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Blazers Notes: McMillan, Felton, Miller

March 4th, 2012 at 8:41am CST by Daniel Seco

After getting off to a strong start to the abbreviated season by winning seven of their first nine games, the Trail Blazers are on the outside of the playoff picture with 29 games remaining on the season. The team out of the Rose City has lost their first three games since returning from the All-Star break and will finish up a three-game homestand on Monday against the Hornets before hitting the road for a seven-game stretch. Let's take a look at what's happening inside the locker-room of this star-crossed squad.

John Canzano of The Oregonian fears Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan's time in Portland is up after a recent string of losses and a general lack of enthusiasm amongst his players. For some members of the Trail Blazers roster, making it through the remainder of the season and getting some vacation time is their only concern. Canzano writes that it's not for a lack of trying to motivate his players on McMillan's end, but they don't seem to be responding to his myriad efforts.
It may be time to start over given that the Trail Blazers have a losing record for the first time since 2008 and would miss the playoffs if the season ended today, writes Jason Quick of The Oregonian. Quick points to a possible Raymond Felton for Steve Blake trade given the Lakers need for a point guard and Blake's familiarity with McMillan's system. Such a move would also allow for Jamal Crawford to assume the shooting guard position rather than running the point where he is less comfortable.
Trail Blazers president Larry Miller spoke with Quick after the team's loss Saturday night to the Timberwolves and stated that he would look into making moves over the next 11 days prior to the trade deadline.

Blazers Notes: GM Search, Felton, Fernandez

March 1st, 2012 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers president Larry Miller addressed a few Portland-related topics last night, and Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge has the quotes. Here are the highlights:

Miller says the Blazers will revisit their general manager search at season's end, and that no permanent GM will be hired before then: "At the end of the season we'll evaluate it and see if at that point, do we still need to go out and find somebody? Or is [Acting GM] Chad [Buchanan] the guy who can be comfortable moving into that role?" (Twitter link)
Miller still thinks acquiring Raymond Felton was the right decision, based on Felton's career performance to that point. However, he concedes that it hasn't worked out as the team hoped: "Raymond, to us, was a player who could be a part of this team going forward. He could be a future piece of this team… He clearly hasn't lived up to that this year. Hopefully the second half of the season we'll get to see the Raymond that we traded for" (Twitter link).
"Rudy had a good run here but it seemed like it had kind of soured a bit," said Miller, addressing the team's trade of Rudy Fernandez, in the same deal that landed them Felton. Added Miller: "Even the fans had soured a bit on Rudy" (Twitter link).
Current Blazer and former Nugget Marcus Camby talked to Chris Smith of Nuggets.com about his season and his continued ties to Denver.

Trade Candidate: Raymond Felton

February 29th, 2012 at 8:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Earlier today, in an expansive Insider-only piece for ESPN that we summarized here, Chris Broussard reported that two players the Blazers are particularly willing to bring up in trade talks are former Charlotte teammates Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace. Broussard characterizes Felton as "uncomfortable and unhappy," and there have been some rumblings around the point guard of late, so let's take a look at what he can offer.

The past 12 months have not gone as planned for Felton, who was atop the free agent point guard market in the summer of 2010 and drew All-Star consideration after a strong first half with the Knicks last year. He went to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade and suddenly found himself on the bench behind fellow former Tar Heel Ty Lawson. Shipped off again this past summer to Portland, Felton has posted career lows in PER (10.8), PPG (10.2) and shooting percentage (37.6%) and recently lost his starting job to Jamal Crawford.

Felton, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, spoke earlier this season of wanting to re-sign with the Blazers. His more recent comments seem to indicate he’s not as keen on sticking around anymore. The Lakers have reportedly begun to sniff around. His contract, which pays him $7.56MM this year, is expiring, so it’s not hard to see Felton getting traded for the third time in a little more than a year.

The latest we hear on the Lakers and Felton is that he and Ramon Sessions are the team’s top choices at point guard. He fits the Lakers’ needs at that position, but unless the Blazers want to go with Crawford, a combo guard, as the long-term starter at the one, such a move would leave a lot of question marks in Portland. Even though ex-Blazer Steve Blake was the starter in Portland as recently as 2009/10, I doubt the Blazers are high on Blake or Derek Fisher, both of whom have multiple years left on their deals. Realistically, another team would have to be in on the trade for Felton to get to L.A.

