SB Nation User Blog: grigs

Roy's Goal: All Defensive Team

grigs — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:18:17 -0000

Roy's Goal: All Defensive Team

For all of the coverage of media day, I've been surprised that no one has discussed the fact that Roy has made making the All Defensive Team one of his goals for the year.

I'm guessing he didn't mention it during the interviews with the media, but he did mention during his Blazers chat with fans on media day. Here is the video:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2245575

Jump to 14:30 in the video to here him talk about the challenge given to him to step up on defense and accepting the challenge by making the All Defensive Team his goal.

If all he does is become an outspoken leader on defense like he is in other facets of the game, the Blazers really could make a big jump in defense this year.

Portland Signs Udoka

grigs — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:37:52 -0000

Portland Signs Udoka

Wow. Didn't expect that.

"Paul Millsap has got more game than anyone knows"

grigs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:39:43 -0000

"Paul Millsap has got more game than anyone knows"

"However, Vartanian says Millsap is more than just a blue-collar bruiser inside. He says he can play three positions - small forward, power forward and center - and has an outside shot that was rarely, if ever seen in Utah because coach Jerry Sloan wanted him to anchor the paint."

Ok, this article gets me excited about Millsap. Combined with the word out of Utah that it might be hard to move Boozer and match Millsap, I'm starting to get my hopes up a little that we might actually get Millsap.

What is a 'toxic' offer? How about $10.3 million up front?

grigs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:06:01 -0000

What is a 'toxic' offer? How about $10.3 million up front?

"The Trail Blazers four-year, $32 million offer to Utah power forward Paul Millsap is front-loaded with what is essentially a $10.3 million signing bonus that must be paid within the first seven days of the contract being approved, according to the player's agent."

Quick: Paul Allen Absolutely Behind BRoy Contract Issues

grigs — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:25:17 -0000

Quick: Paul Allen Absolutely Behind BRoy Contract Issues

UPDATE: I took the time to type up a transcript. The relevant sections start at the 8 minute mark.
http://audio.1080thefan.com/m/audio/24844918/jason-quick-7-10-09.htm

Radio Host: "So that’s where this is comes from? From Paul Allen?"

Quick: "Absolutely. I think so. I don’t think there is any question. Yes. I’m going to say yes.."

Host: "Ok, so that brings up the point that if you’re Kevin Pritchard and he’s interfering like that and obviously it makes Pritchard look terrible, so at what point does Kevin Pritchard have a problem with Paul Allen and then you’ve got a big mess on your hands?"

Quick: "Well, I think we’re already to that point."

Host: "You think Prtichard is bothered by all this?"

Quick: "He’s frustrated. Yes."

It’s worth a listen.

----

Interview with 1080 the fan this afternoon. Quick says the problem comes from Paul Allen. He says Pritchard is frustrated.

The point of interest is that Quick says Paul Allen's health has been poor and kept him away from the team some.

This could make some sense. If Paul Allen is under the weather, he might be handing off more decision-making to the Vulcans. This would explain a lot of the actions--particularly as it pertains to the Roy contract negotiations.

How to Tell if Blazers are Angling to Get in on a Boozer Trade

grigs — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:15:14 -0000

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:

Utah decides against matching.
Utah matches.
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.

Monty Williams might be a top candidate for Wolves

grigs — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:16:59 -0000

Monty Williams might be a top candidate for Wolves

The Portland assistant coach believes he is ready to lead a team, and the Timberwolves could be just the right fit.

Blazers make play for Turkoglu

grigs — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:32:32 -0000

Blazers make play for Turkoglu

While negotiations across the league were in the early stages, a person with knowledge of the discussions said the Blazers are trying to lure Turkoglu with a deal in the $50-million range. Contracts cannot be signed until July 7, when the annual moratorium on signing and trading players is lifted.

Why did we trade Diogu? Trade Exception Question

grigs — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:28:36 -0000

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?

Portland Contacted Charles Oakley about Big Man Coaching

grigs — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:13:46 -0000

Portland Contacted Charles Oakley about Big Man Coaching

"Oakley also was contacted by Portland officials who suspect it might be good for the team’s health if a trace of his brutish attitude rubbed off on Greg Oden"

UPDATE: As pointed out by DephlatorMouse below, the article layout has changed a little since I originally posted it and the bit about the Blazers is now on page 1 instead of page 2. I originally linked to page 2.

If you open the link and don't see the paragraph about the Blazers, look through the whole article. It may move around again. :-(