Portland Trail Blazers

A lot of people on here post what the Blazers should do this offseason to address the bench, center, and also trading players so I decided to come up with one of my own that I believe would address all of this! First: Trades! - Involves POR, BOS, ORL, HOU! http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mx2w6oa PDX GETS: Aaron Brooks, Terrence Jones, Tobias Harris, Greg Smith, & Terrence Williams!BOS GETS: Nic Batum, Thomas RobinsonORL GETS: Jeff Green, Will Barton + Pick #10HOU GETS: Glen Davis, Victor Claver + Blazers 3 2nd Rds. PDX Verdict: Portland would do this because in Brooks we get a backup PG who cost the same as Maynor but he is also more proven and he played college ball at Oregon so im sure he wouldn't mind to come back! Also Terrence Jones is a SF/PF who can score, rebound, and play defense! He would probably be the 7th of 8th man. Terrence would like this because he is from Portland so it would be nice to reunite him here plus he is inexpensive but talented. Tobias Harris really came into his own when he got traded to Orlando and actually got a shot. Harris would fill the SF void that would be caused by Batum being traded. Also he is 10x cheaper than Batum and still young. Greg Smith is 6'11 250 lbs and 22 yrs old. This yr he averaged 16 mins with HOU while averaging 6 pts and 5 rbs. While also avg .6 blocks! Anyone who actually watched him play would agree he is a hell of a bargain for not even 800k a year! Smith could actually also fill our C void. He is a big body and plays good defense and can protect the rim. Terrence Williams is a SG/SF from Seattle who is versatile. Williams can score rebound and pass. Essentially Williams is lesser Batum who comes way cheaper. BOS Verdict: I believe boston would do this because Paul Pierce is getting older and they would be getting Batum to take over for him. Essentially they re-signed Green to take over Pierces void when he leaves but he is more of a PF than a SF. Also Batum has more potential and plays better defense while also being younger. Boston would also receive Thomas Robinson in this deal! Receiving T-Rob would be huge for BOS even though they drafted Sullinger due to the fact nobody knows how effective Sullinger will be because of his back issues. Also T-Rob is better than Sullinger I don't think that's questionable! ORL Verdict: Orlando receiving Green would be huge for their organization. With green barely signing a new contract he would be around for a while and could arguably be the new face of the organization. Also he is more proven than Tobias Harris so its a step up. Also he is versatile and can play the 3 and 4. Will Barton would be a nice piece for the Magic because he looked better than their backup 2's last year by a long shot! Super athletic and can score while grab boards. A bit raw but he will be good. Also they will receive the 10th pick from Portland to grab some more talent in the draft! I believe they would be ALL in for this. HOU Verdict: No arguing this.. Big Baby is a upgrade over everything they give up. Although it wouldn't clear up cap space for them to sign Dwight it would still be good for them because Glen is certainly capable of playing the PF and Asik at C would be a beast front court that is BIG! Plus they would get our 3 2nd round picks so if they REALLY wanted to get Dwight they could move the picks and Big baby to clear space. --------------------------------------------------------------------- If this were to happen Portland would clear up more cap space. Blazers in FA could sign Chris Copeland for fairly cheap and Jermaine O'Neal for cheap to! Portlands roster could look like... PG: Damian Lillard/Aaron Brooks/Eric MaynorSG: Terrence Williams/Wes Matthews/Elliot WilliamsSF: Tobias Harris/Chris Copeland/Terrence JonesPF: LaMarcus Aldridge/Terrence Jones/Jermaine O'Neal/Copeland?(Stretch 4)C: Greg Smith/Meyers Leonard/ Jermaine O'NealA lot of people on here post what the Blazers should do this offseason to address th

