REPORT: Millsap offer official now. Sent to Utah.

[Crimson the Cat]

I've always been a big fan of Millsap's and I'd be thrilled to get him. He will add toughness and even more rebounding off the bench and is a more than capable starter if Aldridge suffers an injury. He will also be a big help in the post season - which is really the main reason to get him. The Blazers got pushed around by Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes in the play-offs. I know KP loves players with "length", but it's definitely time we added a little strength to go with that length. Millsap, plus a healthy Oden will prevent us from getting pushed around in the play-offs again.

BNM

Possibly getting Millsap takes away the sting of not drafting Blair? They are very similar though Millsap has ligaments.

 

[Mediocre Man]

We are not getting Millsap!!!!!

 

[STOMP]

I wonder how Oden and Millsap will play togeather? Will they get in each others way, clog the middle and hamper each others effectiveness? Or will they be an unstoppable duo gobbling up rebounds from every direction and pushing the other team out of the way.

If the deal goes through and Portland eventually deals Joel straight up for Chris Paul as everyone expects I'd agree that the Millsap - Oden frontcourt pairing seems the worst offensive fit of skills as both do their best work on the low block. I have seen Paul make a few J's but thats not his forte. But while court spacing might not be ideal with those two paired, I'd image they'll be able to defend, board, and set a few decent picks... basically its a concern I'd be thrilled to have.

STOMP

 

[oldmangrouch]

Wasn't it in 06-07? Semantics, I suppose.

Why wouldn't he improve with an increased role and a change of scenery?

Why did he miss 30 games last season? Why did his APG drop by a 1/3? Why did he often seem to lack enthusiasm?

I'm sure the folks in Chi-Town will say he was just pouting about having Gordon/Rose push him aside. If true, that's not good....but a change of scenery might indeed revitalyze him. OTOH, what if his injury problems were legit, and he is starting to break down physically?

Call me a cynic, but if the Bulls are anxious to trade him - even though they no longer have a log-jam in the back court - that makes me *real* nervous!

 

[maxiep]

I think adding Hinrich as our starting PG is better than adding Millsap as our backup PF. Just two seasons ago, Kirk had a 17 PER and was named second team All-NBA defense. No reason for him to not rejuvenate his career here.

If the move was to hamstring a division rival, force them to take back less talent for Boozer, sign Millsap for a large amount which hampers their cap situation for the next three years and net us a starting PG, then I will applaud the BBT.

 

[maxiep]

Here's a nice recap of the situtation: http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/16033178?source=rss_blogs_NBA

 

[mook]

If the deal goes through and Portland eventually deals Joel straight up for Chris Paul as everyone expects I'd agree that the Millsap - Oden frontcourt pairing seems the worst offensive fit of skills as both do their best work on the low block. I have seen Paul make a few J's but thats not his forte. But while court spacing might not be ideal with those two paired, I'd image they'll be able to defend, board, and set a few decent picks... basically its a concern I'd be thrilled to have.

STOMP

Yeah, it kind of reminds me of when Indiana used Dale Davis and Antonio Davis. Two rugged, interchangeable guys who didn't generate much offense but rebounded and defended well. Hopefully, though, Oden is significantly better than either.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

We are not getting Millsap!!!!!

I agree. Looks like Utah is going to match and trying to trade Boozer.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Here's a nice recap of the situtation: http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/16033178?source=rss_blogs_NBA

I don't like this part:

Memphis surprisingly has several million dollars in wiggle room -- and will get $5.2 million more on Friday, when their Dallas-assisted buyout of Jerry Stackhouse hits their books.

Can't you just see Chris Wallace jumping at the chance to screw us AGAIN?

I don't like this part either:

One interesting aspect of this tale is the fact that Utah is in better financial shape to match Millsap's signing bonus than was originally assumed. The maximum signing bonus that can be included in an offer sheet is 17.5 percent of the total contract -- in this case, $5.6 million. Many NBA teams would have trouble writing a check that big without borrowing the money, but Utah, according to NBA front office sources, isn't one of them. The team's only debt is a small amount owed on its arena, so paying Millsap a signing bonus would be "a non-event for them," according to one of the sources.

Put the two together and Memphis again facilitates a trade between Utah and somebody else again involving a player who'll accept a buyout, which Utah will pay to avoid the tax hit.

Finally, I don't like THIS part:

UPDATE: If the Jazz decide to venture deep into tax territory by matching the Millsap offer, they would have a few months to find the best deal for Boozer. They wouldn't be locked into a tax level until the February trade deadline, when they might get better offers from teams eager to clear 2010-11 cap space by acquiring Boozer's expiring contract.

So, in sum, I dispute your characterization of "nice"...

