What a mess this Kidd to Dallas thing has become, it's just kind of stupid if you ask me, first of all with Devean George being such a whiny little bitch, I mean come on dude, you aren't that good, just shut up and agree to the trade, and then Stackhouse, keep your effin mouth shut dude! If you want this deal to go through then just shut up about returning to Dallas already, sheesh!
Interesting editorial by Canzano here, I mean if Darius Miles could come back and be productive for this team and act like a veteran I would be all for it, but something that is the most glaring for me in this article is the strip club scene. I mean remember when this guy got married? He stated that he had settled down and didn't go out much. What does his wife think about all of this? I mean talk about a slap in the face to her. But if Miles really can't do anything, I tend to agree with Canzano this time. Hang em up dude, especially since he still gets his money, he can always try a comeback when he wants to, and most of all he can still live his NBA lifestyle, he could just join the posse of one of his buddies. Yeah, time to move on.
And a little piece about James Jones here from Joe Freeman. Jones is a key part of this team, and I think will be one of the most key components to this team in the future, he is the 'veteran' of the squad, and I know he isn't that old, but to the Blazers he is, and he has been there with other teams, Indiana he learned from the great Reggie Miller, and then in Phoenix playing with Nash. In the piece by Freeman, he mentions everything me and my buddies have talked about before with Jones, he is such a smart player, he makes a lot of great little plays, how many times have we all seen him make a weakside block on a shot, come up with a much needed rebound, along with hitting a clutch 3 pointer from the corner. The guy just plays smart, not an overpowering defender but a sneaky good one, he is almost like the teams coach on the court. Which is why this mystery knee injury is so scary, not only for him, but for us as well, we don't need any more bad knees here in Portland, and I hope it is not something that will require major surgery. As such, as much of a detriment it would be for this squad, I almost think they should shut him down for this season and just let him heal all the way. Because, let's be honest, I really don't think the Blazers will make the playoffs this year, and the only reason I would want them to would be for experience anyways. And if Jones is shut down, it is highly likely he will pick up his player option for next year, if not I feel like he will stay around here and I think we definitely want him here, he is the consumate role player. But I want him healthy next year, when this young Blazers team really has a chance to make some serious noise in the league. Time will tell but I think shutting Jones down for the year, especially if the Blazers seriously slip after the All Star break, is the wise thing to do, but only time will tell.....
Wow I have been slacking of late, maybe it's because I've been playing my college basketball video game so much Lindsay is about ready to kill me from playing so much. But here are my thoughts on basketball lately, the Blazers more specifically.
They are drained, extremely drained, physically and emotionally, they just look beat. They have also lost their confidence level, you see them hesitating on shots, then just taking worse ones, they aren't passing as much, and most of all they have lost their confidence. Which is not all that surprising for a young team, this is the most involved Webster, Aldridge, Roy, and Outlaw have been for a team, and you can just tell they are tired. End of story, the All Star break is going to be necessary for these guys, they deserve it and they need it.
But it is looking more and more like they will not make the playoffs, and if they get in the lottery and trade a draft pick, they have to get a good PG, I like Blake and I like Jack, and I like Serge, but come on, this team needs a good distributor, and I like Webster at the 3 spot, and yes I like LaMarcus at the four. The one thing this team needs most is a rugged backup PF, Brandon Bass would have been perfect, and they could play them and LaMarcus together, I'm sorry, I think Frye is a good guy and all, but he is just way too soft, we need rebounding, bad. Maybe we could get like a Craig Smith type guy, hell I'd even take Reggie Evans just for the rebounding he would provide (and the fact that the best year of his career was under Nate).
As for the Kidd trade, well, lets see if it happens. Apparently Devean George (yes, THAT Devean George) has blocked the trade. Using a little known clause as a player who is in a one year contract and the team that signed him has early Bird rights for that player, as such, if involved in a trade, said player waives his Bird rights, thereby making it harder for him to get more money on his next deal, and also taking away more money if involved in a sign and trade:
This is the lesser form of the Larry Bird Exception. Free agents who qualify for this exception are called "early qualifying veteran free agents," and qualify after playing two seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. Using this exception, a team can re-sign its own free agent for either 175% of his salary the previous season, or the NBA's average salary, whichever is greater. Early Bird contracts must be for at least two seasons, but can last no longer than five seasons.
