2009 Offseason Whirlwind (Part 4)

In case you're wondering, yeah, the Starbury show is still going on. And, no, I'm not going to talk about Lamar Odom until he actually signs. All right. So a couple of big moves happened over the past week or so. ***ANDRE MILLER TO PORTLAND*** Why do I NOT like this move? He seems like a perfect fit. He would provide good veteran leadership to the young Blazer guys, right? Is he starting? I read Steve Blake is still the starting point guard. That's great and all but what are they going to do with Jerryd Bayless, who has LOADS of potential? I definitely know tha Miller doesn't have a very reliable outside shot and won't be part of any all-defensive teams anytime soon. I'm almost thinking Clippers of 2003 all over again where Miller was supposed to be the missing piece that would put the Clippers in the playoffs. But that move cost them Darius Miles, which made Clipperland very unhappy... and not to mention the injuries that killed the team. These Blazers have this same youthful exuberance like the Clippers circa 2003 but they're way more polished than those Clippers so this has a better chance of working. In this case, Portland signed him for three years ($21 million total). I suppose this is one experiment they can afford to do. But I just can't help but have a bad feeling about this. So, yeah, the biggest question mark for me here is the chemistry. But I could be easily wrong here. I'm sure Portland fans are looking at me like I'm crazy. Does this give you nightmares, Peter? ***TYSON CHANDLER TO CHARLOTTE and EMEKA OKAFOR TO NEW ORLEANS*** When I first heard about this, I tried to make some sense into this trade. Didn't the Hornets want to cut payroll? By adding Okafor, they take on an even more monstrous contract. He signed an extension last summer and he's only going into the second year of a six-year, $72 million deal. Ouch. Tyson only has two years left on his deal... and he has the player option to walk away next year (he won't). So I guess Charlotte regretted signing Okafor to that huge deal? It's almost like they traded for the same player. Okafor is not as athletic or as tall as Chandler but he can block shots and is slightly better offensively (not saying much). Not sure if Chris Paul can turn him into an alley-oop machine like Chandler, who was perfect for that. Chandler is a strong presence in the middle WHEN healthy. And, again, he's one of the more mobile and athletic 5's out there... WHEN healthy. Maybe that's why New Orleans got rid of Chandler? Because they're not sure if he'll be 100 percent soon? At least, to the Hornets fan base, it's a "basketball" move, right? Not a salary dump. And as for Charlotte, well, I don't know. Is this a Larry Brown move? Okay, whatever. I still don't get this trade. Follow me on Twitter. The name is @TheNoLookPass. I'm awesome!