Be warned however, there are many ‘fans’ that simply think KP can do no wrong. If KP signs Hedo, then they think that he’s a can’t miss surefire piece to the championship puzzle. If KP had passed on Hedo, then those same braindead KP worshippers would be the first to call Hedo ‘overrated’, and a ‘bad fit’ for Portland.

I don’t care for choosing Hedo because I don’t think he brings enough for the money, number 1. It eats up all the cap space usable for a point guard or a tough guy back up power forward.

Number 2, – and perhaps more importantly – he is not part of the culture of development. The team has progressed as a group of young guys growing together. Something that the city and the fans have participated in. That’s being deviated from by grasping for a 30 year old outsider that doesn’t fit the mold that KP’s been using.

It gets worse if another “vet” like Steve Nash or Andre Miller is brought in for the sake of having a veteran presence.

Young, capable tough guys like Ariza, Bass, Milsap, Sessions, even Chris Anderson or Marvin Williams could be run for and provide a “fit” into the existing pattern and chemistry with a good chance of success. Not to mention possible trades that might be out there.

Dwight made a terrific point on Talkin’ Ball about hoping that the Blazers mgt did all they could to find out if Devin Harris could be had before going for Hedo.

To say there’s only one approach to acheive a championship – getting veterans – is unimaginative. It diminishes what the current group has done and what they and those like them might accomplish.

It’s not just business.

On the basketball side of things, it makes me mad to see polls showing nearly a 50-50 split on fans’ desire to sign this guy. The people opposed to this are the same people who freaked out after James Jones left/ Z Bo got traded for Frye/ and the Blazers chose not to draft Adam Morrison.

People need to accept the departure of Batum or Outlaw or Webster because it is totally necesary if we are to get out of the first round ever. None of those three guys understands their role on this team, whereas Hedo will understand his task for the ‘Zers almost immediately. Let’s wrap this thing up by the 4th of July!

Following Dwight’s logic, we should have just faxed him an offer sheet at 12:01am yesterday and left it at that.

Yes, of course it’s about the money, but you don’t just treat a person like a slab of meat. Anyone who has ever recruited or been recruited knows that you have to go through the motions of flying them in, taking them out for a meal, showing them around, etc… yeah it’s a common courtesy and that’s it, but it would be foolish not to.

Unless you want to go back to the Whitsitt “CTC” era.

This is why last summer was horrible and the trade deadline was a disaster. I was easy to predict for the last three years that this years free agent crop would be horrid. Now Portland reaps the benefit of hesitation.

Namely overpaying a role player that is decidedly not the final piece of a title hunt puzzle.

Also, as a little side note, we need that banger kind of PF off the bench, right? Not that I don’t think Pendergraph is going to be a really good fit, but since we didn’t take a flyer on Blair or Young in the draft, should we take a little risk and sign Leon Powe? I think he could be had fairly cheap considering he won’t play until Feb, and when he does get back on the floor he’s going to have a huge chip on his shoulder after Ainge spit in his face by not offering him a QO. If we could get him on the cheap for a short term contract, wouldn’t it be worth it even if he’s a 14th or 15th guy on the roster for right now?

Well, it appears that if he did in fact swing, it was certainly a whiff. Hedo will NOT bring this team a championship. It’s time to stop drinking the KP Kool-Aide folks. He has screwed this thing up and we the fans will suffer for it.