Watching Denver reminded me of my dislike of J.R. Smith. He may actually be a nice guy, but he has always rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyways, it got me thinking about the "bad guys" in the league. The people who fans of other teams love to hate. Some times it's the star players like Lebron and Kobe. Other times it is a role player who just strikes the fan base wrong whether it be for cheap shots or devastating shots (Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen and Bill Laimbeer come to mind).

So here's the real question on my mind. Who are the players on the current Blazer roster that fans of other teams hate? Any particular fan base dislike a certain player?

I was reticent to start a new thread about Rudy, but it seems like none of the other threads have tackled Rudy's situation with a mind towards what's practical at this point.

In particular, with Rudy saying that he doesn't want to play in the NBA any more, what is the best course of action for the team?

Let's set aside for the moment our feelings about whether or not Rudy is being overly dramatic or wimping out on the NBA. Let's take him at his word for the moment. (As an aside, the fact that he has nixed trades and decreased his trade value by saying he wants to go back to Europe makes me believe him. He's not holding out for a trade.)

So what are the real options for the team:

• Keep Rudy for the season. Hope he finds a way to enjoy the season and contribute in some small way. Deal with the sideshow all year. Let him go at the end of the year without any compensation and he returns to Europe.
• Hope the Right Trade Will Change His Mind About NBA. He says he doesn't want to talk about Chicago, New York, etc., but perhaps you can get some other teams interested and they talk to him about why he should come to their team. He gets excited about it and then has trade value. Seems unlikely to me that you're both find someone interested in trading for him, get something of value for him, and convince him that he should stay beyond the year in the NBA.
• Negotiate a Waiver. Let him out of his contract so he can return to Europe. Assume you don't have to pay him this year. The disadvantages to this are that you don't get anything of value for letting him go, and it seems like you can't let him go without worrying about the possibility that he could suddenly sign on with another NBA team. I'm not worried about getting value for him because he's walking at the end of the season anyways and he has killed the value. But I do worry that if you let him go to Europe, he has to really go to Europe. Not sure if you can structure a deal that way.
• Negotiate a Waiver and Get Compensated from European Team. There have been rare instances where NBA teams have been paid by European teams to let a player go to Europe. Perhaps you can get some compensation back for letting him go.
• Use his contract as trade filler. Waive after trade deadline. Hold onto him until after the trade deadline in case you find a trade that looks good but needs his contract to make the dollar amounts match. At this point, you're assuming that Rudy is simply going to be waived by the team that takes him because he doesn't want to play in the NBA any more. You put up with the discontent in the locker room until you find a deal that works or the deadline arrive.

Are there other options I'm missing? It seems like the attractive options for the Blazers are pretty limited here. When I look at the list, using him as trade filler or getting compensated from Europe seem like the best the organization can hope for.

What do you think? Please try to limit your comments to options for how to move forward with Rudy given what he has said instead of grousing about him. There are some other good threads to vent. I'm interested in what makes the most sense for the team given his comments about not wanting to play in the NBA which limits the team's options substantially. 

Since the Millsap news dropped last night, there have been several comments and fan posts proposing that the Blazers are trying to force Utah to include them in a three-way trade that ships Boozer to another time, give Utah cap space to sign Millsap, and gets Portland a player that they covet.

If you are interested in reading the tea leaves on whether this is a possibility or not, all you have to do is watch for how quickly Millsap is extended the offer. If an offer is extended, the Blazers are likely playing for keeps and it is extremely unlikely they will participate in a Boozer trade.

Here's why a signed offer sheet would make a trade unlikely.

My assumptions:

• The offer sheet is one that is truly toxic for Utah. Even if they are able to clear cap space via a trade to match the offer, Utah would obviously like to pay a lower price or at minimum restructure the deal. This is particularly true if the offer contains a significant signing bonus.
• Because the offer sheet is toxic, it is very lucrative for Paul Millsap both in terms of overall money and the amount of up front money. This offer is one that he would love to have.

Once an offer is extended and agreed to, there are three possible outcomes:

1. Utah decides against matching.
2. Utah matches.
3. The offer is rescinded.

For a Boozer trade to happen with Portland, Utah would want the offer to be rescinded so that it can negotiate a less toxic contract with Millsap. This is where it becomes tricky.

The collective bargaining agreement says:

A signed offer sheet can be rescinded within the seven day waiting period if all three parties (the player and the two teams) agree.  http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q36

Going back to the assumptions, the offer is very attractive to Millsap. Why would he agree to rescind it? It is in his best interest to force either the Blazers or the Jazz to honor the terms of the offer.

Some have suggested that we could trade Millsap after signing. This is also not possible for some period of time. (http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q76).

Therefore, a signed offer sheet makes a trade involving Boozer and the Blazers much less likely.

If the Blazers want in on a Boozer trade, they should:

• Send the offer sheet to Utah first, not Millsap. Let Utah know what the Blazers intend to do and how we'd be very happy with Millsap, but how we also would like Prince/Hinrich/Someone. Are they interested in exploring that option.
  
  
• Sit on the offer sheet for a couple of days. Maybe you tell Utah that they have until end of day Friday to explore trades that involve the Blazers and Boozer. After that period of time, you're sending the offer to Millsap.
  
