Did KP pass on...

[BIG Q]

Richard Jefferson again? Do you think he was available to KP again? Outlaw/Blake as non-guaranteed contracts that could be cut, Sergio, Freeland/Peteri. Did KP have the right combo to get Jefferson? Might KP just not like Jeffersons game/contract? Blake could have been re-signed when cut.

What about #5? Are Miller/Foye really that enticing? Again, Outlaw/Blake and filler have any appeal in a Wizards salary dump? Did KP miss the boat here? A conference and a division rival is vastly improving their teams. Do any of you think that KP has something bigger cooking or his he just going to try to get a free agent PG and call it a summer?

 

[Idog1976]

Richard Jefferson again? Do you think he was available to KP again? Outlaw/Blake as non-guaranteed contracts that could be cut, Sergio, Freeland/Peteri. Did KP have the right combo to get Jefferson? Might KP just not like Jeffersons game/contract? Blake could have been re-signed when cut.

What about #5? Are Miller/Foye really that enticing? Again, Outlaw/Blake and filler have any appeal in a Wizards salary dump? Did KP miss the boat here? A conference and a division rival is vastly improving their teams. Do any of you think that KP has something bigger cooking or his he just going to try to get a free agent PG and call it a summer?

I'm starting to worry about KP. I think he might overvalue our guys. If Outlaw isn't wearing a different Jersey by the season opener I'm seriously going to start freaking out. We aren't beating LA if we don't MASSIVELY improve and ala SA the other Western Powers are looking to improve...color me worried.

 

[MARIS61]

KP knows an overrated player when he sees one.

 

[Todd]

I'm starting to worry about KP. I think he might overvalue our guys. If Outlaw isn't wearing a different Jersey by the season opener I'm seriously going to start freaking out. We aren't beating LA if we don't MASSIVELY improve and ala SA the other Western Powers are looking to improve...color me worried.

We need to do something, this team isn't ever going to win it all with this current roster.

 

[BIG Q]

KP knows an overrated player when he sees one.

I agree that Jefferson is overrated and not worth his contract. With that said, do you think that KP is working something else that will unfold during the draft or just gonna go into free agency and get a deal there?

 

[rocketeer]

We need to do something, this team isn't ever going to win it all with this current roster.

i disagree. the current roster absolutely is good enough to win a championship with further development. of course, improving the roster improves the chances of winning a championship so that should be done if possible.

 

[ppilot]

I really don't understand the Jefferson love around here. If we are talking about RJ from four years ago, I am all for it. However, his numbers have been in the decline since then and is an above average player that gets paid a lot of money. I think True Hoop compared the PER for Jefferson and Outlaw and noted RJ was only slightly better and getting paid three times as much destroying our salary cap. Add in that RJ is known to be a problem in the locker room. You just don't get enough return on your investment

 

[oldmangrouch]

RJ is a better fit with the Spurs. All they wanted was a guy who can take some pressure off of the big three. The Blazers need a vet who will provide some leadership, and that is not RJ's forte.

The Washington situation disturbs me more. We don't have enough cap-space to sign an impact FA, so the only value it has is to facilitate a trade.

 

[Nate4Prez]

I would take Foye/Miller over Blake/Outlaw. I dont think this is a case of KP overvauling Blazer players, if anyone thinks Blake/Outlaw = Foye/Miller they are the ones overvauling Blazers, not KP.

 

[BIG Q]

I would take Foye/Miller over Blake/Outlaw. I dont think this is a case of KP overvauling Blazer players, if anyone thinks Blake/Outlaw = Foye/Miller they are the ones overvauling Blazers, not KP.

I am not comparing skill in this trade. I am offering contracts that can be cut immediately. Lets say that Portland really does covet Rubio or Curry. The fifth pick will get one of them. If you were to get the 5th pick and draft Rubio or Curry then Bayless needs to be moved. Add Bayless to Outlaw/Blake and that is a good deal. Toss them the 24/32 picks as well.

If you get Rubio or Curry then you have no need for a free agent PG. The cap money would be used to absorb the rest of the salary taken on. Songalia is the new back up PF. I think this is an opportunity missed if KP does not get it done during the draft or in free agency. He struck out at the trade deadline. We are less than 48 hours away from finding out if he strikes out at the draft. It will be a huge gamble going into free agency with only $7 mil cap space. At this point he may need to trade Outlaw for future considerations for more room. I still have faith in KP, but at some point he needs to strike besides the draft.

