Trade likeliest scenario left for Blazers

Utah’s decision to match Portland’s four-year, $32-million offer for restricted free agent Paul Millsap was no surprise.

The Jazz weren’t going to allow an over-the-top offer by a Northwest Division rival steal away the 24-year-old power forward.

It was strike two for the Blazers, who were spurned by free agent Hedo Turkoglu (Toronto) earlier this month.

What next?

Most of the top-tier free agents – Millsap, Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Grant Hill and Rasheed Wallace – have been snapped up.

Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard indicated earlier this week that, if the Jazz were to match on Millsap, he would continue discussions on free-agent signings and trades. A trade would seem the likeliest scenario.

Pritchard added, however, the Blazers may opt to make only minor adjustments to their roster for training camp in October, holding on to most of the $7.7 million in salary-cap room with an eye on making a deal near the February trade deadline.

One free agent it will be interesting to see if Portland pursues is Lamar Odom, the Los Angeles Lakers forward who turns 30 in November and wouldn’t seem to fit the Blazers’ “culture.”

In 2001, his second season in the NBA, Odom was suspended for violating the league’s anti-drug policy for the second time in eight months.

Current Portland assistant coach Bill Bayno was the head coach at Nevada-Las Vegas when the Rebels were given NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations in regard to Odom. Hours after the NCAA barred UNLV from the 2000-01 postseason and levied a four-year sanction on a program already on probation for previous violations, Bayno was fired – in part due to the Odom improprieties.

— Kerry Eggers

Now What For Portland? With the Utah Jazz matching the Portland Trail Blazers' offer to restricted free agent power forward Paul Millsap, the Blazers are now in the position of trying to figure out what to do next. They still have $7.7 million in cap space seemingly burning a hole in their pocket, despite the team's statements they don't necessarily have to do something now.

They say that, but the offers to Hedo Turkoglu (who eventually chose Toronto) and to Millsap say otherwise.

So what's next? Do they make an offer to unrestricted free agent forward Lamar Odom? To they give the Lakers a reason to up their offer to see if they really want to keep Odom, and to see how far Odom is willing to go to test the Lakers? Would Portland be willing to play that game, just on the off chance Odom is only using them to get more money from the Lakers, when the end result is the Lakers are just as strong, albeit with a higher payroll?

Maybe they are fine with that – after all, the play for Millsap has forced the Jazz to be a little reactionary and now must find a trade partner for Carlos Boozer after both sides agreed he should be moved. Perhaps that kind of chaos was something Portland was hoping to spark in their divisional and conference rival.

The simple truth is there is not a single free agent out there who fits a need for Portland that is worth spending the cap space on. General Manager Kevin Pritchard alluded to the fact a lopsided trade would be Portland's best bet to add talent, but then they made the offer to Millsap.

So will they go back to the trade idea, stand pat, or make another offer? One player who could be a target is Charlotte Bobcats restricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton. The Cats and Felton are far apart on dollars, but at the same time it's a matter of does he make the Blazers better enough to justify a big offer? The same would go for Philly free agent Andre Miller. Also, neither point guard is considered a reliable shooter, which is the kind of player Portland has previously been looking for to have on the perimeter with LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden in the post.

Portland still has plenty of options…there just aren't any obvious ones.