post: What do we need?

LicketyBrindle — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:55:26 -0000

All this talk about trades, but most of them I see are questionable at best. Do they really make us a better team?

I don't know the league as well as some of you, but I know what I've seen watching the Blazers. Here's what I think we need:

Either:

--A ball-distributing point guard who plays good defense and can penetrate,

--A muscley, Buck Williams-type power forward who will bang bodies and grab rebounds and take charges,

--A versatile defensive specialist who will make it his job to guard the other team's best player night in and night out.

and I don't think we should get anyone too old, because this team won't really peak for another 2 or 3 years, no matter who we add,

and I don't think we should get anyone too young, because we've already got people who can fill these roles given time if we do nothing.

So. Who's out there that fits these descriptions? What would we have to give up to bring them here? What should KP do?