 

[alex42083]

What's preventing OKC from wanting Boozer? They could get an All-Star caliber player for nothing, use him for a season, they could certainly use a post-up threat, they screw a couple division rivals and if he doesn't work out, they just renounce his rights next summer and get the cap space back.
Seems like a nice risk to take when you're a crappy team.

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah I'm honestly going to be shocked if we end up with Millsap by the end of the week...

 

[PapaG]

Possibly getting Millsap takes away the sting of not drafting Blair? They are very similar though Millsap has ligaments.

Oh come on now.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Possibly getting Millsap takes away the sting of not drafting Blair? They are very similar though Millsap has ligaments.

Jeff McDonald, S.A. Express-News: "A mere 65 seconds after checking into his first NBA summer league game, Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair(notes) hip-checked his way through a pair of defenders, snatched an offensive rebound away from two defenders and double-pumped the ball back into the basket. From his courtside seat at UNLV's Cox Pavilion, New Orleans coach Byron Scott shook his head in amazement. 'That is a man down there,' Scott said, motioning in the direction of the wide-bodied Blair. On the day that the Spurs made him the 37th overall pick in the NBA draft, Blair swore he would make sure every team that had passed on him regretted it. He wasted little time scratching one team off his hit list Sunday. After it, Blair was in too good of a mood to say, 'I told you so.' 'I was just having fun,' Blair said, flashing a quick smile. 'I showed a lot of people what I can do, what they missed out on.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Are any of you surprised that Blair can play well? I'm not. It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player, but for how long he can do that for.

 

[yakbladder]

I don't like this part:



Can't you just see Chris Wallace jumping at the chance to screw us AGAIN?

If Memphis continues to screw us exclusively then I see no reason not to rent a Blazer bus and have a horde of us travel on down to explain to Mr. Wallace why the family disapproves of his actions.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

If Memphis continues to screw us exclusively then I see no reason not to rent a Blazer bus and have a horde of us travel on down to explain to Mr. Wallace why the family disapproves of his actions.

I'm game.

 

[Ed O]

Are any of you surprised that Blair can play well? I'm not. It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player, but for how long he can do that for.

That's a lame reason to pass on him. I'll take a year or two of an impact player than three or four years of practice team fodder.

I would LIKE to think his defensive inadequacies are the reason the Blazers passed on him three times, but I think they screwed the pooch by taking older, inferior players in the second round.

Ed O.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

That's a lame reason to pass on him. I'll take a year or two of an impact player than three or four years of practice team fodder.

I would LIKE to think his defensive inadequacies are the reason the Blazers passed on him three times, but I think they screwed the pooch by taking older, inferior players in the second round.

Ed O.

There was more to it, I believe, than just the knee concerns. There was something about his "fit" in Portland or attitude, if I remember right. Maybe it was his work ethic. I don't recall.

Still, even factoring in only his knees, what makes you think he'd have even one or two impact years? What leads you to believe that either Cunningham or Pendergraph won't provide the same eventual impact?

I think many of us rely too heavily on statistics. Portland's scouts do, what I think, is a top-notch job of turning over every stone to reveal a complete, or complete-as-possible, picture of a player's fit in Portland, in the league, and in the community.

They've done a fairly stellar job of it so far. Each draft we "reach" to unexpectedly pick a player/s and low-and-behold, we find hidden gems.

If our scouts like Cunningham/Pendergraph better than Blair for the present and future, there's some solid reasoning behind it.

 

[handiman]

Are any of you surprised that Blair can play well? I'm not. It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player, but for how long he can do that for.

Who cares? As a minimum wage, non-guaranteed contract, anything he provides is a bonus. He brings exactly what we're hoping to get from Millsap for an additional $8M per year...

 

[PapaG]

Who cares? As a minimum wage, non-guaranteed contract, anything he provides is a bonus. He brings exactly what we're hoping to get from Millsap for an additional $8M per year...

They are not even close to the same type of player. A double-double against Summer League scrubs, and suddenly Blair has Millsap's offensive game, size, and defensive skills.

 

[Ed O]

Still, even factoring in only his knees, what makes you think he'd have even one or two impact years?

Well, you just posted, "It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player"

How short of a window COULD he have in terms of being an impact player? He just had a couple of very very good seasons in college.

What leads you to believe that either Cunningham or Pendergraph won't provide the same eventual impact?

Because they were mediocre college players. Mediocre college players rarely turn into anything more.

Let's look at a couple of guys who were second rounders that blossomed in the NBA "out of nowhere": Brandon Bass and Paul Millsap.

Brandon Bass was the SEC player of the year as a sophomore. Paul Millsap led the nation in rebounding for three straight years.

Compare that to Cunningham and Pendergraph.

Cunningham? Most improved Big East player and second team all-Big East.