Dorell Wright: 27 yrs, 6-9", 205 lb, 6-11 ½" wing-span. Dorell spent one year behind 2010 #2 pick over-all Evan Turner, in a system where his numbers dropped. His stats for the two yrs prior to that at Warriors where he started in an average of 70 games/yr in a system more like Stott’s. Stats '10-'11 82gms 38.4min 5.9fg .423% 2.4three .376% 2.2ft .789% 5.3reb 3.0ast 0.8blk 1.5stl 1.6to 16.4p '11-'12 61 27.0 3.6 .422 1.7 .360 1.3 .816 4.6 1.5 0.4 1.0 0.8 10.3 Contract: Dorell is a UFA after his last year with 76ers where he earned $4.1 mill/yr. The 76ers have a payroll next yr of $44 mill, before offering to Andrew Bynum, if they to intend? Have fun watching these D-Wright consolidated game highlights: Dorell Wright: 27 yrs, 6-9", 205 lb, 6-11 ½" wing-span. Dorell spent one year behind 2010 #2 pick over-all Evan Turner, in a system where his numbers dropped. His stats for the two yrs prior to that at Warriors where he started in an average of 70 games/yr in a system more like Stott’s. Stats '10-'11 82gms 38.4min 5.9fg .423% 2.4three .376% 2.2ft .789% 5.3reb 3.0ast 0.8blk 1.5stl 1.6to 16.4p '11-'12 61 27.0 3.6 .422 1.7 .360 1.3 .816 4.6 1.5 0.4 1.0 0.8 10.3 Contract: Dorell is a UFA after his last year with 76ers where he earned $4.1 mill/yr. The 76ers have a payroll next yr of $44 mill, before offering to Andrew Bynum, if they to intend? Have fun watching these D-Wright consolidated game highlights: Poll Please use your GM spidey sense and vote: Tyreke (is that Greek?) ~$11.5 mill/ yr RFA (last yr paid $5.2) OJ Condiment ~$5.5 mill UFA ($4.2 last yr) JJ one-D ~$6.5 mill UFA ($6.2 last yr) one-R two-L Wright ~$4.5 mill/yr UFA ($4.2 Last yr) 0 votes | Results

Throughout the history of Blazer's Edge, draft day has always been one of the biggest days of the year. Mostly because Paul Allen loves the draft. And that means just about anything can happen. In fact, it's down right disappointing when all remains quiet. During the days leading up to the draft, we're going to look back at Portland Trailblazer history through the posts of those who saw it first hand. Source Documents: Part 1, Part 2 What a wild year. All year long there had been concerns about Brandon Roy. He was in, then out, then back in but not doing very well. It was hard to watch. Andre Miller and Lamarcus Aldridge looked good together, though. The midseason pickup of Gerald Wallace was nice. Wesley Matthews was keeping Roy's spot warm. Marcus Camby was holding the middle down well, as Oden was recovering from his second microfracture surgery. But Brandon Roy needed to be Brandon Roy again. If he could, we were looking real good. And Game 4 of the opening round of the playoffs showed Blazer fans everywhere that Brandon Roy could be the very best, like no one ever was. But it was just one game. And we weren't sure if this was the last goodbye, or hello once again. If Roy could still play, even on that bad knee, then the Blazers needed very little. Oden back would fill one major hole. Which left only backup PG and PF. And perhaps a younger starting PG to replace Miller. And we had just the General Manager to pull it all off. Key word: had. Rich Cho had been hired soon after Pritchard was fired last year. He lasted 9 months. Apparently Cho and Allen didn't work well together. And that's not good news for job security. The Charlotte Bobcats weren't about to let Cho go though. And hired him before draft day 2011. Portland had acting GM Chad Buchanan sort of at the helm. But little was known if he had much say in things. To top it all off. Draft day started with the Rumor that Denver was willing to trade newly acquired PG Raymond Felton to the Blazers for Andre Miller. The rumor also mentioned the switching of the 21st and 22nd draft picks. Which was fine, if we could get our guy. And this year the consensus guy was Kenneth Faried. He not only led the NCAA in rebounding, he set the new all-time record for rebounding. It wasn't known if he could do much else. But that didn't matter. He penciled into the backup PF we needed perfectly. And mock drafts had him consistently at our range. But that could wait until we got there. After all, someone might take him ahead of us. Besides, the Raymond Felton rumors were interesting. Still with two GM's fired in less than one year, there were still some strong feelings about Paul Allen and the people he fired. Tom Penn, former Blazers' assistant GM had found a job at ESPN. On draft day, no less. And it made us wonder how bad things really were. 2011 was lining up to be a really weak draft. There were no "Tier 1" players to be had. Derrick Williams from Arizona and Kyrie Irving from Duke looked to be the best two players in the draft. But when was the last time a good player came from Duke? A whole lot of players looked good in college there, but not in the pros. And Irving had been injured half way through the season. Meaning you really just got a glimpse of him. Definitely big question marks. And this was supposed to be the draft that got Cleveland out of the LeBron shaped hole they found themselves in? Break out the Comic Sans, because somebody should write in for a refund. Still, you've got to pick somebody first overall. And the Cavs take Kyrie. Minnesota comes next and makes the easiest call since Seattle drafted Kevin Durant. Derrick Williams is going to finally turn that franchise around. Utah mildly surprises by taking Enes Kanter 3rd. He had spent the entire year at Kansas suspended permanently for getting paid in Europe. So nobody really knew what he was going to do. But Utah thought he was worth the risk. Blazer fans, however, are waiting for news from the Blazer

