Very very interesting idea. Two big pluses here are that we lose Danny G and gain Frye, especially since the former sucks and the latter doesn’t. Not to mention it’d be nice to get Pryzbilla back, although he’d be confined to a backup role behind Andrew Bogut.

However, Yi isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He has too much financially to offer to the franchise. In terms of raw basketball, I would love this trade. But given the state of the franchise, trading Yi for an unproven player like Fernandez isn’t gonna happen.

I’m just glad someone found a trade idea that DIDN’T involve Cleveland.

Especially if Redd were to be traded I would absolutely love to add a guy like Rudy. I asked around on Blazer’s Edge a few weeks ago to see if Rudy would be available in trades and most people said no-Pritchard and company worked pretty hard to bring him over, so even with Roy roadblocking him a bit at the SG spot they want to hang on to him for now. I wouldn’t exactly call him unproven either-he’s been a lights-out scorer in Spain and is probably the best player outside the NBA at this point.

Mitchell, I think you’re right though that the Bucks aren’t going to trade Yi at this point, especially in a deal that doesn’t bring back a major name. While his rookie season was very up and down, Yi’s still got potential and the marketing angle seems to be very important to Herb Kohl and co. I can’t see them cutting bait this summer unless it’s an incredible offer. If Yi was a random American guy then I’d say the Bucks would probably pull the trigger, but the whole China thing invariably changes the calculus. And it’s ironic that Frye be included in this deal because Yi could very well end up being no better than him.

I’d do it if you would take Charlie V instead of Yi. Charlie V is better and would be a better compliment to Oden. Would you still do that?

Yi won’t be traded by the Bucks, unless it’s a great deal. They make too much money off of him and his worldwide appeal is too great.

Now, for the Blazer bits… Rudy won’t be traded. Nate won’t have a problem with him because his problems with Sergio are different than what Rudy will do. Sergio has a bad defender, was a HORRIBLE shooter this season, and couldn’t get the offense going as a whole (which was his specialty his rookie year). Because Sergio wasn’t adding much, he didn’t get much playing time behind Steve “Solid” Blake and Jarrett “Erratic but plays hard” Jack.

If Rudy sucks, well, he won’t get playing time. If he is as good as they say, there is NO CHANCE Nate doesn’t play him. And arguing his defence won’t be good so Nate won’t play him doesn’t really work, as Nate has given big minutes to Jack, Outlaw, both sometimes God-awful defenders.

Kevin Pritchard and his team worked very hard to get Rudy to come over and play for only 900,000K, as opposed to 5 million+ EUROS he woulda’ gotten in Europe. They won’t give this guy away after all this work, and Rudy isn’t likely to come to play for just anyone—he is coming over because of Pritchard, because of where the Blazers are right now, and because it is a good situation for everyone involved.

(Also, Euro salaries are tax free, so when ya take into account the weak dollar and 40%+ tax, Rudy is getting paid nuthin’ in NBA terms, while he could get 30+ million Euros, easy. He really wants to show he is really good in the NBA)

Now, it might sound like hyperbole, but Joel Pryzbilla is nearly untouchable as well. Until we KNOW Oden is healthy and can play reasonable minutes, Joel won’t be traded. He is a PERFECT backup. Even when Oden is dominating, I’d be surprised if Joel is traded because he is our only other center. All last season we’d be dominated on the boards because we had no center other than Joel. I doubt they’d let this happen again.

Trading Frye or Sergio in this mess of a trade is just overkill.

Nate coached the 3rd youngest team of all time to 41 wins. He did a great job. Playing Sergio more would not have made things better as he played pretty badly when he DID play. Some Sergio fans love him more than the Blazers (which is fine if Sergio brought you to the Blazers, but extremely odd if you were a Blazer fan first).

Yi or Charlie V are both modern-day NBA power forwards, and as such don’t really have room on the Blazers. Both would fit well next to Oden, sure, because he would compensate for their negatives (especially Charlie V’s complete unwillingness to even look like he is trying on defense), but neither would fit as well as LaMarcus Aldridge.

Losing Rudy, who should get a lot of playing time NEXT to Brandon Roy as both are playmaking shooting guards who can dribble and score, for a backup-backup-backup who is also expensive in Dan Gadzuric and a intriguing but redundant player in Yi or Charlie V doesn’t really work for the Blazers, and losing Yi might not really work for the Bucks.

If Portland makes a move, it’ll be for a PG-type guy who can play with Roy, or a good defending SF. If they make these moves, Pryzbilla, Rudy, Oden, LMA, Roy won’t be a part of them.

Good luck with the upcoming season, Bucks fans, and I wish ya the best. I watched more Bucks games than ever this recent season, and you got a lot of really intriguing players. The only one I really, really didn’t like was Michael Redd. He brought the whole team down with his awful shooting and yelling at others when he didn’t get to shoot.

I compared him to Blazers era Zach Randolph, as he selfishly puts up good numbers but just doesn’t help you WIN.

