Tuesday Insider

[Weez]

Blazers reverse field on cap strategy

By Chad Ford

NBA Insider

Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, February 10

Updated: February 10

1:16 PM ET

A "watershed day" in Portland? That's the pronouncement from the Blazers after swapping Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person to the Hawks for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff.

Moving Sheed out of Portland is a very big deal for Blazers fans who have been clamoring for change in Portland. The fact that they got back two "good guys" helps that pill go down just a little bit easier.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Power Forward

Portland Trail Blazers

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

53 20.1 9.3 2.4 .485 .880

But watershed? Let us count the ways.

One, the move signaled the return of Paul Allen to his big-spending ways. For those prognosticators who insisted Blazers GM John Nash would only take expiring contracts for Wallace, do the math. The Blazers stood to cut $24 million in cap space this summer by letting the contracts of Wallace and Person expire. Instead they picked up Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff, who are due a combined $25 million next season. Factor in a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax hit for the Blazers, and the cost of shipping Rasheed out of town is $50 million.

That's right folks. Allen was willing to spend $50 million through next season to get rid of Wallace now. That's more than many NBA teams will spend on their entire payroll next season.

Rasheed Wallace

Small Forward

Atlanta Hawks

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

45 17.0 6.6 2.5 .442 .742

Two, all the talk out of Portland about Rasheed being a changed player? A bunch of bull. The Blazers finally were winning, and they were doing it with Wallace playing at center and Miles at small forward. Talk of a contract extension leaked to the media and glowing stories about Rasheed's maturity seem now to have been little more than negotiating tactics to get the best deal for 'Sheed. If he really had changed, as so many Blazers were saying, why not keep him and take your chances this summer. Folks don't spend $50 million to give up a guy for no reason -- not even Paul Allen.

Three, before the Blazers can credibly claim they have moved into a "new era," they better check their roster one more time. Yes, they've dumped Bonzi Wells, a repeated offender in Portland. Wallace is gone, too, which is great. But left behind are numbskulls like Ruben Patterson, Damon Stoudamire and, to a lesser extent, Zach Randolph and Qyntel Woods. While the face of the Blazers has undoubtedly changed, they still have more trouble makers on their roster than anyone else in the league. Let's not take down the Neighborhood Watch signs just yet.

Four, the trade still allows for the Blazers to free up space a year and a half from now. As mentioned, Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff come off the books in the summer of 2005, providing $25 million in cap space. But that assumes Portland elects not to re-sign at least one of them or give a big extension to Randolph. If the Blazers decide that Abdur Rahim's price tag for resigning is too high, we might have to go through this whole process next year with Rahim.

Theo Ratliff

Forward-Center

Portland Trail Blazers

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

53 8.3 7.2 1.0 .458 .653

Five, how about that headline on Blazers.com: "Blazers trade for two all-stars." Did anyone else do a double take at that? Who writes these things? Does the fact that Ratliff and Abdur-Rahim were all stars once (like in 1776) still qualify them to be termed an all-star? That sounds like a bit of an oversell considering that the two guys they traded for play on one of the worst teams in the league the last two years.

Six, is any one else concerned that Portland's three best players all play the same position -- power forward? Yes, Abdur-Rahim can move to the three, though he's less effective there, and Ratliff can play some five, at least in the Eastern Conference. But the move doesn't address the team's long-term needs the way it could have if it instead had traded for Erick Dampier and Nick Van Exel. Unless the Blazers have another trick up their sleeve, they're a little log-jammed up front at the moment.

Seven -- admit it, you're surprised it took me this long to propose another trade for the Blazers. Right? Well, why settle for dumping half of the bad eggs? Is there any way Nash can now package Randolph and Stoudamire or Dale Davis and Patterson for a decent point guard and even more cap space? Before firing off those nasty e-mails, Blazers fans, lets all admit that Randolph has been fatally exposed to too much Blazer-itus. He's showing all the symptoms, and despite his great scoring and rebounding numbers, he's among the laziest defenders in the league and can't pass out of a double team. Mark some of this down to immaturity, but also realize that some guys never outgrow that. Why not trade him while he's hot? Abdur-Rahim is better at the four anyway.

