Thursday, May 22, 2008

The draft rumors begin

That certainly didn't take long. Less than two fulls days after the draft lottery, ESPN's Chad Ford already has a rumor that involves the Chicago, Portland and the No. 1 pick.
Paxson told ESPN Radio on Wednesday that he would be open to trade offers for the No. 1 pick. Within hours we had our first rumor. The Blazers were willing to send LaMarcus Aldridge to the Bulls for the chance to draft Rose.

Ummm … not so fast. I contacted a source inside the Blazers. They haven't made an offer, and while certainly interested in finding a way to get the No. 1 pick, don't sound inclined to give up Aldridge.

Still, the deal would've been interesting. Aldridge would be a good fit on the Bulls. But the irony of the whole thing would be thick. The Bulls traded the draft rights to Aldridge to the Blazers for the draft rights of Tyrus Thomas. Trading back for Aldridge would be tantamount to admitting they made the wrong choice two years ago.

I think the Bulls front office already knows trading Tyrus Thomas for LaMarcus Aldridge was "the wrong choice." Anyone with even a passing interest in the NBA knows that.

But back to the crux of this rumor. I have no doubt the KP and the rest of his staff would love to get their hands on Rose, but I don't think they're giving up on their "Twin Towers II" plan any time soon.

(Side note: Chad Buchanan, the Blazers' Director of College Scouting, said yesterday during our podcast that he knew who he would take between Rose and Beasley. He wouldn't say which player, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was Rose.)

There are other things about this rumor that don't make much sense. It would make the Blazers even younger, which I don't think anyone in the organization is clamoring for. That's not to say they won't add a young piece if they think it will improve the team, but I doubt they'd trade one of their team leaders to do it.

Rose is an unquestionable talent who would be a great addition to any team, but is he the kind of all-around point guard that you trade one of your best players for? You've got Roy and Oden who presumably need touches. Is Rose that kind of distributor ? Granted, he only played one year of college ball, but only twice (against Austin Peay and UAB) did he tally double-digits in assists. He's also not a great long-range shooter, which would be nice to have at the point guard position with teams presumably doubling Oden.

I really think Rose is a can't miss prospect, but I already know Aldridge is. He's proved his worth on the court in the NBA. Can you trade proven for potential?

What's more, some people think it would take more than Aldridge to get Chicago's No. 1. You want to give up our starting power forward for the next 10 years AND another talented guy for Rose? That's an easy one for me: No way.

14 comments:

LaPrincipessa said...

Casey

Kp is a G , he wouldnt do anything that ridiculous. Its not even a rumor, its a "whatif" that is never going to happen. Even if we had the dumbest , most incompetant GM ever this wouldn't happen.

Sophia

TromboneDixie said...

What do ya think of this Casey?

You know the Bulls are going to be looking to unload at guard a bit because Derek Rose should be number 1. Why dont we package our number 13 pick with perhaps cash considerations for Kirk Hinrich? Our team doesn't need MORE youth. Hinrich could add leadership at the point and some intense perimeter defense. I think he would be a perfect fit with all the young studs we have.

Ben

Casey Holdahl said...

Sophia: May you should put "KP is a G" on a t-shirt as well.

Ben: I'm not a huge Hinrich fan, but if we could get him without having to give up a player, I'd be all for it. The thing is, he's set to make $10 million next season, so I'd assume cap implications would dictate that he'd have to send some salary back to Chicago.

I'd also like to see who's available at No. 13 before making a move. If a guy like Westbrook was still available, I'd be reluctant to trade the pick.

LaPrincipessa said...

It does have a nice ring to it.

But then If I start wearing these t-shirt's i'll find my pic on Channing's page under the KPW section.

:)

BRoyFTW said...

It's a bad trade for Portland. Greg Oden was drafted for his defense. Even before we knew we had a chance of getting Oden, a lot of fans knew rebounding and interior defense was the Blazers weakness. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are two proven scorers on our team and an ideal combination. We have a SG who can break down the defense, shoot from any where on the perimeter, and get to the basket. Then when defenders put the clamps on Roy we have Aldridge in the post.
I think a guard and post player scoring combo is a lot more ideal than a point guard and shooting guard combo.

It works for the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, and Celtics

Pierce to KG
Kobe to Gasol/Odom
Parker to Duncan
Paul to Chandler/West

A good power forward is a lot more useful than a PG & SG scoring combo. Rose doesn't seem as team oriented as Roy, and I think we have a better leader in Roy.

mrblazer said...

Hey Casey,

I'm pretty sure you're not too fond of me for one reason or another. I know i tend to be a party pooper when it comes to rumors and trade speculation. And, even though i know this little bit of info will go through one ear and out the other of 99.99% of those who read it, i think it's worth bring up the fact that Hinrich is a BYC player.

