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ive been thinking about this, and found this feature. the 2nd point has to be it i reckon:

2. You want to hurt the Jazz.

Portland and Utah share the same division. Perhaps Kevin Pritchard is aiming to injure his rival, either:

a) economically, by forcing them to match the Millsap offer. The contract offers an upfront payment of $10m, which could damage the cash-poor Jazz after having Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver recently re-up. Or:

b) in terms of talent, by taking a gritty, upside-heavy post banger away from the Jazz.

wat other reasons could there be?

The real answer is because Kevin Pritchard is a panicking idiot. He had been waiting for years to use this summer's cap space, but his plans fell apart. Of the free agents left David Lee think he's getting 12 million and Lamar Odom doesn't want to play in a small market. The only quality player really left for Portland was Millsap, so instead of being patient and waiting for the right trade, Pritchard got scared that he wasn't going to have anything on his plate to take back to Allen and signed Millsap.

Neither KP is idiot or portland want to screw jazz. they need an pgrade and millsap is the best fit left around for them .

the team needs a physical back up pf who can rebound and make score.

and if millsap joins the trailblazers kp will be able to trade lamarcus for devin harris type of pg or he can trade millsap with bayless or rudy addition for "the missing piece" maybe.

last thing if they get millsap joel pryzbilla i mean one of the most valuable back up center in the league will be expendable. It means another great trade assets for the trailblazers.

it makes one stone 3 birds huh? why should they wait another 6 months just to make a move whle it s on the table?

If you are getting rid of aldridge for millsap then you guys must think Oden is going to be great. The guy is is having a Yao like career with injuries. Hopefully for his sake he can turn it around but those big bodies have a hard time dealing with the constant pressure on the knees and feet.

You don't just spend money because you have money to spend.

They have a one-year cap window and they wanted to acquire the best player available. Very simple.

Some Jazz and Blazer fans seem to think this is about "screwing the Jazz" -- that makes very little sense. This isn't a zero-sum game between the Jazz and the Blazers, not even close to it.

hoops4life wrote:You don't just spend money because you have money to spend.

I disagree. Example: New York Knicks.

hoops4life wrote:You don't just spend money because you have money to spend.

if you get a quality player with your last shot(assuming that you know blazers' cap stiuaton on next years) so it s not throwing money for nothing.

obviously , millsap will be a great upgrade instead marshmallowman Frye aka "cant shoot" "cant rebound"

Btw Mr. Xanthis , i m not a blazers fan . i m a basketball fan.

Blazers want to get a quality guy filling one of their needs(Backup PF) while they still have cap room. Hurting the Jazz is a bonus. 9 million a year is kinda overpaying though.

HappyProle wrote:They have a one-year cap window and they wanted to acquire the best player available. Very simple.

Some Jazz and Blazer fans seem to think this is about "screwing the Jazz" -- that makes very little sense. This isn't a zero-sum game between the Jazz and the Blazers, not even close to it.

This.

They need a rebounder off the bench. Simple as that. Travis Outlaw never has been nor will be the answer off the bench as a power forward. He can't rebound. That's all they need. And Millsap, despite his price tag, fits the bill.

They want him. Even if he or L.A. become big time bargaining chips in trades and transactions. I think it's smart to pile up assets, especially when you are a team that isn't a top contender. You get a lot of ability to turn your assets into 2 for 1 trades.

like many have said, this move by Portland has very little to do with the Jazz. That's almost coincidental.

Portland's cap-space has a short shelf-life. 6 months and it's gone. And there's no guarantee at all that a better opportunity will come along. Milsap would extend the effect of Portland's cap-space for another 3 years. And he happens to provide something the Blazers are missing at every position but C: physical play.

Another factor will be his contract. Portland could have made it considerably more toxic by renouncing one of the foreign players, elevating the starting salary to 8.5 million, and making a 5 year offer instead of 4. Basically, the same contract they offered Hedo. That would have made that balance due in 7 days, 14 million instead of 10. And it would have increased the luxury tax burden as well.

But the Blazers tried to balance toxic and prudent. By doing so, they've made Milsap's contract in future years something of a super trade asset. His actual salary will be 1.4 million less then it normally would be, but his cap allocation will stay at the higher number. That would allow him to be traded for a contract 150% above his salary rather then 125%. That will significantly increase his value as a trade asset.

Lots of reasons portland made this offer. if it makes things a bit uncomfortable for a division rival, that's a bonus. But it wasn't what motivated portland.

The Jazz were the 8th seed last year, and we tied for the 2nd best record in the West. Why would we blow a bunch of money just to "hurt the Jazz"? We've already passed the Jazz. Our goal is to win a title, and the road to the finals does not go through Utah.

Millsap is plan C for Portland. Hedo, and the trades have not worked out. Portland wanted another banger inside, a tough presence off the bench. Millsap will provide that, and after his bonus is paid, he'll also be an extremely tradeable asset.

Sinobas wrote:The Jazz were the 8th seed last year, and we tied for the 2nd best record in the West. Why would we blow a bunch of money just to "hurt the Jazz"? We've already passed the Jazz. Our goal is to win a title, and the road to the finals does not go through Utah.

Don't get too comfortable.. things change quickly. Expectations were very high for the Jazz going into last year. Like the Blazers they had finished 54-28 the year before and had their entire young team returning. Then injuries struck and struck and struck and the Jazz nearly slumped out of the playoffs.

BTW - I agree with your larger point.