Steve Francis

Point Guard

Houston Rockets

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

50 16.8 5.5 5.9 .397 .763

How do you do it? Thought you'd never ask. What about this? Why don't the Blazers get on the phone with the Rockets and 76ers and get this trade done: Portland sends Randolph, Woods and Patterson to the Rockets and Davis and Stoudamire to the 76ers. Philadelphia sends Eric Snow to Houston and Glenn Robinson and Aaron McKie to Portland. Houston sends Steve Francis and Eric Piatkowski to Portland.

This is one Francis trade that will work for the Rockets. The team has a $6.9 million trade exception that it can use to make up for the fact that it can only take back half of Francis' value in trade. Snow's salary would fit into the trade exception slot and make the trade possible under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement.

Why does it work? For Portland, they would have dumped every bad guy on their roster and somehow wound up with Francis -- the perfect type of superstar they need to lead their team. They would have to swallow some bad contracts -- McKie and Robinson -- to get him, but the good news is McKie-for-Patterson really is a wash, money-wise, and Robinson comes off the books in 2005. Don't be distracted by Robinson here Blazers fans. He'll be gone soon enough. The prize is Francis, who despite his recent run-ins with Jeff Van Gundy, is a very good kid.

In Houston, Van Gundy would end the growing blood feud with Francis and get back several players who can really help him in the long run. Snow is the perfect point guard to play in Van Gundy's system, and Randolph would give the Rockets another rock-solid, low-post scoring and rebounding option. In other words, no more Kelvin Cato at the four. Money-wise, the whole thing would be a wash for the Rockets, though they might have to pay Randolph lots of money in the summer of 2005. Randolph, Patterson and Woods have had their share of problems in Portland, but Van Gundy is the type of coach that will crack down on them or kick them to curb Eddie Griffin style.

The Sixers move three contracts they've desperately been trying to dump and get back two solid players who happen to have contracts that expire in 2005. It would be mainly a cap move for Philadelphia. Getting McKie and Snow's long term contracts off the books actually gives the Sixers cap room in 2005. Giving the direction that the team is heading, that's the most important thing in Philly right now. However, there's no reason the team can't play as well or better with Davis and Stoudamire in the lineup for the next year and two months until their contracts expire..

Around the League

# Burning down Atlanta: The Hawks' motivation is pretty straightforward -- the move gives Atlanta roughly $15 million in cap space going into this summer. Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff were nice players, but everyone knew Atlanta wasn't going to win anything with either of them.

Jason Terry

Point Guard

Atlanta Hawks

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

52 15.7 4.1 5.1 .429 .820

Disregard all the rhetoric about giving Wallace a chance in Atlanta. It's a joke. The Hawks want the cap freedom, and there's no way 'Sheed will play in Atlanta next season. A sign-and-trade won't be out of the question, as capped-out teams like the Knicks, Mavericks and Rockets likely will show some interest in 'Sheed, but none of those teams have players the Hawks are after. Most likely the Hawks will just let Wallace walk and start over from scratch.

My only beef? Why not find a way to work Jason Terry into the deal? Unlike Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff, Terry has been the real troublemaker in Atlanta. Expect that sentiment to grow now that the Hawks have gone from bad to awful with an unmotivated Wallace as the only go-to guy on the roster.

The good news is that, barring a huge free-agent migration to Utah, the Hawks will be able to move Terry to the Jazz in September, a year after the Jazz signed him to an offer sheet. Terry still wants to play there, and the Jazz should have the cap room to absorb his contract and might be willing to give Atlanta a prospect back in return.

# Bulls out of the running: Last week we wrote that the main trade-deadline traffic would run directly through four places -- Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and New York. The Hawks and Blazers have made their big deals. What about the Bulls and Knicks?

Jamal Crawford

Shooting Guard

Chicago Bulls

Profile

2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

49 17.1 3.4 5.4 .390 .834

Bulls GM Jim Paxson told the Chicago Sun-Times that after shopping Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford around, he thinks he's going to hold onto both players, at least until the summer. Curry has been playing inspired basketball of late, and Crawford is a restricted free agent this summer.

"Eddy and Tyson aren't going anywhere," Paxson told the Sun-Times. And what about Crawford?

