Raymond Felton is a good passer, a decent defender, and a better shooter than Miller, and therefore he’s a better running mate for Brandon Roy. He’s also younger, so he’ll have a chance to develop chemistry with Portland’s new franchise player LaMarcus Aldridge.

In other words, Felton is a better fit than Miller.

In my opinion, Denver will be open to trading Felton right away because:

• Lawson is the new star in Denver
• Lawson has a bigger upside than Felton, which is important for a rebuilding team
• Lawson is cheaper

Therefore, if Portland is willing to offer something of substance in addition to Miller’s psuedo-expiring deal, I think they can get Denver to send Felton just a little further West.

What About Devin Harris?

It’s also been rumored that, should Carmelo head to New York, New Jersey and Portland will make a deal that sends Devin Harris, Travis Outlaw, and Anthony Morrow to Portland for Andre Miller, Joel Pryzbilla, and a youngster. I don’t like this trade for two reasons:

1. The Travis Outlaw contract – 5 years and $7 million per – is horrible.
2. Felton is probably available, and he’s a better point guard than Harris

Harris has more speed, and he could certainly be the focal-point of a new Blazers offense if Roy is indeed never again the player he once was. Still, Portland is winning games with Andre Miller, and Ray Felton is more like Andre Miller than Devin Harris is.

Felton’s contract is better too. Most teams are looking for ways to reduce their future salary commitments right now, so trading for Felton is a better move in that regard as well.

Bottom Line: If Denver is willing to move Felton (and I’m nearly certain that they will be), Portland should get involved. Ray Felton is a younger, better-shooting and more athletic version of Andre Miller, and he’s a better pure point guard than Devin Harris. He’s an upgrade now and a better player for the future.

Here are some thoughts I have about the game that I haven’t seen mentioned:

1. McMillan needs to resolve the PG question. I believe McMillan yanked Andre Miller at about the 6 min mark in the 4th quarter last night. Blake wasn’t playing nearly as well as Miller last night, and when Dre sat down the look on his face said it all. McMillan recognized his mistake at about 3 mins, but by then Blake had thrown a nasty turn-over. I recognize that it’s early, but I see this being a source of concern in Portland.

Miller is the better player, and the fact that McMillan isn’t starting him could upset team chemistry. Or it might not. As I said, it’s a concern in my mind.

2. Denver needs more length of the bench. I wrote back in June about how Denver should have traded for Kurt Thomas. I think that ship has probably sailed now (he’s in the rotation in Milwaukee), but how nice would it have been to bring Kurt off the bench last night for 20 mins or so?

3. Oden is a beast. This kid needs help in a lot of areas, but for sake of argument let’s say that Oden never significantly improves his game  from the current level. Assuming he can get his fouling somewhat under control and play 30 mins a night, he’s a top 10 NBA center that averages 12 boards and 3 blocks a night. Killer.

4. Carmelo is looking great, but I’m worried he’s going to disappoint us. Melo looked fantastic in the WCF, then he sort of disappeared. Perhaps the Lakers came up with a scheme, or perhaps Melo wasn’t 100%, but whatever the case, I think it’s very premature to talk about him as a potential MVP. If he can sustain this intensity for a few weeks, we’ve got something to talk about.

Now before anyone from Portland puts a contract on my life, let me make one thing clear: Oden is 10 times the player that Kandi was. No doubt that Oden is a step above – look at the facts. Oden has played basketball successfully since 7th grade. Kandi didn’t start playing until he was 17. Oden’s skill level is vastly superior to Kandi’s skills at the same age — according to Kandi’s college coach “he didn’t know where the ‘block’ was…how to make a chest pass…it was like coaching a 3rd grader.” Certainly there are a 1000 differences between Oden and Olowokandi, and like I said, Oden is 10 times the player that Olowokandi was.

But I can’t help but notice the similarities:

1. Both 7′ footers. Kandi weighed 265 lbs at draft time, Oden weighed 257 lbs. I know, I know, spooky.

2. Both had similar college performances. Oden averaged 20 and 10.5 in his only season, Kandi averaged 22 and 11 in his best campaign. Both of them played in the NCAA tourney too.

3. Both were drafted with known injuries — Oden’s right wrist, Kandi’s left knee.

4. Both were drafted ahead of talented scorers — Oden was drafted ahead of Kevin Durant, Kandi ahead of Vince Carter. While we all know that VC would have been a better pick, will we be saying that in 9 years about Durant? It’s a strong possibility.

5. Both were expected to lead their lottery teams to greatness. Olowokandi was supposed to make the Clippers a contender (oops!), just like Oden is supposed to make Portland a contender.

6. Both are considered intelligent. Kandi, the son of a Nigerian diplomat, attended London’s Brunei University for two years before recruiting himself to the University of the Pacific. Oden was interested in becoming a dentist – you have to be smart to do that, right?

7. Both have nicknames with the word “man” in them — Olowokandi aka “The Kandi Man” and Oden aka “Manchild” (theme music from the Twilight Zone should be playing in your mind right now).

8. Both were setup by the media to fail. Everyone likes to get excited about the next big thing, but this is too much pressure to put on someone who would still be in college were it not for their size and talent.

Frankly, you can take the first 7 similarities and throw them out the window. They’re really not important to my point (but I hope they made you laugh). The real point here, as we wait to hear how bad Oden’s knee really is, is this:

Greg Oden is NOT a savior. He’s just a 7′ rookie basketball player with a lot of potential.

We can’t lose sight of the big picture — Oden is human. He can get hurt. He can disappoint. If the news from the surgery is not good, Oden’s star is going to shine just a little less than it did before, and that would be unfortunate.

I hope that this realization acts as some sort of redemption for the Kandi man. Had he been drafted even 2nd, he wouldn’t have the distinction of being considered one of the worst draft picks of all time. After all, it’s not his fault he was drafted so high. Had Kandi been drafted somewhere in the top 10, his career averages of 8 pts and 6.8 rebounds a game wouldn’t be looked on so poorly.

I’m not saying that Oden is the next Olowokandi. I’m not saying that Oden can’t lead Portland to a championship. All I’m saying is that no one should get too excited about a rookie. Let’s give him a chance to grow and not put such an unreasonable expectation on someone so young. That’s the only way we know that Oden won’t become the next Kandi man.