What's up everybody? Hope you're all doing well this holiday season. So Ric Bucher was on 1080 today and Ropp was grillin him on what kind of trades were out there for the Blazers. They also touched on the dynamic between Cho and PA.
The first scenario Bucher threw out was an Andre Miller+Marcus Camby for Brandon Bass+Jameer Nelson swap. I think I like this trade, and it made me think back to the fanpost about re-thinking LMA. Who would be our backup center if this deal went down? My answer is Joel Przybilla, because Bass would be starting alongside LMA, who would become our starting C until further notice.
Starting Lineup:
Nelson - Matthews - Batum - Bass - Aldridge
2nd Unit:
Mills/Armon - Roy/Rudy/Luke - Dante/Joel
Obviously this deal leaves us small by accepted NBA standards, unless Oden comes back healthy which would balance the roster nicely. The starting lineup would be a blast to watch and Aldridge has shown a surprising effectiveness at the C position. It seems to open up the offensive end of the court with him at the 5, and defensively/rebounding it hasn't killed us but we haven't been playing bigger teams like the Lakers either.
When I look at it on paper we would still lack the star power necessary to contend (maybe you ask Jameer to be a little more of the player he was in college and a little less of what he's been for the Magic) but it's a team that could come at you from multiple angles. You get younger, you become a better shooting team, you get a PG who can fit with whatever Roy still is, and you get some grit in Bass (plus since Jameer and Patty are similar in style, some good tutelage could perhaps take place). If you did this and Oden came back, a frontcourt rotation of LMA-Oden-Przy-Bass-Dante would be solid and I don't think this trade takes us out of playoff contention for this season.
The other thing Bucher talked about was the (alleged) clashing philosophies of Cho and PA. In a nutshell, Cho thinks the path to glory involves rebuilding now, whereas Allen (for a number of obvious reasons) feels compelled to forge ahead with the current team and re-tool around LMA/Wes.
I wanted to get everybody's thoughts on both matters. I think if this trade went down it's clearly not a total rebuild even though you're trading two of your best players. You are getting good value (and ready-to-contribute) pieces in return for Dre and Camby (who we will thank profusely for their service, because they are both awesome and have done the city proud). You can stay competitive for this season, the new team would be fun to watch, and you have a younger core moving forward. This way you have a bunch of younger-ish talent to cherry pick your favorites from if you're Cho, and when the opportunity to move Roy comes you have a supporting cast in place that just needs a centerpiece, which can be acquired with your newly found cap-room.
No matter what happens I hope that Cho can convince PA to move our older pieces for younger pieces and build for a few years down the road (not 2018-2020 like some have said, more like 2013-2015). The alternative is trading the Batums of the roster for an older, more well-established player, and I don't want to see that happen (I think long-term that could hurt us a lot).
Look forward to reading your thoughts, you're all awesome (except the Cho haters...give the guy a chance...I know non-Blazer fans who I have a ton of sports-knowledge-respect for that thought it was an amazing hire, so keep your pants on). Keep beastin' LMA!!!
