# Roster: Reading between the Lines



## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

"Greetings Blazers Fans....whereever you may be"

With the pending addition of Joel Pzilla at the B/U Center position - this signals to me that Nash is about done barring major /minor trades. Here is the 14 man roster as it stands for the opening of camp:

PG - Damon - NVE - Telfair
SG - DA - Frahm - Woods
SF - *Miles - RP - Outlaw
PF - Zach - Shareef
C - Theo - Vlad - Joel

Pretty weak Top 8 (DS, DA, DM, ZR, TR)+(SAR, NVE, RP off the bench) and (ST, RF, QW, TO, VS, JP) subbing in and off the IR.

Can you say we're still ripe for a consolidation trade (sending out more than we receive back)?? But, does anyone want our players? Or are we like NY with overprices, overvalued guys?

Even if we stand pat and allow SAR, DS, DM, TR simply go next offseason - we are left with some undesireables.

From looking at this lineup: we are really weak at Guard, and Center is precarious assuming we'll resign TR next offseason.

My prediction is that we are waiting for the next team wanting to have Cap room next yr - to trade with them our ending contracts for a Top 8 Player. I think we really need to seek better starters and allow DA to slide back to B/U. He'd be a great 6th man.

Thoughts?


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

I wouldn't be surprised if come February our playoff chances aren't looking so good, if Nash tried to trade both DA and Ruben and get our only two remaining long contracts off the payroll.

I'm not sure what he'd do, maybe a DA, Ruben, and filler for Penny trade (contract is up at the end of next season).

Other possibilities.

DA and Ruben FOR Alan Henderson and Christian Laettner.

DA, Ruben, pick FOR Glenn Robinson & filler.

Ruben FOR Jason Caffey or Anthony Mason


There are tons more that Nash might be willing to part with a loss in talent to gain full salary control. It's Ruben and DA that are going to be the ones that hurt us in the FA market, so letting them go for next to nothing, might return us max money in the off-season. You would basically be trading those two and your chance of making a playoff push for the money to sign a max type player in a deep FA class.


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## ProudBFan (Apr 29, 2003)

Reading even MORE between the lines leads me to the following question:

Is Paul Allen getting ready to sell the team?

Please be gentle in your replies. 

PBF


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## e_blazer1 (Feb 3, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>ProudBFan</b>!
> Reading even MORE between the lines leads me to the following question:
> 
> Is Paul Allen getting ready to sell the team?
> ...


I don't see that as a strong probability at all. Paul Allen is still a major NBA junkie and he hasn't achieved the ultimate thrill of a title yet. I don't see him selling until he gets that.


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

If you want to read even more between the lines consider this.

By basically saying that he is done for the offseason, he is essentially saying that he will not move Shareef simply for the sake of moving him. If a team wants him they will need to give fair value for him, which due to ability and contract status is fairly high.


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> .....if Nash tried to trade both DA and Ruben and get our only two remaining long contracts off the payroll.


How much and for how long are the contracts of DA & RP??


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

> How much and for how long are the contracts of DA & RP??


DA has 3 years, 27 million left on his contract.
Ruben had 3 years, 20 million left on his contract.

Combined they'll make over 15 million next year, and if we were to trade them for two scrubs, we would be easily under the cap. We would have the money to resign Randolph, Theo, Miles, and a player for near max money (if done in the correct order). Who knows, maybe even resign Damon with our MLE.

Take a look at next years free agents, I bet you'll find one or two, that combined with our returning players and those guys resigned would put us into the top teams in the NBA.

2005 NBA Free Agents


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!DA has 3 years, 27 million left on his contract.
> Ruben had 3 years, 20 million left on his contract.


Thanks. Where did you access this info?


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## Blazer Ringbearer (Jan 28, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> Who knows, maybe even resign Damon with our MLE.


I was under the impression that when the exceptions (MLE, LLE) were only for teams OVER the cap and are not offered to teams that start the offseason under the cap.


