tlongII
06-25-2009, 01:29 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2009/06/blazers_getting_creative_about.html
Today's subject: Healthy attitude.
Because I spoke to a colleague who covers the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and he joked about how perceptive that organization must be because executives there had determined after a predraft workout that Hasheem Thabeet indeed has two shoulders.
In talking about the Grizzlies, the cat used words such as "disastrous" and "depressed" and in the end, the subject turned to the aggressive attitude winning sports organizations have.
Which is only to say, whew.
Because on Wednesday the Blazers traded two second-round draft picks and their first-round pick to inch forward two slots in today's NBA draft. And everyone is now bracing for the next step, because we know there will be one.
There's only one reasonable explanation for the team being aggressive and willing to move forward. The Blazers want to win, they believe they can win and they're about to get creative trying to do it.
Portland has about $7.5 million in salary-cap flexibility for free agency this summer. It's good money, but not enough to make a dream come true. And so if we're reading the tea leaves and talking about the big picture -- and we need to today -- the Blazers are busy squeezing money off the payroll.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, point guard Kirk Hinrich (aka "Captain Kirk") is apparently telling friends he thinks the Blazers are going to trade for him.
Did the Blazers move up two slots because the Bulls wanted to be there? Or is Portland trying to use the pick to move into the lottery? Or is general manager Kevin Pritchard simply trying to move out of the draft altogether?
Consider that the No. 22 pick would receive a guaranteed contract that would count just under $1 million against their salary-cap figure. Moving up, then trading the slightly more attractive pick as part of a deal today, would increase the franchise's ability to do something bigger in free agency.
If the Blazers maximize what they could do in cost-cutting -- shed Sergio Rodriguez, Petteri Koponen, Joel Freeland -- along with avoiding the addition of a first-round pick, the team could have as much as $12million available in free agency.
You want the hangover from Darius Miles?
Well, here it is.
Because Miles' comeback cost Portland $8 million in free-agent dollars this summer. No matter what you think of Miles, that's the reality. And the angling the Blazers are about to embark upon is rooted in the fact that they're working around their mistake with Miles.
It's true that this draft day feels less dreamy than the ones in the past few years. Portland's regular season makes the offseason less of a feature attraction. But when you watch the organization today what you see is urgency and ambition, and I'm certain that those traits are the real difference makers.
The Blazers matter on days like this.
They're relevant.
The biggest story in Memphis on Wednesday wasn't the No.2 pick in the draft. Instead it was that Duke point guard Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Williams is being allowed to transfer to the University of Memphis.
A high-ranking league executive told me Wednesday that Portland is focused on free agency and freeing up as much lettuce as it possibly can. He said the Blazers would be sellers, not buyers, today.
The Blazers are young enough. I don't see the point of selecting at No. 22 and picking another talented young player and extending the wait. If they can land Hinrich, and create some flexibility in free agency, the day would be a huge success.
The larger point, though, is the team's desire to be active and involved. The organization is relevant on a day like today, and they will be as long as they continue to think big.
Today's subject: Healthy attitude.
Because I spoke to a colleague who covers the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and he joked about how perceptive that organization must be because executives there had determined after a predraft workout that Hasheem Thabeet indeed has two shoulders.
In talking about the Grizzlies, the cat used words such as "disastrous" and "depressed" and in the end, the subject turned to the aggressive attitude winning sports organizations have.
Which is only to say, whew.
Because on Wednesday the Blazers traded two second-round draft picks and their first-round pick to inch forward two slots in today's NBA draft. And everyone is now bracing for the next step, because we know there will be one.
There's only one reasonable explanation for the team being aggressive and willing to move forward. The Blazers want to win, they believe they can win and they're about to get creative trying to do it.
Portland has about $7.5 million in salary-cap flexibility for free agency this summer. It's good money, but not enough to make a dream come true. And so if we're reading the tea leaves and talking about the big picture -- and we need to today -- the Blazers are busy squeezing money off the payroll.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, point guard Kirk Hinrich (aka "Captain Kirk") is apparently telling friends he thinks the Blazers are going to trade for him.
Did the Blazers move up two slots because the Bulls wanted to be there? Or is Portland trying to use the pick to move into the lottery? Or is general manager Kevin Pritchard simply trying to move out of the draft altogether?
Consider that the No. 22 pick would receive a guaranteed contract that would count just under $1 million against their salary-cap figure. Moving up, then trading the slightly more attractive pick as part of a deal today, would increase the franchise's ability to do something bigger in free agency.
If the Blazers maximize what they could do in cost-cutting -- shed Sergio Rodriguez, Petteri Koponen, Joel Freeland -- along with avoiding the addition of a first-round pick, the team could have as much as $12million available in free agency.
You want the hangover from Darius Miles?
Well, here it is.
Because Miles' comeback cost Portland $8 million in free-agent dollars this summer. No matter what you think of Miles, that's the reality. And the angling the Blazers are about to embark upon is rooted in the fact that they're working around their mistake with Miles.
It's true that this draft day feels less dreamy than the ones in the past few years. Portland's regular season makes the offseason less of a feature attraction. But when you watch the organization today what you see is urgency and ambition, and I'm certain that those traits are the real difference makers.
The Blazers matter on days like this.
They're relevant.
The biggest story in Memphis on Wednesday wasn't the No.2 pick in the draft. Instead it was that Duke point guard Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Williams is being allowed to transfer to the University of Memphis.
A high-ranking league executive told me Wednesday that Portland is focused on free agency and freeing up as much lettuce as it possibly can. He said the Blazers would be sellers, not buyers, today.
The Blazers are young enough. I don't see the point of selecting at No. 22 and picking another talented young player and extending the wait. If they can land Hinrich, and create some flexibility in free agency, the day would be a huge success.
The larger point, though, is the team's desire to be active and involved. The organization is relevant on a day like today, and they will be as long as they continue to think big.