| 23 November 2009
The old Martell Webster for Andre Miller lineup swap appears the only change going on for the Portland Trail Blazers these days, but that hasn’t kept Nate McMillan and Kevin Pritchard from at least discussing other possible solutions knowing both Travis Outlaw (left foot stress fracture) and Nicolas Batum (shoulder) are down and out.
“We’ve talked about our situation and you look at guys possibly coming back. We need bodies,” McMillan said recently, with Batum a proven defender and Outlaw the Blazers’ fourth leading scorer (9.9 points per game) before his injury.
“But that’s not just something you – we made a commitment to the 15 guys. It’s unfortunate that we have four of them that we didn’t expect to be on the inactive list. You are talking about eating money and a whole lot of other stuff that comes into play in that scenario.”
When it was learned Outlaw would have to undergo surgery to repair his stress fracture last week, some assumed management would waive point guard Patty Mills – who is currently rehabbing back home in Australia - to help fill the small forward void. It remains an option – one the Blazers should seriously consider taking advantage of knowing Outlaw is out 3 – 5 months, Batum another 4 months, and even rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph (hip surgery) still on the mend.
Yes, both Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham are serviceable. But as McMillan stressed repeatedly, Portland “needs bodies” – and healthy ones at that.
“I’ve got to go with my roster and try to make work with what I have. You have to look at that, because right now we have 11 bodies that can play. If we lose another guy to an injury - you have to look at that scenario. Financial decisions and moves like that, that’s not something you can all of a sudden do,” McMillan continued.
“We are aware we are missing two guys, two rotation guys. But you find that guy or find someone who is going to come in and play and help you. That’s going to be more than you possibly releasing someone. That’s going to be some major moves.”
Portland is one more injury away from making those "major moves".
photo: o-live
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