It’s not a story I looked forward to writing. But the conversation had to take place: Channing Frye’s future in Portland.
For those of you who have taken the time to read this blog over the past six-seven months, you know my take on Frye. After arriving in New York around the same time and both beginning our careers with the Knicks – Channing play, me writing – we landed in Portland the same summer.
It just happens that our paths have intersected more than once.
For me, he’s one of the great guys in this league. Always a good quote. Don’t feel bad about calling him goofy either. He calls himself goofy.
I’ve pretty much come to this conclusion though: if Frye were a cliché, he’d be “good guys finish last.”
It was that way in New York. It appears it will be that way in Portland – hence me digging into the idea of his future with the Blazers, courtesy of HOOPSWORLD.
Right before the Blazers embarked on their recent road trip back to Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Charlotte, I grabbed some time with Channing at the Rose Garden. Wanted to get his thoughts on his current predicament. Know it’s not an easy time for him. Also know his play has reverted back to when he first arrived in Portland.
Many will agree. When Frye is on the court, you almost forget he is.
Let me say this – the guy isn’t jaded. He’s not complaining. He’s not sulking.
If anything, Frye has read the writing on the wall and doesn’t like what it says.
pic via: nba.com
I wish he would get traded. He really deserves to play somewhere and i think he could do well in someone else’s system. He is still a young guy and I think he holds some decent value in a trade, especially for a team lacking versatility in the bigs spot.
He represents the common Portlander which is why it sucks that his situation is terrible right now. I hope he is traded somewhere, has a good rest of the season, gets a fat contract for 4 years somewhere, takes on another little contract somewhere, than is traded back to Portland when he is a battle tested veteran later in his career and helps us win another title (i.e. P.J. Brown for the Celtics)
I feel terrible for Channing … which is probably a testament to how much he has endeared himself to Portland in a very short time (he’s still my wife’s favorite player).
I really hope he does get traded so he can have a legitimate shot at some PT and a career and I think KP owes it to him to do it before the deadline too. This is essentially a contract year for the guy and I think that given enough time on the court (as a rhythm shooter) he’ll be able to add something to a team that lacks for a somewhat versatile and long power forward.
tough break.
I’ve got a question for you WM:
There’s a lot of chatter in the forums and blazers blogosphere about trading Raef Lafrentz and parts for Gerald Wallace (who may or may not be available depending on the rumor du jour) do you think Larry Brown had a good relationship with Channing, and do you think he’s somebody they might be interested in? I know Channing had a great rookie campaign under Brown in NY, and Charlotte seems pretty thin in their front court (less so with Diaw I suppose).
Anyway, just some idle thoughts.
will and nj…..figured you guys would take the high road with channing. good to see.
not to often fans want players to leave their team to help better the players situation.
in frye’s case, i think it is heading that way though. if not during the deadline, then surely this coming summer.
frye told me back in october he wants to earn his contract in portland, but up to this point he basically has not. all he can hope for now is a stellar second half of the season or a change in scenery.
thanks for the question nj…..feel free to ask anything at anytime.
i see you working…..but that is a tough sell right now for wallace, regardless of who you throw in the trade from portland. where do you put the guy? both the guard and small forward spots in portland are tight the way it is.
and if i were charlotte, i think you hold on to wallace. anyone who watched saturday nights game against portland knows why.
i love wallace’s game, but it’s a factor of not fitting into the mix with the blazers.
come up with an all-in-one point guard or scrappy back-up to aldridge and that is a different discussion.
as for coach brown and channing, they are still on good terms as far as i know.
I have a question for WM. Why does my ps3 keep messing up? I know i know i shouldn’t be playing while i’m in college…. but i do. Do you know a place that fixes that sort of thing?
i like the frye guy but i don’t see him producing much for them in the future. instead of preparing himself to be an all-around solid player…i have a feeling that channing was prematurely shaping his game to play off of oden’s inside presence, unfortunately, oden has not become that consistent, dominant interior presence.
will….you are on your own on this one my man. that is unless glen, nj or reid – “the usual suspects in this here blog” – can lend a hand.
i think after my “wife beat me at mario kart” confession we know my skill set.
point taken glen….
frye’s been in the league four years. two of those four, he’s played out of position (see second year in new york, first year in portland).
again, that’s not a knock on the guy. that’s just the way it has gone.
maybe it’s the systems he’s been in. i really am at a loss for his struggles. he’ll come around though….he’ll bounce back. but even then, will it be too late?
WM
I never meant to suggest that a paltry offering of just Raef and Frye would get Wallace (prospects like Rudy, Batum, Outlaw or even a cornerstone guy like LMA or Roy would probably be needed to make it worth Charlotte’s while), I was just wondering what you think of his game and how it would fit with the Blazers — my feelings are that it would be a little bit good and maybe a little bit bad, as GW has always seemed like he’s most effective operating inside and wouldn’t really provide the spacing with outside shooting that MacMillan seems to favor out of the small forward spot.
Frankly I tend to think KP just sits on his team and sees what happens (barring a deal too good to pass up) and then ends up having to make some hard decisions about Blake and Outlaw’s team options this summer, renouncing Ike and Channing and then trying to play with either 7-15 millionish of cap space … in any case too many unknowns and this is a long ways off.
my bad nj…..mis-read the question.
but honestly, that kind of deal – raef and channing – isn’t farfetched, and i think a lot of teams would listen to that offer. if a guy like nazr mohammed – a solid big man who will fall out of favor in charlotte now that disagana diop is in the fold – is part of the trade, money-wise the trade works.
for charlotte, that deal pays off huge at the end of the season. include nazr’s contract with wallace, and the bobcats receive an expiring contract and a guy in frye who is up for contract talks if you decide to go that route.
now, is it going to happen?
likely not.
while i dig wallace’s energy, some believe his defense lacks and if portland needs anything right now – besides toughness, a gritty back-up power forward and a all-in-one point guard -it is defensive help.
