So it's Thursday, and life as a Blazer fan seems a whole lot brighter. My wishes came true, in that the Blazers got LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, and I got my car running again as well, so things are looking aces here at Blazers Edge HQ.
Of course, it's not all good. I think everyone can agree that losing Viktor Khryapa and gaining Raef LaFrentz's contract are significant negatives for the Red and Black, but when you're as low down as the Blazers, you've got to take it in the jaw to get back to a good place. I'm curious why Chicago would want Vik, and if Outlaw was offered first, but those are questions for another day I guess.
Does anyone think there would have been this much action if John Nash were still the GM?
I know others are mourning the loss of Sebastian and Theo, but I ain't one of them. Theo for LaFrentz is, worst-case scenario, a wash in my opinion. While Raef has an extra year on his contract, he's probably a lot more dependable, if not as talented, as Ratliff. He brings a little less defense but a little more offense, so I won't complain. As far as Telfair is concerned, I think managment decided to go with Nate's gut, which seemed to prefer the taste of Jack's game. You have to figure that , since the deal ended up netting the team Roy, that Nate was the driving factor in the trade. So it basically comes down to whether or not you think Nate knows best. I'm not sure he does, but in this case, I think he's right.
I'm also looking forward to getting a look at Rodriguez and Freeland, though it sounds like neither are going to need passports any time soon. That could change though if more deals are made this summer, which I think is all but certain.
As a side note, you might have noticed that I promptly erased the post I put up about the Courtside Crew on KXL being corporate shills. I owe them an apology, as they came correct with the draft coverage last night. I chose to listen online rather than sit through ESPN's caterwauling, and I'm glad I did, as Wheels came through with every Blazer trade a good 5 minutes before ESPN got Steven Asshole Smith to shut up for long enough to actually report news. A tip of the cap to Wheels, Barrett, Rice, and Harvey.
Let me know how you think everything went. If I were giving out grades, I'd say the Blazer's earned a solid B+.