Portland Trail Blazers: Mike Barrett's Blog

Bayno Says Oden on Track

posted: 7/07/2009 at 6:11 PM

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I realize a lot of you think the most amusing (or frustrating) part of Monday night's Courtside show was the fact that we were obviously being more careful to abide by an NBA rule that's always fallen a bit into a grey area- it's still there, in my opinion. That is, employees of NBA teams aren't allowed to talk about free agents during the signing period.

Have we? Yes. Did it happen in the past? Yes, a lot. Were we told to be more careful, especially given the circumstances of Friday? Yes, again.

I've always tried to be completely honest with you, and up front about this stuff, and that's why I tell you this. I think it just looks silly when you try and cover something that was obviously different and a bit uncomfortable. At the top of the show I told you why we asked Wendell Maxey, from Hoopsworld, on to share free-agent news with us, and he did that. You may not have liked that we had to step gently around the studio, but I was actually relieved we got through the night without even a foot fault. Small victories. Nobody got their butt chewed. And, Wendell did a great job, as always.

Back to my first paragraph- because of all of this, I was looking forward to talking with Bill Bayno about a subject that's perhaps more pressing than even the signing of a free agent. That is, the status of Greg Oden's off season. Bayno, who's invaluable to this franchise, is basically spending his entire summer at Oden's side. It's easy to see why this is a worthwhile investment.

After a 20-minute conversation with Bayno on Monday morning, I knew he'd have good news concerning Oden, his summer workouts, and how he's progressing. Bayno is currently in Ohio with Oden, and is driving him through daily workouts, and have even been going twice a day on many occasions.

To listen to the entire interview with Bayno, click here.

It's clear that Oden is buying in, and a bond has been created between he and Bayno. That's very, very important. We're going to see just how far down the road he is when he works out with the USA Basketball Select Team in Las Vegas immediately following summer league.

Speaking of summer league, I'll head to Las Vegas early next week with the Blazers, and we'll be televising three games (15th vs. Houston, 17th vs. Denver, and 18th vs. San Antonio) in HD on Comcast Sportsnet.

Jeff Pendergraph, one of Portland's second-round draft picks, told us on Courtside that he is very much looking forward to testing himself against the summer-league talent. To listen to the Pendergraph interview, click here.

Also, for the first time, we were streaming Courtside live on this website. That's the way it's going to be from now on. For some, who don't get CSN, this will be a cool thing. It's also available worldwide, and many of our texts and e-mails were coming in from around the globe. All told, we received over 650 e-mails to the program. Needless to say, I didn't get all of them read on the air.

As you know, Wednesday is the first day free agents can actually sign with teams. This moratorium will end, thank goodness, and we'll learn a lot about who's officially headed where. Following Friday's news, it'll be interesting to see what the Trail Blazers choose to do. Clearly now, there's no reason to rush anymore. What are you hoping for?

71 Comments:

blzrfn1 said...: Courtside was interesting last night, but after the Hedo circus I understand why.

My wish list got shorter today.

I read a pre draft article on Pendergraph , that compared him to Oberto. That is exactly the type of player the Blazers are missing, imo.
I hope it is an accurate report. I now have more to look forward to in summer league than just Bayless.

I don't see a veteran pg still available, that is a big enough improvement over Blake to justify a huge contract.

I'm sick of hearing about signing a free agent sf, I want to see Martell and more of Nic.

I still want one more back up pf for insurance with Pendergraph being a rookie, and Oden's foul issues.

My short lists:

free agents:
Bass
McDyess

possible trade for:
Oberto
Wilcox

I wouldn't mind waiting until February for a trade either.

This team is only going to get better. Even though the playoffs were hard , it was still one hell of a season.
Split the season series with Denver and the Fakers. 4th in the west, 54 wins.

Go Blazers !!!!; 7:15 PM
Josh Borden said...: I am not seeing why there is such a push for a veteran point guard. The whole campaign for the last few years has been developing THIS team and going with them. I think Blake(and the rest of the team) made huge strides. The biggest loss on offense was Martell Webster, I don't see why we were looking at Hedo unless MW is having more issues with his foot, have you heard anything MB?
As far as PF backups...David Lee would be cool..but it isn't fair to do that to him or LA. I think seeing how Pendergraph and Claver do in the summer league and preseason will have a lot to do with where the PF situation goes in the upcomind season. If Greg and calm his foul trouble, then I think the GO and Pryz can play more together and ease the situation for the rookie PF's. I don't see a problem with this roster, I was sad see Sergio go, but I think it was for the best. Sac can really use him. Bayless now has a full shot to develop, as long as PG situation doesn't change via trade and/or free agency. So, all that to say, sit pat, if you can pick up a decent backup pf..cool, if not..save the money and have it available if something goes wrong during the season.
Thanks for the updates MB; 8:28 PM
memphremagog said...: I'm hoping for patience!

As I understand it (please correct if wrong) - we can extend both Roy and Aldridge this summer and still be under the cap until June 30, 2010 - because those new contracts would not take effect until July 1, 2010.

That means we would retain all our signing and trade flexibility through the 2010 trade deadline and 2010 draft day. That might open up some interesting possibilities!

So, while it would be terrific if we used our cap space this summer, I'm more than happy to have KP sit on his hands and wait for a better set of options over the next 11 months.; 8:41 PM
mrblazer said...: I didn't realize it was actually an NBA rule that you guys were trying to follow. That makes sense, now, and i'm glad things will loosen up.

As far as what i would like to see, i'll respect KP's vision. If i was at the healm, though, i wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize potential cap space for next summer.; 8:42 PM
mrblazer said...: I forgot to mention that i would think of this summer as a complete failure if KP doesn't lock up Roy long term with an extention. As far as LMA goes, it just depends on what kind of deal he is looking for. I would love to see that done and out of the way, as well. If he locks them both up, i'll consider it a successful summer without another move being made.; 8:52 PM
hg said...: Thank you for your blog today. I knew you had a gag order on you and that is ok with me, you still communicated. Still to many commercials.

I wrote an article on Blazer edge today. I would like to share this with your readers.

Should you change the ingredients when the cake is half baked?
My untouchable five is, Oden (not done baking yet), BRoy, LMA, Batman (more time) and Rudy (Utilize more of his potential before shipping off)

Anytime you change ingredients you can only assume the taste will be better, and that again depends on the taster. At this stage of the baking you can see the ingredients that aren’t up to par at the time. It is a fact that some ingredients cooks slower than others. That does not mean they have a lesser amount of importance. To take the ingredient out and change it may destroy the final outcome.
It is like changing life partners in the middle of the relationship. It takes lots of learning and practice for you and your partner to become a life partner . If you give up early you are not utilizing the final step. You can’t put the icing on until the cake is done. That being said, IMO if you trade your partner for a different partner, you are changing one bad habit for another bad habit, as none of us is a perfect fit. Therefore what is the point of changing?

Of course if some of the ingredients doesn’t want to bake with the other ingredients because the ingredient feels it can give more flavor else where than take out the ingredient and try to find one with better flavor or gives the other ingredients a better taste.

I know most thinks Travis will always be half baked LOL. What if he is the one that keeps the rest of the ingredients content to finish baking?
At the middle of the baking you have to tread easy or the cake will fall and it is ruined.
There will always be questions that can’t be answered; you solve one question and two more pops up. That you can’t change. The big question is what ingredient do you change and when do you change it? The answer is depends on the taster and the Chef.

In short changing ingredients doesn’t make it better just different. For that reason, let the ingredients bake and age before you throw the cake away.

hg; 8:59 PM
halo_on said...: Gerald Wallace please. Thank you! The dude averaged 7.8 rebounds a game last season and he can defend. Yes please.

Either he or Battier would be an amazing addition to this team. But no, no, no to MJ's request for Batum in the deal. I won't disrespect anyone on the current roster but Batum is off limits. Unless you'd like to see a repeat of Jermaine and one of our guys improving with another team. Rudy is off limits too. This team needs two clutch shooters on the floor during the playoffs. With Travis likely on his way out in a trade, that leaves Roy and Rudy as the only guys who I want taking a buzzer-beater. Joel has one year left if I'm not mistaken. He can make 8+ starting for someone else, but you have to keep him this year. Love ya Oden, but you gotta put up bro. Until then the vanilla gorilla is a necessity in Rip City.

Anyway, regarding Wallace, imagine this 4th quarter starting lineup.

1 - Roy
* Blake
2 - Rudy
* Roy
3 - Wallace
* Batum
4 - LA
* Pendergraph?
5 - Oden (..a more mature starter)
* Joel

That is a really, really dominant and scary lineup. Especially if Oden delivers the goods. Then, what if Patty Mills is passable at point behind Blake? Hmmmm. That makes things really interesting, doesn't it? With Roy being able to handle the point in crunch time, Patty would only need to play maybe 8-12 minutes a night behind Steve.

Lots and lots of options. I trust KP.; 9:02 PM
BlazerKuttn said...: Courtside last night really helped me calm down. I finally feel patience is really best at this point.

Ever since Pendergraph's workout he's been the guy I wanted in the draft. I liked hearing he's fired up to try to get some playing time.

I have mixed thoughts on what to do next. Superstars are always going to want to play together late in their careers to win championships. Teams are always going to try to make their superstars happy. This is the only time we are going to be able to pick-up extra talent via a free-agent, short of a mid-level exception in the future. I now conclude we need to use this space and sign someone now.

Free agents to get:

Lee
Bass
Odom
Millsap

PF is not our only need but In my opinion these four guys are going to have trade value in the future. Next year there are going to be losers in the free-agent rush for 2010. By the end of next season the staff should have a better grasp on who is going to make the big improvements to help the system.

An aging veteran is not going to have nearly as much trade value as a solid young veteran type. If they don't work out then move them next year or before trade deadline. They will be happy to leave if its not working out. At this point those guys just want to bloat their contracts and know one wants to do that. They will come if we will give them that. We just need to make sure they are going to have trade value if the time comes they need to leave.

Next year we could try to improve our pg if Bayless isn't looking like he's the guy. We should have our mid level if we can't figure a trade of some sort. A veteran Pg could be picked up this year for a short contract and Mills could be brought over if he looks usable in summer league as the fourth guy.

I have salivated at the thought of Gerald Wallace ever since the the rumors started. I now feel we shouldn't trade. If we do we should sign the free-agent with the intention of a free-agent sign and trade. I heard its legal if the free agent is told in advance of signing the contract.

Our young core needs to stay together. We don't know who's going to stay healthy all season and having a deep team comes in handy. What would we have done without Joel when Oden got hurt mid season. In my opinion Joel is the best backup Center int he league. He lacks the O for starting but as a backup he's our guy.; 9:22 PM
Herr said...: Mike, the fact you try to be honest with us and that you do a lot for us is the reason we (or at least I) come here everyday to read something new. I won't lie, your blog and your and Rice on the air are one of the top 3 reasons I watch the Blazers.

First is because I love Basketball and have watched the Blazers since I can remember (I wont lie, I did stop watching once the "Jail Blazer" era happened). Second is because I want to see the Lakers lose (which is why I say that the 2009 western confrence finals and the finals were a failure to the NBA, I'm getting really damn sick of seeing idiot Flaker fans brag). Third, because the players and staff have really put on a show for us as fans and have encouraged even basketball haters to Uprise with this team. Congrats to you and your partners for that. (Sorry for getting off-topic).

I'd like to see Blazers win all 3 games, that's what I want to see. I'm sick of free agents, because to be honest, I'm still a young fan and when I was growing up I grew to learn certain players. I have no real idea how certain people could help this team to be completely honest, I just think it'd be cool if we could have a veteran like Steve Nash on our team - or someone everyone knows. I nearlly crapped my pants when I heard we got Scottie Pippen all those years ago!

If the Blazers win all 3 summer league games than I'll pull a Rice and shave my head. Not Bald - but short enough, and let me tell you that I myself have a decent amount of hair. The reason for this is because I'm too cheap to get a haircut, and I made this bet before.

So there we have it Blazer fans. Blazers win... I lose (my hair). Sound like a deal?

Go Blazers!; 9:26 PM
tpines said...: Summer league games to be shown on Comcast? I'm sure that is comforting to know for the 2% of Oregon which is able to tune in! We are entering our 3RD! year of negotiating a tv deal. Don't you think it's time to level with the loyal Blazer fans and tell them that there is no way in hell that will ever happen.
The excuses are lame, tired and a bit unbelieveable. Thanks for NOTHING!; 10:40 PM
millertime said...: comcast blows; 11:14 PM
Travis said...: ronny turiaf would be a good fit, he:
-played four years of college ball at gonzaga
-has international experience from the french national team
-has a reasonable contract and is rumored to be someone that coach nelson doesn't like for his system
-speaks five languages including french & spanish
-would fit seamlessly in terms of playing time & position behind lamarcus, or be able to play alongside him in a "small" line-up
-was recommended by b-roy as someone that we should bring in
-shot over 50% last season
-blocked over 2 shots per game in just 21.5min of playing time; 11:38 PM
mrblazer said...: Oh ya, i had a question for you, Mike? Do you think one possible solution to the rotation at PG is using Rudy there like in the playoffs? I've said this from day one. No one that never got to see Rudy play for joventut has really seen what he can do. He is a terrific play maker, but like most play makers, he requires the ball a bit to do so.

If they're looking for another ballhandler, i'm surprised they've skipped right over Rudy. When he gets comfortable with an offense, he can do amazing things with the rock. It didn't look that great this last season when he took some wild shots and made some wild plays. I admit as much. However, let him get comfortable, give him the ball a few more times, let him make a few mistakes, and then enjoy the rewards.

Rudy is more than just a guy who can bring energy to the game, make hustle plays, and spot up shoot. Not that we don't need those things, too, but he can do more. I would love to see him get some run at PG this season.; 1:13 AM
mrblazer said...: Ok, Mike, it isn't my style, usually, to leave a plethra of comments on one of your blogs, but i've a little extra time to kill today.

You once told me that if we wanted to see coverage like we've had in the off seasons of the past to keep the comments coming about it. You said you guys wish you could do it, you're just not getting the same assignments.

You remember when you guys went to Atlanta to cover Zach and Jarrett? You, Rice, and the organization, in general, did a fantastic job of selling us on Zach coming back a better player, focused on basketball. We had clips of his workouts (he was doing 3-a-days), an in depth interview, and a lot of the coaches working with him backing it up.

Zach was much lighter than he had been the previous season. He said he couldn't work on his game the season before because of his knee. He looked great, his attitude was upbeat and confident. He seemed resolved to stay out of trouble.

Anyone still paying attention at that time knew we weren't going to get the same so-so 18 and 8 season he had, before. It was pretty obvious he was poised to tear it up. I remember i drafted him in the 3rd round of my fantasy league and was laughed at...until he started tearin' it up. I told my opponents they should check out this blog if they wanted to know how a blazer was going to do.

The reason i bring it up is because unless you guys go to Ohio, show us a Greg that looks better and displays a more confident attitude, it's not a real easy sell, right now. We've heard it, before. Seeing and hearing is believing. I now know why the franchise was willing to spend the money to send you guys out to Atlanta.

You guys needed to get the dwindling fanbase something to get excited about. What you guys did worked. I guess now they don't feel extra costs are needed to spark interest. They may be right, but i miss the days when the team was willing to splurg a bit. It was fun times.

No, it wasn't more fun than the playoffs. In a perfect world, though, i guess it would be fantastic to have both success by the team and aggressive coverage in the offseason. I at least hope we get to see some footage of summer camp or of when they come in, early. By the way, are they coming in early this season, again?; 1:39 AM
BRoyFTW said...: Didn't you just love the Bayno comment about how he's teaching Greg to put a knee into the defenders chest just so the next time they aren't trying to take a charge?

I've been saying this forever. Tony Parker goes right into the paint and will get called for a charge. After two or 3 offensive fouls Joel Pryzbilla isn't taking anymore charges. This is how the Blazers need to play.; 2:17 AM
Real Estate Broker, GRI, ABR said...: Hey MB: KP is a magician....let's all take a deep breath & relax...; 5:11 AM
evontaemeans said...: my free agent list
raymon felton
david lee
paul millsap
lamar odom

my trade
david lee
gerald wallace; 7:24 AM
baddawg said...: I, like others, vented my frustration yesterday towards the Blazers apparently mandating the context of your blog and the topics available for discussion on "Courtside". It was my assumpton, and it did feel like, the Blazer brass were the ones flexing their muscle on this, but it was evidently the NBA rules being followed. So I will take this opportunity to apologize for my harshness that I directed toward you and the team I love so much. I'm so glad we've made up.

It's great that Greg is working so hard. That guy has taken such a beating locally and nationally about both his ability and his desire. He and the Blazers have alot riding on this season, which is why I'd like to see them be patient. One more year with this roster, with the exception of bringing in a 3rd PG (a backup PG!), and trying to deal for Tyson Chandler.

Everyone says our "window" is opening sooner than they thought. You can't just force it open. Before the start of last season predictions were for around 50 wins and a playoff berth. We achieved that and now everyone expects a championship this year. We need to give this roster one more season to see what we have with Martell and Greg before we know what our real needs are.

I was thrilled when the Hedo deal fell through. Didn't like the deal and was right about the player.

Mrblazer wrote yesterday about how the Blazers can sign both Roy, Aldridge, and our entire core group of players, and still
have cap space NEXT YEAR. I hope that's the direction they go. Chandler's expiring contract would only add to that. Imagine, if you will, Wade and Roy in the same backcourt. You'd be able to drive a truck thru that championship window, most likely the one delivering the rings.

RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 7:50 AM
dbc said...: Gotta love the fallout from the Rapter's Hedo deal. A Rapters garage sale to try to pay for your new toy. Who wants this dusty old Marion we have in the basement. With a new motor and a couple new tires, almost good as new. And wouldn't you know neighbor internet wiz kid Cuban can't pass up a deal. It will be a fun weekend project. Only problem is I'd like to pay for it with this Stackhouse taking up space in my garage. Haven't ridden it in a while - but this thing is a classic!

Happy Thankgiving Jerry!; 8:23 AM
smittyz said...: I have heard rumors that Dallas is wanting Shawn Marion, but the only way they could get him would be a sign and trade. Is there at all a chance that Portland could sign him and trade him to Dallas for Jason Terry? Dallas just re-signed Kidd and I know they like the Lil' man J.J. Berrea.; 8:46 AM
hg said...: mr blazer:

I too have been saying that Rudy should be used as a ball handler and creater. I am sure Nate has thought of it. Last year he was used as a rookie. hopefully he will be used to utilize his talent this year

hg; 10:27 AM
hg said...: Stephen:

You know I agree, I am becoming your favorite fan. Don't let it go to your head LOL!

I was slashing it out with bloggers on BE that were saying how much Hindrich was better than Blake. All I said was prove it without rattling off a bunch of meaningless stats since both players played for different teams. I got in a little over my head and it got a little edgy.

They more or less think I am ignorant because I am not a stats man. Anyway, I agree with you on Hindrich.

hg

hg; 10:37 AM
Nicholas Saraceno said...: I've said it before and I'll say it again. PHX is rebuilding ... BIG TIME. Steve Nash has been left feeling completely disenfranchised. He wants out. Aging? Yes. But he is a Stockton calibre player that still has at least five-seven quality years left. And most importantly, he wants to win. Now.

And he brings to this team what they need most of all, more then depth at PF; a quality, vetran leader with a die-hard winning mentality and personality. What would you be willing to give up in a trade for him?

spitballing: Rudy, Frye (or possibly Outlaw) with a possibility of Blake and 2010's 1st round draft pick.

To me, that's worth it. We have a lot of quality young players. Too many. It's great having a full bench with more youth in the wings, but only five can be on the court at a time.

Nash would give us one of the mightiest starting line-ups in the entire NBA, and you'd still have some excellent and developing talent on the bench and a presence that would help guide the Blazers development in a very positive direction.; 11:31 AM
LTG said...: ripcity; 1:19 PM
don said...: Hey, Travis, if you and I keep rolling on the Turiaf bandwagon maybe someone upstairs will finally hear it. It's good to know that BRoy also wants him, thanks for that tidbit.

One thing above I disagree with is Rudy being more of a ball handler. He's among the league's best at moving without the ball and can (and has) run his defender into the ground. Let him keep right on doing that.; 1:21 PM
LTG said...: Mr. Barrett,
I would like to ask your opinion on my thoughts concerning this off-season and the upcoming season.

First I am glad we did not get Turk, I dont believe he was needed at the price offered. With the (hopeful) return of webster Turk is an after thought.