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## keebs3 (Feb 19, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> 
> 
> Take a look at next years free agents, I bet you'll find one or two, that combined with our returning players and those guys resigned would put us into the top teams in the NBA.
> ...


Ok, I don't mean to sound like the foolish newbe here... but I am. :sigh: 
Why are guys such as Kobe, Nash, Miles on the list? They were free agents this year... My guess would be it has something to do with the restricted/unrestricted FA's. 
But I'm not completly sure how it works. A players contract ends at a certain time, yet he can opt out and become a FA sooner? Then he is either restricted or unrestricted? Then could Shareef had done that this year?
I don't know... help anyone? :banghead: 

JMK


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## Crimson the Cat (Dec 30, 2002)

The Blazers need to figure out their identity. It's becoming very clear they're building around Randolph and Telfair. They've now got to hone in on a couple of perimeter players and a big man.

Personally, I do think Miles is the answer at the other forward, but we've got to get that other guard and a center. A guard like Larry Hughes or Desmond Mason would fit right in, and a big like Kwame Brown might mix well in the front.

They're so far from being complete, but I like the pieces in place and the pieces available to help build (expiring contracts and prospects).

Everyone's so down, which is understandable considering Portland's history, but I see a lot of reason to be excited.


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Crimson the Cat</b>!
> The Blazers need to figure out their identity. It's becoming very clear they're building around Randolph and Telfair. They've now got to hone in on a couple of perimeter players and a big man.
> 
> Personally, I do think Miles is the answer at the other forward, but we've got to get that other guard and a center. A guard like Larry Hughes or Desmond Mason would fit right in, and big like Kwame Brown might mix well in the front.
> ...


Great minds think alike!! D Mason would be awesome. Let's hope they want rebuild around SAR.


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Blazer Ringbearer</b>!
> 
> 
> I was under the impression that when the exceptions (MLE, LLE) were only for teams OVER the cap and are not offered to teams that start the offseason under the cap.


MLE is used by teams Over the cap, or teams hwose cap space is less than the MLE and LLE combined.

You don't use a MLE to resign your own player unless you have no bird rights to that player.


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## deanwoof (Mar 10, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>keebs3</b>!
> 
> 
> Ok, I don't mean to sound like the foolish newbe here... but I am. :sigh:
> ...


lot of players on that list are wrong. kobe and nash were unrestricted FA's this summer. Miles is a RFA this summer. if he takes the blazers' tender offer (1 more year, based on rookie salary), he becomes an UnRFA next year. Players can opt out of their contracts earlier if they have the player option. Example: Tracy McGrady has a player option to opt out a year early this coming summer, but I am not sure if he would be a RFA or UnRFA. I think that because he has played 4+ years on the current contract, he becomes unrestricted?? Shareef could not have opted out this summer because he doesnt have a player opt-out option. therefore he's stuck making $14M (boohoo) for the year. 

Im hungry, it's lunch time


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## Crimson the Cat (Dec 30, 2002)

I think Mason's a heck of a player. Just needs to add a 3 point shot.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

reading between the lines I see that this team right now is no better than a 10th seed in the East. This is pathetic. I'm glad that Nash doesn't want to trade SAR just to trade him, but the handling of D Miles is pissing me off.


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## Masbee (Dec 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> 
> Combined they'll make over 15 million next year, and if we were to trade them for two scrubs, we would be easily under the cap. We would have the money to resign Randolph, Theo, Miles, and a player for near max money (if done in the correct order). Who knows, maybe even resign Damon with our MLE.


It doesn't work that way. In order to sign another team's Free Agent, you must have cap room.

In order to get enough cap room to sign a good free agent, Portland would have to renouce most of their own free agents. 

This has effects. First, it creates the cap space to be able to sign the free agent or free agents.

Second, the team loses any right to use the Mid Level Exception for that season.

Third, the team loses its Larry Bird rights on its own Free Agents, meaning it can only use cap space or the Veteran's Minimum to sign its own players, ie. Damon, Theo, etc.

