Portland Trail Blazers: Mike Barrett's Blog

Pritchard Discusses Magloire Acquisition

posted: 7/31/2006 at 10:44 PM

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First of all, thanks for all of your comments in the past couple of days. It's great to think that we're just entering the month of August and there is such heated debate involving the Trail Blazers. Even if you haven't agreed with all the moves (and it appears most of you have), you have to admit that the front office has been proactive and very agressive in trying to get this team back in the playoff hunt. That's what most of you were asking for following last season's disappointing finish.

On Monday the rumored trade became official, as the Blazers and Bucks completed the deal that send Steve Blake, Brian Skinner, and Ha Seung-Jin to Milwaukee, in exchange for Jamaal Magloire.

Last night the Blazers director of player personnel, Kevin Pritchard, joined us on Courtside Monday Night, presented by L.A. Weight Loss to discuss the trade. Kevin talked about the addition of Magloire, why the Blazers decided to pull the trigger on the deal, and even discussed what the immediate future could hold. He said, "our frontline is now ready to compete with some of the best the Western Conference has to offer."

To hear the entire Pritchard interview, which lasted most of the first half-hour of the program, click here.

As you will hear, Pritchard spent a lot of time discussing how this was not an easy decision to make, especially when it came to parting ways with Steve Blake. As we have talked about, Blake did everything that was asked of him and more, in his time with the Blazers. I talked to Kevin last week, when this trade was being discussed, and he told me how difficult it was going to be trading Steve, who was his first-ever signee as an executive. In the end, Kevin was able to put his emotions aside, and just "had to do what was best for the franchise."

There have also been a lot of questions about Magloire's immediate future in Portland, and whether or not this is just a prelude to a bigger trade. Pritchard tried to put some of those rumors to rest. Anything can happen, of course, but Kevin sounded like he expects Magloire to definitely play for the Blazers this season. He's a valuable asset, especially given the fact that he's in the last year of his contract and will be a unrestricted free agent after the season. The Blazers, however, own his "Bird rights" and those are transferrable to any team that potentially trades for him. That just means the team that possesses him at the end of the season will be able to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him (my earlier post was incorrect on this).

Magloire is a beast inside, and gives the Blazers even more defense and rebounding. And, he's not a bad offensive player in the paint. As he showed in Milwaukee last season, Magloire can also play the power forward position, and is capable of backing up Zach Randolph at the 4. Teams are always after flexibility, and this acquisition gives them that. When you get it in a big guy, all the better.

I was planning on running my interview with Zach from last week when I was in Atlanta, but we got so many calls and e-mails I just ran out of time. I do want to make it available to you here. Click here for my one-on-one with Zach. I also got a chance to spend some time with Jarrett Jack in Atlanta, and for that interview click here.

We were hoping to get Magloire on the radio show, but he wasn't available. We'll try and get him on next week. Also, check back here for an update on the press conference announcing Magloire to Portland. It's not set yet, but will be soon. Next week I also plan on getting Dan Dickau on the program. He joined us in Las Vegas, but I'd like to get him again for next week. Dickau played with Magloire in New Orleans, when both of them had breakout seasons. He'll give us an idea of what we can expect. We'll also get an update on Dan's surgically-repaired Achilles tendon. He told me at a golf tournament recently (he's a 5 handicap, by the way) that he expects to be 100 percent by training camp. Blake's departure will obviously create a bigger opportunity for Dickau.

Thanks for your involvement in the radio show, and in the blog. Keep the comments coming, and I'll respond to as many as I can. I'll also keep you up to date on anything else going on this week, including the Magloire press conference.

18 Comments:

NoLyFe said...: Thank you all Portland and all of the front office workers! I love this trade. Hopefully it will get Zach off of his lazy a** and lose whight and wokr harder, and hopefully it will mean that Mills will be gone, or vis versa, one of them 2 need to get outta town. I can't wait to see, Aldridge working his a** off with Joel and Jamaal. Put Martell and Roy in the line-up and let them do there magic. All I know out of the last 6 years, I am the most excited about this season, and the new players. I also hope that Portland will be able to resign Jamaal this off season, and that he will see that this area loves there basketball, there team, there players!

