Subscribe Feed (RSS)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.
Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Kevin Pritchard, Portland Trail Blazers, trades
My guess is that you are referring to Bayless.
I don’t agree Greg. I’ve gotta think it was Outlaw.
i`m going to agree with morgan. nate is a big fan of outlaws.
I think people are bein too hasty to give up on Outlaw so soon….he’s only been in the league for SIX years. Travis has come a long way since he was carrying bags as a rookie for Calvin Natt.
I’m also eagerly awaiting Travis to reach his “potential.”
Sincerely,
2018
At least he’s improving…let’s check this year to last year. How about points? Oops maybe not. How about rebounds? Uh too bad. Assists? No? Steals? Blocks? Bueller? Anything? Hey Travis, you don’t get extra points for degree of shot difficulty. The guy has a 40+ inch vertical and averages 4 rebs a game? Do you know who else averages 4 a game? Nate Robinson.
Glad we hung onto Sergio too, most brutal defender I’ve seen in quite awhile. PETA is upset by Sergio’s prowess as a matador.
Laste note, the 2009 free agent class is pretty terrible to be honest. Pritch is gonna have to make a trade….
Comon Dwight -
Shed us some light on this trade. Who was it for? Who was the player that the coaching staff couldn’t give up?
Give us a little nugget to salivate over!
I talked him out of it.
Travis is the #3 scorer on this team. The “Big 3″ is not Roy + LMA + Oden — Oden is a “highly touted, frequently injured rookie that platoons at Center.” The actual, in practice, Big 3 of this team is Roy + LMA + Outlaw.
That said: this was the week for the umbilical cords to be cut for Travis and Sergio — to bring in a scoring 3 to replace for this year the injured Webster and to clear room for the heir apparent at PG, B-Rex. And that didn’t get done.
KP is the one the one wearing the fancy pants. He’s ultimately responsible for this situation, regardless of ownership or coaching pressures upon him.
What if the guy Nate wanted to keep–was Sergio?
Probably ain’t, but what if…
Speaking of Trout…
(sorry about the truncated comment)
Speaking of Trout… the problem with Outlaw is not that his game has deficiencies, which it does.
The problem is that the team has to RELY on him far more than they should.
On a team more stocked with talent at the 4–before Frye took a big step backwards, and Martell got hurt–having an guy like Outlaw of the bench is a luxury. The dude can hit shots that few others can hit. He’s a special-purpose weapon that few teams possess.
When he has to play 30+ minutes a night, guarding both 3s and 4s depending on who else is on the floor–that’s when his deficiencies become glaringly obvious. And even on those nights when he’s cold as a dead fish, Nate still has to keep him in the game–otherwise we’re looking at big minutes for guys like Frye or Randolph.
A lot of how one views the trades (or lack thereof) depends on how one views the players. If you assume that guys like Batum or Bayless won’t improve, then it’s easy to call for help. But I think both are keepers.
The Blazers keep saying–it ain’t about this year. And their actions seem consistent with that strategy.
It is George Bush’s fault !!!!
I have a strong feeling it was actually Batum, and that Charlotte refused to budge in giving up Wallace without including him
Larry Brown has an eye for talent and he knows Batum will be a star
I am glad KP stood his ground
Seriously Dwight, you’re not an employee of the organization, spill the beans. We as fans need to know what kind of deal was passed over and which player was the sticking point. THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!
I’m with Panama, I bet Batum was the guy everyone insisted on and Nate and KP wouldn’t give him up .
If you read the QA with KP, Paul Allen made a good point too, lets see what this team does in the pressure of the playoffs and see what we have.
KP also doesn’t like making mid season trades, he likes to make his moves during the draft. With 6 mil in cap room, the trade exception and cheap young talent he could make a big move then, that kind of flexibility can let you be the 3rd team to facilitate trades.
If that player was Outlaw, then that would piss me off. If it was Bayless or Batum, I could live with it.
My guess is that it was Blake and that the deal was for another PG, say one that wears a Bulls’ uniform and shares a college in common with KP.
Dwight… I have a lot of respect for you as a writer. To write this without including the player is childish… I am, frankly, surprised you would write something like this.
This is similar to the rationale I have for not totally blaming Pritchard for passing on Durant.
I strongly suspect he wanted to draft Durant (being a self proclaimed “best player available kinda guy”), but that Paul Allen and Nate forced him to pick Oden.