In order to clear enough cap room to attempt to sign a free agent in 2005 Portland would have to strip it roster, which has the effect of making the team less attractive to good free agents. Its kinda a chicken and egg thing.

And even if Portland did land a really good Free Agent, because of their big salary, there would be little to no cap room left to fill out the roster with good players. Vet minimum players only.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

> Originally posted by and responding to <b>Masbee</b>!



It does work and I can prove it to you. First off, let me admit I was wrong about us using the MLE to sign Damon, that couldn't happen. Ok, before I get too deep into this, let me remind you that I said this would work if we traded both DA and Ruben for expiring contracts.

The remaining signed players who have no options, including our 2005 draft pick would be:

Telfair - 1.6 (million)
Viktor Khryapa - 1.1 
Travis Outlaw - 0.9
2005 Draft pick - 1.3 (approx)

For a grand total of 4.9 million dollars.

I said we would want to keep three players for sure. Those players include Zach, Theo, and Miles.

Theo would count against our cap 15.9 million, but since he'll sign for less, we would want to sign him right away, let's say a 4 year deal, starting a 10 million per. Add that to our 4.9 million, and now we have 14.9 million in salary.

Next is Miles, he will count against our cap for 8.1 million if we retain his bird rights. He'll probably sign for a similar starting salary as that (8.1) unless he plays horrible or really well this season. So that's a wash, we'll just throw the 8.1 on the books, adding our salary to 23 million.

Zach, the remaining player that we must keep only counts against our cap for 5.4 million dollars, which will be much less than we would pay him, so we would wait to sign him until we inked some other free agents. So before Portland hits the free agent market, we'd have 28.4 million in salary for the 2005 season.

I figure the cap will be about 44.7 million, so we would have something like 16.3 million dollars in money to spend, given our roster is thin, weak, and young. Because of that, we might be Monia and either Nedzen or Jin over for another 2 million. If that were the case, here's our roster.

PG. Telfair
SG. Monia / Khryapa
SF. Miles / Khryapa / Outlaw
PF. Zach / 2005 draft pick. / Outlaw
C. Theo / Nedzed

Looking at that, we have three major needs. A veteran point gaurd. An above average shooting gaurd. and two swing players (SG/SF) and (PF/C) that can play solid bench minutes.

Because the 2005 free agent class is so strong, there won't be enough money for players to get their real value, so they'll have to take less. Without looking into it too deeply, here's an idea of what we could do with that 14+ million.

Sign Cuttino Mobley for 5 years, starting at 7 million a year
Sign Earl Watson for 4 years, starting at 3 million a year.
* I think Earl is better than most people realize.
Sign Christian Laettner for 3 years, starting a 2.5 million per. 

Now our roster looks like this:

PG. Watson / Telfair (Splitting minutes)
SG. Mobley / Monia / Khryapa
SF. Miles / Outlaw / Khryapa
PF. Zach / Laettner / 2005 DP
C. Theo / Laettner / Nedzed.

Sign a player for the minium at the PG and C postion, and our 2005 2nd round pick on the IR.

Is that team going to win it all next year? No way, way too young. However, that team is loaded with talent.

A point gaurd who knows how to play the NBA game, and likes to pass first, combined with the a spark plug off the bench in Telfair.

A deadly 3pt shooting threat in Mobley, with either another shooter (Monia) or defender (Khryapa) to back him up.

A versitle SF in Miles who might be a star in the making, with another athletic freak (Outlaw) and a solid defender (Khryapa) behind him.

Zach commanding 38-40 minutes a game, dominating at PF.

Theo holding down the center position with a vertan or youthful back up.

Over the next two years sign a couple more solid players with you MLE, watch these young guys gain experience, and I think you have a team.

PS - I'm sure there are errors in here, but for the most part I think you sould be able to get my idea. Hope you at least could get some huor our of reading all this.


