the portland trailblazers
- Thread starter phil
- Start date
bayless will prove why he belongs in this league and on this team. not necessarily summer league because its shit, but he can at least prove that he can run a team, and show his jumper that failed him last year. the kid can shoot just fine, he'll be getting backup minutes to start the season, but think he might even be able to pull down the starting job if he really makes a leap. we'll see, just excited to see him put in work.
NBA free agency’s winners and losers
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports Jul 11, 12:56 pm EDT
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Yahoo! Sports
Photo Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard.
(AP)
As the rejections and criticisms mounted lately, NBA executives and agents described Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard as “agitated” and “panicked” and even “desperate.” He kept returning to teams with the same proposals, only to be dismissed again and again. All his plans had imploded.
Pritchard has long liked to talk about never laying up on the golf course and burning through cell batteries and the way that the Blazers had outworked and outsmarted the NBA. Few have been terribly impressed with how Pritchard handled the highs of the job, and now there are doubts about how he’s handling its lows.
After the first 10 days of free agency, so far Pritchard stands as the summer’s biggest loser.
Hedo Turkoglu(notes) humiliated him with an 11th-hour dash for Toronto. By then, Trevor Ariza(notes) had already taken the Houston Rockets’ money. Pritchard couldn’t pry Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince(notes) nor Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich(notes). The job wasn’t as hard when owner Paul Allen gave him tens of millions to buy up draft picks, but free agency is a far more level playing field. Truth be told, Pritchard has failed.
All this cap space, all these big plans, and Pritchard offered a $34 million offer sheet for Paul Millsap(notes) to play behind LaMarcus Aldridge(notes). They need a small forward, but he refused to make a bid for the most talented one on the market – the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom(notes).
Odom could’ve been had for the Blazers, but Pritchard has, for now, committed his money to a backup power forward. He could’ve dented the Lakers and met his most pressing need with Odom’s length, athleticism and versatility.
For every advantage Pritchard had in assembling these Blazers, he’s struggling with the next step: managing it all.
Pritchard’s greatest gift has been his ability to persuade owner Paul Allen to spend money. Now, Pritchard is struggling to convince Allen to give Brandon Roy(notes) a full five-year max extension. The process has increasingly stunned and angered Roy. Whatever anyone thinks, no one has had more to do with the Blazers’ revival than Roy.
Beyond that, Pritchard has a problem with one of the most well-regarded coaches in the NBA: Nate McMillan doesn’t want to sign a contract extension. He’s tried to explain his desire for one-year contracts as some kind of self-motivational tool, but no one buys it. It’s clear that McMillan wants to be a free agent in 2011.
“He knows Portland isn’t the last place he’ll be,” a league source said. “Everyone will want him.”
Multiple league sources believe there’s a wedge between Pritchard and McMillan, but both general manager and coach have long denied it. Even so, it makes league officials wonder how deeply McMillan believes in his boss’ blueprint that he refuses to commit long-term to it.
The rapid rise is over in Portland, and now, Kevin Pritchard has to manage his creation. So far, he’s endured the most rugged summer of his executive career. Here’s the rest of the losers and winners in free agency.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...ug=aw-winnerslosers071109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
dunno if id go this far, its only a little over a week into FA. yeah there have been speed bumps, but its just that fans, including myself, are panicking because we are used to moves being made by KP, and stuff happening all the time, and now that it has slowed for the first part of this summer everyone is freaking out, once again including myself in this. his point about odom and ariza??? no way in hell we sign either of those two faggots, specially ariza with that foul on rudy, and odom always trying to pick fights with roy and aldridge. fuck both them. Roy WILL be signed, no worries there, and if we go into the season with just the addition of millsap?? then so be it, we already got better right there, no more soft channing, or whiny bitch sergio. we are fine at this point.
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports Jul 11, 12:56 pm EDT
*
Buzz up! 227 votes
*
Yahoo! Sports
Photo Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard.
