Seriously considering how the Randolph thing has worked out for NY, I’m not sure it’s fair to rip Portland for not “getting more”… I mean at least Frye TRIES to play defence… the Randolph/Curry pairing has somehow been WORSE than predicted.

As for the Randolph move, their leverage was limited and they were just trying to get it done as quickly and easily as possible (if you’re ever in that position in the NBA: enter Isiah Thomas or less likely Ernie Grunfeld). If all they got in terms of substance was Channing Frye, isn’t that enough? Randolph needed to go and Pritchard pulled the trigger and got SOMETHING of value in return (see Philadelphia getting Andre Miller for AI, which was a suprisingly respectable move by Philly given their standing and their history of being dumb). And as we’ve discussed, Pritchard has given them a wonderful makeover with guys who can and will play as a team, and he’s made enough moves that one move viewed to be mediocre (you could argue Randolph for Frye/Francis was mediocre though I argue it was fine, but it couldn’t be considered bad) is just a small piece of Pritchard’s story.

As for the pick in the ‘07 draft, the only way Pritchard gets lampooned for taking Oden is if Durant ends up the next Jordan (he’s really good, but I doubt he will ever be that good) and Oden becomes the next Bowie. It’s moot though, because people will never treat this the way they treat Bowie-Jordan, because Durant won’t be Jordan (unless he is, and I’m an idiot in advance if that happens) though Oden could very plausibly be Bowie (who wasn’t even that bad if people actually look at his career). If he’d gone with Durant instead of Oden, and Oden became something like the next Dwight Howard while Durant became the next Darius Miles, Pritchard would’ve been burned in effigy by PDXers and PTI hosts alike. He did the much safer thing, and he must’ve believed he had enough in Webster and Outlaw (who’s making a compelling case to become a starter) and not in Pryzbilla (Kind of a no-brainer) to warrant the move.

They gotta keep winning though if I’m going to have a case to stand for. They’re doing a pretty good job of that these days though.

I guess I’m not as sold on the moves Portland has made. Randolph and Portland couldn’t co-exist, to be sure, but he should have gotten more for a very productive big.

There were plenty of smart people calling on him to take Durant, which would make him look like a genius. He didn’t have to take Oden because both players were sure things.

The 2006 draft was a major coup, to be sure, and they’ve done a good job of cleaning house. They’ll have to make a couple more great moves before I’m elevating Pritchard to the Buford-Dumars-Colangelo sphere.

Kevin - In my opinion, they’re just as likely to crash hard as Orlando is (given that squad has some serious history of that, even though I admit they have more talent this season). I agree with you that PG is Portland’s weak link in terms of talent, but Jack and Blake are characteristically UNSELFISH, a trait I find to be extremely undervalued in today’s overtly “me first” NBA, especially when the other 4 players on the court can put it in the bucket.

Sergio Rodriguez, their third PG, can do some jaw-dropping stuff with a basketball from the point position. He’s still very raw, but he’s in a great environment to come in and develop into a much more solid PG than Jack or Blake. He’s not a physically dominant PG like Chauncey, but he is 6′3, and that doesn’t hurt at that position.

Looking at the win streak, I’ve got to disagree with Bonzi and say that they’ve really done some pretty impressive work, beating a solid Toronto team, an impressive New Orleans squad (who have won 5 straight since they lost to Portland), and as Kevin mentioned wins at Utah and Denver which came as part of back-to-back swings with home wins over Golden State and New Orleans, respectively. Yeah they’ve been at home for 9 of the 12, but color me impressed regardless.

It means the only information at my disposal was a series of gloomy medical reports accompanied by nebulous “check back later” messaging from the team. Ask a Magic fan what that usually implies.

As for Portland, I don’t see how they are doing it. Roy and Aldridge stand out, and Frye seems to have shaken off whatever needed shaking off. Outlaw is starting to deliver on his promise…

But the Blake/Jack PG platoon (btw, the whole PG platooning trend is stupid and needs to stop) is utterly mediocre. Outlaw really should have displaced Webster by now. Frye isn’t getting enough playing time.

My gut tells me that this team crashes hard, but winning 12 games consecutively (including four against Denver and Utah) is difficult to do unless you are a good team.

Given their upcoming schedule, Portland could take a 20 game win streak into their game against the Chigurs.

Does that mean you don’t have to stand by your stubborn predictions?

