It seems as if both the Rockets and Thunder may have to make some decisions this off season and I think we could be in position to steal two of these four players. with Durant and Westbrook both on max deals it seems as if they may have to make a decision on one of their two studs Ibaka or Harden. If we were to overpay slightly I think we could get one. I would prefer Harden but Ibaka would also be a perfect fit. Same goes for the rockets. They likely won't be able to keep both Dragic and Lowery, And I think We could make one of those players ours. I prefer lowery because of Defense, But dragic would be nice too.

I think Getting Harden and Lowery would put us in the upper echelon in the west, and Dragic/ ibaka may also.

What do you all think?

Easy there...... this is not a Nolan bashing post, but a post about how the decision to draft him affected our season.

We came into the 2011 draft needing two things, a backup point guard and a backup power forward. We decided to draft Nolan believing that he could step right in and be that backup point guard and went out and signed a couple old guys to fill our needs at reserve big spot. Having both Wallace and Batum gave us flexibility at the four spot because they both needed minutes, so drafting Nolan made some sense there over Faried.

We picked up Crawford to give us some firepower off the bench and we were set. This was going to be an exciting season. Everything started fine, but in this lockout shortened season we were playing a pretty tight rotation and Crawford was playing the backup point guard. Where is Nolan? Well, it turns out that our Plug and play 4 yr player from Duke, wasn't as ready as we all imagined. In fact it seems he isn't ready at all!

This one miscalculation single handedly unraveled our season. Like the butterfly effect or a loose nut on a machine it had disastrous effects. Not having someone to guide our second unit led not only to abysmal bench production but to the worst statistical seasons ever for Crawford( playing out of position) and Mathews( never getting the ball in scoring position. See Crawford at PG) The pressure continued to build as performance spiraled. with losing comes blame and there was plenty of both. Eventually the dam broke and we found ourselves where we are today. A rebuilding franchise with a lot of hope but not much direction.

I can only imagine what this season would have been like had we drafted Faried and picked up a proven backup PG. I think it could have been a great season.

I know he is not the sexy pick to lead this team going forward, but he is the ideal candidate based on his playing style, body type and likely cost. This teams has a lot of holes to fiil and since there is a low likely hood of us getting an all-star quality point in free agency, I think we should make a play for hill. He is a great defender, very quick, can shoot the three, and is the perfect age to bring to this team. He won't demand big money, so we will be able to afford signing Batum, hickson, and some other game changing free agent. He has toughness and all the requisite ability to stick long term.

I've liked this guy for a long time and I don't think indiana will spend the money to keep him. what do you all think of George Hill as the PGOF?

I think most blazer fans have come to grips with our team missing the playoffs this year. What I have not seen is a willingness to bench our young guys in favor of the new ones. I don't see Nolan or babbit playing in the nba much longer, so I think it would benefit us greatly to see what the new guys can do. We have seen the futility that our young bench is capable of and none of them have the physical gifts and upside of our new guys. Flynn is super fast and has the handles to be a great backup pointguard, Thabeet in 7'3 and, while not very skilled, atheletic enough to be a great backup center, and JJ has shown he can play and would make a great backup PF. If we can get these guys significant minutes I have no doubt that we can get production from them in backup roles going forward. None of them really have a claim to starting position's, so they should except that role going forward. I can't say the same about Nolan, Babbit, Ryno. Continuing to play our two old centers big minutes makes no sense when we have a young guy that has yet to have an opportunity. I have noticed most BE'ers refer to these players as garbage while continuing to champion Nolan ( I played 4 yrs at duke but can't dribble pass or shoot) smith. Why not give them a chance? we have nothing to lose and everything to gain( including draft possition).

