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

First, let me say that I hope, for his sake (it’s a contract year for him!), that the six-to-eight-weeks prognosis is correct. But it may be a little optimistic, I’m afraid. The tiny bones in your feet — particularly when you’re very tall — do not heal quickly because the blood flow to that region isn’t very strong.

They heal slowly, as we saw with Martell Webster last season. And they’re fragile enough that if you come back too soon you’re a prime candidate for reinjury, which we also saw last season with Martell Webster.

I don’t think this one has a huge impact on the Trail Blazers’ wins and losses this season. Yes, Outlaw is a proven off-the-bench scorer who has made big shots. But he’s not improved much on the defensive end and isn’t a particularly energetic rebounder. In the long run, this should mean more minutes for Webster, Rudy Fernandez and even Juwan Howard — which is a good thing.

And I think there are other shotmakers on this team who will step up in the fourth quarter. Andre Miller, Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden are all solid options.

I believed at the outset of the season that if all the Portland players stayed healthy it could be a nightmare season for Coach Nate McMillan, trying to get minutes for all his young players. The injuries help thin the rotation out to a manageable number, though. And the defense should be better without Outlaw staggering around trying to remember who he is guarding.

One thing, though — they can’t handle many more injuries. Any more and it WILL impact the wins and losses.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw

No official announcement yet, but there’s little doubt in my mind what Nate McMillan is going to do when the season opens Tuesday night.

He’s going to start Steve Blake at the point and Nic Batum at small forward, along with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, just like last season. But the one change he’s going to make is Greg Oden at center. Oden forced this move, playing so well in the exhibition season that he left McMillan no choice. It’s Oden’s job and there’s hope in the Rose Quarter it will be his job for the next decade.

McMillan has been waiting for Blake to come around during the entire preseason and finally, Thursday night in Vancouver against Phoenix, he did. That’s all Nate needs, I think, to declare Blake the starter — even though you could make the case that Miller has outplayed him. Eventually, it could be Miller’s job but for right now, it’s going to be Blake.

It’s been relatively easy for the Blazer coach to make substitutions with the injuries the team has suffered early. But when Rudy Fernandez is ready to go, it’s going to get tougher in a hurry.

I don’t know how much Jerryd Bayless is going to play, unless he passes Miller in the rotation — which I can’t see happening. And Rudy needs his 25 minutes. This is where it’s going to get interesting — because Travis Outlaw expects big minutes, too.

Understand, by the way, I have no inside information here — this is what I think Nate McMillan will do. Not necessarily what I’d do, either. For me, I think Miller would have to start. But I just can’t see the coach doing it — at least for now. I think McMillan’s perception is that his “first unit” functions better with Blake at the point.

My argument is that, given time together, it’s always best to play your best players with each other — and I think Miller is a more talented player than Blake. And I think Miller would fit very well with the others after just a few games together.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nate McMillan, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw

Stumbled onto this – a Tweet from Travis Outlaw — a while ago and Ben beat me to it as far as posting something about it. It reads:

“Workin’ out so hard so I’ll be gettin’ paid like out of this world…”

Yeah… out of this world. Problem, Travis, is that you seem to be aspiring to live someplace out of this particular world. That’s a world where guys get the ball with the side cleared and can take one or two dribbles and make jump shots. I’m sure that’s what you’re working on this summer. Not catch-and-shoot jumpers, but just jumpers where you get a dribble or two. And guys don’t defend in that world, either. Sometimes, they don’t even know where their men are.

They don’t rebound much in that world, either. They thirst for points, aren’t afraid to take big shots and are very popular with their teammates. It’s a world full of good guys who don’t seem to pass much.

Problem, though, I’m pretty sure that’s not the same world you’re living in here with the Portland Trail Blazers — at least the part about playing defense, passing and rebounding. In this little corner of the universe, you may not be able to function as you wish on your own private planet.

Damn, Travis Outlaw is going into a contract year and I don’t see any way, barring injury, he’s going to get enough playing time to make out-of-this-world money with his next deal. It’s just not in the cards for him, unless those off-season workouts are going to result in a major makeover. “Out of this world” money?

