I don't really know how I feel about Rubio yet, but that's a pretty good trade for us. Of course, I'd go for the big body and not Cardinal. But I swear that if Fernandez got traded to Minny he'd leave the states forever and go back to Spain, cussing the US all the way. First the possible Portland fiasco, and then having to play in Minnesota. No way he would ever come to the states again, right?
Hunh? Rudy Fernandez, if given some minutes, could really excel. Morey tried to draft him but got ****-blocked. Now we see Bayless being added to the summer league roster. That makes some sense, I suppose. Let him get some playing time in, some more confidence....showcase him for a trade. Portland would want (local dude) Aaron Brooks, though. I don't know if Bayless is an upgrade in talent, as the original post states. Maybe Bayless would be part of a deal for Rubio, whether he stays overseas or not.
Please don't get Bayless. If he was that good he would have gotten on the floor when Steve Blake was getting his ass burned all year. The difference between Brooks and Bayless is not drastic enough to interchange the two.
I don't know, what are they giving up really? Speedy Claxton's barely an NBA player anymore and he's just in there to make salaries match. Davidson is probably about as valuable as Joey Dorsey, maybe less. So they're basically trading Wright, Turiaf, Bellinelli and Morrow for Amare and Chuck. I'd say that's a hell of a deal for them, especially if they could get Amare extended beforehand. Imagine this: Biedrins/Hayes Amare/Randolph Maggette/Azubuike Jackson/Curry Ellis/Watson If anybody doesn't do that deal it's Phoenix, but I'm sure they'd accept if a future draft pick or two was thrown in.
I'm sick of hearing about these young, unproven players whining about which team they play for. For that matter, I don't even like hearing about old, proven players whining about trades and playing time. It's a business. You go to work, do your best and deal with what you get. Unlike a common job though, you have to fulfull your contract. You can't just quit and get another job on another team. If a player isn't happy, he needs to shut up, play out his contract and then look for other options.
Another thing to consider. Since the Hedo fiasco, Portland still has a lot of cap room. That means that they can sign and trade Channing Frye as a throw in a deal with us, even though he was renounced. The CBA faq specifically states that even renounced free agents can be signed and traded as long as the team has the cap room. Considering that the Rockets used all their free agent money on Ariza, and only have the minimum to offer, they'll probably be looking to trade for a big man somehow. Maybe Frye can be a decent cheap option.
I kinda agree, but then I grew up here and understand how the NBA works. In Europe they work under a different system without a draft, so they don't have to play for sucky teams that they don't want to. They play in the minor leagues as youngsters (like AAU), move up through he ranks, sign a small contract with some of the big teams when they're young, and then either hit it big as they progress and make their choice of where to play or continue in mediocrity. It's not a bad way to go about it for them, and it sure doesn't hurt them having control over where they go. I'm not trying to stuff this down your throat, I'm just offering their side of things. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want to play basketball bad enough to possibly go play in Spain, Greece, or Italy and instead wind up in Bosnia? How would you take that being 8000 miles away from home and everyone you know? I know I'd probably have some trouble with it. I think I have some inkling as to what they're saying. Now if we can get the Grizzlies to Tampa Bay and the TWolves to Las Vegas, problem solved!!!
Lets just give up right now. There is no possible way we can anticipate or even comprehend Morey's next move. He's making moves for 2012 as we speak.
And someone beat me to it. I was thinking maybe Morey threw Les' money for the 2nd rounders this summer in order to throw them in for trades. Potential backups to Brandon Roy. We'd have to give up a lot, but if something would net us both Fernandez and the rights to Rubio, maybe Rubio would see the presence of Fernandez and Scola as an inducement to come over and play right away. I was starting to work out such a scenario but the whole thing gets sort of complicated. We'd certainly have to take the contract of Cardinal (expiring, and can be traded right away, as opposed to Etan Thomas, just acquired from the Wizards).
Frye is basically a 7' tall version of Juwan Howard during his Rockets years. Nice guy, can hit the elbow J just fine, not much of a rebounder or defender. Juwan is probably a little more physical than Frye also. I kind of prefer my big guys to mix it up a little and catch their share of rebounds.
I don't know much about how it works in Europe but how different is that path than how it goes down in the NBA? It still take two to tango. They can't just pick their destination at will, right? I suppose that could be true to some extent since the talent pool is smaller and you're talking about NBA-caliber Euro players. Regardless, I wasn't just talking about Rudy and other Euro players. It bugs me to see any NBA player whining about where they play or how much playing time they get after they get drafted or while they are under contract. That includes guys like Francis, Wafer, etc... not just guys like Me-Yi, Little Ricky and Rudy Tudy, etc...
I've heard that Portland will go after Andre Miller since Glu is off the market. So I think that makes Bayless available. I also read somewhere that they see him as more of a shooting guard. I think if we can get a Battier and Lowry for Bayless, Fernandez and Outlaw deal, we should do it in a heartbeat. Maybe throw in Hayes. Then sign Zaza Pachulia and Johan Petro Brooks/Bayless/Barry Fernandez/White/Taylor Ariza/Outlaw/Budinger Scola/Landry/Cook Pachulia/Petro/Dorsey IR: Ming and McGrady
The Pachulia part, I like it for the minimum for one year. I don't want Petro and don't think we need him. And I don't want to mess with our cap space next year. By the way, this gets us about 5 million more in cap space next year. Yippee money!
I am all for (Brooks or Lowry) + Battier for Bayless, Rudy and Outlaw. We've been talking mostly about Brooks/Battier but this particular deal may be attractive to Portland as well. If they land Miller, he seems like the absolute perfect mentor for Lowry since they have similar physical attributes and skill sets. Lowry would grow rapidly under Miller's tutelage, in my opinion.
I thought we were talking Brooks, not Lowry. I think Portland would prefer Brooks because of what he did to the Lakers in the playoffs, and how he would be the lightning to Miller's....uh, I don't know....thunder? heavy mist? houston-like late-afternoon 30 min. shower?
Either one is fine with me for that package of Blazer talent but the guy I was responding to in my last post brought up Lowry. I had been mostly thinking about Brooks/Battier but in his scenario, they would be getting Miller, who to me is the ideal mentor for a guy like Lowry given their similar playing styles and physical attributes. Portland may prefer Brooks but at the same time, they may see the same weaknesses in him as we do, which could possibly trump what he did in the playoffs and the fact that he's a hometown hero or whatever.
