Raef's Contract Part 1

Scoring Contest

As a way of continuing to make this blog even cooler (and yes I did just use the “blog” and “cool” in the same sentence).  I have decided to get you guys involved more.  From now on, I encourage you to post what you think the score will be on that day’s game on the game preview post.  I know some of you are wondering why you would waste your time, SO let me let you know what you will win.  I will tally up who is the closest/wins the most over a two week period, and that winner can either write a post for this blog, or choose a topic for Goose and I to write about.  I thought this would be kind of a cool prize, cause we both know that I am too cheap to buy anything worth receiving for the prize.  Let me know what you guys think, or if you can think of any other prizes that you would like.  I look forward to seeing your entries tomorrow!

 Raef's Contract Part 1

Ok, now onto my topic for the day.  I would like to start a multipart post about Raef LaFrentz and his expiring contracts, and how it will affect our roster in trades and free agency. 

First, let me start with the basics.  Every year in the NBA there is what’s called a salary cap.  This is the maximum an organization can pay their players without going into the dreaded “luxury tax”.  Currently the salary cap is at $58,680,000.00 and the Blazers are at $82,371,043.00, which puts us $23,691,043.00 over.  The $23.69 mil is considered the “luxury tax”.  The penalty for going over the salary cap, and into the luxury tax, is a $1 for $1 payment to the league for every $1 over the cap.  So, this season Paul Allen has to write a check to the NBA for $23.69 mil.  Now you know why so many owners are trying to get under the cap.  Good news for Paul though is that, not only does Raef’s$12.72 mil come off our salary after the season, but so does Steve Francis’ $17.18 mil.  Now some of you might ask, why is Francis’ still on our books, I thought we got rid of him?  Well we did, but in the form of a buyout.  You might have heard the term buyout floating around Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks.  This is essentially a negotiated value (almost always less then the remainder on the players guaranteed contract), which is then spread out evenly over the remaining years of that players contract.  Stick with me now, so we bought out Francis (who had 2 years and 39 mil left on his contract) for 34.36 mil.  Since he had two years remaining on his contract, we divided the 34.36 buyout amount by 2, and that is why he is on the books this year for 17.18 mil. 

Sorry for the random tangent on Francis, but I thought it was important to explain why expiring contracts are so valuable.  This is also why it is such an issue if Darius Miles comes back onto our books, because if proven healthy we would have to pay him 9 mil not only this year, but next as well.  But back to Raef’s contract, the reason it has even more value is the insurance policy on the contract.  Because Raef had rotater cuff surgery before the season, and is likely to miss almost all of the season, the insurance will pay for 80% of his contract, leaving the team who owns the contract only paying $2.5 mil of his $12.75 mil. 

Now I know this stuff is boring and mundane for some of you, but this is the kind of stuff that makes me tick.  But for your sake I will bring it back around, and pose a question to you.  What would you like to see the Blazers do with Raef’s contract?  Just sit on it, and wait for it to expire and pick up a free agent this summer?  Make a trade, with Raef and some of our young talent?  If so,s then for who?  These are all topics that I will cover later in other parts of my discussion of Raef’s contract, but I want to see what you guys think.  Maybe I will even use and discuss some of your ideas in my future posts.  So please, have at the comment section, I want to hear your thoughts!

King Me!

Finally! The win we have been waiting for! Is it me or has it seemed like forever since our last blowout win? It was good to see the Blazers finally play some D and also play with some energy. Brandon Roy was amazing again tonight, scoring 29 points, and silencing any critics who said he would most likely struggle with his shot (15-15 from the line). Brandon also contributed 5 assists and 4 steals. Ghostface Przybilla dominated the boards tonight with 14 in just 22 minutes. Aldridge contributed with 15 points and 10 boards. The Blazer struggled with the Kings in the first quarter, but after that the Blazer’s locked up the D, and it wasn’t close from then on.  

For my loyal followers, I am sure you noticed that the Blazers did a steallar job of executing all my keys to the game. Miller, Hawes, and Miller’s Butt Cutt were held to just 12 points and 3-12 from the field.  After what the Blazer's did to Hawes and the Kings, Hawes might be walking like that for a while (see picture to upper right).  Roy scored under 30 points, the Blazers only gave up 77 points, and we wore the Kings down in the 2nd quarter by pushing the pace. I think it is obvious to me and all 10,938 people who read this blog, that Nate McMillen now reads my Blog and implements it into his game plan. I am guessing the only reason he hasn’t stepped forward and asked me to join the staff, is because why would he pay for a service he receives for free and gets all the credit for? It’s ok Nate, I like playing the under dog role.  

Individual Performances

Brandon Roy: Roy continues his streak of amazing games. Tonight it seemed like he was able to do whatever he wanted. He did an anazming job of getting to the line and converting. He set the tone early, and did not let up. 

LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge played solid tonight, he scored 15 points and had 10 boards with 2 blocks. Bad news is he was only 6-20 from the field. For some reason Aldridge had difficulty being physical with Hawes and Miller, two notoriously soft big men. 

Joel Przybilla: Like I stated earlier Przy dominated the boards. He also had 7 points and 3 blocks. Przy was a big reason Miller and Hawes were held to just 12 points. He did a phenomianl job of getting a hand up and getting out on those big men, and then getting back to rebound.

Greg Oden: Greg looked good on the boards tonight, but foul trouble combined with Przy’s excellent play, held Greg to just 21 minutes. But he still managed 10 boards and 8 points. Greg had an emphatic dunk where he rose between Mikki Moore and Spencer Hawes. It was good to see him be aggressive.

