tlongII
06-22-2009, 10:27 AM
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/06/allen_tells_his_gm_go_for_it.html
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/06/blazers1x22jpeg.JPG
Kevin Pritchard gears up for this week's NBA draft: "We want to be active ... we look to be trade partners ... I have a hard time sitting on my hands"
Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has told general manager Kevin Pritchard to upgrade the team's roster for next season, adding suspense, intrigue and pressure to what already figures to be a critical juncture in the team's pursuit of a championship.
"Overall, our timeline has moved up," Pritchard said last week after one of several offseason meetings with Allen. "We need to take it to the next level."
Although Allen wants improvement every season, this summer's edict comes at a crucial time. The Blazers are one of the league's brightest teams on the rise, coming off a 54-win season and the franchise's first playoff appearance since 2003. A bad trade, or free agent flop now could be the difference between a dynasty or a dud.
The big question, of course, is how Pritchard goes about improving the league's second-youngest roster?
Does he listen to coach Nate McMillan's desire for experience? Does he flex the team's enviable muscle in the free agency market? Does Pritchard relent to his daring, go-for-it nature and make a blockbuster trade? Or does he sit on his hands as he did at last season's trading deadline, when he made no moves in order to let his young team progress "organically"?
"Those propositions haven't come to the forefront yet," Pritchard said in the waning days before Thursday's draft.
It's a jumbled picture right now, with many possibilities and options open to the Blazers. But this much appears to be certain: The Blazers will be a major player when the free agent market opens July 1, and they are open to trading out of Thursday's draft.
Pritchard last week talked frankly about his trade stance leading into the draft, saying "we want to be active," "we look to be trade partners" and "I have a hard time sitting on my hands."
McMillan said three Blazers in particular are attracting serious attention around the league: Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw.
The problem is, the Blazers think very highly of all three and have balked at what teams are offering in return. At the same time, the Blazers stand to enter training camp with a logjam at small forward with Batum, Outlaw and Martell Webster competing for time.
"I like all of our guys, but there is no way we can play all of them," McMillan said.
Outlaw, who will be entering the final year of his contract, has been on the trading block before. Last summer, Outlaw said he knew he was almost traded to Memphis in a deal that included point guard Mike Conley. But last week, McMillan cut off a question that involved a scenario of Outlaw being traded.
"(Reporters) keep throwing Travis out there," McMillan said sharply. "Travis ... the guy can play. Travis won us some games. He has been clutch. And I know a part of this whole thing is you get attached to your guys and you don't want to get rid of anybody. You don't want to get rid of Travis, Rudy, Martell, Nic ... of anybody.
"What's going to happen, if something happens, is a team is going to force you to make a decision," McMillan said.
The Blazers already have gone down this road before. At last February's trading deadline, Batum -- the rookie from France -- drew considerable interest, but the Blazers wouldn't bite at the offers. This summer, McMillan said that interest hasn't waned, as more teams are inquiring about Batum than Outlaw.
"The thing is, teams want these guys because they think we will part ways with them. But we like them, too," McMillan said.
The Blazers have sent mixed signals about their draft-day goals. For the third consecutive season, McMillan has openly pleaded for more experience, using the phrase "know-how" in an attempt to change his tune.
Each season, Pritchard has instead opted to draft young talent, last year trading up to get guard Jerryd Bayless. This year, his philosophy doesn't appear to have changed. He said the concerns about experience have in part taken care of themselves as Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla have matured into veterans, and players such as Outlaw, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have acquired enough "know-how" through extensive minutes the past three seasons.
"Talent has served us well so far," Pritchard said. "But there's not a day that doesn't go by that Nate doesn't communicate his needs. We don't agree on everything, but we have good conversations, and that's healthy. It's healthy for our relationship."
Pritchard joked that McMillan "will probably kill me" if he adds more youth to the roster in the draft, and McMillan laughed and said "you will have to put me behind bars" if Pritchard presents him with another rookie.
