Should Portland blow it up?

[mgent]

People think teams should give up way too easily.  When Yao went down a couple years ago the Rockets went on to have the second longest winning streak in NBA history.  Should they have immediately blown it up?  If you have a decent shot at contending (like the Blazers do if things start going their way) you don't start rebuilding.  They're already a young team, they deserve another chance.

It will depend a lot on how well Roy plays in pain.  He could go on to have fulfilling career as one of the top SGs in the game, or could just give up and retire this year (unlikely with his contract).  It's just too soon to tell.  Add in the chance of having Oden actually play and they should definitely wait and see.

[housecall]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

[Lucky17]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

Wasn't it Roy?

[housecall]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

Wasn't it Roy?

Someone had to give him the ok.Players do not make those decisions on their own...players need to be protected from themselves in certain cases.Ive never heard of a player given the greenlight to play so soon after surgery.

[Lucky17]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

Wasn't it Roy?

Someone had to give him the ok.Players do not make those decisions on their own...players need to be protected from themselves in certain cases.Ive never heard of a player given the greenlight to play so soon after surgery.

If the player says he can play, that he's feeling no pain, and if he checks out with the trainers, who's going to stop him?

[pearljammer10]

- Oden is looking more and more like a bust (Yes, even at 22 years old).

- Doctor's are having trouble diagnosing Brandon Roy's knees and believe it's career lingering.

- Camby is another year older.

- Matthews is a nice player but not a full MLE guy.

- Aldridge is now in his mid 20's.

It just seems like bad karma surrounds what was once a young promising roster. It's time to put Aldridge aside, cash in on the remaining assets and build for the future.

I'm not so sure Oden can be called a "bust". Dude hasn't gotten a chance to show if he's good or bust worthy. He has just gotten hit with an unfortunate bombarding of injuries.

Roy is going to be tough to handle...He is going to miss a lot of games, but at this point they are kind of stuck with him. No one in the league is going to trade their players for an injured shooting guard who might only play a little over half the season.

Camby is older but he is more of a role player/veteran locker room guy anyway.

Aldridge now in his mid twenties? What does that mean. He is a great low post forward who is entering his prime, the probably wont be able to get much more in return from him. The Blazers still have a lot of talent on their team. They should focus on adding to the pieces they already have rather than blow up the team and start over.

[BballTim]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

Wasn't it Roy?

Someone had to give him the ok.Players do not make those decisions on their own...players need to be protected from themselves in certain cases.Ive never heard of a player given the greenlight to play so soon after surgery.

If the player says he can play, that he's feeling no pain, and if he checks out with the trainers, who's going to stop him?

  The coaches? The doctors? Who kept KG out of games when he was injured?

[Fafnir]

Ownership was rumored to be skeptical of the move, but that could have been spin in case it didn't work.

Either way this is a chronic condition, I doubt his decision to give it a go in limited minutes in the playoffs aggrevated it.

[Eeyore III]

There might be some team with either an expiring contract (Eddy Curry) or a superfluous (to them) player with a bad contract (Rashard Lewis) who'd be willing to roll the dice on Roy.   

Maybe Roy will be the next Sean Elliot and play for 7 more years at an above-average level despite bad knees.  Or maybe he's another McGrady.  If I'm the Blazers, I cut my losses.

BTW, the Portland papers are saying that Pritchard's signing of Roy to the long-term deal, given the state of his knees, was the main reason Pritchard got suddenly pushed out.

[Lucky17]

BTW, the Portland papers are saying that Pritchard's signing of Roy to the long-term deal, given the state of his knees, was the main reason Pritchard got suddenly pushed out.

I highly doubt that. Sounds more like post-facto spin by current Portland management. Blame the guy who's no longer there: an easy scapegoat.

John Canzano, beat writer for the team, wrote this just six months ago, when Pritchard was still with the team:

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2010/05/canzano_paul_allen_blazers_lac.html

Personality clashes and control issues between Pritchard and Allen have long been cited as the reason for KP's firing.

[More Banners]

Gosh.  This is  a really tough question.

Oden:  Here's the thing:  the guy can play...um...could possibly play if he ever is healthy.  The thing is, like a certain Bill Walton in Portland before him, if he gets one healthy season, the team is a contender that year (provided they're okay at the other spots).  If he's consistently available for limited minutes, he's Bill Walton circa 1986 championship (presumably behind Camby at the moment).  He's worthless in trade.  The touch question will be a  QO at $9 million.  He'll need an incentive-laden contract for the rest of his career to protect whatever franchise gambles on  him.

Roy:  Again, worthless in trade.  They're stuck with him.

Aldridge is a keeper, plain and simple, but isn't enough by himself.  Still, why get rid of a piece when the problem is finding another?


The way I read that roster, Camby, Przbilla, and A.Miller are the only other guys making any serious dough, with Przbilla expiring this year, and the other two in 2012. 

So, they're not in bad shape in terms of salary, but should perhaps try to flip any of these guys for a scorer (i.e. Iguodala) that could complement Aldridge (in Roy's absence), and work like heck on being a top defensive team, while praying that Roy/Oden's health comes together for at least one season+playoffs.

So, in answer to the OP, I don't think blowing it up is really an option, but their good-to-great jump will depend completely on the health of Roy/Oden, and there's nothing they can do about it.

[Fan from VT]

I still question whomever gave Roy the go ahead to play last season approx.8days after surgery in a series that seemed like was already decided.  

Wasn't it Roy?

Someone had to give him the ok.Players do not make those decisions on their own...players need to be protected from themselves in certain cases.Ive never heard of a player given the greenlight to play so soon after surgery.

If the player says he can play, that he's feeling no pain, and if he checks out with the trainers, who's going to stop him?

  The coaches? The doctors? Who kept KG out of games when he was injured?

Everything I've seen before and since is that there was no chance of further structural damage regardless of when he started playing on that particular injury, and that these new injuries were fairly inevitable regardless of therapy/rest. He has no meniscus; that is not anything that rest helps.

[Dybdal]

I dont think its about blowing it up! i think its about weighing your options.

Blazers will look to trade every deadline, just like danny will be, if the right offer presents it self then you take it, if you dont you keep treading water and i think thats what the Blazers are doing right now and will continue to do for some time.