The Blazers future, as I see it!

by VegasNed on Jun 3, 2007 9:05 PM PDT

I'm coming to the BlazersEdge party late, so excuse me if this scenario has already been played out.

Draft Oden!

Blazers give Zach Randolph and Jarret Jack to the Chicago Bulls for the #9 pick and Kirk Hinrich. Bulls get a low post scorer to match up with Ben Wallace and get an effective point guard to distribute the ball on offense.

Blazers take that #9 pick and package that with a combination of their 2008 first round pick or Martell Webster (who needs starter minutes that he can't get in Portland to develop) to get Cory Brewer, who should probably fall anywhere between #5 and #7.

Starting lineup:
PG- Kirk Hinrich
SG-B Roy
SF-C Brewer
PF-L Aldridge
C-G Oden

What you get out of this lineup is a new Blazer identity that focuses on defense, transition, a balanced offense, and leadership on the court.

Defense: Hinrich has been assigned to guard Dwayne Wade in the playoffs for the past few years and has enough athletic ability to be effective against the top point guards in the West (Parker, Nash, Williams, Davis, etc.). Roy is a smart, versatile defender on the perimeter while Brewer has a reputation for being a premium perimeter defender, able to shut down quicker, athletic playermakers. Oden and Aldridge team up to begin work at the Swat Factory down low in the paint.

Transition: Good defense (blocks, steals, loose balls) leads to transition. The transition game will be in full force with Roy and Hinrich facilitating the fast break along with the athletic and mobile frontcourt of Brewer, Aldrige, and Oden finishing off breaks with authority.

Balanced offense: In two to three years, you will have a strong inside presence with Oden, an inside/outside game with Aldridge, an athletic slasher with Brewer, and an outside game with Roy and Hinrich. You have ballhandlers in Roy and Hinrich who will wreak havoc on pick and rolls and be able to distribute to any number of finishers and you will also have shooters in Hinrich, Roy, and eventually Brewer (has a nice shot now, but will take some time to extend the range).

Leadership: Roy will still be the man,....but it's always nice to have another option in Hinrich on the court who can breakdown a defense and make smart decisions on the go.

As Jim Collins often says, when you are putting together a successful organization, it's most important to first get the right people on the bus and to get the wrong people off the bus.

Brewer and Hinrich are the right people because they are dynamic impact players that contribute in their own ways offensively, defensively, and in transition. Sound off Blazers fans!

Do you think these two players will fit in well with the core (Roy, Aldridge, Oden)?

If so, are Hinrich and Brewer worth the price of Z Bo, Jack, Webster/#9 pick?

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Comments

I'd love to get Kirk.

I'd even give Zach and Martell for Kirk alone and let them keep the pick. I know they love Kirk in the CHI, but Duhon would be sufficient to get them a title.

If KP takes Oden instead of Durant, Brewer would be a great fit at the 3. He will be very difficult to get though. I would be very happy trading Jack to Atl for Childress, then stariting him at SF: Kirk/Roy/Childress/LMA/Oden.

by JMblazerfan on Jun 3, 2007 9:30 PM PDT reply actions

Interesting.

I haven't seen the Hinrich twist on a Bulls trade, though I'm guessing it's probably because they're not likely to part with their good young PG. I like Hinrich and all, but I just have to ask: Is he really worth paying 10mil more than we would Jack? Seems like Jack will continue to improve, though maybe not to Hinrich's level, but that just means we can keep him for longer at a lower price. I don't know. The end result is certainly a nice thought ...

I wouldn't give up our future first rounder, though. If we can't trade for Brewer, Green should be there at #9. And don't forget we have some nice second rounders as trade assets, and PA always has some cash to throw for other teams' picks--though I wonder if they'll be less eager to trade with us now that we have a potential juggernaut brewing ...

by bfan on Jun 3, 2007 9:38 PM PDT reply actions

Jack will be expensive soon too.

JJ will be due for an extension next year, or become a FA in 2 summers anyway. Surely he will get 6-7mil/yr at least if he continues to progress as he has. So is Kirk that much better? I think so. He is one of the best defensive PG's in the league already at age 26, makes great decisions on offense, his shooting would create more space in the paint for our bigs and wider driving lanes for our slashers.

Great point about the "potential juggernaut" thing. But giving Ben Wallace 4yrs/60mil last year at age 32 tells me the Bulls want to win a title ASAP. Maybe KP can use other teams in the East for leverage. Or maybe Paxson wouldn't mind if DET had Rasheed, Dice, AND Zbo for Big Ben to guard in the playoffs next year.

by JMblazerfan on Jun 3, 2007 10:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Nice.

That WOULD be some leverage, wouldn't it. "We're sending him to Detroit unless you come down a little on your offer ..."

Honestly, doesn't Chicago HAVE to make a play for him? They'll be even weaker at the position now that they've lost PJ Brown ...

by bfan on Jun 4, 2007 6:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Hinrich

Just to throw this out there, when you flip over to the Bulls blog, they actually mention (somewhat surprisingly to me) Hinrich and Gordon as trade options.

Brandon Roy 007

by TimG on Jun 4, 2007 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Welcome VegasNed!

Great to have you on board.

I think the Blazers would do this deal easily. I think the Bulls would probably tell us to go stuff ourselves...twice. I could see them giving up the #9 pick for Randolph if a way was found to match salaries (PJ Brown re-signing for instance or maybe Nocioni, though they'd have to think more) but they'd probably consider Hinrich alone too much, let alone Hinrich and the pick.

I pretty much agree with your reasoning about the players we would acquire being good fits and I respect how you made the deal make sense in a basketball context and not just as a list of talent.

--Dave

by Dave on Jun 3, 2007 9:59 PM PDT reply actions

Hinrich

I agree - no way Chicago trades him, unless the guy they are getting back is named Kevin.

by timg56 on Jun 4, 2007 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions

No to trading Kevin

Hinrich for Pritchard wouldn't be fair value. Sure, Hinrich can run the point, but how's his eye for talent?

by matthewcc on Jun 5, 2007 9:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Bulls

I'd been kicking around a trade involving Hinrich, too, but I've given up hope on that after pouring over Bulls sites.

If you check out the Blog-a-bulls sister-blog (right column on main page) you'll quickly get a good idea what Bulls fans think of their players, and of Zach Randolph. Granted, they don't decide trades, but it probably gives you a good insight into what the general mindset for people in Chicago and the the Bulls front office is.

they highly value Hinrich (and Deng)
they don't like Duhon (though it might be mostly because with Gordon, it gives them two short guards on the floor) as a starter, or even backup. I don't see what Duhon would bring to our team.
They don't hold Nocioni nearly in the esteem that we've started to convince ourselves (well, at least myself). They think he's good for 10-12 minutes a game (also, it sounds like we can make a run at him in FA with the MLE, so we might not need Chicago anyway if we want Nocioni).
they have an almost identical opinion of Randolph as Blazers fans (probably in part absorbed from this site): doesn't play defense, black hole on offense, etc...

In short, if we're going to fleece someone it probably won't be the Bulls. What they can give us, we don't really want or need (or it isn't a fair value); what we want from them they will not give.

If Nocioni can be had for the MLE, then we don't need Chicago. Throwing in Jarrett Jack is not going to get us what we'd want (Hinrich or Deng). What do we do with Jack, Duhon and Sergio?

All they have left that is interesting to us is Deng, Hinrich and the #9. Unless there is a third team involved (in which case a lot of things are possible), I think the only thing we can get from them is the #9 and some loose change.

by matthewcc on Jun 4, 2007 8:03 AM PDT reply actions