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## Oldmangrouch (Feb 11, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>ProudBFan</b>!
> Reading even MORE between the lines leads me to the following question:
> 
> Is Paul Allen getting ready to sell the team?
> ...


Now that Allen no longer owns/controls the Rose Garden, I believe that is a VERY real possibility. The local media hates him. Many fans don't appreciate him. He sure isn't making a profit on the team. Why would he NOT sell?


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Oldmangrouch</b>!
> Now that Allen no longer owns/controls the Rose Garden, I believe that is a VERY real possibility. The local media hates him. Many fans don't appreciate him. He sure isn't making a profit on the team. Why would he NOT sell?


I don't know. I hope he doesn't. 

Maybe he doesn't follow the local media, and probably he doesn't interact w/ fans much. Profit is irrelevant if this is still his hobby, as he can afford to spend any amount on things that give him pleasure. If it is no longer his hobby/passion, then it is just a money sink and I could see him selling.

barfo


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## Trader Ed (Jun 17, 2002)

Team salary discussion


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## Masbee (Dec 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> It does work and I can prove it to you. First off, let me admit I was wrong about us using the MLE to sign Damon, that couldn't happen. Ok, before I get too deep into this, let me remind you that I said this would work if we traded both DA and Ruben for expiring contracts.


You are right that I missed that. The reason being, trading DA AND Ruben for expiring contracts (before this season's trading deadline) is a very big IF. May not be doable. So you can't count on that cap room until the deals are done.



> The remaining signed players who have no options, including our 2005 draft pick would be:
> 
> Telfair - 1.6 (million)
> Viktor Khryapa - 1.1
> ...


You see, that is exactly the point. If you work real hard to get under the cap, dumping several solid players in the process, it had better be worth it.

It probably would be worth it for Tracy McGrady. But McGrady is all but lost now, as he forced his way out of Orlando to his No. 1 team of choice.

It might be worth it for Ray Allen, but Allen needs to be on a solid team, and clearing to get him guts the team.

Your plan has the Blazers losing:

Nick Van Excel
Damon Stoudimire
Shareef Abdur Rahim
Derek Anderson
Ruben Patterson

so that we can sign:

Earl Watson
Christian Laettner
Cuttino Mobley

Not only is that a HUGE reduction in talent, but by your numbers Watson and Laettner could have been signed by the Blazers by splitting their MLE. No need to get under the cap for that.

Mobley, or a similar talent, can be easily obtained in a trade for one of the Blazers big ending contracts - Nick, Damon or SAR.

Why get under the cap?

The only reason is to attempt to sign an All-NBA caliber free agent to a MAX deal, or to attempt to "steal" a couple of restricted free agents by offering bigger than MLE deals, that are hard for their teams to match. Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Lamar Odom types. Otherwise, don't do it.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

> Your plan has the Blazers losing:
> 
> Nick Van Excel
> Damon Stoudimire
> ...


You and I would agree that's less talent. However, what wasn't pointed out is the team I made has no bad contracts and had near 40 million less in payroll. Therefore, if a big name FA were available, they could make a move or two to make a push for him. Also, they would have 12 players that were actually tradable instead of having guys like DA, Damon, Ruben, who nobody would even consider trading for.

In reality, I agree with you that signing guys like Leattner and Watson probably wouldn't be the best move. Maybe you just sign the Ray Allen, AK47, Tony Parker, etc and add those key reserves the next year.

Personally, if we could get AK47 from Utah for around 11 million per, that's better than signing Miles at 8 mill, so I would let him go. Then say we signed Ray Allen with the remaining 13 million per, now your lineup looks like:

Telifair
Allen
AK47
Randolph
Theo


Then in 2006 sign a Speedy Claxton and Kelvin Cato with your exceptions. And in two years your payroll is about 30 million less and your roster looks something like this.

PG. Telfair / Claxton
SG. Allen / Monia / 2006 DP
SF. AK47 / Khryapa
PF. Randolph / Outlaw / 2005 DP
C. Theo / Cato / Nedzed

To me, that team is more talented than the team we have now. Clearly has way more potential than the team we have now. And most importantly, could easily add, move, or change pieces if need be.