I believe and strongly that with the development of Oden, and his participation in Team U.S.A basketball, he will be a much improved player. In my opinion his improvement is better than any free agent we could have signed. I truly believe he will make a big time change to this team next year.
Finally, I believe our roster as a whole will be even better and some are becoming that "vet exp" we are needing. Thanks for reading.; 1:24 PM
LTG said...: Nicholas,
I have to tell you without insulting you, that your comment of giving up Rudyfor Nash or anyone is a serious misunderstanding of his playing ability. I have played, coached and ref'd Bball most of my life. I am very knowledgeable about the game itself. Let me tell you that I would not give up Rudy unless it was an extreme talent that was as young as he is. His IQ and playmaking are off the charts for his age. Also, he broke an NBA record in his rookie year for threes not to mention a Blazer record. I have watched closley the moves he makes away from the ball, the little things that dont show on the stats(people overvalue way too much on stats alone) When he fills out his body and continues to grow...we may be looking at the greates euro to play in the NBA. In my opinon he would be much better than Ginobli(a player he is compared to).You want to keep this kid as long as you can.; 1:36 PM
bwuiso said...: I am on the Gerald Wallace bandwagon- for 10 mil a year this guy is it! Get him and Felton from the Bobcats I believe Felton is a UFA.... Wallace is a great all around player- 7.8 reb per last year, good defensively, and he can shoot! Felton would be a good upgrade at PG and could help push the tempo for us~ great blog Mike I enjoy reading it, I also think GO will have a breakout year and will put some critics to rest- he seems determined and is a hard worker- I'd love to see Bayless get more pt- I am happy we didn't get Turkoglu I'd rather stick with what we have than add him..... lastly, how is Martell and his rehab?; 2:02 PM
AK BLAZER said...: I'm a little confused! I read today that the Blazers have to pay around 6 mil for the luxury tax! I thought we had 10 mil in cap room, are these two different things? What am I missing?; 3:31 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: Mike,
Man, I was just over at the Phoenix website, looking for news on Nash's feelings about a move, and I must say, I am so sorry for bashing the show. Their website is a nightmare, and their fans are non-present.

You guys really go above and beyond the call of duty. We're very lucky to have you. For that matter, so are the players. I think a big part of why this team has such loyal and rabid fans is the excellent coverage that y'all provide.

So yeah, sorry to have jumped down your throat about my least favorite episode. You guys rock. All the more reason for Nash to seriously consider Portland. That, and the few fans that deign to comment on their team have nothing good to say about the man.

They're looking for something to pin the blame on, and it seems that they've landed on their vets. That's some real loyalty, eh?

In MB I trust. Go Blazers.; 4:07 PM
hg said...: fivehundreddogs;

By the way where did you get the handle of fivehundreddogs.

When a team goes down hill or has growing pains, it really hurts me to see the fans point fingers at one or two players for the problem. These are players that fought every game for the team and won many games. It is suddenly their fault they can't pack the team any more because of age or injury. It is not nashes fault he hasn't the supporting cast and the coach he once had.

Whatever finger pointing they do at Nash doesn't take away the fact that he is a great competitor and knows how to play BB.

I was not on the list for wanting Nash on our team, but it is not because he is old or he is bad, it is becuase he is great and deserves to be the starting pg. That would take too much pt away from our developing young players. When he leaves we will not have a good replacement for him because they never developed thier young players or they traded them off to get him.

Now, if you could get him to come over and be a back up I would root the loudess for him. But until it is necessary you don't take a man's job or pride away from him.

I am too old to cut the mustard but I resented for years to be forced to take a back seat at work.

Why does our bloggers point fingers at Greg for being injured. at Travis for being different or not conforming to their way of thinking. That is totally unfair.

hg; 4:41 PM
baddawg said...: I know that MB is not allowed to discuss potential free agents for whatever reason, but there is speculation that Bass may be interested in coming to Portland. I really like this move, as long as we don't get overanxious and throw too much money at him. Let Detroit and Orlando hash out the price then go in there and scoop him up.

RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 5:06 PM
Rick said...: I am having severe second thoughts on the blazers signing any free agent soon.. i dunno, being that they have summer league coming up, having players over-seas and the workout i saw w/ Pendergraph + Dante Cunningham.. David Lee no doubt in my mind would be a perfect pick-up.. but I always thought this team was good from the start of the 2009 season

Patience is this teams modo now because they got younger and really did a great job in building this team after the "jail-blazer" period and that's that, i won't even mention that term ever again! lol but i think the puzzel is fit 95% now and how much more could you possibly need for the next few years.. grow with this team, I believe in this team, heyy it's jus my opinion but this team is good!; 6:03 PM
blzrfn1 said...: I could live with Millsap or Lee also, my list grew again, glad it's KPs job. In KP we trust.; 7:37 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: Sorry, hg, but I'll just have to let you guess on the handle.

As far as Nash's role on the team, I think that you're 100% right; we can not afford to stunt our growth any more than we already have, but I do think we should let the man start in his first season with us. After that, Bayless should take over.

I would think this is what Nash would want: to get some rings, then usher his protege into the next phase of his growth. If I was approaching retirement, I would jump at this opportunity. What better legacy than bringing a trophy to a city that deserves it, giving the best assist of his career by mentoring JB, then stepping gracefully aside to make way for the next generation of champions? Any retiree would kill for such a chance...

Or, he could stagnate in Phoenix(where nobody appreciates him) until his back gives out, or he's signed by a lesser team in free agency. Doesn't sound too glamorous to me.

Come to Portland, Nash; we'll treat ya right.

Go Blazers.; 7:40 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: You might get your wish, Stephen. Looks like the cross hairs are falling on Milsap, and he might play ball.

Go Blazers.; 9:23 PM
hg said...: fivehundreddogs;

come on how am I going to figure out where five hundred dog handle came from.

How about it bloggers, do you have any ideas.

hg; 9:52 PM
hg said...: I think Millsap is better he is willing to come off the bench according to Oregon-live. From what I hear Lee is tired of being back up.

hg; 9:55 PM
dbc said...: 5 years/40 mil from the Mavs for Marion - you gotta be kidding - I thought Paul Allen was the acciidental billionare. Shawn should send D'antoni a cut.; 11:16 PM
Travis said...: the ever changing situation may bring us millsap. unexpected, but we all learn as it goes. boozer screwing his team once again, first cleveland & now utah. carlos will certainly leave the jazz after next season, and has put his team out of position to retain his replacement. they may even lose paul to a division rival, which cuts about as deep as possible. my apologies to boozer fans, but he wreaks some bit of havoc on the business end without producing on the court consistently. we would be the beneficiary of this all in getting a player that fills the exact role that we need most.

given my first choice, i'd take brandon bass but that would have to mean he wants to be in portland since he's a FA. turiaf would require a trade, which means we have to give some talent back. paul millsap as a restricted FA gives us the ability to pry talent away from another team without giving anything but the cap space that we've cleared. since millsap would fit very well into our playing rotation, if we can get him to sign an offer sheet we should. if he wants rings instead of hanging around a team that may crumble around deron williams, maybe he will sign an offer, interesting...

the "before they were blazers" series needs to show the gold medal game from the '08 olympics. any time someone mentions trading rudy, i wonder if they saw that game. rudy singlehandedly challenged kobe, lebron, wade and all the rest of the u.s. squad. by my estimation, if kobe or wade had not played in that game we may be talking about one of the most shocking upsets ever. rudy absolutely shot the lights out in a truly steely display. some of you may be sick of me making my case for rudy as a starter, but i sincerely feel that this gives the blazers the best chance to reach their fullest potential. knowing what he is capable of in bursts makes me most confident that he is the perfect compliment to brandon roy. all that they need is playing time together at the guard positions. rudy and brandon would give us the back-court that has the biggest basketball IQ and physical size. if we can get rudy, roy, martell (or nic), lamarcus & greg on the court regularly, we will completely overwhelm all but the most talented teams. rudy guarding pgs on defense, and brandon handling the ball on offense. we will dominate. opposing coaches would not have the ability to double team. on defense we would be able to switch on all screens and still contest shots anywhere on the court. THIS HAS TO HAPPEN! if you have any doubts on rudy, try to watch that gold medal game & see if you have a different opinion.; 12:05 AM
mrblazer said...: I did not think millsap was available in the least bit. If KP lands him, that would be a fantastic signing.; 12:22 AM
MGB said...: I agree with Don that Rudy's strengths do not lie in playing PG.

Hg, I haven't been wanting to get Nash, but if we did I would think we'd let our PGs battle it out for which one should start. I don't see any reason Nash can't start and tutor our young guys.

Ya, looks like we might be going for Milsap and I do like that better than Lee because as someone mention he's willing to come off the bench.

I also agree there is no reason not to be patient now. We missed out on Hedo so we might as well take our time and wait for the right deal.

GO BLAZERS!!

PS, I'm so with the posters about it's just ridiculous that CSN has not got a deal done with the satellite providers! The Blazers said in a STH meeting at the beginning of last year that if a deal wasn't done by the end of the last year they would talk to Comcast. At the time I thought they are going to wait a year and then 'talk'? It's looking like they were just trying to out wait the problem hoping people would give up. Looks like it has work for the most part.; 2:56 AM
hg said...: Travis, I am not sick of you pleading Rudy's case. I agree with you completely. Nate was just letting Rudy get his feet wet last year in a learning curve. This year he should tap into Rudy's talant and experience. One of is coaches said he could very well be the best player that ever came over.If we don't use his talant than Nate is not the coach I think he is.

hg; 7:23 AM
hg said...: I haven't given up on wanting CSN to make a deal.

I live out of town' I have dish network, Radio is horrible and they won't let 95.5 the game broadcast the game. I have to drive about 10 miles just to listen to the game.

hg; 7:29 AM
Nicholas Saraceno said...: You guys are totally right on Rudy. My point was not that you would have to trade Rudy to make a deal for Nash, but more that with Nash becoming unrestricted next year, with him wanting to get out of PHX now to a join a team with shorter term championship aspirations, you could pick him up this year for probably relatively cheap as he will be pressing Kerr for a reasonable deal to get him out.

And if you can get him involved in the franchise now then you can more easily work out a deal to renew next year as he will have a feel for what the Blazers are about and why we are the best franchise in the NBA.

My trade ideas were just spitballing, and I actually forgot that Nash was unrestricted next year (and with this in mind, you are absolutely correct that it would be insane to trade Rudy). But I truly believe you could concievably get him for Blake and a first round draft pick, depending on Kerr's (definitely not a KP by any stretch) belief that Nash will be sticking around after next year. Which if you have been following this off season in PHX, is not at all likely.; 9:30 AM
George said...: Hey Mike, is there anything to this Jason Quick article in the Oregonian about extensions for Roy and Aldridge being stalled because the Blazers aren't giving them what they want? I hope it's not true. We need to lock these guys up for the next five, six years. It seems like Pritch has had a rough summer so far. I feel bad for the guy. The wasted time we took to woo Turkoglu could've been invested into someone else, but this is the nature of the business. Thanks.; 9:50 AM
hg said...: George, I believe the reason KP hasn't signed LMA and BRoy before FA or trades are made is because if they sign them while we have the cap money the cap money would be used up on their salaries. If they wait until after the cap money is gone than they can sign them up with it going over the salary cap.

They want thier cake and eat it too.

Remember KP called LMA and BRoy about their extension before he called Turkeyglue.

That is not gospel just putting everything I have read together to form my conclusion

hg; 10:16 AM
hg said...: Fivehundreddogs, I have got it. It would take at least five hundred dogs to stop you from being a Blazer fan.

hg; 10:19 AM
STATS said...: You guys must be crazy not to pick up Andre Miller. There are more things in life than having a 3 point shot ok his 3 point percentages are terrible that still never stopped him from being one of the top point guards in the NBA. Andre Miller is a scoring point guard that will sometimes give you 30 points but consistly give you 15 to 17 points a night and he is a double double machine in points and assists just ask NBA fantasy owners. Andre Miller is a scorer. He will put the ball in the basket and give your other players the ball in places where they can be most effective. If you do not pick up Andre Miller you are dumb Portland. He is a scorer and a assist men; teams always need them and with his experience and knowledge of the game, he will take Portland further in the playoffs, so what he if he do not have 3 and is not consistant on his 3 point shot, but I bet you he can hit a shot or a 3 pointer when it really counts. Andre Miller is game time player scorer and assist man.

Do not make this mistkae Portland think about after you got rid of Sergio this man can throw alley oops to Rudy.

A devoted Portland trailblazers fan.; 10:20 AM
STATS said...: Blazers it also will not hurt you, but I think the best route to go after you lost Turkulu; how ever you spell his name, is to pick up Al Harrington; look the Knicks is waiting to see if they could get Amare from Phoenix let them get him. You can get Al Harrington from the Knicks, if they do not go for it, which I think they won't because Al Harrington is a good player. You can take Eddy Curry off their hands, but depends how much money you have and if you want to be the hunt for players in 2010. I do not know if you want that, but I feel this is the one of the best ways to make the Trailblazers a better team with Andre Miller, Al Harrington, and Eddy Curry if you have to the Knicks would give up Harrington because they did not sign none of their best players yet like Lee and Harrington because they is waiting for the big payoff Amare or someone real big and with the salary cap being capped, you know the Knicks is looking even harder to get Amare. Miller, Harrington, and Eddy Curry can given Oden experience and he is a back up plan if Oden gets hurt again. It would give the team veteran leadership these players are not alstars but they are potiential players that can help the Blazers build for a championship.; 10:36 AM
Dusty Holden said...: Steal Millsap with that "toxic" offer sheet and then send Lamarcus and Outlaw for Lebron!; 12:40 PM
bwuiso said...: I live in Utah and would LOVE for the Jazz to sign Millsap- he is a gritty and talented player who ANYONE would love to have on their team and I can tell you locally that the Jazz don't want to lose this guy- this may be the best cahnce to sneak in and get him as the Jazz are already above the luxury tax and they still need to sign 2-3 more players! Millsap plays great D and is an excellent rebounder (led NCAA for 3 years in college) and he is an ultimate team guy~ which is exactly what the Blazers are at this time.... I say go for it and I also like the idea of letting Rudy play more min-if we get Millsap we may be set- that is with hopes that Bayless steps up as the b/u PG- if not we can trade or go for a PG later.... this is a 54 win team that is only beginning to develop! Millsap won't break chemistry like others might so GO FOR IT!; 12:52 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: hg,
It would take five thousand dogs to stop me from being a Blazer fan, and they'd have to be some big dogs too.

If you ever figure it out, just remember that the origin is inconsequential: it's the concept. Just imagine five hundred dogs, and see where that takes you.

But on to the team... I like Milsap. When I first heard the news, I was unimpressed. Mainly because I thought that it's silly to pay a backup an eight figure salary, but after thinking it over, I like the move.

If Joel's position is shrinking, there may be some more minutes to go around and more rebounds to be had in the front court. So he becomes a backup for two positions, which makes his pay less of an issue. I'm imagining a second unit of...

1.JB
2.Rudy
3.Nic
4.Pendergraph
5.Milsap

We sacrifice some height by having Milsap at the 5, but there is a lot of length coming from Nic and Jeff that may offset that. Add the scoring power of these guys to the mix, and I challenge you to find a second unit that can keep up.

However, if we keep Przybilla, this turns into kind of a dud. There just aren't the minutes to go around. Joel is too good to warm the bench, and doing so would probably bring down his market value. I'm still rooting for a deal with Houston to score Battier.

So I guess this is the final sum of what I'd like to see, and I invite you all to dissect it.

1. Get Milsap.
2. Trade Przybilla and Webster to Houston for Battier this summer.
3. Nash for Blake and Outlaw(whether that's a trade, or you let their contracts expire, and pick up Nash in free agency next summer).

If my calculations are correct(which they probably aren't) these moves should put us right at the cap, then when Miles contract expires, we'll have 9 million to divide among our core. This is assuming Milsap gets 10, and Battier and Nash don't want a ton more money.

Man, being an armchair GM is hard.

Go Blazers.; 1:14 PM
dbc said...: I don't get it. I like Millsap as much as the next guy. Obviously great on the boards, gives 100% - but spending our cap space on a backup, when we are actually a decent rebounding team - and with Oden getting healthier & LA hopefully bulking up - will only get better.

Why not save the cap space for a bargain as the remaining FAs get desperate (like Miller for 6m , or a lopsided trade with a strapped gm, or for the heralded 2010 FA group.

If we are just screwing with Utah - so they are forced to pay up to keep a guy they covet - OK, but is this really a need worth our remaining cap space?; 1:21 PM
Dusty Holden said...: Not Kirk Hinrich, he is about as good as Steve Blake and what do they want us to give up anyway in the three team trade? We already cleared room to let Bayless play--don't mess that up. Bayless is probably better than those two guards mentioned above.; 2:32 PM
MGB said...: hg,

We could extend both Roy and LA's contracts now and they wouldn't be on our books until next year since that is when the extention starts. Most likely the reason a deal hasn't been done yet is simply because both Roy and LA is off vacationing somewhere since it is their time to do just that.; 2:45 PM
Eric said...: Looks like We might get Hinrich now in a three team deal. I say we now go after Brandon Bass (a perfect backup for LMA), call it a day, and just start getting ready for next season! Go Blazers!; 3:02 PM
MGB said...: MB,

Ok, did Bayless work out with Oden this summer or not? I've heard many reports he has, but he says he hasn't. What's the deal??; 3:23 PM
don said...: It seems strange to me that Milsap would want to play behind LaMarcus for the next umpteen years instead of playing behind Boozer for one more, then taking over the starting job at Utah.

From the Blazers' perspective, having Millsap would be great for a year or so, but then, how will they pay him what he's worth? He'll be asking way too much for a backup. I suppose the team could then do a sign and trade with him...; 3:25 PM
Jake said...: I guess I dont understand why the Blazers are so gung-ho about Hinrich. I had to make my account and post here for the first time ever since reading this for the last year and a half just to say I dont see why they would do this.

Hinrich is not an upgrade to Steve Blake and in some ways is a downgrade (3pt % from last season comparison) so I just dont see why we need to get him. Isn't the point to get something we really need or something better than what we have?; 3:44 PM
phi slamma said...: I like the idea of picking up Milsap. He's exactly the type of player we need to even out our finesse squad. There's no way we are doing this just to mess with Utah. This is face-saving time for KP, and he knows it. His image was just about ready to be printed onto our Oregon quarter but what goes up must eventually come down. Why we haven't tied up Roy is disturbing. I really love Ronnie, I mean Paul Milsaps' game. I say go for it.; 4:00 PM
rob10sblazerfan said...: kirk hinrich is better than Blake, I like Blake a lot and he does what we ask of him but hinrich can get to the rim, play defense, hit a three( his percentage will probly go up when he gets wide open ones like Blake ), he won't mind giving Roy the ball and he can distribute the ball he is the perfect upgrade from Blake. You have to remember, before the bulls got rose he was a 16 and 6 guy, better than Blake ever was.; 8:37 PM
Stephen said...: I like the idea of getting Gerald Wallace best at this point, but Milsap would be a great addition to the team. Fivehundreddogs: I don't think we will be trading Joel, and that is not a problem, because the second unit with contain Joel and Milsap. Pendigraph will most likely be a bench guy, like Shavlik if we sign Milsap.

I also agree with not picking up Hinrich's 10 million dollar contract. If we did, Chicago's back up point guard would suddenly become the highest paid player on our team. We can't overpay role players if we want to stay in the flexibility game down the road, especially with the cap shrinking. Blake is just as good a player, for half the price.

The Blazers have a fantastic group of young, talented guys, and as I've said before we are only weak at two positions: Frye and Sergio. We paid another team to take Sergio, and have dropped Frye. Now we just need to replace them with solid role players, and not break the bank to do so. We also don't have to worry about everyone getting minutes. If Frye were a better rebounder/post player, he would have played more, and Lamarcus could have rested more. The players who produce start to see more minutes, because they earn them. We picked up Mills, so maybe he is good enough to take the place of Sergio if we are now giving Bayless PT, and Milsap would be a huge upgrade from Frye.