I don’t consider myself an expert on Redd or the Bucks, so I’m interested if this point of view greatly differs with Bucks fans beliefs on average.

Mortimer

Mortimer, very good points. It made me completely depressed knowing we are probably stuck with Gadzurich’s insane contract, but still good points. As far as the Blazers, if I were them, I wouldn’t touch a thing other than maybe trying to get a point guard. The Bucks, well we need a complete overhaul, no secret. I don’t necessarily see any tradeable pieces on the Blazers that would fit any long term needs of our team. Channing Frye could be a nice player, but he would be nothing more than a backup PF on a team already loaded with tall skinny soft PF’s.

A guy I really like from the Blazers that would fit the Bucks need for a tough SF that has range is Travis Outlaw. I’m not sure if he is tradeable or not, but from what I saw of him last year, I thought he would fit well with us.

So here is a counter offer, how about:

Bucks: Mo Williams and Dan Gadzurich
for
Blazers: Rudy Fernandez, Channing Frye, and Travis Outlaw?

It works on the NBA trade machine

Pros Bucks: Allows Bucks to get rid of Gad’s contract
Gain depth and toughness at small forward with travis outlaw
Allow Ramon Sessions and Fernandez to interchange and fight for PG job
Some (more) depth at PF
Pros Blazers: Great backcourt tandem with Williams and Roy
Some energy and more depth at center for Oden
Able to give Alridge more minutes (which he deserves)
May allow them to use draft pick and pick up a great young SF such as Joe alexander or move up to take Anthony Randolph?

Cons Bucks: Lose Williams
Another lanky PF

Cons Blazers:
Can’t think of any

What do you all say about this?

just an edit, I meant to add Joel P. to the trade too from the blazers to the bucks to make the salaries work

Thanks to the Blazer fans for their input.

It seems like Yi and Rudy are similar in that their teams are perhaps overcommitted to them because of what it took to get them to Milwaukee and Portland, respectively. Neither guy should be untouchable on talent alone, but the uniqueness of their situations makes them highly unlikely to be dealt.

I think the pieces are there for something involving Mo Williams…if Hammond doesn’t like the market for Redd he could hang on to him and look to deal Mo instead, though the deal would probably have to be completed once his BYC status expires July 1. I’d love to get the 13th pick, which it sounds like the Blazers are very willing to shop. Plus throw in some combination of two guys out of Outlaw, Jones, Frye, and Webster (most of those work after July 1 I believe). For the Bucks it gives them luxury tax breathing room in 2009 and reinforcements at the forward position, while the Blazers get the best player in the deal who can complement Roy.

Mortimer, unfortunately Mo’s defense is the biggest complaint Bucks fans have about him…that’s why we’re always including him in trade rumors :) Of course, he might not look so bad playing with Oden behind him and in general a legit coach might be able to get more out of him on that end.

Mo’s also not a “pure” PG, but to be honest I don’t think that’s really a problem per se—you just have to find the right complement for him. Unfortunately Redd’s not the best guy to pair him with since they’re both scorers who don’t bring it defensively. Roy makes more sense since he can create a bit and plays both ways. But if we were to trade Redd then Mo becomes more useful, especially if Mo were to play next to a more defensive-minded 2 (not sure who that would be of course).

Over at RealGM someone proposed #13/LaFrentz/Jack for Mo/Mason, which I also like. As much as he’s not a big contributor, I’d love to keep Desmond but with both 8/13 you would probably get one of the SFs from this year’s draft. Jack meanwhile provides cheap depth in the backcourt and can guard both spots. LaFrentz is expiring so that could be an asset as well around the trade deadline. Plus he’s better than Gadz.

Smitty, thanks for the kind words and looking forward to hearing more from you. Alex and I definitely encourage you (and everyone else) to use the Fanpost and Fanshot features if you have thoughts, want to post links, etc.

I think if the trade machine would let me just throw any names in there, I could have put some more thought into it. Your team is intriguing and I look forward to watching your evolution. Maybe when Nate has a chance to see Rudy in the Olympics, he’ll see what he can do and consider playing him. I just would hate to see him buried on the bench behind Roy.

I know we’re all guilty of it, but too often fans rate the players on their team a bit too highly when looking to make trades. I don’t see Portland willing to give up 3 very good young pieces in order to get Mo Williams essentially—and be laboured with Gadzuric’s contract in the process. Cap space clearing is one of the keys to short/long term success for the Blazers, so moves like that don’t help. Additionally, I don’t think Williams is a good fit for the Blazers. Bayless will be no doubt given a chance to live up to his potential and be the PG of the future in Portland if all goes to plan.

On a side note, I have to commend the Bucks on the moves they’ve made this off-season to establish a form of identity and take a direction. Bringing RJ in is a good move for this franchise to really add a scoring punch and defensive presence at the 3. Now let’s see if Bogut can receive a bit more ball this year—the guy seems to be wasted offensively!