I am NOT shy about this:
With such a HISTORIC AMERICAN Day, I am sorry to say on the Blazers Management, we have several straight up LIARS.
It starts with Kevin Pritchard and ends with Nate McMillan. Paul doesn’t have a clue. It’s about how much money I’ve made and status.
Nate lies. Period. I’ve looked up and down; sideways and in and around at this. Nate”s selfish and just lies!
He says he wants to make our team better but he is “imploding it”! Watch what happens after the all-star game or just before the summer ends!
He is playing guys the wrong way, saying this guy can do this or that and the more I look at his behavior, the more I see a LIAR.
Case in point, Nate said (paraphrase), “I think FRYE is one of the best shooters in the NBA”, “..I haven’t given up on him”…This is what we hear in the press and media; even in the Oregongian, yet, is FRYE playing a drop? Nope!
Further, Kevin Pritchard says “…I want to keep the team whole and no trades in mid-season”. KP knows this is about one thing and one thing only, “MONEY”.
Both KP and Nate are liars.
If its about “small” rotations, ok, but Frye would take Charlie V. and Gadzuric “all” the time in college and he drafted higher. Why are they playing and FRYE isn’t? Its about the lies we are feed. Its about philosophy and lack of development and encouragement except for those that help NATE!
I can show you other examples like Batum and others. How can you start me but play me 15 minutes???? How about Travis? Come on NATE. We see YOU!
Don’t say you got this and want that and don’t develop it. You lie and there are some of us who see the truth and nothing but the truth.
I’m Just disappointed with not using assets right and lying about it in the process.
I don’t hate the team but the lies I CAN’T stand. Be truthful with people.
now that is a rant….well done mr. stowe. thank you for reading and writing.
while i don’t agree, i can appreciate your passion…respect your opinion.
but let’s also be real here.
both kevin and nate are doing their jobs – neither of which sits well with you from your comments. kevin isn’t going to show his hand a month away from the trade deadline….if something is in the works, and nate is going to play guys that are getting the job done….regardless how big or small the minutes.
i think we can agree that channing has a smooth stroke. i think we can agree he is also struggling when getting the playing time. i think we can also agree nate has to go with what is working….and right now, frye simply isn’t working.
charlie v. gets run because he is averaging double-digits on weak frontline for the bucks. gadzuric played a lot last night because andrew bogut is hurt. it is what it is.
channing knows that.
right before they went on that trip back east, mcmillan explained to me that he would get frye back in the mix….and he did. after barely sniffing the court during their recent home stand, frye got run in philly and new jersey.
frye didn’t exactly light it up either…..but nate stayed with him.
as for pritchard, he is taking a lot of heat of late in what is being called a tarnished image for a perceived “golden boy.” but you can’t fault his track record at re-building the blazers. let’s not the whole darius miles saga taint his eye for talent. that was a complete mess all the way around.
i wouldn’t chalk it up to lies though.
this is just how the nba – and pro sports in general – works.
the people aren’t perfect. the system isn’t perfect….and that is something else we can also agree on.
I can agree with your opinion even if I totally disagree. Nate’s system doesn’t nor will it work for FRYE. He’s like the last option when on the court and FRYE is totally unselfish and a team player even to what I see as a problem. Larry Brown was good for FRYE and Larry knows basketball. Why did Charlotte beat the blazers? Larry out coached Nate in my opinion and Nate should’ve used FRYE! So we agree to disagree and that’s okay with me.
sounds like we’ve reached a mutual understanding….
i’m just happy you drop a line my way. always enjoy talking some basketball.
aldridge seems to fit in nate’s system and there are a lot of “experts” out there that claim channing and lamarcus have the same game. for me, aldridge is more aggressive and a better rebounder compared to channing.
and i have nothing but love for coach brown. covering the knicks under him my first year in new york was a blessing….for channing too. what messed frye up – i truly believe – was having isiah thomas basically tell him to “just roam around” out on the perimeter while the knicks went to eddy curry in the post.
we all know how that turned out.
i’m not sure brown out-coached nate on saturday night either.
portland shot an ugly 16-31 from the charity stripe. they even make half of those misses, and that game does not go into overtime resulting in a blazers loss.
i’m not saying nate is coach of the year…..
i’m just saying guys have to hit their free throws.
okay…Channing is, in Nate’s words, …”one of the best shooters in the NBA”…Channing has always been known as a excellent free throw shooter…In Nate’s offense Frye is NOT the first option but LMA or Brandon are, then outlook or somebody else…Isaih made a mistake and asked Frye to spread the floor just like Nate is asking but he’s also asking for pick and pop and “don’t” crowd the paint…”get outside and run in and grab a rebound, if you don’t in 3 minutes, LaMarcus is back”…this does great for confidence, doesn’t it! How come when Priz went out the last 10 games last year and FRYE got “assured” PT his numbers were like 15 points and 9 rebounds?
See what I mean? This is NOT a FRYE issue per se but a PT=Confidence and Consistency issue. Not to mention philosophy and communication while utilizing ALL your teams assets. I don’t want to swallow the kool-aid or the lies.
w. maxey, you probably won’t hear from me again but I agree Frye will bounce back but I don’t see it with Portland as long as Nate coaches. Its too bad, he loves the city!
i feel you milton…..
but i hope you do drop by the blog or over at hoopsworld every now and again.
i always appreciate the banter.
w