Le Basketbawl

Most years as the NBA Trade Deadline approaches one starts to hear all sorts of rumors of deals that are on the verge of being completed. And most years that deadline goes by without those deals happening; in fact there are many years that it truly is a non-event. Well this season has been the exception to the rule with the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards completing a block-buster deal on Saturday. With the addition of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to the Mavericks they became a more formidable opponent.

Tuesday the “Associated Press” reported that the Portland Trail Blazers have responded with a big deal of their own as they have acquired veteran big man Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers to fill the pivot spot for them for the rest of the season. The Blazers traded guard Steve Blake and forward Travis Outlaw to the Clippers for the veteran who is the second leading rebounder in the NBA this year. Reports are also that the Trail-Blazers also sent Los Angeles $1.5 million and will pay Camby $2 million in incentives for the rest of the season.

Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard told reporters “We are very excited to bring an experienced big man of Marcus’ caliber to the team and we feel he’ll help us a great deal down the stretch run. He’s a fierce competitor and has been one of the league’s best defensive players for quite some time.”

New York Vinnie sees this as a total win/win situation for the Blazers in this deal. They get a legitimate presence in the middle in the veteran Camby who on a bad Clippers team is averaging 12.1 rebounds along with 7.7 points per game this season. Camby can score more if Portland needs him to; but the reason they are picking him up is the way he cleans the Frickin glass. This is what Blazers coach Nate McMillen wanted from “MR. RICKETS” starting center Greg Oden before he was lost for the season due to injury.

It also gets rid of a controversy that has hung over this team all season; Andre Miller or Steve Blake as the starter at point guard. New York Vinnie has told you all season that Andre Miller was not brought in to sit on the Frickin bench. It is all well and good that Brandon Roy and Blake had good chemistry on the floor but Miller can take this team to a level that Blake is not capable of. This now rids the team of that problem and helps them in an area of need. You can not ask for more than that from a deal.

Once again the deck has been re-shuffled and this time it is Portland that seems to be at or near the top of the pile in the Western Conference. Will Camby put this team where New York Vinnie thought it could be at the beginning of Training Camp; a team that is battling for the Conference Finals? Or will yet another move be made to change things yet again? This season you can not rule anything out!

Unfortunately one of the “True Good Guys” in the NBA Brandon Roy will not play this Sunday in Arlington, Texas when the NBA All-Star Game takes place. Roy announced last Saturday that his sore hamstring would keep him out of action until the All-Star break and rather than risking missing more time with the Portland Trail Blazers he will sit the game out. However as bad as New York Vinnie feels about the Portland star missing the contest a deserving player will be taking his place. The “Los Angeles Times” reported Monday that NBA Commissioner David Stern named Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman to take his spot on the roster.

Back in December New York Vinnie was pushing pretty hard for Kaman to be named to the NBA Western Conference All-Star Team. New York Vinnie is a guy who likes to see people rewarded for dedication and hard work and Kaman’s numbers are certainly a reflection of that. Kaman did not allow himself to stagnate and just get by. He dedicated himself to being a better player and eventually that will pay off either with the Clippers or as a Free Agent for another team. So New York Vinnie is very pleased that Kaman was given his propers by the Commissioner and will get to shine in the spotlight!

The “Oregonian” reported Thursday that Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will most likely miss the next two games due to pain in his right hamstring. Roy aggravated the hammy Wednesday in a win over Philadelphia. The Blazers are on the tail end of a road trip with a game against the Celtics in Boston on Friday and will travel to Auburn Hills to take on the Detroit Pistons Saturday.

Roy is averaging 23.1 points and 5 assists per game for Portland and the team as well as the player are taking the cautious approach. Roy told reporters “Odds are high that I’ll miss the next two just because we want to be smart with (the injury.) They don’t want me to rush right back out there. I’m sure they are going to be a lot more cautious.”

Roy missed the first game of the four game road trip Monday as the Trail Blazers lost to the Washington Wizards 97-92. Portland is 26-17 this season in second place in the Northwest Division trailing the Denver Nuggets by two games.

The “Associated Press” has reported that the Portland Trail Blazers have scheduled a news conference for Friday and will announce they have signed forward LaMarcus Aldridge to a five year contract extension. Portland Team President Larry Miller said back in August that the club was hoping to lock up the talented 24 year old power forward before the NBA deadline of October 31. Details of the extension have not been released.

Aldridge averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season and in New York Vinnie’s opinion he can be another cornerstone this team can build  around alongside All-Star shooting guard Brandon Roy. Roy was signed to a long term deal this summer and wanted the club at that point to work out a long term deal with Aldridge.

Roy spoke to reporters before training camp started and told them that the Blazers needed to keep Aldridge in the fold to insure long term success for the team. The Portland star told reporters ”“I’m excited that I’m finally done, but now it’s time to get LaMarcus signed, because I think he’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do. I think he’s a future all-star for years to come. I think LaMarcus is a big part of my success on the court, because there’s a lot of things that he does to free my game. … I’m excited with getting LaMarcus done and getting him happy, that way we can continue to move forward with all the guys we have.”

New York Vinnie still believes that “MISTER RICKETS” Blazers center Greg Oden is liable to break down at any time during the season. However if he can maintain his health and be some sort of presence in the middle Portland should be right there with San Antonio and Dallas as the elite teams in the Western Conference this season.

Just to show you just how big a guy New York Vinnie is and that he never holds a Frickin grudge I am going to send out some love to a city that was not too nice to Vinnie recently. Perhaps you remember this when New York Vinnie became Public Enemy Number 1 in the city of Portland, Oregon after saying that injuries could possibly derail center Greg Oden’s career. The way New York Vinnie was treated by these people was as if Vinnie was a Frickin child molester! Portland fans are not the nicest people in the Frickin Nation that is for sure.

However as I wrote at the top New York Vinnie is a big enough man to turn the other cheek and to let bygones be bygones. So New York Vinnie is going to give the Portland Trail Blazers some solid advice. Lock up forward LaMarcus Aldridge as soon as you can and for as long as you can. Because you do not want to take any chances with losing this guy as he is the real deal!

The “Columbian” reported that Blazers Team President Larry Miller would like to sign an extension with his talented forward  before the parties reach the October 31, deadline. If Portland does not sign Aldridge by that date then he will become a Free Agent next summer. Larry take some advice from your old pal New York Vinnie and wrap this guy up quickly. This is a player you can build around like your other cornerstone shooting guard Brandon Roy.

As New York Vinnie has written on these pages before taking Oden out of the equation the Blazers have a young talented team that should only improve if kept together. Steve Blake is a plugger that leaves everything out on the court every night and New York Vinnie wasn impressed with what he saw out of the rookies Batum and Fernandez. Portland brought in one of the most underrated veteran point guards in the NBA in Andre Miller as a free agent. That move should help solidify the team.

Roy knows how important Aldridge is to the long term success of the Blazers. The All-Star signed an extension of his own earlier this summer. He told reporters “I’m excited that I’m finally done, but now it’s time to get LaMarcus signed, because I think he’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do. I think he’s a future all-star for years to come. I think LaMarcus is a big part of my success on the court, because there’s a lot of things that he does to free my game. … I’m excited with getting LaMarcus done and getting him happy, that way we can continue to move forward with all the guys we have.”

Again as New York Vinnie wrote at the top LaMarcus Aldridge is the real deal. You do not allow a guy like that to even contemplate going anywhere else! You make this guy feel special because bottom line he is!

So Portland despite the way you treated New York Vinnie I am still showing you love and giving you good advice! New York Vinnie is sure the Frickin apologies will start rolling in shortly!