The tragic thing here is that there are teams in the league who could really use a Travis Outlaw. Teams that need his ability to score and make big shots. Teams not in much of a position to worry about his shortcomings. And that’s the sort of team he should be playing for. Portland’s had multiple chances to trade him but just can’t seem to pull the trigger.

And so I’m not sure it’s going to be pretty to watch Travis’ worlds collide this season.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Portland Trail Blazers, Travis Outlaw, Twitter

I spoke to a high-ranking official with another NBA team late Friday night about the Blazers adding Miller and he thought it was a good move.

“He’ll help them. Good player. But their big problem is going to be team chemistry because they have way too many players who need minutes and I don’t see how they’re going to make it all work,” he said.

Even though Kevin Pritchard has said he’s done making moves for the summer, I do not believe that to be the case. What’s left for Portland is a thinning out of the roster — or Nate McMillan is going to be left with too many playing-time puzzles to solve.

You can’t have Jerryd Bayless as your third guard. He needs to play to develop and if he doesn’t get at least as many minutes as he did last year, he’s going to be upset. Miller and Blake will suck up all the point guard minutes and don’t forget — the Blazers like to use Roy at that spot a lot so that Roy and Rudy Fernandez can play together. Yeah, I know — you can play Roy at small forward but only for brief stretches. And you want to do it when you want to, not because you have to do it.

Meanwhile, if Martell Webster is back, you’ve got him and Nic Batum fighting for playing time with Travis Outlaw lurking somewhere between small forward minutes and power forward minutes. And if Greg Oden suddenly emerges, you might want to sneak a few minutes for Joel Przybilla at power forward behind LaMarcus Aldridge. Which leaves Outlaw, well, out.

I think the obvious resolution to this is to move Bayless, Outlaw, perhaps a future first-round pick (they don’t need it, anyway), use the trade exception if you have to – and make a move for an experienced backup power forward who would be content with 10-15 minutes per game.

Without something like that, Nate McMillan has no chance to keep his players content with their playing time.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla, Kevin Pritchard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw

The Blazers pick No. 24 — so do you go out there and grab the likes of UCLA’s Jrue Holiday or do you opt for another strategy? You could trade the pick, you could even attempt to move up in the draft for a better player, or you could take a player you could stash in Europe.

See, here’s my deal: This is simply a season where, unless you’re also trading away two or three veteran players, there is no room for yet another rookie. We’re past that, aren’t we?

I believe this is a time when you just don’t want to devote roster space to yet one more player who needs developmental time or who might be pressing for playing time. There is enough roster congestion on this team right now. Please, this is a time to simplify, rather than complicate.

Already, there’s Jerryd Bayless and Nic Batum out there who need time to develop. Neither is likely to be a starter this season.

If a Jason Kidd or Andre Miller is added to the roster, Bayless will still be on the bench, needing all the playing time he can get. If Steve Blake stays, Bayless would be even further down the bench.

When Martell Webster returns next season, Nic Batum will be on the bench, needing minutes, too. And what would happen if Travis Outlaw is back, too? Batum is buried even deeper. It seems to me the Blazers are stocked at every position but power forward, and won’t be able to find something capable of helping immediately at that position in what seems to be a very weak draft class.

So why use the pick? I’d ship it off, along with a couple of those four second-round selections. And I wouldn’t move up, either, unless I planned to divest myself of a more than one player who was in the regular rotation this past season.

Now if Outlaw, Blake and Sergio Rodriquez (or any other combination of three rotation players from last season) are gone, there would be room for a solid rookie, depending on what comes in return for those players.

Otherwise, I would just sit this one out. How about you?

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Tags: 2009 NBA Draft, Andre Miller, Dwight Jaynes, Jason Kidd, Jerryd Bayless, Jrue Holiday, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Sergio Rodriques, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw

I really don’t know what to make of this idle chat, which features a discussion of dealing Nic Batum, Steve Blake and Greg Oden for Tony Parker. Are you kidding me? Is it April Fool’s Day again already? Is somebody trying to punk me here?