 

[hasoos]

I have been worried every since we didn't move RLEC. Folks can say they didn't do a trade today because of personell swap, but back then, that wasn't an issue. It was an expiring contract for about the same amount RJ was traded for today. I guess it will all come down to if any other deals we don't know about are on the table.

One thing that has surprised me about this so far, is that teams are making these moves so early. It kind of gives their hand away if posturing for position with somebody. It is the type of thing KP has taken advantage of in the past by outmaneuvering teams on draft day. At the same time, it also eliminates some deals that might have been good to go on draft day.

 

[Entity]

I'm not worried about #5. Portland has enough young guys. Almost every draft will feature a player that could fill a need, and will probably be a superstar. Can't wait around for them all. It's time to move on and go for older players.

I'm not too disappointed about the loss of a shot at RJ. I'll wait a little while longer and see what happens. There's a lot of off season.

 

[Денг Гордон]

Are Blake and Outlaw really not guaranteed? Hinrich for those two seems like a good match.

Bulls get to cut those two to create space for Gordon instantly, to stay under the lux, while Kevin Pritchard gets Hinrich, the crush of all of Jayhawk nation.

Paxson said at the deadline that he didn't make a trade, because it would have been detrimental to their playoff run, but would have set them up really good financially, and that they believe they can make that same deal in the offseason.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Are Blake and Outlaw really not guaranteed? Hinrich for those two seems like a good match.

Bulls get to cut those two to create space for Gordon instantly, to stay under the lux, while Kevin Pritchard gets Hinrich, the crush of all of Jayhawk nation.

Paxson said at the deadline that he didn't make a trade, because it would have been detrimental to their playoff run, but would have set them up really good financially, and that they believe they can make that same deal in the offseason.

They are both non guaranteed players. Their contracts need to be picked up by July 1st or they become FA's, but they are under contract until then meanig they can be traded.

 

[MickZagger]

There are better options out there than Jefferson.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Trading for Miller or Jefferson imo would be trading just to make a trade. Good players but not a perfect fit for us due to salary and age. Interesting that Miller is now on his 4th team in 7 years.

 

[Entity]

Man, all these moves have got me hitting refresh on the ESPN NBA page.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

i disagree. the current roster absolutely is good enough to win a championship with further development. of course, improving the roster improves the chances of winning a championship so that should be done if possible.

I agree.

 

[Natebishop3]

I've been worried about KP since the trade deadline. I'm holding my criticism until after the offseason, but if we don't make a significant upgrade at the point and clear our logjam at small forward, I'm going to be very unhappy.

 

[craigehlo]

Trading for Miller or Jefferson imo would be trading just to make a trade. Good players but not a perfect fit for us due to salary and age. Interesting that Miller is now on his 4th team in 7 years.

First off that whole "trading to make a trade" cliche is tired. No team trades for no reason. Salary, short and long term improvements are the reasons trades go down.

If the Blazers traded for Jefferson it would give the team a player with high hoops IQ at the SF spot. That means less boneheaded defensive lapses and poor shot selection.

 

[Pinwheel1]

First off that whole "trading to make a trade" cliche is tired. No team trades for no reason. Salary, short and long term improvements are the reasons trades go down.

If the Blazers traded for Jefferson it would give the team a player with high hoops IQ at the SF spot. That means less boneheaded defensive lapses and poor shot selection.

So when we traded Drexler for Thorpe was that for long term or short term success? Not sure we saved any money. When we traded Rasheed just to get him the hell out of Portland, how long of a term were we talking? 5 years? With all the brilliant GM's we have seen over the years, none of them has just made a trade just to look like they are trying to shake things up? Persoanally I don't think the majority of trades make any difference in a teams success. Many do, but most don't

We can find someone cheaper than Jefferson that has a high basketball IQ.

 

[LittleAlex]

i disagree. the current roster absolutely is good enough to win a championship with further development. of course, improving the roster improves the chances of winning a championship so that should be done if possible.

That's the clincher. If all players on the team get better, then maybe they can contend for a title. It is highly unlikely that all of the young players on the team get better. One, maybe two, will stagnate. If KP take take some of that risk out by bringing in a guy who is already at or near some of these guys ceiling, then he should get it done.

