to improve on this first reply, but let’s keep it coming.

will equate his cancer with his beloved Blazers. You are stealing his hope.

So, is any player out there with a better skill set we might acquire for a deep run into the playoffs? By the way, Kenny Smith says he’s playing good (not great) for Houston in spite of his injuries. No one knows the Rockets better than Kenny Smith. Do you really think he’s past his prime?

There are few players whose physical skills match their competitive fire but he is definitely one. I understand people’s concerns about character but Iwonder if it’s not overblown. Other than “the big fight” which formed our opinions of him, what exactly are his character flaws and are they insurmountable?

Houston would think so I’m sure.

I no longer see the Blazers making any significant trade moves this year – unless something too good to pass up comes along. Roy and Aldridge have stepped up their games, Oden is inconsistent but that will improve, Blake’s game has also improved, Rudy is now settling in as the 3rd guard, and Outlaw is increasingly getting the backup PF minutes. Once Webster is back, we’ll then see how we fare with Webster/Batum, and with Rudy and or Outlaw sometimes getting some of the backup SF minutes. And then, we’ve even seem Pryz plugged in as the backup PF in one instance.

What we have, of course, is a “need” to deal Frye and Diogu. We simply aren’t playing them enough to renew their contracts at $3 to $4 million a year and then keep them on the bench as the third option at PF. However, we’re not going to get a lot in return, other, perhaps, than draft choices or a backup PF.

In sum, we have a solid core – and I can’t see ripping it apart as would be needed to pick up a player that might help us today, but not necessarily tomorrow.

And, I imagine at some point we’ll also try to consolidate the Blake/Sergio/Bayless situation at guard, as we’ve got three who can play, but only enough minutes for 2. But again, it’s not likely we’ll get all that much a better player on a 2 for 1 swap.

In the end, when you’re 22-14, have 4 rookies and 4 third year players in Roy, Aldridge, Webster and Sergio, we aren’t in a position of having to do very much yet.

We could likely get a better backup PF without any radical changes – but to get a front line SF or PG would take a starter, as opposed to trying to deal 2nd team players or rookies.

And since we may have our own solution at SF, assuming we have the patience to let Webster come back and see how it works with he, Batum, and even Rudy and Travis, then that may not be the position of need we sometimes think it is right now. Which would leave PG.

So, my bet is that we clear contracts and tinker – but that’s it.