If the Blazers were trying to dump salary why would the take back Cato? Rasheed's contract is bigger than Rice's and expires at the end of the year as well.
You must not have been thinking or you would have had something better to say; looks like you rushed through that, you couldn't have been thinkin at all.
I would crap in my pants if Port was dumb enough to that trade. Yeah yeah I know this is not our year to win the championship. We just want to make the playoffs. But we still need to improve big time if we want to prevent SA, LA, Dallas, Sac, and Minny from sweeping us in the regular season. We do play those teams a total of 20 times. And we aren't exactly better then the Suns either. Warriors, Sonics, Memphis and Clippers will be better then last year as well. The only team that will be worse off are the Jazz. Bring on Rasheed!
You can't just let Wallace go for nothing. With Cato, they get a nice center to play alongside Zach Randolph for another couple of years for a third what they would have to pay Wallace to resign him. j
The Blazers can do better than Griffin and Rice for Sheed Wallace. If you want Wallace you might have to take Weed boy Stoudamire......... obviously if you take Damon the asking price falls to near nil. Maybe we can get Sheed that way
Very true. Sheeds techs have dropped dramatically since about 2 years ago. He's realized he can't win by himself, and wants to be part of a team that already has a "leader." He doesn't want to be the "da' man" anymore.
No way we need Wallace.... he is a head case. Whatever we trade for him is gone for good. We need Cato and a PF that is mean and rebounds well, not a headcase primadona. We won't be able to keep Wallace, Francis, and Ming at some point so why waste Cato on nothing. P.S. if Daniels is a headcase the Blazers can keep him too. JUST SAY NO TO HEADCASES. they don't win championships
We don't need Rasheed Wallace throwing a towel into Yao's face (see Sabonis). This guy was considered a top 10 cancer in the NBA. You want this guy on your team. You have to remember, the NBA is a business before it is about championships and winning. The Rocket organization would be crazy to bring in this guy.
with all due respect we'll need to recive " atleast " eddie griffen along with rice to make deal work. also i've heard the onloading salary rummors, but taking on calvins salary makes no sense whatsoever if this is the blazers real intentions. also sheed is getting 16 mill this season and that will be cleared off the books since he becomes a unrestricted free agent. but since when has the cap been an issue with us ?
Do they realy need Eddie Griffin? They have Randalf to play PF, so this is what I would try to do: Mobley+Cato+Taylor for Walace+McInnis Then I would sign Antonio Danials. PG-Francis\McInnis|Moochie SG-Danials\McInnis SF-Psoey\Nachbar PF-Walace\Griffin C-Yao(would need to sign a Center, Zo??) I think that is a improved team.
Mo Taylor has the size and skills to play PF while Eddie Griffin develops. Once JVG improves his defensive skills (i.e., rebounding), he will be vastly superior to Rasheed Wallace. Quit tinkering with the lineup! We have the necessary core in place. All we need is improvement in the backups for point guard and shooting guard, assuming we re-sign Posey.
It will be really hard for Jailblazers to get rid of Wallace, simply because it's hard to find a good serviceable Power Forward.But heck ya! I love his game and the intensity he will bring in to our court. Wallace is a great fit!
The Blazers could sell EG as the second coming of Wallace. I could see Griffin and Rice as the base to landing Wallace. With Randolph in the fold and presumed starter, Eddie would be solid depth and they could let him develop (exercise J. O'Neal demons in the process by showing patience). I know I sound like a trade/FA w****, but I like this move. Wallace isn't going to wilt in big games (although he has, but we're all human) like a young Griffin. Don't get me wrong, I personally like EG and could see him developing into a lesser, but similar talent to Wallace (Eddie's high side IMO). IMO a Wallace trade guarantees you a playoff spot next year, if your offload is just EG and Rice. I doubt they take Cato, Taylor or Moochie, as their intent, it would seem in trading their best player, would be to land YOUNG talent and an expiring contract. Given that, Wallace's contract is expiring at the same time anyway, so salary is not as big an issue as you would think.