I am not hopeful that team as currently constructed can win it all. I believe some of the players the team counts on during the season are fool's gold. I think some of the promise of the rookies will always be just that, promise.

I could very well be wrong. But it sure doesn't look like it to me.

 

[hasoos]

That's the clincher. If all players on the team get better, then maybe they can contend for a title. It is highly unlikely that all of the young players on the team get better. One, maybe two, will stagnate. If KP take take some of that risk out by bringing in a guy who is already at or near some of these guys ceiling, then he should get it done.

I am not hopeful that team as currently constructed can win it all. I believe some of the players the team counts on during the season are fool's gold. I think some of the promise of the rookies will always be just that, promise.

I could very well be wrong. But it sure doesn't look like it to me.

Yep I am sure that Travis Outlaw will get right on improving that game. Let's see. He should be ready by...2016.

 

[rocketeer]

That's the clincher. If all players on the team get better, then maybe they can contend for a title. It is highly unlikely that all of the young players on the team get better. One, maybe two, will stagnate. If KP take take some of that risk out by bringing in a guy who is already at or near some of these guys ceiling, then he should get it done.

I am not hopeful that team as currently constructed can win it all. I believe some of the players the team counts on during the season are fool's gold. I think some of the promise of the rookies will always be just that, promise.

I could very well be wrong. But it sure doesn't look like it to me.

i didn't say that all the players on the team needed to get better because that's not the case. portland really isn't as far off as some people here like to pretend. the blazers won 54 games for a reason and it's because they were a good team. it isn't unrealistic at all(in fact it's very realistic) to expect some improvements out of oden, bayless, and batum. if bayless keeps making strides defensively and rediscovers some of the shooting stroke he had in college, that's really all the blazers need. if batum can expand a little on his offensive game to go along with the defense, portland doesn't really need much else from him. the only guy portland needs much improvement out of is oden and even then, the amount of improvement he needs to make is generally greatly overstated. he just needs to work to stay on the court more, because he's definitely productive on the court regardless of how many times people what to call him raw and lacking skill.

it's not like portland needs everyone to become an allstar to win a title.

 

[crandc]

I agree that Jefferson is overrated and not worth his contract. With that said, do you think that KP is working something else that will unfold during the draft or just gonna go into free agency and get a deal there?

None of us know.

But of course it can be speculated and KP can be called names for not trading LaFrentz for Jefferson or Outlaw for Kidd or anything else although no one knows if those deals were ever offered.

 

[LittleAlex]

i didn't say that all the players on the team needed to get better because that's not the case. portland really isn't as far off as some people here like to pretend. the blazers won 54 games for a reason and it's because they were a good team. it isn't unrealistic at all(in fact it's very realistic) to expect some improvements out of oden, bayless, and batum. if bayless keeps making strides defensively and rediscovers some of the shooting stroke he had in college, that's really all the blazers need. if batum can expand a little on his offensive game to go along with the defense, portland doesn't really need much else from him. the only guy portland needs much improvement out of is oden and even then, the amount of improvement he needs to make is generally greatly overstated. he just needs to work to stay on the court more, because he's definitely productive on the court regardless of how many times people what to call him raw and lacking skill.

it's not like portland needs everyone to become an allstar to win a title.

They won 54 games last year because their home record was awesome. Their away record was ok, but against quality opponents it was fucking horrific.

Until they can be good teams on the road even 25% of the time, I will assume they are playing over their heads. Much like the Miami teams of the 90's did. They always won a bunch of games during the regular season, but couldn't ever get it done in the playoffs.

It's not like Portland is going to be getting better in a vacuum. Other teams will also be growing and getting better. If Portland wants to contend for a title, standing pat and playing safe are not going to get it done.

 

[RickyRubio]

Obviously if he passed on RJ before, he will again.

Trust KP!!! He is going to pull off some magic tomorrow!

 

[Idog1976]

Not getting RJ doesn't bother me. It's the #5 pick slipping through our grasp that worries me. Why not make a move and offer better upside youngsters then a ho-hum vet (Miller) and an oft injured not to promising young guy (Foye). Blake and Outlaw or even Outlaw and Sergio could have gotten it done potentially. I just hope KP is going to make a splash at some point. Minor upgrades aren't going to get it done.