Is Outlaw becoming untouchable?

[sipclip]

i really wish people would get off travis outlaw's jock...this guy is so freakin overrated. every year all we hear is "omg! so much potential! he's untouchable and such a raw talent!" its so god damn ridiculous!

how inconsistent is this guy? and how pathetic does he look every single game until he makes a couple fade away jumpers and then people go 'OHHHHHHH!!!! SO GOOD! UNTOUCHABLE!"

recognize people! recognize! outlaw gone, we would not be any worse off.

Talk about a big load of crap. Travis is now living up to that great potential and is pretty damn consistent. He has also been the closer in a ton of games this year so without him you are probably looking at 5 or 6 less wins.

[Mr Odd]

Im proud to say I was one of the few
that didnt want to give up on the kid.. .
Ive always defended him and yes Im
going to pat my own back over it!!!!!!!!
Outlaws starting to find his NBA game
& he will only get better. Its true, he
still has games where hes off, but
more times then not, even if hes off
when it comes to crunch time he hits
big shots, makes big blocks and really
helps the Blazers finish games for the W.

I dont think any Blazer outside of Roy has
made more big shots when theyre needed.

[ebott]

Here is why Travis is so valuable.

There are precious few players in the league let alone on the Blazers (outside of Roy) that can consitently create their own shot. Out of those select few, you can chop that at least by 2/3rds as to who excels at those shots in the 4th quarter....Travis is one of those players.

He is deficient in other areas but that commodity is very rare which in turn makes him quite valuable.

You may very well have something there. He might just stick with the team because of his ability to go one on one.

The thing that makes me doubt Travis' future with the team is that he's been able to create his own shot by playing against power forwards. With Oden joining the team next year, I can't help but think it's just a matter of time until the Blazers have "true" bigmen and Travis just can't get the minutes he's getting now.

But that's all on paper. Maybe Travis will still have a role next year, even though there don't seem to be enough minutes for him.

What worries me is that next season Greg will be getting all of Travis' minutes and instead of trading Travis when his value is high this off-season we'll be sitting here next season wishing we would have traded him instead of watching him sit on the bench.

[Butter]

I think Travis needs to add a few more dimensions to his game to become "untouchable"

1) Dribble penetration: Travis can get to the hoop and score, but it seems like an under-developed aspect of his game. Right now his comfort zone is dribble, elevate, shoot. If defenders had to account for his driving consistently, he'll be that much harder to guard. I realize that he does drive, and he does get a lot of foul shots, but like I said, I think he can take it to another level.

2) 3 Point shooting: 12 out of 34 from 3. While that is a functional 35.3%, he needs to improve his percentage some, and increase his volume a lot.

A lot of young players only care about dunking and shooting 3's. The completely neglect their mid-range game. Travis is awesome at shooting mid-range jumpers, I just think he needs to improve the first two aspects of his game.

[mojomarc]

I think KP likes him and wouldn't want to go shopping him around at this point (maybe in the offseason, but not now). That said, he's "living up to that great potential" of 12 points per game and five rebounds per game. In anyone's book, that makes him a role player, and I can't think of very many role players that are "untouchable" in any meaningful sense. He is a good commodity player with a cheap expiring contract next year, which makes him actually one of our best trade bait pieces. In my book, he's the opposite of untouchable--he is quite probably far more valuable for what he can bring in than what he actually does on the court night after night.

[Jsun947]

[quote="ebott"][/quote]

Oden and Przybilla will take up just about all 48 minutes at Center next year. Aldridge should get about 32-35 minutes a game at power forward. That leaves at best 61 minutes open at SF and PF for Jones, Webster, Frye and Outlaw. Someone is going to have to sit the majority of that time. Players sitting on the bench all year = no trade value.

I understand that Martell and even Jones might be able to play some SG but even then you have Brandon Roy, Jarret Jack, and hopefully Rudy Fernandez taking up those minutes.

[UGotThrilled]

I think either Travis or Frye is going to have to go, and I bet it will be Frye. Its a bummer because we now have a team of likeable guys who I want to succeed, but it just doesnt make sense to keep that many pfs and centers who need and deserve minutes. If Outlaw continues to improve, he could become unstoppable because of the way he elevates. I would hate to let him go and then find out later that he becomes amazing. If Fernandez stays away for a while, we could maybe trade Jack and move Martell to some sg, but that isnt going to be his best position. I think Frye has to go.

[DmoneyH3]

We don't trade him..flat out! Yes, I know rose and gordon are better talents, but would either be happy being a career 6th man? We don't know if either can be clutch in the 4th. Travis is the PERFECT role player, we have our stars, now we need to find our role players and we have them. Leave this damn team alone and don't touch them. With Oden and Rudy coming over, I think Jack is the odd man out, and if it came down to Channing or Trav..Channing would be out of town imo. We would be foolish to make a brash decision with this team.

[Dakotah612]

Outlaw is too important to our team (and chemistry) to deal. He's developing into a big-time fourth quarter player. Keep in mind he just turned 23 this season, he's only going to get better. As a team building for a title, you keep a Travis Outlaw, we need to keep our bench strong.

[BigOrangeBalls]

The great thing about Frye and Pryz, is they don't seem to mind sitting on the bench. You can rotate Oden, LA, and Outlaw and spell them with Frye and Pryz.

Plus, 82 games is a lot. Injuries happen. People get the flu. Oden could foul out. It's good to have 5 good players at the 4 and 5. Frye won't get many minutes unless he's needed.

All the talk of being 'too deep" cracks me up. It's only a problem if the players complain or the owner doesn't want to pay!