Blazers are what they are...

[endrity]

a team with two good players, one of them possibly top 10 but not more, and a bunch of average players. And now that their lottery pick run is over, this is the team they will have for the next 5-8 years unless they make some great trade. I don't see the championship potential here at all. Either they get a really good PG, Rudy turns out to be a borderline All-Star, or they will be just like the Portland teams of the past, good but not good enough.

[Armando]

You forget they were missing Martell Webster which is thier 3rd option and great 3 point shooter. Plus is Paul Allen that guy will spend what it takes to win. I don't think the luxury tax scares him.

[DrHouse]

I and SEVERAL Laker fans here have never bought into the Blazer hype.

[Amaso]

If Martell Webster is your 3rd best player, you won't be winning anything anytime soon.

[Armando]

If Martell Webster is your 3rd best player, you won't be winning anything anytime soon.


Have you even seen him play? That guy is like JR Smith with better shot selection.

[IronMexican]

Oden has to be at least half of what his hype was. I think he is the reason they aren't as good as people thought they would be.

[endrity]

You forget they were missing Martell Webster which is thier 3rd option and great 3 point shooter. Plus is Paul Allen that guy will spend what it takes to win. I don't think the luxury tax scares him.

True, Allen will pay. But some of those guys will leave, they are young and want playing time. Webster, Outlaw, Batum, one has to go if not more.

To me they have glarin holes at PG and at center. Oden is nothing and seems like he will be nothing.

Sorry but at best they get to the level of the 1990 or 2000 team, with a lot of good players, but not enough great ones.

[Armando]

Oden has to be at least half of what his hype was. I think he is the reason they aren't as good as people thought they would be.

I know the conventional wisdom is take the big man but I wonder if they should have taken Durant.

[Armando]

True, Allen will pay. But some of those guys will leave, they are young and want playing time. Webster, Outlaw, Batum, one has to go if not more.

To me they have glarin holes at PG and at center. Oden is nothing and seems like he will be nothing.

Sorry but at best they get to the level of the 1990 or 2000 team, with a lot of good players, but not enough great ones.



I give you that they need an upgrade over Blake.

[endrity]

With Durant, the Blazers would be absolutely unstoppable. They made a blunder that will haunt them forever.

[Indazone]

Don't forget the Darius Miles blunder which will screw their salary cap for years to come.

[JamStone]

As much as people give tlong shit for his over-the-top homerism, the Blazers still do have a very bright future. This was their first time in the playoffs and they made it a pretty good series. They obviously don't have enough experience. But, their core group of players are all young and NBA players can improve. They need to upgrade their point guard position and maybe get another veteran or two, and they can still be a contender in the upcoming years. They might not win a championship with this group, but I wouldn't rule it out either.

Their biggest hurdle over the next few years is being able to keep all of their young talent. With an owner like Paul Allen, it might not be that much of an issue, but still, it will take some careful and prudent management and negotiation on Pritchard's part.

[Spursfan092120]

m_N1OjGhIFc
7IzbWUJxDZw
This one's better..lol

[DrHouse]

The appeal of taking Durant would NOT be to pair him up with Roy. That wouldn't work the way you think it would, think Kobe + Caron Butler. There wouldn't be enough shots to go around between the two of them.

Instead you keep Durant for a year or two and TRADE him for a quality C when the opportunity presents itself. A smart forward thinking franchise would have done this, which POR is clearly not.

[endrity]

Well Roy can be a combo card and initiate the offense. With Durant on the team, I think he would have accepted that most of the time he was going to be option b, kind of like what Ray is right now with Pierce.

JamStone, true NBA players do improve. However at times fans get crazy with the idea of a "young" team, instead of trying to evaluate how good that team really is. In order to win a championship you need at least one player to be truly elite, top 5, maybe top 3, in the league. Only the Pistons of 04 have done it differently, and IMO they are still an outlier in all of this.

As good as Roy is, he probably will never reach that level. And it's not like the others have that muhc of a potential. Aldrige is what he is, kind of like Bosh, this is the player he will always be. Good shot, not enough of a banger inside, not enough moves to completely take over a game offensively. Oden seems like a complete bust to me, but I might be wrong. The wild card is Rudy. He has a lot of skills, but for some reason decided to develop a reputation as a 3pt shooter when he can be much, much more than that. If he develops into the all around player I think he can, than the Blazer are truly dangerous.
If not they will be a really good team for the next 10 years, have a run like the Mavs maybe had during this decade, over 50 wins for 10 seasons, but ultimately fail to win it all.

