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Raef LaFrentz: Mentioned Enthusiastically in NBA Trade Talk
As the NBA trade deadline approaches, what player’s name is being bandied around the most?
Is it gold medal winner Chris Bosh?
Is it 2009 All-Star Amare Stoudemire?
Or is it solid starters like Vince Carter, Caron Butler, Richard Jefferson, Gerald Wallace or David Lee?
It’s none of the aforementioned names, instead it’s a ballplayer who has yet to play this year, Portland Trail Blazers very own Raef LaFrentz.
“If you asked owners in the league who they’d rather have right now, LaFrentz or Stoudemire, I think more than half of them would prefer LaFrentz,” one executive told ESPN’s Chad Ford. “That’s how screwed up this thing has been. I guarantee you [Blazers GM] Kevin Pritchard has gotten better offers for LaFrentz than the Suns have gotten for Stoudemire.”
LaFrentz’s huge expiring contracting has made it possible for the Trail Blazers to go after any available small forward.
Insiders with their ear to the NBA ground say Pritchard can have his pick of Wallace, Butler and Jefferson.
Any deal with LaFrentz will probably involve second year point guard Sergio Rodriguez and rookie small forward Nicolas Batum.
Apparently, the Blazers have their eye on Wallace. He has four years and $38 million left on his deal, but at his age and with his level of production, that’s not a bad contract to pick up.
Wallace possesses the toughness and versatility that a very young Blazers’ team desperately needs.
The sticking point that is keeping Wallace from being a Blazer, seems to be Bobcat’s desired to dump Nazr Mohammed and his contact onto the team.
In looking at the Blazer’s other options, a healthy Butler may be the best player of the three but the Wizard’s asking price could be too high.
Jefferson plays defense and has NBA Finals experience, but the presence of a veteran like him may disrupt the young Blazer squad.
All signs point to Pritchard making a move before the trade deadline, and all signs point to the deal happening at the last possible moment.