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## Kmurph (May 7, 2003)

> You see, that is exactly the point. If you work real hard to get under the cap, dumping several solid players in the process, it had better be worth it.


Well, I don't agree with what Tince's use for POR of all that cap space, I DO agree with the principle strategy he is talking about. I DO think it could work.

Here are the players that could be available for POR both in the draft & in free agency next year.

*Potential players for POR to consider in the 05' Draft -* Let's assume POR doesn't make the playoffs and is around where they were last year. So they should look at guys like

*SG -* R.Fernandez, J.Hodge, K.Winston and F.Garcia 
*C -* J.Petro, Y.Jianlin, K.Perovic, P.Samardziski, C.Frye
*PG -* R.Ukic, J.Gilchrist, M.Shakur, R.Felton & S.Rodriguez
*PF -* T.Splitter, W.Simien, L.Aldridge, L.Roberts. A.Bogut. R.Morris
*SF -* S.Banks, H.Warrick, C.Villanueva, R.Gomes 

This is assuming we don't get a crack at the top 7 (M.Andriuskevicius, N.Aleksandrov, C.Paul, C.Taft, JR.Giddens, M.Williams & R.Gay)

Also, not every one of these players will opt for the draft, & of course there will be other players who rise and some who fall, but it does give you an idea of who is available.

*Potential 05' Free Agents (at this time) worth looking at for POR IMO.*

*PG -* M.Jaric, T.Parker (RFA), E.Watson, D.Stoudamire, NVE, E.Strickland, 

*SG - *R. Allen, K.Bogans, W.Green, L.Hughes, B.Jackson, J.Johnson (RFA), K.Kittles, K.Korver, R.Murray, J.Richardson (RFA), L.Sprewell

*SF -* D.Brown, A.Kirilenko (RFA), A.Walker, G.Wallace, G.Robinson, B.Simmons, T.Smith, T.Slay, L.Walton, 

*PF -* SAR, T.Chandler (RFA), P.Gasol (RFA), D.Marshall, T.Murphy (RFA), V.Radmonovic (RFA), 

*C -* K.Brown (RFA), J.Collins (RFA), E.Curry (RFA), S.Dalembert (RFA), D.Diop (RFA), D.Gadzuric, B.Haywood (RFA), Z.Ilgauskas, Z.Pachulia, T.Ratliff, C.Trybanski, 

Now is this list completely accurate? probably not
Will everyone ON this list be available? probably not

But as you can see, for a team with significant cap space & with a luxury tax looming (and teams trying like heck to avoid it) a team with money to offer can cause some problems, even with RFA, if they are creative at structuring contracts and willing to overpay.

As for what cap space teams other than POR will have available maybe So-Cal Blazer Fan or someone else can list the teams who potentially could have a fair amount.

Analysis\Thoughts to follow


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

> Well, I don't agree with what Tince's use for POR of all that cap space, I DO agree with the principle strategy he is talking about. I DO think it could work.


Curious to what you don't like about what I did (not saying I'm right, just looking for info). Also, Give me an idea of what you would want to do with either 14 million in cap space (keep Miles, Theo, and Zach) or 22 million (keeping only Theo and Zach). Give approx salary along with the players you're adding.

Great post listing draft picks and FA's! Keep up the good work!


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## Public Defender (May 5, 2003)

Perhaps I'm the only one who isn't all that bothered by the team we're presenting for next year at this point. 

Stoudamire is nearing the end of his contract, and should play well, in what will be his first full season without buds clogging his brain. 

Derek Anderson is always a question mark, but when healthy, he's a decent player. 

Darius Miles, assuming the Blazers sign him for just one year, will be playing like a man possessed to get big money next year. He showed great strides last year on defense, and there's no reason to expect that to change. 

