The objective for the last three seasons has been to take a 21-win, 61-loss Blazer team and rebuild them into the Playoff-bound, title-contending team we, the fans, want them to be.
Objective accomplished.
The team has been rebuilt, the crazy trades have been dealt, and the risky drafts have been selected. Now it’s time to sit back and insert the last few puzzle pieces this young Blazer team needs to make it to the finals.
Several players understand and are excited about the direction their team is headed, while others wonder what jersey they’ll be wearing next season. Let’s take a look at where we are and what we have to look forward to this off season along with some tasks and questions the Blazers will face before the 2009-2010 season begins.
Before Darius Miles played his 10th game with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers were looking at having a $16 million budget to play with this off season. Those 10 games cost Portland $9 million in cap room, bringing them down to $7 million. Portland will be losing Raef LaFrentz, Shavlik Randolph, and Michael Ruffin to free agency this year. These three players combined saw a grand total of 72 minutes of play while pulling down a whopping $14,317,662 in salary.
Channing Frye will be an Unrestricted Free Agent this off season which means that Portland can match any offer Frye is given, even if it causes them to surpass the Soft Cap, as long as they stay under the Hard Cap. It’s unknown at this time whether or not Portland will take advantage of this. Last season Frye made a salary of $3,163,769, ranking him 6th highest on the team among active players.
The Blazers have until June 30th to exercise their final year option on Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake. If the Trail Blazers decide not to, the two players will become free agents. Although early indications show that both players’ options will most likely be exercised.
A day after the deadline, on July 1st, the team can start negotiating long term contract extensions for players entering the last year of their contracts. Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Sergio Rodriguez qualify for these extensions. Although it looks like both Roy and Aldridge will most likely get the extension, Sergio Rodriguez’s future with this team is still up in the air.
The Portland Trail Blazers currently hold the 24th overall pick for the June 25th draft at Madison Square Garden. Although it’s not a lottery pick, Portland has done pretty good with late first round draft picks the last three years, picking up Sergio Rodriguez (27th), Nicolas Batum (25th), and Rudy Fernandez (24th). Portland also has four second round picks. General Manager Kevin Pritchard has already had several representatives of other NBA teams show interest in the second round picks. With teams struggling in this economy, the second round picks increase in trade value, as teams are not required
The Blazers will start their draft prospects workout on May 11th and 12th. Portland will be working out guards Cedric Jackson (Cleveland State), Wes Matthews (Marquette), Garrett Temple (LSU), A.D. Vassallo (Virginia Tech), Josh Carter (Texas A&M), Alonzo Gee (Alabama), Daniel Hackett (USC), and Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga) as well as forwards DeMarre Carroll (Missouri), Joe Krabbenhoft (Wisconsin), Jeff Adrien (Connecticut), and Chris Johnson (LSU). Last year Portland didn’t draft a single player from their first two-day draft prospect workout.
With $7 million in cap room, Portland will be looking to use free agency to help fill the void for certain positions. Although the 2009 free agency pool doesn’t have as many All-Star players available as 2010 will, it still has a few faces that could make an appearance, and an impact, in the Rose City. The Blazers aren’t looking for an All-Star free agent to sign through free agency, they are looking for some solid role players to fill some holes off the bench.
If Portland decides to not bring Channing Frye back next season, Portland may be looking for a power forward to bring off the bench. Let’s take a look at some of the available forwards coming out of free agency that fall within Portland’s budget:
David Lee – Lee’s name was getting thrown around a lot in Portland closer to the Trade Deadline. While making just under $1.8 million this last season, David Lee averaged 16.0 points and 11.8 rebounds a game. At 6’9”, 240 lbs, Lee could be a huge asset for Portland coming off the bench. Although he is a Restricted Free-Agent, New York has been cutting back costs for the 2010 free agency crop. This could make it easier for Portland to whisk him away.
Paul Millsap – An injury to Boozer allowed Paul Millsap to start 38 of his 76 games last season and now Utah has to decide which player they want to move forward with. If they opt to stay with Boozer (who could test the free agency market this season if he chooses not to exercise his player option) then Millsap could be on the market for any team. The 6’8” 250 lb power forward, who averaged 13.5 points and 8.6 rebounds on 53% shooting from the field, is worth much more than his 2008-09 salary of $797,581, but will still be affordable to teams looking to fill their roster with big men.
Drew Gooden – Drew Gooden is a hustle player that could fit in real well with this young Portland team. The six-year veteran averaged 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds for three different teams last year. Gooden made $1.4 million in the 2008-09 season.
Ime Udoka – Although Udoka didn’t do anything too impressive this last season for San Antonio, he is a graduate of Jefferson High School and Portland State University. That’s got to count for something, right?
This team has done more in a three-year period than most teams do in ten. Kevin Pritchard is a big reason for that. His ability to bring in players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, and Rudy Fernandez, as well as staying under budget in the league has helped keep this team heading up. He’s got the Blazers turned around and heading in the right direction, and now its time for that final push towards a championship.
Keywords: Portland Trail Blazers News Off Season Free Agents
