Official Trade Thread XVII: 6/29/11 - 1/20 /12

[closg00]

Ves is supposedly a top-10 talent

You mean top 10 from this draft, right?

Correction, Ves would more accurately be considered a lottery pick our 1st rounder in this draft, Top-10 is up for debate.

And don’t be fooled by the fact that only teams with picks between 2-8 were invited to watch Vesely—he could wind up going past the eighth pick.

“We have scouted him more than a dozen times,” one general manager whose team will draft outside the Top 10 told Sporting News. “He’s a very good athlete, he runs well. We’d like to sit down with him, of course, but we have seen him a ton already. You don’t have to be in a workout with him to see what he can and can’t do. I don’t think his possibilities are limited to the teams that watch him work out.”

Still, the two teams that have shown the most interest in Vesely to this point have been the Wizards, who want an athletic wing to pair with point guard John Wall, and the Kings, who are looking to upgrade the their small forward position and have used Omri Casspi as a trade chip.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/feed/20 ... z1RElbSH5P

[montestewart]

Blatche is an extremely talented but disappointing underperformer. On another team, with a different coach and environment, who knows? But probably not here. Vesely is a talented unknown who could end up being a top SF. A 1st in a deep draft could also turn out to be something special. Portland could end up with three talented starters for the price of one, or they could end up with nothing that helps them contend in the long run. Aldridge is not a great player and would not help the Wizards rebounding much, but he is a dependable and fairly efficient scorer, does seem to work hard, maximize his talents, and act the professional, leading by example. Chances are he would be better than any of the three Portland got back, but enough better? Either team could win or lose that trade.

[Ruzious]

If Aldridge isn't a great player, he's certainly on the cusp. At 24, he was clearly the best player on a 48 win team last season - getting a 21.5 PER. He's good for 22 points and 9 rebounds a game while shooting 50% with a 55% TS%, and he doesn't turn the ball over. Teams don't trade players like that unless they know they're going to lose them.

[montestewart]

From what I've seen (mostly in the playoffs and against the Wizards), what I like most about Aldridge is that he usually seems to be playing methodically and within the flow of the game, letting it come to him. I rarely see him doing anything forced and/or stupid. That's what I mean by maximizing his talent. I think Blatche could be better than Aldridge, but I'd be quite surprised if he was ever even close. The minus of such a trade for the Wizards might be losing too much talent, but the potential benefit would be getting a better starter/big minutes producer to pair with Wall.

[queridiculo]

Aldridge is the Blazers best player, why exactly would they trade him?

[montestewart]

Aldridge is the Blazers best player, why exactly would they trade him?

The only reason I could figure (other than somehow getting a better player in the trade) is, saddled with Roy's contract, hoping to bottom out and rebuild with younger talent on smaller contracts.

[Dat2U]

If Aldridge isn't a great player, he's certainly on the cusp. At 24, he was clearly the best player on a 48 win team last season - getting a 21.5 PER. He's good for 22 points and 9 rebounds a game while shooting 50% with a 55% TS%, and he doesn't turn the ball over. Teams don't trade players like that unless they know they're going to lose them.

Agreed, i'd be falling all over myself to accept an offer like that. We can only hope one of our bigs becomes something even remotely comparable to the player Aldridge has become. I'm not in the "dump Blatche for a bag of chips" crowd but I'd drive down from Ohio just to drive Blatche to the airport.

[dangermouse]

With the QO they gave Oden, i'd wager Blazers are just hoping to keep as much of this core together as possible in hopes that the God of Basketball Knees smiles upon them. They made a nice move to get a pretty decent young PG (i was surprised at how well Felton was doing in NY under D'antoni, lets see how he goes with Nate).

If Oden comes back and can stay healthy, and if Roy works well off the bench and his knees hold up, the Blazers are legit contenders in the West. That is worth paying for even if its risky, might as well go all in when you have a pretty decent hand and everyone elses cards at your table are looking a little old (LA, Mavs, Spurs, Suns are getting long in the tooth and we are beginning to see a 'changing of the guard' with younger teams like OKC, Portland and Memphis rising up).

[nate33]

If Aldridge isn't a great player, he's certainly on the cusp. At 24, he was clearly the best player on a 48 win team last season - getting a 21.5 PER. He's good for 22 points and 9 rebounds a game while shooting 50% with a 55% TS%, and he doesn't turn the ball over. Teams don't trade players like that unless they know they're going to lose them.

