Trail Blazers “Dreaming Big” This Summer
Trail Blazers president Larry Miller doesn't intend this summer to be the start of a long rebuilding process. According to Miller, the plan is to instantly transform the Blazers back into contenders, and Portland is "dreaming big" when it comes to free agent targets, as the team president tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
"We can't say 'We are going after this guy, that guy, and this guy'," Miller said. "But we have positioned ourselves to compete for those big-name players. And this is a strong draft. Whether we trade our picks, or use our picks, we are going to get better going into next season."
The top priority for the Blazers in the summer will be finding a point guard, though Miller says it's not a certainty that Raymond Felton won't be back. Felton himself addressed the topic, responding to a tweet by Blazers TV announcer Mike Barrett that suggested the point guard wouldn't be playing for Portland next season:
"I would love to play here," Felton said (via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge). "We'll see what happens. The media and fans, they don't dictate that. People can say what they want to say. I don't care."
Felton added that Blazers management had broached the topic of a return to him and his agent, but I imagine the odds of Felton returning to Portland are still very slim. With a weak point guard draft class, it's more likely Portland takes advantage of some of its cap space and signs a free agent — Steve Nash, Andre Miller, D.J. Augustin, and Kirk Hinrich are among the players the Blazers could pursue.
Before the team reaches the free agency period though, it will need to hire a new general manager. According to Miller, the GM search has been making progress, with two interviews lined up for this week, including one with a "big-name candidate." Chad Buchanan has been acting as GM since the team fired Rich Cho nearly a year ago.
Blazers Notes: Cap, Felton, Przybilla, Canales
In a look ahead to the summer's free agent period, Ken Berger of CBS Sports identifies the Trail Blazers as one of three teams who will be in the "driver's seat" when it comes to cap space. Along with the Cavaliers and Rockets, Portland will be among the clubs with the most cap room, though they could be joined by a few other teams (Mavericks, Nets, Suns, etc.) when the dust settles.
Here are a few more notes on the Blazers, as they look ahead to tonight's game against the Nets:
- It's safe to assume Raymond Felton won't be back with the Blazers next season, tweets the team's TV announcer Mike Barrett.
- Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge has the transcript of a Joel Przybilla interview on Blazers Courtside. In the interview, Przybilla says he'd "love to come back" to Portland next year, though that decision will be in the hands of his family as well as the team.
- Przybilla also endorsed Blazers interim coach Kaleb Canales, suggesting he deserves to be the team's full-time coach: "He's made such strides in a few weeks. I'm excited for the future for him. He has great potential to be a great coach for many years."
Shawne Williams Won’t Take Buyout From Blazers
Considered a candidate to be bought out when he was acquired from the Nets at the trade deadline, Shawne Williams won't accept a buyout from the Trail Blazers, agent Happy Walters tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
"We talked about the possibility of a buyout, but we decided it just wouldn't make sense for us," Walters told Haynes. "Shawne is continuing to rehab right now and he's excited to be a Blazer."
Williams is sidelined for the season with a left foot injury and has a player option for $3.1MM for next season, so it's easy to see why a buyout wouldn't appeal to him. Generally, buyouts give players a chance to sign with a contender and make up a portion of the money they'd be giving up, but Williams obviously wouldn't be signing elsewhere this season. He also isn't on an expiring contract, like many bought-out players are. However, according to Walters, he and his client are still undecided about next year's player option.
"It will depend on the coach and the GM situation," said Walters. "We have time to make up our mind, but we'll wait and see what happens with those situations first."
While the agent and player are being diplomatic, I think the chances of Williams turning down the option are close to zero. Coming off a season that saw him underperforming even before the injury, Williams won't find a better deal on the open market, and would likely be more receptive to a buyout if he thought he might opt out of his final year anyway.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, Davis, Pistons, Spurs
The Bulls are doing battle with the Thunder today in another possible Finals match-up. Chicago is once again without their best player, Derrick Rose. In an Insider piece on ESPN.com, Basketball-Reference's Neil Paine explains that despite the team experiencing recent success without Rose, they have no chance at winning a title if he doesn't play.
