Blazers small forward Martell Webster returned from his broken foot Sunday in Toronto. He played five minutes in the first half, but ended his stint at halftime with some soreness. Now The Oregonian reports Webster is back in a walking boot and will be out another four weeks.By itself, this is not a serious problem for Portland, which ripped through a tough November with rookie Nicolas Batum filling Webster's starting spot ably enough (especially on defense). More specifically, Portland's offense has been better than anyone expected; Webster is a shooter foremost, but the team hasn't really missed his jumper. It's hard to imagine the team being a whole lot better if Webster had been healthy.
Where this hurts is in Kevin Pritchard's private trade machine. Travis Outlaw remains to be one of the few Blazers mentioned in rumors. Portland does have a few other assets: Raef LaFrentz's expiring, self-sustained contract, Sergio Rodriguez. But Outlaw's the man teams seem to want. And through all Steve Blake's success, the talk that the Blazers want a veteran point guard keeps up.
With Webster on the shelf, can Portland afford to lose Outlaw? Small forward is the one position in which Portland lacks remarkable depth. Rudy Fernandez and Brandon Roy prefer the two-guard, and Channing Frye really isn't quick enough to go down a weight class. If Pritchard moves Outlaw before Webster's ready, there's the risk of putting way too much pressure on Batum and messing up the guard rotation.