Agreed, i'd be falling all over myself to accept an offer like that. We can only hope one of our bigs becomes something even remotely comparable to the player Aldridge has become. I'm not in the "dump Blatche for a bag of chips" crowd but I'd drive down from Ohio just to drive Blatche to the airport.

+2

I don't understand anybody questioning this trade. It's a no brainer. Aldridge is a top 5 PF and arguably the 2nd best PF under the age of 28. I'd give up Vesely + Blatche + a future first for him without hesitation.

[montestewart]

Some of the deals tossed around to get the #2-4 picks (in hopes of getting Kanter or Williams) sounded similar. Various combinations of #6, #18, a future pick, and Blatche or another player seemed to be palatable to some, in pursuit of a long term big. This package isn't much different. I'm not sure about this trade, but the difference here is Aldridge is a known quantity versus Williams and Kanter. It's a lot easier to pull the trigger on a trade like that.

[Nivek]

No brainer on that Aldridge trade idea. Wizards would be foolish not to make that deal. Only way Portland would do it is if they feared losing Aldridge. Even then, they might be able to get more for him.

[pcbothwel]

I cant figure out why people are so much against trading a future 1st. As long as we have some protection we would be fine. We are guaranteed to have our 1st next year and more than likely have our 2013 1st as well. By having Wall and so many high floor players (Booker, Singleton, Crawford, Vesely) with strong work ethic who hustle, we are basically assured of being outside the lottery for the 2014 draft.
The 15/16th pick in the 2014 is just not overly appeasing to me and giving it up for a contending caleber player seems like an easy answer.
BUT, Any trade for a future 1st would have to have lotto/Top 10 protection in 2012 and 2013

[Dat2U]

Some of the deals tossed around to get the #2-4 picks (in hopes of getting Kanter or Williams) sounded similar. Various combinations of #6, #18, a future pick, and Blatche or another player seemed to be palatable to some, in pursuit of a long term big. This package isn't much different. I'm not sure about this trade, but the difference here is Aldridge is a known quantity versus Williams and Kanter. It's a lot easier to pull the trigger on a trade like that.

I do think the front office should be focused on consolidating some of our talent for better prospects. I don't care what stage of the rebuilding process we are in. Screw the OKC plan. The OKC plan only worked b/c they got Durant & Westbrook in back-to-back years. We need a legit all-star to go with Wall. I didn't feel Williams or Kanter quite lived up to the billing. Aldridge does.

Honestly as far as long term planning goes, the Boston route (as mentioned on BF recently) is our most likely route to success. The draft involves a ton of luck. With the Boston route, we just keep adding enough bait (prospects, picks, useful players) to catch a big fish. Whether that's Aldridge or someone of that ilk. I don't think were going to get there by picking mid or late lottery, drafting the Jan Vesely's of the world and staying put. The worst thing we can do going forward is pull a Portland, overvalue & refuse to deal assets and miss the opportunity to do something great.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, right now they're simply treading water. Keep doing it and eventually the organization drowns. Adding middle of the road prospects is just not the right way to go about things. They have to be more aggressive in order to acquire players that can effect a successful rebuild.

[MF23]

I think they are still evaluating. I'd expect moves to be made within the year as far as aquiring an upper tier athlete.

[Bickerstaff]

The Aldridge trade is pretty good all around. I don't doubt Portland could get more, but it seems fair.

[theboomking]

An Aldridge trade seems like pie in the sky. Any more realistic trades?

I know I may be in the minority here, but I still really like Curry as a pure shooter paired with Wall. Imagine Stephen playing the Rip Hamilton role.

[Terpman]

An Aldridge trade seems like pie in the sky. Any more realistic trades?

I know I may be in the minority here, but I still really like Curry as a pure shooter paired with Wall. Imagine Stephen playing the Rip Hamilton role.

That would be a nice pairing. Wall has GOT to have a 3pt threat in the backcourt with him. His outside shooting was pitiful last year..

[tsvqt]

OK....I'm officially throwing in the towel, and I will never post another trade idea involving "Michael Beasley to the Wizards"!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! What a frickin' LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rockymac52]

LOVE the idea of acquiring Steph Curry, maybe no matter what the price. A Wall/Curry back court is dynamite, and the rest of our roster will fill itself in over time. Even if Curry is a better fit as a PG than SG, and would make for a small back court, I'm willing to take that risk. Don't think I'd give up the 2012 1st rounder, but 2013 and beyond we can talk.