Last year, it became clear in the playoffs that we needed to make some changes in order to go farther than the 1st round in 2009.  The main problems were that we didn't have a PG who could keep up with Aaron Brooks and we didn't have anyone who could create their own offense other than Roy.  I have to credit Roy because he did all he could, but the rest of the team always just stood around and allowed the Houston defense to key in on our playmaker.

During the summer, we acquired a new PG.  Maybe not everyone's first choice, but he was definitely an upgrade.  I, for one, was pleased with the move.  Next came summer league.  Nate said he hadn't decided on a starting PG yet.  Ok, ok, whatever Nate.  We all knew who the better PG was -- the numbers spoke for themselves.  I won't get into them, as others on BE already have, but Miller has had much better career averages. 

Jump to the 2009 season.  So far this year, there have been exciting moments, there have been scream at your tv moments, and there have been moments of wondering just what the coaching staff has going through their minds.  The 3 guard lineup was an interesting idea, and I think it was worth trying, but it clearly wasn't permanent.  Mostly, it hurt our rebounding numbers, made it more difficult to guard larger lineups, and made Roy uncomfortable by playing out of his natural position.  

Kudos to Nate for recognizing that the 3 guard lineup wasn't the answer.  However, is what we've gone to really the difference maker?  I think most people have high expectations for the team, even hopes for a championship.  Nate was quoted last night as saying that the lineup of Blake, Roy, Webster, Aldridge, and Oden is the lineup that he's sticking with moving forward.  It's my opinion that this lineup is really the same as what we had last year.  Sure, there are minor differences, like Webster instead of Batum and Miller instead of Sergio.

Right, but Miller instead of Sergio is a huge difference, isn't it?  You'd think so, but I'd argue that the way Nate is playing Miller he might as well be Sergio.  Here are the pros of Miller: He can create his own offense, he creates offense for others, he opens up the fast break for the team, and he makes our bigs (primarily Aldridge and Oden) better.  I know he hasn't been playing amazing, but I think that could partially be attributed to lack of playing time and frustration at seeing a lesser player start ahead of him.  Competition at a position is good to spur some players into playing harder, but it doesn't always work.  I wouldn't be surprised if Miller is beyond frustrated and maybe isn't caring as much, as a result.

So what's really going on?  Why is Blake starting?  Maybe the team thinks he fits in better with the starters while Miller fits in better with the second unit.  Maybe Nate is more comfortable with Blake since he's been with the team longer and generally doesn't make many mistakes on the court.  Maybe Roy likes playing with Blake more because it allows him to be the primary playmaker on the court.  

As my title says, though, what we've reverted back to is what we already tried last year.  We already know it didn't work.  The x-factor is Oden.  Is he the difference maker that will push the team to the next level?  I think he definitely could be, but I also think we need to put Miller in the starting unit.  YES, THE TEAM WILL NEED TO ADJUST, especially Roy, but if they're able to, the team should be able to reap the benefits.

I am of the party that believes the Blazers won't make any more trades before the season starts.  I believe that until Martell Webster can show that he's ready to be a contributor, we won't be getting rid of Outlaw.  However, Outlaw is that odd man out right now.  He's expendable and a decent trade asset.  For the sake of discussion purposes (since there hasn't been a ton of activity on BE lately), let's think of how we could use our leftover cap space + Outlaw to get one last rotation player before the season starts.

As Dave cleared up yesterday, we'll have about 3.6 million after the summer holds on Viktor Claver, Petteri Koponen, and Joel Freeland are taken off.  However, we also still  need to sign Cunningham and Pendergraph to contracts.  They're expected to take the minimum rookie salary, though, so when everything is said and done we'll have around 2.7 million in cap space.  Potentially, if we were to trade Outlaw, we could make it a lopsided trade if there was a team willing to dump some salary.  So the question is, who's available for trade and is worth around 6.3 million (cap space + Outlaw's value)?

The other factor to consider is need.  What do we still need?  I came into the summer thinking we'd need a starting PG and a backup PF who could be a "banger" and solid rebounder.  We've added the first part with Miller, but still need someone to backup LaMarcus off the bench.  You could argue that Cunningham or Pendergraph will fill that void, but I don't think they're quite ready yet; especially when we will hopefully be competing for a title this year. 

My idea is fairly simple.  I think we should go after Ronny Turiaf or Carl Landry.  Neither of these guys would take up all of the remaining cap space, but they'd both be good fits, in my opinion.  However, I don't think that doing a straight up Outlaw for Turiaf or Outlaw for Landry trade is plausible.  Houston really needs a center more than anything and the Warriors already have 7 players listed at the SF position.  I'm sure Outlaw would play PF for them, but I don't think they'd really want another player that replicates others on the team. 

So, who's the 3rd team to involve in one of these trades?  Memphis?  Any other trade ideas?

Note: This isn't a post on who to trade for or sign, except for this quick intro.

