One (or two) more...

Listening to the Quick Chat yesterday the thing that stood out to me was not that the Blazers had been shopping around the league, but that there was a trade fromt he Eastern Conference that could make the Blazers contenders. This year.

   Which is probably WAY more information  than Quick should have given, but that's just fine by me. My parameters for this were simple. Eastern Conference only, starting from the bottom of the standings (teams more likely to look to make this sort of trade) the PG/SF combinations I can make some sort of argument for why they push Portland into the hunt. Now, mind you I don't know what we'd give up to get these guys, and please feel free to speculate below, and Quick didn't really seem to specify which guy would be the difference maker.

• Washington (9-36): Scraping the underbelly of the East are the Wizards. I can see maybe two possibilites, both would be difficult to work, especially without giving up a starter. And, as JQ said no starters are involved. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison could both play the 3, but I don't really see the difference-making point guard that is supposedly "sweetening" the deal. Certainly Mike James is not that guy.
  • Butler/James Move-a-tron: Code Blue.
• Indiana (18-28): Ten games below five-hundred and 2.5 games out of the 8th seed. Only in the Eastern Conference... The Pacers could actually work something. I don't forsee the return of Jarrett Jack, though. T.J. Ford, and his 14.7 ppg however, at least give you pause numbers-wise. He hits only 33% from deep, but he is getting to the the charity stripe, 4 times a game and making them 90% clip. By comparison, Blake gets to the line 1.1/game, (80%), Sergio 1.0 (83%), and Bayless 2.6 (84%). That kind of slashing point guard play is exactly what could allow Portland to take some pressure off of Brandon. See: Parker, Tony and Ginobili, Manuel.  Granger is probably not on the market, but what about Dunleavey? His numbers are deflated this year after a career year last season, but they're still more than serviceable. Adding him into the mix eases off even more of the scoring burden, and he's a good enough 3 point threat that he'll space the floor properly for Brandon to roam.
  • Ford/Dunleavey Ring-Rater: Signs of life.
• Toronto (19-28): Another East team that could benefit from a move or twelve, and knowing Coangelo's reputation for liking trades... But the Blazers couldn't make a deal with them last year (of course, they thought they were contenders last year. Silly Raptors. Trix are for kids!) The only way I can see this being the kind of deal we're talking about is if it includes Jose Calderon... And wether you believe he'd take us to the promised land. But, if you added Jermaine O'neal...? Might be too expensive. I don't think Moon's our guy. Bargani's not available.
  • Calderon/O'neal Truth-o-matic: It don't pass the smell test.
• Chicago (19-27): This one has already been done to death in the other posts here, so I'll be brief. Does Hinrich/Deng put the Blazers over the top? Deng isn't a 3-point shooter, so the lanes will be more clogged for Roy and crew. Hinrich has averaged 16 points and 6.3 assists in his past, and is a servicable enough long range threat that you can't lose track of him. I just don't know enough about his defense to say that he'll be better enough to justify making the trade.
  • Hinrich/Deng Could actually happen, if it's a good price.
• Charlotte (19-27): All speculation died when Bynum went all YMCA on Gerald Wallace.
• New Jersey (20-26): While I agree that Vince Carter and Devin Harris would make the Blazers the Championship pick, there is no way in a salty green hell that this deal goes down. No one else on this team fits the bill (sorry Keyon Dooling).
  • Carter/Harris In your wildest dreams.
• New York (20-25): Ah, the Mike D'antoni illusion. I think all players want to spend their contract year under this man. Chris Duhon is averagind 8 assists a night (because his team takes twice as many shots as anyone else) I just don't see anything on this team.
• Milwaukee (22-27): I just can't get a bead on this team. One night they thrash Dallas 133-99, then they just stand around against Indiana and let TJ Ford do his best MJ impersonation. They do look like a team that's lost (this happens when you go from Andrew Bogut to Dan Gadzuric). Are they open to the sort of trade we're talking about? Maybe. But Luke Ridnour is Blake II with back problems. The only guy I'd want would be Richard Jefferson. That would be something.
  • Jefferson/Ridnour If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
• Phillidelphia (22-22): With their recent surge in the standings, I don't really expect Phillie to be making a move right now, and any of their players who do fit the profile are of the "untouchable" variety.
• Miami (25-19): A case where I think that the team is currently overachieving, but management probably thinks it's not enough. The Heat have been better than the sum of their parts because of Dwayne Wade. Marion is injured, but I'm not sure if he's untouchable. He can defend almost every position, but it's a question of motivation. So, does Marion/Chalmers work out? Or do the Blazers need more?
  • Marion/Mario Hey, if this doesn't work out, one of them can always kill Bowser and save the princess.

I think that just about does it. Detroit is back from the brink of implosion. Atlanta might be looking to move up, but they won't be willing to give up the parts Portland needs. Cleveland and Boston are pretty much set. All in all, I'm curious to see what (if anything) happens. Like I said before, I know I didn't say what the Blazers would have to give up, but feel free to comment.