Pritchard must prune this roster
by JordanLeDoux on Nov 9, 2009 9:24 AM PST
27 comments
This is not a post about how our trades/draft picks/free agents have failed or aren't fitting in. Rather, this is a look at a reality that is putting McMillian in a very hard place: he has several guys, (Bayless, Fernandez, Webster, Batum when he returns), who deserve minutes that McMillian simply can't deliver. Some of these players must be cashed in to allow McMillian to settle on a solid 7-8 man rotation, with spot minutes for everyone else.
I'm not necessarily going to propose how to do that, but right now, we are a team in transition. Who is going to be here next season? Two seasons from now? It's difficult to say.
But this goes deeper than simply keeping players happy, such as Fernandez who knows he would be starting for most teams in the league. Rather, this is about McMillian having to make choices that will inevitably frustrate and stunt the production of some very talented players on our roster.
The issue with "too much talent" is that talent is very hard to turn into production in limited minutes. Channing is a great example of that, (but there was no real place for him on this team anyway). Bayless and Fernandez both have talent to be solid production guys, but without minutes, and consistency, it's difficult for them to turn it into something they can cash in every night.
I feel like McMillian has received a lot of criticism for something that really isn't his fault. As has been mentioned, you'd rather have "too much" talent than too little. But it is a problem none-the-less. And it's a problem that can't be fixed with coaching.
This season we'll discover just how good of a GM Pritchard really is. Will he be able to make the tough choices and do what has to be done, or will he be frozen by indecision? I have a lot of faith in Pritchard and McMillian. I think they're the perfect guys for our team and I hope both are around for a long time.
But something need to be done to clean up this roster. We've got too much talent and too few minutes, and that particular combination will always lead to inconsistency, which happens to be one of McMillian's least favorite traits.
I don't know who should be traded, and certainly can't even really guess at who *will* be traded, but mark my words, Pritchard will trim this roster up by the deadline or every analyst in the league, and every fan on this site, will be writing essays on his mistakes.
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Poor Martell...
I see him, blake and …… 2/3 rookies getting swapped for journeymen on the end of their contracts just to solidify the roster..
And I LOVE Martell, but …. Travis is just… Freakin Psycho kinda Dependable now…
scarrrrry. (did I just say that?)
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
by faith on Nov 9, 2009 9:29 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
ha ha ha bayless ain't a rook no more is he, (was considering him one of the 2/3) ....eke.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
by faith on Nov 9, 2009 9:30 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm beginning to think that Travis may be a serious baller real soon. He is taking it to the rack this year, and hitting 3's.
Why did he have to start showing signs of FINALLY show signs of improving his defense and basketball IQ after we don’t have the option to lock him up. Now we have to trade him to get guaranteed value out of him. He has been a pleasant surprise to the start of the season.
by dario argento on Nov 9, 2009 7:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
good timing
sell when high…beware the pyrite
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 8:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
well... I mean..
he ain’t no freakin KG, but his shot is darn near unblockable, and so….weird that … it’s just hard to defend…. n the sick thing is, it went from completely ugly to ? dependable.
And that’s just sick!!
but. 3 ball, one dribble leap-dunk, jab-step shoot…. he hits em.
n it’s become a big part of what we do well anymore, we’re just unpredictable.
(mind the spelling i’m in a hurry)
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
by faith on Nov 9, 2009 10:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Several teams are still not sure if they’ll make the playoffs or not. Give it some time. As the trade deadline approaches and certain teams give up on their season we’ll probably see a lopsided trade.
Regarding Hedo Türkoğlu:
Look at the bright side, Blazers fans -- you dodged a bullet. He peaked statistically two years ago. He's allegedly 30 but could be closer to 32 or 33 for all we know. (Do you trust Turkish birth certificates? And isn't it weird that he played four years of pro ball in Turkey in the 1990s?)
- Bill Simmons of ESPN.com
by halo_on on Nov 9, 2009 9:46 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
too much talent is ok
what makes it tough is a lot of our talent have more in potential than they do production, and that is what makes it difficult. if they were seasoned vets who don’t need to develop it makes it easier to let them ride the pine and be productive when they get inserted in the game. Juwan Howard has done pretty decently in his spot mins…but i can’t expect young players who have things to prove to be as consistent.
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by Philthyanimal on Nov 9, 2009 10:54 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
i can’t expect young players who have things to prove to be as consistent.
Or as patient. Young veterans are still concerned about PT and stats, because they want their next contract to be "out of this world’ kind of money.
OTOH, mature/crafty vets have already made their money, their motivation is to win a ring. They’ll accept less PT and use “age and treachery” to overcome “youth and skill” (that’s the San Antonio model, in a nutshell)
Ideally, you want a balance of both on a contending team, young hungry vets and crafty old vets. Adding Miller and Howard was a step in the right direction, but Juwan is on the “ancient” end of the scale and isn’t enough of a contributer. An playoff-experienced “early 30 year old” who can play PF/C would be a good guy to have for the playoffs
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 9:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Teams that win championships often have overtalented rosters.
The failure of your position isn’t that your idea is a bad one. The Blazers might become better if they are to package their multitude of talent for fewer guys with more experience or more talent per person.
The failure is found in your use of words like “must.” What you propose is reasonable, but it is not reasonable to assume that it is the only possible good outcome.
Possible rebuttals would simply be titled, “Injuries”, “Strong backups limit starter minutes”, or “A GM his players can trust.”
Regardless, you are assuming a strong win deal is out there, which it may or it may not.
Between the fact that your preferred outcome may not be the best outcome, and the fact that it is a matter of probability whether your preferred outcome is possible I think that your position is not as clearly the correct choice as some of your phrases make it out to be.