Yeah, I know — it’s supposed to be three guys sitting on a park bench idly chattering. It’s one of those “would you trade . . .” kind of deals rather than a prediction of something that could ever actually happen. But come on, this is the kind of nonsense that would get you laughed out of your favorite barber shop. It’s a non-starter of a topic even in that venue. It reminds me a little of the silly “Who would you rather be, Superman or Batman?” arguments we used to have in sixth grade.

So you’re saying that the Blazers — who still have Jermaine O’Neal nightmares every time they consider trading the likes of Travis Outlaw or Sergio Rodriguez — are going to let go of Nic Batum and Greg Oden, together, at this point of their careers?

Nope. Especially not for a guy who is going to be a free agent in a year. I cannot imagine handing Batum and Oden to Gregg Popovich and then watching him turn those guys into multi-year all-stars.

Besides, I’m still the guy out here believing that someday Oden is going to turn into the XXL version of Dwight Howard.

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Tags: Dwight Howard, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Sergio Rodriguez, Steve Blake, Tony Parker, Travis Outlaw

Nope, I don’t see that. This is when the Trail Blazers character has to shine through. You don’t quit when you’re down 3-1 in a series. Especially with a home game on tap.

Portland will play with more force tonight and I think you might see the Rockets not quite as sharp on defense. The Blazers might even get out and run a little tiny bit.

At some point tonight, the dam is going to burst and Portland will break through.

One thing, though — more minutes for Rudy Fernandez. I could not believe this morning that it was suggested Nate McMillan was pondering starting Travis Outlaw rather than Nic Batum. Rudy, yes — that’s the right move. But Outlaw? I’d be shocked if that would help.

It will be interesting to see if McMillan’s officiating diatribe from Monday has any impact. I would doubt it. He’s going to have to verbally jump somebody from the sidelines tonight — something he’s always hesitant to do.

You know what, folks — even if this team was positively getting screwed by the officiating every night in the series, it does players and coaches no good to be preoccupied with it. You have to just play. And certainly when you lose a game by a point, every player in the lineup can look at something he did that could have made up that single point — which has nothing to do with officiating.

Really looking forward to this game because I expect a very big effort from the home team.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Nate McMillan, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw

You know, that was a tough one. It’s not as if the Trail Blazers played their best game of the season — they didn’t. But it would have been their biggest win of the season, and it was right near their grasp, just inches away.

Those inches, of course, were the amount of space Brandon Roy’s foot was over the three-point line when he was fouled by LeBron James late in the game. First, I love the idea of shooting a three-point field goal at that point of the game (although Roy went too early, allowing James a shot at the other end after a timeout). Roy just needed to stay behind the line.

I think, on the road, with a chance to grab a win and run out the door on the second night of a back-to-back, you shoot the three to win every time. The odds are against you if you don’t win the game in regulation. Roy had the right idea and James was just flat lucky that he didn’t give Roy three shots.

I saw two other things of note happen in that game — a joke of a traveling call against Travis Outlaw (come on, there were so many travels in that game I lost count — and you’re going to call THAT one?). And then Outlaw’s three-point shot from the corner that James “blocked.” I say that because when I ran it back, it looked clearly like a foul. One thing I didn’t like after that play, though, was that Outlaw seemed timid for the rest of the game.

All in all, a solid defensive effort from the Blazers and a night, if a few open shots would have fallen, it could have been a huge win.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Lebron James, Travis Outlaw

My. Goodness.

Pick any rant from the past few weeks that includes not getting the ball inside and not playing good defense. I will take a break from it for a game.

One other thing was amazing in this one, too. In the fourth quarter, when OKC was trying its best to let the Blazers back in the game, Portland came across as very selfish at both ends of the court.

Offensively, the first guy down the floor with the ball — usually Roy or Outlaw — just put his head down and went to the basket. No thought of hitting an open man or running any kind of offense. Just take it and go  — over and over, with the defense collapsing all over them. I know, you want to score quickly to get back in the game — but this way just doesn’t work. It’s playground stuff.

On defense, everyone was on an island. No help to speak of for anyone. That just doesn’t work, either.

All in all, a pretty horrific performance.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Sonics, Travis Outlaw