I look at the battle for the starting SF spot and it looks to me like the blazers could use a playerlike Marty to start at SF. He really is the perfect fit for the blazers SF needs. All the players competing for that spot have some issues.

First, Rudy is a SG which doesn't help his chances plus he can't play a lick of defense( the only thing that will keep him from playing tons of minutes this year).

Outlaw doesn't seem to fit too well because he has to have the ball in his hands a lot and takes shots in bunches which is great on the second team, not so great in a lineup that featues Roy and Aldridge. Plus Outlaw's defense isn't exactly a strength.

Then we come to Batum, his defense is certainly better than either Rudy or Outlaw but he is a rookie, and I can't get too excited about him starting, although I think he probably will. Another thing about him is through the preseason games he has not proven that he can shoot the ball consistently which is something that the blazers could use from the SF spot, especially open threes.

I guess I say all that to say that we need to appreciate Marty. He is the perfect fit for our starting 3. He is a really good spot up three point shooter, and his defense is becoming a strength, and those are the two things that the blazers need from that SF position. Its just a shame he had to get hurt because I really think he was ready to be more consistant and have a breakout season. I hope he still does.

I was listening to one of the podcasts that Dave was on a few weeks ago and they brought up the possibility of trading for Vince Carter. If the blazers could get him for Raef's expiring contract and maybe a combination of Outlaw, Bayless, and Webster I think it would be a great trade. I haven't heard anything about Vince being a "bad guy" and while he has been criticized for not taking the ball to the hole as much as he should he still is a dynamic scorer that can score from anywhere on the court.

On the podcast they even likened him a little to Rasheed as far as not really wanting to be the main guy in the spotlight. I don't know if that is true but if it is it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing with the team the blazers have.

Being a small forward, he would also address the blazer's only "weak spot" in their starting lineup. Just think how awesome the blazer's starting lineup would be. Oden, Aldridge, Carter, Roy, and Blake, I mean this would cause many sleepless nights for a lot of NBA defensive coaches.

With that lineup I don't know how you could argue that the blazers would not be legit championship contenders right away. You may say that it would hurt long term but they are not going to be able to keep all these players anyway plus you still have Rudy and Outlaw, Bayless, or Webster coming off the bench.

The question is if the nets would do it, but it seems to me that it would make sense for them too. They would get Raef's giant expiring contract which would help create cap space plus they would get two quality young players. They aren't going to be able to win anything with Vince now so they may as well get what they can for him. Maybe the Nets wouldn't make the trade, but if they would I think it would be great for the blazers and make them instant contenders.

What do you guys think?

A few posts back ben wrote about Greg Oden not watching any of the Blazer summer league games. I would fall into the catagory of fans that it does bother a little that he didn't watch Jerryd Bayless any. It seems to  me that if your driving desire was to win an NBA title and there was going to be a core of about seven guys that are going to help you accomplish that goal and one of them was playing that you would at least want to watch him play.

From what I have heard it sounds like Gred has a good work ethic and what not, but does he have it. Does he have the burning desire inside of him to spend working on his game. Is he not satisfied with being great but being the best. Greg Oden has the talent to be the best center of all time, but does he have the desire that other great ones had. That is one of the reasons that I almost leaned toward Kevin Durant in the draft two years ago. Not because he was more talented but because I heard that he was a gym rat and that he was constantly trying to get better. I'm not saying that Greg Oden won't be good or even great. All I know is that Michael Jordan had "it" and he won six titles. I know thats what Portland wants. The question is does Greg have "It"?