Blazers acquires an entire bench from the Suns

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Almost a complete bench and a future 1st rounder isn't enough for Leonard?

Telfair and Brown aren't good. O'Neal will be lucky to make it through the year healthy.

Good or not, healthy or not, that is debatable. They all are better than the Blazers have on their bench right now.

Portland's goal is not to give up long term assets for a short term gain. Listen to their GM, he has been saying this for a while, and your proposal flies right in the face of it. It's easy to see why Portland is turning it down.

[hcsilla]

I love how effortlessly you guys overlook the fact that POR also gets a late lottery-mid 1st round pick in the deal.

Besides, I think that getting the better part of the Suns bench for some mid 2nd rounders is a pipe-dream.

[cucad8]

I love how effortlessly you guys overlook the fact that POR also gets a late lottery-mid 1st round pick in the deal.

.

it's the only thing worthwhile they get in the deal, and they give out a prospect for it. It's trading to trade, at that point. O'Neal, Brown and Telfair are mediocre bench pieces that MAYBE help us get the 8th seed. We're not giving up a young project C for that and a worse pick than where we got the C at in the first place.

[Golabki]

I love how effortlessly you guys overlook the fact that POR also gets a late lottery-mid 1st round pick in the deal.

Besides, I think that getting the better part of the Suns bench for some mid 2nd rounders is a pipe-dream.

I'm not overlooking the pick (likely 15-20 range). I'm ignoring the amazing "Suns Bench", which consists of the 60th best SG in the NBA, the 90th best PG in the NBA, and a geriatric.

[hcsilla]

The Suns bench is not amazing but at least an average one while the Blazers don't have a bench at all which leads to the conclusion that getting the Suns bench means a massive upgrade for them.

[cucad8]

dude, it's a no. defend it all you like. Answer is the same. Not happening.

[hcsilla]

dude, it's a no. defend it all you like. Answer is the same. Not happening.

, who do you think you are, the Blazers GM or what? You already told what you could, there is no need to do it again and again.

[DusterBuster]

dude, it's a no. defend it all you like. Answer is the same. Not happening.

, who do you think you are, the Blazers GM or what? You already told what you could, there is no need to do it again and again.

He's not the Blazers GM, but Neil Olshey is and this deal goes against everything Olshey has ever said he plans on doing for this team. He's not going to sacrifice the future for a short term gain.

The Blazers would NEVER do this trade. Yes, you're right that the players you're sending to Portland are much better than the Blazers current bench. That's not a big accomplishment. I've seen HS teams that are better than the crap the Blazers are trotting off their bench. So don't pretend like you're doing the Blazers some huge favor here, you're not.

As one of the early posters said, the only way Leonard gets sent to Phoenix is if Gortat is coming back to Portland. Basically end of the discussion there.

[NashtyNas]

I'd be willing to give up Leonard to Phoenix but only if Gortat is coming back.

Almost a complete bench and a future 1st rounder isn't enough for Leonard?

Doesn't matter what Portland says, Suns aren't giving up a load of quality players AND a first for a B-rate prospect and a D-rate prospect, especially when the B-rate prospect plays the same position as our best player. It makes no sense unless we're getting a steal, and giving up 3 quality players along with a first for someone who will likely be a backup C is not worth it. If we were looking to do something like this, we could have easily kept Robin Lopez, but we're not interested.

[hcsilla]

dude, it's a no. defend it all you like. Answer is the same. Not happening.

, who do you think you are, the Blazers GM or what? You already told what you could, there is no need to do it again and again.

He's not the Blazers GM, but Neil Olshey is and this deal goes against everything Olshey has ever said he plans on doing for this team. He's not going to sacrifice the future for a short term gain.

As one of the early posters said, the only way Leonard gets sent to Phoenix is if Gortat is coming back to Portland. Basically end of the discussion there.

Remember that a deal of Gortat for Leonard would be also sacrifying the future for a short term gain so based on what Olshey said the Blazers would NEVER do that trade. Since they have no moveable veterans and want to retain their cap flexibility, they would NEVER do any trade in the next couple of years. Basically end of any discussions regarding the Blazers here on the trade board,

[N.O.R.E.]

^I don't particularly like you or agree with you very often, but you're right, Blazers fans are impossible.

[phx#7]

Hard to blame Blazer fans for not wanting to give up a tangible asset for a questionable asset and a bunch of guys that likely won't be on the team next year. As a Suns fan I'd rather roll the dice on the MIN pick as there appears to be a reasonable chance that it's a mid first in 2014 which I'd prefer over Leonard.