An intriguing destination for Felton might be Dallas, where Jason Kidd’s shooting, which had helped him perpetuate his career, has deserted him as he stares down his 39th birthday in March. The Mavs could take Felton in the hopes he returns to the 17.1 PPG, 9.0 APG form he exhibited in New York and can contribute to a title defense. They’d have Felton’s Early Bird rights, so if they missed out on Deron Williams this summer, they’d have the inside track on re-signing Felton, who’s 12 years younger than Kidd. The Blazers would replace someone who might not want to be there with a steadying influence who can help them nail down a playoff berth. This would be a low-risk trade for the two sides, since both contracts are expiring, but it’s just my speculation at this point.

Broussard On Gasol, Rondo, Ellis, Beasley, Kaman

February 29th, 2012 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to providing an update on the Dwight Howard sweepstakes, Chris Broussard shares rumors about a handful of big-name trade candidates in his latest Insider-only ESPN.com column. Let's dive in….

The Rockets still have interest in Pau Gasol but want to build around Kyle Lowry rather than include him in any Gasol deal. The Timberwolves haven't talked to the Lakers in months about Gasol, while the Bulls have shown some interest in the Spaniard.
Sources tell Broussard that the Celtics have determined they're not title contenders this year and would prefer to move Rajon Rondo rather than deal with the "headaches" he brings.
Broussard hears that if Monta Ellis were traded, the Warriors guard would like to join the Lakers, Bulls, or Magic (alongside Dwight Howard), but none of those scenarios appear realistic.
The Timberwolves offered Michael Beasley to the Lakers in exchange for the higher of L.A.'s two first-round picks, but were turned down. The Lakers are torn on Beasley — because L.A. is over the tax line, the team would be adding more than just Beasley's $6.26MM cap figure. I imagine they'd also prefer to use their trade exception to acquire a point guard.
The Hornets' asking price for Chris Kaman has dropped since earlier in the season. They're seeking a draft pick, even just a second-rounder, for the center.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum are "virtually untouchable" but the Blazers would talk about anyone else on their roster, particularly Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace.

Coon On Lakers, Rockets, Celtics

February 26th, 2012 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Salary cap expert and burgeoning Twitter star Larry Coon unleashed a stream of tweets today on several topics. Here are some of the highlights:

The Lakers are considering a swap with the Blazers for point guard Raymond Felton, who was recently benched. The Lakers would be able to fit Felton's $7.5MM salary in using part of their $8.9MM trade exception acquired in the Lamar Odom deal.
Gilbert Arenas could be the fallback option at point guard if the Lakers don't get Felton or Ramon Sessions from the Cavs.
The Rockets are still hot after Pau Gasol, but their unwillingness to part with Kyle Lowry makes a deal with the Lakers unlikely unless additional teams are involved.
In a rumored deal involving Rajon Rondo and Gasol, the Lakers would seek Brandon Bass instead of Jermaine O'Neal. Rondo, Coon says, is "on the outs" in Boston.
If the Celtics are looking to move Ray Allen, Coon reiterated what he's been saying about the interest the Clippers have in him. Complicating such a move is the health of Allen's son, Walker, who has juvenile diabetes and is accustomed to receiving care in the Boston area. The Clippers are also closing in on signing Bobby Simmons.

Atlantic Notes: Calderon, Lin, Celtics

February 22nd, 2012 at 8:25pm CST by Daniel Seco

With the Knicks scorching the Hawks through three quarters thanks to strong play from Landry Fields, let's take a look around the Atlantic Division to see what else is going on:

Hasan Alanam of Canada.com suggests five possible destinations for Raptors guard Jose Calderon to end up prior to the trade deadline. A trade to the Trail Blazers may be a good fit for both teams as Raymond Felton has struggled immensely since arriving in Portland from Denver last June. The 30-year-old Spaniard has spent his entire seven-year career with the Raptors and is currently averaging 11.2 PPG and 8.8 APG on the season.
On the heels of becoming the first New York City athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated two weeks in a row, Nike announced that they will release a shoe for Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. According to Nina Mandell of the New York Daily News, the shoe will feature the Knicks' orange and blue colors with "Lin" appearing on the back. The 23-year-old star out of Harvard joins Pistons center Ben Wallace as one of the few undrafted NBA players to score a signature sneaker deal.
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and team general manager Danny Ainge will discuss adding a big man over the All-Star break, says Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The Celtics have suffered from depth issues due to injuries to Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox among others. Former Lakers forward Derrick Caracter may become an option as he is set to join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League (via Twitter).

