What are we going to do with all these players?

[trentsdad]

The more things go well this year the tougher the decisions become.....

Players I have called for trading have stepped up(Frye,Raef before he got benched and Jarret-who I would still trade right now) Injured players seem to be getting healthier and healthier...I didn't hear KP mention yesterday that Oden would not play this year no matter what. And what to do with Rudy, England Joel and Koponen?

With no changes this year, we could be looking at 18 players PLUS any players drafted this year.......Somethings gotta give.

In his interview on the fan, KP said he prefered to trade during the off season, but there are some desparate teams out there that might be able to help us out.

It is going to get very crowded in Portland next year, but KP is going to have to prove again how good we think he is to get this logjam fixed.

With or without Roy, Portland beats Utah tonight!

[DaVoiceMaster]

I wouldn't count on Kopponen coming over next season. We don't know for sure Fernandez is coming over, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Only time will tell if the Blazers bring Freeland back. Perhaps they won't know until he plays during the summer league.

Portland clearly does not need 4 PG's so Green could be expendable or traded. LaFrentz is in the last year of his contract and Portland has shown over the past few years that they aren't necessarily going to trade those big expiring contracts for anything so they could waive him to clear a roster spot. I wouldn't worry too much about the roster space. If Portland wants to bring in some of those guys from oversee's, they'll find a way.

[Fitz303]

While I really hope Rudy is as advertised, im afraid of getting too excited about a guy who has yet to play over here and was a late 1st rd pick. Granted part of that reason he was a late pick was because of his contract situation, but I just dont want to get ahead of ourselves with this guy.. I have a lot of trust in KP and he seems like love the guy so that makes me feel a little more at ease with him, but as Quick said on 1080 this morning, its probably going to take him his first year to really get acclimated to playing over here. Either way, I think with him coming over Jack is gone. So my most likely traded list, in order, would go:

Jack
Raef
Webster
1st rd pick
Miles

I could see a combo of those being used to move up in the draft along with opening a roster spot for Rudy

[Butter]

The more things go well this year the tougher the decisions become.....

Players I have called for trading have stepped up(Frye,Raef before he got benched and Jarret-who I would still trade right now) Injured players seem to be getting healthier and healthier...I didn't hear KP mention yesterday that Oden would not play this year no matter what. And what to do with Rudy, England Joel and Koponen?

With no changes this year, we could be looking at 18 players PLUS any players drafted this year.......Somethings gotta give.

In his interview on the fan, KP said he prefered to trade during the off season, but there are some desparate teams out there that might be able to help us out.

It is going to get very crowded in Portland next year, but KP is going to have to prove again how good we think he is to get this logjam fixed.

With or without Roy, Portland beats Utah tonight!

TD, this is exactly the root of the problem. I realize that some of those moving parts, England Joel, Koponen, Green, might not be in the picture next year, but with a 1st and 3 2nd's (will likely all be Euro projects) it is a pressing issue.

IMO this is exactly why there have been so many off-season threads. Usually a team experiencing as much success as the Blazers have this year wouldn't have so many threads about how to improve the team.

Here's the rub though. How do you pull apart a team that's playing so well together? Remember when the Rockets traded for Charles Barkely? They had a lot of talent on that team, but that trade didn't win them a championship.

I definitely think they need to do a couple of deals some time soon, but its going to be very, very complicated IMO.

[Bmoney]

We're gonna keep em all except for Lafrentz and McRoberts. We got Rudy & Oden coming in next year & watch the F out baby! I hope its a dynasty in the making.

[mojomarc]

While I really hope Rudy is as advertised, im afraid of getting too excited about a guy who has yet to play over here and was a late 1st rd pick. Granted part of that reason he was a late pick was because of his contract situation, but I just dont want to get ahead of ourselves with this guy.

Rudy would have been a lotto pick if not for the contract situation. Period. He is that highly regarded. Also, he is essentially the MVP in a league that is better than US college competition-wise, which would probably make him somewhere around the 4th or 5th pick this year if he were coming out. Somewhere right in between Rose and Mayo.

