RealGM

I've had it w/ all the late game collapses and poor decision-making by our PGs. I think we should have at least 7 or 8 more wins by now and that these collapses are particularly hard on our young team's psyche.

Rubio is supposedly on the way (lockout issues aside) which should help us defensively, at least, right away. That said, I want to take some of the pressure off the young man by having a vet mentor here who can share minutes with him, steady the team under pressure, help us win games to improve confidence all-around, etc. ... especially while Rubio adjusts to the league.

Luke Ridnour's not that guy. His decisions on the break and in late-game situations usually bug the hell out of me. He's fine as a 15-25 minute PG but I don't like him as the guy to share minutes w/ Rubio and teach him about the league.

The three potentially gettable guys I have in mind are Nash, Hinrich and Andre Miller, each of whom is signed for one more year at a range of 8 to 10 million.

Nash would be great and I think starting him at first but then having him play limited minutes backing up Rubio could really extend his career. The downside is, he probably wants to go somewhere he could get a ring if he's going to be traded and, he would probably cost too much to get.

Hinrich would help the most defensively and could also play the SG spot alongside Rubio. Atlanta fans really seem to like the idea of keeping him but their management sucks and the team is in free-fall mode so I think he's gettable too. The downside here is that Hinrich really isn't all that great at running an offense and wouldn't give us much offensively (and Rubio won't either).

Miller makes the most sense to me and strikes as a guy who could be this team's Terry Porter in terns of what he brings to the table. He's not the quickest guy but he's very crafty. He's a great floor general, good under pressure. He's reliable offensively. He's not the best defender either but I think his craftiness and BBIQ would still make him loads better on that side of the ball than Luke is. While Portland really likes him, I think a deal centered around Luke Ridnour + ( __blank__ ) for Miller would benefit both teams.

Given that Miller is a better player than Luke, though older and signed for only one more year, the question is: What does Minny need to add to make this worthwhile for Portland, talent-wise, salary-wise and while still making sense from our perspective?

Pekovic, MEM 1st (possibly Alec Burks or package to move up for Burks or Walker), UTAH 1st, Darko, Flynn, Tolliver, Ellington, Hayward?

Andre Miller has always bugged me as a player so I really don't want him on this team. He would no doubt help us though, and the one year contract I'm OK with. I'd be OK if we could pawn off Ridnour and not take too much further damage, but as you said Portland likes Miller so that's not likely. Honestly, I really don't think Rubio needs a mentor that bad anyways. The kid has undeniably high BBIQ and has a skill set already fit for the NBA. He doesn't NEED a mentor, I just hope he doesn't take any advice from Jonny.

I'd give them Ridnour and Peks for Miller straight up but that's just greedy of me and not realistic.

Problem is, I think we need a PG that can shoot. We don't have the other tools necessary to have a pass only PG. With Rubio and Miller our PG would be useless outside of 15 feet.

He's not the deep threat this team is desprately going to need, but I'd kill to have Sessions back with Rambis gone, that man can score.

Going back to reality... Bringing in Rubio will let us put Ridnour in the Wayne Ellington role of 12-24min game of someone who can handle the ball a tad and mostly move the ball and just shoot. This is the role Luke thrived on in MKE oddly enough.