Blazers Interested in Caron Butler?
Ezra Ace Caraeff | Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:22AM 
I fell down!
If the subject of a post has a question mark in it, that probably means it’s just another daily dose of trade speculation. This includes a Portland mention in this Caron Butler column from David “I’m not as soft as LaMarus” Aldridge over at NBA.com:
(Don’t discount Portland, either. While much has been made of the Blazers’ pursuit of Washington center Brendan Haywood, the Blazers have just as much, if not more, interest in Butler, and are willing to put $3 milliion in cash toward a deal — which certainly interests the Wizards. But Portland’s refusal to put any of its young players other than Martell Webster in any potential deal puts it on the outside looking in. As has been reported, the Wizards want either Nicholas Batum — no chance — or Rudy Fernandez — not likely, as he is a favorite of many inside the Blazers’ braintrust. The Lakers would also love to repatriate Butler with Kobe Bryant, who would love to have him. But L.A. doesn’t have the expiring contract/young player assets necessary to get seriously involved.)
Interesting. I suspect I might be alone in liking Butler’s game more than most Blazer fans probably do, but is he worth the young talent? Since the Jermaine O’Neal trade, Portland has been very reluctant to trade any young players, for fear that their shift from potential to talent will eventually come back to hurt the franchise. But it’s clear that something needs to get done this Portland team (currently in 4th place in the Northwest Division) to keep their head above the playoff waters.
Should the Blazers keep browsing? (Since last time I checked Butler doesn’t play center and won’t solve that problem.) Or should they make a move? Who would you swap for Butler?
Reader Comments (3)
I would do Outlaw and Blake plus Rudy for Caron Butler with Nicolas as our sixth man. HUGE improvement I think
I don't have a problem giving up any of the following players: The following should be un-tradable: Roy, Oden, Batum, and maybe, MAYBE L.A. Every other player on our roster should be gettable at the right price.
I have absolutely no problem including Rudy in a deal for Butler. In fact, I think Rudy is our best trade piece. We've got to stop over-valuing our "potential" and get things done. Roy is not getting younger, and he's the necessary closer on any championship team. I don't want to wait two years to figure out that we sat on too many players and didn't get enough tested talent on the team when we had the chance.
i agree that a butler for rudy/blake/outlaw would be great for the blazers. caron fills some excellent holes in the blazers game, and i think would do so for at least another 2 or 3 years, depending on how fast batum comes up. batum would thrive as the sixth man, as he can develop his overall game and still be outstanding defensively (which likely translates to 4th quarter minutes), and means that between him and martell our second unit is still fantastic.
at some point, this roster will have to change. it's inevitable. i think that a deal like this frees up valuable minutes for guys who need more minutes (read: batum) while also giving us a star in butler who can be second fiddle to roy. and that would set up next year's possible lineup of miller/roy/butler/aldridge/oden, which strikes me as awesome.
but we'll see.