Rudy Fernandez: Rudy played with what seemed like some extra energy tonight, which was good to see because so much of his game is based on energy. Rudy ended with 12 points on 5-9 shooting.

Nicholas Batum: It looks as if Batum is starting to break out of his December scoring slump. Batum had 12 points tonight on 4-9 from the field.

Game Summary in One Sentence:

The Blazers wore down the Kings with solid defense and phenomenal rebounding, for a dominant win at home.

Again, this was great to see and everything I hoped/envisioned this game would be. This is some great momentum to take into our game vs. Phoenix on Thursday, as we have already lost twice to them in Phoenix this year. Let’s protect our home court.

-Kyle

Kings Preview

Hey everyone, I apologize for the 3 day hiatus, but I couldn’t get to my computer because of the snow. Ok that’s a lie, but that hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps weren’t going to drink themselves!

It was actually quite an eventful weekend in Blazer news even though they did not play. For one, news rolled in that Brandon Roy suffered a torn ligament in his right pinky. The good news is that he is not expected to miss any games, but he will have to wear a splint on his finger for about 6 weeks. I think this is very similar to the injury that Kobe has, and obviously it hasn’t hindered his performance, so lets hope the same goes for Roy.

On the salary cap front (my favorite of all the fronts), Darius Miles signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Memphis Grizzles over the weekend. As I am sure most of you know, if Darius Miles plays in 10 games between now and the end of next season his 9 mil per year goes back on the Blazers payroll, giving us significantly less money to throw at a free agent this offseason. The good news is it is an non-guaranteed contract, and with a 10 game suspension hanging over Darius Miles head, it means he will only be available to play in 2 games prior to January 7^th. What’s the big deal about January 7^th you ask? Well, after that date all contracts signed must be guaranteed, so we will know by January 7^th if we have to worry about Darius Miles and his latest stint. But back to the current team.

This 3 day break must seem heaven sent for the Blazers. I am sure they were very excited to not only get the physical break, but the mental break as well. After a light shoot around on Saturday morning, Nate gave the guys a well deserved Sunday off. Apparently everyone made it into practice yesterday, and it was a good one. Nate ramped up the intensity and the team had a renewed energy amongst them. Let’s hope that translates to a Blazers win on Tuesday and the start of yet another remarkable run. Here’s one (really smart) man’s opinion on what they need to do tonight to pick up a win versus the Sacramento Kings.

Game Preview

Tonight is one of those trap games. What I mean by that is, it will be very easy to look past it to the Phoenix game on Thursday (just like we looked past the Clippers and towards the 3 day break). Also, the Blazers have already defeated the Kings twice this season, which could potentially lull them to sleep. As a relentlessly optimistic Blazer fan, I would like to think that our boys took the days off and recharged themselves physically, and more important mentally. Hopefully they come out energized and ready to protect their home court after two narrow losses in a row.

If you have not heard yet, the Kings canned head coach Reggie Theus over the weekend. I mean, obviously he deserved it, he was only 7-18 (not to mention a win over the Lakers) without his #1 player (Kevin Martin) for all but 5 games, key back up Francisco Garcia, and starting center Brad Miller for the first 5 games. A starting 5 of Beno Udrih, John Salmons, Mikki Moore, Brad Miller, and Quincy Douby, should be expected to win at least 20 games by now right? This anarchy of an organization makes confusing move after confusing move (just signed Beno Udrih to a 5-Year 33.25 mil contract). Tonight will be the Kings second game without head coach Reggie Theus. Last night they beat the Timberwolves at home. Also, it is the Kings 4^th game in 5 days, so the Blazers should catch them with tired legs tonight. Kevin Martin is still out, so I like the Blazers chances tonight. Here is what I think are the keys to the game for the Blazers (besides trying to stop Brad Miller's butt cutt):

1. Wear the Kings down
1. The Kings are playing their 4^th game in 5 days, our second unit needs to push the pace and run them into the ground.
2. Limit Their Bigs Open Jump shots
1. Last time we played the Kings, our bigs had trouble getting out and getting a hand up against Hawes and Miller, who can both shoot 3’s. It will undoubtedly be Sacramento’s game plan to have their bigs step out and get Oden and Przy out of the key.
3. Roy Needs to Score Under 30.
1. Before you guys call for my head, let me explain. The last three games Roy has scored over 30 and we have lost all three. It’s not that I don’t want Brandon Roy to score 30, but if he scores 30 it probably means everyone else is not contributing that much. And our balance is what helped us win as many games as we have so far, so lets revert back to what worked.
4. Tighten Up Our Defense
1. Our last 3 games we have given up a plethora of easy buckets. It is time to start playing that stingy defense we all got accustomed to during the first 22 games of the season.

Bottom line, is we need a win to get back on track.

Gambler’s Corner

The Blazers have come in as a 12.5 point favorite with an Over/Under of 200. Even though it is a large spread, I like the Blazers this game. The reason being is their 3 days off combined with the fact that they have lost back to back games on their home court. I think they will come out with a chip on their collective shoulders tonight and blow out the Kings. I will also take the Over, being as Sacramento has the 2^nd worst defensive efficiency in the league.

Goose is taking Portland and Under.

**Bonus Player Props tonight, is LaMarcus Aldridge under 25 Points & Rebounds. I am going to take the under on this, because like I said before the Blazers need to get back to "spreading the wealth". That works on two fronts because it makes Kyle look smart when he says L.A. will be under, plus some of that wealth is given to me. Boom. Also, if it's a blowout like I hope it will be, L.A. won't have to play that much.

So Far…

Kyle vs. Spread 0-1

Goose vs. Spread 0-1

Kyle vs. O/U 1-0

Goose vs. O/U 0-1