Miller offered for Battier? (RUMOR)

[santeesioux]

Andre Miller, Portland: The Blazers may not want to move Miller, but long-term injuries to Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez have left Portland with a gaping hole at small forward. Miller's three-year contract is only guaranteed for another year and a half, making him a reasonable acquisition. A source says Portland has at least broached the subject of Miller with Houston, hoping to pull Shane Battier from the Rockets' grasp. Good luck with that.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/12/14/morning.tip/index.html

 

[Nikolokolus]

There's no way the Rockets would let Battier go, Daryl Morey is more in love with him than KP is with Rudy.

 

[hasoos]

and what reason would Houston do that trade? Because they committed to Ariza? They already are 2 deep at PG, although one is a definite backup.

 

[Natebishop3]

I wouldn't mind that trade and I said so a few weeks ago. I think it fills a need for both teams. A veteran point guard for the Rockets and a solid small forward for us. I've heard some Rockets fans complain about Brooks' inability to get Yao the ball, maybe Miller could help with that (when Yao plays. IF Yao Plays.)

Bayless/Blake
Roy/Rudy (when he comes back)
Battier/Webster
LMA/Howard
Przybilla/??

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Wishful thinking. It'd be awesome but a it's a long shot at best.

 

[rocketeer]

andre miller would be the 3rd best pg on the rockets. there is absolutely no way the rockets deal battier for him.

 

[Further]

it passes the KP would ask for that deal smell test, but not the Rockets would accept that deal smell test.

 

[Natebishop3]

andre miller would be the 3rd best pg on the rockets. there is absolutely no way the rockets deal battier for him.

Weren't you the one who complained about Brooks and Yao? Don't you think that Miller would be better at getting Yao the ball?

 

[hasoos]

I figure the rockets will probably do something, at some point. They have Ariza, Battier and McGrady on the books. This just doesn't make much sense unless they have another deal on the table.

 

[Minstrel]

Weren't you the one who complained about Brooks and Yao? Don't you think that Miller would be better at getting Yao the ball?

rocketeer has an extremely, extremely low opinion of Miller, not a high opinion of Brooks, as far as I can tell.

 

[santeesioux]

It would certainly free up some minutes for Bayless!

 

[illmatic99]

Miller is a better player than Battier. And once Batum returns, we'd have no need for Shane.

This is exactly the kind of deal I DO NOT want us to make.

Trading a relatively valuable commodity for a role player who will not get us into contention.

 

[hasoos]

Miller is a better player than Battier. And once Batum returns, we'd have no need for Shane.

This is exactly the kind of deal I DO NOT want us to make.

Trading a relatively valuable commodity for a role player who will not get us into contention.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Wooo that was a funny post? What? Your not joking?

 

[rocketeer]

Weren't you the one who complained about Brooks and Yao? Don't you think that Miller would be better at getting Yao the ball?

brooks at times had problems getting the ball to yao. but that happened as a 2nd year player and artest was worse at getting the ball to yao anyway. i don't see it really as a longterm problem with brooks(assuming yao's surgery gets him healthy longterm).

no, i don't think miller would do i better job than brooks. i think miller's expertise with getting big men the ball has been vastly overrated by blazer fans.

and i don't see how miller is an upgrade over what the rockets already have with brooks/lowry at the pg position. they certainly aren't going to give up a player they are very high on in battier to add to that position.

i could see the rockets being interested in rudy, but not miller. and they'd still need more than rudy to deal battier.

 

[Minstrel]

Miller is a better player than Battier. And once Batum returns, we'd have no need for Shane.

I essentially agree with you, but I think that ultimately Miller isn't going to be given much of a chance to fit in, so he's going to be nothing more than a backup here, though I think he's actually a good starter.

So, I'd trade Miller-as-a-backup for Battier, who'd help us now as a starter and then fade into a backup role later. But I don't see it being very impactful overall.

 

[illmatic99]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Wooo that was a funny post? What? Your not joking?

What exactly was so funny?

Battier is an average role player who has limited skills. He's the kind of player who makes a good team great. But we're hardly a good team without Oden, so there's no use trading for him now. All he'd do once Batum returns is take away precious PT from Nic.

Also, I don't want us to trade Miller without ever giving him a fair shot.

 

[rocketeer]

rocketeer has an extremely, extremely low opinion of Miller, not a high opinion of Brooks, as far as I can tell.

i can see that being a fair assessment. i would disagree with extremely low and lean more towards accurate, but i can see people with a higher opinion of him disagreeing.

