he has to come in to camp with a HUGE improvement in his game and confidence. He has to TAKE minutes from Blakewhile not losing them to Koponen. If he does, great, than Blake might be expendable at year’s end. If not, he’s a throw-in on a trade deadline deal or a draft day deal next year.

One of the off-season BE pleasures has been the lack of Sergio/JJ debate- it’s nice to move on, and one day it will be with fond amusement that we recall the impassioned dialogue that JJ vs Sarge evoked on this here blog during the 07/08 season.

I was always squarely in the JJ camp, and yet I’m glad he’s moved on, and that the Blazers are unencumbered by the well documented limitations of a gutsy player who’s likely reached his ceiling. I feel like Sergio is just as gone, and the day when he’s actually gone will go largely without fanfare.

My sense is that Sergio will be # 4 on the depth chart entering preseason, unless Blakey is traded. I don’t think Sergio is a trade candidate because he has little value, but I could see him being packaged as an add-on.

I guess my only expectation is that he’ll help Rudy acclimate.

At some point last year, I wrote that I’d be happy as heck to see Sergio prove me wrong and have the Blazer PG reigns during the coming glory years. I don’t feel that way anymore. I hope he returns to Spain, matures, and lives up to his own expectations in Europe.

there’s a lot of discussion about rodriguez, jack leaving, bayless coming in, and PK coming over from Finland. But really, the forgotten pg in this whole thing is Blake. I think we’re all selling him short a little bit by saying that he’s nothing more than a backup pg. I think he will do some very interesting things in the half court, especially now that he has Oden to throw the ball to in the post. He has never had an opportunity to play with a big man quite like Oden, neither in denver nor in portland. Although he is not a good transition pg, he runs the halfcourt really well.

Sergio will hit that unfortunate third-year lull where the fanbase turns on him (see Jack, Webster, Outlaw). However, we’ll fill the void by demanding that Nate get over his mancrush on Blake and play Koponen more minutes.

We have 10 solid players, And then, we have Sergio, Koponen, Batum, Diogu and LaFrentz. That’s just the way it goes. It’s tough to break into the Roy, Blake, Fernandez and Bayless group. Let’s face it. Blake already replaced Sergio/Jack in Mac’s rotation as the starter. Roy was never in doubt, and now you’ve not only added Fernandez, but the man KP and other teams has as the 4th best player in the entire draft. That’s good for the Blazer, but it’s really tough for Sergio. Like most, he’ll be gone in a year or so – or maybe less. We’ll probably keep him around through Fernandez’s first year, since everyone needs a friend and he’s not costing a lot. And, he’s a good kid. His best shot is to play out the string – and then if KP can’t find a backup slot on another team where he can have some fun and play, to go back to Europe, pick up his $2 million or so a year, and settle in there. Right now – he’s frustrated and his confidence has taken a hit.