10 Feet High

Welcome back to the race for NBA Executive of the Year, Kevin Pritchard!

With all the Tracy McGrady and Amare Stoudemire talk, Portland’s GM just made an excellent move to acquire veteran do-everything center Marcus Camby from the reeling Clippers.

The best part?

Camby has an expiring deal so this won’t hamper any potential free-agent luring come summer time, and furthermore, the Blazers didn’t have to give up any marquee guys. Trading the pesky, albeit starkly average, Steve Blake immediately makes this a better team by allowing last summer’s free agent Andre Miller to assume full point guard responsibilities in lieu of splitting time.

Ridding themselves of chronic black hole Travis Outlaw was another key. Outlaw is a gifted scorer and athlete, but for a kid who came straight of high school, he never really learned how to play the game. Despite his occasional scoring outbursts, he was such a streaky player and enigmatic defender that he really didn’t fit in Nate McMillan’s system. In other words, he will mesh perfectly in dysfunctional Clipperland, playing with the offense-thwarting Al Thornton, Baron Davis and Ricky Davis.

We will get to Camby in a second, but by merely trading away Blake and Outlaw, Portland automatically improves, leaving more touches for All-Star Brandon Roy and the versatile LaMarcus Aldridge both in the paint and at the high post. This team is no longer the eighth seed out west.

Getting Camby was a downright theft. When the Blazers lost Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden to season-ending knee injuries, this team’s title hopes went down the drain. Both provided stellar rebounding and defense, and more importantly, they clogged the paint, a necessity to compete for a title.

The value of Camby is immense in that his presence is felt all over the floor. He can do what Przybilla and Oden can ... and a whole lot more as well.

Perennially one of the game’s best shot blockers (career average of more than 2.5), the two-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection may not be the hefty five-man like a Przybilla, but his superior length in the lane is responsible for several altered shots every game. When Shaq was “the real” Shaq, you’d always hear announcers comment on how guys wouldn’t drive when he was in the game. Camby is near that level.

(Even leaper extraordinaire Josh Smith isn't immune to Camby's interior presence)

His presence alone deters drivers and forces offenses into jump shots, ultimately allowing for long misses and for this athletic Portland team to get out in transition and take advantage of fast break numbers.

Because he runs the floor so well and is so dexterous for a 7-footer, he also becomes a viable scoring option on the break. He certainly doesn’t have the conventional set shot, but Camby is more than capable of knocking down 14-footers, an upgrade from both Przybilla and Oden, two traditional centers who prefer operating on the block and in the paint. And unlike Oden for example, who completely disrupts the flow of the offense with his awkward and delayed post touches, Camby doesn’t need the ball on offensive sets. He doesn’t need to score to be effective. By the end of the game, you will check the box score and see he had 8 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists.

The other value of Camby is in the pick-and-roll, which will surely to free up Miller and Roy, who will be able to attack the basket more frequently, as well as create open shots for Camby when the defense hedges too high.

Look, we all know the Western Conference runs through the Lakers. They are the champs and have looked every bit the part thus far. All-Star Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum have been stellar this year, proving to be the ultimate twin tower escapade in the league. Portland is talented enough on the perimeter with Miller and Roy, alongside the gifted LaMarcus Aldridge and now a true center in Marcus Camby, that they can challenge LA the way we thought they would when the season began.

The NBA playoffs are all about home court, and LA’s troubles at the Rose Garden (lost nine of ten) cannot be overlooked. I’m still not sold on Dallas, Denver or San Antonio. Caron Butler should help the Mavericks, but this team is too finesse with Dirk, who as great as he is, can’t be the best player on a championship team. George Karl teams never win the big one. And the Spurs are too old, fragile, and slow.

Don’t say you weren’t warned. Watch out, Western Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers just put themselves right back in the contending hunt.

The Portland Trail Blazers may have just completed their basketball renaissance. GM Kevin Pritchard – despite all his faults - is borderline ridiculous with his moves to make Portland into a legitimate contender.

ESPN.com is reporting that they have offered Jazz PF and beast extraordinaire Paul Millsap a four-year contract worth between $32-36 million. Millsap isn’t a household name just yet, but he will be soon.

To put it the bargain of this deal into perspective, this would be like someone going into a BMW dealership and getting a brand new 5 series sedan for $15,000 off the asking price.

I know everyone loves the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs and even Magic as contenders next season, but it’s official, the Blazers are in that mix. Assuming Utah does not match the offer sheet on its restricted big man, Portland may now feature the best trio of big men in the NBA – with Aldridge, Joel Przybilla and his nine rebounds may be the best back-up center, and Millsap. The addition of Millsap takes pressure off of Sam Bowie (I mean, Greg Oden) and gives him time plenty of time to develop out of the limelight and not hurt his already damaged ego anymore.

With All-Star guard Brandon Roy only getting better, and the smooth shooting Rudy Fernandez on the perimeter, as well as a healthy Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw, this team has all of the tools to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Their only concern is Steve Blake at the point, who despite coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, remains too offensive minded and isn’t the facilitator such a talented team needs. Still, Blake is a solid floor general who doesn’t hurt you at this stage in his career. The youngster Jerryd Bayless from Arizona has a bright future ahead of him, and in time - if he's not traded as rumors have suggested - will be the dynamic point guard this team desperately needs.

In the first round against Houston, Portland got hammered on the glass. But it was more than just Yao Ming. Energy guys like Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes beasted the Blazer big men on hustle plays and loose ball scenarios. For all his talents, the young Aldridge's toughness and overall grit remain a work in progress. Oden still has no idea how to play, and Przybilla is foul prone, which is why Millsap is the perfect fit in the 503. An energy guy himself, Millsap loves contact and will immediately bolster the frontline of the Blazers. He can score on the block, yes, but his real contribution offensively is rebound put-backs and drive dump-offs.

In other words, he will go out and get you 15 and 10, but won’t demand the ball on the block and take away important touches from Roy and Aldridge.

To win a championship in this league, I think you need three key ingredients:
1. Top 10 player (Roy).
2. Top 25 player (Aldridge).
3. Top 50 player (Millsap).

Don’t believe in this formula? Just take a peak back from the past five Larry O’Brien winners: 2009 – Lakers – Top 10 (Kobe Bryant), Top 25 (Pau Gasol), Top 50 (Lamar Odom).
2008 – Celtics - Top 10 (Kevin Garnett), Top 25 (Paul Pierce), Top 50 (Ray Allen).
2007 – Spurs – Top 10 (Tim Duncan), Top 25 (Tony Parker), Top 50 (Manu Ginobili).
2006 – Heat – Top 10 (Dwayne Wade), Top 25 (Shaq), Top 50 (***Udonis Haslem/Antoine Walker***small exception to rule), but in this case, you have a top 5 player in Wade overcompensating).
2005 – Spurs (Same three as in '07).

Millsap’s new deal is hard to match because it’s heavily front-loaded, so it’s safe to say his acquisition is the premier signing of the off-season. This catapults Portland from a good squad into a team fully capable of winning a championship within the next three years.