SB Nation User Blog: parkinglotj

It's a bouncing baby boy! Junk Drawer 7/20

parkinglotj — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:41:14 -0000

This is baby #3. Thanks for all the kind thoughts yesterday in the JD 7/19.

I'm betting that in a few years, my wife and 3 kids will join me to take all comers. I think we've got a shot.

I'll give you the scouting report on the family:

My 4 year old boy can ... kind of ... dribble and can touch the bottom of the net on our 4 foot hoop.

My 2 year old girl can run in circle while holding a small Blazers ball in her hands. She's pretty tough. When you push her down, she'll get right back up and push you down.

My 1 day old has shown me that if one of the nurses pokes him, he'll cry. I'm thinking international rules here, but you get the drift. He'll look like Rudy or Divac on D, only better of course.

My wife hasn't played much sports, but I'm thinking that she'd have the refs on her side. She's very distracting and my little girl would get away with murder away from the ball.

Then there's me. Since there are a lot of role players here, I thinking that I can go K*be on everyone. I'm obviously not much of a teammate, just get me the ball.

Well, there you go. I'm waiting for the challenge.

Sean May to work out for the Blazers

parkinglotj — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:22:23 -0000

Sean May to work out for the Blazers

What's the thinking here?

Bucher: Booz to Det. Prince to Por. B-Rex to Utah. Dead.

parkinglotj — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:22:47 -0000

Bucher: Booz to Det. Prince to Por. B-Rex to Utah. Dead.

Actual tweet.

"Deal was Booz to Det, Prince to Por, Trade Exception + Bayless to Utah. But it won't happen."

Bass down to 3 teams (including Portland)

parkinglotj — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:52:02 -0000

Bass down to 3 teams (including Portland)

Is this the guy?

NJ drafted their PG of the future?

parkinglotj — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:37:07 -0000

NJ drafted their PG of the future?

- -(Terrence) Williams undoubtedly is one of them, as he is often compared to Andre Iguodala. Frank said he has seen him enough to reach this conclusion: "His best position may be point guard, because he has great ball skills and loves to pass." - -

Portland in the mix for NJ's #11 pick?

parkinglotj — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:31:06 -0000

Portland in the mix for NJ's #11 pick?

Key quote.

"Toward that end, they're talking to teams with multiples -- Minnesota and Chicago -- more than anyone else, with the occasional call to Portland, which wants to move its (24th) pick."

Stoudamire for Jefferson & #6 pick

parkinglotj — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:22:25 -0000

Stoudamire for Jefferson & #6 pick

Now things are going to get interesting. Who does Phoenix want at #6?

Thunder/Pistons rumor shows the possiblities

parkinglotj — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:58:05 -0000

Thunder/Pistons rumor shows the possiblities

This from DraftExpress.

"With the Detroit Pistons looking to get as far under the salary cap as they can this summer, and the Oklahoma City Thunder being one of the few teams who are able to help them shed salary, the two teams have emerged as natural trade partners, multiple NBA sources told DraftExpress this past weekend.

With very few teams projected to have cap space this summer (Oklahoma City, Memphis, Portland, Sacramento and Atlanta being the main ones), it appears that Detroit could be in great position to take advantage of the strength of this free agent class and nab a couple of pieces that would put them right back in the mix to compete for the Eastern conference finals. Detroit is currently slated to be around 20 million dollars underneath the cap, but could shed another five million or so by unloading the contracts of Amir Johnson and their first round pick (#15).

Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are reportedly high on B.J. Mullens (as is Milwaukee), and likely would be able to nab him with the 15th pick. Considering how far under the cap they’ll be this summer, they would have no problem taking on Amir Johnson’s expiring 3.66 million dollar contract. They should be able to find a suitor for their late first round pick if they choose to do so, as teams like San Antonio, Houston, Toronto and Orlando are all in the market for a draft choice in that range.

With the money Detroit frees up, they could go after their top two free agent targets, rumored to be Paul Millsap and Ben Gordon."

Not bad. Thunder end up with two good young players for basically nothing.

The small line-up

parkinglotj — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:27:19 -0000

I'm concerned.

All this talk of Outlaw on the block in almost every trade worries me. How can this be? I've proposed trades involving Outlaw, but I didn't consider the ramifications.

Here is something Ben wrote last September that I thought was interesting about Outlaw. http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/9/2/606449/a-look-at-trout-s-fgas

That is almost a year old, but I thought it interesting. Then I thought of another potential problem with trading Outlaw.

I'm not talking about B-Roy's well known friendship with Trout. I'm not talking about taking away a last minute hero in more than a few games. I'm not even talking about the guy that bridged the gaps between several players on our most favorite team.

I'm talking about our only option at PF when the small line-up goes out on the floor.

How many times this year did Nate go to this line-up? More than I can count.

If Outlaw is traded, who you going to put there? LMA, no. He's the center in that line-up. How about Batum? no. He's way to small. Ditto for Martell.

Maybe Nate would go a different route, but it seems that a LOT of teams use this tactic on a regular basis. Do we want to match up with them or go super big with 2 of Oden, Pryz and LMA. It seems that Nate would want more options.

If Outlaw is traded, it is my opinion KP must add a player similar to him either through the draft or in FA. While I'm not opposed to trading Outlaw, it would open another hole to fill.

It's time for the 6th man to step it up [Edit:] that means us

parkinglotj — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:39:31 -0000

As I watched game 5 from section 330, it came to me. Our vocal crowd had no chanting tendancies. Other than the very common "Here we go, Blazers, here we go" on offense and "De-fense, De-fense" when Portland played the other end. I think that it is time that we B-Edgers (the cutting edge of Portland fandom) need to come up with some more interesting -- and clean -- options. I'm not talking about, "these refs suck".

I've heard "MVP" for Brandon. "Rip City" when prompted by Blaze. "Ru-dy" chants also rain down from the rafters. Any others? I'm having a hard time thinking of any.

There was a call here for more spontaneous fan participation earlier in the season. When the "wave" came out, it was shouted down by many. I could take or leave the wave, but we should be more interesting and innovative than the normal NBA crowd.

Our team has stepped it up, it's time we do the same. I am looking for any fan chants that are kid friendly.

Here are my initial entries.

"All-Star" chant for LMA.

"Rip City" chant without Blaze.

I'm no Duke fan and this would have to start in the 300 level but I'd love this before each tip-off.

The spanish chants are great, but I don't speak the language. There is a chant that goes something like, "Oh wee oh, a, oh wee oh. It's repeated over and over. I love it and maybe Amlmart1 could help me out with this one. I only found it on youtube in this soccer clip.

I'd love any help with this.