Consider your hyperbole marked, but everyone can be Nostradamus in such a way. Here is another easy prediction:
If Pritchard trims the roster by the trade deadline, every analyst and every fan on this site will be writing essays on his mistakes.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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by staylost on Nov 9, 2009 11:06 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Agree
that a trade to consolidate the roster probably should, and likely will, occur. Hopefully a really good situation for a proven player that really helps the team will present itself at the trade deadline. If not, said trade could really backfire. Remember Dale Davis for Jermaine O’Neal??
The next big trade KP makes will probably define and determine how successful he will be regarded as a GM.
by socalblazer on Nov 9, 2009 11:12 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Winning solves all problems, relax.
But this goes deeper than simply keeping players happy, such as Fernandez who knows he would be starting for most teams in the league.
And no, Rudy would not start for MOST teams in the league, he would start on a FEW of them (Houston, New Orleans…)
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Nov 9, 2009 11:35 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
......................... but he has the example of Sergio to look to: don't be hasty with your wishes, they might come true.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Nov 9, 2009 11:35 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
If you went team by team
and looked at the starting 2’s in the league my guess is that Rudy would be better than about 1/2 of them. There are alot of bad off guards starting in the league right now. NY, NJ, Indy, Cha, Cle, Hou, plus many more would love to have Rudy.
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by usmcr3049 on Nov 9, 2009 1:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
you forgot the most obvious...the T-Wolves
but KP wouldn’t be so cruel to exile Rudy to NBA Siberia, would he? Even if it meant getting ahold of Ricky Rubio’s draft rights?
Brrrr…better lay low and keep quiet, Rudolpho
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 9:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
not sure about that
let’s see…
might start – cavs, bulls, nets, warriors ( don nelson would want him at pf though) , rockets, thunder, jazz
would not start – celtics, sixers, magic, hawks, pistons, heat, mavericks, nuggets, clippers, lakers, grizzlies, suns, kings, spurs
would start – knicks, raptors, bobcats, pacers, bucks, wizards, t-wolves, hornets
i’d say there are 8 places he almost definitely would start, about 7 maybes and 14 no’s. if he started for half the maybes that’s around 12 teams out of 29 – about 40%.
most of the places he’d definitely start are pretty awful situations – the knicks, bobcats, pacers, bucks and t-wolves.
new orleans or toronto would seem nice destinations for him.
he might work in okc, new jersey or cleveland assuming they don’t want to start a defender as they currently do. chicago has too many guards but they might start him. he’d probably see as much time at the 2 in dallas as quinton ross but ross is their stopper to cover for kidd so i doubt he’d start and he wouldn’t be a 30 minute a game guy anyway with jason terry coming off the bench.
there are better situations yes, but i think people exaggerate how much more time he’d see on other good teams.
by colinmarsh on Nov 9, 2009 11:16 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The only thing that needs to change is that Blake needs to play fewer minutes and Rudy needs to play more
Although I would still be up for trading for a Kurt Thomas type.
by jksnake99 on Nov 9, 2009 11:41 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
I am pounding the table with you on this one.
"The match in Los Angeles is a good opportunity to begin to demonstrate that we want to make war." Rudy Fernández (translated)
by G_dubs on Nov 9, 2009 6:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Except
you left out when Batum comes back Martell is out in the cold. I think that is what you said last night…I do think at some point this roster does need to be pruned.
"The match in Los Angeles is a good opportunity to begin to demonstrate that we want to make war." Rudy Fernández (translated)
by G_dubs on Nov 9, 2009 6:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
how about
rudy blake and travis for klove or jefferson and flynn
by riccc_l on Nov 9, 2009 12:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
uh yeah, Kahn would hang up before you finished that proposal
by kobisportsguy on Nov 9, 2009 4:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
take out Blake, Jefferson and Flynn
I’d settle for K-Love and the rights to Ricky Rubio for Travis and Rudy
In. A. Heartbeat.
let Ricky and Victor “marinate” in Europe for a few years and when Andre is ready to hang ’em up…here comes Rubio and Claver, the new Spanish Air-mada!
How fabulous are my dreams?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 9:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
BTW, Kahn will need to add Wayne Ellington to the deal
to make those all-important salaries match up
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 9:17 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He has a valid point
"The match in Los Angeles is a good opportunity to begin to demonstrate that we want to make war." Rudy Fernández (translated)
by G_dubs on Nov 9, 2009 6:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Valid hardly means correct or meaningful.
Though this is one of the reasonable ways to look at the situation.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
by staylost on Nov 9, 2009 9:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
but mark my words, Pritchard will trim this roster up by the deadline or every analyst in the league, and every fan on this site, will be writing essays on his mistakes.
Well I know that’s not true, most fans on this site still think KP did the right thing by letting RLEC expire last February when Kirk Hinrich was ripe for the picking. (It’s when he offered Hedo 5/50 that folks really started scratching their heads about KP…)
But much will depend on how Portland does in the postseason, when it comes time to evaluate KP’s cake baking. Last April’s result wasn’t so tasty, and another first round loss this year might disrupt those calm waters. If KP lets Outlaw walk away “for nothing” in July, then the red flags will be raised up the proverbial flagpole. But I don’t think we’ll ever reach that point, KP has got to be more clever than that…right? Tom Penn will pull another rabbit out of his hat and we’ll never have to hear (or read) another discouraging word…
Personally, I’m rooting for KP to make a Billups-Gasol-like deal for a real difference-maker. Some poor schmuck of a GM is going to have to dump a great player’s salary this winter and KP will swoop in and add the final piece to his championship puzzle.
“The sun’ll come out tomorrow…bet your bottom dollar…”
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Nov 9, 2009 8:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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