Despite Pritchard's penchant for successful draft picks, it is more likely the Blazers will make their big splash through free agency or trade. When the league announces its salary cap around July 7, the Blazers expect to be one of five teams under the cap, joining Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Toronto.
By being under the cap, the Blazers can make trades without matching salaries. Or they can lure a free agent with however much they are under the cap. The Blazers figure to be in the ballpark of $7million to $9million under the cap, with the potential to go an additional $2.7million under if they choose not to use the 24th pick ($933,000 saved) and renounce the rights of former first-round picks Petteri Koponen and Joel Freeland, both of whom carry a $824,000 cap-hold.
The Blazers figure to pursue three areas: point guard, small forward and backup power forward. The team appears set at shooting guard with Roy and Fernandez, at center with Greg Oden and Przybilla and at power forward with Aldridge.
Potential free agent targets could be point guard Andre Miller, small forward Hedo Turkoglu and backup power forwards Antonio McDyess and Brandon Bass.
"One thing I've always liked about this time of year is the possibility," Pritchard said. "I've told our guys to be open for possibility. We might shut down those possibilities, and we probably will, but the excitement of that next call, that next team ... that's what makes this fun for me.
"But I will assure you: When it's time to run -- we will run," Pritchard said. "What I mean by that is when I feel like there's the right deal to take us to next level, I'm not going to be afraid to make it. I just have to make sure it's the right one."
Notes:Without signing Channing Frye, who becomes a free agent on July 1, the Blazers expect to carry a team payroll of about $51.5 million. The league cap for last season was $58.68 million. Earlier this season, the league forecasted that the cap will drop to around $57.3 million this season. The salary cap is determined by taking 51 percent of the league's basketball-related income and dividing it among the 30 teams. ...
Roy and Aldridge will be eligible to negotiate contract extensions between one and five years beginning July 1. The most common practice taken by recent stars such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony is to sign a three-year extension with a player-option for the fourth year. The maximum for those contracts is three years at $45 million and four years at $63 million. "We will have talks with them the second we can," Pritchard said. "We know they are both foundational pieces and we want them long term."
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/06/blazers1x22jpeg.JPG
Kevin Pritchard gears up for this week's NBA draft: "We want to be active ... we look to be trade partners ... I have a hard time sitting on my hands"
Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has told general manager Kevin Pritchard to upgrade the team's roster for next season, adding suspense, intrigue and pressure to what already figures to be a critical juncture in the team's pursuit of a championship.
"Overall, our timeline has moved up," Pritchard said last week after one of several offseason meetings with Allen. "We need to take it to the next level."
Although Allen wants improvement every season, this summer's edict comes at a crucial time. The Blazers are one of the league's brightest teams on the rise, coming off a 54-win season and the franchise's first playoff appearance since 2003. A bad trade, or free agent flop now could be the difference between a dynasty or a dud.
The big question, of course, is how Pritchard goes about improving the league's second-youngest roster?
Does he listen to coach Nate McMillan's desire for experience? Does he flex the team's enviable muscle in the free agency market? Does Pritchard relent to his daring, go-for-it nature and make a blockbuster trade? Or does he sit on his hands as he did at last season's trading deadline, when he made no moves in order to let his young team progress "organically"?
"Those propositions haven't come to the forefront yet," Pritchard said in the waning days before Thursday's draft.
It's a jumbled picture right now, with many possibilities and options open to the Blazers. But this much appears to be certain: The Blazers will be a major player when the free agent market opens July 1, and they are open to trading out of Thursday's draft.
Pritchard last week talked frankly about his trade stance leading into the draft, saying "we want to be active," "we look to be trade partners" and "I have a hard time sitting on my hands."
McMillan said three Blazers in particular are attracting serious attention around the league: Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw.
The problem is, the Blazers think very highly of all three and have balked at what teams are offering in return. At the same time, the Blazers stand to enter training camp with a logjam at small forward with Batum, Outlaw and Martell Webster competing for time.
"I like all of our guys, but there is no way we can play all of them," McMillan said.
