Lots of good stuff in here:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=25867

A few tidbits:

Jeff(Bakersfield, Ca): Will Greg Oden ever be better then Joel Pryzbilla?

 John Hollinger: Yes, of course he will; in fact he might be already on a different team, but Przybilla's skills fit this group really well. I mentioned this in the Insider Gems yesterday, but if you break it down Oden's actually had a pretty good rookie season -- he just needs to stay on the floor.

BONUS:  SOME TEXT FROM THAT INSIDER ARITCLE:

Oden's season PER is now 18.03, which is pretty darn good for a rookie that everyone's falling all over themselves to call a disappointment. He's averaging 16.2 points and 12.9 boards per 40 minutes, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor, and leads the NBA in Offensive Rebound Rate. The jury's still out as to whether he'll be a franchise center, or if he'll prove to be a better player than Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, but for a rookie coming off microfracture surgery you could do a lot worse than this.

Jay (Burke, VA) [via mobile]: Who is the one team the Lakers hope goes/stays in the 2,3,6, and 7 bracket and they avoid until the WCF?

 John Hollinger: Portland, I believe. Blazers are probably playing the best of that gang right now and have fared pretty well against L.A. over the past couple years.

Shawn (Dallas, TX): Dude, is this a Portland chat? my edit: (ROOOOOOOFL) Shaq and CP3 to Dallas next year?? Cuban is one of the few willing to take on big contracts!!

AND THERE'S A TON MORE CHECK IT OUT OMG (heinrich, eating in portland, KP and the trade deadline, Nate props, etc etc etc etc!)

I'll leave you with this:

Disgruntled Nation: Next time, warn us when it's going to be a Portland chat and we'll tune in another time.

 John Hollinger: Hey, I can only answer what's asked.

Buwhahahahahaha!

Note the bold italics:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=TradeWatchBigs-090129

Raef LaFrentz, Blazers
LaFrentz has what NBA GMs are calling a "super-expiring contract." Not only does his $12.7 million salary come off the books this summer, but insurance is paying 80 percent of it. Add in that the Blazers have other young players like Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw whom they could throw in a deal, and a team looking to clear some cap space and develop young talent would have to take a hard look at a deal with Portland.

The biggest question surrounding a Blazers deal at the moment: Does any GM in the league really want to do Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard any favors after his team threatened to sue all the owners in the league over the Darius Miles fiasco? More than one GM has told me no.

Chance of trade: 50 percent

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3855045

Sources: Johnson turns down Grizzlies

really?  75 words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words

words words words words words words words words words words words ?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-01-09-barkley-results_N.htm

Clearly traumatized about the entire Darius Miles situation, Charles Barkley retreats for a bit.  Stay classy Chuck.

dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles dariusmiles

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/2008-06-26-3029128338_x.htm

Kind of lost in the flurry was this move.  I know there are a lot of BE'ers who were big fans of James Jones.  I was never one of them.  I think he was decent for us, but I also think he's deluding himself if he thinks he's going to make a bunch more money and/or become an impact player somewhere else. 

See ya James.

I'm jumping the gun a little bit, but the 2007-2008 season is almost in the books.  Close enough...

I want to personally thank the folks I've spent hours upon hours discussing Blazer junk with this season.  I also want to thank Dave and newcomer Ben for their fine work, for their hard work.  This has got to be one of the finest team blogs in the universe.  The discussion is almost always top notch, the disagreements are usually civil, and the knowledge is immense.  I learn something new every day I come here.

I also want to thank the Blazer franchise for getting its act together so quickly.  Thanks Paul Allen for coming to your senses regarding the Rose Garden, for cleaning out the scum and luring one of the finest young GM's around, for allowing yourself to become a fan with us - that's all we ever wanted.  Thanks KP for drafting so well, thanks for creating an atmosphere around the team that we can be proud of.  Thanks for working with us, rather than against us, thanks for the transparency and the honesty.  And lastly thank you to every single player on the roster.  We criticize, we yell and scream, we make impatient declarations about how much playing time you deserve, we mock, we love, we hate.  But mostly we love.  There isn't a player on the roster I wouldn't want to shake hands with.  This group made me love the team again, and I can't thank them enough for that.

