Portland Makes Move, Nabs Camby From The Clippers
- Tuesday, February 16, 2010 12:05 PM
- Written By: AccuScore
The Portland Trail Blazers have defied the odds this season battling through injuries to sit in 8th place in the Western Conference at the All-Star break. Without their two centers – Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla – the Blazers looked unlikely to seriously compete this season. GM Kevin Pritchard filled that void in the middle perfectly though acquiring Marcus Camby for Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake. Camby is 2nd in the league in rebounding, and is still a defensive presence with his shot-blocking, and should assimilate perfectly into Portland’s lineup.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS |
W |
L |
% |
WIN DIV |
PLAYOFF |
CONF |
Current Record |
31 |
24 |
56.4% |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Projected before trade |
44.8 |
37.2 |
54.6% |
2.3% |
65.7% |
8TH |
Projected after trade |
45.9 |
36.1 |
56.0% |
4.0% |
74.7% |
8TH |
Trade Impact |
1.1 |
-1.1 |
1.3% |
1.7% |
9.0% |
-- |
Per Game Impact |
4.1% |
|
|
|
|
|
Portland is projected to improve by slightly more than a game over the remaining 27 games of the season (+4.1 percent per game). While the Blazers are still projected to finish 8th, things could change rapidly as the current gap between themselves and the Jazz in 3rd place is just 3 games. If Portland were to improve one game today, it would jump all the way to 5th in the standings so this move is huge. Blake had become superfluous with the emergence of Jerryd Bayless in the backcourt, and Outlaw’s injury status is still murky. While the team likely wanted to keep Outlaw, the need in the middle was greater and Camby is the best player available to fill that void.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS |
W |
L |
% |
WIN DIV |
PLAYOFF |
CONF |
Current Record |
21 |
31 |
40.4% |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Projected before trade |
32.1 |
49.9 |
39.1% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
12TH |
Projected after trade |
29.8 |
52.2 |
36.3% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
13TH |
Trade Impact |
-2.3 |
2.3 |
-2.8% |
0.0% |
-0.1% |
-1 |
Per Game Impact |
-7.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
Losing Camby is obviously a huge blow to the Clippers. L.A. is more than 2 games worse over the remaining 30 games of the season (-7.7 percent a night). Camby also reportedly loved Los Angeles, and wanted to re-sign with the team over the summer. The Clippers, though, have yet to see rookie Blake Griffin on the floor, and are 8.5 games behind Portland for the final playoff spot in the West. Competing this season is not the goal so losing 2-3 more games in 2010 is negligible.
The trade works for the Clippers on several levels. The trade also frees minutes for the highly productive Craig Smith at PF. It also opens minutes for youngster DeAndre Jordan who has shown flashes of being a nice player inside. Getting him more playing time should be a focus for the team. Blake is probably a better back-up option than Sebastian Telfair, but he’s still just a reserve. He will be a free agent after the season. Outlaw could be a nice player on the wing, but he is still currently injured and it is unknown when he will be back this season. Having Outlaw’s rights though is an advantage given the fact that he should be a wanted commodity in the offseason. Holding the rights to both players frees plenty of cap room this offseason.
