It's another long summer in Blazerville. (Ha! Summer starts in fucking April in Oregon!) So what the hell, let's do another trade idea. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3wrfy48 Why the Nets do it: They become the Grizzlies of the east. Two versatile, quality big men. That may not sound that hot to you, but it probably makes it to the second round in the East. Which I think would be music to the ears of Nets fans. Plus they unload the monstrosity of Outlaw's contract. And they can roll the dice on some mediocre prospects. Besides, it's not like that team was exactly tearing it up once they added Williams. They went 4-12 after adding him (.333), which isn't that much better than they were on the season (.292). Further, Aldridge is signed for less money. A cheaper cornerstone player like LMA (plus the absence of Outlaw's contract) might open the doors for them to chase another star in free agency. Why Portland does it: We get the best player in the trade, and at a position that's very hard to fill with elite talent (PG). Mostly, though, this is about adding a guy who can shoot and set up guys at an elite level. We all hate relying on the health of Oden, but the truth is Oden is the single best chance we have at getting a championship. Oden + Williams is better than Oden + Aldridge. Also, we haven't been in the second round for 11 straight seasons. Aldridge has been around for 5 of those years. It's really unfair to pin the blame on him, but at the same time I think it's worth looking to move him for value if we can to shake things up. We'd be more desperate than ever for size in our front court, but I think you find some journeyman role players for the interim, and hope Paul Allen's money buys us another steal draft pick somewhere down the road.
Wait Do you mean a Healthy Oden and Aldridge? If that's the case, I think the combo of Healthy Oden, Aldridge and Miller is better than just Williams and a Healthy Oden.
So we are..... Deron/Miller/Armon Wes/Roy/Rudy Batum/Babbitt Wallace/ Camby yikes. As you said yourself, we're already desperate for size. Trading Aldridge for Deron hurts us even more. Also, Deron would likely just leave after next season.
Gutsy dealing!! Relying on Oden......oh my. But very intriguing nonetheless. Oden/Williams > Oden/LA = agreed, in today's NBA (no touchy). Oden - GWallace - Batum - WM - DWilliams Camby - Babbitt - EWilliams - Rudy - Mills I'd be interested in watching any team with a healthy Oden.
I guess we just disagree on that. I like both Miller and Aldridge, but Williams is just another caliber of player. He's the kind of guy who turns players like Batum and Matthews into much, much better scorers. He spreads the floor better and creates all kinds of opportunities for Oden. We'd have dominant players at the two hardest positions to fill (PG and C). I understand the appeal of the Two Tower approach with Oden/Aldridge, but I just think we're better off diversifying into a primary outside scoring threat and a primary inside one. The twin tower approach hasn't really won a title since the Spurs in '99, while the inside/outside approach worked for the Lakers, Heat and Celtics.
I mean don't get me wrong. I am a believer that Williams is a stud. I also believe that a star PG and Center are arguably the two best case scenarios to win a title. BUT.... The uncretainty of Oden's health could greatly make this one of the worst deals in Blazer history. Trading Aldridge for a PG is trading our only interior scorer for a PG. Historically doesn't happen too much in the NBA.
Who has Deron ever turned into a much, much better scorer in his career? Also, looking at the amount of good PGs there are currently in the league, i disagree that PG is the hardest position to fill, or one of them.
FTFY. Maybe still not terribly reassuring, but there it is. I think Gerald Wallace could be a badass PF if he had a monster center next to him and three high-quality three point shooters to space the floor. Portland has many flaws, but it generally does very well at getting guys to re-sign.
Oops, sorry, hadn't actually looked at the specific trade, was debating just LMA for Deron. Adding Outlaw makes it worse. And your depth chart you fixed for me has Armon, Rudy, and Babbit all on it. All who you traded. So Deron/?? Wes/Roy Batum/?? Wallace/Outlaw Oden/Camby If we're making the assumption that Oden is staying healthy, then I much prefer a lineup with Aldridge and him, with Camby either backing up both spots, or traded, along with Batum and Miller for an upgrade at PG.
Woulda done this in a heartbeat last year. But Aldridge is now a legit post presence that can draw double teams, and he's a willing passer that can find open teammates (who can, or cannot shoot, but that's irrelevant). There aren't many players who fit that bill. As you said, Oden can possibly be that guy, but I don't have enough faith in his health to put all our eggs in that basket. And the thought of Gerald at 6'7 being our starting PF is scary.
I would like to trade for a defensive minded PF type (think Chuck Hayes) and let LA play center. Deal Camby and Miller and build it up again
I'd like to see the Blazers re-sign Oden and get another solid PF so that they can run a 3-man rotation that always has 2 bigs who can score. Camby probably becomes trade bait as an expiring contract. Re-up Miller, find a legitimate backup PG, and add a solid 3-pt specialist and that's all that's needed, in my view, for the Blazers to challenge next season.
Unlike some here, I'm not nearly comfortable that the February 27 ppg Aldridge was the real Aldridge. I feel he just had a fantastic run for a few months, but he just doesn't have it in him to sustain that level for extended periods. He clearly couldn't dig down and produce like that in the playoffs. Interestingly, over the last 28 games of the season/playoffs, he reverted to being a 20/8 guy. What also happened over that stretch? We added Gerald Wallace. He reverted to "Brandon Roy-Aldridge" when another high-caliber player was added to the roster. Kind of makes you wonder what his stats will look like if Oden were ever able to play out a season at 100%, doesn't it? Meanwhile, there's no doubt in my mind about Williams' ability to produce. Whether it's opening night or a closeout game in the playoffs, whether it's January or April, whether it's with Boozer or Milsap or Brook Lopez in the front court, Deron just gets his numbers night after night. Over the past 11 or so years, the Blazers have been an annoying mix of flaky and injury. This kind of swap solidifies the team at the PG position for a long time to come.
I'd maybe agree if I thought Camby and Miller had much value. Camby was horrible in the playoffs, and although Miller looked good, he's old. If he loses another step, he'll be a really bad defender and he won't have Kidd's three point shot to make him bearable.
Yet it weakens the front-line, at least in theory, since Oden is not a given. My approach would be to try and get Deron Williams without giving up LMA. Swapping LMA for Williams doesn't make the team better, IMO, and may make it worse in the short-term, since the drop-off from Deron Williams to Andre Miller is less significant than the drop-off from LMA to .... who, exactly?
I just don't see how you get Williams without giving up Aldridge. Oden + Batum + mystery meat might intrigue, I suppose, but I kind of doubt it.
I'll add that although he isn't Greg Oden in terms of injury, Deron Williams has only played 70+ games once in the past 4 seasons.
I'd pass, if that's the case. Of course, I'm crazy enough to think that Utah got the better of the Williams trade, long term, by getting Derrick Favors.
If you have to give up your best player to bring in a guy that would only be a #2 or #3 option on a title team I don't think your gaining much. The Lakers won titles because they acquired Pau as their second best player without giving up much, if we give up LaMarcus getting Deron is a lateral move. I want our trades to be Gerald Wallace style where we take on contracts, give up draft picks but get a clearly superior player in return. Not a similar player. If this was a Rasheed/Grant or Sheed/Jermaine or Sheed/Zach or Zach/Shareef logjam at the 4 then maybe it would be the type of trade I'd be interested in. Those teams had a great quality backup that could slide right into the starting PF spot. The teams with Zach had our two best players on the roster both at PF! In that case I could see trading for an equal talent at another position. But right now we are exactly the opposite, this roster has no big man depth; finding an adequate guard will be much easier than finding an adequate 7 footer.
