tucson wrote:Of all the players that could possibly be available for trade the most productive player is Shawn Marion. He would help our perimeter defense and rebounding and help ignite our running game, plus he's an OK outside shooter.
If we could pry Shawn Marion from the Heat he would definitely help this season. I'm not sure if Miami would take Outlaw, Jack and Raef for him though. He also wouldn't be happy here if he wasn't a top two option on a team. Plus he wouldn't as productive a player once the big three hits there prime assuming we broke the bank and resigned to long term deal.
I can't imagine the Heat turning around and flipping Marion just like that. Marion fits what they need better than anything we could realistically offer, and that's including Outlaw.
And as you yourself mentioned, making a play for Marion doesn't make a ton of sense for Portland. He'd be a fantastic fit talent wise, but his age doesn't mesh well and he has proven to be a malcontent when he's unhappy. Plus he's going to opt out this summer and could up and leave Portland empty handed.
tucson wrote:Devin Harris would help some but probably not enough to put us over the top. Plus he's not worth Outlaw + other young players. Actually, Jason Kidd would help us more this season than Devin Harris.
I'd love to get Harris and I do think he'd be enough to make us a playoff team. Not only that, he'd be a great fit for years to come. I'm even to the point where I'd give up Outlaw to get him. That said, the Mavs have all but deemed him untouchable, so you can scratch that idea.
tucson wrote:Mike Miller would also be good replacement for James Jones. We may not have the expiring deals to make it happen although Voshon Lenard could be our Aaron Mckie.
I doubt think KP is ready to bring any veterans to alter the makeup of this team. We need to see how our young guys play with Oden to determine if our impact player will be a PG or SF.
I've been thinking a lot about getting Miller as well. He'd really help us, but I don't know if he'd make us a playoff team. With the Grizzlies in salary dump mode, I think we could get Miller for Raef and little else... If we'd be willing to take on Cardinal. However, I don't feel that Miller alone is enough for us to dump our salary cap plan. If we could find a way to move Miles and some extra pieces for him, there might be something to it.
TowelBoy12 wrote:Hm, what you are suggesting would come dangerously close to "mortgaging the future for the present." I've always been pretty opposed to the idea of adding an established star to this team. I was against it when everyone wanted to sign Rashard Lewis; I was against it when everyone wanted Andre Miller and Mike Bibby; I'm even more against it now that we've shown we can win with the youngest roster in the NBA.
We're still only a few games back and a run of winning 8 out of 10 or so would put us right back in the thick of it. Getting a vet with toughness like Haslem could be more effective than you'd think.
That's not at all what I'm suggesting. If you've read my posts on the this subject, I'm firmly of the belief that it is in our best interest to let this trading deadline pass with no moves made and focus our trading efforts for the summer.
However, during a lot of the recent Game Threads, I see more than a few posters begging KP to make a trade. Now, that's all good and fine, but the only kind of trade that'll make us a playoff contender this year, is one that... as you pointed out... will likely mortgage our future.
And I completely disagree that Haslem could be
that effective. He'd help, but it wouldn't be anywhere near enough to actually make us a playoff team. We won't get 12 and 10 out of him because he wouldn't be averaging anywhere near the 37 minutes per that he is now. More likely, he'd be around 20 which would mean he'd probably give us something around 6 and 7 a game. Again, not bad and it certainly would help shore up some problems we have, but that won't make us a playoff team.
Also, with Haslem, you have to consider how much he's being paid and the role he'd play with the team. At over 6 mil a season, that is a LOT to be paid to a backup PF. I think we could find a player who could give us near equal production at a fraction of the cost somewhere else.
Rashard, his ludicrously large contract aside, would be a good fit for Portland. Along with needing help at PG, we
really need a consistent SF. His skillset fits nicely with what Portland needs help with right now. But ya, that contract he got was ridiculous.
As far as Bibby and Miller goes, their value to us is in their contracts, not their play. Personally, I don't think either of those guys makes us a playoff contender, although they'd certainly help in that department. But in the end, the only way I'd want Portland to make a trade for Bibby or Miller is if Miles is leaving town in the same deal. Moving Raef and some young talent for either of those guys is a bad idea imo.
Winning 8 outta 10 in February-March is a LOT different than winning 8 outta 10 in December-January. When we went on our long winning streak, we had a lot of things working to our advantage. For one, people weren't ready for it and weren't taking the Blazers as seriously as they do now. Joel Przybilla himself has said that the team know feels like they have a target on their back every night they go out. Also, you aren't getting teams best effort early in the season. After the All Star break, veteran teams step it up, meaning that things aren't going to get any easier from here on out.
I opened this thread to stare at Spykes avatar. I could look at it for hours.
Oh yeah... uh Bibby or something.