Pendergraph? Pac-10 All-Freshman honors in 2005-06, Pac-10 honorable mention honors in 2006-07, third-team All-Pac-10 in 2007-08 and first-team honors in 2008-09. Led the nation in FG% as a senior.

Sorry... those accomplishments just aren't at the same level of Bass and Millsap IMO.

They've done a fairly stellar job of it so far. Each draft we "reach" to unexpectedly pick a player/s and low-and-behold, we find hidden gems.

I TOTALLY disagree. The Blazers do NOT reach for players, and that's why they succeed. They took Bayless because he dropped. They took Batum after he was widely considered to be a lottery pick previously and then he slipped into the 20's because of some weird report about his heart right before the draft.

When has Potland "reached" for a player? I can't think of a single one that has actually panned out... Koponen and Freeland might both be considered reaches, but that's it... until this year.

If our scouts like Cunningham/Pendergraph better than Blair for the present and future, there's some solid reasoning behind it.

Or they made a mistake.

Ed O.

 

[BrianFromWA]

They are not even close to the same type of player. A double-double against Summer League scrubs, and suddenly Blair has Millsap's offensive game, size, and defensive skills.

They are close to the same type of player. Maybe not exact, but as a wide-bodied rebounding machine (on the offensive end, especially), they're quite similar. And it's not "suddenly"--rather, it's another confirmation (against zero disproofs) that he's probably going to be one heckuvan NBA player in the Millsap/Craig Smith/Reggie Evans mold.

Millsap Combine: 6'6.25, 258#, 7'1 wingspan
Blair combine: 6'5.25, 277#, 7'2 wingspan.

Size seems similar. Blair may not have Millsap's defensive skills. But a double-double in 23min against summer league scrubs shows he's still playing the way he was in college, where he was one of the elite rebounders in the last 20 years.

 

[Minstrel]

Or they made a mistake.

As did every other team in the league, in that case. Including the Spurs, because if they really believed he was a likely NBA stud, they'd have moved up when they saw him dropping and not merely hoped that this massively undervalued prospect would drop to them in the middle of the second round.

Had Blair been snapped up soon after Portland took Claver, I'd be more willing to believe that Portland made some baffling error. Considering every team in the league seemed to feel he was not a first round talent, I'm tending to believe that there's more to the story that made every franchise in the league feel he was a poor bet.

It's worth bearing in mind that the Blazers and every team in the league know what we know: that Blair was a rebounding monster in college and that rebounding translates well. So they all relegated him to the mid-second round despite that.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Who cares? As a minimum wage, non-guaranteed contract, anything he provides is a bonus. He brings exactly what we're hoping to get from Millsap for an additional $8M per year...

I'll take the proven $8M per year stud than the unproven, questionably healthy, cheap college stud.

We'll see who makes out better.

 

[Ed O]

As did every other team in the league, in that case. Including the Spurs, because if they really believed he was a likely NBA stud, they'd have moved up when they saw him dropping and not merely hoped that this massively undervalued prospect would drop to them in the middle of the second round.

Had Blair been snapped up soon after Portland took Claver, I'd be more willing to believe that Portland made some baffling error. Considering every team in the league seemed to feel he was not a first round talent, I'm tending to believe that there's more to the story that made every franchise in the league feel he was a poor bet.

It's worth bearing in mind that the Blazers and every team in the league know what we know: that Blair was a rebounding monster in college and that rebounding translates well. So they all relegated him to the mid-second round despite that.

I am not claiming he WILL be a stud. I was responding to CC's statement that"It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player".

I find it MUCH more likely, though, that he will be than either Pendergraph or Cunningham.

Teams passing on Blair through the completion of the first round is not a shock in the least. Guaranteed money is a big deal, and I can see why teams would be unwilling to give him multiple guaranteed years.

In the second round, Blair went at #37... which means that only five teams passed on him (since Portland passed twice).

We'll see. I have the feeling that most people won't believe that the Blazers have made a mistake until we see the difference in production on the floor. I am more comfortable looking at the body of work of the three players and thinking they erred.

Ed O.

 

[handiman]

I'll take the proven $8M per year stud than the unproven, questionably healthy, cheap college stud.

We'll see who makes out better.

Production relative to cost per minutes, of course... And don't forget to take into account Millsap's [negative] impact on getting rid of Joel or playing Aldridge out of position to make room for him.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Well, you just posted, "It was never a question whether he would come in be an impact player"

I didn't state a duration though. You did.

How short of a window COULD he have in terms of being an impact player? He just had a couple of very very good seasons in college.

I don't know. But, that you have to ask the question is why I'm not wanting to invest money, time, and a roster spot on him.

Because they were mediocre college players. Mediocre college players rarely turn into anything more.