(AP)
As the rejections and criticisms mounted lately, NBA executives and agents described Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard as “agitated” and “panicked” and even “desperate.” He kept returning to teams with the same proposals, only to be dismissed again and again. All his plans had imploded.
Pritchard has long liked to talk about never laying up on the golf course and burning through cell batteries and the way that the Blazers had outworked and outsmarted the NBA. Few have been terribly impressed with how Pritchard handled the highs of the job, and now there are doubts about how he’s handling its lows.
After the first 10 days of free agency, so far Pritchard stands as the summer’s biggest loser.
Hedo Turkoglu(notes) humiliated him with an 11th-hour dash for Toronto. By then, Trevor Ariza(notes) had already taken the Houston Rockets’ money. Pritchard couldn’t pry Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince(notes) nor Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich(notes). The job wasn’t as hard when owner Paul Allen gave him tens of millions to buy up draft picks, but free agency is a far more level playing field. Truth be told, Pritchard has failed.
All this cap space, all these big plans, and Pritchard offered a $34 million offer sheet for Paul Millsap(notes) to play behind LaMarcus Aldridge(notes). They need a small forward, but he refused to make a bid for the most talented one on the market – the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom(notes).
Odom could’ve been had for the Blazers, but Pritchard has, for now, committed his money to a backup power forward. He could’ve dented the Lakers and met his most pressing need with Odom’s length, athleticism and versatility.
For every advantage Pritchard had in assembling these Blazers, he’s struggling with the next step: managing it all.
Pritchard’s greatest gift has been his ability to persuade owner Paul Allen to spend money. Now, Pritchard is struggling to convince Allen to give Brandon Roy(notes) a full five-year max extension. The process has increasingly stunned and angered Roy. Whatever anyone thinks, no one has had more to do with the Blazers’ revival than Roy.
Beyond that, Pritchard has a problem with one of the most well-regarded coaches in the NBA: Nate McMillan doesn’t want to sign a contract extension. He’s tried to explain his desire for one-year contracts as some kind of self-motivational tool, but no one buys it. It’s clear that McMillan wants to be a free agent in 2011.
“He knows Portland isn’t the last place he’ll be,” a league source said. “Everyone will want him.”
Multiple league sources believe there’s a wedge between Pritchard and McMillan, but both general manager and coach have long denied it. Even so, it makes league officials wonder how deeply McMillan believes in his boss’ blueprint that he refuses to commit long-term to it.
The rapid rise is over in Portland, and now, Kevin Pritchard has to manage his creation. So far, he’s endured the most rugged summer of his executive career. Here’s the rest of the losers and winners in free agency.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...ug=aw-winnerslosers071109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
dunno if id go this far, its only a little over a week into FA. yeah there have been speed bumps, but its just that fans, including myself, are panicking because we are used to moves being made by KP, and stuff happening all the time, and now that it has slowed for the first part of this summer everyone is freaking out, once again including myself in this. his point about odom and ariza??? no way in hell we sign either of those two faggots, specially ariza with that foul on rudy, and odom always trying to pick fights with roy and aldridge. fuck both them. Roy WILL be signed, no worries there, and if we go into the season with just the addition of millsap?? then so be it, we already got better right there, no more soft channing, or whiny bitch sergio. we are fine at this point.
yea, i totally agree with GetSome. people just use to us makin huge draft day moves and shit, it didnt happen this year, so everyone gets disappointed. then Hedo fucks us, and so everyone panics. it wasent pritchards fault Hedo's bitch runs him. If he came to portland, none of this would be goin on, and nobody would be criticizing KP.
Millsap is a HUGE signing, awesome back-up and proved he can start if we need him to (hopefully we dont). i just dont like how much we're paying a back-up. I think the only real move we need to make if we're going to make a move is acquiring a PG. I still think we should go after Miller.