Outlaw, who will be entering the final year of his contract, has been on the trading block before. Last summer, Outlaw said he knew he was almost traded to Memphis in a deal that included point guard Mike Conley. But last week, McMillan cut off a question that involved a scenario of Outlaw being traded.
"(Reporters) keep throwing Travis out there," McMillan said sharply. "Travis ... the guy can play. Travis won us some games. He has been clutch. And I know a part of this whole thing is you get attached to your guys and you don't want to get rid of anybody. You don't want to get rid of Travis, Rudy, Martell, Nic ... of anybody.
"What's going to happen, if something happens, is a team is going to force you to make a decision," McMillan said.
The Blazers already have gone down this road before. At last February's trading deadline, Batum -- the rookie from France -- drew considerable interest, but the Blazers wouldn't bite at the offers. This summer, McMillan said that interest hasn't waned, as more teams are inquiring about Batum than Outlaw.
"The thing is, teams want these guys because they think we will part ways with them. But we like them, too," McMillan said.
The Blazers have sent mixed signals about their draft-day goals. For the third consecutive season, McMillan has openly pleaded for more experience, using the phrase "know-how" in an attempt to change his tune.
Each season, Pritchard has instead opted to draft young talent, last year trading up to get guard Jerryd Bayless. This year, his philosophy doesn't appear to have changed. He said the concerns about experience have in part taken care of themselves as Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla have matured into veterans, and players such as Outlaw, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have acquired enough "know-how" through extensive minutes the past three seasons.
"Talent has served us well so far," Pritchard said. "But there's not a day that doesn't go by that Nate doesn't communicate his needs. We don't agree on everything, but we have good conversations, and that's healthy. It's healthy for our relationship."
Pritchard joked that McMillan "will probably kill me" if he adds more youth to the roster in the draft, and McMillan laughed and said "you will have to put me behind bars" if Pritchard presents him with another rookie.
Despite Pritchard's penchant for successful draft picks, it is more likely the Blazers will make their big splash through free agency or trade. When the league announces its salary cap around July 7, the Blazers expect to be one of five teams under the cap, joining Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Toronto.
By being under the cap, the Blazers can make trades without matching salaries. Or they can lure a free agent with however much they are under the cap. The Blazers figure to be in the ballpark of $7million to $9million under the cap, with the potential to go an additional $2.7million under if they choose not to use the 24th pick ($933,000 saved) and renounce the rights of former first-round picks Petteri Koponen and Joel Freeland, both of whom carry a $824,000 cap-hold.
The Blazers figure to pursue three areas: point guard, small forward and backup power forward. The team appears set at shooting guard with Roy and Fernandez, at center with Greg Oden and Przybilla and at power forward with Aldridge.
Potential free agent targets could be point guard Andre Miller, small forward Hedo Turkoglu and backup power forwards Antonio McDyess and Brandon Bass.
"One thing I've always liked about this time of year is the possibility," Pritchard said. "I've told our guys to be open for possibility. We might shut down those possibilities, and we probably will, but the excitement of that next call, that next team ... that's what makes this fun for me.
"But I will assure you: When it's time to run -- we will run," Pritchard said. "What I mean by that is when I feel like there's the right deal to take us to next level, I'm not going to be afraid to make it. I just have to make sure it's the right one."
Notes:Without signing Channing Frye, who becomes a free agent on July 1, the Blazers expect to carry a team payroll of about $51.5 million. The league cap for last season was $58.68 million. Earlier this season, the league forecasted that the cap will drop to around $57.3 million this season. The salary cap is determined by taking 51 percent of the league's basketball-related income and dividing it among the 30 teams. ...
Roy and Aldridge will be eligible to negotiate contract extensions between one and five years beginning July 1. The most common practice taken by recent stars such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony is to sign a three-year extension with a player-option for the fourth year. The maximum for those contracts is three years at $45 million and four years at $63 million. "We will have talks with them the second we can," Pritchard said. "We know they are both foundational pieces and we want them long term."