You know it, and I know it.
They lack size, speed, shooters, rebounders, and most of all, heart.
But what they lack in overall talent, they more than have in the way of trade assets, and that can be just as valuable as a real team when the trade deadline rolls around.
Suppose the Blazers were willing to start a fire sale on their roster, and suppose the team gave up on winning long term, and just decided to win, and win right now. What kind of roster could they build, to compete with the best in the league, right now?
The most crucial roster spot that must be boosted is point guard, and that means finally saying goodbye to Raymond Felton. So you send Felton in a package with Gerald Wallace and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat. While you give up plenty of youth, you do get one of the premiere point guards in the league and a very capable center who is averaging a double-double this season.
To upgrade the shooting guard position, you call up the Warriors and offer them Marcus Camby and Greg Oden in exchange for Monta Ellis. While it seems insane, it gives the Warriors a true center to bang the boards, and they may be just curious enough to take Oden, just in case the change of scenery helps him get back on the court. This also ensures that Oden does not go to the Heat or another title contender, and keeps him on a team that is a few pieces away from getting in the Blazers championship hopes.
A starting five of Nash, Ellis, Batum, Aldridge, and Gortat would be tough, but not unbeatable. To be elite, you need at least one more player, a sixth man to really make your roster a matchup nightmare.
So you call up Boston and trade Jamal Crawford and a draft pick in exchange for Ray Allen, who eagerly agrees to the deal to be closer to his Seattle roots and join a legitimate contender, if just for one last season or two. To sweeten the deal, Boston includes JaJuan Johnson and Avery Bradley as long as Portland agrees to send Craig Smith, Nolan Smith, and Kurt Thomas. Johnson gives the Blazers a quality scoring option at forward when Aldridge needs a rest, and Bradley is a very capable defender that can cover the point when Nash needs a break.
With Nash and Ellis leading an up-tempo, fast break style of offense that can win easily with speed and finesse, the Blazers can tear up the west, and break through the barriers such as the Lakers and Thunder that currently have a more well-rounded roster as well as more scoring threats. However with a frontcourt of Batum, Aldridge, and Gortat and a backcourt duo of Nash and Ellis, the Blazers could beat any team on any night, in a variety of ways.
Aldridge would not have to worry as often about double teams, as Nash, Ellis, and Batum can all create their own shots and make teams a pay if they decide to try and double up on Aldridge. Then the Blazers can get out in front on fast breaks, beat the opposition with a few highlight reel type of dunks. They can even win a half court style of play, using Nash and Aldridge in a classic pick and roll style of offense a la John Stockton and Karl Malone.
The opportunities would be endless, as would be the scoring. With Ray Allen’s legs well rested as he does not have to play the majority of each game, he would have plenty of energy to come in and throw daggers in to the hearts of the opponents, with his clutch outside shooting.
With Gortat and Aldridge combining for 15-20 rebounds a game as well as 20-30 points, there would be little room to talk about the Blazers being out-rebounded or outscored in the paint. A duo of 6’11” players that complement each other well and do little to get in each other’s way could produce high fouls and low morale for the opposition.
I am getting ahead of myself, but a team built to win in all three facets of the game could and should dismantle every other team out there. They would have size, speed, shooters, rebounders, and most of all, the heart to stand up to and defeat any group that gets in their way. The current roster simply is not made that way, making new blood albeit aged a necessary change.
If Portland was as serious about winning now as they claim to be, then this is just one of many scenarios that could help them to get there. While the trades listed above make sense, they are extremely unlikely, although would go a long way in redeeming a team that seems destined for their third rebuilding era in less than 20 years, an unprecedented idea for most teams that consider themselves or at least would like to be annual contenders.
Ask yourself this:
Would a roster of Nash, Ellis, Batum, Aldridge, and Gortat win more games and challenge for more titles than the current crop of Blazers? If the answer is yes, then you realize as I have, that the team needs to make some wholesale changes.
If you said no, well, enjoy what you’re having, there really is nothing like being blissfully ignorant to how good things could be, and how bad they might be.
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