ESPN NBA rumours 3:41 ET Blazers done shopping for FA centers? We know now that Roy Hibbert won't be coming to Portland, and that could leave the Trail Blazers in a rough place as far as the center position goes. Jason Quick of The Oregonian tweets that Portland GM Neil Olshey was clear on Monday that he doesn't see anything left on the free agent market worth pursuing. JaVale McGee (restricted free agent) and Chris Kaman (unrestricted free agent) don't look to be options, which means that the team will have to pursue trades in order to find a veteran who can compliment rookie 7-footer Meyers Leonard at the five next season. According to Quick, two possibilities could be Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia and Houston's Patrick Patterson. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Patterson isn't a true center, however, and we have to think he'd be undersized if asked to play there.
Git'er done. Trade him for a future first rounder. That could be the pick that takes us over the top for Dwight.
May as well. We have an extreme glut after all. S&T for Batum possibly? Nothing less than a top-5 protected 1st.
they're going to love his shoulder muscles, not more than patpat though. If you have to do it, do it. I wish he had gotten his surgery last season earlier than he did. Last year's patpat was not the one we saw in his rookie year.
Quick is the top Blazer insider. If he suggests it, I kinda think he's heard it from somebody in the Blazer organization.
Not clear on why Portland would want Patterson (and it's a rumor), but he's a solid rotation guy with upside. Patrick isn't chump change. He's also not a center, but can play one in the movies.
McHale's master plan: Step 1: Play Patterson at center over bigger guys. Step 2: Sell him in market as center. Step 3: Profit!
Is this what we're talking about here... a random tweet about possibilities from Quick? https://twitter.com/jwquick/status/222522798894096384
