Livingston signed

Apparently the blazers have signed livingston. I like the move. It's a no risk signing, although odds are he will never be back to his pre injury form, he's still a unique talent. I was listening to the quick chat yesterday, and quick said that if the blazers do sign livingston, it'd be for the future, that if he does indeed get healthy in 3 years, then we can bolser our pg depth in the future. He doesn't expect him to play this year. Although, if he can run, I don't see why he shouldn't get sergio's minutes. I really like him as a 3rd string pg, and if he can actal,ly play in the futre, then it's a great move. Otherwise, he's just a 15th man, no biggie.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy of 95.5 The Game, Kevin Pritchard has announced Shavlik Randolph has been signed to a non-guaranteed contract and that Livingston will not be signed.

Oregonlive has also confirmed Livingston will not be signed: http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2008/09/blazers_will_not_sign_shaun_li.html

I have edited this post and title to reflect new information  Thanks to the original poster for linking the report above.  -- Ben

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I love how after the last couple close losses we had, there were outcries over Joel's lack of playing time at the end of close games. Yet todya, he only played 14 mins, and I'm not so sure we could have won had he played much in the 2nd half. Making that comeback would have been difficulut had we been playing 4 on 5 on offense.

So, did Nate still make a mistake not playing Przy? He would have helped us sooooo much (sarcasm).

I haven't seen this posted yet, and since the topic was discussed at length right after the toronto game, i figured i'd post the link.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/01/pondering_przybilla_leads_to_b.html

It's a discussion with Nate about why przy didn't play at the end of the toronto game. It's really interesting.

Main points: (according to Nate)

-Joel wasn't stopping Bosh anyways
-We needed offense
-LaMarcus needed to learn how to contribute other ways when his offense is off
-When Brandon wasn't playing well, was Nate supposed to sit him? Nope, and LMA gets the same treatment. He is a cornerstone of the franchise, and he needs to play in those types of situations.

In all reality Przy isn't taht key to future of this team after this year, Nate's reasoning made spot on sense to me.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3726/gamelog;_ylt=AstYUxRIeNWygyEFj5oTD5ukvLYF

I was just looking at his game log. Does he actually have ZERO turnovers in the last 5 games? That is simply insane. His value as a volume bench scorer and an uber athlete is useful enough as it is, but he's learned how to take care of the ball now too?

I know he didn't play particularly well yesterday, but he is a solid PG. I remember when the Blazers were debating between Nelson and Telfair. If we had gone with Nelson, our PG problem may have been at least partially solved. Instead we're still stuck with no PG.

A lot of people (including me) bring up the Williams/Paul draft and are disappointed by Martell for not producing (finally changing this year!). Whereas if we simply didn't have Telfair, we would have most likely gone with Paul.

Telfair essentially cost us 3 PGs. 2 superstars and 1 solid young PG.

I just don't feel like this team will get anywhere until we have a competent PG at the helm. Jack has showed his value as a scoring combo guard off the bench, so he's no longer a viable PG candidate. Sergio simply isn't that good. Blake's not a great PG either. Once Oden comes back, maybe we can get away with an average PG, but until then we really have no hope.

I was listening to the BS Report, Bill Simmons' podcast, and he was talking with Marc Stein. Simmons asked Stein for some the early surprises this season.

Stein's first surprise was the Blazers. He essentially said that he didn't think the Blazers were going to be able to do anything this year. And it wasn't only because of not having Oden, but that we were just too young and not enough productive pieces just yet. Simmons agreed, and said he thought the Blazers were a 20 win team, but they both agreed we're far better than either of them gave us credit for.

My favorite part of the discussion was when Stein brought up Aldridge. He said when he saw him in the first summer league, he hated him, Simmons agreed. Simmons thought he would be a bust, and that they both thought the Thomas/Aldridge deal was a slam dunk for the Bulls. Now, both agree, that Aldridge looks like a younger, non-crazy Wallace. It was just so refreshing to hear some love for the Blazers.

I don't have the link to the podcast, but find it and give it a listen. Great hoops talk on the most recent BS report.

