Now that the Blazers have finally signed Steve Blake, here are my thoughts on the signing and what the Blazers should do next.
I like Blake. Good, solid veteran guy who limits his mistakes, plays hard and seems like a good teammate and person. I think he fits well in Portland where he was very well liked when he was here a couple years ago and should have a much more fun team to play with in a City that is electric with Blazer hype right now even when the news is all about Oden’s tonsils.
Blake also brings much needed shooting and flexibility to play both the 1 and the 2. I really only have 2 concerns about the signing and only one of those is Blake’s fault. First, I’m afraid that it means the Blazers have to trade J Jack for chemistry reasons. From a talent standpoint, I still like Jack and would still prefer he get the minutes as starter or off the bench over Sergio or the other PGs on the team. However, I think Blake came in to start and I’m not sure Jack won’t sulk if he gets benched. That would be too bad. I think a better move might be to trade Jack as part of a package to bring in some consistent scoring.
That said, I still think it would be ideal to keep Jack, hold a true competition for the starting job and play both Blake and Jack minutes at the 1 and 2 with Roy. Sergio’s frighteningly bad play in Vegas over the last couple weeks should be telling to Blazer management. He is quick, has a great handle (that he over-relies on at times) and has great court vision. However, he also has an apparently low basketball IQ, can’t shoot a lick and plays defense like the late great Drazen Petrovic whose tragic death did not diminish his defensive abilities. In other words, he is not a starting NBA point guard. Not yet at least.
Many in Portland already assume that the Blake signing means that the Blazers will trade one of their other point guards. If they do, it will be because they can get good value for Jack and are concerned he will pout. It will not be because they have too many. First, you really can’t have too many good young point guards. Second, Roy is really the only natural 2 guard on the roster and they expect him to play solid minutes at the point. Koponen will play another year in Europe, so that really only leaves 5 players total to man 2 positions (Roy, Blake, Jack, Sergio, Green). That doesn’t sound like too many to me. I think the Blazers (assuming no trade) will play Roy, Jack, Blake and maybe even Green at both guard spots and will probably even play some with Jack, Roy and Blake all on the floor together. I say, you make those 3 the primary rotation and keep Sergio to 10-12 minutes off the bench at the most unless he really takes a leap this year and if he does, look to trade Jack later.
As for other moves, I think the Blazers should be patient. They could start the year with this team and make decisions on potential trades depending on how guys like Przybilla, Webster, McRoberts (who I am really growing to like), Outlaw, Jack and Sergio develop. If a good 3 comes along in a trade offer (like Mike Miller (who my buddy John wisely suggested), Caron Butler, Josh Howard – none of which will happen), it would be ideal to get them in before training camp, but not critical.
A quick note on some other signings:
Mo Williams to the Bucks – Good call. Great position on talented young team that everyone would be in love with but for some brutal injuries last year. Win/win here, especially for Mo who nearly fell for the fool’s gold in Miami. If they can get value for Yi, either from Yi or in a trade, and get Simmons and Charlie V back, they could have a playoff home game in the East. They probably won’t, but they could.
Magloire to the Nets – Hilarious. The best thing I can say about this signing is that it is so nice to know for sure Jamal won’t be a Blazer next year. He is a turnover machine. Fortunately he makes up for it by completely sucking in every other way. He is awful. He was by far the worst Blazer on the team last year and that includes Darius Miles who didn’t play. I think the only explanation for this signing has to be that Rod Thorn goes to bed before the teams in the West play so he never saw the “Big Cat” coughing up hairballs for the Blazers.
Mikki Moore to the Kings – Why? On either side? Why would someone, anyone want to play for the Kings at this point? And why would the Kings want to spend money on a guy that basically has one good year in the league? I guess I like it for the Kings alright, but that franchise is such a mess right now, I don’t really know where anyone fits. After they trade Artest and Bibby, they will be in full blown rebuilding mode. Does Moore help you there? Not sure.
Francis to ? - He hasn’t signed yet, but I sure hope Francis stays in the west to help kill one of Portland’s competitors. Call it “death by dribbling.”
Bold sports predictions of the day:
1. The San Francisco 49ers will win their division this year
2. The Portland Trailblazers will make the NBA playoffs this year
3. Bonds will not break Hank’s record until August and regardless of what happens, this will be his last year as a Giant.
4. Durant will score 23+ppg this year in the NBA, and will win ROY, but there will be quiet rumblings that Jeff Green might actually be the team’s MVP.
