Jan 30 2009
Better Know A Trade Rumor
In the most recent podcast between Sean Meagher and the Oregonian’s beat writer, Jason Quick, Quick cryptically mentioned that the Blazers are very near a potential trade with an Eastern Conference team for a small forward and a point guard with the pieces the Blazers sending being Raef LaFrentz’s expiring contract (RLEC) and two rotation players. As anyone who reads the blog knows, Trail Post is hoping that one of those players is Travis Outlaw. The popular choice for the other one is Sergio Rodriguez. Of course, the chemistry ramifications of this are somewhat serious, considering both players are relatively popular. Then again, these guys aren’t 14-year-olds at summer camp; they’re professional basketball players. The other caveat that Quick threw out was that it would turn the Blazers into a title contender. Let’s take a look at some potential moves that would do this and be (somewhat) realistic.
Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton
Crash at work.
This is the move that any sane Blazer fan wants to happen. Wallace is like a better version of Outlaw in every way. He’s one of the best defenders in the league, and would immediately elevate the team into a title contender. Along with that, Trail Post’s hatred of the Lakers would be renewed due to Bynum partially collapsing his lung with a cheap shot. Opinion on Felton has ebbed, but he’s still a creative player that can really do some good things. He’s a Sergio-like player. Augustin has been mentioned too, but that’s just absurd. He’s Larry Brown’s pet project. The question is whether the RLEC is important enough to pull the trigger on the deal. I’m hoping that it’s a yes. This would be a best-case scenario. Wallace would feed well into the disruptive defensive atmosphere that the Blazers thrive on.
Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions
Richard Jefferson is about to get attacked by sexy lady secret agents
A funny thing has happened to Richard Jefferson over the last few years in Milwaukee - he’s become a good team player. Back when he was with the Nets, it was assumed his skill was due to Jason Kidd being so good. His tenure with the Bucks has shown that to be wrong. He’s a solid SF that would be an upgrade for the Blazers. He’s been spoken about in discussions before, which makes him seem even more likely. Ramon Sessions, the second year-point guard, is the next Devin Harris. This dude could be a star. He’s already in the top 15 for PGs in the NBA and fits in with the Blazers plans perfectly (sorry Bayless fans). The only issue would be, why would Milwaukee trade this dude for Sergio Rodriguez? Hard economic times make the RLEC much more attractive.
Kirk Heinrich and Luol Deng/Andres Nocioni
Being embarrassed on the court? Just another day at the office.
No. What was that? No. And no. And no. And no. Just for kicks, no. No. Huh? No. God no. Please, no. Has the point been made clear enough? Heinrich’s lost a step and would a downgrade from Steve Blake. There’s no reason to go after this guy after his injury. Anyone wanting Nocioni has never watched a Bulls game since 1999. Luol Deng’s interesting because he’s young and has heaps of potential, but that injury bug question is somewhat scary. Do we really want to pile our title hopes on another injury plagued back to go with Roy and Oden? For more opinion on this, go to Blogabull. They spend every day talking about how bad Heinrich and Nocini are the way we talk about how horrible Trav is.
Mario Chalmers and Shawn Marion
As much as we’d love this to happen, it never will. Why would Miami trade away its expiring contract and promising young PG for Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez? Still, it would be a dream for the Blazers in the way that Marion would immediately solidify the porous perimeter.
Devin Harris and Anyone
No way it’ll happen. Get that pipe dream out of your head. No team will give away an all star for nothing. Go back to eating your glue.
Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw
Travis at power forward.
Yes, standing pat is more than an option. An issue would be the value of the RLEC. It will be much more important to the rest of the league that it would be to Paul Allen. It would be a waste of an asset not to use it when we have the opportunity to. With Sergio you have great camaraderie with Rudy, and a player that has the word potential permanently attached to him. His flashy passing and ridiculous assists per minute numbers make him valuable. Travis Outlaw is not a good fit at SF. As previously detailed, he’s a cancer to the team at the position. In a strange quirk, though, Travis is very good at the PF. His relative PER goes from -5 to +5. If the Blazers waited for Martell to come back, they would have the backup PF question answered and would just have to hope that Martell is playing at the level he was at before.
So, that’s that. The best move the Blazers make would involve Sessions or Wallace, and the worst would be anything involving Nocioni. I think we know that Pritchard is smarter than that.
I think I’d still prefer Wallace over Mecha-Outlaw.