Basically I look at it like this, George sucks, he and his agent probably don't think that he will get signed next year unless he has his Bird rights, and they are just grubbing for money. As a player I can understand, it's business, but now the two teams need to figure something out as an alternative, they could include Eddie Jones and Juwan Howard (but man that would suck SOO bad for Eddie Jones, poor guy just cannot get a championship within his grasp, I tell ya, the one year the Heat won, he was in Memphis, and I think he signed with Miami before the Lakers won, I kinda feel sorry for the guy), so they may work around it, but seriously what a bitch move by George.
If the trade does go down, I would agree, the west is certainly shaping up Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, and Lakers (ugh, that makes me sick to include them), but look to New Orleans to mix things up and make it interesting. As for Jimmy's comment about the team with the easiest path making it, I'm just curious what path that would be? I mean right now, NO is the first seed, then its the Suns, Dallas, Utah, LA, San Antonio, Golden State, and Houston, with Denver and Portland hanging back. I don't think the Blazers will make it, but Denver has a great shot, I mean there is NO easy road in the Western Conference, and honestly I think it is a free for all, I think any of those nine teams could make it to the finals, easy.
And with the trades occurring I mean it isn't like the balance of power has shifted any for any of the top teams. Except maybe the Spurs, who are just looking too old right now. I think Kidd will make Dallas a lot better, and I think Pau AND Bynum together will make the Lakers much tougher, and yes I think Shaq will fit in wonderfully for the Suns (who better to start a fast break, I mean we are looking at Showtime Lakers basketball from these guys with Shaq at center, it will be like having Kareem start the break, and Magic getting the ball to the player in the best position, trust me this is going to be one nasty combo folks!). I could care less about the East, where even Miami and New York still have a shot at getting into the playoffs. But how the West is won will be some of the best basketball anyone has seen in recent history.
I used to like Rasheed Wallace, what a turd. All I have to say is that the Blazers are in contention for a playoff spot in the west, in the east, even with their current record, they would be in fourth place, probably better since they would have an easier schedule. C'mon Sheed, you guys are second in the east, which is like saying you would probably be eighth in the west. What an ass.
The Shaq trade. Like I said this is such a small story compared to when he was traded a few years ago. My oh my how things have changed. The bottom line for this deal though is that Miami gets some cap flexibility because I really doubt the Matrix will sign there in the offseason, and I'm not even sure Miami really wants him to.
For Phoenix, the trade makes sense, they got rid of the horrible Marcus Banks contract, and he never really fit in with their team, and they also got rid of a huge dissenter in the locker room. Marion wasn't happy there, he and Amare didn't get along, either on the court or off of it, and it was just a huge clash of ego. Although I think Amare's head is about as large as an NBA arena anyways, and that isn't due to his brain, which is, like cats, probably the size of a pea. I mean talk about a dumb kid, he didn't come out after high school solely for his basketball skills, colleges were probably going to have a hard time figuring out how he was going to get a good grade in anything.
As far as Shaq not fitting in there, I dunno, the trade does make sense. One reason Phoenix traded for Kurt Thomas is that they wanted interior defense, and Amare definitely wasn't giving them that. I mean he will kill at PF I'm fairly sure, and Shaq gives them the big body in the middle they have been craving. So to me the trade does make sense for them. Also Shaq is at the point of his career where his ego has been deflated, and he knows he isn't the player he used to be and is able to defer to others. I think it will be good for him.
And really Phoenix can use a lot more Boris Diaw now, who is almost always a triple-double threat. He is versatile, a great passer, a decent scorer, and a good rebounder. He isn't as athletic as Marion, but I feel the points and rebounds Marion provided will be split between Diaw and Shaq. Not to mention Grant Hill coming off the bench, I think this trade suits Phoenix a lot better than people think. There was talk of a Marion for Kirilenko trade, but that is like swapping two very similar players, and Phoenix is on the hook with Diaw for awhile, so they might as well give him some playing time and get the big man they covet. Overall, a decent trade for both teams. Now if only Miami would shut down Wade for the season and let him heal....