don't count on it. The moves we made actually balanced the roster a bit. We get a shooter in the lineup replacing Wallace, who's jump shot was the defenses best weapon, and we get a backup point guard in the game ( flynn) who may be able find some rhythm with the second unit while putting crawford in his natural position. Losing camby would hurt, but he has been mailing it in lately. The team is going to play much more free with the lowered expectations and I guarantee better effort. All this and the likely resurgence of felton as his nemessis nate mcmillan has been jettisoned. I was in the tank it camp, but I think this team has actually improved, not talent wise but fit. especially if that 7'3 center can give any meaningful minutes. I don't expect a lot, but I doubt we are much worse.

like most Trailblazer fans, I'm ready for plan B. Its all but guaranteed ( pending the likely outcome of this road trip) that the Blazers will miss the playoffs this year. While that is deeply disappointing to most fans, I for one am excited to see what this reality brings to our player rotations. I am hopeful it spells real minutes for our promising rookie Elliot Williams. Williams has shown flashes in his limited minutes and I am pumped to see him get some more. I could care less about victories at this point so give me a show. Who knows, he could turn out to be the difference maker we need to right the ship, but if not we will at least get to evaluate his talent with real minutes. I hope the front office feels the same cause we aren't going anywhere this season even with one of the many so so trade possibilites.

for all of the bellyaching on this site about lack of talent, bad coaching, and terrible guard play, the blazers stand now at eight seed in the west. Obviously not Ideal but a far cry from where we could be considering all that has went wrong this season. So far we have seen a incredibly inconsistent team that has yet to successfully combine their collection of talents into a cohesive whole. The good news from my perspective is that all of our woes can be cured by simply giving 48min of effort. Even with terrible shooting and sloppy ball handling we have had an opportunity to win neerly all of our game. The thing that has really held us back is effort and intensity. Its easy to point to our poor winning percentage in close games and say this team needs a closer, but had our effort and energy been up early and throughout most of those loses they wouldn't have been close to begin with. This team had the highest margin of victory during that early part of the season and that's because dudes were flying around and terrorizing the opponent. Deflections and steals got us out on the break and quick rotations and active hands made all shots difficult. That is who these blazers are and the schedule may have sucked some of the life out of our team, but in these last 32 games we have a chance to make a splash. If we can keep that throtle down to the end of the season, this team can still be something special. So I ask , from here on out, can the real Trailblazers please stand up!

what is going on with this team? the season started like we all expected. A fast, long, and exciting team of talented athletes came storming out of the gates announcing there intentions of being a team to watch in this lock-out shortened season. They, defended the hell out of every position and the ball was zipping around. This was going to be a fun season. We got a look at some of our new toys, still a work in progress, things were going to come together just fine. But something along the way has went horribly wrong. Its impossible to put a finger on it because it is literally everything, outside of LA.. Our teams second best player starts having some incomprehensible road struggles and layup problems, our speedy guard forgets how to dribble and shoot, our best deep threat some how loses any touch or awareness of what he does well, and our backup gunner does what we expected but far worse than we expected. How do you explain an entire rosters ability all of the sudden falling off dramatically? Its hard not to look at the coach, but all a coach can do is put you in position to succeed, and from the looks of things he is doing that. This team gets quality shots for the most part, they just cant hit anything. Its easy to blame a point guard that is having the worst season of any point guard in the league, but is Felton really doing anything different than he has his whole carreer? he's taking open shots and passing to open teammates but neither are hitting. I feel sorry for anyone associated with this team right now because there are seemingly no answers besides MAKE SHOTS, and the longer you struggle at that the harder it becomes. A player is always susceptible to a bad season, but an entire roster? This is a truly baffling season.

I happen to think that a decent backup point would make all the difference on this team and there is one sitting idle waiting for a call that I absolutely love. Earl Boykins! Great shooter, great handle, great energy! Yeah he's five two or whatever, but he's going against backups. how many backup point guards have a post game? Plus he can actually run the fast break without dribbling off his foot or passing the ball off someones knee. He's cheap, he's skilled, and most of all, he's available.

can take his training wheels off (the rose garden) This team is not going to win on the road. 40min 8pts 3rbs is what we want from craig smith not our second best player, and up to this point that is what he's offering.I have heard a lot of bashing on this site and its mainly been directed toward out guards, but the truth is that our biggest crutch this season has been the production of our do anything utility man. He has been downright terrible the entire season on the road yet Jamal, Mathews and Felton have taken the brunt of our wrath. Its time for our second highest payed player to take a look in the mirror and figure out whats making him so ugly!