I disagree about Cunningham. I think he's going to be a quality reserve, borderline starter in this league. You're selling him way short IMO. The Big East was the toughest conference in college last season. He was not average, even in his own conference, and certainly not in the nation.

Let's look at a couple of guys who were second rounders that blossomed in the NBA "out of nowhere": Brandon Bass and Paul Millsap.

Brandon Bass was the SEC player of the year as a sophomore. Paul Millsap led the nation in rebounding for three straight years.

And I counter with Ramon Sessions.

When has Potland "reached" for a player? I can't think of a single one that has actually panned out... Koponen and Freeland might both be considered reaches, but that's it... until this year.

I was thinking of Freeland, Koponen, Rodriquez, Fernandez, and Batum. To an extent I was thinking of Roy too. The team seems to zag when everyone else zigs. They reach for the unconventional options instead of selecting a more safer route. Ironic that I'd put it in those words, considering a selection of Pendergraph and/or Cunningham appears to be a safer route. But, given Portland's spotless track record in the draft, I'm willing to believe that there was something disturbing about Blair.

Or they made a mistake.

Only thing is they haven't made too many of those. Not to mention, the rest of the league past on him as well until San Antonio's second round selection.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

They are close to the same type of player. Maybe not exact, but as a wide-bodied rebounding machine (on the offensive end, especially), they're quite similar. And it's not "suddenly"--rather, it's another confirmation (against zero disproofs) that he's probably going to be one heckuvan NBA player in the Millsap/Craig Smith/Reggie Evans mold.

Millsap Combine: 6'6.25, 258#, 7'1 wingspan
Blair combine: 6'5.25, 277#, 7'2 wingspan.

Size seems similar. Blair may not have Millsap's defensive skills. But a double-double in 23min against summer league scrubs shows he's still playing the way he was in college, where he was one of the elite rebounders in the last 20 years.

If healthy, I don't doubt how special Blair could become. If Millsap was just entering the league, there would little reason to discuss this. They're both very comparable. The value of Millsap is that he has the experience and closer to his prime than Blair. Adding Millsap in place of Blair makes us a better team.

 

[Ed O]

I didn't state a duration though. You did.

I know. I'm asking you: if you have no doubt he'll be an impact player, how long will he be one?

A week? A decade? I thought a year or two was rather conservative. I don't see how a player could be considered an "impact" player without having at least one season.

I disagree about Cunningham. I think he's going to be a quality reserve, borderline starter in this league. You're selling him way short IMO. The Big East was the toughest conference in college last season. He was not average, even in his own conference, and certainly not in the nation.

He was second team Big East. Not an average player, but average for a best player on a team... mediocre in my book, especially for a fourth year senior.

And I counter with Ramon Sessions.

Yes, he is an exception. There are a couple exceptions, for sure. I think I'd rather avoid trying for exceptions and go for better bets.

I was thinking of Freeland, Koponen, Rodriquez, Fernandez, and Batum. To an extent I was thinking of Roy too. The team seems to zag when everyone else zigs. They reach for the unconventional options instead of selecting a more safer route. Ironic that I'd put it in those words, considering a selection of Pendergraph and/or Cunningham appears to be a safer route. But, given Portland's spotless track record in the draft, I'm willing to believe that there was something disturbing about Blair.

"Spotless track record in the draft"? Are you serious? You know that we just gave away Sergio, right?

The Blazers have drafted well, in my opinion, because they are willing to take players that others are not. Rudy Fernandez is a guy who slipped because of contract issues... the Blazers snatched him up because he was good value and they were able to wait. Nic Batum slid because of a bogus health report. Bayless slid ... for some reason.

Other than with Koponen and Freeland, the Blazers NEVER reached for players (and with those guys it makes sense to lock them in and wait and see)... until this year.

Ed O.

 

[PapaG]

They are close to the same type of player. Maybe not exact, but as a wide-bodied rebounding machine (on the offensive end, especially), they're quite similar. And it's not "suddenly"--rather, it's another confirmation (against zero disproofs) that he's probably going to be one heckuvan NBA player in the Millsap/Craig Smith/Reggie Evans mold.

Millsap Combine: 6'6.25, 258#, 7'1 wingspan
Blair combine: 6'5.25, 277#, 7'2 wingspan.

Size seems similar. Blair may not have Millsap's defensive skills. But a double-double in 23min against summer league scrubs shows he's still playing the way he was in college, where he was one of the elite rebounders in the last 20 years.

Millsap is a much better and more varied offensive player than Blair is. To say they are similar players right now is a disservice to Millsap and an overreach on Blair IMO. Perhaps Blair will become a Millsap-like player in the NBA. As it is, for now, he's accomplished nothing in the league.