Jun 18, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the fourth quarter of game six in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports Ladies and gentlemen, I am upset. Both teams played some phenomenal basketball in Miami tonight, and to see the titanic clash end the way it did is an insult to the spirit of the game. Regardless of your fanatic affiliation, there can be no question that if the final minutes of overtime were called correctly, the Spurs may have emerged NBA champions. With 2 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Spurs trailing 100-101, Manu Ginobili attacked the basket and was “stripped” by Ray Allen. By stripped, I mean Allen (blatantly, mind you) raked Ginobili across the arm, forcing the turnover. Boris Diaw then fouled Allen to stop the clock and send him to the line. Ginobili, who struggled mightily all game, should have been shooting for the lead, not Allen, who shot to extend Miami’s. 2 easy points from one of the best free throw shooters in the game and the Spurs needed a 3 to tie. Cue Danny Green. The Spurs called a 20 second timeout to advance the ball. Desperate to get the ball in and up, Duncan inbounded to a wildly sprinting Danny Green who launched a corner 3– or at least, what would have launched it if not for the impeding defense of Chris Bosh. Yes, his hand got the ball. No doubts, no complaints about that. But it was nowhere near a clean block. He barreled into Green, bodying him mid-shot attempt. Danny Green should have been on the line with an opportunity to tie the game, but again the whistle was swallowed. Commentator, Jeff Van Gundy, said after the game, “I like the non-call, but if you’re saying, ‘is that a foul in the first 46 minutes?’ it absolutely is.” . I understand that in the heat of the moment, especially in NBA finals situations, it is easy to miss calls, but there is absolutely no excuse for blatantly disregarding the rules of the game TWICE; a game which, for the most part, was truly spectacular to watch. The Heat were able to (without help) recover from a double digit deficit in the 4th quarter to force overtime due to the late game heroics of LeBron James and Ray Allen (who validated his contract with a single shot). The no-calls that undoubtedly affected the outcome of the game spat in the eyes of the fans that were watching and the players on both sides who were fighting tooth and nail. I want to make it clear that I am not trying to suggest an officiating conspiracy (though they are not alien to the NBA, a la Kings/Lakers Game 6, circa 2002). I am more upset with the state of NBA officiating . The Spurs were robbed for their efforts tonight, due to shoddy officiating in the final seconds. San Antonio will have to wait until Thursday for another opportunity to bring home the trophy and a 5th ring for NBA legend, Tim Duncan, who had 30 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Box Score Follow @DavidMackayPDX Follow @ripcityproject

Would Bledsoe fit as a SG next to Lillard? He seemed uncomfortable handling the ball when i saw him this year. On the surface, I would be VERY excited about this duo going forward. And apparently the Clippers want a 3 & D guy... http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/59849/how-the-clippers-could-walk-away What would it take? Batum + ????? = Bledsoe + ????? Butler's Contract? Could we work Jordan in here somehow? Remember that Neil has ties to the Clippers so at least the lines of communication are open. Please feed my appetite and come with something clever!!! Would Bledsoe fit as a SG next to Lillard? He seemed uncomfortable handling the ball when i saw him this year. On the surface, I would be VERY excited about this duo going forward. And apparently the Clippers want a 3 & D guy... http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/59849/how-the-clippers-could-walk-away What would it take? Batum + ????? = Bledsoe + ????? Butler's Contract? Could we work Jordan in here somehow? Remember that Neil has ties to the Clippers so at least the lines of communication are open. Please feed my appetite and come with something clever!!!

