By David Thompson
In the next week, some of the biggest names in the NBA could find new homes. Amare Stoudamire, Ray Allen and Antwan Jamison are just a few names that are being shopped around the league to see what they can bring.
The Portland Trail Blazers are currently looking to see if they can bring in a big man to fill the void left by Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla.
Since December 22, when Przybilla went down, the Blazers have been playing without a true center.
In a league dominated by big men and with little help from injured All-Star Brandon Roy, Portland has managed to stay relevant in the extremely competitive Western Conference.
When Oden and Pryzbylla went down with knee injuries early in the season, the Blazers started looking around the league to see what big men were available for the team.
Currently, they are relying on the inspired play from grizzled veteran Juan Howard and extremely tough rookie Jeff Pendergraph. The need for a true center has become evident over the past few weeks.
A continuing problem for the Blazers in finding a trading partner is the price it will cost them to get that big man.
The hottest name that has been linked to Portland is Washington Wizards center Brandon Haywood. The big man has an expiring contract which is always attractive, but the Blazers have been reluctant to pull the trigger on the trade because the Wizards are asking for both Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum.
Since missing the first three months of the season, Batum has come back averaging just under 10 points a game and has played well enough to put himself in the starting lineup. More importantly, Batum offers the best defensive skill set on the roster.
Fernandez, on the other hand, has been coming off the bench to provide a spark for the Portland bench.
While in the short term, losing Batum or Fernandez may not seem like a big deal, the loss of either may be detrimental to the championship hopes of the Blazers.
While Batum and Fernandez have been rumored to move, they are not the only Blazers whose names have come up in trade talk.
Point guard Andre Miller has been subject to trade talk all year long, mostly due to his style of play, which at times does not mesh with Roy's. The last few weeks, however, have shown how important Miller has been to this extremely young team.
Miller's presence in the locker room, as well as his timely scoring (he had 52 points in a win against Dallas on January 30) have shown through.
While many fans believe that Portland needs to make a trade to "get to the next level" faster, not making a deal at the deadline will ensure that Portland is relevant for years to come.
David Thompson is a
staff writer for The Beacon.
He can be contacted at
thompson10@up.edu
