Don't look now, but the Blazers may be skipping the rebuilding process to assemble a playoff team. Even if they keep Zach, they have depth to work with and trade. He's 20/10 guy anyway, and now he has to look over his shoulder. Expect good things...

This has been the best Blazer offseason in some time.

Posted by: TKrueg at July 31, 2006 05:50 PM

Jack I feel for ya homeboy. Rooting for the Blazers must be rough. They haven't hadd anything since Walton, Lucas et al!

Posted by: Jim Golden at July 31, 2006 06:06 PM

I've seen the theory floated that the Miles/Blake package didn't entice anyone, so they took Blake, packaged him with a couple of other pieces for a player they might be able to move down the road along with Miles. The Blazers are definitely stronger today than they were yesterday. They've had a great summer so far.

Posted by: Chris Snethen at July 31, 2006 06:20 PM

Geez, I am beginning to agree with Mr TKrueg, I didnt Nash was that bad, but since he left, they seem to be doing the right things. Now if they get rid of Miles and Zach . . .

Posted by: Steve at July 31, 2006 06:47 PM

I think they just need to get rid of Miles, not Zach. If you look at stats from last year, when Miles was hurt Randolph played quite well, when he wasn't Z-BO sucked. I think if you can find someone willing to take Miles' contract (not an easy task because of the NBA's salary matching rules for trades) and get a sixth man quality player out of it I'd pull the trigger in a heartbeat.

Btw, there is a rumor that Magoloire might not be here very long as they are trying to shop him and another player (probably Miles).

I think if they get rid of Miles, 35-40 wins is not out of reach this year and the playoffs within 3 years or so...

Posted by: David at July 31, 2006 07:22 PM

Getting Magloire before getting rid of Miles seems to me like when I buy a new laptop and hope to pay for it by selling off my old laptop and maybe a desktop. Of course, I never get what I expect for the used computers.

Gawd, I hope the Blazers don't take Canzano's advice and trade for Allen Iverson. Can't you just see Iverson and Nate at a practice? They'd get along as well as Hezbollah and Likud.

Let Jack and Roy develop this season and next season we'll have a contender.

Posted by: Gil Johnson at July 31, 2006 09:44 PM

I think Roy will be around quite a bit longer than Canzano.

Posted by: Jack Bog at July 31, 2006 10:59 PM

Gil-
Canzano is right that Iverson is a hard-working, tough player. He's played through injuries no one should have played through, all while throwing his body around like a rag doll... not what you'd call an overpaid china doll. He's Nate's kind of guy believe it or not. A.I. is a leader who hasn't had a supporting cast to work with. Even Brandon Roy is an upgrade over any 2 guard Iverson has played with.

As for 'tude, I'd prefer players that speak their mind every once in awhile, as long as they back it up on the court. I'm tired of David Stern's sanitized NBA that dehumanizes players. The media then has to rely on detrimental he-said-she-said speculation that ultimately drives fans away.

I have a feeling this town has an aversion to cornrows, like it's automatic thuggery. Look at Darius... the level of hatred and disdain for him doesn't quite jive with his offenses. Look at how most fans cheered and loved Ruben Patterson, the sexual offender. Darius gets Armed Robbery for looking too black I guess...

Posted by: TKrueg at July 31, 2006 11:32 PM

Too bad, now Mr TKrueg and I disagree. I only judge these people bby what they do on the court and let the police take care of the extracurricular activity. Darius does not have a clue on what a team offense/defense is. Watch him at a game kind of standing around waiting for a shot. Ruben knew his role was to come off the bench and stir it up and did it.

As far as Iverson, if they got him at the right deal (take Miles' contract), OK. I wouldn't expect him to be a true PG (look at what he did to Webber's offensive output) since most of his assists come from driving to the key and then getting stuck and dishing it off. Other words, ball-hog, he makes Kobe look generous (OK that is hyperbole.

Magloire was a good move since they really need decent front court guys.

Posted by: Steve at August 1, 2006 07:28 AM

Steve-

You've illustrated my point: Portland likes hard workers on the court and, evidently, the appearance of being 'too black' and/or not working hard enough is a worse crime than having to register as a sex offender. The Jail Blazer meme has so many holes in it, it's laughable. Remember the real Jail Blazer teams from the late 90's and 2000? Yeah, they packed the Garden because they won. Sure we all want character guys, but the town has convinced itself it isn't a bandwagon fanbase.

Personally, I feel this town needs to quit overreacting every time a Blazer gets a parking or speeding ticket. They're young and rich and hard to sympathize with... get over it portland.

Still not sure why people call Iverson selfish or a ballhog. I've heard people say the same thing about Miles, which is insane because he's more comfortable playing a role than being a star. What is it people? A guy has cornrows and it's automatically assumed he's a selfish streetball showboater? It just seems so detatched from reality.

Posted by: TKrueg at August 1, 2006 09:50 AM

I love AI, because the guy really balls. But he hates to practice and often refuses to attend.

Somehow I can't see Nate McMillan being cool with a guy who won't practice.

Posted by: Justin M at August 1, 2006 10:03 AM

end the AI talk, Pritchard on Courtside last night basically laughed at the idea.

People who are crying about that we havent dumped Miles yet dont know the league knows how much Miles makes and how he acts. Its not that easy. He probably wont even be dumped until all star break.

This is a great trade though!

Posted by: Robert at August 1, 2006 01:58 PM

Probably not, Jack. Miles and Randolph both have awful contracts, far in excess of their value to any team. It would be hard enough to get any team to take one of them, much less both.

Posted by: spike lee at August 1, 2006 04:04 PM

The Blazers should write a team diary of all their daily blessings and donate all the proceedings to the children of course.

Posted by: wsamuelsen at August 2, 2006 11:00 AM

[Posted as indicated; restored later.]