Blazing down the wrong trail
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Friday, September 3
On April 22, 2004, Zach Randolph was named the NBA's Most Improved Player after averaging 20.1 points and 10.5 rebounds for Portland. Four months later, Randolph is under investigation for misleading authorities after his brother allegedly opens fire in a crowded nightclub in Anderson, Ind., which only goes to prove that you can take the Jailblazer out of Portland but you can't take the Portland out of the Jailblazer.
It's like a curse every player comes under when slipping on a Trail Blazer uniform that may or may not have anything to do with drug possession, spousal abuse, assault and battery or driving while under the influence.
Forget, for a second, that in the Blazers' five-year attempt to outright purchase an NBA title by throwing money and more money toward supremely talented players with questionable character that they have embarrassed a community that once cherished them.
Since 2000, the Blazers have gathered the most impressive array of top-to-bottom talent in the history of the NBA and simply destroyed individual careers in the process, while not winning a single NBA title.
This isn't the first time that a Blazer has gotten in trouble with the law and this isn't the first time that a Blazer, supposedly the best Blazer from the previous season, has had his future in Portland questioned.
Last season, Zach Randolph led the Blazers in scoring (20.1), rebounds (10.5) and field-goal percentage (48.5).
It began in 2000 when the Blazers stocked their roster with the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire, Scottie Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis with Bonzi Wells, Detlef Schrempf, Brian Grant and Jermaine O'Neal on the bench.
In case you didn't notice, the ninth-best player on that team just placed third in the league's MVP voting behind only Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan and ahead of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.
In case you also didn't notice, Rasheed Wallace went on to become the key acquisition of the Detroit Pistons, as that team of blue-collar players claimed the NBA title.
Wallace had long been the Blazers' leading scorer but was often criticized for not shooting more and scoring more on a team loaded with past credentials and bloated egos. Many believed the Blazers were simply trying to overpower opponents with an overabundance of talent. Many now believe that in the process they were individually crushed by the collective weight of that talent.
After being named Rookie of the Year in 1996 and averaging 19.5 points per game for the Raptors, Stoudamire was traded to the Blazers. He since has averaged 12.2 ppg for Portland. Steve Smith averaged 18.7 ppg for the Hawks in 1999 and then 14.9 for the Blazers in 2000. Scottie Pippen averaged 19.1 ppg for the Bulls in 1998 and 12.5 for the Blazers in 2000.
That team had no sense of itself. No history. Who was the best player? Who was the top scorer? Who would shoot the last-second shot with the game on the line and eight other all-stars, agents and shoe deals waiting in the balance?
More recently, Ruben Patterson averaged 13 ppg for the Sonics in 2001. Last year, for the Blazers, he averaged 6.9. Derek Anderson averaged 15.5 for the Spurs in 2001 but fell to 10.8 the very next year for the Blazers. Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 20.5 ppg for the Grizzlies in 2001, 20.1 for the Hawks in 2004 but only 10 for the Blazers at the end of that same year.
But here's where it gets really bad.
Brian Grant, a role player for the Blazers in 2000 at 7.3 ppg in 14 starts, became a starter in Miami and averaged 15.2 for the Heat in 2001. Bonzi Wells, a shooting guard or small forward or starter or reserve in Portland for six odd seasons was traded to the Grizzlies and, ironically, became the leading scorer off the bench for a team that had no all-stars but won more games in 2004 than any other team in Grizzly history.
And I believe you might have heard of Jermaine O'Neal, who averaged 3.9 ppg at the end of the Blazers' bench in 2000. A year later he was traded to Indiana and averaged 12.9, then 19, then 20.8.
Meanwhile, the guy he was traded for, Dale Davis, went from 10 ppg for the Pacers in 2000 to 7.2 for the Blazers in 2001 to 4.4 in 2004.
This team is cursed.
And you can forget all about the talk of criminal charges and malcontents and bad reputations. Speaking strictly of basketball, this franchise destroys players. The basic premise of stockpiling more and more talent has turned ordinarily good or great players into common pedestrians.
Instead of drafting a pass-first point guard or trading for a complementary power forward, the Blazers had to have an all-star shooting guard and a former NBA champ at small forward.
Instead of giving the ball to one player to score and one player to pass and one player to rebound, they rolled out roster after roster and told all of them to score and pass and rebound.
And if you don't score or pass or rebound, you'll be replaced by another former all-star who can or at least could at one point. The Blazers didn't have players. They started commodities, and they wondered why those very people didn't cling to their fair community and become fine, law-abiding citizens.
Can anyone name the last Blazer draft pick to be named to an All-Star Game as a Blazer?
Miles
Randolph, our hero from the club, sat on the Blazers' bench and trading block for two years before his breakout season. But in the meantime, the Blazers traded for former all-star power forward Abdur-Rahim while re-signing Darius Miles this week for another six years.
They now have three starting forwards in a game that allows for only two. They've got a full backcourt with Anderson, Stoudamire and, oh, yeah, another starting point guard in Nick Van Exel.
Sound familiar?
Or should we keep talking about pending marijuana charges or team fights or three guys getting shot in a bar before the leading scorer for the Blazers is picked up 10 miles away for questioning at 2 a.m.?
