ABM

Is Travis' name being bandied about in all these recent trades rumors because management is so ga-ga over Rudy (which, indeed, they are), coupled with Travis fine play, that..........in the end game, long-term overall team quality being King, this is the most prudent and/or cost-effective thing to do at this time?

Or, with Rudy being a 2 while Travis is a 3/4, it would make this question on my part rather moot?

I do know the team needs to pare down the roster. I would think if the above were true about Rudy, then we'd be hearing Martell's name in the mix a bit more often.

For whatever stinkin' reason, I still ask myself if Travis is the real McCoy or simply fools gold, though.

darkhelmit54

well I think Martell's off the ball floor spacing is a lot better and more complimentary than Travis' one on one play especially in the second unit. Even though Travis can play 3/4 he's still out on the perimeter and I think if Rudy can provide a lot of the scoring/ball handling that Travis can do now while being a better passer it makes more sense to pair martell with either one of them as a player to kick out to. And I think Martell would help sergio become a better player much moreso than Travis.

2nd unit

Sergio
Rudy
James Jones/Martell (at times)
Frye?
Pryzbilla

Sergio can distribute to those shooters and Martell/Jones and Rudy can run off of Pryz screens to create havoc rather than Sergio driving the paint while Travis and Jack wait out on the perimeter w/o moving waiting to go 1 on 1.

moldorf

I'm certain the Travis trade rumors are all generated by leaks from other team's front offices, or from the agents of players on other teams. Travis is a recognized and coveted commodity around the league. Adding his name to a proposed trade package for players like Kidd and Gasol implies their value is higher.

Outlaw isn't 'untouchable' of course, but the rumored trades with him involved have been laughable so far.

darkhelmit54

rudy got 14 points and 10 assists in 30 minutes last night.
http://www.acb.com/fichas/LACB52173.php

If he can do anything remotely similar here we have a great sixth man, I just really see a Sergio led "white unit" with Martell and rudy running around and creating havoc and Pryzbilla setting screens much more effective than a slowed down 2nd unit with Travis going one on one a bunch.

ABM

THAT, in a nutshell, is my biggest complaint/concern with Travis. Fade left, fallaway 17-22 foot jumper on a (too?) much consistent basis.

darkhelmit54

don't get me wrong he's improved a bunch and I consider him a valued commodity at this point but, one of my other gripes is that for all of the athleticism he has, none of it is used in the open court. Martell is much better in transition and receiving alley-oops, and cutting backdoor (plenty should be happening next year with Oden), and I think we should be selectively pushing the tempo selectively more (like the spurs). Part of the problem is Roy's style (which harris would compliment), part of it is a lack of interior presence, and a lot of it is Jarret Jack. We aren't utilizing what makes Aldridge so unique!

wastro

Rudy is a 2 and Travis is a 3/4. Having Rudy and Travis on the court will help open up offenses. But I don't think any of us know how this will play out until we see them together.

I like Travis' versatility, and seeing how he's improved each year, I don't see how he can be called fool's gold at this point. He's still young, has no history of injuries, is better than he was at this point last season, is more consistent than ever and has a great contract. No reason to give up on him.

For what it's worth, I don't think Outlaw's name has been bandied about by Portland ... it's other teams who see that combination of what I just mentioned and say, "Oh, he's cheap and good -- maybe Portland would part with him," even though that's exactly why Portland WON'T part with him.

And as long as he does it as well as he has so far this season, I have no problem with Travis going one-on-one as much as he does. He's incredibly effective with that and can either get to the rim on his defender or shoot before the defender realizes that he's even jumped.

alext42083

Yes, it makes the question a moot point.
The team does need to cut the roster a bit, but Travis is not the guy you want to be giving up now. He's finally figured it out and whatever clicked since the Memphis game in his head, he believes in himself now.

Teams want Travis now, and it has nothing to do with Rudy.

Game after game, I get more impressed with Travis' play and become an even bigger fan of his. He's the real deal IMO.

__________________

chairman

I agree with this as well. Adding Rudy has nothing to do with Travis. Keep Travis!

We have no TRUE back up SG right now. So Rudy will slide right in just fine. The only dilema I would have as GM is choosing beetween Webster, Jones,and Frye. With Travis playing the 3-4 that leaves Jones or Martel at the other 3. Martel would be my choice for the LONG TERM , but he probably has more trade value. On the other hand if Travis plays strictly PF and he can along side of Oden or PRYZ, then keep both Jones and Martel and let Frye slide to the end of the bench for depth if LA gets hurt.

Nate4Prez

It's a moot point.

Moot Point: An issue regarded as potentially debatable, but not practically applicable.

When something actually happens it'll be worth discussing.

Resume

Oh thanks for the insight and dictionary definition... you smart 4ss.
Oh, and don't forget... THIS IS A DISCUSSION FORUM. ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IS UP FOR DISCUSSION.

Anyhow... I think we need to keep Outlaw #1 reason for his clutch late in games. That alone makes him more valuable then Martell and James.

__________________

TLo

Exactly. Which means we can express our opinion of threads like these. I like ABM. I consider him a friend. But the fact that Travis plays 3/4 and Rudy plays 2 makes this a moot point. Whether or not we trade Travis has nothing to do with Rudy.

Goldmember

He's fast becoming one of the most clutch players in Blazer history. Even if Martell becomes a 25 PPG player and Travis stays at 15, I would still rather have Travis. The kid has ice water in his veins. You can't teach that.

Who would you rather have taking a shot with the game on the line, Michael Redd, or Robert Horry with 10 times the athleticism?

taterz

Agreed, especially afer we just invested 4 years into his developement. It would be JO all over again. I think the same thing with Martell though, I would be disapointed if we traded either.

BlazerFan22