8/2/2004 12:38:28 PM|||Shep|||So we all know Shareef (I think we're on a first name basis), has been demanding to be traded from the Blazers so he can have a starting role somewhere else. To be honest, I don't blame him. I hate that players can demand trades and get them, but I think that in situation's like Shaq's and Shareef's it may be somewhat warranted. (Shaq deserved the trade just for putting up with Kobe so long) Shareef is going to be sitting on the bench behind Darius Miles and Zach "Zebo" Randolph. This much makes sense, especially after his play last season. But here's why I sympathize: The Blazers are not going to be good enough to come close to winning a championship for at least 3-4 years (sorry, but adding NVE is not going to do it), and by that time Shareef is going to be getting a little old. As someone interested in the fantasy aspect as well as the basketball of it all, I say, "get him to another team and let him put up the numbers he is capable of while he's still in his prime." It's too bad New Jersey shipped Kittles off to the Clips because with KK, NVE, Miles, Randolph, and Ratliff (healthy) the Blazers would have actually looked pretty good.

Fantasy Impact

If Shareef can't be traded, he'll be stuck on the bench as I mentioned above. He'll likely produce numbers equivalent to those from the second half of last season (after he was traded to Portland). If he remains in Portland, it may just upset him enough that he'll want to show other teams what they missed by not trading for him. Just as a big deal has been made about Shaq wanting to prove that he was the true money player in LA, Shareef will have a chip (granted, a much smaller chip) on his shoulder as well.

If Shareef does get traded to a team where he can be in the starting line up, we can expect numbers more a long the lines of those he has put up for most of his career (19, 9, 3).
|||109145758732897239|||Sharee-ee-eef Don't Like It!