[21_Blessings]

I and SEVERAL Laker fans here have never bought into the Blazer hype.

Perennial 1st-2nd round exit team.

[lefty]

My 2 cents:

- Blazers are gonna be SCARY good in 2 years

- they lack experience, that's all.

- the only guy wiith 15 years of professional experience in the roster is Greg Oden.

[Strike]

With Durant, the Blazers would be absolutely unstoppable. They made a blunder that will haunt them forever.

Nothing new to Trail Blazers management.

See: 1984 NBA Draft.

[Brazil]

Nothing new to Trail Blazers management.

See: 1984 NBA Draft.

may be the unluckiest franchise in the draft history

[Strike]

may be the unluckiest franchise in the draft history

Portland did the same thing in 2007 that they did in 1984: They drafted according to their needs. In 1984 they had a potential top tier shooting guard in Clyde Drexler. What they needed was a big man. They missed out on Hakeem Olajuwon because Houston had the #1 pick (which they arguably tanked the 83-84 season to get). So they drafted Sam Bowie. Unfortunately Bowie was an injury prone piece of shit and Jordan became the greatest player ever to set foot on the NBA hardwood.

In 2007 they had Brandon Roy coming off a Rookie Of The Year season. What they needed was a big man. So they drafted Greg Oden. Unfortunately, Greg Oden fucked up his knee and missed his 1st season. Now he's behind the learning curve and doesn't look like he'll be more than maybe a 10 and 6 guy while Kevin Durant has clearly become the better draft choice.

Right or wrong, the Trail Blazers drafted according to their needs.

[endrity]

^And you never never never do that in the draft. You always take the best possible player. You adress your positional needs through free agency or trade. But when you have a chance to get a potential franchise player, you don't just leave him because you already have someone similiar to him.

[pauls931]

may be the unluckiest franchise in the draft history

ahem

[turiaf for president]

blazers are just a middle of the road team. i compare them to the run and gun suns. they will have regular season success, but wont win a ring. not with the lakers, houston, denver, and hornets in the same conference for the next 4-5 years

[IronMexican]

Honestly, you can't blame Portland. I'd say 90% of the GM's would have taken Oden at the time. I certainly would have.

[Double-Up]

Portland did the same thing in 2007 that they did in 1984: They drafted according to their needs. In 1984 they had a potential top tier shooting guard in Clyde Drexler. What they needed was a big man. They missed out on Hakeem Olajuwon because Houston had the #1 pick (which they arguably tanked the 83-84 season to get). So they drafted Sam Bowie. Unfortunately Bowie was an injury prone piece of shit and Jordan became the greatest player ever to set foot on the NBA hardwood.

In 2007 they had Brandon Roy coming off a Rookie Of The Year season. What they needed was a big man. So they drafted Greg Oden. Unfortunately, Greg Oden fucked up his knee and missed his 1st season. Now he's behind the learning curve and doesn't look like he'll be more than maybe a 10 and 6 guy while Kevin Durant has clearly become the better draft choice.

Right or wrong, the Trail Blazers drafted according to their needs.

That's the problem right there, you draft the best player available not for need.

[monosylab1k]

Instead you keep Durant for a year or two and TRADE him for a quality C when the opportunity presents itself.

are you fuckin' retarded? You keep Durant and trade Roy. Durant >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Roy and it's not even close.

[monosylab1k]

And ROFLROFLROFL at everyone writing off Greg Oden already. This was his freakin ROOKIE SEASON.

Gred Oden's rookie year >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Andrew Bynum's rookie year.

[IronMexican]

your better off keeping both.

[Spursfan092120]

and roflroflrofl at everyone writing off greg oden already. This was his freakin rookie season.

Gred oden's rookie year >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> andrew bynum's rookie year.
+1

[KSeal]

And ROFLROFLROFL at everyone writing off Greg Oden already. This was his freakin ROOKIE SEASON.

Gred Oden's rookie year >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Andrew Bynum's rookie year.

Bynum was a 17 year old out of high school, where as Oden had more experience and was older and was the number one pick with huge hype so of course people are going to jump on Oden for sucking then the no hype nobody that Bynum was his first year in the league.