We have a good team here and there are only a handful of players that could take us to the next level. Among those players, D-will is the only one that is available to the best bidder. I know Portand might not be on his radar, but i think we might have one of the most enticing teams to lure him to. This is a make or break point in this incarnation of the blazers. We are either going to make a push and solidify this team or, likely, slide into a lengthy rebuilding process. Right now we have a young talented core and i would think that , if the right promises were made to D-will about the direction going forward, we would have a chance at getting him. Here's to hoping!

Don't take this too seriously, but we need to get this guy more minutes. I'm not saying he is an answer of any sort but I have to say he is my favorite scorer to watch on our team. He doesn't hesitate, he doesn't dance around, he doesn't head fake, HE TAKES IT TO THE RIM! Head down, nostrils flared and when he picks up his dribble.............pushes his massive arms and the ball held between his powerful meat hooks...toward the rim. Thats what this team needs and thats what the rhino delivers. He's too small.......Is he? He is a lot of things but I don't think small is one of them. Dudes a mountain..a bulldozer...AAAAA RHINOOOOOOOOOOOO!

If this early season has shown us anyhting it is that this team lives and dies with Wallace. When wallace is scoring and blocking and stealing his way to a great game, we are a legit threat to anyone in the league. BUT, like Wallace himself, it could go either way. I'm not sure I have ever seen a team or a player that can so vastly differ from game to game. Both depend so entirely on easy buckets and inspired effort. If one or both of those keys are missing we are dead in the water with no recourse. I for one would like to see a shorter leash on Wallace and the team. If Wallace or the rest of the team start settling for long jumpers our goose is cooked. Put in some subs with the direct order of getting to the rim and drawing fouls. Elliot willams , Rhino,and Nolan smith......this is your duty to the team for the remainder of the season! let them play with their heads down when all else is failing!!!!!!

I know in a regular season it would be acceptable to run an eight man rotation and there should be no real cause for concern, but in this lockout shortened season wouldn't it be smart to try to extend our bench to include Smith, Williams and CJ to ensure our guys stay healthy and fresh? I bring it up mainly because of the fatigue and flat play we've seen out of our rotation guys on the road, but also, selfishly, I would like to see what that group could develop in terms of a different look when the main guys are struggling. I know those guys are hungry for minutes and they could certainly develop through the course of the season into an asset come playoff time. I know that there is a minute crunch especially at the guard position, but if we could cut about 3 minutes from felton, crawford and wesley I think it could be a great asset down the stretch. Thoughts?

I have to say that this playoff run has severely disappointed and surprised me. I thought that once we got Wallce we would become a tougher and more dynamic team. A team that nobody would want to play for fear of getting a physical pounding. There have been moments where this vision has come to fruition, but for the most part, this has been the same inconsistent defensive team with serious problems scoring the ball. I don't think its a matter of talent either. All our guys can theoretically score the ball. Infact, outside of Camby, our whole roster could average double digits.But for some reason the team that always managed to play over its head has become a team of underachievers. I can only assume that the problem lies  between the ears of our players. I guess its possible that we have an entire roster of headcases, but is that likely? I can except that Dallas is just better, but the fact that we haven't played one complete game yet makes that hard to swallow. So what is it? Coaching? Officiating? I don't by either if these, so its all the more frustrating. The bottom line is that, baring a miraculous couple of games, This team may need to start over. We don't seem to have what we thought we had and that can't really change without wholesale changes. I love 95% of our roster, but clearly the fact that nobody has stepped up in this playoff( Roy, but how often can we count on that) shows that they may not be the kind of players to build with. I'm at a loss, here's to hoping everybody can get it together!