Felton Frustrated With Role In Portland

February 17th, 2012 at 6:36pm CST by Sean Highkin

6:36pm: Haynes reports that Felton is now claiming his comments were taken out of context, and that he has met with McMillan privately and supports the team's direction.

5:24pm: Raymond Felton is struggling in his first season with the Trail Blazers, and in an interview he gave to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, he seemed to place the blame on Blazers coach Nate McMillan:

“I know I'm struggling, but it's hard to perform the way you know how when you know they don't have confidence in you,” Felton told CSNNW.com. “Never in my days playing basketball, have I felt like a coach wasn't confident in my abilities. It's hard to play knowing that.

"Coming in and out of games is throwing my rhythm off, but it's something that I'll get through."

Felton is in the final season of a two-year, $15.8MM contract he signed with the Knicks before the 2010/11 season. He was traded to the Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony deal last season and then to Portland in a draft-day deal in 2011 that sent Andre Miller to Denver. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

This developing rift between Felton and McMillan, along with the Blazers' struggles in the first half of the season, make them a team that could be in the market for a point guard as next month's trading deadline approaches. A rental of Steve Nash or a trade for Rajon Rondo seems like a long-shot for Portland, but they could target a lower-level stopgap solution to make a playoff run before entering the offseason with a significant amount of cap room.

Knicks Notes: Stoudemire, Lin, Nash, Felton

February 13th, 2012 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Amare Stoudemire has rejoined the Knicks, practicing with the club today and expecting to play tomorrow, but New York's attention is still on Linsanity. So let's kick off today's Knicks notes with the latest on Jeremy Lin….

The Knicks won't have Early Bird rights on Lin this summer, but the Gilbert Arenas provision will prevent other teams from out-bidding New York for the restricted free agent, says Marc Berman of the New York Post. For an in-depth explanation of the Arenas rule, check out Larry Coon's CBA FAQ.
Howard Beck of the New York Times confirms Lin's contract status as outlined by Berman (all Twitter links).
The Knicks had targeted point guards like Steve Nash and Raymond Felton for their mid-level exception, Berman adds. However, if Lin's impressive play continues, New York may end up having to use their full MLE to retain him.
Lin will have to carefully manage the off-court commitments and distractions that come with his newfound celebrity, writes John Hollinger of ESPN.com (Insider link).
Sam Smith of Bulls.com argues that Lin's emergence opens the door for the Knicks to offer Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler to the Magic for Dwight Howard. Not sure I'm on board with this one — the Knicks have yet to even see how their current roster looks when fully healthy, and there's no guarantee Howard would sign long-term in New York. Plus the Knicks would likely have to take on a bloated contract to make the salaries work.

Odds & Ends: Trail Blazers, Mavericks

February 12th, 2012 at 1:57pm CST by Michael Pina

The Trail Blazers and Mavericks competed in one of the season's more entertaining games last night, with Dallas eventually squeaking out with a double overtime victory. Here's some developments regarding both those teams.

With the aformentioned loss to Dallas serving as their fifth in the last eight games, Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan is looking into changing his starting lineup, says Jason Quick of The Oregonian. The team's most inconsistent player happens to be their starting point guard, Raymond Felton, who's in the midst of a slump so severe it may soon be referred to as a decline in skill. The seven-year veteran is averaging a career low 10.5 PPG on 37.3% shooting from the floor (20% from the three-point line), which is also a career worst. Replacing him with Jamal Crawford is a possibility, as is exchanging Wesley Matthews with Nicolas Batum.
The Mavericks will hold their 2012/13 training camp in Europe, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas. The official preseason schedule is yet to be finalized, but Dallas will spend about a week traveling through Europe, playing at least one game in Germany and another in Spain.