I don't know how I should feel about this trade. In case you haven't heard, it's just about a done deal that the Blazers will send Blake and Outlaw to the Clippers for Marcus Camby. And so the debate begins.
First off the positives:
1) All contracts of players involved are expiring contracts after this season. It was in doubt if Blake and Outlaw would come back next year anyway. And Camby also is in the final year of his contract, so we're not locked in for a long term deal with him.
2) It addresses the big-man issue on the Blazers' roster. Now Camby and Aldridge are the same height, but Aldridge is a bit of a non-contact style player. You don't see Aldridge pounding the paint a whole lot. He doesn't like to be touched. But that's why he's never injured. He doesn't put himself in that position very often - if ever.
3) The move clears up the point guard issue in Portland. Now Miller will be the man, and there won't be a debate with Bayless and Miller like there was with Blake. I like Blake, and he's clutch, but that role has been a thorn in the Blazers side all year. Now we have some definition.
4) The move avoids a log jam at the forward position between Outlaw, Webster and Batum. Now coach will only have to realize that Batum should start and Webster will come off the bench (fingers crossed). But there won't be a headache trying to find Outlaw minutes in the lineup.
Now the negative:
1) CAMBY IS FREAKING OLD. Hey Stackhouse guy, when my team brings in a guy who's old, I call them on it. Granted, Camby was defensive player of the year just a couple of years ago. He's aggressive and he defends. But he's a bit long in the tooth. It's very possible he goes the whole year without injury or incident - like Juwan Howard. Howard is old too, but he was brought in as an insurance policy. We're bringing Camby in to complete the playoff push. So basically, we're telling him that we're counting on him not to get hurt and not to wear out. The guy's been in the league for like 14 years. It's a coin toss whether he goes the distance or not.
2) Blake and Outlaw we're fan favorites. It's going to be hard to see them go. Outlaw was our 4th quarter guy. Now we have to find that second option behind Roy to fill that role.
3) Did I mention that Camby is 35 years old?
4) When you get rid of two expiring contracts, you try to bring in a piece of the puzzle that's going to be around for a while. Trading two expiring contracts has huge worth. So many teams in the league would've looked twice at what the Blazers were offering. I wish we could've gotten back a bit more in return for what we sent.
We'll have to see how this works out since the Blazers play the Clips today if I'm not mistaken. That could be...awkward.
4 comments:
Whats your problem with older players? Last time I checked Shaq has helped the Cavs to the best record in the league. You nailed ALdridge as a non physical defender and rebounder. Thats what Camby gives them and he can defend the 4 and 5 as well as block shots and he is a decent passer for a big and does not command the ball. The Blazers have your boy Batum and Webster to give them what Outlaw does and you did a good job summing up the situation with Blake. I guess you would rather have the Blazers trade those guys for Hasheem Thabeet because at least he is young.
Yes! I love it. We get a big guy who isn't a giant vagina when it comes to getting to the hoop and Nate has to finally make decisions on who his lineups are going to be. Oh, and Rudy is still a Blazer!
Anonymous, will you officially change your name to Stackhouse Guy?
I remain anonymous. I am not a Stackhouse fan (although I like UNC a lot). I just had to call out G Moses when he was wrong about the greatest sport ever invented. G Moses seems to have a bias against veterans. I do enjoy the blog especially when he writes about collecting.
I agree with pretty much everything in this post. The "He doesn't like to be touched" snippet made me LOL because it's so true.
When it all comes down to it, we traded a couple of guys who play deep positions on the team and got big help in the middle. Unfortunately, like you said, they were fan favorites :|.
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