Blazers came close to getting Devin Harris for Andre Miller?

[Rastapopoulos]

It's Vecsey, so...

As it turns out, the Blazers also had dialed into the thick of the Anthony multi-team trade conversation that also involved the Jazz and Bobcats.

According to someone on that party line, Portland proposed to have Nets point guard Devin Harris rerouted from Charlotte for Andre Miller. It appeared to be gaining some serious headway when Denver abruptly halted the perpetual permutation shuffling.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

If ever in this world the line "consider the source" comes into play (of course outside monumental liars like Canzano & Quick) on a national scale, it's with Peter Vecsey.

 

[MIXUM]

if theres a chance of us getting a decent pg at the deadline.... i think its either devin harris or mo williams

 

[ABM]

If ever in this world the line "consider the source" comes into play (of course outside monumental liars like Canzano & Quick) on a national scale, it's with Peter Vecsey.

Yeah, his sources are right up there with Mike Rice's.....in terms of reputable.

 

[THE HCP]

MO WILLIAMS!!!!!!!! An undersized shoot first PG that's a head case? Great!

 

[THE HCP]

Now Devin Harris on the other hand.........

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think we were the source he is talking about.

 

[MickZagger]

I remember when I was young and I used to watch NBA on NBC. Vecsey was always there at halftime to talk about trade rumors. He insisted we were trading for Derrick Coleman for about 5 years. It never happened. So then for about two years he was adamant that we were going to acquire Billy Owens. Never happened.

Thats when I realized Vecsey is a fraud and just makes shit up.

 

[jlprk]

I think Vecsey is mostly telling the truth. You should have seen his halftime show predecessor, Jimmy the Greek. Nice guy, but GMs who were in trade conversations accused him of making up the details of those conversations.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

if theres a chance of us getting a decent pg at the deadline.... i think its either devin harris or mo williams

I'm thinking Chris Paul

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Would you do this trade?

(NJ sends a couple of picks to Denver as well, of course.)

 

[BGrantFan]

I think Vecsey is mostly telling the truth. You should have seen his halftime show predecessor, Jimmy the Greek. Nice guy, but GMs who were in trade conversations accused him of making up the details of those conversations.

Jimmy the Greek did the NFL on CBS pre-game show. He talked about who was going to win the games.

 

[craigehlo]

Would you do this trade?

(NJ sends a couple of picks to Denver as well, of course.)

You are a wizard of the trade machine. No team gets screwed in a 4 team deal? Awesome.

 

[LOTBfan]

Any scenario that gets mello out of the west and lands us a longer term point guard at the same time wins.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I think Harris would be better for our team than Miller, especially if he would rededicate himself to being an outstanding defensive player. But I think, especially in light of what Roy is saying, that the ideal PG for Portland would be a good three point shooter, steady ball handler, outstanding defensive player. A more athletic Steve Blake. Have no idea who in the NBA fill that bill.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'd do that deal Rasta. I'm a little dubious about Harris' ability to fit in with Roy in much the same way that Roy and Miller seem to have trouble fitting together, but he's younger by far, has the potential to be a solid defender and certainly has elite quickness ... his injury history also gives me pause, but not enough that I wouldn't do the deal.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'd do that deal Rasta. I'm a little dubious about Harris' ability to fit in with Roy in much the same way that Roy and Miller seem to have trouble fitting together, but he's younger by far, has the potential to be a solid defender and certainly has elite quickness ... his injury history also gives me pause, but not enough that I wouldn't do the deal.

That's really the heart of the problem. It seems like we either need a point guard who is happy standing around shooting the three, or we move Roy to point guard. I'm starting to lean more towards Roy as the pg. At least that gets Matthews on the floor more.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

That's really the heart of the problem. It seems like we either need a point guard who is happy standing around shooting the three, or we move Roy to point guard. I'm starting to lean more towards Roy as the pg. At least that gets Matthews on the floor more.

If you want Matthews on the floor more, I have more faith in him as PG than Roy.

 

[Natebishop3]

If you want Matthews on the floor more, I have more faith in him as PG than Roy.

The Blazers offense isn't predicated on having a prototypical point guard though. Nate loves to have the "PG" bring the ball up the floor, hand it off at the top of the key, and go find a spot on the three point line. How many times did we see Blake bring the ball up, hand it off and go plant himself. I don't see any reason why Roy, Matthews, and Batum couldn't split those duties.

 

[MickZagger]

Should we just trade Miller and do a PG by committee type thing?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

The Blazers offense isn't predicated on having a prototypical point guard though. Nate loves to have the "PG" bring the ball up the floor, hand it off at the top of the key, and go find a spot on the three point line. How many times did we see Blake bring the ball up, hand it off and go plant himself. I don't see any reason why Roy, Matthews, and Batum couldn't split those duties.

