Will G.O. be reunited with Conley?With everybody talking about the glut of wings on the Portland Trail Blazers, word out of the Rose City is that Portland has offered Travis Outlaw for Memphis’ Mike Conley.
If this deal goes down, it would reunite Greg Oden with his best friend, former high school and college teammate Conley. Although Conley is currently starting for the Grizzlies, Coach Marc Iavaroni seems to favor Kyle Lowry – evident by Lowry’s 31 minutes to Conley’s 17 in a close loss to the Kings last night.
Although the Blazers already have Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez and Jerryd Bayless at the point, I like this move to get Conley – the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft – in a new situation. If nothing else, he can be there to raise Oden’s spirits.
For the Grizzlies, Outlaw would be a capable starter alongside Rudy Gay, allowing more time for rookie Darrell Arthur to develop. With just Hakim Warrick and Darko Milicic available off the bench, Outlaw could complement this team nicely.
Would you make this deal?
Source: Sam Smith
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November 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
doc says:
Hell yeah get Conley out of my youngin way.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Scott says:
It really depends on how much character you think Outlaw has. Can he handle a role of coming off the bench indefinitely. I’m sure coming off the bench or starting in Portland isn’t that much of an issue, because he understands the starting SF spot is his to win if he wants to. But in Memphis, he’s probably not going to dislodge Gay from the SF spot or Mayo from the SG spot… so can the guy who was quoted as wanting more shots this year handle coming off the bench without even a chance at becoming a starter for at best a couple years.
As for Conley coming to Portland, it would probably be ideal for him, just being around Oden might cause him to play better… but just how much better is he than the rest of their points?
November 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Kevin says:
Who would man the 3 for the Blazers until Webster comes back? Would Roy or Fernandez move over, causing the Blazers to play with a small three-guard style lineup? Or would they hand the starting spot over to 19 year old Nicholas Batum?
November 6th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Jah says:
No, no, no — and…no. Just…NO.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Chris says:
I was interested in this potential deal until I saw who wrote it. Sam Smith … carry on.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Mark says:
Terrible trade for the Grizz, if coach favors Lowry then just start him and bring conley off the bench for a while? Where do they think Outlaw is gonna fit in with Gay and OJ the future of the franchise?? he’ll get the hump about shots in Memphis just the same as in Portland! What the griz needs is a defensive PF…..
November 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Scott says:
On a semi-related note, is it just me or does Arthur have the skill-set/potential to become a Rodman type of player?
November 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Amar says:
I guess they really have a lot of faith in bat-oooooom then. dude is active, in that unrefined jarred jeffries type of way.
i wouldn’t trade for conley, even if he’s odens boy. that white dude who he’s tight with is gone. (rookie last year, hardly played) give bayless some PT instead.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
BEdger says:
First of all, Batum is the starter at the 3 for the Blazers. Outlaw is the backup and he play 3 and 4, he never plays the 2 because his handles are weak. Lastly this entire rumor is stupid because Portland doesn’t have a glut of wings, they have a glut of PG’s……Blake, Sergio, Bayless, Roy in the 4th quarter, now they get another??? I don’t think so
November 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Amar says:
don’t forget that petrie koponen (sp?) guy that you own in europe . . .
November 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Phil says:
This is exactly what Portland needs, more youth and point guards!
Maybe if they get rid of some of their other PGs and this doesn’t happen before Webster comes back, because you can’t have a team where you only real three is a 19 year old rookie from France.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Brown says:
The Blazers need to chill on their roster for a while. They’ve got a glut of talent at the 1-2-3 positions and need to figure out who to keep. There’s no way they can tell that just yet.
I don’t think Memphis would be so quick to give up on a high draft pick this early either.
Sam Smith is the biggest douchebag sports journalist around. He’s notorious for making up crazy rumours just to stir the pot. I don’t believe one single thing he prints.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Dee says:
I like the move….that could give my Javaris some tick to see if he can really play.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
dapro says:
If this has any truth than Portland has a lot of faith in Oden
This may be just what GO needs, Conley knows how to play with GO and can get him the ball in his comfort zone
November 6th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@ Dapro–
This isn’t high school or college. Both of these guys were obviously drafted way to high. GO can’t stay on the court for more than 5 mins. He’s Sam Bowie 2.0 (they should’ve drafted Durant) Conley can shoot the ball to save his life)
For Portland this is going to haunt them for years, sort of like back in 84, they had just drafted Clyde Drexler and didn’t need another 2, they needed a center so they drafted this stud college guy named Sam Bowie at #2. The next guy taken in the draft would go on to become the GOAT.
Fast Forward 2007 they have a chance to Pick an oft Injured Center, they have a lot of 2’s and 3’s, but they need a center. So they draft GO and he gets injured, has micro surgery and then get’s injured again in the first game. There has never been a player that has started 3 straight season s injured.
I’m not saying Durant is going to be the GOAT, but his career will be much better than GO’s. Even if GO does come back and play he will at most be a role player.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Al says:
That’s a bad deal for Memphis
November 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Aron says:
I still love Rudy.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
MSkittle says:
Nah, Portland would have too many pg’s
November 6th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Timmy D says:
This is a rumor from the summer that never went down. Sam Smith is always late at reporting and finds old rumors and acts like they are new. This was possibly going to go down on draft night b/c pics were going to be involved too. But Memphis decided not to do it b/c they still havnt figured out who the best pg on the team is.
I highly doubt it will happen especially b/c Sam Smith reported it. He has never been correct on a Grizzlies trade ever
November 17th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Dustin says:
Mayo wants to run the point and I think he’ll be given the keys with the way he’s been playing. Gay would move over to a more natural shooting guard and Outlaw would likely win the starting SF spot.