Insider - August 11

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Ford's Fixer Uppers: Burning down the Blazers
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider


It just wouldn't be an NBA offseason without the Blazers stage diving into the NBA trade mosh pit -- so it was with warm, familiar appreciation that we learned this weekend that GM John Nash was attempting to extradite Rasheed Wallace and Ruben Patterson to New Jersey for, of all people, Kenyon Martin.


It makes perfect sense if you think about it. The Blazers are stressing character now, and Martin is definitely a character . . .

Martin, for those of you with memories that erase upon seasons end, was the 2001 version of Ron Artest. Martin, during his second year in the league, picked up an NBA-high six flagrant fouls (the same number Artest picked up this season), 12 technical fouls, was suspended for seven games and was fined $347,000 over the course of the season.

Kenyon showed his gentler side this year, reducing the number of flagrants to two, but he was still tied for fifth in the league in technicals with 13 -- one more than he got during the infamous 2001-02 campaign.

His teammates claimed he mellowed out. Martin says he's just matured.

"This is my third year, man. I've grown up a lot since last year," Martin said earlier this year. "I don't know what (prompted it); it's just maturing. That's the way it goes, I guess. Some people get it, and some people don't. I think I got it."

Still you've got to wonder, do they put something in the water there in Portland that inexplicably draws whoever is in the Blazers' front office to the shadier players in the NBA?

Martin isn't a bad man. But he's not what you'd call an NBA model citizen either.

Of course, compared to Wallace, who has led the NBA in technical fouls from 1999-2002, he's a saint. Wallace got a whopping 41 technicals during the 2000-01 season, once attacked a referee and was nailed for marijuana possession last season.

Ruben Patterson
Guard-Forward
Portland Trail Blazers
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
78 8.3 3.4 1.3 .492 .627



Patterson, the other guy the Blazers are trying to dump, was arrested and charged with felony assault in 2002. In 2001, before he was signed to a lucrative long term deal with the Blazers, he pled guilty to charges of forcing his nanny to perform sex acts.

No wonder Paul Allen announced last week that he was initiating a "25-step" recovery program for the Blazers.

How bad of shape are the Blazers in? Alcoholics Anonymous has a 12-step program. Allen felt the need to more than double it.

Among the key components is a pledge to "evaluate character along with basketball talent when selecting players " and to "establish a player code of conduct and to hold our players accountable for their actions both on and off the court."

Dumping Wallace and Patterson is a must. But do they have to replace him with Martin?

It's time for the Blazers to start cleaning house, and of course, I have my own ideas. Here's my five-step plan for rebuilding the Blazers and rehabilitating their image.

Rasheed Wallace
Power Forward
Portland Trail Blazers
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
74 18.1 7.4 2.1 .471 .735



Step One: Ship 'Sheed to the Wizards
The Blazers claim they want a "Top 15" player in return for Sheed, but that just doesn't jive with 1) reality and 2) their pledge to evaluate character when making deals. The truth is, there isn't a great deal out there for the Blazers and perhaps, they're better off just letting his contract run out. However, I think there's one trade out there that's doable -- shipping Wallace to the Wizards for Kwame Brown, Christian Laettner and Jahidi White. Laettner and White both have two years left on their contracts and become, basically, salary-cap filler. The prize, of course, is Brown. Everyone knows the talent is there, but the kid is in serious need of a change of scenery. I'm not sure exactly how he fits with the Blazers' other young low-post prospect, Zach Randolph, but swapping Brown for 'Sheed gives them size, upside and a future, something the Blazers need in abundance.

Step Two: Swap Bonzi Wells, Patterson and Dale Davis to Dallas for Michael Finley and Raef LaFrentz
I also suggested this trade last week in my "Five Trades We'd Like to See" piece. Dallas is in need of toughness, especially in the paint, and Davis is a great fit. He won't put up a lot of points, but he'll do the dirty work and that's all Dallas really needs. Wells gives them a more physical option at the two and Patterson, for all of his faults, is a tenacious defender. In turn, the Blazers upgrade character-wise. Finley and LaFrentz both have ugly contracts, but each still has plenty left in the tank. Finley would be the team's leader and LaFrentz is still one of the best shot blockers in the league. In the end, the Blazers gain ground on the character end and draw very even on the talent end. The only downside is cap ramifications, but frankly, Paul Allen can afford it.

Step Three: Send Arvydas Sabonis to Denver for Marcus Camby
This deal was rumored close to the draft and still makes sense for both teams. The Nuggets don't need the cap room any more this summer, but trading for Sabonis and waiving him would give them enough room next year to make serious runs at the likes of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. For the Blazers, Camby gives them another big option to play center. Camby's well-documented injury history is a concern, but with LaFrentz and White in place to back him up, what do the Blazers have to lose? If Camby stumbles again, he has only two years left on his contract.

Step Four: Sign Stephen Jackson
The team still has its full mid-level exception and will need a solid small forward now that Wallace and Scottie Pippen aren't in the fold. Jackson has the athleticism and defensive prowess to step right and hold down the fort at the three until Qyntel Woods is ready to take over. While Jackson makes lots of questionable decisions with the ball, he's the best free-agent small forward on the board and can help the Blazers.

Damon Stoudamire
Point Guard
Portland Trail Blazers
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
59 6.9 2.6 3.5 .376 .791


Step Five: Kick Damon Stoudamire to the curb
New president Steve Patterson reportedly told season ticket holders last week that he couldn't trade Stoudamire for a chair. That's probably very accurate. With yet another marijuana possession charge looming, Stoudamire has worn out his welcome everywhere. He still has two seasons left on his ridiculous contract and despite the sign of life late last season, he's a cancer that has to be taken care of. It's unlikely that his trade value goes up much next season despite being in the last year of his deal. He has too many off-the-court problems for a team to risk trading for him. If the Blazers really want to send the message to the fans, they eat the last $24 million of his contract as penance.