Millsap is a HUGE signing, awesome back-up and proved he can start if we need him to (hopefully we dont). i just dont like how much we're paying a back-up. I think the only real move we need to make if we're going to make a move is acquiring a PG. I still think we should go after Miller.
Gardner went to basketball factory Jefferson High School in Portland, where he won a state championship in 2000, before attending the University of Missouri. At Missouri, he developed into a prolific scorer and All-Big 12 third-team performer. As a junior, he averaged 19.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, which he felt was good enough to get drafted so he bolted for the NBA. The consensus is that was a mistake.
Gardner, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, went undrafted and eventually played one season in Belgium. He landed in the NBA a year later, with the Chicago Bulls, and played in four games, scoring a career-high 14 points against Denver before he was waived in November.
He received a training camp invitation with the Atlanta Hawks last year and stuck with the team all season. Perhaps his best game was his last with the Hawks -- he drained 3 of 5 three-pointers and finished with 12 points as the Hawks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs on May 7.
Although the Blazers are loaded with shooting guards, Gardner's ability and NBA pedigree could be enough to land a training camp invitation if the Blazers like what the see this week. A shooter since his days at Jeff, he finished with the seventh-most three-pointers made (179) in Missouri history.
"The biggest thing is ... he's got experience," Prunty said. He's been in an NBA camp, he's been on an NBA roster, he's been around NBA players, so there's an understanding of what to expect and anticipate with a guy like him. He's been very vocal (in practices), he's talked to his teammates and the more we've gone, the more we've progressed with all fazes of his game."
The Associated Press
Bobby Jones (15) and Brandon Roy (3) played together at Washington.
•Jones has at least one connection to the Blazers -- he played four seasons with All-Star guard Brandon Roy at the University of Washington and, like Roy, was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2006 draft before being traded.
The 6-7 forward was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers and played in 44 games as a rookie, including five starts, and averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds. Last season, he bounced around the league between five teams (Denver, Houston, Miami, San Antonio and Memphis) and played in 47 games, including two starts with Memphis.
A couple of things to keep in mind regarding Bayless as he enters what seems to be a critical week for him:
There is no doubt Bayless is the focal point of the Blazers' summer league, something we've dissected time and time again. In short, the Blazers want to find out if their 2008 lottery pick is an NBA point guard, capable of steering this team to a championship in the future.
But with all the talk about Bayless growing into a pure point guard, there's only so much "evolving" a player can do. In the long run, Bayless is who he is. And both he and coach Nate McMillan briefly touched on this issue at different times during summer league practices.
The quotes below stood out from conversations I had with Bayless and McMillan last week.
I asked Bayless if playing point this week -- as opposed the shooting guard, which he played in summer league a year ago -- meant he would defer more to teammates by passing on open jumpers and ignoring open driving lanes to the basket. His answer was emphatic.
"No. I'm going to take the open shot," he said, smirking. "If the shot's good, I'm going to shoot it. Getting people involved also means staying aggressive at the same time. I'm not just going to be passing the ball around the perimeter. I'm going to take the ball to the middle and try to make the right decisions. The main thing about being the point guard is making decisions. After watching (the NBA) this year, if they are giving me the shot, I'm going to take the shot. If someone else (has a good) shot, I'm going to give them the ball to take the shot."
Bayless got where he is by being an aggressive playmaker and he will continue to feature that game. I delved a bit deeper into this issue with McMillan, who said he's using this summer league to learn even more about who Bayless is -- not make him into a player he's not.
"If (a scorer) is what he becomes, then I will have to look at that and use him accordingly," McMillan said. "That may be who he is."
So, you're going into summer league with an open mind?
"Yeah ... well, yeah," McMillan said. "We want him to work on some things, making decisions with the ball and running the pick and roll and understanding time, score and situation. And ... whoever he becomes, or whoever he is, we're going to take advantage of what he does. If he's a guard that can push the ball and keep the pressure on the defense, then we're going to do that. If he's a guy that can score and get to the free throw line, we're going to do that.
