Ok...

I only bring up this trade because I saw it posted somewhere else and it got positive responses from all three teams. Here's the breakdown.

Phoenix Trade Breakdown
Incoming Players: Jerryd Bayless, Channing Frye, Steve Blake, Raef LaFrentz, two future 1sts (POR)
Outgoing Players: Alando Tucker, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Steve Nash
PHX build around Stoudemire, with an eye toward 2010.
Blake, Bell, Barnes, Stoudemire, O'neal
Bayless, Dragic, Hill, Frye, Lopez


Memphis Trade Breakdown
Incoming Players: Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Martell Webster
Outgoing Players: Mike Conley, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric
MEM adds to their arsenal while handing the reins over to OJ.
Mayo, Webster, Gay, Diaw, Gasol
Lowry, Barbosa, Warrick, Arthur, Milicic


Portland Trade Breakdown
Incoming Players: Alando Tucker, Steve Nash, Mike Conley, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric
Outgoing Players: Jerryd Bayless, Channing Frye, Martell Webster, Steve Blake, Raef LaFrentz, two future 1sts
POR contends NOW, and brings in an heir for the Steve to groom.
Nash, Roy, Batum, Aldridge, Oden
Conley, Fernandez, Jaric, Outlaw, Pryzbilla

I don't really see any downside to this trade for Portland. Yeah, we give up pieces, but you always have to give to get. We don't give up any of our top 5 pieces and we get back Nash, Conley and Tucker. Plus we vacate two guaranteed picks that we won't have space or minutes for.

Heck of a deal IMO.

I just sent this to the league office. That was blatent. Worth complaining about IMO.

I would like to congradulate the league for their commendable job of assuring that Golden State won this game.

[/sarcasm]

Whining about reffing is something that I avoid. It's a tough job.

But this game was so terribly reffed that it's inexcusable. If I performed my job this poorly I wouldn't have it long.

The foul that fouled out Aldridge, (in fact several fouls on him), the inbound foul on Fernandez with 5 seconds left, the following technical...

This is such bull**** I can't even express. There can be bad calls in football, but I can say with confidence that in no other league do the refs actually cause losses.

Neither team got a W here. The refs got a W.

That the league pretends that refs are infallable by refusing to fine this sort of bull**** or allow challenges means that I hold the league personally responsible.

I thought the league claimed things had changed since game 6 of the WCF with Sacramento.

Guess not.

Hope you're happy with the win, since you put it there.

...

I can't even express how upset I am. I'm close to cancelling my season tickets. I don't pay to watch the refs decide who should win, I pay to watch athletes play.

A couple of points that I think have been lost in the fray.

The Aspects Of The PG

There are three basic aspects of a PG:

1. Handles
2. Shooting
3. Defense

Currently, Portland has handles in Sergio, shooting in Blake and defense in Bayless. We do NOT need another one dimensional PG. If we get another PG, he will have to fill two of these... Especially if we trade to get him.

Alternatives To Hinrich

People keep saying that Hinrich is the best PG who will be available. To which I say "pass the reefer, it must be good". Revisiting our chart above, Blake is a bigger difference in shooting than Hinrich is a difference in handles. I'd honestly rather keep Blake. And this is if they were being paid the same.

To say that there will not be a PG available in years is idiocy. Some team will blow it up. I could see the Suns trading Nash. Jason Kidd will be a free agent this summer when Portland has all that capspace.

The Reality Of Young Players

Anyone who's watched young players play knows that it can be painful. Mistakes, and unpolished sets. Blake is the only PG on our roster who is even close to topping out. Sergio is two seasons in and Bayless has played less than 48 minutes in his career.

Sergio and Bayless may never reach their potential, but we don't need them to until we're competing, and in that sense, neither should be given up for someone like Hinrich. (Especially someone overpaid like Hinrich.) 

Anyone who has ever seen Sergio play the passes knows that what I'm about to say is not an exaggeration: only considering handles, Sergio Rodrigez is a top 5 PG. Well... probably #5 actually. The issue is that he has NO shot at all, so the defender doesn't actually have to respect him at all like they do Nash, Paul, Williams and Calderon. Because of this it's difficult for him to produce great results. No one respects his drive or his shot.

