"I heard last night ... that he's only really interested in signing with Portland and will do so for next to nothing since the Lakers will still have to pay him his big deal. To me this is a no brainer on many levels. He can't play effectively for more than about 10-15 minutes, which is perfect for Z-bo, you don't lose any rebounding when he comes in, and from a PR standpoint it just doesn't get any betterthan this because who didn't love Brian Grant (fans wise I mean). He still has his house here out in Tigard."
Agreed on all counts. This would be a great deal for Portland, both from a backup-PF stance and a PR stance. It seems a little far-fetched but certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
2. This from Chad Ford's chat today:
Kevin (New Jersey): Hey Chad, how big are the chances of Shareef Abdur Rahim running alongside J Kidd, Vince, and RJ in a Nets uniform next season?
Chad Ford: They are praying. He'd be a great fit there and both Shareef and the Nets know it. The problem is that several other teams like the Spurs are talking sign-and-trade with the Blazers. That allows them to pay more money. The Blazers are trying to work out a Rasho Nesterovic for Abdur-Rahim swap.
Like most of what Ford says, I don't believe this to be true. We don't need Nesterovic -- he makes too much money and Portland already has two centers. I assume this would lead to Ratliff being the amnesty cut, but again, don't put a lot of stock in this.
3. Blazer coaching rumor ... they're supposedly offering McMillan five years and $30 million. This is in response to Seattle's 4-year, $18 million offer. I'm not sure how much faith to put into that number that Portland's offering (why outbid themslves by so much?), but I'm really, really hoping that they don't hire McMillan. Please, people, for the love of god, do the bold thing and give the job to Marc Iavaroni. Hopefully the re-signing of Ray Allen will prompt McMillan to simply use Portland to get more money out of Seattle, but we'll see. This is one time where I'd be happy to see us as a pawn.
4. Non-Blazer-related item: I thought we'd left the era of teams throwing max or near-max deals at second-tier players? Now we're hearing rumors that guys like Joe Johnson, Sam Dalembert, and Eddie Curry could get close to max deals. These guys are very nice players, but maximum contract? It really makes me shake my head that clubs haven't realized the extent to which these contracts saddle teams when players who don't deserve it get them.
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