[monosylab1k]

Bynum was a 17 year old out of high school, where as Oden had more experience and was older and was the number one pick with huge hype so of course people are going to jump on Oden for sucking then the no hype nobody that Bynum was his first year in the league.

A rookie is a rookie. Oden has had alot more hype, but don't make up bullshit like Bynum having no hype. He was plenty hyped, especially after he dunked on Shaq. After that play he had huge amounts of hype. And Oden has still performed far better in his rookie season than Bynum did. And Oden's been better in his rookie year than Bynum was in his second season.

Oden's been disappointing, but he hasn't been a failure by any stretch. Only idiots would call him a bust already. And considering this is his first swim through the NBA I'm certain he'll improve by leaps and bounds next season.

[tlongII]

We're going to be great and Oden will be terrific. Players aren't 100% back until their 2nd year after MF surgery. That will be next season for GO. He just needs some good tutoring. It's too bad that Pete Newell died because his Big Man's Camp would have been perfect for him.

We had 3 rookies playing significant roles and we still won 54 games. How many times has that happened? Batum, Oden, Rudy, and Bayless are all going to get better. LaMarcus is already a borderline all star, and B-Roy is B-Roy. I think there's no question we'll be battling for the best record in the West next year.

[JamStone]

Oden didn't have a better rookie season than Bynum. Lol Oden didn't play his rookie season. :p:

And, Bynum didn't really get much hype after being drafted. I mean he was drafted after Channing Frye and Ike Diogu. He may have gotten some hype from Laker fan. But, then again, that's Laker fan for you. But Oden got hype from everyone, from NBA analysts in national media to draft scouts to ESPN. You can't compare the hype of the two.

Calling Oden a bust right now is still a bit premature. Then again, Sam Bowie averaged 10 ppg, 9 rpg, and 2.7 blocks on 54% shooting in his rookie season.

[JamStone]

It's too bad that Pete Newell died because his Big Man's Camp would have been perfect for him.

So true. The real tragedy of Pete Newell's death is that Greg Oden can't go to a camp.



We had 3 rookies playing significant roles and we still won 54 games. How many times has that happened? Batum, Oden, Rudy, and Bayless are all going to get better. LaMarcus is already a borderline all star, and B-Roy is B-Roy. I think there's no question we'll be battling for the best record in the West next year.

Isn't that a step down since the Blazers are going to win the championship this year? :p:

[cobbler]

A rookie is a rookie. Oden has had alot more hype, but don't make up bullshit like Bynum having no hype. He was plenty hyped, especially after he dunked on Shaq. After that play he had huge amounts of hype. And Oden has still performed far better in his rookie season than Bynum did. And Oden's been better in his rookie year than Bynum was in his second season.

Oden's been disappointing, but he hasn't been a failure by any stretch. Only idiots would call him a bust already. And considering this is his first swim through the NBA I'm certain he'll improve by leaps and bounds next season.

So a rookie out of High school is the same as a rookie out of college and a rookie whos played multiple years in europe? Idiotic.

So, you could say the Blazers were taken out of the playoffs this year by the play of a ROOKIE.... Scola. :lmao

[IronMexican]

Scola's been in the league for two season. But I get what you are saying.

[cobbler]

I think there's no question we'll be battling for the best record in the West next year.

Comming from the guy who guranteed they would take out the Lakers this year. :lmao

*cue the first round exit music*

[cobbler]

Scola's been in the league for two season. But I get what you are saying.

My bad... I thought this was his first.

Same goes for Rudy. Come on.... when you have 5+ years on the international stage etc you just are not a rookie. You pretty much know what you're getting.

[duncan228]

Blazers look optimistically toward next season (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-trailblazerswrapup&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Anne M. Peterson

Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy always seems to find the positive spin.

Over and over this season, Roy had expressed unbridled optimism about the future of the young team he guides. Getting bumped from the first round of the playoffs in six games by the Houston Rockets was disappointing, but Roy was emphasizing the big picture.

“This has been a great experience for us.”

The Blazers began the season as the second-youngest team in the NBA. They had not advanced to the playoffs since 2003.

But they were laden with potential, with Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way. So in fall practices, the players donned T-shirts with the slogan 15=16, symbolizing the Portland’s aim of becoming one of the 16 teams to make the playoffs.

Not only did they achieve that goal, they surpassed most expectations by winning 54 games, 13 more than the previous year. Co-champions of the Northwest Division, they earned the fourth seed in the competitive Western Conference, winning home-court advantage for the first round.

