Ukrainefan

According to Canzano's blog, he says he wouldn't be surprised if Blake signed with Portland next year.

But after reading this in the Oregonian i would be very surprised:

"Steve Blake was driving in Portland on Saturday when his agent, Joel Bell, called his cell phone.

The news: The Trail Blazers had traded Blake to Milwaukee along with teammates Brian Skinner and Ha Seung Jin for former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire.

"As soon as he said it, my jaw came down," Blake said Monday, when the deal became official. "I was like, 'Wow. I can't believe it.' I was just silent for a couple of minutes."

A day earlier, he said, the Blazers had assured Blake's agent that his client wasn't being shopped around and that the team already had rebuffed other offers.

Blake said he also was taken aback because he felt he had done everything the team asked of him -- setting roots in Portland, working out in the offseason at the Blazers' facility, and playing well enough to start 57 games last season.

"When I first got here, coach (Nate) McMillan was talking about wanting guys who want to be here, and who live here in the offseason and who work hard for the organization," Blake said. "Those are things I did. I moved here, bought a house, worked out at the facility . . . It just hurts that I did all that and they still felt that someone else would be better."

It sounds like it really hit him in the solar plexus, and it sounds like the Blazers not only misled him but also failed to notify him personally in a timely fashion once it was 100% sure. And he's right, he was the one guy who did everything asked of him and what did he get? Even if this trade looks good on paper, it sure doesn't feel good to me. The one reason i thought it might be an OK deal is because i thought Blake wasn't that likely to resign with us next year but after reading this I'm inclined to think he's the kind of guy who would have out of loyalty. Unfortunately the loyalty only went in one direction here.

mgb

If he got a good offer somewhere else I'm sure he'd go for it rather than take less here. It's a business. The only guarantee you won't be trade is if you have it in your contract. Not that I don't feel for him, but as I said this doesn't mean he wouldn't left when his contract was up.

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Michael



"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling."
-Margaret Lee Runbeck

"Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."
-Jules Henri Poincare (1854-1912)

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

HOWIE

It sounds more like if Portland wanted him he might take less money to come back. I wouldn't mind seeing him back as a Blazer. The whole thing sucks for him, but if he plays his cards right he is going to see more money down the road if teams get into a bidding war for him.

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mediocre man

I wouldn't be surprised either way really. If Portland shows a lot of improvement and let's him know that he is being brought in to back up Jack....(assuming Jack shows he's worthy of starting), throws the right amount of money at him then why not. I honestly don't think Rodriguez will be ready for a few years anyway.

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mgb

Ya, I just got done reading that and thought wait a min, it doesn't sound like he wouldn't want to come back.

__________________
Michael



"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling."
-Margaret Lee Runbeck

"Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."
-Jules Henri Poincare (1854-1912)

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Ukrainefan

My take is still that if the Blazers wanted him back at some point that they should have been more upfront with him. He should have been the first to know and they should have told him "we did everything we could to keep you but for such-and such reason we felt we had to do this. We would really like you back later." But it doesn't sound like that's what they did. Also, there is the bigger question of what is the longterm effect of getting rid of your hardestworking, most loyal players? How is this viewed by other present and future Blazer players?

It's_GO_Time

Blake is a class act who showed that he respected his situation, appreciated the Blazer organization and enjoyed the area. Those players are hard to find.

I said yesterday that I think this is a trade you can't pass up on. But Blake defined the term being thrown around this board "Nate's guy" and will be missed by the organization, teamates and fans.

Blazer Ringbearer

That's pretty sad, really. I really like Steve Blake for a lot of reasons. I hope he has an opportunity to play a lot in Milwaukee and either really likes it there, or finds himself with lots of options next offseason.

I would love it if he came back because he is already a very strong role player and still has room to improve, but my guess is he'll get a better opportunity somewhere else.

You can't help feeling for the guy after reading that. We got a good deal though... hopefully we don't just end up having to let Magloire walk at the end of the season. These quotes really make me rethink what I was saying that Blake would be hard to re-sign in the offseason. If we don't get something good out of Magloire, it will look like a pointless move.

Blazer Ringbearer

Agreed. It's a business, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't treat people with respect. He certainly treated the franchise and fans with a lot of respect by all accounts. If things happened as reported, they did not return the favor and that's too bad.

If we're going to be a class organization, we need to do better.

B_&_B

I agree, Blake is a class act and I wish more of our players followed his lead. But, he gets paid a lot of money, and part of the reason why is because you can be here one minute and traded the next.

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"People say we are coming, but I almost think it's to the point where we are here," he said. "I think it's no longer coming. We are here now."... Brandon Roy.

Samuel

As Pritchard alluded to, Blake has an opportunity to start. Even if he doesn't, he could play his way into contractually beneficial situation where 2+ teams are bidding on him. This is a good situation as a contract year player.

That said, Sergio should be ready to contribute off the bench after a year in the NBA, Brandon Roy will likely show his abilities at the point and Dickau has 2 years on his contract. I'd also be surprised if Blake returned to Portland.

Yega1979

That's why this trade isn't nearly as great as you guys think.

Magilore will not likely return next year. Will Portland offer him a lot of money/years when Aldridge, LaFrentz and Joel are already locked into contracts? Blake likely WOULD have returned.

So we just traded a good backup PG who is capable of starting for some short term backup center.

B_&_B

With Jack as our future, you cant say that Blake "would" have returned.

We have Magloire's "Bird rights", we can pull off a sign and trade... or trade him close to the trade deadline, maybe with Miles.

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"People say we are coming, but I almost think it's to the point where we are here," he said. "I think it's no longer coming. We are here now."... Brandon Roy.

barfo