Tyler - vancouver; 11:39 PM
aitor14vn said...: This transaction is super for Sergio. I'm very happy about that, because it means that Portland is really interested in Sergio. Now he will have to fight with Jack and Dickau to get as minutes as possible, but why he couldn't be the starting point guard????? I'm very excited about the new season!!!! When will be the official Sergio's 11 jersey available??? I'm crazy about getting it!!!; 12:32 AM
Lee D said...: Mike, Bird rights do not give the team the right to match any offer. That would be restricted free agency. Bird rights allow a team to exceed the salary cap to re-sign the player, thus offering more potentially than many other teams can do.; 1:43 AM
mrblazer said...: Mike, i think you may have been mistaken about Mags' contract situation. Won't he be an unrestricted free agent at the season's end? Meaning even if the team who owns his "bird rights" matches another team's offer, Mags can decide to play wherever he wants. Also, his "bird rights" owner can opt to not only match another team's offer but also go as high as the maximum length and salary for his situation as a player. I think that is correct, right?

Anyway, you wrote that the "entire" Pritchard interview is available, but only half of it is available to me. I was a little surprised to hear KP say that most of this trade was orchestrated by Steve Patterson. I guess he is the acting GM.

Can we get an update on the "search" for our next GM. Don't tell me this is the kind of thing that is kept secret like it's a matter of national security, is it? Can we at least be told if the process has started?; 2:13 AM
Sgt_Taylor said...: I am looking forward to this season and I think the Blazers have done an outstanding job during the off season. So good job from Afghanistan.; 4:42 AM
Samuel Hardy said...: It seemed like of Pritchard's acquisitions, Blake bought into the new notion of the Blazers as a 'family' more than anyone.

As alluded to in the Oregonian, it seems that Blake was pretty hurt by the trade, especially given his wifes September due date.

Has anything been said by the Blazers organization to Steve Blake along the lines of 'we want you to sign with us' next year? Or does Dickau's contract (having 2 seasons left) and the drafting of Sergio essentially rule out this classy guy coming back to the team?; 7:36 AM
JSalway said...: As much I am excited about obtaining Magloire, I will miss Steve Blake. I feel really bad for Blake. He and his wife loved it here. They embraced the community, and became very active within it both publicly and privately.

I realize this is a busines, and trades are sometimes a harsh reality. And, all in all, I'd love to have Blakes troubles; Making large amounts of money to play a game I love, married to a beuatifull woman, expecting my first child, and competing for the starting point guard position on a playoff team.

It does suck though. I'll miss you Mr. Blake, and I think the team will too.; 7:59 AM
Mike Barrett said...: Lee D, and Mr.Blazer,

You guys are correct on Magloire's contract situation. I was wrong. Reading it again, it's pretty obvious. I guess it was a late night, and having a one-year old, they have been early mornings too.
Thanks for the correction.

MB; 9:39 AM
BlazerMan31 said...: I'm just not sure what the point of this trade is when compared to the other moves we have made in this offseason. We drafted LaMarcus Aldridge, brought in Raef LaFrentz, re-signed Joel Przybilla and already had Zach Randolph. I just don't see how this group can co-exist with the bringing in of Jamaal Magloire. When you consider that Randolph, Przybilla and Magloire will eat up a huge portion of those minutes, where does that leave the others?

I guess my question is why did we really draft LaMarcus if we were just going to bring in another big anyway? Supposedly we have a problem at SF (two actually, considering that Darius Miles is STILL on the team), so why didn't we instead take a guy like Adam Morrison would could immediately fill a void on this team? Maybe Pritchard & Co. will prove me wrong in the end, and I hope they do. But when players like Steve Blake leave the team and guys like Darius Miles remain on it, it makes you wonder why the priorities aren't in order.; 11:51 AM
Happy Camper said...: Hmmm, gotta say jury out. For me it is a wait and see. No question Magloire is a good grab, but Blake could have been a poster child for what portland is trying to do. Consistant good smart play combined with a quality person. Blake was not only a fan favorite, he had good offence, defence, and game savy. I know we might have lost him to free agency anyways, but i still think we should have kept him. Look what loyalty brought us with Joel, and loyalty is a two way street. No dis on Mags, but I don't like it.