 

[Minstrel]

i can see that being a fair assessment. i would disagree with extremely low and lean more towards accurate, but i can see people with a higher opinion of him disagreeing.

Obviously, we all think our opinions are fairly accurate or else we wouldn't hold them. I wasn't commenting on whether your view was accurate or not, just that you don't think a lot of Miller.

 

[hasoos]

What exactly was so funny?

Battier is an average role player who has limited skills. He's the kind of player who makes a good team great. But we're hardly a good team without Oden, so there's no use trading for him now. All he'd do once Batum returns is take away precious PT from Nic.

Also, I don't want us to trade Miller without ever giving him a fair shot.

Well I hate to inform you, but the Blazers haven't even had an average SF for about the last 4+ years. Batum included. While I am interested to see how he does when he gets back, the facts are that Portland could use even an average SF, and that would be a huge upgrade. Batum would do well to serve a year or two under Battier learning and then we could choose when to move him into a more prominent role. By the time Battier is getting old, Batum would be ready, and that would be a much smarter play than just banking on a hurt SF coming back and turning into a star over night. Webster. Outlaw. Sergio. Learn from mistakes. Don't bank on a player getting better. It might not even happen.

 

[illmatic99]

Bull. I've seen more from Nic at age 19/20 than I've seen at anytime from guys like Webster, Outlaw, and Sergio. And his development overseas this summer was outstanding.

I don't think Nic playing meager minutes behind a mediocre SF (you know Nate) who will get us nowhere is a smart decision.

What exactly do you hope Battier will help us do this season?

 

[hasoos]

Bull. I've seen more from Nic at age 19/20 than I've seen at anytime from guys like Webster, Outlaw, and Sergio. And his development overseas this summer was outstanding.

I don't think Nic playing meager minutes behind a mediocre SF (you know Nate) who will get us nowhere is a smart decision.

What exactly do you hope Battier will help us do this season?

Hit a fucking open shot and play defense. What else do we need our SF to do?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Bull. I've seen more from Nic at age 19/20 than I've seen at anytime from guys like Webster, Outlaw, and Sergio. And his development overseas this summer was outstanding.

I don't think Nic playing meager minutes behind a mediocre SF (you know Nate) who will get us nowhere is a smart decision.

What exactly do you hope Battier will help us do this season?

What are you talking about? Sergio was a fantastic small forward

 

[illmatic99]

What I meant was, do you see Battier helping us win more games than Miller? I don't.

And even if he does improve our record, the increase will be marginal, and not worth wasting Nic's development.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Hit a fucking open shot and play defense. What else do we need our SF to do?

The only problem I have with this statement is that it implies it is easy to find these sorts of guys.

 

[Natebishop3]

What I meant was, do you see Battier helping us win more games than Miller? I don't.

And even if he does improve our record, the increase will be marginal, and not worth wasting Nic's development.

He would absolutely improve our record.

A) He would instantly become our best wing defender by a long shot. Nobody even comes close. Not even Batum.

B) He is another three point shooter who can hit shots when it counts.

C) We could move Bayless into a larger role in the rotation (maybe even the starter).

 

[illmatic99]

That does sound pretty enticing.

I still have hope that this coaching staff can figure out how to use Miller, though.

 

[Nikolokolus]

That does sound pretty enticing.

I still have hope that this coaching staff can figure out how to use Miller, though.

Me too, but if it doesn't work out, it's not a bad trade by any means.

 

[hasoos]

The only problem I have with this statement is that it implies it is easy to find these sorts of guys.

In fact that is part of what I was saying. I know a lot of the Blazer fans love our guys because they were drafted by the organization, and they anticipate players turning from a project into a high end players and playing their whole careeer here, and they envision some sort of magnificent career run here. But that is not how it works out most of the time. From what I have seen, projects for the most part are failures, and rarely successful. There have been free agents and draft picks we have passed on repeatedly over the last few years which would have upgraded the Blazers at the SF position easily. Some of them as late as the second round in the draft.

I am not saying Batum might turn into a pretty good player one day. I am just saying that a known "good" is exactly that. A guy that can provide the spacing for our stars to go to work. A guy that the defense can't afford to leave because he will hit the open jumper. Other teams have that guy. We haven't for a really long time now.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

If the Rockets traded Battier it would be for youth. There is about zero chance of them agreeing to that trade.

 

[Minstrel]

A) He would instantly become our best wing defender by a long shot. Nobody even comes close. Not even Batum.

I think you're overrating Battier's defense a bit. I think he's a very good defender, but no longer all-world. I think Batum comes close.