- Tim Griffin from Spurs Nation has a piece on San Antonio's probable decision to change their lineups as the playoffs grow near.
- ESPNNY.com's Ian Begley writes about the importance of Baron Davis now that Jeremy Lin will have knee surgery.
- Vincent Goodwill from The Detroit News thinks Joe Dumars needs to take the Pistons in a new direction.
- Since Ray Allen went down with an ankle injury, and Mickael Pietrus suffered a concussion, Avery Bradley's insertion in Boston's starting lineup has been a revelation for the team's playoff chances, writes The Sporting News' Sean Deveney.
- CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes poses an interesting question regarding a difficult decision Portland might have this offseason. With both J.J. Hickson and Nicolas Batum being restricted free agents, which one should the team set as a priority for keeping? For reference, here's a look at our list of 2012/13 free agents.
- The Sacramento Bee's Stephen Magagnini wrote a piece about the impact rookie Isaiah Thomas has had both on the court and in the community.
- The Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells writes about the relationship Pacers guard George Hill still shares with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Also, Indiana head coach Frank Vogel talks about why he's decided it isn't worth it to rest his veterans despite the season's hectic schedule.
Paul Allen Denies Entertaining Offers For Blazers
2:24pm: Allen denied the report on his Twitter account, tweeting, "It is absolutely false that I have entertained offers for @pdxtrailblazers. Unnamed sources are wrong as usual. Why don’t reporters check?"
1:19pm: Approximately six years after he put the Trail Blazers on the market in 2006, team owner Paul Allen is once again listening to offers to sell the team, reports Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com. At least two groups have expressed serious interest in buying the franchise, according to Jaynes. Blazers officials and team president Larry Miller have denied any knowledge of discussions with prospective buyers.
"My reaction is that I know absolutely nothing about that," Miller said. "I have no knowledge of any groups that have been talking to anyone down here, that’s for sure. I would assume if that were the case I would know about it…. In the past, when Paul was thinking about it, I was in the loop. But that went away. Could there be something going on? Maybe… but I don't think so."
As Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge points out, Allen himself said earlier this season that he has no interest in selling the team. However, he included a caveat along with those comments:
"My health is a factor, other things are factors," said Allen. "I think at some point if I felt things were getting stale or if we were going to be a lottery team forever, we went through a rebuilding process. Some of those years are tough, when you're winning 20-some games or whatever, those are tough years. If I felt like we were going right back into that, that would be a challenge."
The Blazers appear ticketed for the lottery this season, and still have plenty of uncertainty in the front office. But with the potential to own a pair of top-ten picks in June's draft, it hardly looks as if they'll be "a lottery team forever."
According to Jaynes' report, one of the two groups interested in the Blazers is thought to be based out of Los Angeles, while the other one is local. Neither group has interest in moving the team out of Portland — the club's lease ensures that the Blazers can't be moved through 2023. Jaynes speculates that a realistic sale price for the franchise could fall in the $400MM range.
Northwest Rumors: Hickson, Fisher, Miles
Three Northwest Division teams are playing tonight, all of them on the road, while the first-place Thunder await their showdown with the Lakers tomorrow night. Here's what's news around the Northwest:
- New Thunder point guard Derek Fisher is spilling his vast knowledge of the Lakers to Oklahoma City coach coach Scott Brooks and his staff in advance of tomorrow night's meeting, but Brooks downplays the value of such insight, given the advanced scouting and video study that teams do on their opponents, writes John Rohde of The Oklahoman.
- Jazz swingman C.J. Miles will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe thinks he'll be a bargain the Celtics will pursue (Twitter link). Still, Utah has Bird rights on Miles, who's on the last year of a four-year, $14.8MM contract and putting up 9.3 points a game and a 13.1 PER this season.
- In addition to rounding up the available free agents, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy checks in with J.J. Hickson, who's averaging 13 points a night and shooting 65.4% since the Blazers claimed him on waivers last week.
