There was a compilation of a lot of Portland blogs on Espn and a few of them said that Portland wants to make a run at Rashard Lewis and with Durant going to Seattle why would Rashard say no. Starting lineup for Portland: Jarret Jack Brandon Roy Oden Randolf Lewis Bench: Dickau/Jones Lafrentz/Magliore/Przbilla Aldrich/Outlaw Darius Miles? The have a very rich owner, but they will have to unload something(s). Too bad we don't have anything worth trading.
unless roy and oden develop into at least all-stars next yr, they'll fight for the 8th spot only. they're still 2-3 yrs from being a contender. but they'll be fun to watch.
If Rashard wants to go to Portland, Seattle can't stop him. He can opt out of his contract, and therefore, would have to agree to any sign and trade Seattle arranges.
Lol tha was what i was thinking...1 and 2 picks go to the great northwest.....no one wants to go there and they get condemmed to there hahah...
I don't know how much money Portland can offer him, but he did have his best season playing under Nate McMillan.
if lewis went to portland i would go with this lineup C - Oden PF - Randolph SF - Lewis SG - B Roy PG - Jack Miles - (if he got his head out of his a**) back up the SG/SF minutes Aldridge - back up ALL of the C/PF minutes should get right around 30 min or so thats freaking solid. and whoever said they would fight for the 8th spot in the East is dead wrong. those guys have hardly any exp. but Oden will make THAT much of an impact on defense. Randolph would be able to put all his energy into offense. And brandon roy can do his jack of all spades. And you can have Aldridge coming off the bench to do his thing against 2nd team players. thats 4th-6th seed right there.
portland might be better off trading zach randolph (who makes close to max money? and has some "character" issues) for a SF and then going with aldridge as PF. they'll take some lumps for a year or two with such a young frontline, but in 2-3 years, they'll contend for the western conference with an experienced oden, aldridge, and roy (plus whoever else they add from the randolph trade). things look really good for them, all of a sudden.
I wouldn't give up on Randolph unless they get a good young PG in return. Keep in mind Randolph has never been on a good team and low block offense is tough to come by and an absolute necessity in the west. Despite character issues Randolph has shown mental toughness playing through some injuries and supporting his teammates from the sideline despite being in a cast and the season being over. What he lacks in defense Oden may be able to negate, and Oden's offensive game should be limited early on. So it works out. In pursuit of Lewis you would think they would inquire about an Oden and pieces 4 Durant and Lewis. They do have a lot of players to work with. Maybe they can get something out of Miles, I doubt they can trade him. They have a great coach but need a PG. I agree though, like many Blazer teams before them this incarnation is stacked with potential.
Do you really want Randolph to be showing Oden the ropes? Now that Portland has Oden, they should cut ties with Randolph and Miles as soon as possible, make a clean break with their past to usher in the new era. They did a good job last year getting rid of Telfair and Patterson, they need to continue cleaning house.
