We’re about a week away from the trade deadline and I think that this time around, the Trail Blazers are going to pull the trigger on something.

Two reasons:

First, the obvious — the team needs another big man. And make no mistake, this is a long-term need, not just a temporary fix. Last summer, Portland chased free-agent Paul Millsap — indicating the team felt then that there was a distinct need for another big body who could rebound, play defense and provide inside scoring.

Now, with Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla out for the season, that need is magnified. So there is a definite need for another “big.”

But on top of that, the more serious motivation for a deal is the pending logjam at the smaller positions as Travis Outlaw and Brandon Roy return to the lineup after the All-Star break. Already, there are too many players for the available minutes. We saw at the beginning of the season how hard it is to keep everyone happy with playing time.

It’s not fair to coach Nate McMillan to keep making him deal with those issues. And the team’s roster is seriously out of balance with way too many small players and not enough big ones.

And really, doesn’t this team know by now who it wants to keep and who it is willing to deal? I would certainly hope so. My guess is that Martell Webster, Outlaw, Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless are all available.

Who will come back in a deal? Your guess is as good as mine. There are undoubtedly players out there available who we didn’t know about. Kevin Pritchard will find somebody. I would guess there’s a young big man, perhaps a little more untested than we’d like, out there who could grow with this young team.

With the deadline now less than a week away, it’s going to be a fun time.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Jerryd Bayless, Kevin Pritchard, Martell Webster, Portland Trail Blazers, Steve Blake, trades, trading deadline, Travis Outlaw

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Blazers really are paralyzed at the prospect of picking which players they need to discard along the way. Thursday was a unique opportunity and yes, some of the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

But, on the other hand, some of the best trades are obviously the ones YOU DO make. I’ve heard already today that the team was a lot closer to a deal than it sounds and that, in fact, in at least one instance there was great difference of opinion about dealing away a certain Blazer. In the end, the coaching staff won out and the deal wasn’t made. The coaches just didn’t want to part with him.

Situations like that are why it’s dangerous to blame Kevin Pritchard for not making a trade Thursday. Sometimes the GM wants to pull the trigger but either an owner or a head coach says no. The owner always has the final say and in many cases, the coach has a lot of power, too. So don’t automatically assume that this “Deal or No Deal” thing was all KP.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Kevin Pritchard, Portland Trail Blazers, trades

This site is growing much quicker than I dreamed it would — thanks to a lot of fine people linking to posts and pointing readers in this direction. That’s much appreciated. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to visit this humble little hut in the midst of a packed Internet.

But I have to tell you, I opened the morning paper — just a day before the trade deadine — and couldn’t find a thing in there about the Trail Blazers and their options for changing the franchise. Man, on a day when ESPN is saying Portland spoke with New Jersey about a Vince Carter for RLEC, Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw deal, there’s nothing there. (And don’t worry about the Houston side of that discussion, Tracy McGrady says today his season is over — he needs knee surgery).

All I can tell you is to keep your computer on, surf a little and you’ll get your fix of rumors, real stories and speculation all day long. Most of the rumors will never come to pass, of course. But it’s fun stuff. And everyone has an interest in reading things being written about their favorite team and its roster.

And — at a time when Kevin Pritchard is getting better offers for an expiring contract than other general managers are getting for all-star players – it’s pretty hard not to get emotionally involved as a Blazer fan, right? That’s what me and my Internet brothers and sisters are all about — information — so get as into it as you want. There’s always more out there. Always.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Portland Trail Blazers, Raef LaFrentz, Sergio Rodriguez, trades, Vince Carter

This from True Hoop this morning, quoting an NBA executive from a Chad Ford column:

“I guarantee you [Blazers GM] Kevin Pritchard has gotten better offers for LaFrentz than the Suns have gotten for [Amare] Stoudemire.”

Amazing, huh?

I guess, ordinarily, here’s where you’d do some kind of statistical comparision of the two players, or talk about how if his jumper is falling, LaFrentz can really help a team.