All right all there is a new and improved, revamped, easier to use ESPN Trade Machine, and this thing is addictive, seriously play with it for a bit, it's like NBA 2k8, except you can't override a trade. Good times!
Good little article by Jason Quick in the Oregonian here. My thoughts, as it is about finishing, is that in a year or two a lot of these games that the Blazers are in control of in the fourth will start becoming blowouts more often than nought. I mean of course teams can always come back, and usually do, unless the game is way too out of hand, but with the experience of these close games, both the wins and the losses, there is a huge learning curve with how to execute late in a game to ensure victory. And really does anyone think we would be this much better late in games than the last couple of years if this team hadn't suffered all of the close defeats and last minute heartbreaks over the last couple of years. Jack, Outlaw, Webster, Przybilla, as well as Roy and Aldridge to some extent, had to suffer a LOT of late game bungles over the past two previous seasons. Our team might be young, but they have already had a LOT of mistakes to learn from, always a good thing, as tough as it was to watch as a fan. Like Nate said in the article, it just goes to show the kind of growth and improvement these players have had to endure. Anyways I say watch all of this to change over the course of the next few years.
Mike Barrett gives us an update on Roy on his blog. He also talks about the Indiana game on Saturday and talks about how many back to back games we have had against teams who have had a night off. Interesting stuff, apparently the last team we played who was coming off a back-to-back was Chicago on January 3rd, and the next time it happens for us will be on February 29th, thanks schedule gurus of the NBA, thanks a lot!
Great, great, great, great, great, great, great video here, candid interview of Brandon Roy by ESPN's LZ Granderson, once again it just goes to show you who we have with this guy, even if he wasn't our best player he would be our cornerstone.
Once again I have been slacking on my blog, for some reason I just haven't gotten to it, hell I haven't even watched a game since parts of the NY game. In my absence my friends Nat and Jimmy have been emailing me quite a bit of thoughts and articles they read and what have you. Lemme put it this way, Nat hates LaMarcus more and more, but before we touch on this, how about some links.
And last but not least Nat sent me his thought's, now this is in the tradition of I hate LA and he includes some of Quick's latest blog along with his own feelings:
"There's actually some great LaMarcus-hating content in Quick's blog! First Abbott, now Portland's "finest" - people are starting to take note of how much LaMarcus sucks! (I noticed that last night he scored 10 of his 18 in the 1st quarter. And he didn't do anything - not score, rebound, or block - in the 4th quarter. And he only got 6 rebounds in 35 minutes - I think Martell got 5 in 20 minutes. Beating the Bulls by 3 points without Hinrich, Deng, or Gordon is hardly a win to be proud of.) Nice to see Jack put the pressure on the defense and get to the line for 7 of 8 shooting! Anyway, here's part of Quick's blog post:
The starting lineup isn't the only thing being looked at right now. McMillan said he has spent the past several days analyzing his fourth-quarter rotations, and has reached a point where he is leaning toward playing center Joel Przybilla more if LaMarcus Aldridge continues his struggles.
"The thing is, we gotta get some production there,'' McMillan said of the center position in the fourth quarter. "It will be a read on my part, but we have to look at that, no question. ''There has been so much clamoring about Przybilla's lack of play in the fourth quarters this season, but what people don't understand is that if Przybilla plays, then either Aldridge or Travis Outlaw has to sit.
And if one thing has become certain in McMillan's mind, it's that Outlaw is no longer a small forward - he is strictly a power forward."That's where he gives us an advantage,'' McMillan said.That brings us back to Aldridge, who I think has been very sporadic and at times a liability for this team, particularly down the stretch of games. His jumper has been decidedly off, and his defense has been less than inspiring.
Earlier this year in a double-overtime loss in Toronto, Przybilla did not play in the fourth or in either overtime, even though Aldridge was struggling through a 5-for-17 shooting day and getting killed by Chris Bosh on defense. After the game, McMillan said he stuck with Aldridge because he is one of the franchise's foundations, and he is going to have to learn to play through those types of games. However, those types of games for Aldrdige have become increasingly more common. He enters tonight with a season-low 16.9 scoring average which comes on the heels of some unsightly shooting nights (2-for-9 vs. Denver, 5-for-14 vs. Houston, 3-for-12 at Atlanta, 6-for-21 at Orlando, 5-for-17 at Toronto and 6-for-17 at Chicago).