Those moves would give the Blazers this opening-day roster:

Point guard: Derek Anderson, Jeff McInnis

Shooting guard: Michael Finley, Qyntel Woods

Small forward: Stephen Jackson, Travis Outlaw

Power forward: Zach Randolph, Kwame Brown, Christian Laettner

Center: Marcus Camby, Raef LaFrentz, Jahidi White

Basketball-wise, the team is big, versatile, athletic and deep. The Blazers have a nice mixture of veterans and young, up-and-coming players. Four of the five starters can play multiple positions, and five of their bench players should be able to contribute immediately next season.

On the character front, the team still isn't perfect. Laettner has a history of problems getting along with teammates. Randolph punched a teammate in the face last year. Woods is an admitted marijuana user. White was accused of sexual misconduct last season, but charges were later dropped. McInnis has had his share of off-the-court controversies as well.

But by dumping Wallace, Patterson, Stoudamire and Wells, and by adding Finley, LaFrentz and Brown, the Blazers are better both on and off the court.

Given the Blazer's troubled past, any scenario that doesn't include warrants, suspensions, cops or giant bongs is a good one.

Around the League

Speaking of Kenyon Martin, it's hard to believe that a trade demand by Martin is scaring Rod Thorn into trading Martin now. The truth is that the Nets hold almost all the cards on Martin the next two years. If the Nets and Martin don't come to terms on a contract extension by Oct. 31, he becomes a restricted free agent next summer. Given the state of the market and the dearth of teams with cap room next year, the chances of him getting a max offer next summer are slim at best. If Martin and the Nets can't come to terms on something next year, Martin could take the team's one-year tender and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2005. In other words, the Nets have plenty of time to figure this one out.

Jason Kidd agrees. "Everybody's situation is different," Kidd told the New York Daily News. "Lucious [Harris] and I were free agents. Alonzo [Mourning]: free agent. I think that K-Mart's situation is a bit different. The Nets don't really have to do anything. They hold the power. If he wasn't to get a contract this summer, he's still going to get paid. He still has a contract."

Reports suggesting that the Nets are moving Martin to clear cap for Kevin Garnett next summer are bogus. Even if the Nets did ship off Martin and Dikembe Mutombo for Rasheed Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis and then let him go after the season, they'd still have $39.3 million in guaranteed salaries on the books for next summer. That's just $4 million under the current cap. Given that Garnett is making $28 million this season, it's pretty safe to say he isn't taking that type of pay cut.

More likely, Thorn sees an opportunity to move Mutombo by packaging him with Martin to a team hungry for size. It won't give the Nets significant cap room, but it would give the team luxury-tax relief and make them more attractive to a buyer.

If the Blazers don't want to play ball (the latest reports claim that talks are dead), would the Mavs or Heat get involved? Dallas could put together a package that included Raef LaFrentz, Michael Finley and Avery Johnson for Mutombo and Martin. The move would give Dallas size and toughness in the paint, but the loss of Finley would be tough. The Nets would get an all-star two guard to play alongside Kidd, but would a combo of LaFrentz, Jason Collins and Aaron Williams really get it down in the paint?

The Heat could offer Brian Grant and Eddie Jones. Miami's looking to get younger and would eat the last two years of Mutombo's deal to get its hands on Martin. The Nets would get upgrades at the two and the four, and reunite Alonzo Mourning with two of his former teammates.

Bottom line. The Nets are better off standing pat and smoking out Martin down the road. Once he gets over his delusions of grandeur and realizes he won't be getting the max, the two sides should be able to work out something.

Lamar Odom should sign a six-year, $65 million offer sheet today with the Heat, a league source told Insider. Heat GM Randy Pfund and president Pat Riley have been negotiating with Odom's agent, Jeff Schwartz, in L.A. for the past several days and appear to be on the verge of a deal.

The Orange County Register is also reporting that Odom will sign an offer sheet today. Shortly thereafter, Odom is expected to make a personal plea to Elgin Baylor. Odom doesn't want the Clippers to match the offer sheet.

As Insider reported on Friday, Odom believes that he won't develop into a star-caliber player in the less disciplined Clippers organization.

"Lamar believes very strongly that he's never going to realize his full potential in Los Angeles," Schwartz told Insider on Thursday. "He doesn't want to play for a team that won't give him the support he needs. He does feel that Riley is the type of coach that would bring out the best in him."

"It isn't about the money," Schwartz said. "It's about Lamar being the best he can be. If the Clippers match, it will be bad. Lamar's a very emotional player and I don't think he'll respond well."

A six-year, $65 million deal would start at upwards of $8 million a season. If the team includes signing bonuses, the amount could be even more in year one.

Gary Payton's agent, Aaron Goodwin, claims that Payton wanted to re-sign with the Bucks, but that they low-balled him.

"It was slightly more than that," Goodwin told the Racine Journal when asked if the Bucks offered around $8 million per year to his client. "It was a lot less than he could have gotten from some other teams." Goodwin claims that Payton had an offer from Portland for nearly $52 million -- or $13 million a season. The Heat, Goodwin said, were prepared to offer Payton a $44 million deal - or $11 million a season. And the Pacers seriously considered giving Payton $40 million - or $10 million a season.

However, the Bucks' refusal to consider a sign-and-trade, according to Goodwin, killed those deals.

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