Zach Randolph was MIP for a reason, and Nash says he's in the best shape of his life (sure, we can believe that when we see it, but regardless, Randolph has played like someone with a lot to prove since he entered the league, and that shouldn't let up). 

Theo Ratliff is going to be a monster at center this year, with Shaq in South Beach. 

Off the bench - having Shareef Abdur-Rahim off the bench can work assuming the Blazers are winning and he gets more than 10 minutes a game (may require some odd lineups, but it may lead to some good things - remember the big lineup that nearly defeated the Mavericks in the '03 first round?).

Nick Van Exel coming off the pine for either Stoudamire or Derek Anderson gives the Blazers offensive production off the bench that's been sorely lacking. 

Ruben Patterson is still a very good defender (even if he's still not the greatest decision-maker), and when the team is winning, he doesn't seem to mind playing five minutes or thirty-five minutes. 

And while I'd be happier with better backup centers, Stepania and Przybilla (assuming we sign him) are both serviceable. Both avoid making stupid fouls, are quick to loose rebounds for guys their size, and can hit the eight-footer when left alone. 

The West is tough this year, but I think stability is sometimes underrated. For all the changes Dallas made last summer, they were no better last season. Same with the Lakers. The only teams I think are appreciably better this season are the Rockets, Suns, and Nuggets... but the Lakers are appreciably worse, the Kings are a little worse, and no other playoff team has gotten much better or worse. If Cheeks can get these guys to play defense like they were the last third of the season, I could see a playoff run in their future. Once again, there's no juggernaut in the West, other than the Spurs, and they're a Tim Duncan twisted knee away from the lottery.


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## Trader Ed (Jun 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Tince</b>!
> ...*Personally, if we could get AK47 from Utah for around 11 million per*, that's better than signing Miles at 8 mill, so I would let him go. Then say we signed *Ray Allen with the remaining 13 million per*, now your lineup looks like:
> 
> Telifair
> ...



I am following your discussion, and like the ideas of getting Kirelenko and Allen. But IMHO there is no way you will be able to get both of them. Your premice is based on getting rid of DA and Ruben for expiring contracts. You had better hope DA has an outstanding year for anyone to even consider him as trade bait. Ruben you may be able to get an expiring contract for. Ruben is pretty steady and a good defensive player. You may get it with him


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Masbee</b>!Why get under the cap?....The only reason is to attempt to sign an All-NBA caliber free agent to a MAX deal, or to attempt to "steal" a couple of restricted free agents by offering bigger than MLE deals, that are hard for their teams to match. Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Lamar Odom types. Otherwise, don't do it.


Synopsys of the day!!!

I will feel much better if they make sound trades rather than risking the FA waters like Utah and Denver have gone through. It scares me.


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## Kmurph (May 7, 2003)

> Curious to what you don't like about what I did (not saying I'm right, just looking for info). Also, Give me an idea of what you would want to do with either 14 million in cap space (keep Miles, Theo, and Zach) or 22 million (keeping only Theo and Zach). Give approx salary along with the players you're adding


Well, as doom & gloom as some fans here are, things financially are good for POR. One KEY factor that I don't have is what other teams will have significant cap space next year. Knowing that would help to somewhat determine what POR chances are of signing a key FA or two.

To answer your question Tince, assuming that POR opts to go for "max cap space" as an approach into FA, I DO think they could end up with a VERY good player, and then fill a couple of needed holes. So let's assume for the following, that SAR is NOT traded, nor is Damon, Theo, NVE or Miles.

I think first, you have to determine what are POR holes & what are POR needs?

* PG - * Telfair
* SG - * Monya
* SF - * Miles, Khryapa, Outlaw
* PF - * Zach
* C - * Sinanovic or Jin

Possibly added to that could be UFA Frahm, or Woods. Also, trading DA and particularly Ruben for expiring deals is a REAL longshot, unless you included them with a SAR\Theo\Damon or NVE and even then getting back that much in matching expiring contracts is VERY implausible IMO. However, if you got a young player and were able to take deals LESS than what DA or Ruben's would have counted against the cap for then you could marginally improve your available cap space.