What is making it worse is that Aldridge has been out of position (LeBron James' game-winning drive) or merely shoved out of the way on defense too many times lately - and at times when the game is on the line.Doesn't there come a time when the coach has to say foundation or not, part of your learning experience will be being benched if poor play persists?"I would have to agree,'' McMillan in respondng to that notion. "And we will have to look at that. It's not out of the question.''" He has been pestering me to write an anti-LaMarcus post for a few days now, but you know what, the dude is young, could he stand to be tougher, yes, could he stand to be a better defender, of course, does that mean that I hate him, NO! But Quick ends his article just saying he is expecting more from LaMarcus, and I agree, we should be seeing more from him, I think he needs to muck it up, get on people on defense, get a freaking post game. On the other hand, it is his second year in the league and I don't think anyone expected him to be doing what he is even doing NOW before he had been in the league for a few years. So really I don't begrudge him, he is still learning and I think he is in a mental slump as well, so come on lets go easy on the guy!
Anyways I want to write more so I will get to that later, discussing the Shaq trade (does anyone else feel like this is almost no news? I mean I wasn't that shocked/surprised/or cared about this trade in any aspect. Well, more on that later. Also I am going to do a story on what it is really like in the Trail Blazers home office, I will compare my own experiences, and try to contact some folks to get some current insider info. More on that later.
So Zach Randolph returned to the Rose Garden, and in a hail of boos from the crowd, puts together one of his better performances of the season. But seriously, did anyone think he wouldn't? But unfortunately for Zach, it is the same scenario he has had his entire career, sure he had a great game, but who won? It was the stellar second half performance from Brandon Roy that woke up the Trail Blazers and led them on a mission in the second half to win this game. How often last year would we put the ball in Zach's hands and give him the shot at this, to let him lead our team. Well, I hate to say it as a former Zach supporter, but the guy is not a leader, he is selfish, and while he may say things about wishing it had been a victory for his team, does he really? I don't think so, I think he is selfish and just wants stats for himself. He was on a mission last night as well, a mission to have a great game, he wanted to come back and say, "Fuck you for trading me." Well I don't think one Blazer fan missed him at all last night, and in the shining performance of our resident All Star and the TEAM we pulled out another gritty, gutsy, come from behind win.
I am not going to link to the Oregonians article, it says basically what I just have. But I do want to share Martell Webster's quote from last night:
"This is something amazing, something special," Martell Webster said. "It is history in the making, a sign of a new era. A team that has totally changed, that has gone 180 (degrees) from where it used to be. Everything is looking up now, the future is bright. We have two great players on our team who are representing us in All-Star weekend, and that is something the fans have been wanting. Something positive, something to go home and talk to their friends about. That's what we want to bring, and that's what we have been doing."
I think that is one of the most profound and clearest ways to describe this franchise I have ever read. Martell summed up everything surrounding Portland this basketball season. Ladies and gentlemen I feel he has finally 'gotten' it. We can talk about the play of Roy, we can talk about the late game heroics of Outlaw, we can talk about Aldridge, Blake, James Jones, Joel Przybilla, and they are all very key pieces in all of this and worthy of praise (or boos depending on who you talk to..... Nat!). But I think one of the most underrated players on this team and in the league is Webster. He doesn't necessarily have flashy stats, he is not always an offensive juggernaut, but as I discussed in my earlier piece about Roy, Martell brings a lot of intangibles to this team. He is a solid rebounder, great shooter, mucks up the passing lanes, plays good team D, but most of all I have seen so much growth in his defense over the past couple of months.
I am becoming more and more impressed with this kid, and think he will blossom into a wonderful all around player. He is kind of looking to me like Udoka did last season, with one major difference, Martell has all the tools to become an absolute stud in this league, and it looks like maybe the biggest question mark about him is finally coming out, his mind.
And last but not least, congrats to Roy for his first NBA triple double, mark my words, it will not be his last.
