Portland Still Working On An Abdur-Rahim Deal

According to Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune, Portland has been discussing trades with a number of different clubs.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim will the center of any deal. One of the offers has been to Toronto for Vince Carter,"but so far, they have rejected our proposals," Portland GM John Nash says. "They are not as interested as we are at this point.”

Another potential deal, Abdur-Rahim to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, is on hold until Kidd returns to the Nets’ lineup. The Nets like Abdur-Rahim and would be interested in keeping him instead of letting him go after his contract expires at the end of the season, says Chief Executive Officer Rod Thorn.

The Blazers, like other potential suitors, want to see how Kidd responds to offseason knee surgery before making a deal. The Nets will consider a trade, though "I think we will probably keep (Kidd)," Thorn says. But if they continue to lose, they would have more reason to trade the veteran point guard.

If the Blazers would be willing to part with rookie point guard Sebastian Telfair, they could almost surely make the deal. But, given Portland’s stance on Stoudamire, whose contract ends after this season, "wait and see," Nash says.

Via The Portland Tribune

Portland Trail Blazers, New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors

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Nash Safe, Cheeks In Question In Portland

In John Canzano's piece in The Oregonian he asks if the Blazers were unhappy with Coach Maurice Cheeks, would they fire him during the season?

"I've never been a fan of doing that," Steve Patterson said. "We're not headed in that direction."

According to Patterson, Cheeks' evaluation would be handled by himself, Nash and owner Paul Allen. And that Nash's evaluation would be a consensus of Patterson's input, along with "others" as well as Allen.

"Keep in mind, there are times when the objectives of the coach and the general manager are in opposition to each other," Patterson said.

Canzano believes that Nash's job is safe. Safe despite Darius Miles' struggles, even as Theo Ratliff isn't blocking shots as frequently as hoped, even as the team is committed to paying those two players $93 million from the beginning of this season forward, it's widely believed that those contract-extension decisions were made by committee.

Via The Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers

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No Abdur-Rahim For Philly

According to the Philadelphia Daily News the Sixers made an unsuccessful push to acquire Portland forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Sixers president/general manager Billy King confirmed he had come up empty making a pitch for the former All-Star. "I asked if there was anything we could do, and they said no,'' King said.

Via Philadelphia Daily News

Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers

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