So my most likely traded list, in order, would go:

Jack
Raef
Webster
1st rd pick
Miles

Isn't Jones expring this year? If so, I think Webster moves up pretty close to the untouchable realm. With the kind of shooting we have available, Oden will have a much easier time picking up the offensive side of his game. Without that outside shooting, teams will collapse on him like crazy.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Some scattered thoughts:

-Koponen and Freeland will not come to America until the 2009/2010 season at the earliest.
-Taurean Green isn't exactly trade bait, but I think we keep him until his contract runs out (he signed a 2-year guaranteed deal). It sucks, though, because he never sees the floor due to the 12-man rule.
-Like ruling out Oden for next year, I think Pritchard has ruled out trading Miles, even though he won't publicly say so. Whatever we can get out of Miles (and I'm SURE he's explored his options) is going to be gravy this season, not just for us but for his trade value as well.
-Raef will only be moved if we have the opportunity to get a great player via trade, which Pritchard is not banking on.
-Assuming a $60 million cap for the 2009 offseason, Pritchard's maneuvering will net us at least $10 million in cap space...not enough to pursue an elite free agent like he wants to.

[LaMark]

What i am thinking is we trade our '08 pick for an '09 then trade two '09 picks + Raef expiring for a good PG..

I just dont see how we are going to get cap space in '09 when players like Martell and Travis deserve a contract extension...

What do use think?

[specialkbdc1273]

Mojomarc:

How do you think Rudy's game will translate to the NBA? To me, he seems to be lacking that one true skill that will differentiate himself from a lot of the wings in the league. He is sort of middling athletically (by NBA standards), doesn't really elevate on his jumper, bit of a slow release on his J and is weak defensively.

That said, he is an incredibly savvy player whose pedigree is absolutely legit. But, Tyler Hansbrough's college pedigree is equally legit and I don't think anyone is expecting him to come in and set the NBA on fire.

I just don't see where Rudy fits on this Portland roster. And, the unbelievable chemistry the Blazers have going right now might be affected by a "boy king" being relegated to an 8th or 9th man role.

[SabasRevenge!]

I'd be very, very surprised if any moves are made before the trade deadline. With the way we're rolling right now (16 of 17!!!), it's got to be at least summer, possibly draft day until any moves are made. With all of our players under contract, I'd think that at the very least we'll need one roster spot freed up, probably two, possibly more. IMO the most likely buyout recipients are McBob and Green because of their 400k+ contracts. With only 15 roster spots per team and most teams carrying 14 or 15 players, 3 for 1 trades aren't very easy to pull off. This is, IMO, certainly something the NBA needs to do something about. I take solace in the fact that we've got KP and Penn on our side and I think we can all rest assured they'll figure out what's right for this team.

Regarding Rudy: It sure looks like he could be an immediate impact player. IMO his diverse offensive game and almost uncanny ability to finish in the paint will be an asset, at the very least on the white unit with Sergio. I disagree with posters who question his athleticism. I haven't seen much uncut game footage of Rudy, but he seems to be slippery quick, a very good leaper, active on offense, he looks like he doesn't need much space to get his shot off, has a quick release, and is good at creating the space he needs. His ability to get through defenses actually reminds me a little of Brandon Roy. Rudy looks like a more explosive finisher, but the diversity of his moves of his game while driving is nothing like the absolute chaos and confusion Roy inflicts on defenses. I'd like to see more of him on D, but they aren't exactly making Rudy F defensive highlight cuts on youtube.

[Wizenheimer]

if the last 2 draft days KP has run are any indication, I'd expect some Blazer trades on draft day. I don't know what the total number of individual transactions and the total number of players moved is in the last 2 drafts, but it has to be some kind of blazer record for consecutive draft days.

Between a 1st round pick, three 2nd round picks, Lafrentz's expiring, the fact that James Jones can opt-out, and an impending roster squeeze, there will probably be a bit of blazer drama on draft day.