  
• You coordinate with Millsap's Agent. Millsap has been waiting for something to break free. You're helping this happen. So you coordinate with Millsap's agent to make sure that word gets out that Portland is a viable option and that MIllsap would be happy playing behind Aldridge. Millsap's camp does this because they know no matter what outcome happens, they are going to a good team and will get more money.

The biggest indicator of the possibility of a trade is how quickly and offer sheet is extended and signed. If it happens quickly, the Blazers want Millsap. If it takes a few days, the Blazers are working behind the scenes to see if a trade can happen.

I keep reading comments saying that we can't use the trade exceptions that we have because we need to renounce them to use our position under the cap for trading. That mostly makes sense to me.

The part that doesn't make sense is that if this is true, then why did we trade Diogu for Ruffin? We knew we were going to be under the cap come summer anyways. What was the point of that trade? 

Or are people incorrect in their descriptions of how the trade exceptions work in relation to the salary cap? 

Update: This is primarily a question about the value of the trade exception, not about whether or not Ike should have been traded. To get the trade exception, we had to insert ourselves into a deal between Sacramento and Chicago and give Sacramento $1 million dollars. So whether or not Ike or Ruffin would play is immaterial to the question. The real question is why go to the effort.

Was it simply to have the option of the exception for the short window between end of season and July 1 when we would likely renounce all the exceptions to be under the cap?

A young team takes the NBA by storm. Pundits everywhere project them to be title contenders. Preseason magazines feature them prominently on their covers.

The team? The Chicago Bulls.

As recently as three years ago, the Bulls were considered an emerging powerhouse in the East. They had a young nucleus that had overachieved at an early age. They were a hard working team that seemed to have a good mixture of talent. They were only a piece or two away from putting it all together.

I think about that Chicago team a lot as I watch the current Blazers team. I wonder what lessons can be learned from their rapid rise and descent. I fear repeating their trajectory.

More recently, Golden State seemed on a similar path towards stardom only to have their team start over again in a rebuilding phase.

Most commonly, I find myself looking for proof that this team has some characteristic that distinguishes it from other young, flash-in-the-pan teams like Chicago. I find myself hoping that Roy's leadership, Pritchard's smarts, and Oden's size set Portland apart. I wonder if the good characters on the team and the chance to win it all are enough to prevent selfishness from breaking out and destroying the promising future.

Remember, at the height of the Bull's ascension, no one was talking about selfish play, player deficiencies, etc. Everything was about potential. Sound familiar?

What do you think? Why are the Blazer 2009 not like the Bulls 2004? What sets this team apart? What gives you confidence that the team can fulfill its potential?

I was a bit surprised by this tidbit in Jason Quick's article this morning about Bayless:

"In Las Vegas, McMillan said the Blazers will begin games with point guard Petteri Koponen -- a first-round pick in 2007 who will remain overseas next season -- and Bayless at shooting guard, but that Bayless will eventually get large chunks of playing time at the point."

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1215483969201330.xml&coll=7

I had expected Koponen to have a decent shot at making the roster based on summer league play and the fact that all reports are that he is looking much better than he was in previous years.

This new strategy of drafting players and stashing them overseas is something I need to become more familiar with. Does anyone know how long San Antonio usually lets their players season overseas before bringing them over?

Chris Paul is an amazing player. I don't think Bayless will be that good. Yet, I am very thankful we didn't draft Chris Paul.

Right now, our greatest asset appear to be Kevin Pritchard. His leadership has built a team and a culture that will be with us for years.

If Portland drafts Chris Paul, I don't know that Pritchard gets a shot at the GM job. Given the choice between Chris Paul and Pritchard, I'd take KP.

So that's why I think not drafting Chris Paul has turned out so well for the Blazers.

I sent a note to Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com asking him where Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez would be drafted if they were in the draft this year. His response:

• "Oden #1, Rudy probably top-15."
  

We could potentially have the best rookie class next year without ever using our first round pick.

Has anyone else seen any handicapping of where Rudy or Greg would be in this year's draft by other draft analysts?

All season long many of us fans have been looking for current or former players who Brandon Roy reminded us of. The most common comparison I hear is between Roy and Dwayne Wade.

After watching Roy closely for the last year and half, the player that Roy reminds me of is a bit of a surprise because he isn't a basketball player and he is best known in the U.S. for actions that might draw more comparisons to Rasheed than to Roy: Zinedine Zidane.

Continue reading this post »

I just stumbled onto this reference to a Seattle Post Intelligencer article on RealGM:

"According to NBA sources, the Sonics may target Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Monty Williams to join P.J. Carlesimo's staff, which has yet to be constructed."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/47042/20070711/sonics_may_target_trail_blazers_assistant/

For some reason I thought when Dwayne Casey didn't get the Seattle job that we didn't have much to worry about Seattle poaching our coaches. When Casey was in the running, I wondered about Dean Demopoulos possibly leaving (given the debacle in Minnesota with Casey and Demopoulos, I was never seriously worried).

It seems unlikely to me that Monty would choose to leave the Blazers for Seattle's unstable situation, but it is something to keep an eye on.