Outlaw disrupts this team…. he is not a bad player, but given the current lineup I do not think he is a good fit.

if I had to chose between the two it’d be martell 7 day’s a week…..

Martel showed his value to us loud and clear last night. (by his absense)

I used to get irritated at people who would beat the “trade Travis” drum. After watching for myself, I see what they were talking about. He likes to jack up bad shots without working for a good shot. It’s almost the opposite of Roy, who really works for some kind of position of advantage before he puts up a shot.

I don’t think Travis should be traded lightly though. He will have strong perceived value to other teams, and we should get something valuable in return. (Especially with Pritchard running the trade.)

They are both good players. They both deserve a place in this league. Their skill sets are completely different. For the PTB, they need different types of players to create mismatches.

But quite frankly, with the best players on the PTB, Martell’s skill set is more valuable. Granted Outlaw would’ve played better last night with Roy on the floor, but look at player skill sets and team needs….Martell needs to be with the first unit when healthy…unless Rudy keeps the magic up because he is lightning in a bottle with his court awareness and a first unit of Blake, Roy, Rudy, LMA, and Oden would be the best offensive team in the league, hands down.

He is well known to disappear for stretches of games and doesn’t finish the game in the 4th quarter. Webster is an inconsistent shooter and doesn’t move well off the ball in the half-court. None is these facts are changed after a pre-season game against a terrible team missing two of their best players at home.

We were missing Roy and Blake who are the best ball handlers and least turnover prone guards on the team. This is the reason we lost the game last night, not due to Martell’s absence. His value is over stated until his regular season performance shows otherwise.

If Batum really is ahead of schedule I think Outlaw could be traded. Rudy and Bayless already come off the bench to provide significant firepower, so he is sort of a unnecessary luxury as a sixth man. If Batum can be a decent backup SF and a the three guard lineup works then what’s the problem? I think Outlaw will be gone soon after Webster coes back.

Can we now egg on a fight between Annthefan and Sophia?

I agree with this post. Martell Webster has the elite level of athleticism and natural SF size that make him a great candidate for much success at on-the-ball defense against some of the games most dangerously athletic players. Martell IS NOT a “Dominant” On-the-ball defender…yet. The good news is that he has been improving steadily the past two years, and coach Nate rides Martell pretty hard as far as defense is concerned. He has a super-high ceiling for defense, 3-point shooting, and slashing/dunking. What more do we want out of a starting SF?

Martell will continue to develop. The one thing Martell has proven to us is that is capable to improve. Secondly, he has shown the willingness to work at improving. We know that he still has a high ceiling and this “On-the-ball” defense is his key to success with the Blazers and in his career. Nobody just wants a shooter. One-dimensional players end up being nothing more than journeymen. Nobody wants that, including Martell.

It totally stinks that we lost Martell for basically 2 months, in what is supposed to be a break-out or make-or-break year for him. I am rooting for him to get healthy and provide this team his talents that blend VERY WELL with our starting line-up. He shot well and defended well in the first pre-season game, I thought he looked great.