I'd advocate such a concept myself; Matthews and Roy would be a tough tandem to stop in the back court (both are strong, with full range offensively), and Batum adds an extra level of confidence with good ball handling skills and lateral defense. There's no good reason (besides having Andre Miller) not to give this a good long look. If Andre and Rudy are both moved, this lineup will most likely be the one we go to.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'd advocate such a concept myself; Matthews and Roy would be a tough tandem to stop in the back court (both are strong, with full range offensively), and Batum adds an extra level of confidence with good ball handling skills and lateral defense. There's no good reason (besides having Andre Miller) not to give this a good long look. If Andre and Rudy are both moved, this lineup will most likely be the one we go to.

I think we might see that lineup regardless. If for some reason this team continues to struggle with Miller at the point, we might see McMillan start to experiment. I would be in favor of seeing this lineup at least three or four times for extended minutes just to see if it works.

 

[Nikolokolus]

That's really the heart of the problem. It seems like we either need a point guard who is happy standing around shooting the three, or we move Roy to point guard. I'm starting to lean more towards Roy as the pg. At least that gets Matthews on the floor more.

I agree that it is a problem, and I don't think Harris would ever be utilized to his full ability, but he would certainly add a top 12 player (arguable I guess) at a position that is (seemingly) tough to fill. If we did get Harris I'm sure we'd see the same kinds of tug-o-war with Roy that we see with respect to sharing the ball with Dre', but at least Harris has enough cache and is young enough that Roy might be tempted to bite his tongue instead of airing his desires in such an unprofessional and frankly selfish manner as we saw a couple of days ago -- Brandon might even be right about needing the ball more, but as a the defacto leader of the team this was poorly handled.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think we might see that lineup regardless. If for some reason this team continues to struggle with Miller at the point, we might see McMillan start to experiment. I would be in favor of seeing this lineup at least three or four times for extended minutes just to see if it works.

After listening to Nate on Courtside the other night, he actually called Wesley a "2 or a 1" when Mike Rice asked him about positions and combinations of players. I'm guessing Wesley can guard some ones and he certainly seems to have a pretty good handle and court vision. Maybe this is a viable solution.

 

[maybeso]

After listening to Nate on Courtside the other night, he actually called Wesley a "2 or a 1" when Mike Rice asked him about positions and combinations of players. I'm guessing Wesley can guard some ones and he certainly seems to have a pretty good handle and court vision. Maybe this is a viable solution.

Is Matthews about the same size and weight as Nate was during his career? I think they are both about 6' 5", but I don't know how heavy Nate was in the day.

If Nate was a successful PG, then perhaps he sees Matthews as a viable 1 guard? I can't remember seeing Nate play, so I don't have an opinion about his PG abilities.

 

[maybeso]

If this data from basketball reference is accurate for Nate's later career, then he was perhaps 50 lbs lighter than Matthews. If this data refelects Nate's rookie year, then perhaps the difference is less?

Nate McMillan

Nathaniel McMillan (Nate, Mac)

Position: Guard-Forward
Height: 6-5 Weight: 195 lbs.
Born: August 3, 1964 in Raleigh, North Carolina
High School: Enloe in Raleigh, North Carolina
College: North Carolina State University

The same source shows Wesley at 220 lbs. So rookie to rookie the difference is 25 lbs. I thought I had heard that Matthews weighs ~250.

Wesley Matthews

Position: Guard
Height: 6-5 Weight: 220 lbs.
Born: October 14, 1986 in San Antonio, Texas
High School: James Madison Memorial in Madison, Wisconsin
College: Marquette University

 

[Nikolokolus]

Is Matthews about the same size and weight as Nate was during his career? I think they are both about 6' 5", but I don't know how heavy Nate was in the day.

If Nate was a successful PG, then perhaps he sees Matthews as a viable 1 guard? I can't remember seeing Nate play, so I don't have an opinion about his PG abilities.

Nate and Matthews are pretty close to the same size (Nate is longer limbed) but we're talking about different eras. Back when Nate played you could hand check on the perimeter, which placed a premium on big physical defensive guards, now it's more about quickness and funneling a driver into your help defense than locking a player down one-on-one (exceptions do exist).

As for Matthews I think he can guard ones (at least most of the time) and the rest of his game seems like it could be fairly complimentary of Roy's given his ability to shoot from deep, and the fact that he's got a half-way decent handle ... I guess we'll see.