Hypothetically, say this scenario happens:

1.  Give Millsap an offer that the Jazz can't match.  He joins the Blazers.

2.  Trade Outlaw and Blake for Hinrich.

Our roster for next year would look like this:

Hinrich/Bayless

Roy/Fernandez

Batum/Webster

Aldridge/Millsap

Oden/Pryzbilla

When I look at this roster, I think it looks pretty solid.  Our 2 main priorities this offseason were to gain a starting PG and a backup PF.  This scenario adds both missing pieces.  However, the Blazers haven't seemed to have the same offseason priorities as many of the fans have.  Throwing 50 million at a SF, not a PF or PG, seemed rather unnecessary and confusing to me.  I eventually came around to the idea, but since that trade didn't happen,  I've had this lingering concern of wanting to know why we've been chasing after SF's so much. Then it dawned on me:

What if Webster still isn't ready by next year and Batum is our only SF after trading away Outlaw?  I know that there have been some positive reports lately on Webster, but at this point, I don't really know what to trust.  I do know that if there were concerns of the injury being worse than the Blazers were letting on, those concerns probably wouldn't surface until the free agency period was over.  I also know that Webster's injury has taken longer to heal than we were originally told. Now, I may be paranoid about this, but after hearing that Bayless and Oden didn't actually train together this summer, I'm not sure what is truth and what is not.

I would love it if we had a healthy Martell for the season.  I don't think we'd need anyone else and that him and Batum would be an excellent one, two punch.  However, what if he's not ready?  What if his foot never fully heals?  I want to know what the Blazers will do then and if, by scouring the SF free agency pool, they're already readying themselves for this possibility.

I returned home from a trip to the beach late last night to see that Turkoglu had changed his mind and ended up signing with Toronto.  I'd initially been extremely anti-Turkoglu, but I had started to come around to the idea as he would take pressure off Roy and help Oden get more involved.  Now that he's unavailable, what other options are out there and which ones are realistic with our cap space?

I've been a little confused to see all the stories about the Blazers going after David Lee.  Maybe I'm missing something here, but signing someone like Lee to a large contract just to play backup doesn't make much sense to me.  I feel like we still need to address the PG problem, too, and it seems like that's not a high priority for the Blazers right now.  I think Bayless will eventually be the answer, but not this next year.  Therefore, here are my cap space ideas.  Feel free to disagree or tell me they're not possible, but I want to throw them out there and hear opinions.

1. Sign Ramon Sessions.  I think out of every possible PG option, Ramon Sessions is the best option as far as skill vs. cost go.  Sure, I'd love to see Rondo or Harris, but I don't want to totally disrupt our team in the process.  Hinrich is also a nice option and I thought he would have been perfect with the signing of Turkoglu, but now that that option has passed, I think we need more of a playmaker.  Hinrich is a great defender and is a decent spot up shooter, but he's not going to create as much as a player like Sessions will.  We need someone who can take their defender off the dribble to take some pressure off of Roy.  Sessions can do that and his ceiling is extremely high. 

However, the Bucks are looking like they'll want to retain him.  This doesn't mean that the Blazers won't be able to steal him away, but it means it will be more difficult.  How much should the Blazers offer for Sessions so that the Bucks won't match it, but so that we still have extra space to sign a back up PF (reminder: the Gilbert Arenas rule is in affect here for Sessions)?  This brings me to my next suggestion.

2.  Sign Brandon Bass.  Bass seems to be a fan favorite here on Blazer's Edge and I think he could be a great fit.  He is a much more realistic option than Lee or Millsap, too, as he is cheaper and probably wouldn't demand as many minutes.  However, many teams are interested in him and will we have enough cap space left over after signing a player like Sessions? 

3.  The above two options would solve our biggest needs.  At this point, though, I'd want to do a trade of Blake, Outlaw, and maybe one of our recent draft picks for a starting SF.  Here's where I'll leave it up to suggestions.  I'd love to have a Gerald Wallace, Shane Battier, or Caron Butler, but I think those 3 are a little unreachable.  Any other suggestions for someone that could start for us for the next year while Batum gets a little more experience?  What about Grant Hill? 

In summary, we'd be signing Sessions and Bass while trading Blake and Outlaw for Hill (lopsided trade to clear up cap space).  The 2010 lineup would look like this:

Sessions/Bayless/Mills

Roy/Fernandez

Hill/Batum/Webster

Aldridge/Bass/Pendergraph

Oden/Pryzbilla

We all know the Blazers need two spots filled this off-season: a starting PG and a backup PF.  Tons of names have been flying around these boards, but to me, there are only 2 clear options at PG and 2 clear options at PF.  The question is, which combination of the 2?

At PG, I like Mike Conley Jr. and Ramon Sessions, but right now I'm leaning a little more towards Sessions due to the fact that the Bucks might be letting him go for nothing because of his high contract demands.  However, both are young, have room to grow, and can probably be obtained without giving up one of our main 7 players.

At PF, I like Dejuan Blair and Brandon Bass.  Again, while I'd be happy with either, I think Bass will be easier to acquire since he is a free agent and Dejuan Blair is in the draft (and rising higher every day).  Both these players can be a rebounding force and can even help out some on the offense.  Plus, I don't believe either of them is expecting a starting role next season.  Is this correct?

So, having a combo of either Conley and Blair, Conley and Bass, Sessions and Blair, or Sessions and Bass are what I think the Blazers need.  I'm leaning towards Sessions and Bass, though. 

With those players added, this is how I'd like the top 10 positions to look like next year:

Sessions/Bayless

Roy/Fernandez

Batum/Webster

Aldridge/Bass

Oden/Pryzbilla

Are there any other better combinations of starting PG and backup PF out there?  Let's be realistic, too, as I don't want to trade the whole team to get someone like CP3, even though that would be awesome. 

Finally, who do you think KP is going after?  I know he likes Sessions for sure.  He also likes Rubio, but that's a whole other discussion.