Post by Akomplice on Nov 30, 2010 23:37:32 GMT -5
Coming off a winning season at 42-40 but missing the playoffs, the Portland Trailblazers found themselves in an odd situation. Having a winning record and still being in the lottery, you rarely see that these days. The Blazers will be entering a transition phase of the franchise this offseason and they're trying to build up trade commodities. The first thing the Blazers tried to do was convince Terrell Brandon to come back to the team, however Mr Brandon feels that he is worth a lot more and the Blazers feel that the cold harsh reality is going to slap him real soon. After parting ways with him, the Blazers started looking for ways to improve the team in small ways.
Earlier in the day the Cavs were wholesaling a first round pick for just 500 dollars. By the time that the information was relayed to the general manager, another team had swooped in on the offer. While it was the last pick in the first round, the Blazers General Manager has let it be known that they were looking for first rounders. GM Manhattan Project let his advance scout team know that they had to atone for this mistake by the end of the day or else heads will be rolling. With the playoffs still going on, most scouts figured that they would be losing their jobs because not many moves happen during this phase before the lottery.
Scout Johnny Blaze was looking over the resignings around the league and noticed that Stephen Jackson would not be returning to the Toronto Raptors. Jackson was looking for a 35 million dollar deal over five years, which is reasonable considering the salaries some players are starting to fetch. Jackson brings a unique game to the table. He can score inside, stroke it from outside, play defense and can even handle the ball well for a small forward. Johnny Blaze quickly got to the phones and called the Raptors GM to hammer out a deal. It was evident from the conversations that Jackson and the Raptors were heading in different directions, meaning the deal was quite easy to finalize. The Raptors were glad to take cash considerations for a player they expected to get nothing for, the Blazers were happy to be landing a player of Jackson's talent for pennies on the dollar.
Stephen Jackson was heading towards a free agency that didn't feature a lot of talent, meaning he was an ideal candidate to be overpaid. The Blazers swooped in and landed him without the competition. Jackson brings a sixth man of the year award to Portland which can be huge as the Blazers will find a role for him on this team. As for now the jobs are safe in Portland.
Earlier in the day the Cavs were wholesaling a first round pick for just 500 dollars. By the time that the information was relayed to the general manager, another team had swooped in on the offer. While it was the last pick in the first round, the Blazers General Manager has let it be known that they were looking for first rounders. GM Manhattan Project let his advance scout team know that they had to atone for this mistake by the end of the day or else heads will be rolling. With the playoffs still going on, most scouts figured that they would be losing their jobs because not many moves happen during this phase before the lottery.
Scout Johnny Blaze was looking over the resignings around the league and noticed that Stephen Jackson would not be returning to the Toronto Raptors. Jackson was looking for a 35 million dollar deal over five years, which is reasonable considering the salaries some players are starting to fetch. Jackson brings a unique game to the table. He can score inside, stroke it from outside, play defense and can even handle the ball well for a small forward. Johnny Blaze quickly got to the phones and called the Raptors GM to hammer out a deal. It was evident from the conversations that Jackson and the Raptors were heading in different directions, meaning the deal was quite easy to finalize. The Raptors were glad to take cash considerations for a player they expected to get nothing for, the Blazers were happy to be landing a player of Jackson's talent for pennies on the dollar.
Stephen Jackson was heading towards a free agency that didn't feature a lot of talent, meaning he was an ideal candidate to be overpaid. The Blazers swooped in and landed him without the competition. Jackson brings a sixth man of the year award to Portland which can be huge as the Blazers will find a role for him on this team. As for now the jobs are safe in Portland.
