Portland looking to deal?

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
I brought up the Portland logjam a little while ago, and really thought with Roy/Matthews/Fernandez/Batum/Wallace, they simply have to many wings, no pg given Miller is a FA, and a lack of depth up front. They aren't in a great situation salary wise, and won't have money to spend if the offer Oden that rumored $40M extension. So, I'm guessing they're looking to make a trade, and most likely one of their wings. Either Wallace or Batuum would be a great addition.

Would you offer Beno + #7 for either? Just an idea. Probably other possibilites as well. what gives this idea legs, is McMillans recent comments.

"I think there are a lot of questions that we have to answer," McMillan said. "The first thing is to balance the roster. The combination of the twos that we have — with Wesley [Matthews], Rudy [Fernandez] and Brandon [Roy] — that combination is just… really… there's no way we can play the three of those guys.
"Now that we've brought in Gerald Wallace(notes), Nicolas [Batum]'s contract will be coming up pretty soon. What's going to happen in that situation?
"Our backup point guard, our guard position. I played Brandon at that spot most of the second half of the season. We've got to look at the point guard position.
"And Brandon Roy. How did he come out of the season and what [is] his role going to be?
"There's a number of things I think we have to address. Backup center. Is Greg [Oden]… when will he be ready to go next season?"
After listing off questions concerning both guard positions, the center position and the small forward position, McMillan concluded: "All of those things we will have to look at here before the draft and, if possible, if it is possible to make some moves to improve the team, we've certainly got to do that."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...t=AtUtAS6QjJ3OD3C0WOYNxR.8vLYF?urn=nba-wp3414
 
Last edited:
Beno, yes.. but not the 7th pick.. they are the ones in need here for a PG you said it yourself they are not good financially, i say we take advantage of it. with out using the 7th pick
 
Beno, yes.. but not the 7th pick.. they are the ones in need here for a PG you said it yourself they are not good financially, i say we take advantage of it. with out using the 7th pick

But we could get a decent backup pg on a much cheaper contract than what Beno currently has. Earl Watson, Ronnie Price, Acie Law, Patty Mills are all UFA, and would come cheaper. Maybe even Barea as a spark off the bench. He's an UFA to.
 
Those guys are both of some interest, although I think I am more interested int he Iggy option or of AK47 costing nothing but $$. And there's this:

Nick Batum, yr 3 stats:

31.5min 12.4pts (.455 .345 .841) 4.5reb 1.5ast 0.8stl 0.6blk 1.0TO

Beware giving away the farm for a young player who abruptly stops getting better at a pretty mediocre level.

Also, continues to be this urge to throw Beno's name out there in trades as fodder, when he's pretty clearly our third guard, and a key stabilizing player in a shortened bench rotation. We are a team looking for every bit of veteran stability, passing, and ballhandling we can get, and this urge to just throw out a good NBA PG deeply involved in what we do is just odd.
 
Last edited:
Those guys are both of some interest, although I think I am more interested int he Iggy option or of AK47 costing nothing but $$. And there's this:

Nick Batum, yr 3 stats:

31.5min 12.4pts (.455 .345 .841) 4.5reb 1.5ast 0.8stl 0.6blk 1.0TO

Beware giving away the farm for a young player who abruptly stops getting better at a pretty mediocre level.

Also, continues to be this urge to throw Beno's name out there in trades as fodder, when he's pretty clearly our third guard, and a key stabilizing player in a shortened bench rotation. We are a team looking for every bit of veteran stability, passing, and ballhandling we can get, and this urge to just throw out a good NBA PG deeply involved in what we do is just odd.

Beno's stop 'n pop game is as good as it gets in the NBA. I'd still take Batum for Beno + 7th pick. That's assuming there was any confidence we could sign him long term.
 
Those guys are both of some interest, although I think I am more interested int he Iggy option or of AK47 costing nothing but $$. And there's this:

Nick Batum, yr 3 stats:

31.5min 12.4pts (.455 .345 .841) 4.5reb 1.5ast 0.8stl 0.6blk 1.0TO

Beware giving away the farm for a young player who abruptly stops getting better at a pretty mediocre level.

