Just thought I’d take a quick second to wish everyone out there a happy Memorial Day. Except for you Sean Elliott, you ruined this day for me years ago. All joking aside, I’d also like to thank all of those who have fallen while fighting for this country.
Quick thoughts on some things I read around the internet over the past couple days:
- Sergio Rodriguez had a Spanish article talking about how he wants to go to a team that trusts him and fits his style and what not. Here is the original text en Espanol. That’s not the story. I went to Google Translate it and…well…instead of the headline saying ‘I want to go to a team that has confidence in me’ it said ‘I would go to a computer that is trust me’. I thought it was hilarious. Here is the proof. Just touching on the whole Sergio thing, he’s so out of here it isn’t even funny. I’m over any ‘Sergio’ news that doesn’t involve him being traded. Harsh? Maybe.
- Jonathan Givony over at DraftExpress pours a little bit of gasoline onto those who dream of Ricky Rubio in a Blazer uniform: “Behind the scenes, efforts will be made to steer him the direction of the teams that appear to be most attractive, mainly Sacramento, Dallas, Indiana, Portland and New York, although not all those teams may have the assets or the interest level needed to get a deal done with Memphis.”
- Continuing with the Rubio talk, TrueHoop dispels him being a ‘quick fix’ and also *gulp* compares him to Sergio Rodriguez. I’m telling you…he’s a young Sergio and I’m only half-kidding. Anyone who wants Rubio in Portland….well let me re-phrase. Anyone who would still want Rubio in Portland knowing what we would have to give up to get him is legally insane. And if we traded up to get Memphis’ pick, I’d rather take Jordan Hill.
- Lastly….Hedo Turkoglu. Over at the NBA FanHouse they are talking about how the Magic may not be able to afford Turkoglu. And then I saw this: “The Trail Blazers have talked about waiving Channing Frye to make room for a Turkoglu contract.” Hmmm. I like Turkoglu a lot more than I ever thought I would, which is as close of a 180 as I’ll ever go. Even though he missed a ton of shots last night, his ability to make plays really impressed me. He’s been doing it the majority of the playoffs. And he might not fit a ‘need’ per-say but could you imagine a 4th quarter lineup of Roy/Rudy/Hedo/LMA/Oden? Assuming Oden starts getting this whole ‘scoring in the post’ thing down…you’ve got all sorts of threats all over the place. He’s also un-afraid to take the big shot so he could do what Travis does but offer a little more. And as much as Martell seems to be the prototype, I like that Hedo’s doing it in the post-season over Martell’s unproven-ness. There has to be a better word for that. I’d take Hedo and Batum at the 3 and use Travis and Martell as trade bait to get a 1 or a 4. Tell me that doesn’t at least intrigue you. All that being said, he is 30, he’s looking to get paid and I’m not sure how much longer he could keep this up. He’s also inconsistent..but he’s starting to prove how well he can contribute. But if he can be had for the right price…I think it’s something that should be at the very least looked into.
- HoopsWorld on how to fix the Blazers. I have no beef with anything said except for this suggestion: “For a third point guard look for the Blazers to sign a veteran, perhaps someone in the Lindsay Hunter/Anthony Johnson mold.” God. No. I don’t want Anthony Johnson and his freakishly long arms anywhere near this team. I cringe when he plays point for the MAGIC, could you imagine the harm I would do to myself if I had to count on Anthony Johnson? And Lindsay Hunter…..no thank you. I guess I’d be ok with him telling Bayless some defensive tricks but him on the floor? No thanks.
- Lastly, I’m a little baffled at some of the mock draft picks I’ve seen attached to the Blazers as of late. I guess I shouldn’t say much because I’m sure when we do ours we’ll get ripped…but still it seems like people just kind of get to Portland and go ‘Ahhhhhhhhhh this guy, yeah this guy works’. It’s either Gani Lawal, Darren Collison or some European guy I swear. I even saw one that has us taking Chase Budinger. Sheesh.
Any thoughts on Turkoglu to Portland or anything in general, of course just leave a comment.