We won't trade Outlaw...

[Nikolokolus]

Welcome to the new 'Jarret Jack of the offseason.

People who 'hate' Travis and want to cut him are talking out of emotion and are undervaluing his contributions this year, on the other hand people who call Travis an above average defender and laud his 'clutchness' are also speaking from emotion and are probably overvaluing what Trout brings to the team.

For me, I can't gripe too much, because he does have the ability to create his own shot no matter what (however dodgy it might be) and in the 2008-2009 incarnation of the Blazers roster, he was one of two rotation players who can make that claim. The guy gets paid a paltry 3.5 million next year to do what he does as a legitimate 12 point/game scorer off the bench and he's consistently had a 15 PER every year he's played

If KP keeps him I will assume there wasn't a deal out there worth trading him for, and if he does get traded I'll hope his replacement is a significant upgrade ... if he gets waived it's only because KP has a free agent in his sights that he wouldn't be able to sign otherwise.

Travis isn't the greatest player and he's certainly not the worst; keep it in perspective.

 

[MrSelfDestruct]

Travis isn't the greatest player and he's certainly not the worst; keep it in perspective.

This.

Although Travis caused me to pull my hair out more than anyone else this season, I think part of the problem is Nate's reliance on him, whether he was playing shitty or not. He got his 30 MPG good or bad, which I think compounded the problems. I can recall times when Batum had good, active first quarters and was pulled in favor of Trout, and not reinserted until after the half.

I think he is a fine role player when he is used as one, and not a main crutch of the team.

 

[Fender]

I consider myself very patient, but yea I cant stand Outlaw most of the time.

 

[C_note]

I'll say again what I wrote, since people can't read...and elaborate a little more

Outlaw is an above-average man defender...when he has his head in the game. He does have the tools, McMillan often puts him on the toughest defensive assignment. Where he is terrible, is playing the zone. There's a huge difference, and if you can't recognize the difference between man defense and zone...I don't know how else to explain it.

So, he's good on the ball, average in the post, and sub-par in the zone...

 

[Ed O]

I'll say again what I wrote, since people can't read...and elaborate a little more

Ah... so we can't read what you didn't write. Our bad.

Outlaw is an above-average man defender...when he has his head in the game. He does have the tools, McMillan often puts him on the toughest defensive assignment. Where he is terrible, is playing the zone. There's a huge difference, and if you can't recognize the difference between man defense and zone...I don't know how else to explain it.

So, he's good on the ball, average in the post, and sub-par in the zone...

I don't buy it. The Blazers didn't play that much zone defense, and Outlaw didn't play good defense the majority of the time.

I don't deny that he's horrible at zone defense, but I don't think that he's an above-average defender under any circumstance on a consistent basis.

Ed O.

 

[Fender]

I still don't believe those positives even cancels out his negatives. How's that for elaborating?

 

[RayDavies]

I am still sticking with my original post. Outlaw has a good contract for what he provides- basically slightly above average play.

If we can trade him in a situation where we get better value back, I say do it. If not, don't.

 

[hasoos]

Actually I was hoping we don't even pick up his option, let alone trade him.

 

[Peaceman]

unless he is a piece in a good trade, their is no reason to just get rid of him. If he became the 8th man off the bench instead of the 6th, I couldn't picture him disrupting the lockroom. If he was a 10 minute guy and a major backup if we had injury problems, why not keep him. I think we need a more steady bench and we may have open roster spots if they let Channing, Randolph, Raef and Ruffin go. He drove me crazy at times this year, but I look at him as a limited athletic player. He will never get a ton better, but can still have a roll.

 

[hasoos]

Which part of the analysis cancels out the "Chokes during playoffs" part of his game?

 

[Minstrel]

Which part of the analysis cancels out the "Chokes during playoffs" part of his game?

This part: six games is a tiny sample size, especially for a notoriously streaky player. His next playoff series, he may be on fire and be team MVP. Deciding that he's simply a terrible playoff player based on his first six games is clearly silly. Over the course of the regular season, there were plenty of six game stretches where Outlaw was awful or when he was really valuable.

 

[Ed O]

This part: six games is a tiny sample size, especially for a notoriously streaky player. His next playoff series, he may be on fire and be team MVP. Deciding that he's simply a terrible playoff player based on his first six games is clearly silly. Over the course of the regular season, there were plenty of six game stretches where Outlaw was awful or when he was really valuable.