2008-2009 can't get here soon enough.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/120727952244330.xml&coll=7

Didn't this older couple just get robbed a few weeks ago?  I wonder if the stress contributed to his heart attack at all.  That poor lady :(

I'm glad at least something good for these little girls came of the whole situation.

Hollinger took a question in his chat today about Dunleavy being the front-runner for Most Improved.  

I decided to look at the numbers:

Dunleavy:

Year/team   PPG   FG%  RPG  APG  TO

06-07 IND   14.0  45%  5.7  2.6  1.8
07-08 IND   18.7  48%  5.2  3.4  2.2

Team record 06-07:  35-47
Team record 07-08:  31-43

LMA:

Year/team   PPG   FG%  RPG  APG  TO

06-07 POR    9.0  50%  5.0   .4   .68
07-08 POR   17.8  49%  7.4  1.6  1.16

Team record 06-07:  32-50
Team record 07-08:  38-36

Please, someone tell me what I am missing here

And other random tidbits...

- http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

Portland:  ODDS (%) = .01

So you're saying there's a chance!

http://www.ryanglanzer.com/movies/0120/dumber.png

In today's Tribune.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=120484313921832200

Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno,
Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno,
Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno,
Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno,
Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno, Bill Bayno,
Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayno

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=19285

Dan (Portland): Chad, will the Blazers make any moves by the deadline?

Chad Ford: They are really working the phones. They are trying to snag either an elite young point guard (they were trying to get in the mix for Devin Harris) or a nice young small forward (they've been canvassing the league with an eye for players like Danny Granger). They have a lot of young assets, but they don't have big contracts that allow them to take back a big salary. I think anyone other than Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden can be had for the right price.

Later in same chat (love the slams at the Hawks franchise):

matt (ATL): In response to the blazers question, do you think they could work something out for Marvin Williams? Perhaps, Jarrett Jack, Martell Webster, and Channing Fry?

Chad Ford: That's the type of player they're looking for but everyone I speak with says that Atlanta is a mess and doesn't know what they're doing. Some of that is Billy Knight. Some of it is the ongoing ownership dispute which puts every transaction in question. I can't understand why David Stern hasn't gotten more involved here. You have a team basically in limbo now for 2 years.

There are 29 other NBA teams going through the same rigors that the Blazers are.  Arguably there are other teams going through a greater volume of and/or worse day-today issues than the Blazers are.

You think the Blazers are fatigued?  How about the Knicks?  How about the T-Wolves?  How about Miami?  Hell, how about the Lakers, Phoenix, Cleveland, Dallas?  Those teams are surrounded by drama and huge expectations (not to mention the media) every day of the season.

Yet you don't hear those teams whining about road trips, fatigue, having to play lots of basketball games, being away from their children blah blah blah blah.

I'll give you that the Blazers are tired.  I won't give you that it's a legitimate excuse for bad basketball.  And we've been seeing a lot of flat-out bad basketball lately.  I understand that that these are young players, that LMA isn't going to become a great rebounder overnight, that Outlaw isn't going to be able to get to the basket at will tomorrow, that Martell isn't going to stay focused 328 quarters this season.  But there's no excuse whatsoever for these constants: failing to get back on defense, not blocking a man out for a rebound, leaving your feet and turning the ball over, soft fouls at the rim, and more - these types of things are basketball 101.

I'm getting somewhat disturbed by the unwillingness of fans to look a little deeper when discussing the team's problems.  It almost smells like denial brought on by shock that the team isn't as good as The Streak indicated.  However, they are better than the last 10 games they've played and it's time for them to start acting like it - from the head coach on down to the 12th man

This was from today's Chad Ford Chat:

"Audel Del Toro, Los Angeles: With a healthy Andrew Bynum in the Lakers lineup and the addition of Pau Gasol is there any team in the West that can compete with the Lakers?"