Ideas like trading away Joel are foolish, when he is a huge asset for the team. If Oden plays 82 games this year I'll be a monkey's uncle. If Oden went down before or during the playoffs, and we have Joel, I still have total confidence in the team. If we only have Lamarcus and Milsap to play center, our season would end a lot sooner. We don't even know for sure that Oden will start over Joel this season. A lot of bloggers have completely lost their cool, and are asking for a whole new team. Chill out, and if you like these other players so much, go be a fan of their teams. We have a great team that is getting better already. I'll stick with them.; 8:51 PM
ripcity4evaa said...: i think its ridiculous to try and get kirk hinrick when he plays the same as steve blake..they are like twins, the way they play i mean. i have no idea who is better but neither of them are good enough to start on a championship team. i think it would be awesome to land andre miller and david lee. Like KP, i believe in getting the best players possible, nate would figure out how to blend all the talent. Right now all the good teams are getting even better in a big way, adding big players. to be able to compete the blazers have to get better too. For example here are three teams who have made great moves- lakers land artest, cleveland lands shaq, orlando lands carter.
lee, miller FUTURE BLAZERS???; 9:03 PM
hg said...: Fivehundreddogs, I can't imagine what fivehundreddogs woull look like. my dad was a sheep hearder and five hundred sheep took up a lot of room even if they were packed

You are getting too carried away with your trading. You almost have all our old team gone. you want to trade Joel, Steve, Webster, Outlaw we have already loss Sergio and Frye. If we trade that many than that would mean only a few of them are good.

I found out that us bloggers doesn't swing much weight with the bass so you your armchair GM is just for entertainment. Isn't that the poops?

hg

hg; 9:55 PM
hg said...: Thank you MGB. I did not know that. I was repeating what I read on BE.

Thank you for the correction.

hg; 9:57 PM
dbc said...: Hearing Canzano tell KP today he sounded depressed & defeated was disgusting. First of all he didn't, and secondly we've got a great developing young team, and as KP tried to communicate, we really don't NEED to do anything. If a deal that makes sense materializes - beautiful - if not we have, hands down the most talented young team in the NBA. Lets not put KP under a microscope or in therapy. Let the guy do his job.

Yea teams are making moves - and some are improving - but those that are, for the most part are also mortgaging their future - Dallas with Marion & Kidd, Spurs delaying the inevitable adding RJ with his 15m price tag & McDyess. Cavs add Shaq - talk about a desperate attempt to placate LBJ in the hopes he doesn't bolt to the Knicks next year.

Are these the deals we are missing? Do you want Artest in PDX with his tribute to MJ's Thriller on his jersey? Do you really want to pay 33 year old Andre Miller 30m for 3 years?

To label this summer as disappointing because 30 year old Hedo turned down our 50m/5 year deal, because he'd rather be in Toronto than win a championship, or because we didn't trade one our rookies to move up in the weakest draft in memory is ludicrous.

I for one hope KP continues to patiently wait for the right deal -where a GM is compelled to make a trade he would rather not, and if none materializes this summer - I still like our chances next year.

One more thing Canzano - you're also wrong when you said recently that Rudy would never be a starter in the NBA. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.; 10:20 PM
mrblazer said...: "In any negotiation, there are conflicts, right?"

KP

No, Kevin, actually that's not true. In fact, i've never seen a player of Brandon's caliber get screwed with when it came to signing an extension. Ben Gordon? Sure. Brandon Roy? You got to be kidding me.

KP, Paul Allen, Vulcans, or whomever is in charge of this negotiation, kindly pull your head(s) out of your @ss and do what is both right and intelligent. I am so disappointed with this development, i want to vomit.

I could understand if the problem was trying to get him to sign without an opt out in 3 years. However, the idea that we're balking at giving him 5 years instead of 4 completely destroys my confidence in this franchise.

If they screw this up with Roy, i will take up knitting before i watch another blazer game. I'll cheer on the Lakers before i buy another 5 dollar soda at the RG. I'll wait until the team changes ownership before i give it a second thought, again.

If what is being said is true, it is the most absurd thing i've ever seen this franchise do. And i've seen thing from it that utterly defy logic of any kind.

I will now forget the blazers exist until Roy signs an extension. Get your act together, and sign your star for as long as you can possibly get.; 10:39 PM
MGB said...: I can't believe how some posters are going off the deep end about the Roy situation. There are a lot of stuff that has to be worked out with a contract even if you are willing to give the max for the max years which I'm sure the Blazers want to do. For one thing it might be Roy that actually wants it to be a 4 year contract, maybe with a 5th year player option while the Blazers want it to be 5 years? Who knows, I know I don't go by some beat writer that has many times in the past started rumors that had no foundation at all. Sheesh!

dbc,

I completely agree with you. I can't stand Canzano! He tries to paint a picture and it doesn't matter if it's true or not. KP doesn't sound one bit depress and defeat and why should he? That's such BS!

I also agree with the rest of your post. There is no reason to make a deal just to make a deal. It'd be fine with me if we didn't do anything at this time. I know we are going to improve just as we are.

I also fully trust KP. After all he is the only one that knows exactly what is being offered and what he is trying to do.

GO BLAZERS!!; 11:47 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: Yup hg, this is for "poops". That's what all this boils down to. If any of us think that what is written on this comment thread influences even the most minute detail of the management of this team, they are suffering from delusions of grandeur. I spout off here for entertainment purposes only. In fact, that's why I watch the games too. I don't gamble or work for the franchise, so I have no investment in this but my own entertainment.

From that perspective, I want the most entertaining team possible. There are certain players whose style I really dig, but Stephen, I want to root for the home team, so I'm looking for any way to bring the guys from elsewhere to Portland, but hey, ya gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet.

I wouldn't touch our core because they are a big part of why I love this team, but the supporting cast is malleable. The players that I named are all good, but not vital parts of the machine. The players we would receive are brilliant. Nash, Battier and Milsap in exchange for non-vital players that will probably be gone shortly anyway.

So yeah, I want what I consider to be the best players in the league on our team, and if I see an opportunity to get them, I'll shout about it. I also know that it's like writing my name in a lake, because the only people that can make any of it happen aren't wringing their hands, waiting anxiously for fivehundreddogs to post a new comment so that they can go ahead with a deal.

So maybe before getting all butt-hurt and telling folks to root for another team, it would be prudent to take a deep breath and realize that none of us are KP. I usually really enjoy this comment thread, but it's getting kinda stuffy in here. Not enough headroom, if you catch my drift.

Go Blazers.; 11:56 PM
Travis said...: canzano is a joke. he waits until the moment when people are inflamed about a situation, and then he tries to posture as though he is taking the high ground on behalf of the fans. what he is really doing is fanning the sparks into flames. unfortunately, he manages to get casual and/or poorly informed fans to fall for this. he is a radio entertainer, not a journalist. he plays on emotion, not substantive fact.; 1:45 AM

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Ball in Hedo's Court?

posted: 7/02/2009 at 10:23 PM

PERMALINK | VIEW COMMENTS (123) | LEAVE COMMENT |

He arrived in Portland at 1:50 on Thursday afternoon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and temperatures hit 90 before the day was over. If there was ever a day to show off the beautiful Northwest, this was it. A perfect opportunity to show off the city, and to roll out the red carpet for a highly-sought after free agent.

Hedo Turkoglu was all smiles as he entered the main concourse at PDX and was greeted by Kevin Pritchard and his executive team, who are doing their best in this, their first big-time recruitment of a free agent. This team may have been built through the draft, but now the page has been turned and the search for another piece to the puzzle is taking place as we speak.

Depending on what you read today, the Trail Blazers either have reason to feel very confident, should still fear a last-ditch effort by the Toronto Raptors, or are simply going to be bidding against themselves, as teams make alternate plans.

By now you've read that Toronto is probably the last serious contender in this sweepstakes, and would have to do some pretty serious restructuring to take the prize. Odds are, they won't. Odds are, Turkoglu is going to be wearing a Trail Blazers jersey next season. Don't tell KP's team that yet, as for them the selling will go on until Saturday. But, this is starting to look like it's going to be just a matter of time.

I guess I shouldn't have expected any different, but this is clearly a hot button issue with Portland fans. Gauging your interest based on the number of comments to this blog isn't scientific by any means. But, my last post, two nights ago, has already received more comments than my post following game 6 of the playoff series against Houston. That's saying something.

Exactly one month ago, I posted a blog about free agency, and used a photo of Turkoglu. Most of your comments were very much in favor of the Blazers pursuing Hedo. Earlier this week, as you probably know, there seemed to be about a 60-40 split in the "for or against" categories. That surprised me a little. Now that it seems like this is about to become a reality, I'm sensing a hard swing back to the positive. Maybe that's because you're reading that this is a done deal (I'm not completely saying it is, mind you).

If you've swung back and forth, I don't blame you. I have to admit that I've gone from feeling very confident that this is the right move, to luke warm, and back to very confident. Basically, here's briefly why I'm so behind this team signing Turkoglu at this point.

For this team, at this time, Turkoglu is the best option available. As we saw in the playoffs, this team needs not only a veteran presence, but needs a third scorer. It needs someone who can create their own shot, creative mismatches, handle the ball on the perimeter, and shoot with range. Mostly though, it needs another player who makes his teammates better.

Plain and simple, Turkoglu would make Greg Oden better. He'd take pressure off Brandon Roy, and his offense would result in more quality looks for LaMarcus Aldridge.

If you know the NBA, you know the bread-and-butter play for most teams is the side pick and roll. If you watched the Orlando Magic in the playoffs, you saw that few players initiate the side pick and roll better than Turkoglu. Dwight Howard, who's offense is very close to what Oden's will be, absolutely loved Turkoglu. He, above any other Orlando player, stands to lose the most if they lose Hedo (Howard called Turkoglu on the phone at least three times on Thursday alone, begging him to come back to Orlando). Oden has already become pretty good at setting the pick, and rolling, and with Turkoglu in the mix, he'd be getting the ball.

There's an art to this simple play. And, while I'm suggesting Turkoglu would make Oden better, I should also add that he would make Joel Przybilla better as well. Przybilla can run the pick and roll. The last player Portland had who really know how to run this play was Nick Van Exel. His favorite partner in the pick and roll? Przybilla. Maybe that's a stretch for you, but I've had Przybilla himself tell me that on many occasions.

Will things change for the Blazers if they are able to close the deal and land Turkoglu? Of course. Is there uncertainty? Yes. Was I one of the guys who preached leaving this thing alone and letting it bake rather than chance a risky move? Uh, yes. But, on the risk-reward scale, this thing is heavily tipped toward the former. This a very good chance to perhaps give this team a big missing ingredient during a rare window of opportunity.

This Rudy Fernandez story, about him being upset that the Blazers are chasing Turkoglu, has some people concerned. I don't happen to be one of them. As I've said, I think this is an agent attempting to use the emotion of fans to get his client an extension. Or, this agent could be upset that the Blazers probably aren't chasing another of his free-agent clients (Andre Miller, in this case). This happens all the time, so I'm not bagging on Andy Miller (no relation). He's just doing what agents do. The interesting thing about playing this card here is, it seems to have backfired on him, at least a bit.

The majority of fans, rather than get upset that the Blazers are going after Turkoglu, are instead upset at Rudy. Or, at least this was the case initially. I think now, people are realizing that this was, at the very least, overblown, and at the worst, a bald-faced lie. I don't think this will be that big of a deal, even if this signing gets completed.

If you're looking for some big announcement from the Blazers on this you'll have to wait a few days, even if everything works out. Any word on an agreement being reached has to come from the player's side, until July 8th. That's the earliest free agents can actually put pen to paper. But, if common ground is reached, and if the Blazers win this race, you'll know before that.

----------------

One note on summer league. The Blazers have released their summer league roster, and will be taking part in the Las Vegas Summer League once again. I'll be there, and we'll be broadcasting three of the games on Comcast Sportsnet, in high definition. We'll have games on the 15th, 17th, and 18th.

As far as the roster goes, Jerryd Bayless will be joined by Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, and Patty Mills. Roy's former teammate at Washington, Bobby Jones, is on the roster. Thomas Gardner, who played 16 games with the Atlanta Hawks will be playing for Portland. So will Louisville's David Padgett, Matt Freije, and former Portland Pilot Pooh Jeter. Jeter played in Spain last season and recently claimed that Blazers first-round pick Victor Claver has more upside than Ricky Rubio. The exact quote went like this... "To be honest, I think Victor Claver is the best pro right now out Spain. I know people may think I’m crazy for that comment, but hey, it’s my opinion. Victor Claver is like 6’9; he can score and is very athletic."

123 Comments:

Jon said...: I'm all for getting Hedo, but what about bringing in an experienced point guard like Devin Harris? I think Devin would bring much more to the Blazers back court than Hedo would. As we saw in the finals, Hedo was handling the ball but with difficulty. That is where an experience guard like Harris would fit in perfectly.

I'm not discounting that Roy will have the ball in the 4th quarter but Roy can't be expected to save us every game in the fourth quarter.; 12:05 AM
Travis said...: for about 5 minutes at work today, i felt like i wanted to smash something. two seasons after being gifted an all-star/franchise level center/power forward, the lkrs get an all-star caliber, all defensive team (whether he gets the award or not) top tier player for the mid-level exception. as if they hadn't just won the title, they now have easily the best current/proven roster in the league.
trying not to over-react, i also feel compelled to be honest. having been on the fence about turkoglu before, i am now off the fence. if this solidifies anything, it is that turkoglu is not capable of being the guy to put us over the top. in light of the lkrs roster upgrade, signing turk would make me desperate for that signing to be a sign and trade for a PHYSICAL player. to be very specific, here's why:
-turkoglu is garnering our interest mainly based on a strong playoff performance this year. during this playoff run, he was not a difference maker against the lakers (who have now upgraded from ariza who was able to render hedo relatively ineffective by being physical with with him)
-hedo is having success against the eastern conference, which we all know is inferior. i'd even say that our '08-'09 team would have had the chance to have beaten ANY eastern conference team in a seven game series, including the magic. there is ZERO chance that we would have rolled over 4 games to 1 against the lkrs, NO WAY.
-the argument that turk can play positions 1 -4 may be true, ON OFFENSE. defensively, he's not even close to being that potent. he lacks the foot speed to cover a 2 and the strength to cover a 4. end of topic.
-turk shot .356 from 3pt for the season, including one lucky bank shot at the rose garden.
here's the list of blazer small forwards that had a higher 3pt. %
martell .388 ('07-'08)
travis .377
batum .369
as in ALL OF THEM
if we add
rudy .399
brandon .377
it looks even worse.
his overall shot percentage is not good at .413, especially when you consider that steve blake shot .427 FROM 3pt!

making the move for turkoglu was one that signaled, "now is our time, the championship window is now officially open." this is no longer the case. we should save our cap space and look toward the not too distant future. brandon has established himself as a dominant player. let us give lamarcus, greg, rudy, nic, martell, travis, jarryd, jeff and the rest time to grow into their roles while nate, joel and steve show them the way.

GO BLAZERS; 12:08 AM
Travis said...: This post has been removed by the author.; 12:12 AM
corybauer said...: Even if you consider the position Hedo will be playing to be overloaded, look at it this way. He is the BEST player of all the guys competing for that position. We are a better team with him on the court.

I also have to admit that I like the idea of getting Andre Miller as well. He's solid.; 12:12 AM
anthony said...: devin harris is amazing but he is NJ;s franchise player. I dont know if hedo will fit in in portland, hes a great player but i think artest would fit in better or someone with better defense to teach b roy. unfortunately the top two guys are already taken; 12:25 AM
Chef Jared said...: thanks mb, everything you said was spot on, and i was laughing with excitement while reading what he would bring to the team and just imagining in my head, i hope it goes through...and we still love rudy no matter what; 12:38 AM
daniel renato said...: I´m portuguese and a blazer fan since Petrovic arrives at portland.
My opinion in this issue si:

David west and gerald wallace are what the blazers need.

Artest is the best option about free agents.

Hedo is below that what i think that portland needs(though and experience).; 12:49 AM
daniel renato said...: I´m portuguese and a blazer fan since Petrovic arrives at portland.
My opinion in this issue is:

David west and gerald wallace are what the blazers need.

Artest is the best option about free agents.

Hedo is below that what i think that portland needs(though and experience).; 12:57 AM
Aaron said...: i agree with Jon! Hedo is a great player but i would rather us go get a true point guard then bring him in! All last year we got killed at the pg spot! Steve Blake is a great back up guard! Please Blazers go after a point guard!No to Hedo please! Hes not going to save portland and is going to cost to much! Throw that money at aldridge and roy, make sure their happy and lets be aggressive next year when the free agent pool is loaded with players that could get us over the top! But Hedo.... cmon man!; 1:01 AM
Micah said...: Like Barrett said, Hedo is a hit or miss endeavor. He will either be a home run or totally flub up our chemistry and bring our opinion of KP back down to earth. I've wavered on this but I think we HAVE to take this chance. The contenders are only getting better over these last couple of weeks and just one more year of experience and a healthy Martell is not enough to keep us in the mix next season.

My biggest apprehension about bringing Turkoglu in is the impact this will have on signing Batum, Bayless, and Rudy to extensions in the future. I guess that will be Paul Allen's problem when the time comes but even he has his limits. He will only spend so much money in the luxury tax bracket. However, that is a problem for another day. Let's face it, our window is open now and we have to get aggressive during this precious time. Who knows what the future brings with injuries and free agency. Without this signing, I don't realistically think we are contenders. We must go three deep to contend and Hedo can solidify that third scoring role (sorry Travis, but you can't pass or board).

One last thing, I don't understand why everyone is so up-in-arms about Hedo's age. Haven't we all been clamoring for a "veteran presence" for the last couple years? Hedo brings just that in spades and is a team player to boot. He's not going to try to take over Roy's team and I think a veteran scorer with an attitude like that is a rare find. KP is smarter than anyone commenting on this blog and has been preparing for this free agency run for a couple of years. He'll nail it, I'm sure. Go Blazers.; 1:05 AM
Travis said...: please sign & trade for jose calderon, PLEASE; 1:11 AM
kbblzrs said...: We need to do a sign and trade with Philly for Andre Miller. This kid is one of the most underrated PG in the league. Give Philly blake and outlaw and lets make it happen. This gives Bayless an excellent veteran to learn from.

Starting 5
Andre Miller/ Jerryd bayless
Bradon Roy/ Rudy Fernandez
Hedo Turkoglu/ Nicolas Batum, M. Webster
LaMarcus Aldridge/ Jeff Pendergragh
Joel Pryzbilla/ Greg Oden; 1:31 AM
Jeff said...: I think that Hedo would be a great asset for the Blazers but has anyone heard anything about the Birdman, Chris Andersen? His experience, energy, versatility, and defence could be a great asset for our team. As a role player he could come off the bench and back up LaMarcus (or Hedo), giving the team energy and defence. What's best is that he could be had for a reasonable price, unlike many of the other free agents available...; 2:15 AM
Travis said...: turk may be the best available free agent this summer, but he does not make us champions next season. we need to NOT be committed to him for the next 5 years. that commitment will hinder the "organic development" of what has been so hard to bring about over the course of the last several years.
MOST RESPECTFULLY
kp, paul allen, coach nate,
STOP and THINK, the circumstances have changed!
for the next 3 years the lkrs will have kobe, artest, odom, gasol & bynum. turk is not going to give us an edge against that bunch, please find a more physical player who is (gerald wallace and/or brandon bass perhaps or a bigger point guard in jose calderon). odom and artest can dominate him.

hopefully i'm wrong, especially if we do get turk, but at least you know i'm being honest and am passionate about our team and its development. being the michael jordan of turkey is like being the pele of the u.s. in world football, you haven't won anything...; 2:41 AM
hg said...: Mike: hg here with mixed emotions.

I think the deal is done. Of course I am for keeping the team that got us 54 and reward them. Of course the Blazer staff hasn't said anything about getting rid of anybody, so I would have to wait on that.

A friend of mine has said that he has been thinking that the Blazers are starting to worry about Martell making it back. That has been my beef, if we have Martell why do we need Turk.

I have read and seen that he is a offensive player with big up side. What I have read he is lousy on defense.
I recently wrote a blog that we can win without Turk. Fivehundredogs said we can get whom ever or no one and we would still be that great next year. The one issue that I never looked at was making life easier for BRoy and giving Greg an advantage in exploding.
I do not want to pick up Turk, but I am a Blazer fan and whatever is decided I will support. Much like president's.

Those two reason's soften's the blow.

My main thing is I don't want to sluff off the players that got us here.

hg; 2:46 AM
Herr said...: More posts than after game 6? Game 4 still holds the lead right? That was like what 200+ posts?

Regardless, the more I think about it I think I like gaining Hedo. It's now obvious the Blazers want him, and he may be that veteran we need. I'm not a fan of having Batum sitting on the bench however, but I think Hedo might be more help than Outlaw. I just hope we get out of Hedo what we are giving to him.

