Titles?

But I’m still hopeful.

Chris Paul for those pieces? Yes of course. Absolutely. No question.

If we can stay healthy, I say yes. Oden is the x-factor. Would I trade for Chris Paul if it meant including Batum in the deal? It’s close, but I don’t think you can pass up the opportunity to trade for the best PG in the league.

It could happen, but it would take lots of good luck. With all of our guys healthy, we’re a very good team. Unfortunately, there are a number of other very good teams. We need a little more to make us a great team and have a better chance.

As for the bonus question. Say we lose Batum, Jerryd, Andre, Joel and other minor pieces, that is a major upgrade. Instant contenders for sure. That basically makes us the Heat of the west, with Paul, Brandon and Greg. Even after the gutting from the trade, we still probably have a better supporting cast. Unfortunately, I don’t see a very good chance of it happening. That being said, I’ll leave myself open to being pleasantly surprised.

And what will we recognize the squad if we ever get there?

Look, as I just posted over at O-live; I’d love to have Paul for some of our assets as long as none of them are Roy, LMA, Batum or Greg.

Other than that, let’s do this. CP3 would be amazing with those four!!! Forget Miami; that starting 5 would devour ring after ring after ring…. right off Pat Riley’s fingers!!!! Muaahhaaha.

our lineup a few years from now after miller retires, or our lineup after paul leaves us for new york?

i believe we would only get CP for 2 years with his current contract. Losing Batum would hurt if CP decided to leave after 2.

I think a core of (healthy) Oden, LMA, and Roy is good enough to compete. But the role players around them are going to have to be solid, and either Oden or LMA is going to have to play at an all-star level. Roy at his best is not good enough for this team to win in the playoffs. The Big 3 all need to play to their potential, and the role players around them need to be content with their roles, if this team is going to win big.

Batum is great and has a very bright future, I think he has the potential to be a special player on both ends of the floor. But Chris Paul is not only rare, he’s an all-star right now, not someday in the future. As much as I like Batum, we can find another guy who can hit 3’s and play defense, in fact we just signed one. As we’ve seen, finding a starting point guard is hard, and a true star is incredibly difficult to find. Not only that, but Chris Paul fits our system and our players well; he doesn’t need to run and gun like some guys we’ve looked at, and he knows how to get the ball into the paint, which is going to be key if Oden stays healthy.

I think we have a lot of quality parts right now, but it’s anyone’s guess whether or not they come together to create a real contender in the playoffs. Adding Paul, even if it costs us Batum, increases our chances of reaching that level.

Keep tougher players like Batum and Pryz. Keep the ones that’ll play with competitiveness and spirit. I like Miller that way too. Surround people with offensive fireworks, sure, but at the cost of the teams’ backbone?

but it’s difficult to say… i mean, we haven’t even seen what our starting five look like together.

Next question.

Roy needs to become as crafty on defense as he is on offense. Take charges and learn how to flop. He loves Kobe so much, learn how to throw elbows.

Aldridge needs to become a skilled a defender as he is an offender offensive player. Take charges and learn how to flop. Get nasty. Stop trying to be so cool all the time.

Oden needs to gain experience, and learn from the team’s best players. But if Roy and Aldridge don’t change, they’ll be terrible role models. Oden will wind up a 1-dimensional, 1-way player. That can’t happen if they Blazers want to win a title.

I think the most important internal change that has to happen is a shift in the way McMillan manages the team. He needs to hold Roy and Aldridge to the same standard as everybody else, at least. He really ought to demand more from his best players.

The Blazers don’t need to add more pieces. They need to improve internally.

plus we solve the guard clutter. I don’t like losing on of the supposed “Big 3” but we’d still be a dynamic and successful team if we got Pryz back healthy as his agent suggested he will be. I’m bracing for the boos.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=27b4eln

Paul / Johnson / Mills
Roy / Matthews / Williams
Batum / Babbitt
Aldridge / Cunningham
Camby / Pryzbilla / Pendergraph

As anyone knows we will be losing depth with this trade… I think it’d be for the better by All Star Break

But that does not mean I don’t value Nic and whomever else but if you can keep the Big 3, Roy, LMA, and Oden, and get CP3? Yes I absolutely believe that we can win a championship

Can Portland’s team as currently constructed win an NBA title? Yes. It would, however, require several developments to take place which are by no means guaranteed to occur:
1. Greg Oden must become the player everyone thought he would be.
When determining whether or not you can win an NBA title, you have to determine whether or not you have a plan to beat your likeliest opposition. The Miami Heat will be a freakishly physical team that excels at getting to the rim. Beating them will require one of two things: forming a team of equally talented physical perimeter defenders to keep them from getting to the paint; or having a truly elite post defense. A duo of Greg Oden and Marcus Camby be create the elite post defense necessary to defeat Miami in a series.