5. The Blazers will lead the NBA in lob passes caught for dunks.
I like Blake. Good, solid veteran guy who limits his mistakes, plays hard and seems like a good teammate and person. I think he fits well in Portland where he was very well liked when he was here a couple years ago and should have a much more fun team to play with in a City that is electric with Blazer hype right now even when the news is all about Oden’s tonsils.
Blake also brings much needed shooting and flexibility to play both the 1 and the 2. I really only have 2 concerns about the signing and only one of those is Blake’s fault. First, I’m afraid that it means the Blazers have to trade J Jack for chemistry reasons. From a talent standpoint, I still like Jack and would still prefer he get the minutes as starter or off the bench over Sergio or the other PGs on the team. However, I think Blake came in to start and I’m not sure Jack won’t sulk if he gets benched. That would be too bad. I think a better move might be to trade Jack as part of a package to bring in some consistent scoring.
That said, I still think it would be ideal to keep Jack, hold a true competition for the starting job and play both Blake and Jack minutes at the 1 and 2 with Roy. Sergio’s frighteningly bad play in Vegas over the last couple weeks should be telling to Blazer management. He is quick, has a great handle (that he over-relies on at times) and has great court vision. However, he also has an apparently low basketball IQ, can’t shoot a lick and plays defense like the late great Drazen Petrovic whose tragic death did not diminish his defensive abilities. In other words, he is not a starting NBA point guard. Not yet at least.
Many in Portland already assume that the Blake signing means that the Blazers will trade one of their other point guards. If they do, it will be because they can get good value for Jack and are concerned he will pout. It will not be because they have too many. First, you really can’t have too many good young point guards. Second, Roy is really the only natural 2 guard on the roster and they expect him to play solid minutes at the point. Koponen will play another year in Europe, so that really only leaves 5 players total to man 2 positions (Roy, Blake, Jack, Sergio, Green). That doesn’t sound like too many to me. I think the Blazers (assuming no trade) will play Roy, Jack, Blake and maybe even Green at both guard spots and will probably even play some with Jack, Roy and Blake all on the floor together. I say, you make those 3 the primary rotation and keep Sergio to 10-12 minutes off the bench at the most unless he really takes a leap this year and if he does, look to trade Jack later.
As for other moves, I think the Blazers should be patient. They could start the year with this team and make decisions on potential trades depending on how guys like Przybilla, Webster, McRoberts (who I am really growing to like), Outlaw, Jack and Sergio develop. If a good 3 comes along in a trade offer (like Mike Miller (who my buddy John wisely suggested), Caron Butler, Josh Howard – none of which will happen), it would be ideal to get them in before training camp, but not critical.
A quick note on some other signings:
Mo Williams to the Bucks – Good call. Great position on talented young team that everyone would be in love with but for some brutal injuries last year. Win/win here, especially for Mo who nearly fell for the fool’s gold in Miami. If they can get value for Yi, either from Yi or in a trade, and get Simmons and Charlie V back, they could have a playoff home game in the East. They probably won’t, but they could.
Magloire to the Nets – Hilarious. The best thing I can say about this signing is that it is so nice to know for sure Jamal won’t be a Blazer next year. He is a turnover machine. Fortunately he makes up for it by completely sucking in every other way. He is awful. He was by far the worst Blazer on the team last year and that includes Darius Miles who didn’t play. I think the only explanation for this signing has to be that Rod Thorn goes to bed before the teams in the West play so he never saw the “Big Cat” coughing up hairballs for the Blazers.
Mikki Moore to the Kings – Why? On either side? Why would someone, anyone want to play for the Kings at this point? And why would the Kings want to spend money on a guy that basically has one good year in the league? I guess I like it for the Kings alright, but that franchise is such a mess right now, I don’t really know where anyone fits. After they trade Artest and Bibby, they will be in full blown rebuilding mode. Does Moore help you there? Not sure.
Francis to ? - He hasn’t signed yet, but I sure hope Francis stays in the west to help kill one of Portland’s competitors. Call it “death by dribbling.”
Bold sports predictions of the day:
1. The San Francisco 49ers will win their division this year
2. The Portland Trailblazers will make the NBA playoffs this year
3. Bonds will not break Hank’s record until August and regardless of what happens, this will be his last year as a Giant.
4. Durant will score 23+ppg this year in the NBA, and will win ROY, but there will be quiet rumblings that Jeff Green might actually be the team’s MVP.
5. The Blazers will lead the NBA in lob passes caught for dunks.
Comments