This is good news. Camby is a short term option, his contract expires at the end of the season, but we got some value for Outlaw and Blake before they became FA. Camby is ideal for what we need. Good rebounder, shot blocker, and will allow us to reduce the minutes of an over-matched Juwan Howard.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/02/outlaw_blake_traded_to_clipper.htmlThe Trail Blazers will trade forward Travis Outlaw and guard Steve Blake to the Los Angeles Clippers for veteran center Marcus Camby, an agent for one of the players has confirmed to The Oregonian.
Outlaw late Monday night said his agent, Bill Duffy, informed him that the deal should be finished on Tuesday.
"He said it is still being finished, but that it should go through,'' Outlaw said.
The deal, which will also include the Blazers giving cash to Los Angeles, is expected to be finalized on Tuesday, well before the noon Thursday trading deadline, and on the same day the Clippers are in Portland to play the Blazers in the Rose Garden.
Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said the deal is "not done."
Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com first reported the trade. Yahoo! was the first to report the deal also involves the Blazers paying the Clippers cash.
All three players have expiring contracts.
"I'm cool with it,'' Outlaw said of the trade. "It doesn't bother me. This is a business. I'll just go somewhere else and play. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the opportunity Portland gave me, but I also know it's a business.''
The move gives the Blazers a proven interior player in Camby, whose 14-year career has been defined by defense. A lanky 6-foot-11 forward/center, Camby won NBA defensive player of the year three seasons ago (2006-2007) with Denver, when he led the league in blocks (3.61) and finished second in rebounding (13.1).
He is a two-time member of the NBA All-Defensive team (2006-2007, 2007-2008) and two-time Second team All-Defensive (2004-2006).
The Blazers lose Outlaw, one of their top reserves who has played only 11 games this season after breaking his left foot Nov. 14 at Charlotte. He was averaging 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds this season.
Outlaw was the longest tenured Blazers player, a first round pick in 2003 out of Starkville (Miss.) High School. He was also one of the more beloved players in the locker room, best friend to team star Brandon Roy and a close confidant of LaMarcus Aldridge.
Outlaw said he exchanged messages with Roy on Monday night and told him he would call him as soon as the trade was finalized.
Blake, in his second tenure with the Blazers, was a starter for much of last season, and began this season with the first unit before taking on a reserve role in December. In his last game before the trade, Blake scored 20 points and had 12 assists in a win at Phoenix.
The move is a direct sign that general manager Kevin Pritchard and owner Paul Allen value a playoff berth this season. The Blazers (31-24) hold the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference with 27 games remaining.
The team's top two centers _ Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla _ are both lost for the season with knee injuries, forcing veteran forward Juwan Howard to play center at 6-foot-9.