The reality of young players is that we don't know if that will ever change. If it does, Sergio has a rediculous amount of talent, he's just enver realized it. And no, I'm not saying that Sergio is the future of Portland's PG or taht he's worth Nash, Paul, Williams or Calderon. What I am saying is that the reality of young players is that you don't know what your giving up, and because of that Portland should not be in the business of trading for a PG until we're competing for a championship.

So What For Now

For now, play the rest of the season giving major minutes to Sergio. See if he can develop a shot by adding arc to his incredibly flat jumper. Next summer sign Jason Kidd to a two year contract. Play that out and wait for a steal, or develop Bayless, or go through the draft. Portland is at least four seasons away form needing to trade for a PG, and I'm tired of posters, Portland fans or not, suggesting otherwise.

Taken froma  thread at RealGM: http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=852799

 I just arrived back in town from Minnesota and I had to share this amazing experience.

I was in Wisconsin for my grandmother's 80th. The return flight took me through Minneapolis on the way back to school in LA. When I realized that the Blazers were in town that night, I naturally changed my tickets, planned on sleeping on the airport floor, and got seats for the game.

The stadium was more than half empty, so I naturally sneaked down into the fifth row for most of the first quarter. I noticed that Pritchard was 15 or so rows up in the stands with several seats all by himself. He looked really lonely so naturally I decided to go and give him a little company :D

I introduced myself and told him I was a huge Blazer fan from Ashland, and that I was in town on circumstance to see the game. We chatted a little bit about whether I made it up to Portland anymore, and I thanked him for building a team and organization I was proud to be a fan of. He went down with the team at half time.

So then I turned to the person who was sitting next to Pritchard and, noticing the Trail Blazer logo on their shirts, asked them if they were fans. The gentlemen replied that yes they were. They asked me where I was from, and I replied from Ashland in southern Oregon. I asked the same question of him and he replied he was from Minnesota. I asked him why he was a Blazer fan, and he responded that number 10 on the Blazers was his son. I was sitting with the entire Pryzbilla family.

So I spent the second half of the game talking basketball with Joel's dad. He talked about Joel playing in high school, and his reaction when Oden was drafted (Joel didn't really percieve it as a big deal) He said Joel's favorite player growing up was David Robinson, and that he still had huge stacks of basketball cards in his house from when he was a kid. It was also fun to talk strategy, and dynamics. Funny side note, Joel's mom can't stand to watch him shoot free throws. Every time he does she closes her eyes :-? They were really nice people, very down to earth midwestern folk, and made me respect Joel even more.

The game itself was great, but this experience was once in a lifetime. I thought I should share it with everyone.

This is sort of flippant, and I think Batum actually mirrors this player quite well, but what would you guys think of trying to sign Trevor Ariza at the end of this season?

Not as "the" free agency signing, but "a" free agency signing.

http://www.82games.com/0809/08LAL5D.HTM

He's very much a defensive specialist, but the sweetest part would be denying him to the Lakers. They'll be busy trying to sign Kobe and Odom... I bet we could actually get Ariza.

What say you?

Fourth quarter started with Sergio in at the PG, and he stayed in until McMillian put in Blake to spread the floor and shoot freethrows with two minutes left.

Sergio, for the first time I can remember, played real, legit, crunch time minutes with botht eh bench and the starters, and he excelled at it. His shot was still flat, though he go it to fall a bit, and his deficiencies in talent certainly didn't disappear. But he played passable defense, he handled the ball like a pro and he was making the smart passes.

Sergio definitely earned his keep, and his minutes tonight, and I was really happy to see both McMillian give Sergio that chance, and for Sergio to step up and answer. I hope that he can get this figured out with the front office, because his drive to the basket where he faded away in the key was very much a Nash move, and I know sergio is capable of that if he just puts in the effort.

Great effort by the team tonight, and I hope Sergio builds on this game.

We've written a lot between all of us on our season and I think the general consensus is that a 6-8 seed is expected, anything higher would be marvelous and anything lower would be a disappointment.