[DusterBuster]

Hard to blame Blazer fans for not wanting to give up a tangible asset for a questionable asset and a bunch of guys that likely won't be on the team next year. As a Suns fan I'd rather roll the dice on the MIN pick as there appears to be a reasonable chance that it's a mid first in 2014 which I'd prefer over Leonard.

Apparently it's not hard to do as many non-Blazer fans seem to be doing it without question.

[NashtyNas]

Hard to blame Blazer fans for not wanting to give up a tangible asset for a questionable asset and a bunch of guys that likely won't be on the team next year. As a Suns fan I'd rather roll the dice on the MIN pick as there appears to be a reasonable chance that it's a mid first in 2014 which I'd prefer over Leonard.

Apparently it's not hard to do as many non-Blazer fans seem to be doing it without question.

Leonard is a tangible asset? Since when? Do we all of a sudden know what he's going to be? If so, why is Portland in the market for another big (considering he's tangible and we know how good he is or how valuable he is)? Problem is, he's not a tangible asset at all. It's so intangible that not even Portland fans nor their FO know how valuable he can be in the future; they can CLAIM to know, but they don't. With that said, you can't possibly claim that he's worth more than a mid-first round pick, which is only a few spots lower than he was actually picked anyways! Add in the fact that the Blazers manage to nab 3 QUALITY role players that they desperately lack along with that pick, and it's far from terrible value for Leonard.

Blazers fans will cry foul and claim it's not worth it, but it's not that terrible, and in fact, the Suns would be the one's not accepting it because there's absolutely no reason to. As I said before, our best player happens to already play the position that Leonard does, so Leonard would have a hard time seeing minutes with us. Add in the fact that he's probably not much better than Robin Lopez, who we recently decided to part ways with, and it's really a non-starter. No way does a team trade 3 good contributing players AND a pick in return for a B-rate prospect, at best.

Leonard is young, big and athletic, but there are at least 30 other young, athletic bigs I would rather have than Meyers and they wouldn't cost our whole bench and a first.

[phx#7]

Leonard is a tangible asset? Since when?

Since he was drafted. It doesn't really matter what your personal view of his value is the fact remains he is a real player that Blazers fans can see and watch develop who showed promise in SL. He's not some mystery player they may be able to draft in the next 3 years with a pick that converts to 2 2nd round picks if not collected by then.

Personally I'd prefer the MIN pick, but it's perfectly reasonable for Blazer fans to prefer the guy they just drafted.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Leonard is young, big and athletic, but there are at least 30 other young, athletic bigs I would rather have than Meyers and they wouldn't cost our whole bench and a first.

I would be curious to hear that list.

[Dame Lizard]

Leonard is young, big and athletic, but there are at least 30 other young, athletic bigs I would rather have than Meyers and they wouldn't cost our whole bench and a first.

I'd like to see you list a 7 foot 1 freak athlete who can shoot 85% from the free throw line.

And for the record I don't think Meyers will become a superstar. But I see him as a very solid 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks kind of starter in the future.

[RoyalWun]

Why do people cry because most fans of a team dislike trades being thrown at them?

If they don't like the trade, so what? Move on. Or think of something better.

[Jack wore plaid]

I think Phoenix and Portland could be good trading partners, but Gortat probably needs to be involved somehow?

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=a6uwly7

Portland also sends a future protected 1st.

[Golabki]

Leonard is young, big and athletic, but there are at least 30 other young, athletic bigs I would rather have than Meyers and they wouldn't cost our whole bench and a first.

Please stop saying "our whole bench" like you are giving some major value. The most valuable piece offered to Portland, BY FAR, is the protected Minny pick. The deal is basically, Minny pick + some minor junk for Lenord.

Now, if your pessimistic on Lenoard and you think he is worth less than a pick in the 15-20 range (in 2014 or whenever the pick conveys)... that's a reasonable position. I don't agree, about that's reasonable. Lenoard was drafted as a project, he still looks like he's more athlete than basketball player, and it's fair to say that there's a good chance he never becomes a good NBA player.

The reality is that it's very rare to see a lotto pick traded during his rookie year unless it's for a major "win now" asset. This trade would be an admission, by Portland, that they made a bad pick. There's not enough evidence to force Portland to do that yet. This deal just does not make any sense from Portland's view.