Steve Blake FTW!!

I keep on saying that

Blake will retire a Blazer as he has the approval of the three heads of state on the team:

Head of the front office: Pritchard
Head of the coaching staff: Nate
Head of the team: Brandon

The thing of it is, because he is so underrated and has been his entire career, he will never be valuable enough for some team to trade for him and produce enough value for us to return what we get back. So that would only leave one of 2 scenarios where he would not retire a Blazer:

1. Blake gets another offer from a team that is more than what he can get here. With his love or Portland and the direction this team is heading in the next 5-6 years, I do not think the extra $1m will be enough to pull him away. Like I said his game and reputation will generally preclude teams from giving him millions more than he can make here. PA and KP will make sure that Blake will never be hurting for $$ as he is worth matching what any other team will pay him.

2. We just cut him outright. Low probability for he is a good value player and I would imagine he would get a very similar deal when his current contract is up, about $4-5m/yr for 4-5 years is a good deal. KP has been high on Blake and Nate loves the guy and a stabilizing force at the point is invaluable for any team.

3. He retires a Blazer, joins Nates coaching staff when Dean or Monty get to be the head coach of the Seattle Grizzlies/Sonics.

over 3 years ago SpyderRyder 12 comments 1 recs |

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I don't know.

It seems like they are still searching for a point guard. If they landed a guy like Kirk Hinrich, or something close to his caliber, it doesn’t seem like they could both coexist on the roster with Bayless.

If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them.-Charles Barkley

by Winchester on Sep 26, 2008 6:27 PM PDT reply actions

Why would you need to

spend 2x as much to get Hinrich when you can have a suitable PG for only $4m?

Hinrich is not worth 2x Blake, he seems to be about 15% better than Blake is now and the $$ would be better spent at another position or to say flexible for future signings.

The season cannot get here soon enough.

by SpyderRyder on Sep 26, 2008 9:25 PM PDT up reply actions

dollar costs v talent

isnt linear…paying someone 2 x as much does not mean a player is 2 times better. its more of an exponential curve.

by Philthyanimal on Sep 26, 2008 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe...

but you can’t really put a price on defense. Hinrich is easily on of the top five defensive point guards in the league. What other great defensive minded pg is even available other than Hinrich? Devin Harris, Rajon Rondo, Jason Kidd, Deron williams? I think not.

He might be a little overpaid, but only if he doesn’t come back to his original form after having one mediocure season. Guys who play both ends of the court don’t grow on trees, so it makes sense that he would be paid really well.

If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them.-Charles Barkley

by Winchester on Sep 27, 2008 12:57 AM PDT up reply actions

agreed

defensive pgs are pretty rare in the nba and therefore they command a higher price on the market. however even the best defensive pg in the league is no match for chris paul or allen iverson.

by Philthyanimal on Sep 28, 2008 1:33 AM PDT up reply actions

What does "FTW" mean?

For The Win?

this has been a message from: "The People's Alliance to Keep Comment Boards Sucka Free"

by bforsythe on Sep 26, 2008 8:59 PM PDT reply actions

Yes, it's internet gamer-speak...

"TominHawaii's real name is Hubert and he's a rancher in Burns."

by timbo on Sep 27, 2008 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Your first option

is what I hope for. He stays here, due to his love for Portland on multiple levels, content to be under-appreciated by some, but appropriately valued by Nate, KP, Brandon and other teammates.

"One must assume responsibility for being in a weird world: we are in a weird world ... Touch the world sparingly." Carlos Castenada (Journey to Ixtlan)

by Caveowl on Sep 26, 2008 11:04 PM PDT reply actions

I liked Blake

Blazers Edge has an alarmist vision

by tominhawaii on Sep 27, 2008 5:29 AM PDT reply actions

I think on scenario you left out

is that Bayless plays really well in the starting line-up and makes Blake the back-up PG. Then we negotiate some kind of trade in which the other team really wants Blake, maybe as a throw in with T-Law or Webster. Maybe this team really wants a PG and are not willing to gamble on the unproven Sergio. If this is a deal breaker for a trade we really want to make then Steve Blake is gone. But really though, I think Blake has a good shot at staying a Blazer for a long time, even if he winds up backing up Bayless. I have always pulled for Blake to be our guy. He’s a good dude, and he likes Portland, and I also think he is under-rated.

by MattyDread on Sep 27, 2008 9:57 AM PDT reply actions

Works Well For Now

I think Blake is the perfect fit for the Blazers at this point in the team’s growth. He’s cerebral, steady, and willing to give up minutes so we can develop Bayless and Fernandez. I also think he’ll be around awhile. After all, if we finally decide that Bayless or Fernandez cannot ultimately step into the support role the Blazers want along side Roy, then it is that player that will be as likely to be traded, as Blake. If they can step up eventually, then Blake still makes a perfect 15-20 minute a game guard to back up what some hope will eventually be the big three – Bayless, Fernandez and Roy.

Right now, if we traded for a Hinrich, you’d have to ask yourself if he would be worth paying twice the salary yet only playing 24 minutes a game so that we’d have enough minutes to develop Bayless and Fernandez.

The bottom line is that one cannot plug a starting PG in at 32 -35 minutes a game and expect to keep, let alone develop, our rookies.

I’m content for now. However, like every fan, I reserve the right to revisit this next spring.

by Eben Calder on Sep 28, 2008 7:01 AM PDT reply actions