The Matrix - Wither Shawn Marion?
Much has been made on this blog the past few days about the coalescing or calcifying of conventional wisdom regarding Hedo Turkoglu.Initially, a lot of fans were suspect of Turkoglu. Some remained suspect, but many got on the bandwagon. And by the time that Hedo arrived in Portland to meet with Blazer management and close on his existing verbal commitment, many fans (note: there's been no scientific polling done on this) were fully on the Turkoglu bandwagon.
And then ..... he bailed. And with it, went the conventional wisdom that Hedo was "our guy", Hedo was a "difference maker", Hedo could take the Blazers to the "next level".
But many if not most of us were fully on board with Hedo Turkoglu as his signing appeared imminent, despite the fact that most if not many of us had barely considered Turkoglu more than a few months ago as our #1 free agent target.
Which makes it all the more interesting to consider a name that was just a few seasons ago one of the hottest SF names in the game, Shawn Marion. The Matrix was a player that most fans would have probably salivated over during his days in Phoenix when he was one of the top undersized rebounders in the game, considered one of the better defenders in the game, and a player that didn't require the ball in his hands to be effective.
Cut to today, when Shawn Marion, at just one year older than Hedo Turkoglu and with career averages in scoring, rebounding, steals, block shots, and field goal percentage vastly exceed that of Hedo Turkoglu, is looking at potentially getting cut by the Toronto Raptors to clear salary cap space to sign Turkoglu.
I wonder how Marion feels today facing this reasonably humiliating prospect. It wasn't more than a few seasons ago that Marion was in the thick of the Western Conference contenders on Phoenix, earned a spot on Olympic and World Championship teams, and was considered a nightly matchup nightmare for most teams. Then he (arguably) forced his way off the Suns, got traded to a (then) terrible Miami Heat team that was rebuilding, and then got booted up to Toronto (a perennially terrible team). And so it goes for Marion.
Which brings us back to the Trailblazers and conventional wisdom. The Blazers thought they needed Hedo Turkoglu. And they were willing to commit $10 million a year to him. But Hedo made it clear that he didn't need them.
Now, Portland is sitting with this cap space, looking for a veteran difference maker who can both improve their offensive efficiency and defensive presence. Granted, Marion and Turkoglu are very different players.
But Marion looks to be sitting right out there. And his $8 million deal with Toronto just went poof and now he's going to get cut.
The Blazers could do worse than adding Shawn Marion, a player that most fans would have killed for just two seasons ago, and they could do it for less than they were going to cough up to Hedo.
That $10 million allocation has now generated talk about Lamar Odom (if you think Hedo didn't want to come to Portland, Odom DEFINITELY does not want to come to Portland), David Lee (lots of money to commit to a backup PF who's got a lot of numbers on a terrible team), and perhaps Ramon Sessions (I barely know who this guy is).
When do we start talking about Shawn Marion?
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We can start talking about him when he no longer has a selfish attitude and a sense of entitlement about being a lead dog on his team. The Blazers need role players and I just don't think "The Matrix" fits a role.
Whew, I think the SG is right, we dodged a bullet there. KP must have a plan, but I can't see how Hedo was going to help the Blazers make the leap, unless BRoy was going to play PG and Rudy starts at the 2. It still seems clear to me that a banger/rebounder and a point guard are much more important missing components than a small forward past his prime. Between Trout, Batum and Webster, the Blazers look good. (those guys have a lot in common with another SF who just won a championship, Ariza) What about Rondo? were the Celts really shopping him? Isn't he scrappy? Could Sarge help him grow up and teach him to shoot? Trade Blake and Pryzbilla for him, then go sign Millsap! Adrigdge and Millsap down low, Batum, Roy and Rondo start, and Bayless, Fernandez, Outlaw, Webster and Oden a second unit. That sounds like a tough team to me.
Max, it looks like you've got a nice blog going here, and you seem to know your stuff...BUT...how can you write a basketball dedicated blog and not know who Ramon Sessions is??...time to bone up on some research my man, Ramon is a legit starting PG option, and would be a pretty sneaky add for the Blazers...take a look at his numbers (particularly his PER 40min.) and his splits...in the right system, this guy could be pretty special...but still, nice blog, keep up the good work:)
I agree with baby Huey Marion has some serious me-first attitude problems. Some of his interviews when he was with the Suns were downright shocking how he felt like the spot light was unfairly on Nash and Amare and he was ignored (even when everyone respected him)
we don't need this headcase
Marion would rather make more money playing for a losing team. Sound like anyone else? He's got to look out for himself, you know?
