Completely speculative & hypothetical. You Have: Zach Randolph ($13.3 mill next yr, 4 yrs remaining) Brandon R.O.Y. (rookie contract) LaMarcus Aldridge (rookie contract) Ime Udoka (URFA) Jarrett Jack (rookie deal) Sergio Rodriguez (rookie deal) Joel Pryzbilla ($5.8 mill, 4 yrs remaining) Fred Jones ($3.3 mill, final yr) Martell Webster ($3 mill, final yr) Dan Dickau ($2.8 mill final yr) Travis Outlaw (RFA) Luke Schenscher (UFA) Darius Miles ($8.3 mill, 3 yrs remaining) Raef LaFrentz ($11.8 mill next yr, 2 yrs remaining) Jamaal Magloire (expiring, S&T possibility) The #1, #37, #42, #52, and #53 picks in the draft (extra picks via Indiana, Toronto, Chicago, some may be withheld) Evan
I would try to move Randolph and clear some cap room. Durant is going to be a good fit for them. I initially got them picking Durant, but if they have a shot at getting KG after moving Randolph (if that ever happens), then you will have to get Oden. They will amazing if that happened.
Myself: -I draft Oden. -I use the second round picks to (in order of priority) help facilitate trades, or add bench depth rather than gamble at diamond in the rough guys. -I help Darius Miles out of the league with a buyout after seeing if an idiot GM is willing to take him in a firesale (Atlanta, NY, Minny). -I work as hard as I can to move Zach Randolph. Yes he's a player, and maybe not as horrific a malcontent as he can be made out to be. But he will be losing his alpha-dog status to one of the young guys and it's best for the locker room to sidestep the alpha-dog fight. Especially with a guy like Zach. Best case scenario, get a strong starter at the 1. But moving him is more of a priority than the return. -Resign Udoka with the MLE. Try to resign Schenscher on the cheap. -S&T Magloire, again with the hope of getting a PG in return. -Hold onto Raef for another year. He's not a bad guy and might be worth something in a trade next year. Example pipe dream trades: Magloire S&T (~ $4 mill) for Chris Duhon ($3.3 mill) Zach Randolph for Brendan Haywood, Antonio Daniels, and DeShawn Stevenson. A decent PG added to a core of Oden-Aldridge-Roy would make this a very nice, balanced team. Evan
Wow.. that's a solid group. Yeah, they're much better off trading away Randolph.. He shouldn't be in their long term plans.
My first instinct is to draft Durant and dump Randolph. The problem is LA may not be ready to play center. But Oden and LA would also be a sick front line so they can't lose.
I do not see any way Portland would draft Durant with the number one pick. Seattle is desparate for a center (Ogden). If Portland wants Durant, they will work a trade with Seattle and draft him at number 2.
they need to move randolph but there is no way to get him out of there. people got excited when the blazers got the number 1 pick but they still have A TON of deadweight on their team. i think they should take durant because i think he is the best player.
draft oden. oden aldridge outlaw roy jack ----- przyblla udoka webster rodriguez that's the main core of which i would build around. everyone else on the team would be moved for capspace and picks if possible. the main goal would be to make room for these guys to get as much playing time as they need to develop. then have picks and cap space to work with later, like the bulls only with better players
I'm going to preface this by saying that I think Durant will be a much better player than Oden. I'm a "draft size" guy, but Durant is the kind of special player that I would break that rule for. But Durant and Aldridge should both play the 4. So I think he has to draft Oden. Then the best player to move is Randolph, but I might even wait a year on that.
Durant is a 3 all the way. If they draft Durant then they have to rely on Randolph in the low post, which is not a bad situation to be in at all ... 3 all-star caliber scorers in Roy, Durant and Randolph combined with excellent defense. Or they could go with Oden and do the twin-towers thing, with Roy wreaking his usual havoc on the wing. Either way, it's gonna be real hard for them to screw this one up. I can't believe how much they've lucked out. Portland is going to have a really good team for a very long time.
I like Aldrige-Randolph-Durant-Roy-Jack as a starting unit more than Oden Aldrige-Outlaw-Roy-Jack (assuming they'd have to get rid of Randolph in the latter scenario)
I would draft Oden and keep him. Great centers don't come around often in this league. I would also trade Randoph if someone would take Darius Miles with him. Kill two birds with one stone.
Well, by trading Randolph you would be getting something back in return.. possibly some future picks and/or serviceable player. Most of all, they would be trading away a huge ballhog who is not in their long term plans.. And getting rid of his HUGE salary. This guy is extremely high maintainence. They just need to start over... Draft Oden, stock up on future picks.. And create cap space for when Roy, Aldridge, Oden rookie contracts expire.. Meanwhile they'll have plenty of other draft picks down the line.. If I was Portland, I'd find a seasoned veteran who the rookies can look up to.. Randolph does not fit this mold.