All of us need to stop whining about this player and that coach and come to terms with the fact that the better , more experienced team is playing better and with more experience. this teams downfall all season long has been inconsistency and lack of identity. When Rudy and Mathews are stroking j's and Camby is swatting shots and ripping every ball in sight we look like a legit playoff team, but those things only happened enough to garner our team the sixth seed and barely. The reason we were not a 4 or 5 seed is not injury but incosistency. It should come as no surprise that we are showing the same weakness in the playoffs. One would think that the addition of Wallace would put us over the top, but he has neither the shooting touch we need nor the playoff experience we lack. Dallas may not be the powerhouse that the lakers are, but they have been there done that. they know what they want to do and do it well. I'm not saying we don't have a chance, but there is a reason that the Mavs are favored and winning. They are a better team on more nights than not.

I don't know what to make of our play of late, but what I can tell you is that we will be lucky to make the playoffs at all in the western conference. I have been watching Memphis, Denver, Houston, and NO over the last month and while they aren't winning every game, they are making people beat them. That can not be said about our blazers who are doing everything possible down the stretch to give games away. Even the wins of late have looked really bad. I Don't know what caused this, but I have a feeling it can all be resolved with the benching of one player......any guesses? Yeah, Roy is killing this team right now and his occasional great night is far out weighed by his consistently terrible D. He compromises our entire defense by getting beat by anyone( and I mean anyone) who he is guarding. He also takes valuable minutes away from batum and mathews who need time to  find their flow. He also can't close on shooters at all. Every time an opponent hits a wide open three look whose showing up late. 80% of the time its Roy or Dre. He is also turning LA back into a pick and pop player instead of a pick and role player. I know he only plays 25-30 a game but he makes everyone on this team worse by keeping them from what they do naturally. He is not going to hit a cutter or lob an ally oop, he is going to dribble, shoot, bailout pass, then play terrible D. Sad but true, so how do we sit him down?

Miller is old but will likely play at least three more years at this level, what we need is a solid backup to spell him. I like patty, but he really isn't an nba player. We could get a guy like Hinrick for priz while keeping miller and make this team significantly better while also giving our selves another couple yrs to find a true pgotf. Harris is not the answer, so why not improve our team while also setting us up to have a bit more patients in our PG search. not to mention the Hinrick, Roy, Rudy bench. This team would be a banger away from contention again and with a decent window to operate.

this seems like a perfect situation to be in. Batum is probably our most expendable rotation player at this point in that anything we get back for him would likely duplicate his production. When you consider what he brings on a nightly basis it doesn't seem hard to replicate. Streaky shooting/ defense/rebounding. And he is the most coveted player on our roster by other teams. Take Miller, Camby, Mathews off this team and we likely suffer, but Batums production is complimentary at best.  I believe we could get either Wallace or iggy if we made him available today and this team would be significantly better now and moving forward. Batums ceiling is probably Wallace/ iggy, but he will never have their motor. Even outside of those players, a return for batum will likely be more productive on the court than Batum, because for Batum to be included suggest a top quality player in return. I like Nic, but at this point he is far more of an asset in a trade than he is on the floor.

there has been a lot of discussion about who is untouchable on this roster. Mathews is often mentioned in that group and for good reason. He comes at a decent price, he is tough, he defends, and produces. I love the guy, but if we had to add one of our main contributer to a trade to get something great back( curry for example) I would choose mathews. I think his skills are the easiest to replicate. Remember, he is 25. Batum in contrast, is 21 and I believe won't realize his potential for another three or four years. I think Mathews is pretty close to his ceiling right now, but holds close to as much value as nic in a trade. He is still a good young building block, just with less upside, and would be a perfect addition to a contending team. If you where to add him to a package including Miller and priz, plus a draft pick or two, I think you could get something franchise changing in return. ( Granger, Curry, iggy, gasol, Beaubois) Plus other assets to make money match. I don't want to see him go, but  think sacrificing him leaves us with the best remaining core to build around. It would really open up our possibilities and hopefully land us a near all-star talent to put next to LA and Nic. what do ya think?