"The important thing for us this summer is to just allow him to play and get more comfortable with (playing the point). He's OK with it, but this is your (team). Work at it. You'll go into (NBA training) camp, you'll get another opportunity to work at it before going up against the real deal. The real deal is coming."
Watching the Blazers this week
Comcast will broadcast three of the Blazers' five summer league games (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). If you don't get Comcast or want to watch all five games -- or other teams, for that matter -- go here and sign up for the NBA Summer League Broadband. For $14.99, you can watch every summer league game on your computer at any time (on demand).
Cuts
The Blazers elected to carry just 12 players at summer league. Dwayne Mitchell, a 6-5 forward from Louisiana-Lafayette, and Uche Echefu, a 6-9 forward from Florida State, were cut and rookie Patrick Mills suffered a foot injury.
Gardner, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, went undrafted and eventually played one season in Belgium. He landed in the NBA a year later, with the Chicago Bulls, and played in four games, scoring a career-high 14 points against Denver before he was waived in November.
He received a training camp invitation with the Atlanta Hawks last year and stuck with the team all season. Perhaps his best game was his last with the Hawks -- he drained 3 of 5 three-pointers and finished with 12 points as the Hawks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs on May 7.
Although the Blazers are loaded with shooting guards, Gardner's ability and NBA pedigree could be enough to land a training camp invitation if the Blazers like what the see this week. A shooter since his days at Jeff, he finished with the seventh-most three-pointers made (179) in Missouri history.
"The biggest thing is ... he's got experience," Prunty said. He's been in an NBA camp, he's been on an NBA roster, he's been around NBA players, so there's an understanding of what to expect and anticipate with a guy like him. He's been very vocal (in practices), he's talked to his teammates and the more we've gone, the more we've progressed with all fazes of his game."
The Associated Press
Bobby Jones (15) and Brandon Roy (3) played together at Washington.
•Jones has at least one connection to the Blazers -- he played four seasons with All-Star guard Brandon Roy at the University of Washington and, like Roy, was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2006 draft before being traded.
The 6-7 forward was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers and played in 44 games as a rookie, including five starts, and averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds. Last season, he bounced around the league between five teams (Denver, Houston, Miami, San Antonio and Memphis) and played in 47 games, including two starts with Memphis.
A couple of things to keep in mind regarding Bayless as he enters what seems to be a critical week for him:
There is no doubt Bayless is the focal point of the Blazers' summer league, something we've dissected time and time again. In short, the Blazers want to find out if their 2008 lottery pick is an NBA point guard, capable of steering this team to a championship in the future.
But with all the talk about Bayless growing into a pure point guard, there's only so much "evolving" a player can do. In the long run, Bayless is who he is. And both he and coach Nate McMillan briefly touched on this issue at different times during summer league practices.
The quotes below stood out from conversations I had with Bayless and McMillan last week.
I asked Bayless if playing point this week -- as opposed the shooting guard, which he played in summer league a year ago -- meant he would defer more to teammates by passing on open jumpers and ignoring open driving lanes to the basket. His answer was emphatic.
"No. I'm going to take the open shot," he said, smirking. "If the shot's good, I'm going to shoot it. Getting people involved also means staying aggressive at the same time. I'm not just going to be passing the ball around the perimeter. I'm going to take the ball to the middle and try to make the right decisions. The main thing about being the point guard is making decisions. After watching (the NBA) this year, if they are giving me the shot, I'm going to take the shot. If someone else (has a good) shot, I'm going to give them the ball to take the shot."
Bayless got where he is by being an aggressive playmaker and he will continue to feature that game. I delved a bit deeper into this issue with McMillan, who said he's using this summer league to learn even more about who Bayless is -- not make him into a player he's not.
"If (a scorer) is what he becomes, then I will have to look at that and use him accordingly," McMillan said. "That may be who he is."
So, you're going into summer league with an open mind?