[Jsun947]

I dont think we will be trading for any "good" point gaurds this offseason/draft day. I think Prichards goal is to use the cap space in 09 to go after those.

I can see us making a move for Marbury though on draft day. (Miles+Lafrentz+Picks). There isn't a whole lot of point gaurd upgrades we can go after anyway....

[Wizenheimer]

I dont think we will be trading for any "good" point gaurds this offseason/draft day. I think Prichards goal is to use the cap space in 09 to go after those.

I can see us making a move for Marbury though on draft day. (Miles+Lafrentz+Picks). There isn't a whole lot of point gaurd upgrades we can go after anyway....

from what I've seen, there won't be in 2009 either...unless Ben Gordon is UFA and you consider him a PG.

[Yangsing]

I think the Blazers should and will probably get rid of Jack. Jack for another defender/rebounder or to move up in the draft.

[Butter]

I think the Blazers should and will probably get rid of Jack. Jack for another defender/rebounder or to move up in the draft.

You know, I've been so fixated on trading for a veteran, I've completely lost sight of trading up.

If the Blazers could get someone like Eric Gordon or Jerryd Bayless, I'd consider it. However, in order give up a blue chip rookie, most teams would want one of the top young players on the Blazers team, so I think we'd be right back to where we started.

Thats one of the reason I think it'd be more realistic to move some of our pieces to a rebuilding team for a high priced veteran who's not really contributing who expires in 09.

[Ripcity4life]

NO MORE YOUNG DRAFT PICKS ..... Let me repeat ..... NO MORE YOUNG DRAFT PICKS. This team could use another Vet at the PF / C ... Someone like a Malik Rose or Aaron Williams maybe not these two but like them.

[mojomarc]

NO MORE YOUNG DRAFT PICKS ..... Let me repeat ..... NO MORE YOUNG DRAFT PICKS. This team could use another Vet at the PF / C ... Someone like a Malik Rose or Aaron Williams maybe not these two but like them.

It all depends on how far up we can move. If we could get up where we could get an Eric Gordon, for example, we would be light years better off than getting either Malik Rose or Aaron Williams, in particular because neither would be anything other than practice players for us.

[Wizenheimer]

-= original quote snipped =-



You know, I've been so fixated on trading for a veteran, I've completely lost sight of trading up.

If the Blazers could get someone like Eric Gordon or Jerryd Bayless, I'd consider it. However, in order give up a blue chip rookie, most teams would want one of the top young players on the Blazers team, so I think we'd be right back to where we started.

Thats one of the reason I think it'd be more realistic to move some of our pieces to a rebuilding team for a high priced veteran who's not really contributing who expires in 09.

It's possible KP is adept enough to do both get a veteran and move up in the draft.

If Oden and Fernandez join the team next year, along with a pick, it will have an impact on the rotations. I'm not really concerned about roster spots because I think some back end of the roster can be easily 'cleared'. But trying to have a 12 player rotation isn't going to be real functional. Portland looks like they are developing too much depth, if that's possible.

So a trade moving out 1 or 2 more players then are moved in, makes sense. Jack is an obvious candidate, but while most have assumed Frye is as well, as Mojo pointed out, moving someone like Travis makes sense as well and would almost certainly yield a bigger return. Martell also could be moved for a much bigger return then Frye (although that may change if Frye keeps playing like he has been lately).

For instance, Outlaw, Jack, Mcroberts, the rights to Kaponen/freeland, and the 16th pick might yield the 5th pick and a pretty good veteran. Add Lafrentz's expiring and who knows!

I'm just wondering lately if KP isn't really liking the team a lot, and is thinking the 'icing' is already there.

[Yangsing]

I don't foresee KP doing any major moves outside of getting a backup PF/C veteran to help shore up what the Blazers lack this off season.

Yeah it would be nice to get another top 10 draft pick but at what point does staying perpetually young as a team start becoming a negative?

[Mr Odd]

WIN