But of course, you're always aiming to do better than you are. Constant improvement.

In that vein, the step beyond the playoffs, and however we do there, would be winning the NW Division. Right now the Jazz have a pretty tight clench on that. On any given night, they're the better team. I think the Blazers can be the better team, but Utah has more poise and more experience. They have the confidence that they ARE the NW Division champs.

However, we may have caught a lucky break.

Mehmet Okur left for Turkey today for an undisclosed amount of time due to a sickness in the family. This leaves the Jazz with nearly NO cetner rotation... we may see them start Kosta Koufos...

And Deron Williams is also going to be out much longer than initially anticipated.

So, just like the titles suggests, I'm hoping, wishing the Blazers on to clinching the Division title for a while. Holding on to it IS easier than trying to catch up, and I think having a healthy Jazz team breathing down our necks in January could really push this team to do well.

Either way, the Blazers are performing much better than I anticipated, and that is coming primarily from better than expected performances from Batum and Aldridge.

So strap in guys, we could for a very brief while be at the top of the division while Utah recovers from injury, and seeing how the team responds to that will tell us a lot about how they'll handle the playoffs.

First, I want people to understand that I know that you can't blame a loss on a single player, and you can't blame it on the refs. The whole team lost to Utah tonight in the early fourth quarter when they let it get close enough for the refs to have an impact.

Good teams don't let the refs throw a game by never letting the other team get close enough where it matters.

However, once you get yourself into the unenviable position of squandering an early 4th quarter lead, you have to play the game and win it back.

And in this way Travis Outlaw caused more problems than any other team on EITHER team for the Blazers.

I would not have brought this up, except that Outlaw has done the same exact thing the entire season so far. So here is the problem.

Outlaw is the worst defending SF we have, bar none. It's not even close. Which means in order to benefit from having him on the floor his offensive game needs to be a great asset to the team on the floor.

Outlaw however has never played team basketball, he plays Outlaw basketball. By this I mean that on offense he usually is not moving away from the ball unless they run a set play. He also doesn't have what we call "options".

When Roy gets the ball at the top of the key he has options. He can pass, and so the defender must respect the passing lanes. He can drive, and so the defender can't crowd him. He can shoot it, and so the defender can't give him space.

In fact, doing all three of these things is impossible for one defender to accomplish, which is why Roy gets double teamed. If you look, nearly all players that get a double team have options.

Outlaw does not have options however. He gets the ball on the right side of the hoop, or takes it to the right side of the hoop. He doesn't look for the pass, but beyond that he's not a great passer. He doesn't look to drive, but beyond that he's not talented at it either.

He has one, count it, one move. When he gets the ball he can pull his defender to 15ft, jab step and shoot. And that's his game. It's not like he's particularly bad at shooting the ball... he shoots a decent percentage, from both the field and the 3pt line, but when Outlaw is handling the rock, we might as well be playing 5 on 1.

This is just the offensive end, not the defensive end where pages and pages could be written about unsmart fouls, foolish gambles, and poor positioning.

Look back at the last few minutes of that fourth quarter against the Jazz. Outlaw did his routine, but he usually faced two or three defenders, and since he has one trick, ALL of them could guard against it.

If Outlaw was the best player on the team this wouldn't be an issue. You'd be expecting him to perform his one trick. But he is NEVER the best player on the floor, and the fact that Outlaw offense means taking all of the better players on the floor out of the play is bad news.

I like Outlaw. From what I hear, he's the most liked teammate as well. That's something to think about, surely. But while he's commanding 20+ minutes against playoff teams we cannot afford to be playing Outlaw basketball... we need to be playing Portland basketball.

Unfortunately, I feel like this leaves the team with one real option for dealing with things: either Outlaw has to learn to play the kind of game Webster and Batum can bring, or at least the kind of game Frye and Aldridge can bring, or we need to see what better fit pieces we can get back for him from another team.

Whenever Outlaw goes out on the floor now, I feel as if Portland is playing with a handicap... we certainly don't need any of THOSE this season.