Wow, another swing and miss for the front office...this is becoming a pattern. I hope they truly do have something planned for Greg beyond the simple 1.5 mil...otherwise they are 0-3 (maybe 1-4 counting Crawford).

Got me thinking though, if I were to give the the benefit of the doubt and presume that Nic's agent was asking for too much (say 9 mil +) when to the Blazers just let him go (could they swing a sign & trade)?

The same could be said for Greg, Jamal, and Crash. Although I don't see crash getting much more than he has now (10 mil or so). In Batum's case, I don't think he signs for less than 8 mil, I mean Gallo got 10+ and Affalo got 7+ last year. In limited minutes Nic is playing like a top 15 SF in the league and there are plenty of teams who will be willing to spend on a young versitile wing with a great personality and plenty of untapped upside. So if 8 mil is a bottom, how much did Nic want, and how much did the Blazers offer...how can this be so hard?

Greg is a real exciting case. From his production, his value should be mid-level or less, but his upside might loosen some wallets. Are the Blazers even in the running, how much would they want to invest?

Jamal won't get more than 10mil (IMHO)...he just isn't consistent enough. Do you pay Crawford big money (Batum money or more) and leave Williams on the bench? Couldn't Williams shoot 35%/30% for far less money AND be a better defender? Nolan plays like a 2 anyway and he has shown real chucker tendencies...chuck away my friend and save the team millions of dollars!