I believe he will have that status until a bit after the draft. That makes a draft day trade for him extremely difficult. I might as well use this opportunity to also bring up Calderon's pending BYC status. He will be a BYC player as soon as he inks his next deal (whether it is for sign-and-trade or not). Basically, acquiring him is out of the question. Travis, too, is a BYC player until after the draft. OK, i'm done........for now.

I really don't like ruining the fun, but some actually appreciate this kind of info so they can move on to other ideas that are more realistic. I'm pretty sure you're one of them. A Hinrich deal is not impossible, but i would be surprised if it can happen on draft day, which is a very important factor should the 13th pick be involved. I suppose KP could agree to a deal "in principle" to be executed after the draft, but i think that would be very risky business.

beamer138 said...

Unless we can honestly get D. Rose without sacrificing core personnel, I would go in another direction. I'm for going after a younger established veteran PG. The guy that BEST fits what the Blazers need is Devin Harris. He's tall, athletic, can stick the J, run the break and plays excellent defense. He is the obvious choice for the Blazers if they cannot get one of the top guards in the draft. Do you guys agree?

TromboneDixie said...

Yeah, Westbrook is a great defender and high energy guy, but living in L.A. myself, I had to watch many UCLA games and it just seems like the guy doesn't have much of a shot, at all. I know Hinrich had a down year shooting wise, but it seemed like it was just a team wide slump in Chicago. He always seems like such a gamer too.

Plus we're gonna have some extra cash to spend from the Darius Miles contract right?

Casey Holdahl said...

I don't know why you feel that way mrblazer. I enjoy reading your comments and analysis. In fact, I welcome all comments, party-pooperish or not, that are respectful.

As far as BYC goes, you're right about Calderon. It would be more difficult to trade for him, but not impossible. If the Blazers could get a third team who is under the cap team or a team with a trade exception to get involved, then it's a possibility. It's certainly more difficult than trading for a non-BYC player, but I think we've got a better than 99.99% chance.

As far as trading the pick is concerned, you're right on, though I question whether the No.13 would be necessary in a Hinrich trade. Chicago has almost as much youth as we do.

TC3 said...

Ok first of all this trade is crazy. Portland already has the core guys. Oden, Aldridge, and Roy those guys are untouchable. As a Blazer Fan I don't want to see any of those 3 guys leave. KP if you want that #1 Pick from Chicago make a package.
To Chicago: 13th pick, Channing Frye, Jarrett Jack
---------------------
To Portland: #1 Pick (Beasley), Ben Gordon
---------------------
Blazer Fans our lineup is this.
C - Greg Oden
F - LaMarcus Aldridge
F - Martell Webster
G - Brandon Roy
G - Ben Gordon
--------------------
Reserves
C - Joel Przybilla
F - Michael Beasley
F - Travis Outlaw
G - James Jones
G - Steve Blake
--------------------
Bench Warmers
F - Josh McRoberts
F - Raef LaFrentz
G - Sergio Rodriguez

Casey Holdahl said...

You're right about Westbrook's shot Ben, but people said the same thing about Rajon Rondo when he came out. He seems to be getting by just fine. Shooting, maybe more than any other basketball skill, is improvable with practice. Things like speed, length, hand size and quickness are a bit more ingrained.

As far as the Darius money goes, even the removal of his salary doesn't get the team under the cap in 08/09. It allowed the Blazers to be luxury tax receivers rather than payers in 07/08, but it still doesn't get us under the cap.

Casey Holdahl said...

TC3: That would be a great trade for the Blazers (though I'm about 99% sure they'd take Rose over Beasley), but Paxson would get run out of Chicago for doing it. Consider it this way: Channing was an 8th pick, Jack a 22nd pick. So if you were Paxson, would you trade the No. 1 pick and a former No. 3 pick (Gordon) for picks 8, 13 and 22? I wouldn't.

TC3 said...

Ben Gordon is not happy in Chicago. I would honestly do anything to get rid of Channing, Jarrett and the 13th pick. Throw in Sergio too then. Or even Steve Blake.

mrblazer said...

Just to clarify, the 99.99% reference was to how much of the readers would even remember, after being told, there are serious obsticles to doing many of these scenarios.

You're right. Getting Calderon isn't "impossible." However, you tell me between Memphis and Philly, which of those teams is dying to help the blazers acquire another core player. Actually, Memphis might. They didn't seem opposed to handing a title to the lakers.

Also, i like the idea of a trade exception. There would have to be some ridiculous wrangling of the cba involved, but perhaps the blazers could acquire a trade exception in a separate trade during the draft. Then use it on Calderon.

The whole thing sounds like a million to one shot, and of course, Toronto would need to be on board with a trade of their favorite point guard. Personally, i just don't see it happening.

On the other hand, if Memphis is stupid enough to not consider Conley a core player (and they've certainly shown stupidity since Jerry West left), maybe we could pry him from their roster. I wouldn't even mind taking on Cardinal's contract with an immediate buyout before he ever put on a blazer jersey.