The kings have been letting it be known all season that he is available and at a very modest price. They are Trying to give him away for a pick! how has this not been done yet? with our exceptions and picks this would be a no brainer. I feel like management doesn't know he's available because there is no other reason not to have him anchoring our second unit right now. He is the perfect fit and also fills a gaping hole in our roster( Backup PF). I have expected him to be here for months, and every day I log on to this site expecting that headline, but it has yet to come. Am I missing something, or is this the most obvious and achievable move in the history of player movement?!!!!

I have been thinking long and hard about how this team can return to its contender status and what trades might facilitate that and I have come to the conclusion that there are none. I like this team and think they can compete, but I also see that they have a pretty low ceiling right now. Problem is, there are no franchise changing trades to be made out there. What we had in Roy was a ticket to the big show. One of only five or six players that could take a franchise to the next level. Without him we are just a good scrappy team that can compete for the playoffs but not the ring.The idea that we can somehow make a trade that will get us back in contention is false. Those players that give you that opportunity are not going anywhere, and especially not to portland. We are not getting, LBJ, Wade, Paul, Kobe, Peirce, or anything near that for any package we could put together, so why make wholesale changes? I like a lot of players like Wallace or Iggy, but those are second or third guys on a championship team. Right now we have a good mix of young talent and productive vets, our best move would be to use our Medical exemption and maybe picks to get some more depth and fill a hole or two. Carl Laundry comes to mind as does Brandon bass, something small but effective could really solidify this team and then next year we have somewhere around thirty million to work with if we let our expiring contracts go. Thats plenty to add a big peice or two to an already decent core. I am as excited as anyone about a big trade to right the ship, but I just don't see the pieces out there to make a real difference ( contending for a title). I say we see what Rudy, Batum, Mathews can do along side LA, miller, and Camby. Who knows, this group coup be a lot more special that they are getting credit for.

after seeing this new look blazer team succeed in a more up tempo style Roy must be wondering how he can fit in and contribute without stifling the rhythm that this team has achieved. There has been a lot of questions about this team being better without Roy, and I for one don't think so, but I do think they are better without Roy running the team. That said I think that Roy becoming a knockdown three point shooter would be a huge asset to this team. We know he is not going to dive to the rim or cut hard off screens, but putting him in the corner and letting him work to open space would be an easy way to integrate him without changing the way we play. Roy is already a good shooter so its not like this would be a drastic change, he would just have to adjust to not having the ball in his hands as much. There is no way to trade Roy, so we have to find a way to use him, and I think this may be it.

As frustrating and ugly as this team has been through a quarter of the season we still find ourselves in the playoff hunt. Its easy to abandon all hope. this season is as depressing as any I can think of, but its hard to believe we won't find some sort of rhythm at some point and real off a good run or two. This team hasn't given up. there not mailing it in, they just cant seem to make any shots. This is actually the best way to fail because consistent energy will win the day more times than hot shooting. While I don't hold out hope for a deep playoff run, I do believe this team will find a way to fight their way back to respectability. The one thing these blazers have given us over the last three or four years is effort and for that reason I believe we will right the ship. Yes an older, less attractive ship than we all believed but not a sinking ship. We still have good foundation in Wes, LA, Batum, even Rudy and Roy could find their rhythm. Its really less of a rebuilding we need than a retooling, and we have some attractive expiring players that could get us quality pieces back.

All is not lost, sure some moves need to be made but I think we are closer than a lot of the "season tankers" think we are. Some smart moves could mend this thing.

GO BLAZERS!

heres one example

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2g5s2br

It might be hard to get veragio, but some picks thrown in might get it done cause their going nowhere.

