So we missed out on Hedo; as far as I am concerned he was overvalued and his mindset is not where it should be and that is winning a championship for the owner of the team he is playing for. Paul Allen goes far and beyond other owners ( that includes the 3 major sports in the USA) to win a championsip. In my opinion Mr. Allen deserves someone to play for him that has the same mind set.

With all that said, I think that there is another player out there that is by far better then Hedo and will not put the financial strain on the team for years to come like Hedo would have. Lets take a look at what Hedo has done and then we will take a look at the player I believe that can put us over the top would do. Hedo's career  

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
00-01	SAC	74	7	16.8	0.412	0.326	0.777	0.7	2.2	2.8	0.9	0.7	0.3	0.74	1.90	5.3
01-02	SAC	80	10	24.6	0.422	0.368	0.726	0.8	3.8	4.5	2.0	0.7	0.4	1.01	2.30	10.1
02-03	SAC	67	11	17.5	0.422	0.372	0.800	0.5	2.3	2.8	1.3	0.4	0.2	0.75	1.90	6.7
03-04	SAS	80	44	25.9	0.406	0.419	0.708	0.7	3.8	4.5	1.9	1.0	0.4	1.18	2.10	9.2
04-05	ORL	67	11	26.2	0.419	0.380	0.836	0.9	2.6	3.5	2.3	0.6	0.3	1.78	2.10	14.0
05-06	ORL	78	59	33.5	0.454	0.403	0.861	0.9	3.4	4.3	2.8	0.9	0.3	1.67	3.00	14.9
06-07	ORL	73	73	31.1	0.419	0.388	0.781	0.8	3.2	4.0	3.2	1.0	0.2	1.96	3.00	13.3
07-08	ORL	82	82	36.9	0.456	0.400	0.829	1.0	4.7	5.7	5.0	0.9	0.3	3.00	3.00	19.5
08-09	ORL	77	77	36.6	0.413	0.356	0.807	0.6	4.7	5.3	4.9	0.8	0.2	2.65	2.80	16.8
Career	--	678	374	27.9	0.428	0.385	0.801	0.8	3.5	4.2	2.7	0.8	0.2	1.65	2.50	12.3

  Now lets look at Grant hills career  

Career Season Averages

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
94-95	DET	70	69	38.3	0.477	0.148	0.732	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.0	1.8	0.9	2.89	2.90	19.9
95-96	DET	80	80	40.8	0.462	0.192	0.751	1.6	8.2	9.8	6.9	1.2	0.6	3.29	3.00	20.2
96-97	DET	80	80	39.3	0.496	0.303	0.711	1.5	7.5	9.0	7.3	1.8	0.6	3.24	2.30	21.4
97-98	DET	81	81	40.7	0.452	0.143	0.740	1.1	6.5	7.7	6.8	1.8	0.6	3.52	2.40	21.1
98-99	DET	50	50	37.0	0.479	0.000	0.752	1.3	5.8	7.1	6.0	1.6	0.5	3.68	2.30	21.1
99-00	DET	74	74	37.5	0.489	0.347	0.795	1.3	5.3	6.6	5.2	1.4	0.6	3.24	2.60	25.8
00-01	ORL	4	4	33.3	0.442	1.000	0.615	2.0	4.3	6.3	6.3	1.2	0.5	2.75	2.30	13.8
01-02	ORL	14	14	36.6	0.426	0.000	0.863	2.1	6.9	8.9	4.6	0.6	0.3	2.64	2.90	16.8
02-03	ORL	29	29	29.1	0.492	0.250	0.819	1.4	5.7	7.1	4.2	1.0	0.4	2.90	1.60	14.5
04-05	ORL	67	67	34.9	0.509	0.231	0.821	1.1	3.6	4.7	3.3	1.5	0.4	2.40	2.10	19.7
05-06	ORL	21	17	29.2	0.490	0.250	0.765	0.7	3.1	3.8	2.3	1.1	0.3	1.67	2.40	15.1
06-07	ORL	65	64	30.9	0.518	0.167	0.765	0.8	2.8	3.6	2.1	0.9	0.4	2.22	2.20	14.4
07-08	PHX	70	68	31.7	0.503	0.317	0.867	1.1	4.0	5.0	2.9	0.9	0.8	1.37	2.20	13.1
08-09	PHX	82	68	29.8	0.523	0.316	0.808	0.8	4.2	4.9	2.3	1.1	0.7	1.54	2.20	12.0
Career	--	787	765	35.7	0.486	0.278	0.764	1.3	5.3	6.6	4.7	1.4	0.6	2.70	2.40	18.5
All-Star	--	6	6	22.2	0.571	0.500	0.545	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.2	1.2	0.2	1.67	1.20	10.5

  Grant Hill made just short of 2 million dollars last year which was a bargain for his talents but is kept in perspective due to his past injury issues. Grant Hill has played on 3 different teams and all the teams he went to were always in transition. He went to Detroit after the break up of the bad boys. Hill went to Orlando after Shaq left town, and he went to Phoenix when they were changing ownership, upper management, coaches, and style of play. Hill wants to win a championship and to get paid at the same time. I can not think of any other team that can offer him the same package Portland can.  

• Hill plays 15 to 18 feet from the basket which is perfect for Nates offense.
• Hill can still get his own shot when he wants to.
• Hill was the 3rd or 4th option in the offense in Phoenix, which would work out great for Portland.
• At this stage in his career, Hill does not need a majority of the minutes.
• Hill would add the veteran leadership quality both on and off the court.
• You wouldn't need to sign him anything past 3 years at the most.
• Hill would be far cheaper then Hedo
• Hill beat Hedo in almost every statistical stat last year except for scoring and that was a minus 6. Hedo also beat Hill in 3 point percentage, but Hill doesn't take very many 3pt shots at all.  
• Hill has a very high basketball IQ that Portland wants.
• Hill could be signed (more then what he made in Phoenix) and Portland could go and spend money on a defensive player like Dahntay Jones. Jones can play the perimeter defense that Portland (and Greg Oden) needs and still come in under the cap.
• Brining in Hill would not be as threatening to Rudy as Hedo was due to the age factor.
• Hill can teach these blazers all the tricks of the trade that only a grade A veteran like Hill knows
• Hill is and has always been a character guy.

   All and all, despite Hills age I think that Hill would by far be the better player that Portland needs. Sure we would need to pay him more then what other teams would and he would need to be sold on the championship window that is opening; but I think it can be done. This would be comparable to when Portland brought in Scottie Pippen. Before people point out his age please keep in mind that I already know that; even at his age he is a better defender then Hedo and half of the guys in the league are today in their 20's.   Am I far out in left field in this one? What is your opinion?   Todd Wilsonville