trade deadline

Blazers Test Out New Chem Set--It Works! PDX 108, ATL 98 by: torridjoe Sat Feb 21, 2009 at 01:23:39 AM PST I was afraid to say it earlier, and I guess now it's too late to claim so without looking like a doofus. I've been burned a couple times these past three weeks or so, thinking that the Blazers would have a bounceback-type game, where everything clicked over a theoretically lesser team. Even if they did manage to eke out the win, it was nothing like I imagined them playing, with confidence and team fluidity, everyone understanding their roles and playing as a unit, executing crisply.  So I was afraid to confidently predict that the Blazers would come out energized and freshly focused on task against a dangerous Atlanta Hawks team playing some of its better basketball of the year. I had a hunch but truthfully had lost some of my own confidence. Seeing LaMarcus fail miserably covering for Joel in the middle when Oden would normally be in, seeing Travis languidly defend and carelessly shoot--I wasn't sure that they really were up to that task. But I did say this, earlier today: This is their time to step up, now that they've got the vote of confidence and they are fully bonded as a team, a group of guys all pulling for each other. I'm hoping this non-activity will flush the so-so play of the last month and renew everybody's spirit and energy for the playoff drive.     Fans got that in spades tonight. The Blazers really gelled and came together as a team to beat a talented Hawks squad that admitted later they just didn't have enough to keep up, as Roy and the outside sharpshooters slowly buried them in the second half. And bless Nate McMillan, I swear he's the only person who reads these recaps--because damned if it didn't seem like the team took my half-informed advice from the last game: give Bayless a shift of Sergio's when the team needs an offensive spark, and let the team run if it wants to run.  Obviously I don't know these men, but it's seemed clear that from the first folding chair on the bench to the last, this particular group of young professional athletes trusts and cares for each other, and feeds off their common experience in a way that leads them to exceed the normal boundaries of their years and talents. Did the uncertainty of how that circle might change at the upcoming trade deadline, cause subconcscious anxiety and hesitancy? We can't be sure, and the players themselves probably don't know or wouldn't admit it publicly. What we do know is that there seemed to be universal relief and a renewed sense of purpose after Kevin Pritchard said the roster (minus Ike) would stay the same. And I think it also renewed the challenge and crystallized their common purpose: win together. What I've seen others say as a way to criticize the lack of a roster shuffle--you win championships with 2-3 All-Stars, not 1--is probably true, but what it probably means is that the Blazers just aren't a championship team yet, but the same group of players very well could be a year from now, or two, or three. So why mess with that? Still, on the court for the rest of the year--where the reachable goal is definitely homecourt and a first round win, I'd say--the reality of the talent level and heightened play in the runup to the playoffs demands that every Blazer rededicate himself to providing their part of the chemistry. Without that star level talent, it will take the combined efforts, everyone chipping in a little bit here and there, for the goal to be realized.  {What I saw that fulfilled this promise, at least for a night, below}   There's More... :: (0 Comments, 1578 words in story)

Post-Deadline Thoughts (Also Martell Gone for Season) by: torridjoe Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 16:30:59 PM PST Well, as you probably have heard by now if you're a fan, the Blazers stood pat at the trade deadline, opting to place their trust (for the rest of this year, anyway) in the existing roster. Well, except for Ike Diogu, who has been replaced by the equally non-linchpin Michael Ruffin. But that Von Wafer-like activitiy is not what fans around the country were expecting, based on the chips they held and their position as buyers rather than sellers.  Sean Meagher at OLive has a lot of good links for folks' perspective on the lack of major activity; I think Mike Barrett puts it well: The entire league was convinced Portland was going to do something, I think a majority of the fans wanted to see something happen, and Pritchard and his staff had the luxury of just answering the phone, and always had leverage. Personally, I've gone back and forth all season. There have been times when I've thought there's no way they should mess with any part of this team. At other times, when this team's weaknesses have been exposed, I've been much more inclined to looked for a quicker way to immediate answers, through a trade. That's because I'm emotional, like most fans. When you're running things, and you have to answer for every potential deal, every future scenario, and every dollar on the books, you've got to take that part out of it. It's also all about risk and reward, as Pritchard always says. At this point of the season, keeping in mind this is the youngest playing rotation in the NBA, are you that unhappy being 13 games over .500? If that's the case, where did you realistically expect this team to be at this point? I'm not actually asking you, I'm just posing the question that I've asked to myself. Are you at a point where one move could make the difference when it comes to winning a championship this year?  My thoughts run essentially along Barrett's line--I think it's unfortunate that about $5mil in value on the RLEC is lost, although either way they would have relieved themselves of the $7mil in salary expiring. And they've cushioned that blow, they believe, by gaining a $3m trade exception in the Ruffin trade. The team is betting that things will look worse after the season for teams as they--particularly the bad ones--will assess things with a very financial slant. The Blazers will have the benefit of a full season of review for a very young roster, and also the benefit of a dry run trade process, finding out just who everyone covets and is willing to deal. I have to agree with the idea that it was just too early to make some decisions. If anything, Frye and Outlaw were easier decisions; Frye is definitely expendable (sorry dude) and Outlaw is probably near his peak value overall, and while it disappoints us a lot of the time, it's reasonably high and cheap value. But it was guys like Sergio and Batum that teams appeared to want, and if I'm Pritichard I'm uncomfortable with making a definitive call so soon. Sergio's been around, but Bayless hasn't--and by cutting Sergio loose, you're basically putting your faith into JayBay as the PG of the future. Maybe he is, but we can't tell so soon into his career. And Batum is tantalizing as a developed player, very much a Tayshaun Prince kind of guy--but currently only shows flashes and is every bit of 19. I would have supported a move for Carter, but it makes a lot of decisions for the team's future that I think it was appropriate for KP to hesitate making. And as Barrett points out, the power balance was always in his favor during negotiations; when you start from a position of satisfaction with your roster, you are free only to do what really seems like a safe upgrade, and obviously a dream trade that gives Portland a lot for a little is only going to come from total desperation on the part of KP's trading partner. On a personal level, I feel great for everybody on the team. It was a big statement of faith from management that all of these guys have a potential future with the team, and can fit into a championship drive. The can's been kicked down the road a little bit, but for people like Channing and Sergio and especially Travis, they have to feel pretty validated and appreciated that they're still here because the open market isn't notably better than what they offer the team. Finally, a sad note: looks like Martell is done for the year, at least the regular season (and why use him just for a few games rather than give him the whole offseason?) Batum and Outlaw will cover the 3 for the rest of the year, looks like. This is their time to step up, now that they've got the vote of confidence and they are fully bonded as a team, a group of guys all pulling for each other. I'm hoping this non-activity will flush the so-so play of the last month and renew everybody's spirit and energy for the playoff drive.  And lastly, I just MAY have a liveblog for tonight's game, but I don't want to commit. Check back and see--and maybe it will be a less intensive one--but no promises tonight, sorry. Discuss :: (0 Comments)

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