May 20 2009
Positional Progress: Small Forward
Meet the meat of the off-season discussions. From the way people talk about the position, it sounds like the Blazers are so drastically undermanned at the small forward, they would be better off starting a three-foot tall guy with three feet and lobster claws. Granted, there are advantages to playing a tripod, but the players we have now are surprisingly adequate for the job at hand.
What We Have
A player in his sixth year that still doesn’t know how to play NBA basketball
A starter in waiting that played only five minutes last year
A nominal starter with loads of potential
What We Don’t Have
An Actual Healthy Experienced Starting Small Forward
What We Need
Someone who can be healthy, score from the perimeter, create his own shot a little, and play defense
We’ll start with the person who played the least: Martell Webster. This season was supposed to be Martell Webster’s breakout performance. During that one exhibition game against the Kings he was flying everywhere and throwing down furious dunks. The last one, though, was a doozy. He went down with a foot injury that always seemed to be “two weeks away.” The only thing he got to break out during his breakout season was a collection of walking boots and gold-buttoned peacoats on the bench. Still, he will be back next year, mostly due to a massive contract extension he signed before the season. The Martell Webster we expected before this season may be enough to plug whatever gaps we have at the position. He’s a solid defender with a great body for the game. He has the prettiest shooting form on the team, and is a tireless worker on offense, moving around screens, and prone to offensive explosions. He can be our guy.
Next, we’ll go to our nominal starter Nicolas Batum. We expected nothing from Nicolas before the season, and he gave us a ton. He stole the starting job from Travis early on and kept it throughout the season. His offense was basically nonexistent, solely consisting of dunks off of drives and open three pointers. Nevertheless, it was his energy on the defensive end that kept him in games. His freakishly long arms caused deflections and easy fast breaks. Considering he’s only 20 years old, this is only the beginning of a great career.
Finally, we have the lightning rod, the rally amplifier, Travis Outlaw. We know what we’re getting with Travis, because it’s the same thing we’ve got for the last three seasons. He’s a little absent-minded, can jump out of the building, and doesn’t use his athleticism how he should. Also, he’s devastatingly charming. It’s seeming more and more that he’s a Shareef Abdur Raheem-type player, a guy who could only ever be useful on a bad team. He scores in bunches, but that’s about it. It’s getting more and more doubtful that we’ll see anything new out of Travis.
Going Forward
I’m an advocate for the “stay put” strategy. The internet is abuzz about the Blazers need to go out and get an experienced and strong small forward to solidify the team. I feel that we already have one with Martell Webster. We could have an ideal young 1-2 punch with Webster and Batum. The defense would hold up, and both are solid three-point shooters. Obviously, Travis Outlaw is the odd man out in the equation. He needs to go, for his own good, and the good of the team. He’ll be better on a team where he can shoulder the scoring load and become a star. Maybe we could trade him for draft picks. And to address the idea of the new small forward: is it really worth it? The weakness of this team at small forward is only a question of perception. Both Webster and Batum are starting quality small forwards, but they may need a year to get to that point. Is it worth it to retard their progress by bringing in some guy that demands 30-40 minutes per game like Ron Artest? Sure I could buy into a guy like Gerald Wallace in a trade including Outlaw and Webster or Batum, but otherwise, it seems foolhardy to keep both guys on the team and have them play behind someone who doesn’t fit into the long term picture like they do. To sum it up: we’re doing fine at the position, just give it a little time.