LawyerBoy: I haven’t really followed Portland, but I’m intrigued. I liked reading your notes, and I’m excited to see what they do in coming seasons with a healthy Oden and those hefty expiring contracts. Good stuff.

OT: How about Giricek for Korver? Kind of a lateral move other than Sloan wanting Giricek out, no?

Now also keep in mind, that this is coming from a guy (me) who basically said for 2 years that Greg Oden is only as good as Mike Conley Jr. makes him (from watching their senior year in high school when I was at Indiana University and could watch a lot of their HS games locally and their year at OSU). Both have been hurt, so that’s a wash (I was probably just a hater anyway). But the point for me is that I’ve been extremely impressed with Pritchard’s demeanor, reasoning, and decision-making even though I was hardly sold on Oden through his career at OSU.

Whether it works out or not, I realized that Pritchard HAD to take Oden because of simple risk-reward analysis. But other things he’s done since joining the Blazers in ‘04-05 have been very Dumars-ian.

He trades Randy Foye for the guy taken one spot before him, Brandon Roy. Is anyone gonna argue that doesn’t look really good (sorry about your knee, Randy)? He essentially does the same thing earlier in the draft when he snagged LaMarcus Aldridge for the price of Tyrus Thomas. Um, HA.

In 2006 he trades the Suns MONEY for FIRST round pick Sergio Rodriguez, who I remind you is only TWENTY-ONE and showing some flashes of brilliance thus far. He trades James White who spent one season with the Spurs and through another subsequent trade dumping off Alexander Johnson (who he got in the first trade) ends up acquiring 3 future second round picks all for the guy they originally had (White) who plays in Turkey now. 2006 was the draft they also picked up Joel Freeland, who may be nothing or something, but is still a 6′11 big Brit playing in the Spanish ACB league. And then in ‘07 Pritchard trades cash AGAIN, this time for James Jones, who’s fitting in beautifully so far and has a player option for next season, and the rights to SG Rudy Fernandez (22 year-old winner of the 2006-2007 Euroleague Rising Star award) who could suit up as soon as next season.

He unloads cancerous Zach Randolph for underused and under-appreciated Channing Frye (who if Pritchard really had wanted he could’ve just egregiously drafted Frye before Martell Webster back in ‘05), which adds excellent character type guy frontcourt depth to a team with uber-talented LaMarcus Aldridge and franchise darling Greg Oden (tough break kid, come back strong).

He’s got Jarret Jack running a solid point, Martell Webster has apparently arrived and even though he was drafted before Pritchard joined the Blazers Travis Outlaw is turning into a quality player as well. Pritchard’s got the solid, albeit somewhat flawed Steve Blake back for a modest 3 year/$12 million as a nice addition to Jarret Jack at the point. Raef LaFrentz’s $10 million/year (signed pre-Pritchard) comes off the books in the summer of ‘09. Pryzbilla contributes decently (very good rebounder) on his slightly overblown $6.5 million/year signed through 2011 but Pritchard made a modest enough deal with to a guy with at least some playing value (like Nazr Mohammed) that he could be moved if need be. Pritchard has assembled a deep, talented, extremely young core with flexible cap maneuvering. He’s also got a respectable coach in Nate MacMillan and currently no knucklehead egos to deal with. This squad is poised for a return to significance for the next half decade.

Teams go on runs in the NBA, and Portland probably isn’t as good yet as their 17-12 record indicates, but they’re not nearly as bad as their 5-12 record indicated last month, either. This team is GOOD and barring anymore significant injuries, is only going to get better. I peg them for somwhere between 40-43 wins this season and bottom rung birth in the playoffs. Who knows, maybe they’ll be this year’s Golden State! Anyone ready to hop on the bandwagon? I’m driving!

I’m a blogger, not a doctor.

He’s rough, turned the ball over in some excruciating ways last night, and still needs plenty of work. However, I think from what we’ve seen out of he and Flip, we can expect Stuckey to be a very solid, serious contributor off the bench after the All Star break.

My “told you so” was a failed attempt to get Kevin to elucidate. He’s a great writer, and I’d love to hear his thoughts if he has yet revised them on the Stuckey Subject.

No really, considering Isiah Thomas’s track record in the trading department and Portland’s track record in the drafting big dudes who have something wrong with their legs (just sayin) don’t we at least have to CONSIDER this possibility?

Why are you all walking away from me?