.

this trade will hurt in the short term, but gives us a good core to begin a short rebuilding process.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=29ps93v

I think it works for all teams involved interms of need and there is enough sweetener to make both teams jump.

would this get us back on track? It gives us a reliable center for the future, a decent backup power forward and a serviceable duplicate of what Batum brings right now. It might not bring championship chatter, but it gives us a solid foundation to build on. and if we ever get Oden back healthy it could really work.

I understand that Roy is forever going to be limited physically, but what happened to his decision making? He seems so lost on the court and even more so when he has the ball up top. His physical limitations could be easily over come if only he made decisive moves with the basketball. He seems to move pretty well when he needs to, but the decision making has been horrible. Make your move, if your stopped, pass and get better position, or cut. These are simple basketball philosophies that he can't seem to grasp. It seems like he is determined to get his shot up no matter how ill advised instead of finding the open teammate. Maybe he is just trying to force his old style to work and it will take time for him to realize it can't. I don't know, but i feel like he has forgot how to play basketball entirely. The best thing for him to do would be to get open for a catch and shoot or post up. I expected less physically, but right now Roy is playing dumb, and I have always considered him a high IQ guy.

This is not a post bashing roy or calling for his benching. It is simply an honest assessment of what his worth on this team is now and for the future. I don't think that its any cooincidence that this skid started upon his return to the line-up. with Roy out we were an athletic active defensive team that could really force the the play of the opposing offense. Mathews and Batum are a defensive dream on the perimeter and LA and camby aren't too shabby either. they played with energy and played together. Roy is a glaring weakness on the defensive end now, and teams are directing their offense at him. I can see visible frustration when the team plays great defense only to have roys man run right by him for a layup or easy dish off to beat the helper. On offense miller was able to probe and get open shots for his shooter and while there was no great go to scorer with roy out, the offensive flow was much better and all the players were involved. since his return we have seen a lot of Roy iso in the forth, and while he has made some shots, he has also ground the offense to a halt and turned the ball over a ton. again you can see frustration in the players faces as they stand in their spots and watch Roy struggle to find space. I have a feeling that the players are not turning on Nate as much as they may be souring on Roy. I still think Roy can be a valuable piece for this team. He still can make a big shot when its needed, he just can't get it himself anymore. The sooner he realizes this the better, but who is going to be the one to tell him that he's lost his stuff?

I love batum as much as anybody, but those of you who see his talents being wasted are just flat out delusional. Batum has the physical tools to be a great player in this league. His wing span and athleticism make fans and GM's drool, but he does not have the basketball skills to become anything more than he is right now. I hear people say point forward? Batum can't dribble with any confidences when he's in a crowd and doesn't even possess the basic dribble moves that would allow him to create for himself or others( cross over, going left, dribble with your head up). Right now he is a great spot up shooter and if he has Miller hitting him with pin point passes on cuts, he can finish pretty well, but he can't create for himself. I hear people talking about featuring him offensively, but if he doesn't receive a pass in scoring position he has to move the ball because he can't take his man of the dribble or post up. I'm not trying to bash Batum because I think he is a great piece, but to think he needs to be a go to player is Wildly over-estimating his skill set. He's young so these things will improve, but for now he just needs to play to his strengths: spot up shots, cuts to the rim and offensive rebounding.....Oh yeah, and just play some D!

o.k. men! this is where the rubber hits the road. Its no longer about " fire Nate" or "Bench Roy" , Its not about what letter( a,b,c,d,) of plan it may or may not be. This is about something built in to every man. This is some guy grabbing your girls boob in a bar. This is basic man stuff. There is nobody to blame for this except everybody. Our team plays like a bunch of scared little girls and that is something you don't often see in professional sports. A guy that won't take a shot?!!!! Are you kidding me! I give LA and Mathews a pass because at least they had the stones to put some shots up, but the rest of the team needs to take a look inside their shorts for something they seem to be missing. Only players fail like this. Our players are a bunch of nice guy babies!!!!!!!!;) :(