We need a veteran, and we got one. As far as choices go I'd never have chosen Hedo Turk, but most the people I would have chosen have no way possible of getting on this team this season lol.

So Saturday is the day we should know?; 2:54 AM
MGB said...: Hope Jeter is right! :)

Sure hope we do sign Hedo. KP would look bad if after trying so hard another team scooped Hedo up! Sooner we hear he's signing with us the better.

I think we probably drafted our back up PF so that is taken care of so once Hedo is taken cared of we just need to acquire a starting PG.

GO BLAZERS!!

Oh, btw, sure wish Comcast would make a deal with Directv! That would make it a perfect off season!; 3:23 AM
MGB said...: Btw, since we are not giving up anything to sign Hedo and probably won't give up much to get a PG, how is that hurting our young players and why won't we still be good in a few years? We are just helping ourselves now and we'll still have a great future.; 3:27 AM
alper said...: Hedo is really great choise for portland..portland ll be in nba finals next year..; 5:01 AM
alper said...: Hedo is right choise for portland...for oden for aldridge and roy..you ll see..portland won a real team player..hedo ll bring success to portland this year..; 5:03 AM
millertime said...: harris is the wrong kind of guard i would rather get hedo then a score first point guard. we will see.right.... KP I TRUST!!!; 5:10 AM
Real Estate Broker, GRI, ABR said...: Hey MB: tell everyone to take a "chill" pill.....let KP (& crew) run the Blazers....Hedo will be JUST the beginning of our championship run.; 6:09 AM
Sylvie et Guillaume said...: I'm with you Travis !
I will just keep my fingers crossed !

To make things clear, I think that Hedo is an amazing player and that he can bring good experience.
BUT in that case, he will also take big Playing Time (arround 30 minutes). That means less PT for either Nic, Travis, Martell, LMA and Rudy and even less for Pendergraph and Cunningham ... My point is that it doesn't make sense to draft all those second rounders if your plan is to sit them on the bench all year long. We are all willing that the players commit with the city, the team and that the chemistry is our first asset. And now some of us want to trade for a veteran at any cost. If we ask the player to give everything to us, we have to committ to them and trust them. Even if we don't win next year it is not an issue.
But with Hedo what kind of rotation do we have ??? What will be the playing time for our up and comming guys ?

What I think is that we saw the window opening last season and now we want it all next season.
We can try to improve our roster by giving a chance to everyone even if it means to trade them away (like we did with Sergio).
All in all, it can work if Hedo is a team first type of player and if everything settle nicely regarding PT. But that 's a lot of "ifs" ...
However, it is already working (54 wins proves it) and with Sergio gone, the PT is even easier to set.

Just my 2 cents writed with my fingers crossed (it was tough)

Regards; 6:27 AM
BRoyFTW said...: I'm I the only one asking why we need this guy? It almost seems like KP is trying outsmart himself. He is going to end up blowing the whole development process by making a bad move. If we lose any pieces like Rudy or Outlaw that will be a big mistake.

Don't pay an declining player with no defense 10 million a year. This better be a 3 year deal max.; 7:46 AM
phi slamma said...: I've always been a risk taker by nature. The talent pool may be deep as an ocean, but even the ocean would become stagnant without the tide. KP is our tide. Stirring the water with Hedo Turkaglu may seem like fun now. But when the water settles back down you may see Darius Miles' reflection where Hedos' should be. Any long term contract could weigh the team down for years should this experiment not turn out. I agree with much of what Travis had to say. However, MB makes some valid points as to why acquiring Hedo could make our other players more effective. I just don't see a 10 mil. a year player coming in and assuming a bench role of any kind. I also agree with others that have pointed out that we drafted players that were supposedly physical in the low post. All the physical players in the world isn't going to help our team any if they don't play.; 8:40 AM
Benny said...: Adding another scorer/facilitator such as Hedo makes our bench more potent. He's only doing his job in seeking the team with the most money similar to when Blazer management is only doing their job when trading(Sergio) or not signing(Channing) players. Basketball is purely a business and nothing more.

The coach needs to spread the minutes. But it seems the minutes are inadequate. Also, there doesn't seem to be any room for the 3 'stashed' players in the future.

And I agree with the rumor that Rudy did not like how he was used in the games. I'm sure there's some truth to that. For crying out loud man - Shooting 3's is not the only thing in his arsenal.

I think perhaps he should play out his contract and ponder moving to another team otherwise he'll be regarded only as a 3 point shooter. Maybe a team like Sacramento can utilize him better along with Outlaw who I think will end up like Channing Frye in summer 2010.; 9:09 AM
baddawg said...: Does anyone out there remember where the majority of the concern on this blog was after we got bounced in the first round?
I do. Everyone wanted us to upgrade our pg and add toughness. Obviously were was some emphasis on adding scoring, but the other two were the main two issues.

How does adding Hedo address either of those? HEDOesn't!!!

It has been tough for me, like all of you, to sit back and watch all these teams add this player or that without thinking to myself how they would have fit in here. However, just because Hedo is the best of the rest doesn't mean it's the right move. His defensive deficiencies on the perimeter are way too numerous and will only put more pressure on Greg and Joel.
Hedo does make the offense better, I admit that, but defense wins championships.

I will say it again, Tyson Chandler is on the trading block. Adding him to back up LaMarcus would be huge. He could even slide over to play some 5 spot if we get into foul trouble or if one of our guys went down.

DEEEEEEEEEEEFENSE!!!!!!!

RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 9:33 AM
skaternater said...: If Hedo can accept his role as the third option and a guy who needs to make his teammates better, I think he will be a great addition. I dont see why everyone thinks we need to make a deal for a good point guard. Bayless is going to surprise everyone next season. Steve is perftect for our starting line up, and Bayless will give us that extra scoring edge we need off the bench. That is something that really hurt us in the playoffs. When Roy or Aldridge went out we struggled to score. Hedo will help with this, and I believe Bayless will too.
The addition of Hedo will give the Blazers a "Big 3." Despite Hedo being 30, this will be the youngest true big 3 in the NBA. This could mean MANY winning seasons are ahead...; 9:46 AM
Shawn said...: I say send him back to Orlando. He can't dribble, his shooting percentage has gone down, he can be turnover prone and sometimes just shoots for no reason. I also agree his defense is not the best so how can he fit in with the Blazers who I thought was trying to have a young team? I say bring along Fernandez and Batum and let Turk go back to Florida.

...Magic Fan; 9:57 AM
jacob said...: I hate, hate, hate this signing. Giving a 30 year old player who has a below average PER, a terrible True Shooting % and who plays mediocre defense an expensive 5 year deal could be disastrous. Hedo will make us better the next year or two, but could really cripple the team beyond that.; 10:25 AM
macro4you said...: I think we should get Hedo. Then trade blake and outlaw for Hinrich. With Hedo we don't need another scorer in the starting line-up in Andre Miller(even though he is good). Hinrich plays D and is just like blake on offense. This would make us even with the cap (assuming we pay Hedo 10 million) He would also have to be our backup power forward because there isn't enough playing time for everyone. Here's what our line-up would look like:

PG- Hinrich/Bayless/Mills
SG- Roy/Rudy/Bayless
SF- Turkoglu/Batum/Rudy
PF- Aldridge/Turkoglu/Pendergraph
C- Oden/Przybilla/Aldridge

It does make me nervous that the contenders are getting even better. It's like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.; 10:29 AM
George said...: I'm trying to look at this from as many angles as possible. Hedo's shooting is something we desperately need. Teams will be more reluctant to double brandon when he drives which would leave Hedo wide open. I think this helps us offensively. And defensively, I think we'll be fine. Roy is a great defender and if Greg steps up next year and limits his fouls and becomes a beast on the boards and defense, then we should be fine. There's basically a handful of teams that even have a shot next year. Blazers, Magic, Cavs, Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs. That's it. No one else.; 10:29 AM
Travis said...: hedo's shooting? he shot .413 last year, and .356 from 3pt.

if the side pick and roll is the coveted capability, let rudy run that play with greg. rudy is a better passer and much better 3pt threat than turk.

what we need is toughness, scrappiness and a dogged defender. if we are fortunate, greg will be our 3rd scoring option, not hedo.

please don't let this be a 5 year deal. 3 years max! if martell is not expected to make recovery, let us know. martell is a much better shooter than turk.; 11:01 AM
Scott Patershall said...: No way we can get Devin Harris. He is the future for NJ, but maybe Jose Calderon? Alot of people want this experienced PG, but if Blake comes off the bench when will Bayless get PT? Blake is a good compliment to our team. He shoots the 3 well and has a steady hand... I really hope we get the Turk! He has the tools that we need. Can shoot, drive, pass, a little D... Battier hasn't driven to the hole since college and is 33 yrs old... Please don't go there...; 11:23 AM
Pami said...: Turk is good, but Steve Nash would be better! Rudy can do everything that Turk can do, with a higher percentage.; 11:41 AM
Samuel said...: George:

I love Roy and would agree that he is a good 1v1 defender. He is however HORRIBLE at weak-side defense. srsly.

Turk is fine for 3 years max! no more please!; 11:52 AM
Baller22 said...: Well its reported that they have come to a deal. No verbal commitment yet though. I really hope that they know what their doing and that this will work for the Blazers.

Go Blazers; 11:58 AM
blake,roy,turk,aldridge,oden!!!!!!!!! said...: yea get turk! if we do i have a feelin we will go far!!!!!!!!!; 12:05 PM
DT said...: I'm worried about what this does to Rudy, Batum, and Webster (even if he isnt healthy). We need to let them grow together, Hedo may make us better now, but does he make us better long term? I just hope this doesn't turn into a "trader bob" team again. I would hate to see Outlaw, Rudy, Batum and Webster tear it up with another team per the Jermaine O'Neal deal. KP--don't be Whitsitt.; 12:06 PM
maginnis03 said...: if we land hedo (which looks like we will) it would put us in a better position as a team and in the trade catagory. with hedo we should still keep one small forward for backup but trade the other two (batum, outlaw, or webster). Everyone says we should sign a free agent point guard but why not trade for one? Batum has great upside and all the nba knows that, we could get decent talent from an outlaw trade and same with martel. I think if we sign hedo it would not only help the team on the court, but hopefully our front office takes advantage of the depth at the SF position to trade for a decent PG. No matter what happens this off season, signing turkoglu can only make the blazers better.; 12:13 PM
twodogs said...: I think we need to leave the forwards alone. We already have a log jam. I love when the team stays the same for several years, builds those bonds they need to play well together, and grows on us fans. Trading players too often is what got us into that "jailblazers" era.

If anything we either need a pointguard, or just leave the team as is.; 12:20 PM
Shawn said...: I knew after watching the last season that the Blazers had something special going. Hedo is a fantastic fit for this team and can only help their chances of going deep into the playoffs next season. That said, as if the Blazers weren't overloaded at the 3 before, they sure are now. Based on some other things I've heard, I think it's safe to say that we'll be saying goodbye to Outlaw before the start of next season. At least, I certainly hope he's the one they'll trade. Not that I didn't like Outlaw, but his inconsistency and his questionable decisions on the court at times hurt the Blazers, and with Hedo we have little to worry about with those two things. Sadly though, I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see Batum get moved instead, just because he is very similar to Hedo in capability, with a lot more to learn. I'm hoping KP will see this as a mentoring opportunity with Batum because in time I think Batum will be a better all-around player. Hedo is not a young player, and if you really want to build for the future, keep Batum around and he'll be ready to be a true starter in a season or two, when it'll be time to have Hedo come off the bench or he goes elsewhere.; 12:45 PM
Alp said...: cmon guys Hedo is a great player. He can play in positions 1 to 4 and he plays all of them preety well. At the playoffs when rest of the Magic team were unable to do anything except looking at Hedo's hands, he took the ball and created magic. Magic should try to keep him in my opinion if they want to be the champion next year.

Also travis please go and watch magic's games at playoff to see how Hedo is a great player. Now Brandon Roy has all the burden over his shoulders and Hedo will relax him a bit too. Hedo is a decent shooter and dribbler. He would penetrate in, take all the attention and make anyone at downtown to score a three-pointer as he always does in Orlando. As Barrett have said he will make LaMarcus and Greg better. Maybe Greg will be the next Superman who knows.

So the thing I wanna tell is that if Portland can sign Turkoglu, they would make a big step to Championship next season. And we should accept that Hedo is a lot better than rudy..

Finally I would like to say that I agree with corybauer "Even if you consider the position Hedo will be playing to be overloaded, look at it this way. He is the BEST player of all the guys competing for that position."; 12:46 PM
serhat said...: first of all, i wanna state that hedo cannot be compared to artest. lakers made the biggest mistake ever by signing him instead of ariza. he will mess up team chemistry and i can say even now that lakers are out of the championship race.
hedo will fit in so well within the blazers. blake is a true pg. roy is roy. aldridge has a great touch from outside. and oden and pryz are solid inside. with hedo in the lineup the opponents will need to guard one more man since he can drop 25 or more any night, he is no batum. this will give more space not only to aldridge but to roy and oden. actually some times they will be like orlando with 4 good shooter guys outside and a solid C inside.
when the subs come in such as bayless and rudy, they can go smaller and play a faster run tactic. this way any one of bayless, rudy, and hedo can dribble with the ball and give the opponent no time to run back to get their positions. i also think that rudy and hedo with their superior knowledge of the game thanks to their european background, can get along very well and give another dimension to the blazers' game.
hedo doesnt mind taking less shots either. actually he enjoys dishing more i think. and hes got all the experience you need. hes been playing playoff games since the beginning of his nba career with the kings. im just very excited to see him in portland. if the deal goes through i'll be a big fan of blazers..; 12:48 PM
millertime said...: outlaw can't board huh? your right but why trade a player that cant play defence cant rebound for another player that can't do the same things with lower shooting % and who is older he also will cost more. stop saying i don't get it either.cause it makes me think you don't know what you taking about. aleast i know why you want him,hes a vet, pretty good shooter(volume shooter),he can play the point alittle. did i miss anything cause that is not along list of reasons why we would want him.

blake can play defence. blake shut down lots of point guards this year including your belove harris cheak it out. your making things up now

some of you are just talking out your ass.......samual ya wtf; 12:50 PM
don said...: I don't see Hedo doing anything for the Blazers, period. He doesn't help us in the post, he gives us a perimeter threat but we have better perimeter shooters on the team already. I was really hoping for a Shawn Marion deal to materialize. A tough forward who could take pressure off the post players and the outside shooters, and we could get him cheaper than Hedo.; 12:50 PM
Ethan said...: MB had it totally on point!
--------------------------
Toronto is just a team that won't talk serious about or with Hedo...they just get on their knees and say to Hedo "Please come to our team"...meanwhile the blazers talk serious business!
--------------------------
The Blazers need a true veteran PG...Andre Miller, Devin Harris, and Steve Nash our the veteran help that our team needs. We need to trade T-Law, Blake, Shav, M. Ruffin, and Raef for money and PG's. BUT DONT TRAKE C-FRYE!!! he's da man!
------------------------
Watch out Lakers...you got some serious competion..KOBE...he's no match 4 B-ROY and the L-Train
GO BLAZERS!!!!!!
-Ethan; 12:53 PM
Rex Pearson go BLAZERS!! said...: This would be freakin PERFECT!!! Trade outlaw and blake outlaws a nervous player and blakes already shown what he can do and cant improve none their NO good! So get rid of those two and pick up andre if its possible and let mills and bayless learn from it. Pick up turk also turks the man and i think hed be GREAT!!!! GO BLAZYS!!

Starting 5
Andre Miller/ Jerryd bayless
Bradon Roy/ Rudy Fernandez
Hedo Turkoglu/ Nicolas Batum, M. Webster
LaMarcus Aldridge/ Jeff Pendergragh
Joel Pryzbilla/ Greg Oden; 1:18 PM
don said...: That was fast!

According to AP, Hedo has agreed to become a Blazer. I only hope Nate knows what he's doing.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJKiUMcGJeoFsSZ6M027WIZAGGwgD99764EO0; 1:32 PM
jwoo73 said...: I agree with some of your points, MB. For me, the best thing about Hedo is possibly his ability to pass the ball into the bigs off of pick and roll. However, in most other aspects - even if he performs at peak level - I don't see him adding much to the team. In many ways, I think he detracts. I don't always agree with Kelly Dwyer, but his article "Does Portland know that Hedo is Turkoglu is 30" on yahoo sports raises many of my concerns (his age being the least of my concerns).; 1:32 PM
T.G. Averett said...: Well, looks like Hedo agreed in principle and will be a blazer. At first I didn't like it but after watching him in the playoffs, and YouTube highlights, I think it is a good move.

A lot of people have focused on his stats, but the actual physical numbers (not percentages) are similar to Roy's. With that in mind, consider the options. Roy won't have to work as hard, which should make him more spectacular for longer periods of time throughout a game. Hedo can handle the ball, so now we have a giant on the wing to feed it to aldridge, oden and pryz. Plus, he's not a Kobe or lebron, so no he isn't going to demand the ball, but when he gets it he WILL make things happen.

Overall, I'm glad we finally have a veteran presence. Plus I don't care what anybody says Steve Blake is awesome, and with this move, I don't think we will be acquiring a guard, because Hedo played point in high school and will have some time at point forward here in Portland.

That's my input, not that it matters as it is happening anyway, but here's looking forward to the new season.

By the way Mike, love the blog and the in game commentary, keep up the good work.

Thanks; 1:35 PM
Douglas Moore said...: And so it begins..... yet another promising NBA team starts to unravel by giving up on their young superstars with high ceilings and settling for overpaid veterans on the downside of their career....i'm sick of it....; 2:13 PM
KRVM Brad the Brokendown old man BWTB said...: I'm against getting Hedo. Nothing against him, his skill level and experience helped take Orlando to the finals, BUT, we have an amazing free agent class about to hit next year and in reality, why isn't anyone talking about LeBron coming to Portland. Even LeBron, although he publicly doesn't admit, knows that in 2-ish years, the Blazers could be on a roll for 10 years. You are judged by your championships and LeBrons window could be closing fast. Even for the luxury tax penalty, the $$$$$ Portland would bring in with year in and year out championships, would EASILY offset this. THINK BIG PORTLAND !!!; 2:46 PM
Raymond said...: I wasn't sure about this move in the beginning and was pretty supportive since KP and his staff knows what he's doing.. We are definately going to trade one of the SM and most like Travis... But for who? Is KP saying PG is not the primary need as a smokescreen? Or does he have something else in store? Mike conley or Kirk hinrich sounds like reasonable PG's to get... Also I feel really bad for Martell.. worked so hard and lost him starting job and maybe playing time this season cause of his injury.