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Friday, September 3
On April 22, 2004, Zach Randolph was named the NBA's Most Improved Player after averaging 20.1 points and 10.5 rebounds for Portland. Four months later, Randolph is under investigation for misleading authorities after his brother allegedly opens fire in a crowded nightclub in Anderson, Ind., which only goes to prove that you can take the Jailblazer out of Portland but you can't take the Portland out of the Jailblazer.
It's like a curse every player comes under when slipping on a Trail Blazer uniform that may or may not have anything to do with drug possession, spousal abuse, assault and battery or driving while under the influence.
Forget, for a second, that in the Blazers' five-year attempt to outright purchase an NBA title by throwing money and more money toward supremely talented players with questionable character that they have embarrassed a community that once cherished them.
Since 2000, the Blazers have gathered the most impressive array of top-to-bottom talent in the history of the NBA and simply destroyed individual careers in the process, while not winning a single NBA title.
This isn't the first time that a Blazer has gotten in trouble with the law and this isn't the first time that a Blazer, supposedly the best Blazer from the previous season, has had his future in Portland questioned.
Last season, Zach Randolph led the Blazers in scoring (20.1), rebounds (10.5) and field-goal percentage (48.5).
It began in 2000 when the Blazers stocked their roster with the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire, Scottie Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis with Bonzi Wells, Detlef Schrempf, Brian Grant and Jermaine O'Neal on the bench.
In case you didn't notice, the ninth-best player on that team just placed third in the league's MVP voting behind only Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan and ahead of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady.
In case you also didn't notice, Rasheed Wallace went on to become the key acquisition of the Detroit Pistons, as that team of blue-collar players claimed the NBA title.
Wallace had long been the Blazers' leading scorer but was often criticized for not shooting more and scoring more on a team loaded with past credentials and bloated egos. Many believed the Blazers were simply trying to overpower opponents with an overabundance of talent. Many now believe that in the process they were individually crushed by the collective weight of that talent.
After being named Rookie of the Year in 1996 and averaging 19.5 points per game for the Raptors, Stoudamire was traded to the Blazers. He since has averaged 12.2 ppg for Portland. Steve Smith averaged 18.7 ppg for the Hawks in 1999 and then 14.9 for the Blazers in 2000. Scottie Pippen averaged 19.1 ppg for the Bulls in 1998 and 12.5 for the Blazers in 2000.
That team had no sense of itself. No history. Who was the best player? Who was the top scorer? Who would shoot the last-second shot with the game on the line and eight other all-stars, agents and shoe deals waiting in the balance?
More recently, Ruben Patterson averaged 13 ppg for the Sonics in 2001. Last year, for the Blazers, he averaged 6.9. Derek Anderson averaged 15.5 for the Spurs in 2001 but fell to 10.8 the very next year for the Blazers. Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 20.5 ppg for the Grizzlies in 2001, 20.1 for the Hawks in 2004 but only 10 for the Blazers at the end of that same year.
But here's where it gets really bad.
Brian Grant, a role player for the Blazers in 2000 at 7.3 ppg in 14 starts, became a starter in Miami and averaged 15.2 for the Heat in 2001. Bonzi Wells, a shooting guard or small forward or starter or reserve in Portland for six odd seasons was traded to the Grizzlies and, ironically, became the leading scorer off the bench for a team that had no all-stars but won more games in 2004 than any other team in Grizzly history.
And I believe you might have heard of Jermaine O'Neal, who averaged 3.9 ppg at the end of the Blazers' bench in 2000. A year later he was traded to Indiana and averaged 12.9, then 19, then 20.8.
Meanwhile, the guy he was traded for, Dale Davis, went from 10 ppg for the Pacers in 2000 to 7.2 for the Blazers in 2001 to 4.4 in 2004.
This team is cursed.
And you can forget all about the talk of criminal charges and malcontents and bad reputations. Speaking strictly of basketball, this franchise destroys players. The basic premise of stockpiling more and more talent has turned ordinarily good or great players into common pedestrians.
Instead of drafting a pass-first point guard or trading for a complementary power forward, the Blazers had to have an all-star shooting guard and a former NBA champ at small forward.
Instead of giving the ball to one player to score and one player to pass and one player to rebound, they rolled out roster after roster and told all of them to score and pass and rebound.
And if you don't score or pass or rebound, you'll be replaced by another former all-star who can or at least could at one point. The Blazers didn't have players. They started commodities, and they wondered why those very people didn't cling to their fair community and become fine, law-abiding citizens.
Can anyone name the last Blazer draft pick to be named to an All-Star Game as a Blazer?
Miles
Randolph, our hero from the club, sat on the Blazers' bench and trading block for two years before his breakout season. But in the meantime, the Blazers traded for former all-star power forward Abdur-Rahim while re-signing Darius Miles this week for another six years.
They now have three starting forwards in a game that allows for only two. They've got a full backcourt with Anderson, Stoudamire and, oh, yeah, another starting point guard in Nick Van Exel.
Sound familiar?
Or should we keep talking about pending marijuana charges or team fights or three guys getting shot in a bar before the leading scorer for the Blazers is picked up 10 miles away for questioning at 2 a.m.?
