I'm amazed that so many smart posters are still not recognizing the value for the Blazers not trading Raef and having him come off of their own cap. Teams want RLEC because it slashes salary and lowers their cap figure right? Some teams want to get under the Lux tax and others might want to become FA players. But if Portland lets RLEC, Ike, & Frye come off their cap this offseason, then they will be about 6-8M under the cap. If they then renounce either Blake or Travis they'd be 10-13M under and both they'd have >16M of space. Teams can trade for this capspace. Acquiring it would immediately slash salary and lower the team's cap figure just like trading for RLEC now would.
I've thought for a while that they've got too many guys who deserve minutes so they do have some motivation to make a move right now, but of course someone else has to be offering the guy they want. But on the other side of the coin KP has stated that he is hesitant to mess with team chemistry during the season. Anyway, I'd imagine he is talking to teams and seeing who has interest in what. Every report we get is that Portland's management is always talking to others about various possible deals... certainly the annual flurry of draft day deals seem to indicate that KP weighs a lot of different scenarios and isn't afraid to make moves.
But just to be clear, Raef's contract probably holds a lot of value to some teams now. But a similar amount of Blazer capspace this offseason should hold the same value.
...btw, of course I went with the Ed O option. Making good moves is always preferred.
STOMP