Pg-Blake/Bayless (or PG traded for)
Sg-Roy/RUdy/webster
Sm-Hedo/Batum/webster
Pf-Aldridge/Hedo/Pendergraph (maybe Bass)
C-Oden /Prz; 3:28 PM
jim said...: just listen what LeBron Paul Pierce Howard and Kobe think about Hedo. He makes others better and creates matchup problems. Don't just look at the stats. Come on you all know basketball...; 3:43 PM
Grant said...: i like hedo as a player, but if it means losing rudy i don't think it's fair. and i realize i'm not kp but i think that we need rudy to be a big contributor for the blazers win and what i think we should do to keep rudy and hedo is trade steve blake or jayerrd bayless and play the one we don't trade with roy and rudy in a three person rotation at the two guard spots. talk about match up problems, have roy or rudy at the point and the other at the 2 guard position and with hedo at the 3, who could possibly match up with those three?; 3:53 PM
ONUR said...: Yeah we all know he's a bad defender but I think team needs a veteran glue that can stick together all the parts. Hedo will do it as he did in florida. Obviously, he's not a very good shooter, not a defender, not so strong nor so fast, not even played an all star game but also he's brave to take reponsibility even last seconds, he can turn a monster in 4rd quarter with all aspects of ballgame.. Is he expensive??? Just persuade him to get a low deal then sit and watch team; 3:58 PM
Travis said...: after watching the finals, i was not overly impressed with turk. in the context of the western conference regular season & playoffs, he may be a good player, but is not a difference maker. against a lkr team with phil jackson, kobe, artest, odom, gasol & bynum this deal is NOT worth it. we need to find a different way. the deal should be 3 years max, as hedo is 30 and not worth $20mil against our cap in the '12-'13 and '13-'14 seasons. i may be a crazed/nearly rabid fan, but my most sincere opinion of this situation is that we need to take account of the bad over-inflated contracts that left the team at the bottom of the league. in this particular instance, the worry is not about a failure of character, but a failure of abilities. when hedo is in his mid thirties, i want to be watching nic, rudy, lamarcus, greg, jarryd, brandon & martell. instead we may be watching turk while a couple of those guys have left to other teams. if this signing goes down, i hope i am wrong. the reality of the luxury tax in the nba however makes me want to voice my opinion thoroughly. i feel my point of view is sound, and my sincere desire is to see PORTLAND's team succeed in the long term. we are bidding against ourselves, and should not constrain our future by signing free agents, most especially when we have management that is so good at the nba draft process.; 4:36 PM
bwuiso said...: I still can't see the logic in gettin a 31 yr old SF that can't play defense at this price?! We have 3 capable SF right now and NEED a PG and a backup (tough) PF is all and we're there- we won 24 games last year! tied for 2nd most in the West! Blake is a HUGE vulnerability on D and can only shoot 3's on offense- he's not a drive to the basket threat- I'd LOVE to see us get someone like Ramon Sessions- a 23 yr old PG with upside and skills and McDyess as a backup PF~ NOT happy about getting Turk I don't see the logic and this is one of the few if not the 1st time I didn't see eye to eye with what Pritchard is doing~ maybe he's working a sign and trade with Toronto for Calderon? Most likely not and I'm upset as a long time Blazer fan to be getting Turkoglu- why not see if Martell can bring it he looked amazing in the preseason before getting hurt- this undoubtedly rids us of Outlaw who I feel is better than Turk.... Also can't figure out why they don't see Blake as a weak spot on this team- him getting ran around by Brooks is what lead to us losing to Houston in the playoffs, Oden and others getting fouls all year, and TERRIBLE pick and roll D- sorry just voicing my frustration- I love the Blazers and hope they figure it out, they were so much fun to watch last year & I'm excited as I've ever been for this coming up year....; 4:57 PM
oldschoolblazer said...: The Blazers still need a back up power forward and IMO Antonio McDyess is that player that they at that spot.
Mark ‘Dyess’ down for a double-double each night. After re-joining Detroit mid-season, the polite veteran posted a workmanlike 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. McDyess could replace Yao in Houston, where he, coincidentally, has his off-season home. Make him an offer KP and let him know Portland is where he needs to be if he wants a RING. The Blazers need McDyess as their back up power forward/Center.; 5:06 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: Man, some of y'all are a kick in the pants. You'd think someone just crapped in your Cheerios, the way some of you folks are reacting.

Tell ya what, if you're really this bent outta shape over the move, root for another team. I had a hard enough time getting a mini pack of tickets for '09-'10 season.

Basically, Hedon't need you whinny butts(see, Hedo fans can pun too). Honestly, to loose your minds so easily is pathetic. The first scrap of news saying that Rudy got all butt-hurt over it, and y'all are scrambling about like Chicken Little. Did you even read the article that you're commenting on? Rudy. Doesn't. Care. Screw your heads on! His agent is spinning this crap to drum up interest and you fell for it!

So chill out. That, or go away. We need your comments like a dog needs an iphone. A little spirited discourse is always welcome, but this juvenile drivel I've been reading is downright awful. If you know so much about the sport, why aren't you a GM?

While I'm at it; please make an effort to use the spelling and grammar lessons that we all learned in elementary school(most browsers are equipped with spell check; just right-click on the comment window to engage it). I used to be lazy about capitalizing the proper words because I thought it was kinda cool and edgy, but really, it's just lazy. And for the love of all that is good, use paragraph breaks. I try to read every comment, but I am getting a headache from some of the abysmal spacing in these comments. Finally, a short lesson:

There=place/time
ex:Over there! There once was a...
Their=possessive
ex: They had their...
They're=contraction of "they are" ex: They're going to...

Whew! Sorry about all that, but it needed to be said. I know the written language is going through some serious changes these days, but some things are sacred, and sacrificing these elementary principles only creates confusion and dilutes the message. I don't mean to be a know-it-all, but this is just one of my pet peeves. So again, sorry to subject y'all to my obsessive side.

Back to Blazers... Get over it whiners, they know what they're doing. Hedo rocks. Get used to it.

Go Blazers.; 5:32 PM
mike_barret said...: Batum WHOOO???.... i dont understand why everyone thinks nic batum is the future...i mean seriously! sureee hes a great hustler but to me hes gone before outlaw and webster atleast they both can score..batum hasnt proven ANYThING. i say get rid of him and get turk! hedo's got a great game..like mike barret said hes a perfect fit! and keep outlaw as off the bench..batum webster blake for a pg like andre miller.

miller/bayless
roy/rudy
hedo/outlaw
aldridge/uhhohhh??
oden/prizzy; 6:00 PM
whitefeather said...: Ok looks like Hedo is done deal..We now need to pursue good point guard. Jose Calderone or Devin Harris looks very good to me..But no more talk of Nash or Kidd please..thier old and yes still good and have couple more years left..but not what you Build a YOUNG future contender around. And we need a hardnose tough guy in the inside that can help portland contend with the nba's best.; 6:01 PM
MGB said...: From Oregonlive:

"""The Oregonian has learned that free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu has rejected an offer to sign with the Trail Blazers and has ended negotiations with the team.

He will leave town tomorrow morning."""

That's a bummer!

MB, can you confirm this?; 6:34 PM
Joseph said...: how about Rasheed?
he is talented,both in offence and defence.
he can be a great teacher for L.A and G.oden.; 6:37 PM
Stephen said...: Turkoglu will add something. He is a good player. But this IS the wrong move for this team. KP is dumping the long term for a guy, who probably already peaked last year, and sticking us with him for 5 YEARS!!! This goes against how this team was built, and smacks of a big move for the sake of a big move. A big move should be the right move, and this isn't it. David Lee or Milsap are the best moves I see right now. That said, I will cheer for whoever ends up a Blazer. In KP I currently have my doubts, but I remain optimistic.; 6:51 PM
Raymond said...: Woah... what just happened? Did toronto just rob us of Turkeyglue?! Mike do u know the story behind this? If he left Portland for an extra couple of mil... !...!; 6:55 PM
TPN WEB DESIGN said...: HEDO IS COMING TO TORONTO BABY!!! WOO HOO!!!; 7:28 PM
baddawg said...: HeDOn't belong here anyway. now we will see the genius of KP.

Remember, none of these free agent deals are done. Nothing is signed. Let's start the bidding.; 7:29 PM
jordan said...: start off by saying we dont need hedo. he is a great player in stan van gundy's offense. other than that i can't see him succeding with greg oden or L.A. they just dont have that style. i think we could make a small move by getting Hinrich and his three point magic and his strong defense that we are really lacking in the guard position. we can also save our money and let kobe finish his career in the next two years and save our money for lebron or Chris Paul someone that can take over for us and let Brandon Roy and Lamarcus do there magic as the second wheel. think about getting Lebron in Portland he makes anderson Varejao look amazing and delonte and mo look like all stars. think about him with B. Roy L.A. G.O. and Bayless maybe a future leaping star. thats all give it one more year. one more thang, instead of Travis Outlaw out, we can get more out of Channing Frye and let Outlaw play Power forward who doesnt take much money because of choice.; 7:31 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: No Turk? Oh well. I still think it would have been a good move, but I guess the deal wasn't there. So it goes.

...Nash?

In KP I still trust. Go Blazers.; 7:46 PM
Rick said...: I am all for getting any player.. a point guard with a veteran stature and a good record w/ plenty experience would be great.. but to trade for one of our guards and/or small forwards would be accepting for our fans.. but you can't just sign another player... make the deal w/ rudy fernandez and carry on the 2010 season with the same team

i just got news from nba.com that the deal with hedo is off! Look if the blazers do look for another player, they should try & make a deal with more sense, hedo would have been great! but you got a team, they made it far with the team they had last year.. and please will the blazers just put their beliefs in jarred bayless for once! lol.; 8:20 PM
Cody said...: sigh.... i personally thought hedo would be a great fit. but in reality he would have just been an add on. i do think the getting a backup power forward with some muscle would greatly enhance the already great blazers. a carlos bozzer type if you will. but i also do think a trade is imminent. travis outlaw, steve blake, and maybe martell webster.i really do think though that rudy fernandez should be PG. he wouls match perfectly.he is great at assists, and face it brandon roy is the ball handler most of the time. rudy brings a great outside shot and can drive down the middle. perfect; 10:11 PM
rob10sblazerfan said...: Mike: any chance we make a run at Shawn Marion know that he will be on the market?; 10:39 PM
Rudy said...: In KP we trust has to do with the draft. He has still yet to prove he can do anything aside from that. No major trades, no major free agent signings and Hedo came to visit Portland on a perfect day and they STILL couldn't seal it. May or may not be KP's fault but all that matters are the results. Did he get played? Did he not understand the landscape he was dealing with? Does he have a plan B/C?

I don't believe in KP we trust right now. Prove you can do more than be good at drafting talent KP.; 11:11 PM
Patrick said...: Hedo? Who needs him. 50 million over 5 years is way too much. Let Toronto have him. Let's see how a healthy Martell looks with this team. I dont there's a need to panic.; 11:33 PM
dbc said...: Hala-@#%@-lula - lets resign Frye and call it good; 11:36 PM
Stephen said...: Get David Lee or Paul Milsap!!!; 11:54 PM
Tim W. said...: I never thought Hedo was a very good fit, anyway. He needs the ball in his hands to be most effective and that would take it out of Roy's hands. the Blazers are stocked at SF anyway, and what they need most is a veteran SF. Why is there no talk of Mike Bibby? He's a veteran PG who's played in many big games, can shoot the 3 and doesn't actually need the ball to be effective.

And keep in mind, I'm a Raptors fan. I think he's a better fit in Toronto than Portland, although I'm not liking his lack of defense, at all. I don't think the Blazers were in a position that they needed to overpay someone, especially someone like Turkoglu. They could do absolutely nothing and still improve on their 54 win season. Why not wait until next season when they'll have more cap room and when they will be better free agents available?; 12:03 AM
dbc said...: Seriously - good luck Toronto with Hedonism @ 56m - down a rat hole. IMHO -We dodged a huge bullet. Lets have a little faith in the development of our core, kick ass in 09 - and be a player in the summer of Lebron. You want a ring - Lebron, Dwayne, Chris? Hedo obviously doesn't.

THINK BIG!; 12:08 AM
jwoo73 said...: Thank the basketball Gods for sending Hedo to Toronto. It's for the best. Shawn Marion? No thank you.; 1:08 AM
mrblazer said...: In the end, i completely agree with Turkoglu. I never thought these words would ever come out of my mouth, but....KP, what the hell were you thinking? Turkoglu is not a good fit.

Now that there is no chance he'll be a blazer, i can let it fly a little. I can't believe we were trying to acquire a guy who needs the ball to be effective, is a poor defender, and requires a long and cap crippling salary.

Now, if we didn't have Roy, it would make some sense. You can give up a little defense when you're trying to find "that" guy for your offense. However, we don't need "that" guy. We already got him. We need complimentary pieces.

If you're going to go after another "that" guy, wait until 2010 when "that" guy might actually be available. Turkoglu wasn't what i had in mind when we made the Zach Randolph trade. I set the bar a little higher.

I don't know if there is anybody available, right now, that makes a lot of sense for this team. However, i hope we stay away from the FA crop. There may be a couple that wouldn't be too bad, but i don't see any that are worth long lucrative contracts.

I just can't believe Turk was our target. A poor defender who undoubtedly would take the ball out of Roy's hands?!?! Well, better to be lucky than good, i guess. I think the basketball gods just decided portland has had enough bad contracts for one decade.

I know many would have loved to see Turk, here, and maybe you all are right. On the other hand, i do know i speak for a significant portion of the fan base when i say Turk's rejection came much more as a relief than a bummer.

I still can't believe it. I hope someone on KP's staff dissented when it came to Turk as a target. If not, i'm truly nervous. Well, i'm nervous, anyway, truth be told. But it would be more comforting knowing not the entire front office was fully erect for giving Turk 10 million, annually, for five years.; 2:24 AM
millertime said...: ya no turk duh? like their was another option. smoke and mirrors smoke and mirrors. a bear not a butterfly; 3:23 AM
Herr said...: So no Hedo?

I think Toronto is going to destroy themselves, or play greed in this off season.

First off, they gave away 3 guys to sign Hedo and offered a whooping pile of cash. They know Portland would like Hedo, so my chances are they are going to ask for a player like Travis Outlaw, and Raef's contract along with some money.

That's my guess. My say in all of this is don't take it. We don't really need Hedo. Re-sign our allstars.; 3:59 AM
civil said...: Well everyone, are worries are over, Turk is going to Toronto! YEA!; 5:10 AM
Kaplan said...: Hey Guys,
Look at the real picture on your team, than discuss that what we need to be Championship? we need the player like Hedo or not.
Let's see the statistics of 2008-2009.
Rudy:PPG-7,5 RPG-2,8 APG-1,0 Outlaw:PPG-9,6 RPG-3,2 APG-0,8 Steve:PPG-6,4 RPG-2,1 APG-5,0 Aldrige:PPG-9,0 RPG-5,0 APG-0,4 Przybilla:PPG-2,0 RPG-3,9 APG-0,3 Oden:PPG-5,0 RPG-4,3 APG-0,0,
even the all star of our team is ROY:PPG-16,8 RPG-4,4 APG-4,0
So, 1- there is no second player has point over 10PPG.
2-There is no any player has ribaund over 5RPG even Roy,
3-There is no any player has over 5APG even ROY.
4- the average statistic for first and best 7 player of team is PPG-8,0 RPG-3,6 APG-1,6.
C'ONNN, you don't still need the players like Hedo has stc.PPG-16,8 RPG-4,3 APG-4,9.
How do you think being the championship of NBA with the current team? Wake upppppppp
Blazers needs HEDO.; 5:26 AM
Andy B. said...: That sucks how he backed out of a verbal deal. Funny satire article about his decision.

Turkoglu Demands Trade out of Toronto; 7:11 AM
KRVM Brad the Brokendown old man BWTB said...: Think BIG Portland, Go for LeBron !!!; 9:34 AM
jwoo73 said...: Toronto will not be interested in trading Hedo to Portland. Colangelo targeted him and he can have him as far as I am concerned.; 10:01 AM
millertime said...: you still crying about turk???; 10:40 AM
rob10sblazerfan said...: Kaplan: where did you get those stats, they arnt even close to being correct.; 10:43 AM
fivehundreddogs said...: Is it possible that we brought Hedo over with the goal of driving up his price? I mean, at this point are we the only team with any real flexibility? Did Detroit make any deals yet? Is there something mighty in the works, and we've only seen the opening act?

I know that I probably give these guys more credit than is due, but I'm wondering if there is a master plan here that is yet to show it's head. This Hedo move seemed a little fast to me, even though I thought it was a good one. Did we just bait Toronto into locking themselves into a pair of concrete slippers? I guess the real question is: who's next?

Go Blazers.; 10:54 AM
millertime said...: Kaplan.... I don't even know what to say to that. you have a good argument if you where talking to someone that is stupid. nothing you said was correct not one single stat. where do these guys keep coming from.; 11:38 AM
Steve said...: It's all about Martell!

We all know that if, last season, we had the Martell that we all were drooling over in pre-season, we could have easily been a 60 win team.
Sadly, Martell let us all down for yet another season with yet another injury. I think this question mark was what KP was trying to address with the Turkoglu signing. Martell has a HUGE up side and we have all glimpsed it but his body doesn't seem to ever want him to play a full season. Hedo would have been a very dangerous match-up threat at this position.
Nic is going to be a top notch player in the NBA and I want him to be on our team when he peaks.
Travis, on the other hand, is starting to give me the vibe that he may have ALREADY peaked. Maybe there were points during the playoffs where Nate asked too much of him but his shaky performance has finally convinced me that he is expendable. But what could we get for him?
A lot of people here seem to think we need a PG but I disagree. I think that Blake has the proper attitude and rapport with our starters and he always comes out of the off-season with improvements in any deficient areas. Two years ago we asked him to get better at 3pt shooting and defense and the improvements during last season were phenomenal in both departments. People seem to forget that Blake was a champ in college and can handle himself in big games. I say we need to hang on to Blake.
Bayless is going to be a superstar and he is another guy that I want to grow up on our team.
IMO we don't NEED a PG.
What we really need is a healthy Martell. With that, everything else, all aspects of our team, come into sharper focus. If Martell is going to fail us again, we need a replacement that is a threat right NOW. Not another project. Like everyone else here, I feel that we are close. I can almost smell a WCC simply by adding a year of experience to the team we have.

But it is all about Martell.; 11:50 AM
Shawn said...: So Hedo went to the Raptors instead. Oh well. He's a great player, but Portland was overloaded at SF. I've said it before in comments on earlier blogs, but the Blazers should really look at trading Outlaw, some draft picks and cash for a tough defensive 4. Preferably a veteran but not someone who's ancient.; 11:51 AM
phi slamma said...: Fivehundreddogs: I like poker as much as the next guy, but I don't see the blazers pulling out a 50 million dollar bluff. If Toronto calls, Portland would be out an awful lot of cash for a player they didn't want. I don't see that scenario playing out.; 12:31 PM
hg said...: Steven:

I agree with the exception of besides Martell, It depends on Greg.

hg; 12:32 PM
Herr said...: One thing I admire about Ron Artest is that he knows what he has to do to win a championship, unfortunantly joining the Lakers won't be his fit.

If he wants money and Canada over winning an NBA championship than so be it. I will just say this as what I truely believe: The Blazers have a much better chance at winning the title than the Raptors do.

As for whoever claimed we "need Hedo". I highly disagree. This Blazer team has all but the experience. A veteran like Hedo would have certainly helped, but isn't needed. Thats my opinion. This team has the experience of winning and has experienced some physical basketball against the Rockets. Each season they grow and grow.; 1:04 PM
mackyfad said...: MB,

Talk us off the bridge here! Why was your 7-3 blog post removed? It was hardly controversial. What is plan B? We look to you for wit and wisdom, ha ha. Where do we go from here? Seems like an A-bomb was just dropped on Tualatin. Hope we can regroup.; 2:01 PM
dbc said...: You'd think a 30 year old guy, who just had a taste of success playing in the NBA finals would prioritize a championship caliber team over travel time or which city your wife prefers, when plotting your next move. I'd argue Hedo was lucky there was a team as good as the Blazers that still had the $$$ to make a competitive offer.
I thought from the start he was a waste of $$$ - especially given a 5 year commitment - but it is even more clear when you witness his decision to play for a perennial eastern division doormat - who just gutted their team in the process, over perhaps the most young exciting team in the league that most objective NBA analysts believe is entering a prolonged championship window.; 2:19 PM
ClubSportHero said...: Why do ppl want Andre Miller?
This leaves me addled, muddled, and flabbergasted. B Roy creates open jump shots for his teammates off of double teams and his dribble penetration, we need a PG who can hit an open jump shot and Andre Miller is arguable the worst PG in the league at that. Heeeello; 2:40 PM
phi slamma said...: MB: I concur with Mackyfad. Just why was your 7-3 post removed? Please don't tell me that the blazer bureaucrats are enforcing censorship on what should and should not be said during sensitive times such as these. Are our true opinions encouraged here, or are we merely subject to stating only what is deemed palatable to the majority? I ask this because I sense my opinion will only find its way in print when it is not found offensive to the majority of blazer fans. I will say this: Most of the people that express their thoughts on such a site as this are hard-core blazer fanatics. The fickle fans are easily offended, but the long-term blazer supporters have the skin of a rhino. Let us speak our minds without fear of political correctness. I say this quite humbly and with great respect for your contributions to the organization.; 3:10 PM
mackyfad said...: Beautifully said Phi Slamma!; 3:35 PM
phi slamma said...: Our Independence Day is indeed a day of reflectivity. Few know that our second president, John Adams, actually died the exact same day as Thomas Jefferson, ( who was instrumental in writing our constitution). The day was July 4th, and the 50th anniversary of our Independence. God bless America. The truth is often stranger than fiction.; 6:31 PM
don said...: Now it's being reported that the Blazers are going after David Lee. To me, this makes a lot more sense than the Turkoglu fiasco. Lee is a dynamic banger who can score inside -- something the team really needs!