Also, continues to be this urge to throw Beno's name out there in trades as fodder, when he's pretty clearly our third guard, and a key stabilizing player in a shortened bench rotation. We are a team looking for every bit of veteran stability, passing, and ballhandling we can get, and this urge to just throw out a good NBA PG deeply involved in what we do is just odd.
I agree to a certain extent, but in this case, I'd probably pull the trigger. I'm not looking to deal Beno, but getting either of those two outweighs losing him IMO. Still have to think about it though.

But I would only want this to happen if we don't end up getting Iggy, and AK and Prince sign elsewhere, or are asking for too much, or just not interested. This owuldn't be my first choice, but I'm just canvasing the league looking at all potential sf options, and it looks like Por might deal one.

Would you do JT+ #7 for Wallace? I'd have to think about that one too. Or JT + next years pick unprotected? That way we get a starting sf, and have the #7 for a 3rd big.

I should clarify, Wallace is the one I prefer.
 
Last edited:
Beno's stop 'n pop game is as good as it gets in the NBA. I'd still take Batum for Beno + 7th pick. That's assuming there was any confidence we could sign him long term.

Why? That's a star package. To put what Batum looked like in perspective:

Omri, yr 1:
25.1min 10.3pts (.446 .369 .672) 4.5reb 1.2ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 1.3TO

Batum, yr 3:
31.5min 12.4pts (.455 .345 .841) 4.5reb 1.5ast 0.8stl 0.6blk 1.0TO

There is this myth surrounding Batum that is just odd. Portland was high on him...for about 3 months. Then he didn't get any better and they needed more, hence Gerald. And he's still a young guy, but what has he doen to desrve this future star treatment? He had every opportunity to step up once Roy went down, and got outperformed by Wes Matthews. His rep from last year was as a young defender, and yet his team was considerably better defenisvely this year with him off the floor (4.7pts better per 100 possessions according to 82games.com). I still consider him a player of interest, but I'm not gutting my team or my assets to get him.
 
trading picks which are under the 20 and below range is kind of risky.. if were going to trade it.. it better be fr a resigned extended young player or a vet that is in his 25s or 26s..

who are the FAs SFs this coming offseason?
 
Small Forward
(name, team – 2010-11 salary – status)
Caron Butler, Dallas Mavericks - $10.8 million – Unrestricted
Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia 76ers - $2.9 million – Restricted ($4.0 million Qualifying Offer)
Grant Hill, Phoenix Suns - $3.2 million - Unrestricted
Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons – $11.1 million – Unrestricted
Shane Battier, Memphis Grizzlies - $7.4 million - Unrestricted
Reggie Williams, Golden State Warriors - $0.8 million – Unrestricted*
James Jones, Miami HEAT - $1.1 million – Unrestricted
Al Thornton, Golden State Warriors - $2.8 million – Restricted ($3.9 million Qualifying Offer)
Jason Kapono, Philadelphia 76ers - $6.6 million - Unrestricted
Josh Howard, Washington Wizards - $3.0 million - Unrestricted
Rasual Butler, Chicago Bulls - $2.4 million - Unrestricted
Jamario Moon, LA Clippers - $3.0 million – Unrestricted
Julian Wright, Toronto Raptors - $2.9 million – Restricted ($4.0 million Qualifying Offer)
Peja Stojakovic, Dallas Mavericks - $14.3 million - Unrestricted
Earl Clark, Orlando Magic - $1.9 million – Unrestricted
Kelenna Azubuike, New York Knicks - $3.3 million - Unrestricted
Quinton Ross, New Jersey Nets - $1.1 million – Unrestricted
Shawne Williams, New York Knicks - $0.9 million – Unrestricted
Ime Udoka, San Antonio Spurs - $0.9 million - Unrestricted
Vladimir Radmanovic, Golden State Warriors - $6.9 million - Unrestricted
Joey Graham, Cleveland Cavaliers - $1.0 million – Team Option ($1.1 million)
Jawad Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers - $1.1 million – Unrestricted*
Rodney Carney, Golden State Warriors - $0.9 million – Unrestricted
Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz - $0.5 million – Unrestricted*
DaJuan Summers, Detroit Pistons - $0.8 million – Unrestricted*
Damien Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks - $0.8 million – Unrestricted
Steve Novak, Dallas Mavericks - $0.9 million - Unrestricted
Derrick Brown, New York Knicks - $0.7 million – Unrestricted*
Darnell Jackson, Sacramento Kings - $0.9 million – Unrestricted*
Cartier Martin, Washington Wizards - $0.9 million – Unrestricted

AK is listed as a pf, but an UFA.
 
batum for casspi straight up?

or a third party that has a excess PG/C that portland is interested in that we can move casspi to
 
Last edited:
I'd do the Beno and #7 for Batum. Batum's stats don't tell the story. He's an excellent defensive player, and he's still young enough to get a lot better offensively.
 
