Dear Kevin Pritchard,

The last time I wrote to you, my thoughts were so jumbled.  How could they not be?  Greg hadn't done anything; people were a little scared.  Most of Portland hadn't heard of Jerryd Bayless.  Channing Frye was loved by everyone.  Now in the middle of trade rumors, I don't hear a lot of screaming about the possibility of shipping Frye for a certain Knickerbocker.   Times have changed.

One thing hasn't changed: Martell Webster still isn't fully recovered from injury.  You said that you would have made him your pre-season prediction for most improved player on the team.  If I respect your opinion as much as I do (which I do), that's high praise indeed.  Steve Blake is no doubt a drastically improved player from last year, and Sergio can look downright brilliant when everybody is paying attention to Brandon.  Those two guys in particular clearly showed a drastic improvement in the offseason, and you're telling me that your prediction would have been Martell?  I'm pretty excited to see this.

Speaking of Sergio, let's talk about the trade.  Sergio is great when he doesn't have to create all the shots, but we've seen what his offensive limitations do to us in the recent games without Roy.  Obviously our entire backcourt has not done an adequate job of filling in, but all the other guys are simply missing their shots.  Sergio isn't as able to get those good shots for himself.  He would certainly flourish in a more spread-out offense (a la D'Antoni).  But would Rudy be okay without him?  I read one interview where in response to a question about his chemistry with Sergio, Rudy responded by saying that he could develop that kind of chemistry with other players on the team with more playing time (namely Steve Blake).  It was interesting to me that he chose to point that out.

Jerryd Bayless - well, I've already professed my love for him.  David Lee is certainly a valid consideration, so I don't blame you if you're in negotiations.  But we still don't need to trade anybody.  I like the idea of letting it "bake," as you put it.

Until next time...

Thanks K.P.,

Ian