Wont there be a big clash between Rasheeds Mind set and that of our team? Lets not rush into anything this season, lets not destroy what we are building[give JVG a chance],lets not take on contracts that FIVE mins. later we regret and curse about for ever more. Another poster suggested a month ago that we make small steps this season, then when Rices contract comes off the books, next season we make a carefully planned big step. I think this is the most logical way to go, considering our present situation. Here is hoping that Brand only signs a one year contract with the Clippers. Here is hoping that we dont need him because Griffin has a super year under JVG. Here is hoping that we find a home for Moochie,preferably not in Texas.
I though about qualifing this statement when I made it just for Rodman but figured no one would bring it up. There have been some headcases who played on championship teams but they were never the type of player that a team had to rely on to score points and lead a team. They were always roll players, Wallace is no roll player and at 16 million dollars per year he needs to be they second coming of Wilt as far as I'm concerned. No Wallace.
the key fact to which people are not paying sufficient attention is that Wallace's contract for $16MM expires after this year, ala Rice's contract. Even though the blazers want to trim payroll this year, they know (i) they will get a career year out of Wallace this year, (ii) Wallace still bears 2nd tier superstar talent, (iii) wallace is reasonably young at age 28. That being the case, I doubt that the Blazers would move Wallace unless the package was stocked with young, quality talent. That being the case, unless the Rox are absolutely sold on Griffin becoming a legitimate starting PF in this league, the Rockets would be incredibly stupid not to offer at least Griffin, Rice and Cato or Motay. I have seen Wallace play. He has the talent, but not the drive to be a true superstar. He does not demand the ball, he does not dictate play. He does not lead. Having said that, I think he would flourish as a second or third option on a very good or championship caliber team. The game would be easier for him. He could increase his rebounding and block shots without much difficulty. His scoring ability would net him 15 ppg without trying. He would potentially be a perfect fit for the Rox. In Portland, he is doomed to being cast as the lead horse. Best case scenario: Wallace comes to the Rox, makes us instantly tougher, more versatile, and a damn dangerous half court team. Wallace re-signs next year for below the max contract, and we have our nucleus of Francis, Wallace and Yao (in no particular order) that would be well positioned to contend for years. Worst case scenario: Wallace comes to the Rox, does not adjust well, gets back to technical fouls, tries to hog the ball, demands a max contract, and we let him go. Fine. We effectively lose Griffin but dump Rice and, more importantly, MoTay's contract. We would need to go into the open market and get a starting PF, but at least we're not shackled to MoTay. If, instead, we traded Cato, we'd still have MoTay as the starting PF. By goofy NBA standards, Cato is actually not overpaid, at least based on last year's performance. However, there is the risk that Cato reverts back to his prior form and gets back to being overpaid. Netting out the risks, I like the deal. My huge caveat is that I'd only do this if Brand and Odom were definitely not available.
I could see the Trailblazers moving Sheed out, for a few reasons, depending on the deal. Although Rasheed has improved in the large-intimidating-black-man-staring-at-miniature-white-referees department, he is still in some way a reminder of the image that the Blazers have developed; the image that Dumbass Stoudemire just exacerbated with his pot-wrapped-in-tin-foil-"Would-you-open-your-bag-sir?" escapade. Zach Randolph was a steal at the #18 (#19?) pick. He and EG can hold down the fort at the PF position in Portland. Taking Cato would give them a center (albeit not a top-flight one, and they did give up on him once before, but still), EG would give them value for Sheed, and Rice would help them cut salary; because you don't want to just lose Sheed after this year for nothing. In the long run, you save money for a couple of years. Even Portland is looking to become more financially responsible, from what I hear. Of course Sheed is not worth his contract, so we could re-sign him at (as someone said) just under or around the max. He and Cat would get along (if we keep Cat). Is Rasheed a "bruiser"? Hardly. But he does have talent, and he can stretch the floor with his shooting, playing in the post or popping 3's. Anyway, isn't this all speculation based on what some guy's buddies are hoping?