So, if you let Damon & NVE walk, you will then have Telfair as your only PG. Obviously, you will need a b\u PG, and although the 05' draft will have some good players in it, a veteran would make better sense as a b\u. You WANT Telfair to be the starter, so even attempting to sign a T.Parker makes little to no sense given the other holes (namely C, b\u PF and SG) POR would have. The 05' FA class at PG is rather weak, so targeting a Jaric, Watson or Strickalnd makes sense here (unless you can get Damon to sign at a very cap friendly deal...unlikely). But these guys are all lower priorities.

Looking at the 05' draft, I think POR COULD be best served by addressing their b\u PF with their pick, as there are some VERY good prospects, particularly the five guys I mentioned.

However the 05' draft is also looking to be strong at center as well, and if a Petro, Jianlin or possible Perovic were there, that COULD be an option. However with the FA class at C looking very good, it would be in POR BEST INTEREST IMO to address that need FIRST thru FA. The only other option in the draft would be SG, which I also think looks good, particulary Hodge, Fernandez & Winston. But I would say POR goes PF in the draft, let's say Splitter (whom I personally like)

That leaves Free Agency

IMO, the first priority should be addressing the center position. Again, IMO POR should target Eddy Curry, Brendan Haywood or Dan Gadzuric, in that order. Both Curry & Haywood are RFA, but I think POR could pry them away. Kwame Brown is another player (and Tyson Chandler for that matter) that could be options as well. Samuel Dalembert would be a great p\u, however I think prying him away from Philly would be VERY difficult, moreso than the other players for several reasons, of which I listed reasoning in this thread here:

Thoughts on a Big Man thread 

Curry IMO would be best case scenario, Haywood 2nd and Gadzuric 3rd. 

There are SEVERAL good SG available in FA, many of whom are UFA, which is good for POR. Bogans and Hughes in particular. Richardson is appealing as is Joe Johnson, but as they are RFA, the price, particularly if POR goes after a center 1st (as they should) would be too high to get either as a 2nd option.

IF POR could pry Eddy Curry away from CHI with a large deal (at minimum let's say $8 + mil), then get a guy like Bogans for over MLE money ($5-6+ mil), then they could p\u whatever PG they could for the remainder.

So the roster would look like this

*PG - *Telfair, Erick Strickland 
*SG - *Bogans, Monya
*SF - *Miles, Khryapa, Outlaw
*PF - *Zach, Splitter
*C - *Curry, Sinanovic, Jin

Or you could opt to go for Richardson or Johnson (maybe Hughes?) with the majority of your cap space and then get Gadzuric with the majority of what is leftover. Personally I'd opt to go for the center.

POR would STILL be a work in progress. I wouldn't go after Allen, b\c he will be 30 (31?) years old, will want a max deal for a fair number of years, and while he may be great now, a players abilities (particulary wing players) tend to deteriorate rapidly in their mid thirties (look at Mitch Richmond, Steve Smith, Allen Housten for example), if not before, and with the core of this team so young, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 

Kirilenko plays a position, that unless Miles was renounced, POR is relatively strong at. Heck, even if Miles WAS gone, you still have Khryapa and Outlaw there. Nowhere NEAR Kirilenko's ability, but you don't draft guys to SUCK if you know what I mean, so you have to EXPECT them to be worthy players at some point, unless you did SUCK at drafting them in the first place, and I don't think that is the case.

The rest of the roster is filled in

Now do I think POR would go this route? Probably not. I think you could ENHANCE your options going into FA, by sacrificing some of that "potential" cap space in deals to acquire another draft pick or two for 05', and\or a young player. 

If POR decides to trade a SAR, Damon, NVE or even a Theo at the trade deadline, they will get a few other players back, not all of them expiring, and that is ok, particularly if POR can include DA and\or Ruben into such a deal (and I DEFINITELY think they woudl try to do that).

