talkin' trades: zach randolph

the basketball illuminati has decided that it would be beneficial for the masses to finally gain access to the information they have been craving, the questions that have been driving them. we will, therefore, and for your sole benefit, provide you with the latest musings from the ripcityone inner sanctum.

What the Blazers really need...

Dave - ..are more *complete* players. Roy is a complete player. Jack is a complete player. They're solid across the board, and they aren't defensive ciphers. Aldridge has the potential to be a complete big man.

Get Zach out of Portland. His trade value will never be higher. He sucks on defense and he'll always be a black hole on offense. Get him out, develop Aldridge.

They're stocked with tradable commodities from expiring contracts, young guys with "upside," and all the way down to a pretty decent first rounder again this summer. They aren't going to get Durant or Oden. Sure, it's something to dream about, but I have almost as good of a chance of making out with Beyonce. It's still going to be an attractive pick.

I'd love to see them trade for a solid three, and there's a lot of decent options to be had. Maybe they can sway Indian to trade Granger if they offer up a young guy in return along with the pick - maybe Webster. Indiana needs a 2 that can shoot, and they pinned themselves to Dunleavy's horrid contract. Dun Dun is no 2, he's a 3 (albeit a soft, underachieving one). Or better yet, how about Deng? He's been dangled. That would be hot, Deng is a complete player.

I don't want another baby, they should go out and get a slightly-seasoned 3 without glaring flaws.

jackson- i'm with you on that dave, zach is the past. you keep him and he will burn you. like the luol deng angle, i'm also wondering about vince carter and paul pierce. i know that fit in precisely with the long term plans, but brandon roy would make both of those guys so much better.

i still think if you can't fleece isiah thomas, you haven't done your due diligence yet. david lee, quentin, channing frye, another hustle guy in balkman; they've got parts we could use.

or i like the idea of getting dorell wright and udonis haslem (and some combination)from the heat, and i think they would pull the trigger on zach trying to repeat as champions.

and magloire HAS to be dealt; again a young wing would be good (hassan adams or antoine wright) or a shooter (mo pete).

something can and should be done with zach and jamal, let's see who has the nad to pull the trigger.

Dave - I don't think they can get that much for Magloire. Maybe if he had performed this year, but he's sucked. He's an expiring contract... they might just keep him. Clear the books, sign someone you can use later. Give Udoka a three year deal (not for that much). He's a great guy to have on the team. They can do that sort of stuff if they keep the cap space.

As for trading Zach.. hell yeah! I don't want Wright.. doubt we can get him anyway. I think they can do better for Zach. Deng is a possibility, go after that. Zach is a perfect fit in Chicago (scores a lot, doesn't need to defend with Ben Wa erasing all his mistakes...)

jackson- i'm with you on getting an athletic, aggressive small forward, the key to their future..

now i don't know what the trade particulars might be, but with three way trades, almost anything is possible.

how about al jefferson and a piece or two, say ryan gomes or delonte west? we've already fleeced danny once, let's go to the well again..

i like the idea of trevor ariza. how about ariza and darko, who they aren't going to be able to afford to resign at this point, for zach. howard and randolph might dominate together. arroyo might be interesting as well.

how about to seattle for rashard lewis and whatever? they're so inept they will probably lose him in the offseason anyway. matter of fact, rashard is EXACTLY what they need. hit the outside shot, crash the boards and run the floor. how can we make this happen?

i'll think of some more...

Dave - I don't want Al Jefferson and they won't get him anyway. He's just another Zach, and the contracts don't match at all. They'd have to take something else back, and I don't see the Celtics trading Pierce to Portland (they already tried that, and he blocked it).

Ariza is a nice player, that might work. His name is an anagram of my last name, which means he's intrisically money. Darko, on the other hand, would be a waste of time. I don't want his soft, lazy a$$ on the Blazers.

Rashard is going to want a crapload of money when the season is over. Even in his contract year, he's as brittle as ever. I don't know.. he is a good fit for the Blazers needs though...

I'd rather have Deng or Granger. Granger is probably untouchable, but if you start talking about the 2007 draft anybody will listen. Webster and the '07 pick would probably get Indiana to come to the table.

jackson - yeah, i think rashard would look good in the black and red. i wonder how his previous experience with nate would affect his desire to be here.

who else..

the kings could use a scoring big like martha needs her knickers. is geoff petrie that desperate? can you imagine zach and artest on the same team. somebody gets hurt. could the blazers somehow get kevin martin?

minnesota deserves zach for being so stupid, and could probably use him. but they have nothing to offer, (unless they got delusional and talked kg with blazers as part of a big package)

would atlanta give up marvin williams and/or joss childress? both fit what we're doing. and the hawks are dim.

i still like the working of a deal with the bulls. either we get a deng or nocioni and pieces, or they get involved in a menage e trois with the bulls/grizz and get some pau gasol or mike miller and alexander johnson/hakim warrick. all three teams could really help themselves.

man, there are loads of possibilities and it looks like lots of gm's want to get busy. with the multiple team option and expiring contracts, very little is impossible anymore. should be interesting..

Dave - I think the Blazers and Sonics might have talked a bit earlier this year when the Sonics were shopping Rashard to see if they could get anything good for him. I also think the Sonics determined pretty early that they were just going to suck again, and that tanking was a good idea... this is not a normal year at all. Everyone is looking at the 2007 draft like it's some sort of holy grail. Warranted? Maybe. I find it comical, though. Anyway, I digress. The Sonics suffered key injuries to stars (that also seems to be "in" this year..), and that did the dirty work for them. They ought to finish the year with a pretty good lottery pick (which of course they'll waste on a project big man)..

Rashard would cost a LOT of money. His prior relationship with Nate would increase the odds of him coming here, but do you really think Rashard wants to come to a rebuilding team? I think it would only happen if the Blazers overpaid. Bah. I'm not paying too much for a Rashard (but as Korwin knows, I'd totally buy him for cheap!). Rashard is not Joe Johnson, some freakin' iron man that will play 40+ minutes for 82 games (with a losing record) and stay healthy. I think they'd certainly be better, but I don't know if that's the route to a championship.

Kevin Martin is another shooting guard, Forrest. ;)

Marvin Williams is a very interesting idea that I had pondered too.. Unfortunately, I think he's still untouchable at this point. The Hawks still think Childress is a great asset that they can trade instead, so they'd have to wake up from that first. Again though, this is not a normal year. They'd certainly trade Marvin for a shot at Durant or Oden, but the Blazers know not to trade away a shot at Durant or Oden if that's coming down the pipe..

For the record: Durant!

I'm telling you, go slightly younger, a little more towards team play and defense - A Granger or a Deng. Then you're a contender in about 3-4 years when Aldridge is really kicking in. Not just decent, really good. In the meantime, steady improvement and fun stuff to watch since Roy is already there.

(Image: Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)