On another note, I'd also like to know why that column was pulled, Mike. I think an explanation is better than letting everyone speculate about the reason...; 7:04 PM
MGB said...: I'm interested in this missing blog too! I didn't get to read it. :(

Why was it pulled? I heard it was just a glitch and it'd be back up soon, but that hasn't happen.

No way we still might sign Hedo is there? I guess until July 8th anything is possible, but it sound like there was no way he was signing with us and a deal is made with the Raptors. Of course if he broke one deal he could break another.; 7:13 PM
BIG ROB said...: yep; 8:28 PM
hg said...: Mike:

I too would like to know what happened. I thought I did something wrong until I found out the other bloggers were in the same boat.

Did you do a no - no

boy, no body is saying anything. David Lee sounds interesting.

hg; 9:06 PM
Travis said...: now the question of david lee arises. he poses many of the same problems as turk. he will want too much money over too long of a period, and too much playing time. unless we trade lamarcus, this doesn't work. lamarcus should play about 36min a game. that leaves 12min of back-up power forward time. if you add a few minutes at center, we have a 15min slot open, 18min max. this slot is worth about $4-6mil a year when considering the way the salary cap effects a team. lee would have to assure us that he is comfortable coming off the bench, and be the fourth big man in the rotation. given that he played 34.9min a game last season, and is probably looking to be paid at least $8mil a year over the next 5 or 6 seasons, i don't see how this will work either. if we need to sign a free agent, it should be brandon bass. if we are going to trade, ronny turiaf fits perfectly, and has even been mentioned by b-roy as someone who could join this blazer crew. just because we have $9mil in cap space doesn't mean we have to use it all. in the longer view, the less we end up being over the salary cap in the future, the more sustainable our roster will be, and easier to maintain & manage. bloated contracts for role players do not fit. targeting sustained competitiveness and growth are the most prudent decisions. in 17min a game (half of what he played last year), lee would average about 8pts and 6 rebs, which might not be worth $9-11mil over the next five or six seasons. it might sound crazy, but we need to aim a little lower in the free agent market. in distinction to turk however, lee would be more worthwhile over time. when joel is aging, lee might garner more minutes as he will be in his prime. realistically, i'd rather get bass or turiaf, and see how pendergraph & others might develop over the years.

GO BLAZERS; 9:39 PM
andrew said...: I don't know why people think we can get Lebron James....He would not come to Portland over say, New York or even Cleveland or even LA for that matter. Stop kidding yourselves, LeBron James is not coming to Portland!; 12:26 AM
Jerry said...: I'm kind of glad that Hedo is going to Toronto. Not because he isn't a good fit here in Portland because I think he'd make a definite improvement over Batum as a starter but I just think he's too old to sign for 5 years and 50+ mil.

I still see a lot of talk about trading Travis. As I've said before there are only a few better "young" small forwards out there and none that their teams would be willing to let go without us also giving up something else valuable.

We have an elite center, power forward and shooting guard and several more than adequate small forwards. Our weakest link is at the PG. Like most, I'm happy with Blake and don't want to see him go but I'd prefer him play backup minutes.

So if we're going to do a trade (I'm not saying that we should), Like most, I'd like to see us bring in a PG that can both shoot the 3 or drive to the basket like Parker, Paul or D Williams.

Problem is, you have to give up something to get something. Assuming that we can't touch Oden, Joel, Brandon or LA then we just don't have anything good enough to offer in return for one of the truly elite PGs.

Our best bet is to trade one of our many small forwards for a PG.

Batum shows a ton of potential if he can start being more of an offensive threat. I see him with as much potential as Pippen. So let's hold on to him and make sure he gets minutes to mature.

We need to also keep Martell at least long enough to prove to the league that he can play. I would suggest giving him minutes at the shooting guard when Brandon is out.

Travis has the most value by far but he's also extremely difficult to replace because he's such a good scorer off the bench.

With Travis as the primary bargaining chip, I suppose we could possibly swing a deal for someone as good as Calderon and if so it may be worth it or perhaps we could get a Rajon Rondo but I don't see either of those as being likely so I'm thinking we're best off to do nothing, stand pat and see if the combination of Bayless and Blake gives us what we need at the point.

If and only if we trade away Travis, would I suggest we pick up Shawn Marion because other wise, he's going to be taking minutes away from Rudy/Batum/Martell and at least one of those will be part of our future and therefore need the PT.; 12:40 AM
Benny said...: I'm curious as to what will be the consolation prize.

Is it "The birdman" Chris Andersen? Or maybe Anderson Varejao
Just don't tell me it's Kwame Brown.

There doesn't seem to be anyone left on the board that's interesting or worth taking.

Maybe just give up and save the money to keep the existing players we have on the team when they do become free agents. We have young players and they're not going to settle for low-ball figures thrown at them. Money transcends any potential championship.; 7:26 AM
blitzer1 said...: At least Hedo knew he was not a good Portland fit especially after the Artest announcement by the Lakers. Now let's go get a dynamic point guard. I agree Kevin Harris would be nice.; 8:53 AM
mrblazer said...: David Lee? I'm failing to understand why this money is burning a hole in KP's pocket when all he seems interested in is poor defenders. What about Marion if you're going to take a chance. Ya, the dude is kind of a headcase, but he can defend and rebound. I rather take a chance on a player that has the skills we need than on one that doesn't.

Anthony Parker? If you're nervous about our situation at the 3, he would definitely plug any hole on the perimeter without betting the bank on him. If what i have read is correct, KP is looking to make a big splash in free agency, now and not later, and it doesn't seem to matter whether it makes much sense or not.

On the other hand, whatever KP does, if it doesn't make sense at first, it probably will when he's finally done. I have to believe it will. People don't usually turn from genius and hero to maniacal trigger happy out of control scapegoat over the course of a few months.; 1:32 PM
perrynoid1 said...: Hedo is a better player than his percentages suggest. And would be a great addition to this team. He's better than those on the roster we have now being Outlaw, Batum, and Webster. I've advocated for trading/releasing Travis Outlaw for years. His potential is maxed and isn't all that impressive. I don't forsee Batum as ever being more than what we saw of him this last season and Martell is best suited as a off the bench guy. Having Hedo to play starter at thier position is the smartest choice. Roy up top, Rudy and Hedo on the sides, no team would be able to defend the middle of Aldridge and Pryzbilla (also giving those two more offensive rebounds). I would say this is a move closer to getting a championship.; 4:20 PM
Rick said...: OK jus to clear things up w/ our line-up, the folowing are potential players that will be impact/role/star and will play a good amount of minutes plus could play combo positions next year...

PG- Blake/Bayless/Roy
SG- Roy/Fernandez/Webster/Outlaw
SF- Batum/Outlaw/Fernandez/Webster
PF- Aldridge/Pendergraph?Cunningham
C- Oden/Pryzbilla/Aldridge

With that said let's take that mix/match and create a few different scenarios we can have in a line-up from pos. 1-5 and leavin out the original standard form of line-up.. look at the list carefully so u understand it

Scenario Line-up One
SG1/SG2/SF1/PF1/C1

Line-up 2
PG1/PG2/SF2/PF2/C2

Line-up 3
PG2/SG3/SF3/PF1/C1

Just by looking at those 3 line-up scenarios, notice i used every player and didn't leave one out from the previous list so we'll have a considerable astonishing amount of minutes with just playing 9-10 players and leaving 3 reserves with the problem being our PF position.. notice how we can have a variety of combo guards and a variety of small forwards.. with the PF position, we only have 2 combination's in 2 scenarios.. it is unlikely McMillan will play a 3 or a 5 at the 4 spot because LA is expected to have a large amount of minutes w/ maybe* pendergraph/cunningham avg. 8-12 minutes at the most.. our C position is good because LA can play that position but.. if we have an injury at either the 4/5 spot, then we have to deal w/ signing another player at those positions

so in that case, we should sign one now, maybe david lee but please consider it w/ the x amount of minutes & the different scenarios we could put into play and not x amount of dollars..; 5:11 PM
MGB said...: MB,

The ball was in Hedo's court and he slam dunk us on his way to Toronto, how bout a new blog? What you thought you could have some time off for the 4th? What's wrong with you?!? :); 5:17 PM
jim said...: it is not about stats. Turk makes others better especially Roy. ask Howard and Lewis. He would be a very good fit in portland. Bosh is lucky.; 6:49 PM
DPMalachiXIV said...: RIP CITY NO MATTER WHATEVER HAPPENS I AM BEHIND THIS TEAM NO MATTER WHAT LETS HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN KP HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.; 7:14 PM
millertime said...: roy would make hedo(the mike jordon of turkey) better first off. It is about stats anything else is just your opinion. stats are facts of how player performs in certain areas of the game of basketball which we count and average up to see how a player performs. stats are also how you get in to the hall of fame.so i would say stats matter. stats dont show everything but they give you a pretty good idea. there is a reason the magic signed lewis and let turk go.yep cause hes better. turk also cost to much money for being less then average shooter who dribbles and passes but thats it. when i mean average shooter i mean outlaw is a better shot then turk. lets get on with the hedo thing cause it didn't happen and it not going to happen. kp i trust; 11:08 PM
dbc said...: All quiet on the Western front. Deafening silence - KP & co. undoubtedly feel the public courting of Hedo gave competitors ie: Toronto the information they needed to steal him away. I sense a new level of secrecy which must explain the lack of postings among Blazer commentators.

Also probably suggests deals are being pursued.; 8:38 AM
chris said...: Yes, maybe without advertising to all the other teams who we are targeting and what kind of deal we are gonna do... it may increase our ablity to get some stuff done.; 12:10 PM
Kaplan said...: Millertime,
still slepping.
WAKE UPPPPP
Outlaw is better than Hedo???
Portland had go back home at first round of 2009 playoff with Outlaw has PPG-9,0 RPG-3,0 APG-0,5.
Orlando has conference champion and was playing NBA final with Hedo has PPG-15,8 RPG-4,5 APG-4,8.
:))))))); 4:32 AM

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The Waiting Game Starts

posted: 6/30/2009 at 10:06 PM

PERMALINK | VIEW COMMENTS (123) | LEAVE COMMENT |

Game on.

I've read absolutely everything there is to read on the free agent signing period. I've gone up and down my list of reliable sources, and have had so many conversations on what could, and will, happen I can't even count them. Where does all of this have me? Same place I started, and it's driving me nuts.

Yes, in the past I've gotten hints on what's to come. I've had inside information at times and have either dropped subtle clues, or have simply sat on news. This time it's different. The Blazers' executive team is playing this very, very close to the vest, and all we're left with are rumors and the usual sell jobs by agents.

This, after all, is when the agents are at their best (or worst, depending on your perspective). To say that they use the media during times like this is an understatement. I would bet that 75 percent of the stuff you've heard up to this point has been planted by a player agent. This is not to bang on them. They're just doing their jobs- drumming up support, creating a marketplace, or pushing the value of their clients. They know this is such an emotional time, a few well-placed texts or e-mails will be followed by front-page news.

With that in mind, I always have this unrealistic desire to know everything that's going on- the deals that were close, the rumors that were completely false, and the stuff that was floated that actually worked. Of course, we'll never know most of this stuff. And, even if I'm ever treated to a nugget, which has happened in the past, I'll be forced to lock it away in Fort Knox.

Going off simply what I've heard from league sources (and from no one on our executive team, I assure you), it sounds like catch o' the day for the Blazers will be Hedo Turkoglu. This isn't news to you, I realize. And, we're about to find out if all we've heard has been even the least bit accurate.

When it comes to trade rumors, or rumors of a big signing in the NBA, it's often true, where there's smoke there's usually fire. But, this isn't always the case. Again, the agents have PR machines at their finger tips, and they've become masters at selling high. In short, the illusion they create often becomes real.

You don't need me to recap the events of the day in this free-agent race. Boozer elects to stay in Utah, the Bucks don't exercise the option on Villanueva, Kobe picks up his option, ect. The only reason why I bring up the Boozer situation is, this could greatly affect the Trail Blazers.

For weeks now we've heard that Detroit's first option in the free agent market would be Boozer, followed by Ben Gordon, and then Turkoglu. Now, with Boozer staying in Utah, they can shift their focus to Gordon and Turkoglu. But, late word out of Detroit is, they're not thinking about those two in that order. It's now Turkoglu who is their number-one target, reportedly. Hedo has to be loving this, even if it isn't true. Up goes his price, the bidding war starts, and we get an economics lesson in supply and demand.

The other possibility in all of this, and something I haven't heard discussed a lot, is the fact that you can actually sign and trade free agents. I wrote about this earlier, but didn't explain it very well. So, let's try this again.

The rules state that if you sign a free agent you can't trade him for 90 days, or until December 15th, whichever is later. That's always been the case. BUT, there is a bit of a loophole here. If the free agent you're about to sign is aware that he's going to be traded immediately upon signing, this is legal. So, if a free-agent contract is specifically designed to be a sign-and-trade deal, it's okay.

Going this route would definitely give you a much larger pool or prospects, provided you could find a willing trade partner, and a willing free agent. If a team that's over the cap has a free agent its targeting, it would just have to find a team that's under the cap to help them, and then, of course, you'd have to find a trade that works.

So, even though we've only been hearing about a handful of guys being possible future Trail Blazers, I'm telling you to think outside the box. That's what KP always tells us he does, right? So, should we be set for Andre Miller, Turkoglu, Jason Kidd, or Brandon Bass? If we're to believe what we've been reading, it should be one of those guys. Maybe I'm reaching here, but I don't think it will be. Of course, I could be dead wrong.

You've all made your comments on who you don't like, but I haven't heard as much talk about people you do like, who haven't been discussed yet. Care to fire off about this?

I'll be sitting here, waiting for a text, waiting for an e-mail, and basically waiting for any word. When will it come? Who knows.

Concerning Turkoglu, Orlando fans have already said farewell, knowing the chances are very slim that he'll be back in a Magic uniform next season. There's a great article from today's Orlando Sentinal, written by Mike Bianchi. If you don't know a lot about Turkoglu, outside what you have seen on the court, it's a good piece to read.

I like how Bianchi ended the article talking about Turkoglu, and what he evidently meant to the city, franchise, and fans.

"Time now to say goodbye and good luck to Hedo Turkoglu. Thanks, Turk, for never quitting on the team or second-guessing the coach. Thanks for never being a cancer during the bad times or a prima donna during the good ones. Thanks for never cursing a reporter or kicking a photographer. Thanks for the buzzer-beating 3s and the dribble-drives among the trees. Thanks for always embracing the fans and never disgracing the franchise. Thanks, most of all, for displaying grace on the court and class off of it."

Sounds like some of the stuff written about this current crop of Trail Blazers.

Not sayin', just sayin'.

123 Comments:

Rentasquid said...: Who do I like? I like Steve Nash! I like Gerald Wallace, but dont think he will be a target. I like Bass, as a backup. The problem with all these different guys is the drawbacks that each bring to the team. I just dont see a perfect fit. Probably because the box walls are too high around me.; 11:03 PM
Brian said...: I have also heard Steve Nash's name come up quite a bit, especially now that Phoenix has no idea what way is up right now. Shaq was close to being a Blazer last year and that would have helped Oden develop. No reason why KP and Kerr don't get along and get a deal done. I like the Kirk Hinrich deal the best. Hate to trade anyone from the team but I can see Blake and Outlaw going to the Bulls for Hinrich as well.

24 Hours from now and we will see 09-10 taking shape!; 11:04 PM
jacob said...: If we sign Turkoglu, I will be really pissed off. He's a 30 year old player with a below average PER and below average defense who needs the ball in his hands and will be seeking big money. He would be a terrible, terrible mistake.; 11:07 PM
Avi said...: Boozer was my number 1 (almost) free agent this year. People keep talking about the Blazers needing to get tougher. I couldn't agree more. Boozer would have brought toughness and is a serious scoring threat.

My number 1 player to trade for would be Tony Parker. Although I doubt that San Antonio would ever consider trading him.

I can't wait to hear who the Blazers made an offer to!; 11:15 PM
Denee Longan said...: I'm kind of hoping this economy work in our favor with regards to Hedo. I would be absolutely disappointed if we signed him unless it was for something reasonable like 3 yrs/24 mil or less. And even then... He totally clogs up an area of strength and growth for us (Batum, Rudy, Roy, Martell)
To go off of your suggestion and combine it with the topic of hedo: I like us signing hedo if we immediately use that signing to consolidate talent and bring in an upgrade at the 1 or 4 spots.
I like Hinrich, Devin Harris, Billups and Brooks.
I don't know as much about fours. So I'll let others bang that out.; 12:07 AM
Hien said...: NO TURKOGLU PLEASE. He is an overrated volume shooter. Be as it may, he does create for others, we already have that type of player in Brandon Roy. Hedo would be useless without the ball in his hands. GET SOMEONE BESIDE HEDO PLEASE.; 12:14 AM
Sean said...: My wishlists are Turk or Tayshawn Prince (either one) Devin Harris, McDyes or Brandon Bass.. Ron Artest (maybe) if you're talking about toughness and locked down defense. JKidds for short term is not a bad idea but think he would demand more money and long term since Dallas is his leverage.; 12:38 AM
Travis said...: to start, i'd like to briefly state that i think that this blog should be as positive and inclusive as possible. the best comments and ideas come when someone throws out something that i hadn't thought of, or after a healthy back and forth has caused the posters to fully articulate differing views in detail. sometimes we will come to agree, and others we can agree to disagree. it is disappointing (and a buzz kill) when the blog turns into calling each other idiots, especially since this is supposed to be fun.

more importantly, i hope that signing turkoglu is not going to be the final or only outcome. at age 30 we should sign him for 2 years at max, and i don't think that we need 4 small forwards that all need playing time. i'd take nic and travis over turk any day. i'd also take nic and martell over turk. i'd probably take travis and martell over turk as well. (all this, given that martell gets healthy). if i were an agent trying to drive my clients price, i would try to draw the richest owner into the fold as the starting point.

free agents that i'd like to see signed:
brandon bass
players that might be available long term that i'd possibly like to see brought over in trade:
gerald wallace

again, my strongest hopes are:
-that greg is able to play to his own level of satisfaction
-martell makes a full recovery from his injury
-rudy is started in the backcourt with brandon (no disrespect meant to blake, as we all know he is warrior that has battled through injury and adversity. we still need him, and i'd still give him 25-30min a game)

the shaq rumor is likely to be just another sideways shaq-ism meant to insult joel & greg and/or get in their heads for next year. shaq is probably scared of greg getting in shape, and desperate for an edge the next time that he sees him. yao may be lucky to not have to face greg again next year when, as shaq would put it, "the ninja is ready to climb the ladder to become the shogun." big GO and all the rest of the team have me feeling no necessity or desperation with regard to bringing on new players. jeff pendergraph + what we did last year = let's roll!

vince carter, richard jefferson, carlos boozer, shaq & all the rest begin to seem less relevant as long as we have a back-up power forward that can bang, and good health for the rest of our guys. they will become the past, struggling to tweet their way to stay relevant.

GO BLAZERS; 12:40 AM
Mangas Fox said...: I would guess the 9pm offer went to Roy: a 5-year max contract extension.; 12:41 AM
Sylvie et Guillaume said...: Hi everyone,

I am not on the Hedo bandwagon either ! Adding Hedo is saying to our great young assets that we give up on them. More, with the draftees we picked, it doesn't make sense to add Hedo.

Is J. Calderon available ?? I know that he got a pretty good contract in Toronto but with Bosh likely on the go mode ... Does Calderon really want to be their franchise player for the futur ??? Plus the spanish armada would be in Portland again.
I think that he got like 9 millions a year so maybe for Toronto loosing Bosh, a trade like Travis, Steve + cash or Draft rights ... might be enough for Calderon.
That way, Toronto obtain flexibility for next year FA to keep Bosh and add another big name.
Anyway, I think it is pretty too much to ask !!
I agree with Jacob, Tony Parker is a dream but a legit PG for next year jump to the finals.
keep up the amazing work
Best regards
GOOOOOOO BLAAAAAAAZZEERRRRRSSSS !!!; 1:09 AM
Sylvie et Guillaume said...: Oups I agree with Avi not jacob about Tony Parker !
Also I agree with Jacob that Hedo is not a good fit in Portland scheme.
Apologies; 1:15 AM
mark said...: players i would want:
devon harris,
teyshawn prince,
antonio mcdyess.

players i dont want:
kidd cant shoot or guard anyone,
miller cant shoot,
nash cant guard anyone,
hedo wants too much money,
heinrich is too expensive,
lee is too expensive,
bass is too expensive.; 1:27 AM
PTBob said...: Kirk and McDyess...Filling our most pressing needs for sure. Worry about SF at trade deadline, if Martell isn't making the grade.; 1:28 AM
mrblazer said...: They called Turk's agent. It appears he is their target.

