patrickh

why this board has tons of posts, about who needs to be thinned
out of the roster?

As I see it the first 4 to be gone are the ones not playing.
Raef/Darius/Green and Mcroberts.

Yes I understand that people are trying to make room for our
draft pick and Rudy...not to splash cold water on everyone, but
if we keep playing at this level our pick will be in the 20's
and we can stash him overseas. Rudy I would love to see but
we have to remember he can make a lot more money overseas than
we can pay on a rookie scale contract.

What I'm trying to say is there is NO reason to make any moves
until the 2008 preseason. There is no trade out there that will give
us a legit shot at a ring this year, so lets just sit back and
enjoy this ride. Let the chemistry grow.

Some of you are reminding me of good ole trader bob who just
made trades to make trades.. Remember his famous saying
"I'm not a chemistry major" Lets give this team a yr to jell.

I personaly don't want any trades until Greg has suited up for
us and has played 20 -25 games..He is part of our core group and
imo it would be shortsighted to trade for missing pieces when
we haven't even seen the whole that we have.

barfo

Welcome aboard! I will give it a shot.

Sure, but Miles and Raef are hard to get rid of because of their large salaries. Green is trivial to get rid of, McRoberts pretty easy.

Only if he is already overseas or can be convinced to go there.

The difference isn't that significant and his long term earning potential is much higher here. You might be right, but everyone from KP on down seems to think he'll be here next year.

Good trades aren't usually available in preseason, so if you wait till then, you've waited too long.

barfo

GOD

First, almost all the posts about trades don't specify that the trade needs to happen during the season. Most everyone agrees that any trades would happen in the off-season.

Second, your list of players that don't play aren't necessarily the ones that should go.

Miles is contracted through the 09/10 season. If we are to have cap room (a decent amount) like KP suggests, we need to get rid of miles prior to the 09 offseason. But, he has a negative value and there are no teams that would trade an expiring contract for him. So if you want to ship out miles for his roster spot and to clear cap space, he needs to be packaged with another player of value like Jack or Sergio. That might not even be enough.

LaFrentz has a contract that expires in the 09 offseason. And if cap room is our target, the Blazers need to let his contract expire. He could be cut and paid the last year of his contract. However, he might end up being worth more in a trade as an expiring contract midseason next year then by using the cap space that would be created by letting him leave. So, it might not make sense to cut him. It might. Not sure yet.

Green and McRoberts are both very young and have potential. They are the type of players a team should keep as their 13th, 14th or 15th players as they can continue to develope while not requiring minutes. If they were to be cut, then the Blazers would lose value. I suspect that one of them will be cut or traded this summer, but which one is a mystery to me.



So, the other problem is that we have a roster loaded with talent that deserves minutes. And with the addition of Oden and Fernandez, the squeeze will only increase. So, some of us feel that we should consolidate some of our talent via a trade. If we can trade Frye and a resigned Jones (both will be short of minutes next year) for one player who is better, then it makes sense to do the trade, shorten the rotation and open a roster spot. Frye and Jones were just examples. As far as I am concerned, only Roy, Oden, and Aldridge are completely off the block, and Outlaw, Webster and Blake are going to be hard for any team to pry away.

Also, we have more talent then just Oden and Fernandez for next year. We also have the possibility of Koponen, Freeland, a first round pick and 3 second round picks. Sure, most of the picks will be left overseas, but roster spots can always be upgraded and we need to be on the lookout for upgrades.

So, why do WE talk about these trades when KP is in control and we have no say? It's fun and this is a discussion board. I like to discuss options for the future. I think we have an incredible core. I think we just need to fine tune it over time and then grab some championships.

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patrickh

The only way to trade Miles is to let him play, and increase his
value. I don't want him to mess with the team chemistry or rotation.
I was thinking of a buy-out if he doesn't retire.

We will only have that cap room if we renounce the rights of a few
players. Otherwise their cap hold would keep us from offering big $
to FA's.

I agree that Frye will have to go to make room up front, I just
think we can wait until we play some games next yr. Oden still has
learn how to play and I don't think he will get more that 15 a game
for the first 20 games. Mostly due to foul trouble and learning how
to play.

IMO green and Mcroberts aren't worth keeping if we have to move
another player to give them time... if they can't crack the rotation
now they won't next yr.

Yes I like talking trades and the future it just seemed people wanted
one by this trade deadline and that doesn't make sense to me...oh
well I will just trust to KP

GOD

A buyout does not remove him from the books, so his contract would still kill cap room in 09, when KP is going hunting. I think the Blazers would want him off the books 1 year earlier then when his contract expires, so the only way to do that is trade him or a medical retirement. A medical retirement is not likely. And miles could be traded without him ever playing in Portland. The idea, is that the other team is actually trading for the young talent that we send out with Miles. Sending out Miles and Jack/Webster/Frye... for an expiring contract. The other team is basically agreeing to spend more money on the young talent. They may very well just cut Miles and let his contract expire. Cutting the contract made sense for us to do with Francis because is ended at the same time that we were looking for Cap space. But Miles contract is one year longer. A team that is on a different schedule than the Blazers may not mind one more year of Miles contract.


Unless we can get rid of Miles contract and perhaps one more young contract. Something like a trade of Miles (8.5) and Webster (large hold, i think about 11mil) would free up so much cap space in 09 that the Blazers could target a max contract player, even if they don't renounce any of their other players.


We have to keep in mind that players have value, and the idea is to trade at the hight of a players value and not the bottom. As a rookie, Frye was sweet and his value was high, then he sucked the next year and his value dropped because NY did not know how to use him. Now, his value is on the rise as he is showing that he really is a good player. But if we keep him around next year, and he sits behind Oden and Joel at C, or Aldridge and Outlaw at PF, then his value is plummet as he rides the pine.

As far as Oden and his minutes, I can't see him averaging less than 24 minutes next year.

You may be right here, I'm not sure. But I know that if we are to build a dynasty, we will need to continue to develop talent. It is impossible to keep every player thats good over the long haul so you need to infuse the team with additional talent. The Spurs have been good for a long time in part because the continue to develop or acquire more talent even if their big 3 never change. Most people would have said the same thing about Outlaw in his first or second year. Really, we are not in a position to judge Green or McRoberts because we don't get to see them enough. But KP and staff get to see them all the time. Perhaps they should be cut, but it may harm us long term.

and we end on agreement. Only a true no brainer should happen mid season since the Blazers have such great chemistry. But, trades will happen in the summer, so get ready.

By the way, keep posting, i enjoy your banter.

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Five5even

I see us unloading some of our young talent simply because its at the point now where there is too much youth. If we make a trade that allows us to move up in the draft, or gain another expiring contract to sign a big time free agent in the next year or two, I can see it happening. In fact, I think it will happen, its just a matter of time. Alot of our players would sell high right now because of how we are playing, and as much as we love how this team is performing, we all know that KP loves to deal. Every year KP makes positive moves, this year wont be any different, it just might mean that some of or beloved young talent is going to have to move on.

__________________
5EVEN

Bill Walton
Charles Barkley IS Ron Burgundy

wizmentor

I'm afraid your memory is not very good. We were stuck in the
"Velvet Rut" for years - good enough to make the playoffs, not
good enough to get past, not bad enough to get help in the form
of a draft pick. Doing nothing wouldn't have been smart. Bob
rolled the dice, and mostly won.

As to our current situation, I agree that moves shouldn't be
made without serious consideration. Roy is the undisputed leader
of this team, and anyone who joins us would need to acknowledge
that.
KP does not need to roll the dice.

__________________
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---Dave Deckard of BlazersEdge

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