ESPN put up it's draft kit. One really eye opening projection is what they predict brandon roy will average. 9th ranked SG 20.2 ppg, 1.5 stl, 4.8 ast, 5.3 reb. That is such a beautiful potential stat line. Outlaw's projections: 12.1 ppg, 4.5 boards Lamarcus: 15 ppg, 8.5 boards Channing: 12 ppg, 6.7 boards http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/basketball/fba/story?id=3057208 Sorry this diary isn't formatting the right way for some reason.

I was just thinking what kind of numbers the major pieces are going to be putting up next year. Here's my guesses, I'd like to see what other people think.

Jack:     13 pts / 5 assists / 3 rebs (if he starts)

Roy:      17 / 5 assists / 5 rebounds

Aldridge: 15 / 2 assist / 8 rebounds / 2 blocks

Outlaw:   12 / 1 assist / 6 rebounds / 1.2 blocks

Oden:     12 / 2 assists / 10 rebounds / 2 blocks

Frye:     10 / 2 assists / 5 rebounds / 1 block

Blake:    6 / 4 assists / 2 rebounds

Webster:  7 / 1 assist / 3 rebounds

I don't think anyone else will have any real significant impact on our season. Maybe Pryzbilla, but i don't see what kind of role he has on a team that's got such a talented young front court. I really think alot of our success hinges on Webster. Obviously, that's exaggeration, but if Webster can prove to be just a consistent spot up 3 pt shooter, life becomes so much easier for the rest of the team. Unfortunately the chances of that happening seem to be slim at best.

What kind of numbers do you guys expect each player to put up? I realize this is complete conjecture, but it'd be nice to come back later and see who made good guesses.

I was just watching some blazer highlights on www.blazersclips.com , and am now just absolutely giddy about next year. The guy on the site has a bunch of clips, one of the more impressive ones is a collection of all of Brandon Roy's clutch plays. We all knew he was clutch, but my god, watching all the plays back to back is an experience.

I've always been a Zach supporter. But now that I looked back at all those highlights, I am unbelievably excited about not having Randolph and Magloire, and even having Pryzbilla play a minimal role. Almost all the "prettier" plays came out of ball movement, and with the addition of Oden, it seems like it'll only get better.

One other thing I noticed was the Outlaw highlights and game footage. The guy's only 22 and can obviously play the 3. He's got a jumper, can drive to the basket and draw fouls, is long, and is easily one of the more exciting finishers in the league. If you're going to keep either Outlaw or Udoka (i can't imagine keeping both), Outlaw seems to be the no-brainer. If we can convince him to keep driving to the basket and not just settle for the J and he'll get better at D, he'll be a solid solid SF. In the mean time Oden and Aldridge will easily makeup for his defensive mistakes. One potential problem is with the trio we have, the game is going to be all about fluid execution, and we can't have Outlaw (if he's going to play big minutes) get lost, hopefully he won't.

After watching the gave footage, a lineup of Jack, Roy, Outlaw, LMA and Oden could be just enough. I don't know how much is too much for Outlaw though. I would guess the MLE is the limit. He would be in the draft this year if he had gone to college and played 4 years, and we do need at least one uber athletic finisher on the team.....

My vote is for Outlaw, any thoughts?

With the recent workouts and taking everything into consideration, I understand why people are so excited at the possibility of drafting Durant instead of Oden.

But, if you stop and think about it. The only way drafting Durant makes sense is if he is in fact BETTER than MJ. The odds of that happening are near zero. He will be a phenomenal player. But again, the only way picking Oden will be a "mistake" is if Durant becomes the best player to ever play the game. That's asking a bit much out of Durant, is it not?

I know Oden is the safe pick. But he doesn't have to be Kareem or Wilt in order to transform us into championship contenders. Durant has to become the best player to have ever played basketball. Anyone else agree?