For example, Payton is currently refusing to report to BOS, what if POR stepped in and offered

SAR\DA\Ruben\Oultaw (or Woods preferably) & Stepania
for
Payton\Fox\Stewart\LaFrentz\Welsch & Brown 

That would be a tremendous trade for POR, clearing DA and Ruben off the books, and acquring LaFrentz's deal for 2 more years, but at less $$$ than both DA and Ruben would cost POR in cap space, thus NETTING POR more cap space. Getting a young player like Welsch would be good too, but POR should do it EVEN IF BOS wanted to sub McCarty for Welsch. Maybe you get a draft pick out of them for doing so?

I definitely think we could see deals similiar in principle to the one listed above, that one would just allow POR to clear everything at once w\SAR. Allowing us potentially more cap space for 05' FA and\or to resign Theo.

BTW, If POR is way out of the race by the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see Theo dealt for young players and\or picks. He could really help a team going into the playioffs, and his value at the trade deadline as a PLAYER (as well as SAR and NVE if healthy, could be as well) would be VERY high IMO.

Anyway, just my thoughts. I think POR priorities should be...

1) Look to get a young player and\or draft pick and as MANY matching expiring deals as possible for SAR

2) Look to unload DA & Ruben's contracts for expiring (unlikely) or contract with less money. Even if we have to throw them into a deal with one of our better players\expiring contracts to do so.

3) Look to possibly trading NVE, Damon and even Theo at the trade deadline, if POR is clearly out of the playoff hunt. Again for young players and\or draft picks and as many matching expiring contracts as possible. 

4) Look to preserve as much cap space going inot 05' FA as possible, but be willing to take on non expiring deals, if it makes sense (to take on a A.Davis from CHI for example if you could get E.Curry in the deal).

5) Look to acquire another draft pick for 2005


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

Kmurph-

Very well thought-out post. I was a little surprised at how easliy you would let Theo go, but I couldn't understand age and potential injuries being a concern.



> IF POR could pry Eddy Curry away from CHI with a large deal (at minimum let's say $8 + mil), then get a guy like Bogans for over MLE money ($5-6+ mil), then they could p\u whatever PG they could for the remainder.


I believe you would be overpaying both players. Curry has yet to prove he can be a solid starter in this league. And by the sounds of it, he's on the Shawn Kemp career plan, just 10 years earlier. Bogans would be another prime example of someone who couldn't even produce much on the Orlando magic, and I would be surprised if he got more than 3 million per, if that.



> One KEY factor that I don't have is what other teams will have significant cap space next year. Knowing that would help to somewhat determine what POR chances are of signing a key FA or two.


Teams that will probably have the money to sign a max contract player:

Charlotte, Atlanta, LA Clippers, Cleveland, Washington, Chicago, Seattle, and New Jersey.


Portland's best chance at landing these top level players might be trading the expiring contracts they plan on dumping at the season anyway, for a star with a decent 3-4 contract. That's a tough thing to find.


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## RedHot&Rolling (Jun 26, 2004)

Kmurph & Tince - Bravo!! :greatjob: :worship: 

Well thought out and well spoken.

Although, I hope we can do better than that Bogans fellow at SG - your point is well made.

I also like the riskyness of going for a younger center like Curry - and risk losing Theo who is over 30 yrs old already.

The Blazers will be best served near the trade deadline or before training camp to move expiring deals for a star future building block. Someone to add to the Telfair, Zbo nucleus.

As I've been saying......the next 12 months will be very interesting and exciting to be a Blazers fan.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Masbee</b>!
> 
> 
> Why get under the cap?
> ...


It seems that the RFAs teams are stealing are second round draft pick with only two year contracts owned by teams over the salary cap. Who would those players be next offseason?

As for a superstar, what about Shaq? Would he take less money for a chance to go against the Lakers more often?

Also, how much money would we have if we sign Przyzbilla and/or trade at most one of DA and RP for an expiring contract and/or convince Ratliff to sign for even less than $10 million to backup Shaq?


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