Agreed... for all my criticism (past and present) of Outlaw, I don't think that he "choked" in the playoffs. He's just not a consistent player and he hit a cold stretch, fueled in part by very good defenders matched up against him.

There are lots of reasons to want to move Outlaw, but I don't think that he was bad in 5 or so playoff games this year is one of them.

Ed O.

 

[bigbailes]

the thing with outlaw is, he is what he is. as a 6th year pro we are not going to see leaps and bounds made in his game. and you can toss bbiq into that as well, as that seems to be something you are born with and he obviously wasn't. travis is great at creating his own shot, if only he didn't jack up all those ugly ass shots but then he saves you like the two games in memphis. i can live with the shooting, what i can't live with is the boneheadedness on defense. it's like he isn't even trying most of the time. to call him an above average anything defender is laughable, and to qualify it with "when he's paying attention" is more of a knock on the guy because he being paid to "pay attention."

 

[RoyToy]

It's probably been said but if the Blazers could find one more consistent scorer(PG/Oden), then Outlaw wouldn't have to be relied on so much. Even so, Outlaw is one of the best players off the bench in the league. He's a valuable asset to the Blazers, and worth keeping.

I thought Travis played pretty poorly in the playoffs but I'm not going to let one series be my deciding factor.

 

[TehChad]

Travis at the 4 regularly? Hmmm. Well, Outlaw IS better than Frye, no question there. And he does create matchup problems since most PFs can't keep up with him. Of course then again he also doesn't rebound well, and rebounding is one of the key elements of the 4 spot. So it's a double-edged sword.

Of course another problem is that LA is a stud and played 37 minutes per game this season, so Trav would have to accept much less PT than what he's used to.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Which part of the analysis cancels out the "Chokes during playoffs" part of his game?

His dirt cheap contract. You can't replace him, let alone upgrade the position, without spending quite a bit more money. The team has more important priorities than back-up SF to use cap space on.

 

[Ed O]

It's probably been said but if the Blazers could find one more consistent scorer(PG/Oden), then Outlaw wouldn't have to be relied on so much.

But other than scoring, what does he do?

He's not going to step in and contribute as a rebounder or a passer or a defender.

He's a scorer and he's going to shoot his shots irrespective of who's on the floor, IMO. It's just a question of whether they go in or not, and that's not dependent on who else is on the floor.

Ed O.

 

[Minstrel]

But other than scoring, what does he do?

He's not going to step in and contribute as a rebounder or a passer or a defender.

He's a scorer and he's going to shoot his shots irrespective of who's on the floor, IMO. It's just a question of whether they go in or not, and that's not dependent on who else is on the floor.

I think the point is that, as a scorer, Outlaw isn't reliable enough to be the third-best scorer on a championship-level team. If a couple of players surpass him in scoring ability (like, Oden and Rudy for example) and Outlaw is the team's fifth-best scorer, I think that's a role he can play on a championship-level team.

He's a reserve...if the team needs him to fill a starter-importance role (like third option), then the team won't be very good. As a reserve and with a role commensurate to being a reserve, he's valuable.

 

[C_note]

the thing with outlaw is, he is what he is. as a 6th year pro we are not going to see leaps and bounds made in his game. and you can toss bbiq into that as well, as that seems to be something you are born with and he obviously wasn't. travis is great at creating his own shot, if only he didn't jack up all those ugly ass shots but then he saves you like the two games in memphis. i can live with the shooting, what i can't live with is the boneheadedness on defense. it's like he isn't even trying most of the time. to call him an above average anything defender is laughable, and to qualify it with "when he's paying attention" is more of a knock on the guy because he being paid to "pay attention."

Your reply is laughable...the only defensive area i said he was above average in was man defense. This entire year, McMillan quite often put Outlaw on the opposing team's best player. Why would he do that, if his man defense is as terrible as you make it out to be? I'm pretty sure McMillan knows just a little bit more about defense than you do..

 

[RayDavies]

Your reply is laughable...the only defensive area i said he was above average in was man defense. This entire year, McMillan quite often put Outlaw on the opposing team's best player. Why would he do that, if his man defense is as terrible as you make it out to be? I'm pretty sure McMillan knows just a little bit more about defense than you do..

Actually, I'd say Batum was placed on the opposition's best player more often.