"I don't see us doing anything with Jamal," Paxson said. "The reality is we still have the chance to match anything he gets in the summer [as a restricted free agent]. And who knows? If he wants to be here, he has a new agent [Leon Rose], so maybe there's a way we can work something out with him anyway."

That leaves Marcus Fizer as the only Bull left on the block. Rumors that he may be going to the Clippers or the Pistons have been around for weeks, but so far nothing has happened.

# Knicks staying out of trading frenzy? The two top forwards Isiah Thomas was pursuing -- Wallace and Abdur-Rahim are now off the trade block. That doesn't leave him much else to deal with. He'd love to get his hands on Erick Dampier, but he doesn't have the expiring contracts to get it done.

Thomas also appears to be unwilling to trade Kurt Thomas, the team's most moveable asset. What does that mean? All the talk about the Knicks being on the verge of another big trade seems to be mostly hot air. While anything is possible with Isiah, he's going to have a very tough time pulling off a deal if Keith Van Horn, Frank Williams and Michael Doleac are the best he can offer.

Peep Show

By Chad Ford

NBA Insider

Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, February 10

Updated: February 10

8:41 AM ET

Robinson

Philadelphia 76ers: Glenn Robinson is so mad about declining minutes that he's liable to keep referring to himself in the third person indefinitely. "They knew what they were getting when they acquired Glenn Robinson," Robinson said in the Philadelphia Daily News. "I'm a scorer. My strength is to score the basketball. When I first came here, the first press conference, I said I know I'm not the best defender out on the court. That's just like a...defensive player out trying to shoot threes. That's like Shaquille [O'Neal] trying to shoot threes. I do what I do. What I do, I do it well, and I know that, and I know what my weaknesses are. As a team, we've got to recognize that, recognize everybody's strengths and everybody's weaknesses. We have to play toward everybody's strengths and stay away from each other's weaknesses."

Denver Nuggets: Jon Barry just learned the hard way that the shoulder bone is connected to the rotator cuff. "It's just been one of those years," Barry said in the Denver Post after consecutive injuries to those body parts. "I really felt good about last week and the games that I played. (Strength and conditioning coach) Steve Hess and I worked really hard to get back into this. I felt strong, in great shape and ready to go. I'm just hoping for the best." He has already missed 21 games to injury this year and is scheduled for an MRI today.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Hell freezes over. Zydrunas Ilgauskas plays defense. "He's mentally focused to what the job is," head coach Paul Silas said in the Lorraine Morning News. "He's shooting his outside shot well. This thing takes time. He's playing super basketball in all phases, not just offensively. He's doing everything."

Crawford

Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls love Jamal Crawford. And they mean it, too. "That's where Jamal has made his biggest growth," Bulls general manager John Paxson said in the Chicago Tribune. "He's been very coachable this year. I think we've shown him from some of the things we've done earlier -- trading other scorers -- that we do value him as a certain type of player. We think he can score in the league. I'd like to think that a guy who has been here for four years has to feel like we're trying to help him as a player and put him in a position to succeed. I know he didn't feel that way at the draft last year. But what he sees now, he should be feeling that way."

Minnesota Timberwolves: Sometimes, sharpshooter Fred Hoiberg just needs a little help from his friends. "When I was Chicago and I wasn't shooting well, I was close to being found on the ceiling fan," Hoiberg said in the Pioneer Press. "It was one of those things where I let it get to me. K.G. always talks to me. I didn't have anybody in Chicago telling me to shoot the ball. When you're on a losing team, everybody tries to get their own. When your leader is like that, and your coach wants you to shoot the ball when you get open, that's a great thing. You don't get down on yourself as much as you would otherwise. And when I get an open look, I shoot with confidence; that's the big thing with me."

* Big Dog showing his bark

Phil Jasner / Philadelphia Daily News

* Barry injures his rotator cuff

Marc J. Spears / Denver Post

* More defense means more minutes for Z

Bob Finnan / Lorain Morning Journal

* Maturity secures Crawford's spot

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

* Hoiberg coaxed out of his slump

Mike Wells / St. Paul Pioneer Press

[swolehawk2]

He is basically admitting ..hey I can't and won't play D... I can't penetrate...but I can shoot a mid range jump shot...so shut up and be satisfied AI....hard to stay away from your weakness if you can't guard anybody on the floor..... LOL