"Yeah ... well, yeah," McMillan said. "We want him to work on some things, making decisions with the ball and running the pick and roll and understanding time, score and situation. And ... whoever he becomes, or whoever he is, we're going to take advantage of what he does. If he's a guard that can push the ball and keep the pressure on the defense, then we're going to do that. If he's a guy that can score and get to the free throw line, we're going to do that.
"The important thing for us this summer is to just allow him to play and get more comfortable with (playing the point). He's OK with it, but this is your (team). Work at it. You'll go into (NBA training) camp, you'll get another opportunity to work at it before going up against the real deal. The real deal is coming."
Watching the Blazers this week
Comcast will broadcast three of the Blazers' five summer league games (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). If you don't get Comcast or want to watch all five games -- or other teams, for that matter -- go here and sign up for the NBA Summer League Broadband. For $14.99, you can watch every summer league game on your computer at any time (on demand).
Cuts
The Blazers elected to carry just 12 players at summer league. Dwayne Mitchell, a 6-5 forward from Louisiana-Lafayette, and Uche Echefu, a 6-9 forward from Florida State, were cut and rookie Patrick Mills suffered a foot injury.
Canzano: Roy wants player option in year No. 5
by John Canzano, The Oregonian
Monday July 13, 2009, 2:49 PM
Multiple sources told me on Monday that the negotiations between the Trail Blazers and Brandon Roy remained locked up, in part, because Roy wants a player option for year No. 5 of the contract.
The Blazers still have reportedly only offered four years vs. the five that Camp Roy wants. I'm on record for giving Roy whatever he wants, because he's worth it. None of this explains why the Blazers aren't willing to offer a five-year deal... because the sense here is that Roy would take the max deal and skip off into the rest of his career... also, this is a no-brainer.
Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard offered me a, "no comment," on Monday afternoon. I got confirmation from two sources, including one at the Vulcan mothership. Pritchard doesn't want to say much. And in the wake of Roy's comments last week, and his popularity with fans, I'm certain that Pritchard doesn't want to negotiation this publicly.
I expect these two sides can find common ground. If you back waaaaaaaaay up you can see why the Vulcans might want to limit their obligation to Roy, but if you get anywhere near this franchise you understand why it needs to get done.
Now, I'm not against a player option for Roy in the final year of the deal. Like Hedo, and Nate McMillan, if Roy doesn't want to be around for year No. 5, do you really want him around? Still, it's good for fans to have as much sunshine cast on the negotiation as possible.
The organization is still trying to operate at break-even.
Isn't Roy the biggest piece of that?
by John Canzano, The Oregonian
Monday July 13, 2009, 2:49 PM
Multiple sources told me on Monday that the negotiations between the Trail Blazers and Brandon Roy remained locked up, in part, because Roy wants a player option for year No. 5 of the contract.
The Blazers still have reportedly only offered four years vs. the five that Camp Roy wants. I'm on record for giving Roy whatever he wants, because he's worth it. None of this explains why the Blazers aren't willing to offer a five-year deal... because the sense here is that Roy would take the max deal and skip off into the rest of his career... also, this is a no-brainer.
Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard offered me a, "no comment," on Monday afternoon. I got confirmation from two sources, including one at the Vulcan mothership. Pritchard doesn't want to say much. And in the wake of Roy's comments last week, and his popularity with fans, I'm certain that Pritchard doesn't want to negotiation this publicly.
I expect these two sides can find common ground. If you back waaaaaaaaay up you can see why the Vulcans might want to limit their obligation to Roy, but if you get anywhere near this franchise you understand why it needs to get done.
Now, I'm not against a player option for Roy in the final year of the deal. Like Hedo, and Nate McMillan, if Roy doesn't want to be around for year No. 5, do you really want him around? Still, it's good for fans to have as much sunshine cast on the negotiation as possible.
The organization is still trying to operate at break-even.
Isn't Roy the biggest piece of that?
