Blazer trade scenarios

 As a portland blazer fan, it is hard for me to want a trade. Trades, especially midseason, can screw a team. shank them to high heavens and back. When we are talking about, sending youth away for a "proven" commodity, we don't know how that youth is gonna ball when he is a big assed man, no longer smooth like babies bottom. Jermaine O'neal for Dale Davis, anyone? That shit is not always a good idea! LaMarcus Aldridge is not an inside beast, but he can jam it with authority and hang time. So I'm glad we apparently got off the Amare band wagon. Amare Stoudemire deserves his props, he can dunk it. He can energize a building. He sometimes wears cool goggles. And he's physically huge.  But he's got more NBA milage. And he's got, potentially future knee complications from his microfracture surgery, the same as Oden, but worse. Longer recovery. Came back and left again. DO we need our two main bigs with bad knees, or at least bigger risks? Aldridge, less Nba Miles, younger, less prone to injury. He may not be the physical specimen, but the dude's only 23. Give him time for those things. He'll end up.. 70 percent the size of stoudemire, but with a better jump shot, and hopefully some defense and motivation! horrah!

So if we can't get steve nash, which I think would be great for this blazers team, let's move on from the suns toward other trade scenarios.

 (As a disclaimer, Travis Outlaw is my favorite player on my favorite team. I don't want him to be traded. Any inclusions of said player in my following proposals are my attempt to be fair and realistic. with that said, screw all you outlaw haters, do not trade this man) 

First - Don't go get Richard Jefferson. I already read this one cooled off, which is good. We'll have to give up Outlaw in this trade, and Jefferson is not worth that. Outlaw is getting better every game. To have a killer like that next to a killer like Roy, with 15 seconds left, its hard to stop both. And Jefferson may score more prolifically (not necessarily more efficiently), but he does not have a killer instinct. Does not. He's a vet, gone to the finals twice, but he's a whiner. and were lookin for winners. so there. we could do better with Lafrentz's deal. This trade might not hurt us. it could slightly help us this season. But it is not the best player to go get. not that much of an upgrade, talent wise.

Another rumor floating around is Caron Butler being our biggest target, and one can see why. He is a great team player, he hustles, and he's a role model. I say make the trade, I think portland says it too, but washington says no, wants to wait for gilbert the crazy ass and overpaid arenas to return from whatever injury. bloggers toe. and see where they can go. I'm saying no where, and let's pretend the blazers can entice the wizards to let butler float. what do we give up?

I read if washington was to give up butler, it would make the team take another contract too, like Etan Thomas.  

So the blazers are getting: 

Caron Butler at 9 mil this season w/ two more years 

Etan Thomas at close to 6.9 with one more contracted year

 Raef Lafrentz must be included, with his 12.7 million expiring deal. then you have to give up some young talent. I think washington would like the potential assists flowing out of rodriguez' hands (gilbert, when back from injury, is a shoot first guard, even if he's slated in the pg role. so, a young, not injury prone mini steve nash is a good get. Hate to see him go myself but, caron butler!)!

We need to give up a little more salary. Martell Webster may have no trade value; has played minimally all season, and in the offseason signed a long deal, though it is relatively cheap. Say washington wants a small forward back in the deal, a young one at that. in that case webster fits the bill. to make the trade work now Portland has to get back another player. Crittenton, a scoring point guard who's been traded twice in his brief career, perhaps. Those salaries line up in the trade machine. 

Alright back up a bit. keep butler and thomas coming to portland at 16 million, and lafrentz going to washington at 12.7. If washington is enticed in saving money through this trade, another expiring contract will not hurt. Frye is off the books this summer, at 3.1 million. He's a scoring big sitting on our bench, but he could go learn the ropes from Antawn Jamison, and do better out east, like his first couple years in new york. there ain't much in the posts out east. you only see orlando so many times a year. 

But that's not enough salary going back to washington to make it work, also not enough talent in just frye alone. So who do we give up? is rodriguez and frye enough to get butler? Shouldn't be. what if it has to include fernandez? As much as I like the spanish flavor, Butler is a beast and has a few years in his prime left to help us in the playoffs, this year, next year. by then, if he's even showing signs of slowing down, the youth we kept will be chargin full ahead. Three years from now, Roy will be a maniac anyway. If we can pull it off, Butler is the best player for us. I'd give up Fernandez, I'd give up outlaw (But I wouldn't give up Fernandez and Outlaw, wouldn't do it).

This next scenario isn't even on the table I don't think. something I've been thinking over. Well, any blazer fan who knows what kind of small forward we need has probably been thinking this one over too. Getting Prince from detroit. All I've read is Dumars wants to keep Prince for after the rebuilding efforts. What do I say to Dumars? How about another 16 million in expiring contracts? eh? eh? They have Iverson ruining their team but coming off the books this summer, they have the great weed wallace (all hale!) comin off the books the same, so why not add raef Lafrentz to that master plan. Detroit could potentially have enough cap space to spend this summer (boozer? mike miller? dare I say Ron Artest), and still have money to spend in '10, on wade, or bosh. snoop dogg himself. who ever. Lots of cash. Sounds like a plan, now give Portland Prince!

Prince doesn't have a killer instinct either, which I held against Jefferson, but he has much better team and help D, and he's generally more efficient of a scorer. He is no 1st option, and Detroit has found this out before, in the playoffs. good thing we have Roy slated there, Aldridge after that, and so forth. Prince, play defense, get us some put backs, make a few 15, 17 footers and the blazers will pay you to win championships. boom

In the trade machine, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson, and Walter Sharpe (filler, yo), for Channing Frye, Lafrentz, and Rudy Fernandez. We give up Fernandez, we gain one of the most underrated players in the league, and still have outlaw coming off the bench. Detroit gets the cap space, plus Rudy. boom boom.

Gerald Wallace has a huge contract he isn't necessarily worth. I think his talents fit well into our starting line up, but he doesn't come from a winning program, and has a history of injury, which makes the long 10 mill per year contract more concerning. I think Batum could grow into a better shooting version of Gerald Wallace. Batum, why are you 15 years old? We should not trade for Gerald Wallace, though it wouldn't be the worse move (amare, jefferson = worse).

We may not trade at all, which is cool too. We have a lot of talent. Blazers will make the playoffs if we do not make a major move. This year that statements gonna be the truth. With a good trade we could do even better. so it's like, what. Thursday, where are you?