Mariners inked Ken Griffey Jr. to a one-year deal this evening, ending all doubts on whether or not he was Seattle or Atlanta bound for the 2009 season.
ESPN.com original story (With video)
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3917214
And with the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, the Trail Blazers are trying to cash in on their youthful young contracts other NBA general managers covet.
Most talks have Travis Outlaw, Sergio Rodriguez and Raef LaFrentz's expiring contract on the way out to either Milwaukee (For Small Forward Richard Jefferson and former Oregon point guard Luke Ridnour) or to New Jersey for Vince Carter.
I for one, do not oppose either deal, but would prefer the latter to the former.
Vince Carter is a proven star. A guy that averages 20 points per night, while still adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists to go along with his tremendous scoring ability.
Nay-sayers will claim Carter will disrupt the offensive flow of Portland by putting up too many shots. To them I say: The Blazers are just a mill-of-the-run offensive team to begin with. Ranking 15th in the league in points per game is nothing to brag about; Carter can help that.
Outlaw is the worst perimiter defender Portland has; Carter can help with that.
Roy, Aldridge, Oden and Bayless have yet to play with a star in the NBA who is also a veteran; Carter can solve that.
Remember a few years back (actually nearly a decade ago), when Portland had a nice core of guys, but lacked a good veteran forward? They brought it Scottie Pippen to bolster the team, and soon enough Portland was a contender in the Western Conference.
Carter can be that guy, with even less pressure riding on him.
He's not Scottie Pippen, but they don't need him to be. Pippen needed to lead that team, Carter doesn't. He would understand coming into the situation that this team belongs to Roy, Oden and Aldridge. But there is no reason to believe Carter can't fit right in.
He has proven that this season, handing over the leadership role of the Nets to a younger Devin Harris.
Carter isn't the same high-flying, attention needing guy he was when he first entered the league anymore. He is more polished. He developed a better jump shot, hits close to 40% of his three-pointers and is a definite upgrade defensively from Outlaw.
The biggest reason Portland needs to trade now is because they can afford to do so. They have so much young talent, that it won't hinder their future if they unload a couple
What I mean by that is Roy, Aldridge, Bayless, Oden, and all the other guys who are still under 25 like Rudy, Webster, Outlaw, Sergio and Frye don't have to all be Blazers for the next 15 years. If they dropped two or three of the that group, look at how many young guys they still have.
By the way, Nicolas Batum, another rising Blazer star, is only 18.
In a fantasy world, this group of youngn's grow old together and win title after title. But why wait five years for that to happen when they're all ready at once?
Bring in Carter. Go into the off-season and move Bayless and Webster, maybe a draft pick as well for Jason Kidd or Steve Nash. There is no way you can tell me the Mavericks would turn down the upside and small contracts of Bayless and Webster, along with a pick for Kidd.
And all of a sudden, Portland is the best team in the west with this roster next season:
PG - Jason Kidd
SG - Brandon Roy
SF - Vince Carter
PF - Lamar Aldridge
C - Greg Oden
With the bench still just fine:
PG - Steve Blake
SG - Rudy Fernandez
SF - Nicolas Batum
PF - Channing Frye
C - Joel Przybilla
Sounds like the best team in the NBA to me.
Of course, financial difficulties are the main concern, but Paul Allen is the richest owner in the league, and Portland has great salary cap space it's not a dream by any means.
Trade deadline is about 24 hours away, and Portland's GM Kevin Pritchard has the chance to take the first step forward towards being the best team in the NBA for the next 3 or 4 years with a deal bringing Vincanity to Portland.
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