2. An internal candidate must emerge who can consistently exploit the oppositions greatest weakness.
The two greatest threats to the Blazers chances of winning an NBA title are the Lakers and Heat. Both share a similar weakness: PG play. Steve Blake and Mario Chalmers are by no means world beaters. If a player like Jerryd Bayless could consistently get to the rim against the opposition, it would open up excellent opportunities for others on offense.

The Chris Paul Question***
The answer has to be yes. Even with Chris Paul, I still feel that Portland would need a healthy and productive Greg Oden in order to win a title, but I think Paul gives the team the best opportunity to achieve both necessary ends to win a championship. He could consistently exploit the opposition’s PG’s while using his excellent PNR play to turn Greg Oden into a productive offensive player.

But if you can keep the Big 3, Roy, LMA, and Oden, and get CP3? Yes I absolutely believe that we can win a championship. But that’s simply put.

The way I see it is, Miami has gotten very tough. And contending teams all around are getting tougher to match them, unlike most years this last decade. Teams are really strapping down to get better. We would be ignorant to not do the same.

Yes.

Likelihood? Less so. A lot has to go right. And a lot of hoped for growth and players all reaching potential has to happen. And then you hope for some breaks along the way. Granted we haven’t seen the full healthy team much lately, but it doesn’t feel like we’re there. Perhaps a few years from now, but it’s always easy to fill in that future with optimism, right?

Making a move for C3PO, or one more piece helps the odds. Continued roster improvement is a good direction to go in. Still, it’s no guarantee of titles. I’d hate to see the roster gutted to try and form a competing “super team” of star mercenaries, while getting entirely rid of Your Portland Trail Blazers. Just one opinion. But if it can be done while keeping a certain number of recognizable, homegrown pieces, I’m all for it.

I’d have to say yes, but it would have to be this year and Greg has to be the player he was right before the injury this past season for a relatively full season and all of the playoffs while Camby needs to be the same, and most everyone else needs to be healthy for the playoffs as well. Orlando or Boston should be able to beat Miami this coming year in the playoffs given the lack of talented role players. Next year? They’ll get their center, and it may end up being Przy for the MLE. I shudder to think what a player like him alongside those stars could do. The Lakers I think we would match up quite well with, but we would need a little help like homecourt advantage or Bynum being out or something along those lines. Past next year, there are changes that need to be made, but really only MLE-type consolidations, I believe as a dominant frontcourt will need to be maintained and solid perimeter defense.
If we got CP3 for only Miller, Przy, Batum and Bayless, maybe. DC, Pende, draft picks, Euros, what-have-you instead of Batum would work better, but giving up more frontcourt than Przy pushes our title chances out the window next year. Whatever we give up for CP3 we would need an MLE-type player added to the roster to replace something we lost, and so as constructed we are around the same position giving up something reasonable for CP3 as we have as constructed currently, but thats why NO would consider it, and it would mean we would need less quality added to compete later on.

Unless Oden becomes a healthy, non fouling out beast which I have my doubts about all three (not that he won’t be a good center if healthy, I just don’t think he can be all three i.e. beast, healthy and not foul).

With Paul (and we don’t give up Oden or Roy to get him) then yes even if Oden is just a good center. If Oden is included in the deal or is never healthy then no.

Oden is the key either way.

Not so sure he’s the missing piece. Oden wouldn’t benefit from a guard like Paul as much as Aldridge would. So both Roy and LMA would average in the twenty’s, then there is Batum who would, with Paul, or Miller too, benefit from a speeding penetrating guard and score 12 to 14 points a game. Oden is at least ten points a game and Miller (or Paul) score around 10 – 15 pts a game. All of this adds up to 75 or so points a game. With Bayless and the rest of the Bench there is 15(?) points a game. Now the blazers are scoring a minimum of 90 pts a game. Paul is a better shooter than Miller so can score more consistently so it’s possible he can average a little higher than I’ve allotted here.

However, defensively Paul is less a player than Miller so the opponents will score more.

The Blazers become champions when enough of the player’s become difficult to defend. I think individual development and team chemistry need to continue to grow. And then we’ll see.

And while certainly not an ideal outcome still possible with losing both but replacing Oden with Okafor and Batum with Matthews or a forward to be developed (Dante, Claver, Babbitt) or to be acquired later. Maybe even getting Posey in return would help, though that’s doubtful. Paul is that good, and would really fulfill the cliche of making everyone around him better.

Yes, I think we need another very reliable option that “does some things” for us every night, especially in the playoffs but also in the regular season. Some people might argue Oden will be that second option next to Roy, and while I hope for that I can’t realistically and exclusively build on that hope considering his foul troubles and his injuries. So an additional proven co-star to act as a security valve with Roy out of the All-Star or fringe All-Star category would make this roster much more of a surefire thing to deal with the powers in the West and East that be, and the powers that are rising. And that’s not just the Lakers and Heat or OKC or a possible return of Houston to the playoff echelons, even teams like the formerly lowly Kings have improved a lot. The league doesn’t stop and wait for our championship window with baited breath.