But LaFrentz is out for the season, and won’t play before his deal expires. Stoudemire is a young, healthy, starting All-Star big man.

Assuming this is really the case — could there be a clearer sign that in today’s NBA economy, cost-cutting is king?

Ford says the Blazers are getting new offers all the time and that Gerald Wallace, he of the recent collapsed lung, is available:

The focus for the Blazers right now appears to be at the small forward position. It appears that three players — Gerald Wallace, Caron Butler and Richard Jefferson — are on Pritchard’s radar screen. A fourth one, Mike Miller, is also a favorite of the Blazers, but the Wolves have been reluctant to include him in a deal.

Sources say the Blazers have intensified their focus on Wallace. He’s young, athletic and physical, and he doesn’t need to score to be an impact player. He has four years and $38 million left on his contract, which is a lot, but given his age and production the past few years, it’s not unreasonable. The problem for the Blazers is that the Bobcats want Portland to take back Nazr Mohammed as part of the deal. That could be a deal-breaker for Pritchard.

Butler might be the best player of the group when he’s healthy. He was an All-Star last year and is excellent in the mid-range game. He too has a reasonable contract, with just two years and $21 million left on his deal. But it’s unclear what the Wizards would want in return and whether they’ll ultimately opt to keep Butler and reevaluate the team when Gilbert Arenas returns. If the Wizards are to make such a deal, certainly they’ll want the Blazers to take back Etan Thomas’ contract, and they’ll likely also demand one or two young players from the Blazers. That price might be too high for Portland.

Jefferson is the most available. The Bucks need to clear his salary from their cap if they’re going to re-sign their two restricted free agents this summer: Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions. Sources say there have been conversations that have included both Jefferson and Milwaukee point guard Luke Ridnour, though the talk has quieted down. As a proven scorer and defender who’s played in the NBA Finals, Jefferson has some appeal for the Blazers.

One wild card for the Blazers is Vince Carter. His contract is the most expensive of the group, but Carter has been fantastic this season and would give the Blazers the biggest bang of anyone out there. It appears unlikely the Blazers will go that direction, but New Jersey would certainly listen if Portland wanted to do a deal.

Assuming he’s healthy (and he’s expected back in the lineup tonight), I like Wallace a lot. He’s got a great motor. Works his tail off and is content working to get his own points wherever they are — off turnovers, the offensive boards, whatever. I’d be a little afraid of Carter.

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Tags: Add new tag, Caron Butler, Chad Ford, Dwight Jaynes, Gerald Wallace, Portland Trail Blazers, RLEC, trades, Vince Carter

The horrible state of the economy is working in Portland’s favor right now. Many NBA teams are looking to cut salary, because their owner or owners are suffering great financial losses in their real-world businesses.

That makes the Raef expiring (and insured) contract all the more alluring. Teams can cut their payroll next season by acquiring it. I think that makes it much more likely a very good player — maybe even a franchise-type player — could be Portland’s, without an awful lot else put into the deal.

That makes for a unique opportunity in franchise history.

But do the Blazers really want to let someone else have that cap relief? Nobody knows just yet. If that contract is moved for a player with a long and steep contract, Portland will put itself into luxury tax territory for the next several seasons, what with the Roy and Aldridge contracts soon to take a turn upward.

And while Paul Allen has always been willing to step up when he has a chance to make the team better, I don’t think it’s a sure thing that he wants to go back to the days when he’s losing $80-$100 million per season on his basketball team. And I don’t blame him.

So the Blazers could be headed toward a real major turning point. Or not. I would guess that if that one player, that guy Portland thinks is a difference maker in bringing a championship here, is available — this is the time to go out and get him. And that Paul Allen would do it.

But if that franchise-changing guy isn’t out there, maybe it’s time to just pass. Time to hold onto Raef’s contract and take the cap relief. Time to keep the payroll under control and make that trade later.

We’ll see.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, NBA, Paul Allen, Portland Trail Blazers, trades