Further Proof

I've been screaming all year for the Blazers to trade Zach Randolph. There are two obvious reasons:

1) He doesn't fit with the other young, talented players on the team (he's slow down iso on a team that wants to be more active, that deserves to be more active).

2) His value is at an all time high: he hasn't gotten into any new legal trouble, his numbers are great, his knee appears to be fine, and he's emerging as a leader. Looking at Zach's history, how long will all this continue?

What could the Blazers get for Randolph? He does still has that huge contract. Even so, it's hard not to believe somebody would bite on a Randolph deal. To my surprise, so many Blazer fans seem to be against the idea. An even larger number think about it, but the notion is still a little too uncomfortable. After all, Zach is the anchor. He's the closest thing to a star on the team at this moment. He's been around, we know him, and he produces.

I see this discomfort at the idea breaking down a little. See, since Zach didn't play against the Wizards the other night (attending a funeral), we got a glimpse at what these Blazers look like sans-ZBO. Here's the box score: Blazers vs Wiz. Sure last time these teams played (in Washington no less), the Blazers had Randolph and blew out the Wiz. But if you saw this game...it was beautiful, active, loose basketball. The wheels of Blazernation started turning...


As I combed TrueHoop, I found some validation in the closing line (after describing the game):
"...who wants to make Portland an offer for Zach Randolph?"

TrueHoop is influential, Henry Abbott is revered amongst Blazer fans especially. This could be the starting point of swaying public opinion on a Zach Randolph trade. We really need Abbott to write something about how trading Randolph could land the final pieces to what would be an incredible team.