Dan Hanner of RealGM.com has a nice by-the-numbers breakdown of the 2013 NBA Draft class. Big improvements in efficiency 1. Shane Larkin ORtg improved from 99 to 117 while using 3% more possessions 2. Alex Len ORtg improved from 99 to 113 while using 6% more possessions 3. Trey Burke ORtg improved from 106 to 121 while using 2% more possessions 4. Victor Oladipo ORtg improved from 107 to 122 while using 1% fewer possessions 5. Reggie Bullock ORtg improved from 118 to 128 while using 3% more possessions 6. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ORtg improved from 104 to 113 while using 4% more possessions There are so many more names I could include on this list. Murray St.'s Isaiah Canaan deserves a lot more praise. Even though his team did worse, Canaan had a brilliant season personally. On the flip side... Not improving 1. Andre Roberson ORtg fell from 109 to 100 while using 2% fewer possessions 2. Phil Pressey ORtg fell from 114 to 101 while using 3% more possessions 3. Cody Zeller ORtg fell from 127 to 119 while using 2% more possessions None of these guys was terrible. Roberson was still a dominant defender. But when you tread water in college basketball, NBA scouts start to downgrade your potential. Zeller treaded water and didn't improve and his draft stock has fallen quite a bit. From Z to Z, from Zeller's free throw rate, to his declining ORtg, that's a quick look inside the college stats. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

Portland Trail Blazers fans discuss the idea of moving up in the draft to select Victor Oladipo out of Indiana in the 2013 NBA draft.

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com digs into the advanced stats to produce this interesting look at the best "Big 3" combinations of players in NBA history. The Portland Trail Blazers' combination of Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey ranks eighth on his list of the top 10 since 1974. For this study, I considered every potential star trio in the NBA since 1974. Why 1974? That's the first season that the NBA officially tracked turnovers. Using that as a starting point allows us to measure each player using the same rubric. Turnovers are a pretty big deal. ... Don't think of this Blazers trio as a Big Three? Think again. Clyde Drexler and two-time All-Star Terry Porter made up one of the best backcourts of the Jordan era, and Jerome Kersey was no slouch either. Most youngsters these days remember Kersey as the washed-up vet on the 1999 Spurs championship squad, but Kersey was a big-time rebounder and defender at small forward for the Blazers and helped push them to two Finals appearances. If the rise of this Blazers' core hadn't run parallel with the "Bad Boy" Pistons and Jordan's Bulls, we probably would think of them much differently. The top three overall on the list... 1) Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish (Boston Celtics) 2) Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant (Chicago Bulls) 3) Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs) Hat tip: Casey Holdahl, Blazers.com -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

Unfortunately I have one those gut feeling where you just know what is going to happen. I mean the Heat players don't even seem flustered in their interviews. I guarantee there will be more free throws for the heat players in the next two games. Being at home for the heat is a tremendous advantage and I think they will use to full capacity. I don't really believe in all the conspiracy theories about teams being set up to win and to lose, but how do you explain this http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/pair-lebron-james-brand-nikes-already-calling-him-161113547.html A pair of Lebron nikes already say 2 time champion on them. Very bold of the maker seeing that the heat are down 3-2. Of course if the game was fixed the bold statement wouldn't be a problem. Anyways I predict that the heat are gonna win the next two games, with talent or help from the league, whichever you choose to believe. Just my two cents Unfortunately I have one those gut feeling where you just know what is going to happen. I mean the Heat players don't even seem flustered in their interviews. I guarantee there will be more free throws for the heat players in the next two games. Being at home for the heat is a tremendous advantage and I think they will use to full capacity. I don't really believe in all the conspiracy theories about teams being set up to win and to lose, but how do you explain this http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/pair-lebron-james-brand-nikes-already-calling-him-161113547.html A pair of Lebron nikes already say 2 time champion on them. Very bold of the maker seeing that the heat are down 3-2. Of course if the game was fixed the bold statement wouldn't be a problem. Anyways I predict that the heat are gonna win the next two games, with talent or help from the league, whichever you choose to believe. Just my two cents

In its most recent NBA mock draft, the Sporting News predicts UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad will be drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 10 overall.