Blazers Edge has a good point in their latest post. This is also likely an indication that KP and Allen think the economic situation for teams is going to get even worse, factor that with the Cap going down and a lot of teams may need to shed payroll this summer.
I think it was most definitely Nicolas Batum, the kid is a stud and the only good reason for trading him is to give some lucky guy the chance at consoling Sophia… Charlotte wanted him in a deal for wallace.
the kid is constantly reminding me of this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGYXuD1lwwk
I seem to recall back when Nate was with the Sonics, him and Rick Sund being at odds with the personnel decisions made, with Nate often getting the short end of the draw…
nothing got done, but be glad that we’ve got a front office/coaching staff who are willing to work together towards the goal of making this team better, even if Nate is to blame for no trades, you can still blame Prichard for fostering an environment where the coaching staff feels like they are entitled to an opinion and even listening to them.
this is the silly behavior which has managed to pull this franchise’s head out of the 5 gallon bucket in which it was drowning… whatever the trade was it wasn’t right, and the book isn’t closed, we’ve still got this summer to sign a free agent or make a trade.
tease, come on give me a break
I know but i’m not telling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a bunch of gossip girls!
I am very disappointed that the Blazer organization isn’t going
full throttle on developing Bayless.
This young kid can take the floor and completely energize the entire team.He is lightening fast,and can flat out score when
asked to get to the basket.
He is an attractive young player,exciting dunker(understatement),
and I feel could be a very popular Blazer. There is just a buzz
when he takes the court.
Why are they not doing this ?
I am elated they didn’t trade him. I would loved to have traded
Sergio for another player and let Bayless thrive and learn.
And thank god they didn’t trade Batum, another of my favorite
young players.
The fact is that none of the deals that we all heard about would have made them better than the Spurs, Lakers or maybe even the Jazz when they become healthy. I’m sure it was very hard for the Blazers to not make a deal, but right now it looks like they made the right move.
I am not sold on Bayless. I typically refer to him as “Jarrett Stoudamire”.
What’s so great about him?
1. Lackluster FG%.
2. Inability to properly distribute.
3. Shoot-first point guard.
4. Height issues against other guards.
5. Mediocre defense.
6. No mid-range or long-range game.
7. Only two “coming out” games in a matter of a 14 game stretch – where he got playing time.
Portland seems so infatuated with him. I agree his speed and athletic moves are nice….. but why are we all looking at him like he is the next Chris Paul? I think he is just a short step up from JJ.
Dwight,
As an ex-journalist blogger, you have the access of a journalist, but I am not aware of what controls exist for the use of anonymous sources for this blog. Something doesn’t feel right about you relating something from the front office about the coaching staff without any kind of accountability. A story about a power struggle between coaches and GM should be a well-sourced and balanced article.
Good grief BlazerMVP !
My goodness,he is just a rookie.
Take a look at the slack everybody(not me)everyone gives to
Outlaw and he has played 6 years !
For pete’s sake let’s not set these kids up for failure so
quickly.
I don’t know of a soul who compares him to Chris Paul.
How about just letting him be Jerryd Bayless ??
Re Young Players,
Without knocking any commenter or any young Blazers, I have a general irritation about a mindset that I’m seeing expressed here again and again. One person commented that it was worth killing a Gerald Wallace trade to keep Batum; others have talked about how wonderful Bayless is. On the radio, Antonio (I believe it was him) said that of course they kept Bayless – how could the organization have given up on him already?
I think Harvey’s comment most clearly misses the point. You don’t have to give up on a player to trade him. Who is offered for Bayless? If you turn that trade down, are you saying you’ve given up on the player being offered?
Regarding not trading a guy like Bayless or Batum because of all of their potential, I say this: the investment made in these guys has been almost nil so far. Yes they are nice prospects – but I could point to future draft picks, and they have potential as well. It seems odd (but endearing) that we fans, playing GM, seem to think that all of our rookies are such stars-in-the-making that trading them should be unthinkable.
Gerald Wallace, for example, already IS a star. He’s what we HOPE Batum will become.
It’s late and I’m not making my point well or concisely so I’ll end this. Let’s just say that if the Blazers had 3 first-rounders this summer, there would be a bunch of fans saying at mid-season that we absolutely cannot trade any of these promising star prospects. I can predict this without knowing who they are. There are always more to come.