Trail Blazers Resume Search For General Manager
The Trail Blazers fell to the Thunder last night to fall four games out of the West's final playoff spot, but the bigger news for the team came off the court. Blazers president Larry Miller said before the game that the team has reopened its search for a general manager, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
It has been nearly a year since Rich Cho was fired, with Portland employing Chad Buchanan as the team's acting GM since then. The Blazers previously interviewed "five or six" candidates, who won't be reconsidered now, according to Miller. The previous interviewees include Dennis Lindsey of the Spurs, Neil Olshey of the Clippers, Troy Weaver of the Thunder, and David Griffin, who has since been hired by the Cavs. Quick adds that Ed Stefanski and Dave Pendergraft may also have been interviewed, though that's unconfirmed (Twitter link).
Miller says the Blazers are looking for a candidate with previous GM experience, and Quick wonders if the team could have its eye on Steve Kerr. Portland pursued Kerr after parting ways with Cho, but the former Suns GM and current TNT analyst preferred to spend time with his family. Quick speculates that perhaps the extended wait to hire a permanent GM suggests that the Blazers are waiting on Kerr.
While the Blazers' search has been resumed, it may not move forward in earnest until after the season, when rival teams allow their current employees to interview for the position.
Blazers Open To Trading Picks For Players
Having acquired a first-rounder from the Nets and a second-rounder from the Rockets in addition to their own selections, the Trail Blazers head into this June's draft holding four picks. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're done dealing. According to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, Portland could explore trades for one or both of its first-round picks when the season ends.
"That's definitely something that would be appealing for us," said acting GM Chad Buchanan. "A big part of acquiring that pick (from the Nets), we realize that there'll be value not only to us in the draft but also to other teams where you might be able to flip that high pick into a proven player that is ready to help your team now.
"At the end of the day, if it's two lottery picks in a pretty strong draft, we're okay adding that to our team and trying to add the proven veterans through free agency," Buchanan continued. "We like to have the flexibility to do either…. We're open to moving one of those picks for a proven player. But we also like a lot of the players that could potentially be in that draft range. We feel like it's kind of a win-win for us."
The pick the Blazers acquired from New Jersey is top-three protected, so there's no guarantee it will be transferred to Portland this summer. However, if it is, the Blazers have a great shot at owning two of the top ten picks in what's expected to be a deep draft. Howard-Cooper says the Blazers will explore packaging both picks, or a pick and a player, to potentially move up even higher, though those scenarios are unlikely.
Ultimately, Blazers management is unlikely to want to bring four rookies to camp next season, so the team figures to make some sort of trade, even if it just means moving a second-rounder or two.
Blazers Expect To Pick Up Babbitt’s Option
Blazers acting GM Chad Buchanan said the team "anticipates" it will exercise its $2.9MM option to retain forward Luke Babbitt past next season, tweets Jason Quick of The Oregonian. The option represents the fourth year (2013/14) of the rookie-scale contract Babbitt signed with the team after being selected with the 16th pick of the 2010 draft.
The University of Nevada product hasn't been used much in his first two seasons, averaging 1.8 points in just 5.9 minutes over 46 career games. Babbitt appeared to enter the rotation after the team cleaned house at the trade deadline, but with the addition of J.J. Hickson, he's seen his minutes diminish again in Portland's last two outings. LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews are the only Blazers on guaranteed contracts for 2013/14, so adding Babbitt to the mix wouldn't compromise the team's future flexibility much.
Odds & Ends: Sessions, Irving, Blazers, Redd
With a full slate of NBA action set to get underway shortly, let's take a look around the league to see what's going on:
- The arrival of point guard Ramon Sessions via trade from the Cavaliers has revitalized the Lakers, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer contends Kyrie Irving is the favorite to take home rookie of the year honors given his outstanding performance thus far this season. Irving, who recently celebrated his 20th birthday, is averaging 18.9 PPG and 5.7 APG through 41 starts this season.
- The Trail Blazers aren't going to give up on the rest of the season even after cutting ties with head coach Nate McMillan and revamping a majority of their roster at the trade deadline, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
- Michael Redd is slowly rebuilding his career with the Suns after a fall from grace due to injuries that slowed the former Ohio State star, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. Thanks to the outstanding training staff in Phoenix, Redd has been able to find a fountain of youth and channel flashes of his former self.