Seriously, the problem with getting rid of Nate is that everything becomes a total unknown… from Portland’s overall roster, scheme, direction… everything. If you look at teams that are successful for a long-term they aren’t playing Russian Roulette with their coaches. If you are getting on board the merry-go-round of NBA retreads you chemistry issues with your stars, power battles with the GM/front office and dealing with looking at “rebuilding” every time you get a new coach.

Nate has done a tremendous job so far at developing the young guys (keep in mind this team IS still very young) and I believe there aren’t any other coaches in the NBA that truly accel at developing young talent. It is not just about teaching them the NBA secrets, it is about cultivating the mind-set and attitudes of successful NBA winners and Nate is the right guy for that. Most players drafted in the NBA either get a good shot or not right off the bat, then they either pan out immediately or they are moved to another team. Another carosell i’d rather not be on.

Nate surely has made some bad moves this season. His consistent Mind-Screwing of the young PG’s makes my gut wrench… how much time did we lose by not getting Bayless more experience this season? Sergio is definitely good enough to ball-out in the NBA, but with inconsistent minutes how can he gain confidence and show what he is really about? I mean, look how good a SCRUB like Von Wafer looked in the playoffs because he got consistent minutes. Also, Nate didn’t get Rudy involved early or often enough in this series. Nor did it look like he was half as into the games as Rick Adelman was. I mean the calls early were so NOT in Portlands favor and Nate wasn’t calling out the refs or calling a timeout to slow down that RUN that eventually took us out. BUT…

Who better is available on the market than Nate? I can’t think of anyone. Nor do I want to play the game of Change-Our-Coach every other year. That is not how Championships are won or Dynasty’s are formed.

not kneejerk at all.

I supported Trout all season and felt really good about him going into the playoffs but if that is what his production is going to be then he needs to be traded. I also feel like his game is done evolving and he has hit his ceiling. He is too big of a liability.

IF (and at this point it is a pretty questionable if), Travis sticks around in Portland his true role is a Bench Scorer, and ultimately the Blazers 4th, 5th or 6th option on offense… NOT the 3rd which is what he was relied upon this season to be. With B.Roy and Aldridge leading the charge, a developed Rudy and Oden pushing Trout’s serious impact lower… then keep in mind we get double-digit scorer Martell Webster back into the lineup and Travis has MUCH less pressure. And this is not even mentioning whoever is PG of the future (Bayless?).

Yeah, Outlaw’s offense sucked rocks about half the playoffs, but his defense was solid and rebounding was better than normal. Portland was also facing one of the most feared defensive units in the association. Outlaw doesn’t pass well, and usually IS going to shoot it when it gets in his hands.

But lets talk economics…. Travis DOESN’T have the trade upside that most of us on this site used to believe in so what could we really get in a trade? Also, if he is gonna stick one more season at $4+Million then resign a similar deal to Martell’s… what we’d get for the money is truly great value. Why trade him? We could leverage a sign-N-trade with Channing Frye’s contract much better, IMO.

What Travis does give us is added flexibility at the wing. He is the only SF who swings to the PF, and does give Nate some mismatch advantages… at a reasonable price which is hard to come by in the over-paid NBA world. Frye’s expiring contract will make way for KP to add a stronger PF (like UFA’s Drew Gooden, Chris Wilcox or Brandon Bass) who would take some of Outlaw’s minutes anyway… but Portland could still have Outlaw as a reasonbly priced role player. 5th offensive option or so, and with plenty of other directions to go if he is cold….

I say keep him.

With a Bass and Captain Kirk pickup.

To stay in Portland. He’ll be a good 2nd string.

So this is my prediction:

Out: Blake, Sergio, Channing, Raef, Ruffin

In: Kirk Hinrich, Drew Gooden, and a couple rooks…

defense!

but he’d be such a great fit offensively and he got a lot better this season on the defensive end

gah. he’s not a Portland man.

We need a banger down low. I wonder how expensive he will be though.

Instead of just flashes we’ll see a consistent defensive beast. He’s probably going to slim down a bit to gain back agility. He’s really still recovering from his surgery. Since he has this entire summer to work instead of rehab he’s going to be in good playing shape early on. I really hope we can bring somebody in to work with him though.

Watching Oden on the court he looks so uncomfortable with the way his body is now. His bulk really seems to throw him off. Looking back at his old college games he was a lot slimmer and looked more mobile overall. I know he is still dealing with the knee but maybe during the offseason there can be a little experimentation. Oden can try and go a little leaner and see if it makes him more nimble. Sure dunks are great but when he is not right under the basket he tries little hooks and things like a finesse player so maybe mobility should come before being a pure power player.

Which is fine on the Rockets, who don’t need much defensive help. He would not help us much if at all.

In his early years Billups was a journeyman who never came into the right situation. The Celtics traded him midway through his first season for Kenny Anderson to get a more experienced point guard. He didn’t stick with Toronto. Then came the Nuggets who had Van Exel as their clear starter. Then he was injured for a full season. In Minnesota with KG & Co. he had his first really good season in 2001 before going to Detroit. The beauty of the Pistons team was that he got teamed up with Hamilton and Wallace who had been through similar troublesome early careers. As a collective they were able to succeed.