If we don't move up and we end up picking in the 6-7 range, I'm not so sure we should pick a SF only because we have to. Wright seems to be super athletic, but I'm not at all convinced he'll fulfill any of his potential. Green seems like he'll be a good player, but nothing remotely special. I don't see him giving us any more than what Udoka will give us at that position. This all leads me to, what about picking conley at the 6 or 7 spot? He seems like a heady pg, maybe a smaller deron williams, always under control and cold blooded. We're not going to make the playoffs next year anyways, so we could have him start and see what happens. This would mean that Sergio would be a backup unless somehow he explodes, and Jarret has to be the odd man out. We could see how much he's worth in the open market. Regardless, what do you guys think about picking Conley that high?

Telfair's all been cut from the Celtics. Think about that, in this league, teams rarely give up on "talent". I think I can now sleep happy that the karma Gods have done their job and handsomely rewarded us for the O'neal/Dale Davis trade. Obviously this isn't healthy, but I'm very happy right now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2847755

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6625924

Charley Rosen, who has not given the blazers much credit before compares Gay and Roy. He says that these two rookies have the most promise out of the field, the others have some major flaws (Aldridge doesn't get to the free throw line, Bargnani does absolutely nothing bot score, etc.) What's amazing is that Roy had an off game, yet Rosen says Roy handidly outplayed Gay. Imagine if Rosen had seen almost any other game Roy played in.

But, I have to agree with Rosen on the Aldridge thing. He really needs to learn how to get to the free throw line. Those days when teh shot isn't falling, it'd be nice if he could make up for it at the line.

ESPN has an article on who they think will be the top centers from the current crop of players. A lit that includes the likes of Ming, Howard, Oden, Duncan, Stoudemire, Bynum?, Bosh, Milicic, J. O'neal and........ Aldridge.

This is what Hollinger had to say about Aldridge. (he came in at #10)

10. LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers
This would require Aldridge to achieve the absolute ceiling on his potential, and for that ceiling to be higher than most observers suspect. Nonetheless, if we're making a list of centers who could one day crack the top 10 list, the long-limbed rookie belongs on it.

The 21-year-old Texan has impressive shooting range for his size, an impossible-to-block release, and a knack for shot-blocking. All that means he could be a devastating interior player if and when he adds some meat on his bones.

I think the article's main point is that a handful of the players from their list might make make into the discussion of all time great centers. haha, anyways, Aldridge got some very well deserved respect.

I would post the link to the article, but you need insider.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/03/06/free.agent.struggles/index.html

Marty Burns writes about all the apparent mistakes teams made in free agency. Unbelievably Pryz isn't on the list, when it's pretty obvious no one would give him the deal we did knowing what we know now.

i think we'd be best off with the 6th worst record in the league. that would give us a 10.7% chance to win the lottery. Not great, but that's a nice balance between our team trying hard and still having somewhat of a shot in the lottery. As of right now we only have a 2.8% chance or something. So losing those couple more games and increasing our  odds 5 fold seems to be worth it.

any thoughts?

i got those numbers from espn's lottery machine thing.

someone on youtube uploaded highlights from each quarter of the game. some amazing basketball. from watching this, i don't think anyone can argue that randolph has to be gone for us to be a running team.  the real problem in my mind was pryzbilla. anyways, here are the links.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=iverigma&num=10&so=1&start=0

i wouldn't be horribly disappointed if we finis with only 2 or 3 more wins on the season. the best thing for this franchise would be to do it all it can to get kevin durant. obviously, we probably won't get him, but winning games isn't gonna help. i propose that we play martell 45 mins a game, that should help our position in the durant sweepstakes.

anyone else out there who is secretly happy that martell can't do anything and that we didn't make a move to better our team?

i know it is of no use to say "What if?". But I was just reading the newest Bill Simmons column, and this is what he said about the Blazers "just think where they'd be if Paul Allen hadn't squashed the "Darius Miles/Theo Ratliff for Penny Hardaway's expiring contract and David Lee" deal last winter. Every columnist who praises Isiah this season". My god, was that deal actually squashed by Allen?

I am in shock right now, thank God Allen bought Sergio, otherwise this would be absolutely unforgivable.

I'm going to go cry.