1) Oden beats the injury bug. This guy is capable of dominating the league if he can stay healthy.

2) Brandon Roy relinquishes some of the offensive spotlight

3) LaMarcus Aldridge develops a competitive fire/killer instinct

These guys all have the capacity to be dominant players in the league. They’re not all there yet, though. We’ll see what happens, but I am not getting my hopes up that all three of those things come to pass.

Acquiring Chris Paul (for any number of non-big-3 pieces) and assuming he gets back to pre-injury form could mitigate 1) and 3), and is likely to help 2) happen more quickly. This would obviously DRAMATICALLY increase our chances of contending. Then again, I don’t think we have a chance at getting him so the point is somewhat moot.

He doesn’t overvalue our players and knows they’re not as good as a lot of people in Portland think. We can’t just wait around for this roster to grow because it will never win a championship that way. It’s not good enough. Roy is not a superstar in this league, he’s only a star. He needs a lot of help, probably another star, which LMA has failed to grown into so far. Oden can change everything, but Cho has to take into account the actual probability Oden will be healthy enough to do that.

As currently constructed, I think the chances are pretty low. Nonzero, but pretty low. Maybe 10% or so.

we are potentially contenders. It remains to be seen if Nate provides that leadership.
As far as Chris Paul goes, it is more than just talent. Does he WANT to be here, because if he is ‘doing us a favor’, he can get lost. I am not interested in a prima donna narcissist regardless. And, no, he is not critical. So, if a non destructive trade is possible, such as you suggest, ok, but we are good without CP.

my answer is no. I have no faith in his ability to be a full-time NBA player. I would have no problem with him being traded for an upgrade. I hope the Blazers don’t acquire Paul. He’s another injury-prone player. And, he does not play defense. Incuding Batum in any trade at this point in his career would be less than an intelligent move.

I think we can all agree that it would be foolish to trade a healthy Oden, but what if Cho determines he’s to much of an injury risk?

Right now, there’s just too much speculation to argue trading Batum vs. Oden. If we trade Oden, I believe the Blazers would be saying that they can’t depend on him to be a reliable fixture on the team. If we keep him, they’re saying that he’s healthy and there’s a reason he was drafted #1.

but to quote to old Blazer Sedge proverb, “That’s a big if.” Could Oden get healthy and dominate? Absolutely. Might he also suffer another major injury? Absolutely. Which scenario is more likely? For me, this is a painful question to answer.

I would prefer one more season to test out Oden’s durability, but if he is the piece required to get CP3 I say do it. I’m not crazy about trading Nic AND Greg to get him, but I would probably do it. And yes, I think a starting line-up of CP3, Roy, Matthews, LMA, and Camby compete for a championship.

Yes.

Adding CP3 to the core 3?

Yes.

The key has always been (and seemingly will always be) Oden.

The whole question/answer thing gets a lot muddier if you ask whether moving Oden in a deal for Paul leads to championships… while Paul is amazing and a Paul/Roy/LMA led group would be very good, we haven’t seen championships being won by teams with elite PGs in recent history. Bigs are so vital… and we’ve learned that LMA doesn’t fit that role.

but would paul be great along side another ball dominate Guard like Broy. If he came here he would have bigs to play along side him. More than just one like the Magic.

Well that not the question…Would we win rings…
YES….

In the eyes of many fans and media members, OKC has eclipsed the Blazers and we’ve returned to our eternal status as a decent team that makes the playoffs each season and then politely steps aside for the contenders. Well, I think we have the pieces we need to get 60 wins and go deep in the playoffs if injuries don’t derail us again.

I used to have a ‘68 Mustang with the 302 V8. I got in a race once and was winding the motor to the redline, where for some reason it began misfiring. Probably a carburetor issue. Anyway, that’s how I see the Blazers right now. We have a strong team that just needs good health and some fine-tuning to hit its stride.

I don’t think we need Chris Paul to reach the finals. We’ve shown the ability to beat every team in the league the last two years. We’ve shown that we can win on the road. We’re another year older. Our coach and core players have been together a while, though injuries have interrupted their progress. We have an All-Star SG and potential All-Stars at every other position.

So yeah, adding Chris Paul would make us even stronger and I’d love to see it happen if we can keep Oden, Aldridge, and Roy, but I don’t need for that to happen to be excited about our chances to blast our way to at least the WC finals this season.

Heck yeah. Probably not next year but, every year after that we should be in the mix unless there is some kind of injur…wait a minute….forget i said anything. Don’t want to jinx anybody.

You bet it is possible this year. However, winning it all is contingent upon uncontrollable things; health, attitude, storyline, belief, being deserving, having no reasons to lose, want, but you are talking about talent I think. They would have enough talent.

Shaq may play for us if we gave him the BAE. For the record, I do not want to trade Oden. But if it happened.

Paul
Roy
Batum/Matthews
LMA
Shaq/Camby

That is potentially a dangerous squad, depending on who is traded. Title this next year? Maybe. No dynasty though.