Why? That's a star package. To put what Batum looked like in perspective:

Omri, yr 1:
25.1min 10.3pts (.446 .369 .672) 4.5reb 1.2ast 0.7stl 0.2blk 1.3TO

Batum, yr 3:
31.5min 12.4pts (.455 .345 .841) 4.5reb 1.5ast 0.8stl 0.6blk 1.0TO

There is this myth surrounding Batum that is just odd. Portland was high on him...for about 3 months. Then he didn't get any better and they needed more, hence Gerald. And he's still a young guy, but what has he doen to desrve this future star treatment? He had every opportunity to step up once Roy went down, and got outperformed by Wes Matthews. His rep from last year was as a young defender, and yet his team was considerably better defenisvely this year with him off the floor (4.7pts better per 100 possessions according to 82games.com). I still consider him a player of interest, but I'm not gutting my team or my assets to get him.

While Beno's stats overhype him as a player, Batum's underhype him. Beno is fine as a third or fourth guard, but his defensive inadequacy just kills you against above average competition. The fairest deal I could come up with would be for the Kings to swap #1 picks with Portland, send Beno to Portland, and get Batum.
 
I got the feeling they are pretty high on Batum around here but maybe that has eased back a bit. I don't think they are going to part with Wallace, he has quickly become a fan favorite and rightfully so. I think they are still figuring out his role but definitely see him as a keeper. Fernandez has always been the odd man out for the past season and a half. I think I'd pass and go after higher value targets assuming we are looking for leadership out of this spot.
 
earl clark, thad young, and rodney carney... thoughts on these guys/

I'm not a fan of Earl Clark. I didn't like him in college, and predicted high bust potential. So far he hasn't proven me wrong. Don't get me wrong. He's a talented kid, but he had a bad work ethic in college, and at times he would just disappear while on the floor. I kind of like Thadeous Young a little bit. His outside shot is very inconsistent, but it has improved a little. He rebounds fairly well from the SF position, and seems to be a willing defender. Rodney Carney is someone I expected more from, but so far he hasn't done anything to write home about.
 
I'd do the Beno and #7 for Batum. Batum's stats don't tell the story. He's an excellent defensive player, and he's still young enough to get a lot better offensively.

You could make the same arguement about Casspi's defense. I'm not trading two players for one player unless that one player is significantly better than the one's I'm trading. I could argue that the 7th pick could end up being a better player than either Casspi or Batum. Point is, we don't know, so I'm not inclined to just throw it in for the hell of it. You want to trade Casspi straight up for Batum, then I'm willing to take a flyer. But I'm not willing to do Beno straight up for Batum. Right now I think Beno has more value than Batum.
 
Last edited:
You could make the same arguement about Casspi's defense. I'm not trading two players for one player unless that one player is significantly better than the one's I'm trading. I could argue that the 7th pick could end up being a better player than either Casspi or Batum. Point is, we don't know, so I'm not inclined to just throw it in for the hell of it. You want to trade Casspi straight up for Batum, then I'm willing to take a flyer. But I'm not willing to do Beno straight up for Batum. Right now I think Beno has more value than Batum.

I'm confused about your Casspi statement. Casspi doesn't play offense or defense.:D Not a chance in hell would Portland send Batum for Casspi, though I wouldn't mind if Petrie broached that deal...:D
 
I'm confused about your Casspi statement. Casspi doesn't play offense or defense.:D Not a chance in hell would Portland send Batum for Casspi, though I wouldn't mind if Petrie broached that deal...:D

I was comparing SF to SF. I don't think Portland wants to deal Batum at all. I do have to agree with Bricky in that Batum hasn't improved much of late. Might have to do with added responsiblilty. His minutes went up, but his shooting percentages went down. Not overly alarming, but noteworthy non the less. We know he can play defense.
 
Back
Top