He doesn't play a position for which the Blazers have a need, and he's a well known locker room cancer. The Blazers would never sign someone like that at this point.
From a pure productivity standpoint, Shawn Marion would be an excellent addition to the Blazers (he produced 10 wins for Miami-Toronto in 2008-09, and has a WP48 of 0.193, which is almost twice an average player).
Also, maybe his being cut from the Raptors might be a wake up call for him to improve his attitude perception.
The intriguing thing about Turk was his ability to iniate the offense and handle the ball, which in turn would Theoretically have allowed Roy and Rudy to be on the court for thick minutes during the fourth quarter.
But alas, he is a rotten pig and the heavy musky odor emenating from his locker and shit-eyed lost gaze would have doomed our season before the All-star break..... Screw that non-bathing Turkish freak, we have no more need for him than we have for Herpes or Mad Cow. As a Blazer fan I now perceive Hedo as the Enemy, a true Terrorist on the court, and though I don't wish a fiery car crash on him and his Bimbo wife I certainly won't hide a smile if he goes down in withering pain after horribly mangling his knee cap very early into next season; Hedo is dead in the eyes of Portlanders, and we'll take our bong and piles of cash somewhere else, thank you very much...
But enough of that weird talk, this week will be run in the fast lane and the League is bound to get interesting. Teams with cap-space are drying up quicker than grapes in the desert, and some of the losers thus far in the game will start pushing panic buttons knowing their fan base will turn their backs on them like lepers if they don't Do Anything.
Which brings us full circle to the Shawn Marions and Andre Millers of the world; players who have been told to kick rocks by every team that once gave them King's Ransoms for their services only to find out they refer to themselves in the Third Person and think only in Me terms. And why not? This is their last chance for the big bucks, guranteed contracts in the twilights of their shabby, albeit lucrative, careers.
Each are looking for 8-10 mil over 3-4 years for their rejected services and no doubt some team will Fly Over The Cuckoo Nest and signed that doomed check for the next Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis or Shaun Kemp clone; Skilled problem players that will be all too happy to pack it in and call it a career counting their cash like pimps at the end of the bench.
Reports today link Antonio Mcdyess to Washington ($5 mil), New York offering $4 mil for two years to Grant Hill, Glen Davis to San Antonio ($5 mil), and Leon Powe, well he's hurt and no one seems to want him.
The point? All players who could help Portland by filling a need on the court and provide the Veteran savvy we sorely lack at a very affordable price, but yet not one seems to be being pursued by the Blazers.
Was there a back-up plan, or are we heading straight to a sanitarium in Salem to spend the next 48 months with the Matrix?
Why would we sign Marion?
Outlaw is better.
Batum is better.
Martell is better.
Rudy is better.
We need to sign Lamar Odom to back up LA and give us some depth. We are solid at the 3.
Hedu will help out the Raps and I don`t` think he was a nice mix for the Trail blazers, so count your blessings cause you still have that elite center who played what 2 games for you last year before going down with " vince-itis ". Theres some nice talent out there who don`t require a lot of money so look between the lines, and good luck!!
I like the Lee rumors personally. I think the Blazers would be in the same boat trying to overpay for a player, but I'd rather overpay for a 26 year old Lee than a 30 year old Hedo. The only question is if Lee wants to back up LA.
If the Blazers did nothing this off season but swap Frye/Shav/Ruffin for Lee then I'd be happy.
Of course this is assuming KP can't pull off a lopsided trade with another team. Is it wrong to dream about CP3 being the victim of a salary dump and the Blazers the only team that can help the Hornets unload?
got news for you. Matrix is looking for more than $8m which is why he balked at Toronto.
Was joking about not knowing who Sessions is. That comment was made to emphasize the point that many of the 2009 Free Agents are actually relatively unheralded guys that get overhyped in the competitive environment of free agency signings.
That said, I like Sessions. And think, if the price were right, he'd make a very nice add for Portland.
You can't go committing $10 mm a year to a guy (Odom) to be a backup to Aldridge. Same goes for David Lee - who realistically should cost a lot less than $10 mm a year.
Laying out big dollars to a backup just makes no sense. And is TERRIBLE for team chemistry.
Combine that with the fact that Odom is a SoCal guy and wants nothing to do with living in the Pacific Northwest, and you have yourself a non-starter.
Got news for you. Just because Shawn Marion is "looking for more than $8 million" doesn't mean he's going to get it.
Particularly in this environment where so many teams have already committed big dollars to existing free agents.
How many teams can Marion go to that could realistically give him the money he's looking for?