Whats done is done. Now it looks on paper that we have a deep talented frontcourt. The jury will rule with chemistry. Right now, the team has no leader. When the team's leader emerges next year it won't nescesarily be the team captain, the veteran, or the most talented player. The leader will be the one everyone follows. Will Miles still be around acting like he deserves better without earning it? Will one of our two starting centers be happy to come off the bench? Can Zack get back to the hustle, 2nd chance- offensive rebounding, 6th man of the year that earned the contract he has or will he keep trying to be something different? While all this is going on which one of these vererans will the incredibly talented young people we have start to watch and learn from?

My hope is that either the trading isn't done yet, or Mags and Joel become inseperable partners, even with the depth Nate still gets Aldridge enough playtime to maximize his development, (if they stay) Zack and Miles grow up (Zack so far seems to be on the right track), Jack, Outlaw, and Webster have breakout years, and -knock on wood- Roy not only develops into the best player on the team, but his natural leadership tendancies bring the team to follow his lead.; 12:06 PM
Connor said...: K with these doubters ubove. Hmm lets see boys Miles has a very hard to trade contract for one. blake didn't. 2 Joel is an injury prone player. Jammal played 82 games last year. 3. Blake was not the future. Jack, Sergio are. 4. Mcmillian said Aldrige was "very raw" so following Jammal and Joel will be good for him. So yes geniuses the blazers priorities are in the right order. Mike thanks for these blogs.; 1:42 PM
T_dawger89 said...: Ok...i like this trade..but steve... I'll miss you bud. i loved his ethic and aggresiveness. I'm with others...if we decide to keep jamaal, then randolf has GOT to go. We can't pull another juggle. We tried that, and it didn't work, lets see what the blazers will do.; 4:15 PM
TMonte said...: I think this was a good trade. It was good to get rid of Ha he just isnt developing the way they had hoped. I will miss steve but I think we have enough talent at that position. Now if we can just rid ourselves of Zach and Darius we would really be moving in a postive direction!!; 4:55 PM
Blazer Employee said...: The Blazers have the right foot forward and the management team is doing their job as well. I still believe from a marketing standpoint that we need a "STAR" player to sell tickets and get us back to the promsied land. With the tools and depth in place, we need to make a run at AI or baron Davis, someone with marketablilty and a champions poise. Thanks MB; 5:02 PM
Jerid McIntyre said...: Of all the people to get let go, Steve Blake? Man that one hurts. Watching the games when Steve was in them he was the heart and soul of that team. His unselfish play was what kept them in many a game last season with the lackluster effort that most of the team was giving last season.

Steve will be missed.; 10:14 PM
peregrinebrm said...: Two main points here: 1, I worried earlier on this site about the imbalanced roster this trade created and expressed the hope that a follow-up trade will correct the imbalance. But I see criticism and want to say that, overall, I am very impressed by the team's moves in the offseason. Good work. And good blog, Mike.

2, Blazer Employee wrote about greatness, and was right about its importance. Greatness, however, must come from within an organization. For one thing, to build a team around a great player or two takes time (years). Also, that team that you build around the great player requires time to develop chemistry and on-court cohesion. Third, a truly great player WILL NOT be traded, or if so, very rarely and for half a team. The Blazers are approaching greatness the right way. Having committed to a rebuilding process, they have given themselves a luxury: time. So now they have picked up Aldridge and Roy through the draft to complement Webster. For the Blazers to be a great team, it is from here that their great player(s) must emerge. AI or Baron Davis would not take this team to the "promised land" - but maybe Aldridge, Webster, and/or Roy will. In the meantime, management is building a decent team around them. Have patience.; 10:15 PM
JSalway said...: Miles, Randolph, and whatever else it takes for Kevin Garnett. Tickets sell out, and we go from worst record to the playoffs.; 6:21 AM
north ballerz said...: How about this...Randolph,Miles and Magloire for Garnett in the next trade.
Starting Five will be;
Center: Joel Priyzbilla
P-Forward: Kevin Garnett
S-Forward:Martell Webster
S-Guard:Brandon Roy
P-Guard:Jarrett Jack; 11:49 AM