TrailBlazer's beat writer Jason Quick did an interview Friday with Blazer's Edge, and while most if it was generally lineup speculation and what-ifs concerning Zach Randolph, this particular exchange caught my eye:
"Q: Have you heard any rumors about offers for the #1 pick?
A: I know that two Western Conference teams have offered their superstars in return for their #1 pick and they are hall-of-famers. The Blazers turned down both."
Now, on the surface that is pretty impressive, as the Blazers are essentially saying that Oden is a sure fire Hall of Famer by turning down two such offers. Let's dig a little deeper though. If Quick's info is accurate, then there is a pretty narrow list of players that he could be referencing. So lets take a quick look at just who these players may have been.
Looking through the West, you can eliminate Utah, Golden State, NOOCH, the Clippers, Sacramento, Seattle, and Memphis right off the bat as far as having a Hall of Fame caliber player. From there you have Dirk in Dallas, Duncan in SA, Nash in Phoenix, McGrady in Houston, AI in Denver, Kobe in LA, and Garnett in Minnesota as the only true Hall of Famers in the West. Duncan is of course out of the running, since the Spurs would never imagine trading him, especially since they are on the verge of a 4th title. Nash also makes no sense, since it is obvious that the Suns are looking to ditch either Amare or Marion, not Nash. So that leaves Dirk, McGrady, AI, Kobe, and KG. Now think about that for a moment. If the info is correct, two of those five guys were offered to Portland. Wow.
So which two? AI doesn't seem likely since at this stage in his career that would not be a realistic trade offer. McGrady also smacks me as an odd trade, since with the up tempo trend in the NBA the Rockets would be a bit archaic with Yao and Oden in the post. So that leaves KG, Kobe, and Dirk. Of those three, KG is a given since he has been trying to get out of Minn. for years now. The question remains then: Kobe or Dirk? Well, if you believe the Lakers that they are not going to trade Kobe, and given the fact that Kobe has a no trade clause, it would seem to point to Dirk being the second man offered along with Garnett. So the Blazers likely turned down offers of both KG and Dirk for Oden. Crazy stuff.