Seriously?  How about Phoenix, Dallas, SA, NO, for starters?  

You'd think the above is a whacky way of thinking, but it's not.  Gleeful Laker fans are infesting every forum I post on except this one with this sort of talk.

It's Pau freakin' Gasol.  PAU GASOL.  Nobody knew who he was three years ago, now he's suddenly the piece that puts this Laker team above teams who've been a factor the past few seasons, namely SA, Dall, and Pho?  C'mon now.  Thinking Gasol is your final piece to a title run is as crazy as thinking Andrew Bynum, who's had one decent half a season under his belt (13 ppg, 10 rpg), is the game's best new big man.  It's insanity.  Laker fans need to calm down and remember that they're currently 5th seed in the West and in danger of becoming 6th.  

To conclude, the Lakers are not the scariest team in the West.  Furthermore, I believe that a Laker-bashing diary is always welcome here.

I keep reading about how astonished Blazer fans are that suddenly "the open shots aren't falling" and how maybe that accounts for the recent spate of sketchy play.  

The Blazers have very little proven outside shooting.  So if you are surprised the shots suddenly aren't falling, maybe you shouldn't be.  And if the team continues to game-plan around chucking up outside jumpers, I'm guessing we can kiss the play-offs good-bye.

To the stats we go:

Sergio: Career 40% FG shooter

James Jones:  Career 40.5% FG shooter

Martell Webster:  Career 40.3% FG shooter

Steve Blake: Career 41% FG shooter

Jarrett Jack:  Career 44% FG shooter

Travis Outlaw: Career 45% FG shooter

Brandon Roy:  Career 46% FG shooter

Channing Frye:  Career 46% FG shooter

LMA:  Career 49% shooter

Joel Przbilla:  Career 54% shooter

The only shooter above 50% career takes 3 shots per game (Prz).  Other than Josh McRoberts, Prz, and Raef, there's not a legitimate scoring Blazer in the top 100 in the NBA in FG%.  LMA is at #104 and then after that the next Blazer shooters are Channing Frye and James Jones tied at #148.  Brandon Roy, the only non-center/forward on the team in the top 175 in the league, is at #170.  

So where is all this fantastic outside shooting?  Why do people insist that this is a great shooting team?  That the problem is "shots aren't falling"?  Have we ever played poker?  Do we understand how a bad player can win in the short term?  Same concept applies to below-average shooters shooting lights out for a stretch of 10-15 games.  Martell has a beautiful shooting form and can get streaky hot, but the numbers say he can't shoot consistently.  James Jones was red-hot for a month, but he's never shot above 42% in a single season (22%, 39%, 42%, 37%) of his NBA career.  THose numbers are actually really pathetic for a 'shooter' Travis Outlaw makes some key outside jumpers, but overall he's shooting 45% from the floor which isn't terrible and isn't great.  Problem with Travis is that he can dunk and/or get fouled at will, and instead he frequently settles for isolation fadeaways with a bunch time left on the shot clock.  LMA and Frye can hit from the outside on occasion, but do you really want your 6'11" center/forwards shooting 20-footers all game???  Who's gonna rebound?  The answer is and obviously has been all season:  "nobody"

Took him seeing the Blazers in person for the first time this season, and it still kind of sounds like he can't quite grasp the concept behind why the team is so good, but finally Hollinger - sort of - jumps on the bandwagon:

http://www.nysun.com/article/70046

300 characters, 300 characters, 300 characters, 300 characters.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

Maybe this has been posted before here somewhere already, I don't care, it's kind of exciting.

81.7% means that more fans should be preparing to factor playoff tickets into their budgets and that more national media should start wondering how the Blazers will match-up vs. one of the top four teams in the West.

I don't want to jinx it but...81.7%...