I'm not sure what to think about this. On one hand, i have all the respect for KP. On the other hand, Turk just doesn't seem like a good fit to me. He needs the rock a lot to get the most out of him. I don't see him as a great off the ball perimeter player, which we'll need him to be if he's going to be playing a lot with Brandon.

I think adding Turk takes a lot of time away from Webster, Nick, and especially Rudy. I would be fine with that, but Turk just has too many things about him i'm not really in love with.

His shot selection isn't good. I question his work ethic because i never could understand why it took him so long to become a very good player. His desire to win has a question mark for me for a few reasons. I feel he could be one of those incredibly gifted guys that does just enough work to earn himself a big paycheck, but then relaxes and underperforms. His defense isn't great, and i'm not enthused about his on court behavior. His shot is suspect.

So, all in all, i'm not all that excited about adding him. I think he'll make us better, but would a little more patience bring a much better future? I was for doing a little more in the draft and waiting for 2010 to go after a FA. It just makes sense to me to take 1 more year to more clearly identify our needs, have a FAR superior crop of players to choose from to address them, and quite a bit more money in play to secure them.

I don't talk to other GMs everyday, so i don't know who is available and who isn't other than the FAs. And, like i've said before, i'm not really impressed with this year's FA crop. So, i'm really not too excited about adding anyone, especially if we keep Travis. I've been watching that kid drive me nuts for so many years, now, to the point that i'm almost used to it.

KP and Nate just love the kid, and i guess that is just the way it is going to be. I've never been able to envision five or more rings on the hands of Travis Outlaw, but that's just me. Throw Bayliss in that category, as well. If we're keeping those two, then don't do anything but maybe pick up a serviceable PG. Perhaps give Sac a call and inquire about acquiring Sergio.

Now, having said all that, i give KP the benefit of the doubt and believe in his vision. I will wait to see what we have when training camp comes around. I will say this, though. KP has built his reputation by what he has done in the draft. Now, it is time for him to show what he can do to land the right guys to complete a perennial contender.

I think our team is fine, offensively. I think it is time to shift focus to defense. Hedo doesn't do that, in my opinion. So, we'll just have to see what all KP has up his sleeve before we hit camp. If we do acquire Turk, here's to hoping it's a sign-and-trade deal that involves Outlaw. And for god's sake, could we just find ONE other real PG besides Blake. I didn't know they've gone so out of style.

PS If we renounce the rights to Freeland and Koponen to sign Turk, i will be pissed. That would probably be the one thing KP could do that i would flat out not agree with. If you're going to get that desperate for Turk, you had better believe he's the one, and that's a lot of eggs in the basket of one Hedo. I know KP is a risk taker, but i'd be nervous for him.; 1:46 AM
twollam said...: The rumor mill now is saying that the Pistons have set their eyes on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. This may help to keep the price creep on Turkuglo down. I hope you are on the #'s with your idea. I still have dreams of Devin Harris in a Blazer uniform. Maybe with the concept you have presented some combination could make it appealing for both teams.

Another thought is that the Blazers lose out on using their Mid Level Exception by having cap space, why not have the team we trade our free agent for sign a player like Mcdyess to fill our desire for a hard nosed veteran forward. We can then trade someone like Blake for him, and not only recieve 1 player we want back but 2. It would be like making a 3 way trade where free agency is the 3rd team which makes it much easier to pull off. Blake could then be waived by the team so long as it is done prior to July 30th and then resign with the Blazers. I am not a master of the current bargaining agreement. So I have zero idea if this is allowable or not. Maybe you could shed light on this Mike.

Thanks always love your insight.; 2:04 AM
RipCitySwagger said...: I dont think you can do a sign and trade with Turkoglu. say if the blazers sign him i dont think they can trade him until 12/15/2009; 2:04 AM
AKidNamedCuDi said...: Why Steve Nash? he prefers the up tempo game and he just doesnt fit well with the Blazers. I like Andre Miller And Ron Artest. Hedo Turkoglu is a good player but like Jacob said, hes not that good on defense and isnt really a banger. Ron Artest is. I like Brandon Bass as well. I just dont want to see us go crazy all of a sudden and give away Steve Blake and Travis for one of these guys. Maybe get rid of one of them and get Andre miller and Ron artest. Not Hinrich. Hes really not that great. Jason Kidd is too old. Steve nash is on his way down as well. And what about Jerryd Bayless? i expect hi to shine this year but you cant be adding a third point guard. Jeez, Blake might be getting traded because Bayless is the future. But anyways, I dont know if Ron artest is staying in houston but he is one of the top free agents. Ron Artest,Andre Miller, And Brandon Bass. One of those three. I slightly agree with adding Turkoglu but who knows what the mastermind in Kevin Pritchard is thinking; 2:16 AM
TP43 said...: My primary target is Rudy Gay, a do it all defender, rebounder, ball handler, penetrator, creater for himself and others, with elite level athleticism that will likely be an all star at some point and fits our timeline to a tee.

Second choice would be to go after Grant Hill and Antonio McDyess to mentor our young'uns while still producing at a pretty high rate.

Next tier down would be Brandon Bass and Anthony Parker. You'll notice that all of these players are at least decent defenders and this is a non-negoitable prerequesite for me.; 2:55 AM
Rip City said...: I like turkoglu, but I cant see him on this team at all. However, I can see KP going for a sign and trade for a veteran point guard, maybe even Billups.

I didnt like the idea of Kidd at first, but then thinking about it more, Kidd could be the best point for this team except possibly Billups. Obviously his defense is suspect at this point in his career, his J has always been spotty and he doesn't have the speed he did. However we are after all the second slowest team at the in the NBA, and he only needs to play 15-25 minutes a game which will also give Bayless more time if he is at 3rd.

His greatest contribution will be his intangibles. The entire team will improve under him. And as for the training, bayless will always be a slasher, but Kidd can show him how to be a true point guard. Its the point guard mentality that bayless needs, and Kidd can supply it.; 5:32 AM
BRoyFTW said...: 5 years/ 50 million and KP is crazy. 3 years/ 24 million an it's a great move. Hedo is declining and he didn't get it done in Orlando. That's why they got Carter. Don't be the sucker team that gives this guy a gigantic pay day for yet another aging star. LaFrentz was once an all star, don't forget that.; 6:00 AM
mark said...: hopefully the blazers have learned by now that one bad contract can mess up everything for years and years. if it wasnt for the money we owe darius miles this year, we would be in a position to go after nearly anyone in the league.

NEW RULE:
3 years should be the most any player can sign to. this would prevent gm's from messing up the market, and force players to keep working and earning their checks.; 6:36 AM
hg said...: Thanks for the blog mike, good to hear from you.

No insult intended Mike, but you was the one that started the Turk rumor for me. I heard you say it on one of the court-side shows. I have to say now that I have read more into it that I disagree with you.

I have to agree with Travis on about everything he said. I feel exactly the same. Others has had some great input that I like, Mostly I like as Travis said no one called anybody idiots.

I am not up on all the potential Free agents for Portland. From what I have read from the bloggers, IMO they seem to lean toward household names instead of Portland needs and forget just how great we already are

WE don’t need to mess with our core, just tweak what we have.

IMO, we only need a back up Power forward. And from what I read we got that with Pendergraph.

We have Mills to fill in for Sergio at pg, don’t know if he is that good or not, but he is already a Blazer and we have multi combo’s that can put different players at PG.

Every body either wants Travis Outlaw out of here or they think he is the odd man because of Martell coming back. But I think we should wait another year to see about Martell’s health. Plus we are suppose to have a good player in Cunningham and or Pendergraph to be third backup sf. Plus all our combo guards that can shift to sf on occasions.

With all my ramblings, although I have been told countless times that we can’t keep all our team together, We can keep them for one more year and let them perform multi task.

If we Need to add another backup PF than get McDyess if possible, Everybody else is to expensive or wants to be the big gun. I don’t even know if McDyess is the answer.

I like everybody’s blogs and insight. The Blazers are already exciting and I can’t wait.

hg; 7:05 AM
Charlie said...: Mike, can you please explain for me this signing a player for another team angle that you mention? From what I can recall, there's rules in place where you have to wait either three months, or until December 15th to trade a player signed through free agency. I can't imagine our big offseason move would be one where we sign a guy, and have him play with us for a month and a half, and then trade him in the middle of December. That doesn't seem like something KP would want to do at all. Or, really, any GM. Is there some very little know loophole to this rule I am missing? Thanks for any clarification.; 8:16 AM
Mike Barrett said...: This post has been removed by the author.; 8:39 AM
Mike Barrett said...: mangas fox,

You got it. I guess that was a sneaky way of working the Roy angle, but you picked it up. KP has said his very first calls were to Roy and L.A., in a desire to get them locked up long term.

MB; 8:48 AM
Colin said...: If the Blazers only managed to bring in Gerald Wallace, and all other pieces remained the same (other than the traded players), I would be a happy camper.

People are saying the Blazers need a dramatic upgrade at the 1, but what I took away from all the games last year is that (more than upgrading the point guard position) the Blazers need more hustle play that results in fastbreak points. You know, blocks, steals, diving for loose balls. Gerald Wallace.

I'm no expert and I am probably wrong. Maybe the hustle points thing would be mitigated by better perimeter defense, but a kid can dream.; 9:06 AM
Mike Barrett said...: Charlie,

I've got some additional information on trading a guy you just signed as a free agent. There is one case where you can do this, and that's if the contract is signed specifically as a sign-and-trade deal. In other words, if the player you're signing is aware that he's being traded immediately, you can do it.

I hope this helps.

MB; 9:09 AM
dbc said...: How about we do . . . .NOTHING. As basically the youngest team in the NBA, and with a GO that was still learning & rehabing, we win 54 games in the (tough) western conference. The championship Lakers couldn't win in Portland, so I don't understand the argument that we need to keep up with an improving league - Who's improving? Rockets?, Suns? Dallas? Jazz? - don't think so.

As for the PG issue, Lakers won with Fish, Orland got to the finals with Alston, I dont even know who Cleveland's pg is. The reality is Roy, like Kobe controls the offense, and should. Blake fits well in our offensive scheme - and at the price, allows for $$$ we could spend for a real player so . . ..

Before we start messing with the chemistry, lets take a year to see what we got, let the team continue maturing & jelling- and shoot for 2010 when the real Free Agent class comes around.; 9:10 AM
baddawg said...: It seems as though the season ended such a long time ago. It is agonizing for me to wait for this team to lace them up again. Just excited about the future I guess.

I, like many others, have softened on Hedo and Hinrich. In fact, I have come full circle on this and am back where I started. No major moves are necessary right now, we just need a few pieces. Hedo and Kirk will tax our franchise way too much, and won't get us over the top.

Tyson Chandler is on the trading block, and might be able to be obtained for a draftee and one of our small forwards.

I'd love to get Prince but don't think that its possible.

Jason Maxiell is interesting, as is Leandro Barbosa.

As you see, I'm leaning more towards trades than free agents. I just don't think any of them are the key piece for our team.

KP, please DON'T mortgage our future.

RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 9:29 AM
hg said...: Mike: thanks for the info on sign and trade. But, I don't understand why. If someone else wanted a player why not let them bid for him? Is it because if a team doesn't have cap space they can't go after a free agent, but can trade for a player of even value? If that is the case how does the lopsided thing work? For instance if we spent our entire cap space on Turk than traded him wouldn't we have to match values of both contracts? Also, if we traded Turk on a sign and trade would we get our cap space back? Last question, If we extend Roy and LMA before we sign a free agent does that go against our space cap? If we sign a FA before can we spend all we want on our players? OPPs one more question. If we decide to not go for free agency this year and than extend BRoy and LMA contract, does that eat up our space cap until we drop Miles?

Full of questions.

hg; 10:14 AM
sod said...: Hey Mike, I might be mistaken, but I'm not seeing anything about being able to sign another team's free agent and then trade them before Dec. 15th.

Here's a link to clarify:

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q76

The first line of the explanation of the rule is as follows [sic]:

"Under no circumstances can a team sign and then trade another team's free agent"

If you have different info about this, I would actually love an explanation. I've emailed quite a few "experts" in the know and they've all told me it can't be done. Is it more of a situational thing?

Thanks Mike!! Love the blog man!; 10:43 AM
glenns said...: ESPN.COM is reporting that Coach Nate is in Orlando today to meet with Hedo and that Hedo will be in Portland tomorrow to see the facilities so I guess that answers that. Why did Brandon Roy turn down the USA Basketball invitation for this months workouts? Does this disqualify him from being considered for the next Olympic team?; 11:09 AM
George said...: Mike, please tell KP and Nate that we don't need Turkoglu. We need an upgrade at point guard first, and then maybe small forward. I hope the Andre Miller rumors are true because that guy is one of the most under appreciated point guards in the league, ever since he's been in the league.

PLEASE, KP and Nate, stop chasing Turkoglu. He needs the ball a lot and we already have Brandon. Go after a guy who would distribute the ball more and make others better like Miller or Kidd. Thanks for listening.; 11:27 AM
Ervie said...: Trevor Ariza Grant HOT HOT; 11:40 AM
steved said...: I can not get excited about any of the names we keep hearing: Turkgolu,Miller,Kidd,etc...
The Blazers need to get a piece that fits.Potential names: Devin Harris,Ramon Sessions, Brandon Bass, Or dare to dream Chris Bosch (before he leaves Toronto for nothing ,or Chris Paul!; 11:46 AM
skaternater said...: Glenns, to answer you question about B Roy he and the coaches talked about what would be best for him. They concluded that it would be better for the Blazers if he rested instead of working to make another team. Now on to MB, I am hoping that the Blazers do not pick up a big name player. I think this could throw off the balance of teamwork and chemistry. I hope for a guy like Ramon Sessions, or Brandon Bass. These would be two solid back-ups at the positions we need help in. Plus Hedo is almost Blazer enemy #1 after all the game winners he has hit against us... But that could be a good reason to have him on our side...; 11:49 AM
davidnice said...: i like hedo as a player but i do not think he is a good fit for this roster for many reasons. i keep reading that blazers are hot after him and he is wanting a 5 year deal. its hard to tell if any of this info is true because most anylists especialy from espn cant tell there head from there you know what. so please no long term deal if we are going for hedo a 2 year feeler deal wouldnt be to bad all i know is ive had alot of bad experience with contract year signings here in portland.

go blazers!!; 12:01 PM
jacob said...: MIKE BARRETT- You couldn't have said it better this is the Jerry Maguire era for agents to sell their clients through media leaks and rumors through Chad Ford of ESPN and other unreliable sources. We need to look at need and to fill the 5 roster spots open from the draft day trade. We can like Steve Nash or Hedo all we want, but why do we like them? Because they we key veterans on their team that will demand 10 million or more? And be good for 1 or two years and hinder development of our young up and coming players? I don't think so. We could use a veteran point guard yes or one that is established. Names that come to mind are Andre Miller, Ray Felton. These guys will come in and give you 16 points 11 assists a game, and can defend the ball well. A sign and trade wouldn't be bad either. We don't need a starting SF, so to develop our guys and say goodbye to Travis I call to Grant Hill, a guy who is still very athletic, total class, and is glue in the locker room. A veteran presence like him could be what Batum and Martell and Oden need to blossom. I don't see us giving Frye a contract, but I do smell a sign and trade deal that could bring in a great backup for LA, any free agent in the 4 spot would cost us too much and we need to lockdown LA and Roy to longterm deals before camp so using our mid level exception would be a good fit to backup our future AllStar. If we go for a good backup I look at Varejo or Denvers Chris Anderson, we need a good defensive presence coming off the bench in our second unit. But we have to look at character and chemistry too. That's my take on this, as we wait a week to hear what is gonna happen let's just relax in knowing KP is reading this, and will do his best to make sure we can compete against LA and San Antonio, especially the Spurs with their pickup of R-Jef.; 12:18 PM
blzrfn1 said...: Well MB, you are the one person I have always trusted to not blow smoke about Blazer news.

Because KP always plays his hand so close to his vest, I have a hard team believing what we are hearing today, and can't help but think Hedos agent is driving up his value by dropping the Blazers name.

I'm not sold completely on Hedo, the price is too high for someone who isn't going to improve primeter defense.

I trust KP, and if this move does happen, I have to believe it is for the best.

I am reluctantly preparing for Outlaws departure.

But to give up my Travis, I would feel better about a deal that landed Kidd and Bass.

Go Blazers !!!; 12:37 PM
Herr said...: Who do I like? Great question, because honestly unless I really think about it, Blazers come first in my mind, so during the season I'm not really viewing other peoples performances, but more of the Blazers.

I will say this: if we are to be an NBA finals team, we can't have Hedo as a player or a starter on this team. My opinion is that he did horrible in the finals and let that little punk Ariza get to him.

I'm not sure who is a free agent, in fact I get my news as it gets big on this website or the NBA website.

My opinion is we need someone to train Oden. Shaq would have been great, and it'd be hilarious seeing Shaq vs Kobe in the Western Confrence finals. However since he's near retirement and is now a Cav, he's out of the picture.

Oden has the potential to become great like Dwight Howard or Shaq in the days, he just needs time. But players don't rise all the time, when he's rising a player could be diminishing. I'd say get a center.

Not because I'm a Blazer fan, but I see us being like last seasons Nuggets but with a happier ending. Last season was just a taste of what will happen to this Blazer team.

I think we need either a center or a backup Powerforward.

As for our current players - LMA has got to get into the NBA All-Star game, he's definitely proved this year that he got cheated out of it. Roy has to be in that big MVP debate. I'm not saying he needs to ball hog, infact he needs to do less than that. I read an NBA article somewhere (and lost it) saying that the MVP is based on who brings the best out of his team. Roy has to do that, there were a few times last season where his teammates depended too much on him and were too coward to take a shot themselves. THAT IS WHY THE CAVS LOST.

I'm going off topic a bit here but as my final answer to your question: Brandon Bass. I didn't like Bass much in the regular season last season, because I'm not a big Mavs fan, but I think he could be that backup Powerforward, or at least help Joel with Oden.; 12:53 PM
terry said...: I think we should save our money for signing the guys that we have, Roy and Aldridge. We are good at all positions, or getting better with experience. Everyone thinks that we need a PG, I don't think so, we have Roy, Bayless, Blake and even Rudy. The only addition that the Blazers could use is a back-up PF, a different style to Aldridge, a rebounder tough guy.; 1:13 PM
Travis said...: having just read the chris sheridan article on espn, i need to point out that he does NOT have any direct quotes from anyone. there is no quote from rudy, the "league source" or any trailblazers official.

this could work if our starting line-up is:
rudy
roy
turkoglu
lamarcus
greg

please do not make any crazy or major changes or trades PLEASE! someone, coach nate or kp, call rudy and tell him that he will be starting next year. squash the rumors!

WE NEED RUDY!!!

RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!; 1:37 PM
Mike Barrett said...: Travis,

Nice job on noting there were no Rudy quotes in that story. What did I tell you in the blog above about who runs this league, especially during times like this? Agents. No quotes, a bunch of quoted numbers about what Rudy could be making in Europe, followed by the fact that Portland will be in a position to extend his contract. This isn't Rudy talking- this is an agent looking to use emotion to gain leverage. My two cents on the situation.; 2:49 PM
baddawg said...: The Chris Sheridan article on espn.com (if it is true, and I'm not sure it is) is exactly the reason KP needs to be incredibly careful about which move he makes.

KP, call Hedon't, and tell him he need not tour our facilies. Thanks, but no thanks.

We are set at the 3, for now. Do you really think Martell will be anything less than motivated next season? Same goes for Travis and Nic. The competition for playing time at SF is going to be intense and will cause each of these guys to go all out. Turk won't play that way sitting on his fat wallet.

Then theres the chemistry issue. All we need is a disgruntled Travis or Rudy p-oed due to dwindling PT.

Listen, we need to simply do a sign and trade with Frye and Tyson Chandler. Throw in a draftee if needed.

Chandler is exactly who we need backing up LaMarcus. He's a great defender, shot blocker, and rebounder, and he is tough. Defense wins championships.

Use some cap space to add Miller or Kirk, but don't break the bank. Keep Blake, but add another piece there. It scares me to death to think about our starting PG getting hurt and only having Bayless to fall back on. He just isn't ready.

RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; 2:54 PM
J. Kyle said...: To start off with I think KP has earned everyones trust and I don't doubt any move he makes. Think about the drafting of batum last year and rudy the year before, when I saw those picks I thought he was crazy, turns out he is pretty smart. I would welcome the signing of hedo turkoglu. He would give us a third scoring option which we need as seen in the houston series, he also gives us another player that can handle the ball in late game situations to take presure and defenders off brandon, he also upgrades our team, something we need if we expect to compete with the lakers, san antonio and denver in the west and that's our goal in portland, a title. However, I don't think that's all we need. The maturation of oden, aldridge, bayliss and batum will also play a big role to our success as far as a championship goes. If oden can be productive in the range of 10 pts, 10-12 boards and 2-3 blks a game, aldridge play with a little more consistency and become the all star power forward he can be, bayliss mature and become the play maker he has potential to be and batum becoming a defensive stopper kind of like bruce bowen was for san antonio during their title years. We are so close, yet so far away, but I like the direction we are going in.; 3:04 PM
Rick said...: Save your money.Remain under the cap. Go after LeBron next year. Starting 5:

PG:???
SG:Roy
SF:James
PF:Aldridge
C:Oden

That will take care of not drafting Jordan years ago.

Rick; 3:38 PM
hg said...: It has occurred to me that just because PDX is contacting Turk, it does not mean we will sign him. KP said he was going to be very aggressive in FA pursuit. It wouldn't be to aggressive if you signed on the first one you interviewed. KP made the first offer, if Toronto wants him they will have to pay more and give up some key players. Which one of Toronto’s key players could PDX trade for? Which player would PDX buy after Toronto announces them? Calderon comes to mind. Can u imagine Calderon and Rudy playing alley-op? Calderon can make his shots.

Anyway before we go into complete panic and insanity like I already have, let’s wait until the dust settles to rat and wave.

Some of the blogs on Oregon-live started spewing hatred for Rudy just on a rumor.

Hg; 3:43 PM
hg said...: Steven:

Thank you for your reply. My main concern was bloggers wanting household names more than helping the Blazers.

hg; 5:03 PM
broy4mvp said...: WHOEVER SAYS TURKOGLU IS NOT A GOOD FIT FOR PORTLAND ..UR CRAZY! I think hes a perfect fit for this team..think of what were lacking and think of how Hedo plays. We could use a pg and sf and a veteran. Hedo is a small forward but he also is a great passer he even sometimes played point guard for the magic! hes also 30 years old, thats a veteran that will help guide these young trailblazers, but he still has like 5 more years to play. He's a good shooter and he can also drive to the rim. Think of how many weapons we would have nxt year with him, roy, and aldridge.; 5:44 PM
broy4mvp said...: im sorry but the only way to get to the nxt level is adding turkoglu. All u people out there saying dont get him he'll mess up our youngsters ..u all r just scared to give any of our blazers up lemme tell ya that life is about taking chances and the best chance we got at a run at the title is ADDING TURK!!! if he was on our team last year during the playoffs then b-roy wouldve not had to do EVERYTHING!! and he wouldnt have gotten double teamed by artest and battier every single time! cuz one of them would have had to guard hedo.. actually i believe we wouldve beat the rockets last year if we had turkoglu!; 5:56 PM
David said...: Hedo would be a great addition to the blazers. Nate is looking for experience and leadership. Both of which Hedo has. I was at game 5 of the NBA finals this year and even though the magic werent playing well in the second half he stayed positive. yes he takes a lot of shots and the magic ran the ball through him a lot but he is a match up nightmare for the other team. Brandon Roy said after the series with the rockets that he was tired and needed some help on offense. Hedo Turkoglu is that help; 6:13 PM
rob10sblazerfan said...: i think Gerald Wallace is the man, he hustles and plays defense unlike turkoglu. i also think we need to find a point guard that had been in the league three or four years so we can keep him longer unlike a Nash or Kidd. I would like to see a guy like Ramon Sessions, maybe sign him in free agency and trade travis and Blake for Gerald Wallace. i also wouldnt mind signing Marvin Williams.; 6:21 PM
corybauer said...: Hedo is a good player. I liek what he would bring to this team. I don't however think it could work. We are loaded at those positions. We need another point guard. Every other position is stacked.; 6:21 PM
SUPERCARLITOS said...: Unfortunately, spanish media also echoed Rudy's discontent on Blazers approaching Hedo. Apparently this is not coming from his agent but Rudy himself. Rudy doesnt trust Nate. He feels that he is not a man of his word (based on certain promises made and not met with certain player not currently in the roster). He may very well be out of the blazers next year if things go the way that seem to be going. Too bad.; 7:37 PM
Stephen said...: David Lee or Lamar Odum would be the best available additions to this team. And Scola, if he can be had. I like Turkoglu a lot, but Lee would fill our need perfectly.

Also a lot of people make strange comments about the PF we would get only being needed for 10min a game. So they don't seem to understand why it's the most important spot for us to fill. Basketball is a team game. Do you think the Lakers won by having the best starting five, or by being the team with the most weapons and tough match-ups they could throw at other teams? Can you actually name the Lakers starting five? Beyond Kobe and Gasol, it becomes pretty interchangeable, and that's a good thing. They also don't have a problem giving Kobe or Gasol long periods of rest in big games. LMA will not continue to play near 40mins for the rest of his career, nor should he if we intend to have him for a long time.

If we had a talent like Lee, you could play two PF at the same time. You try to get your best guys on the court as much as you can. If we had a guy like Lee, LMA would essentially shift to SF with his shooting ability, while Lee would play PF in the paint with Oden. The match-ups that would create are pretty thrilling. LMA can already shoot over most of the league. Defensively we would own the paint with Oden/Pryz and Lee. The only question would be, can Aldridge keep a hand in the face of the other team's SF. The SF won't have a lot of luck driving against our guys in the paint, and it will be tough for them to shoot over LMA, so they will have to create on the dribble. If we get burnt by Carmelo, we just shift the line up and put Batum or Webster on him.

The point is, we can have one of the best big line-ups in the NBA, and one of the best small line-ups with combinations of Roy, Rudy, Blake, Webster, Outlaw, Bayless???, Batum, with LMA or Lee at center. We would have added the needed toughness, and inside scoring, which will also improve Oden's inside scoring. We already know our guys can hit outside shots. Finals here we come.

Lamar Odum would be a more expensive, but greater up-side version of Turkoglu. Those guys will certainly add firepower, but a guy like Lee or Scola add inside power, which is what we are really missing right now. I would be happy with Turk or Odum, but I'd go after Lee.; 7:39 PM
Douglas Moore said...: Hedo is a good player, but TERRIBLE fit for the Blazers. You're bringing in a 30 year old starter who will do nothing but take time away from all the developing players who deserve more time because of their great play (Webster, Rudy, Batum). LET THE TEAM DEVELOP!! We have a great core of 8 or 9 young players and I'm afraid Pritchard will go all Mark Cuban on us and destroy the team by bringing in overpaid veterans and letting great up-and-comers (Devin Harris) go.; 7:42 PM
fivehundreddogs said...: OK everybody, let's cool down. I think instead of trying to tell KP how to do his job, we should be preparing to roll with it. Rather than moaning about how poor a fit we think Hedo would be, let's try to figure out how he could be a good fit. In other words, let's try to see from KP's point of view. At least, let's try to see this how he wants us to. This may help: Hedo was a point guard!

I'm having trouble finding the link to the article that I originally checked out through Blazer's Edge, but it detailed Hedo's climb to stardom and included how he was a 1 through high school and into his early career. So really, we're getting a potential 1, 2, and 3 from one player. Sounds good to me.

The only legitimate concern that I've heard out there is about his defense. I agree that we need to play tougher D, and that won't improve because of Turkoglu. We'll have to do something else to beef that up. Oh wait, we did by drafting three defensive players. We will do more by giving Batum and Bayless more minutes. Great progress was made by getting rid of Sergio. Now we just need to slough off Outlaw and (sorry Steve) Blake, then Hedo is our only liability, and he has Nicolas backing him up.

So let's look a new possible rotation(Travis, we're on the same page).

1. Roy/Bayless/Mills
2. Rudy/Roy
3. Hedo/Batum/Cunningham
4. LTrain/Pendergraph/Cunningham
5. Oden/Joel

With this lineup, Roy would be playing the point for the first 5-7 minutes, then move over to the SG when Bayless comes in. I imagine he would move back late in the 4th. I've met with resistance when proposing putting Roy at point, but under this scenario, I think it works. With three ball handlers on the floor, it doesn't put too much pressure on anybody. Meanwhile, Oden and LMA are feasting on easy buckets.

As you'll note, Cunningham has eaten up Outlaw's minutes. I've seen comments referring to Cunningham as a "poor man's Outlaw". Personally, I see him as a smart man's Outlaw; his shot selection looks great, and he can play D.

You may also have seen that Martell's name didn't pop up. I'm not saying that we'll take any action to get rid of him, but I think including him in any potential lineups is a waste of time until we can be sure that he's healthy.

So, you see? Bringing in Hedo could really be pretty cool. Putting him and Rudy in the starting 5 frees us up to take action on 3 players that could do better elsewhere. I'm still holding out some hope for Nash(funny how people are saying "He's slowing down!" and "He plays too fast!" at the same time. Which is it?), but really, I have always believed that you are innocent until proven guilty, and I am yet to see KP and company to be guilty of any wrongdoing.

So do what you, crazy man! Just hurry up and slap a jersey on somebody before I rip my hair out.

Go Blazers.; 7:54 PM
bwuiso said...: I'm with a LOT of others here and I do NOT want to overpay and get Turk- I think we have 3 competent SF right now- let's give Martell a chance to show us..... I think if we were to get a great PG like Devin Harris and a tough backup PF like Bass or McDyess we'd be good to go- we have 2 good centers, 2 good SG's, Blake & Bayless as backups, LA at PF and would be championship caliber- if we were to trade I'd LOVE Gerald Wallace as a fit for SF we could trade Outlaw, Frye, Blake or ?; 8:02 PM
bwuiso said...: It's nice to see a LOT of bloggers feel the same way as me~ I can HARDLY wait for this next year to start how exciting is this team?! I think Gerald Wallace is the winner here- I'd love Devin Harris but Ramon Sessions might be the more realistic pickup- Andre Miller would be a decent upgrade at PG but I seriously think if we just got GW we'd be serious contenders this year as long as they allow minutes for Bayless- he's a much better defender on the pick and roll as well as athletic!! GO Blazers!!!!; 8:31 PM
Brett said...: Turkoglu makes sense if we are trying to have a veteran leader on the team, but he also takes up minutes of the development guys. We would have 8 quality guys for 3 spots! I think that signing Turkoglu makes sense if we are writing off Martell or Rudy or both. I liked things before when everybody was happy and excited about growing together.; 8:35 PM
james said...: - Reasons why I think we should not sign Hedo T.
-- He just turned 30.
-- His numbers are down from last year meaning his best individual year was last year.
-- His numbers will continue to decline
-- Ariza and Odom both locked him up in the finals. He was playing real well before they got to the finals but they did a great job guarding him.
-- He's only going to get slower with his old age.
-- He's going to take too many shots on a team that has a lot of shooters.
-- He's not a good defender and is a defensive liability!
Basically, why would we offer a guy that is 30 a five year deal? Yes he has a good first step, but once again he won't be able to drive to the hoop when he's 33 because he'll be too slow. The only players that should get long term deals are superstars guards/forwards or big men that don't rely on driving to the hoop. I've been a blazer fan for many years and I'm only 21, but I know that the blazers will only be making a mistake if they commit 5 years or even 4 to sign hedo. I'd rather spend money on odom who is very versatile and isn't afraid to bang the boards. Another possibility is to spend less money and get ariza. He is only 24 yrs old and he did a great job guarding Hedo and Rashard Lewis. He could be a cheaper athletic lock down defender with a reliable 3pt shot. The reality is that we are going to add a small forward therefore signifying the end of the travis outlaw era as a portland trailblazer. Martell is not tradeable with the broken foot and batum has too much potential to trade.
I hope we don't go after andre miller as I am not a fan of old point guards who don't shoot the three well. I think kirk hinrich is a nice fit and he is an excellent defender.
My only hope is that our guys improve in pushing the ball up a little more to get easy fast break points. We've been horrid in this category in the past and I hope we are able to work on this.
DON'T SIGN HEDO AND DON'T TRADE FOR MILLER!
HERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS:
- HINRICH
- MCDYESS (OLD BUT CHEAPER AND TOUGH)
- BASS
- ARIZA
- ODOM
- BIBBY (LAST RESORT OVER MILLER); 8:52 PM
blitzer1 said...: Mike,

I do not understand why the Blazers do not run the ball, instead of the half court offense they employ. They have the second youngest team in the league and out rebound most teams. I would like to see us get a speedy point guard that can distribute the ball and penetrate inside either going to the hoop or dishing to Oden for a dunk. We could play a more up tempo game and take some of the pressure off BRoy. Also, by working the ball inside-out, we would not be such a jump shooting, perimeter team.

blitzer1; 8:57 PM
millertime said...: I see bunch people telling me all the reasons for hedo becoming a blazer but nobody mentioned why we don't want him. His weaknesses are what were try to improve on. He does not rebounde, can't block shots, can't play defence, his shooting has gone down from the last year along with everything else. he is not a bruiser which is what we need he does not fit(just like rubio). i know the international fan would love to see a international all star team but thats just not going to happen.
we need a bear not a butterfly. there is just to many reasons to stay away from that kind of player. he is a good player but not a good fit for the blazers.; 9:08 PM
A said...: In response to people that think that SF is a "position of strength" on our team, I disagree. What we have at SF are 3 extremely unproven players. Batum played well and is my favorite out of him, Webster, and Outlaw, but he's still very young and inexperienced. Webster still hasn't proven anything in this league, and Outlaw has only proven that amidst his erratic and sometimes inexplicable shot selection, he finds a way to get lucky at the end of games. Turkoglu has had the same end of game heroics as Travis, and didn't disappear in the playoffs like Travis did this past year. Turkoglu is also a better ballhandler and passer than Travis, Batum, and Webster. Thus, I think he's a great pickup.

Since I'm also a huge Rudy fan and I think he brings a lot of enthusiasm and intensity to the Blazer squad, I'd hate to see him go on account of singing Turkoglu (if it happens). But I think that they can coexist. I agree with those like Travis (the blogger, not the Blazer SF) that a very potent starting unit would be: Roy, Rudy, Turkoglu, Aldridge, Oden....plus, talk about matchup problems, I think that would have to be one of the tallest starting lineups in the league.

I've also been hearing rumors about the Andre Miller sign and trade for Blake and Outlaw. On the one hand, I like this since we really do need to start consolidating the roster to about an 8 man rotation, but I still don't know that that trade would allow Rudy to get enough minutes to stay content. Some may not agree, but I would rather have Rudy on this team for years to come, rather than Andre Miller for a couple years.....So, this leads me to my current thought (like some others have said), This coming season I would simply diminish the roles of Blake and Outlaw, and I believe that next year they will be free-agents, so they could go on their way at that point and I think the Blazers would have decent money to spend next summer with their salaries off the books and Darius Miles finally off the payroll; 9:21 PM
sheldontitus said...: My comment is...if the Blazer's had any brains, they'd go with Steve Nash. Forget Hinrich, or Bibby. We have Steve Blake--who is every bit as good. We want a player with that kind of tenacity
of Nash. Remember the nose breaking incident? He keep on going. Tell me...why wouldn't we want that kind of player?; 9:33 PM
myboiroy4mvp said...: ok first of all i dont understand this.. how some of you are saying "We are stacked at the sf position, we dont need Turk" but at the same time u say "Gerald Wallace is a perfect fit!" FYI gerald wallace is a sf! Also i think Turk is a better fit than Gerald Wallace..why? because turk fills our needs more..sure wallace may be a better defender..but thats why we have batum..who is meant for defense. i mean alot of the times batum doesnt even score in the games. Turk would help us a lot at the pg position, he is a great distributor he is also a better scorer than wallace. i also saw very good leadership by him in the playoffs. i would love to see the chemistry between him and b-roy i know they both are very unselfish players i think they would work very well together. another thing is that we dont have to keep all of our sf's if we get turk. we can trade outlaw, martell, batum etc. for a better pg which would help us out even more just imagine this starting 5

pg: ?..u name it (trade blake and one of our SF's)
sg: B-Roy of course
sf: HEDO TURKOGLU! :)
pf: lamarcus
c: Greg

i like that...definetly a championship contender dont forget we'll have a deep bench too!; 9:36 PM
rob10sblazerfan said...: i think if we do get turkoglu we need to get a more defensive minded point guard. we cant win a championship with two defensive liabilities on the court (steve and Turk) defense wins championships but he would fit the role of a third offensive threat.; 10:04 PM
Herr said...: Mike, I have given it some thought since today is a big day and there are sure to be many more big days.

First off, I have to ask Blazer fans: Why is "trade Steve Blake" such a popular trend now? Steve Blake has led this team very well, and is great at passing the ball and is a great offensive threat. Sure he's not the fastest person, but he is a leader in this team.

But since I keep hearing the Blazers want Hedo, I have given it thought. Is he trade bait? After all, we do have a contract with Raef. Would he be used to earn the money back for Hedo?

For me, I think it's obvious the Blazers want the knowledge Hedo has. After all, they are the Eastern Confrence champions and have defeated the Cavs fairly easily (the Magic that is). The Blazers can't lose to LAL in Portland, us fans won't let them (and I have a feeling that we are tough enough to give LAL a fight at their home court, and that we will be Western Confrance #1). 2nd, he has the experience as a veteran this team needs. He's made it to the finals, and although they kinda got destroyed in the finals, it's still finals experience, and after all, this team is now aiming for the finals now that we have made the playoffs.

I think Hedo will be a good knowledge fit, but not a great playing fit. However, he *can* be trusted to make the last second shot, after all he made the one in Portland that ended the home court winning undefeatable streak. The Blazers need more than Brandon Roy to make the shot, especially since it's fairly obvious.

2nd, I think Hedo could also be a good backup PF. I don't know how well he plays for that posistion, but he seemed to post up against Ariza at the 3pt line.

LMA + Hedo as PF could be very helpful since both can shoot the long ball and would be a good inside and outside threat.

Lastly, I heard rumors that Rudy is pissed off that the Blazers are persuing Hedo and is saying he might refuse another contract with him here. Is that true? I hope not, I'd take Rudy anyday over Hedo.

But regardless of who the Blazers choose, I will respect that player as long as he wears the Blazer uniform with pride and is aimed at supporting this team, city, fans, and is aimed at winning.; 10:46 PM
phi slamma said...: I'll admit I can be trusting to a fault. More than once I've found myself wide-eyed with mouth open upon discovering that the course I insisted on traveling was destined for ruin. My initial response to the blazers' interest in Hedo Turkolu is one of bewilderment. It's not so much what He do but what He don't. He don't fill our need for a defensive presence. He don't take the attitude of putting the team first. On the contrary, Hedo has the audacity to play the "I've got to feed my family" card. That's a noble argument when you're like most of us making $30- 60,000 a year. But when you're seeking 10,000,000 annually, it lacks the feel-good ingredient required for my empathy. That is of course unless his family is extremely hungry.
Why do we need another 3-point shooter? Doesn't Martell, Rudy, Blake, and Roy already foot that bill? In KP we trust. I've heard that saying bantered about and it always scares me. The disconcerting thought of blind faith is the 'blind' part. May we all become enlightened in our GM's wisdom. I have no doubt that he consulted both Ghandi and the Dalli Lamma for his supreme guidance. In KP I trust, Amen.; 10:53 PM
Malay said...: nic will blossom into a GREAT player, and we have travis and outlaw which means no room for 30 year old hedo who is not going to get any better, and only want a lot of money.; 11:24 PM
Malay said...: also i want 2 add that we are good on experience in my view. 1. from the loss in Houston last year. and 2. the way the blazers where dominating right before the playoffs began both on homecourt and away from homecourt.; 11:26 PM
Malay said...: nic will blossom into a GREAT player, and we have travis and outlaw which means no room for 30 year old hedo who is not going to get any better, and only want a lot of money. (also i f; 11:26 PM
Shayda said...: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Turkoglu!
KP, please don't upset the great team chemistry we already have (and all the loyal fans who love them). Sounds like Rudy is upset, by the trade rumors.. and I don't blame him! I will be upset if there is no Channing (he was one of the Blazers MOST commited to our city), Sergio, or Rudy...; 11:53 PM
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