They also won back a fan base that had been jaded by the so-called Jail Blazers of the recent past.

“They had an unbelievable year,” coach Nate McMillan said. “I loved what they did this season. They showed potential to be a good team, to be a playoff team, to be co-champions. But they need to take another step.”

At the center of the Blazers’ success is Roy.

During the regular season he averaged 22.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists, garnering his second straight All-Star selection.

He erupted for 52 points in a victory over Phoenix in December, the second-most points ever scored in a game by a Blazer.

Aldridge, a third-year player like Roy, averaged 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds.

The duo was boosted by an overachieving cast of rookies: Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Greg Oden and Jerryd Bayless.

Batum, a forward from France with a wingspan of over 7 feet, was thrust unexpectedly into a starter’s role when Martell Webster injured his foot in the preseason. Webster played briefly in one game, but aggravated the injury and missed the season.

It was expected that Batum would be sent back to Europe for seasoning, but he wowed McMillan and general manager Kevin Pritchard in the fall. Just 19 years old at season’s start, he went through some rookie growing pains but was a solid addition, especially on defense.

Probably the biggest surprise was Fernandez, a flashy 6-foot-6 playmaker from Spain who grabbed attention over the summer by dunking over Dwight Howard in the gold medal game against the United States in Beijing.

Fernandez was invited to both the rookie challenge and the slam dunk contest during All-Star weekend. Playing off the bench for the Blazers, he averaged 10.4 points during the regular season.

“For me it was a great experience,” he said. “Probably my first year, a lot of things I’m happy about, but probably most is the playoffs. But right now next year the goal is compete for the championship.”

Oden was playing in his postponed rookie season after missing the previous year because of microfracture surgery on his right knee.

The top pick in the 2007 draft got off to a rocky start, injuring his foot in the season opener and missing six games. Eventually elevated to a starting role, the 7-foot-center’s play was inconsistent.

Then came a collision during a game at Golden State that caused a bone chip in his left knee. That kept him out of the All-Star weekend’s rookie challenge and the next 15 games.

Dogged by criticism, Oden improved steadily all season. He was moved into a reserve role and finished up averaging 8.9 points and 7 rebounds per game.

He said that the entirety of the Blazers’ season tempered the disappointment of stumbling in the playoffs.

“I told them when I first came here that I wanted to be able to help,” he said. “I definitely wanted to make us do better than what we did last year and get us somewhere that we haven’t been.”

Characteristically, Roy was already looking past what might have been to what could be.

“I just try to take all the positives from this,” he said. “And hopefully apply those things next season.”

[monosylab1k]

So a rookie out of High school is the same as a rookie out of college and a rookie whos played multiple years in europe? Idiotic.

So, you could say the Blazers were taken out of the playoffs this year by the play of a ROOKIE.... Scola. :lmao

IronMexican already pointed out your stupidity, but I'll finish this off.

Take a look at Scola's numbers, and his improvement from last season to this season. All those years of foreign basketball didn't help him jack shit, he still played like a rookie last season and this season he was much improved.

A rookie is a rookie you fucking Lakerfan douche.

[endrity]

If the Blazers are to become as good as many think, dynasty potential and all, Oden better be really good. Now, does he look like that kind of player to anyone here?

Footwork is terrible, bad handles, bad offensive basketball IQ. Even when they have a bad year, you can tell the rookies with potential. Oden doesn't show any of that. What's his ceiling right now? Marcus Camby?

[Lars]

Meh, Blazers need to work on defense.

[daslicer]

IronMexican already pointed out your stupidity, but I'll finish this off.

Take a look at Scola's numbers, and his improvement from last season to this season. All those years of foreign basketball didn't help him jack shit, he still played like a rookie last season and this season he was much improved.

A rookie is a rookie you fucking Lakerfan douche.

I agree 100 percent with that assessment of a rookie is a rookie. Guys develope at different ages and at different curves so you can't really play the age card crap. I bet you can find a shit load of players out there who are better then what Duncan was at 18-19 etc since he wasn't really big until the end of his sophmore year at Wake. You could make the argument that Bynum was better then Duncan at age 18,19 and etc but at age 21 he certainly doesn't even compare. Guys make huge quantum leaps at different ages. Those leaps are huge in determining how sucessful the team is going to be. Bynum may be the same age as Oden and I would say is a little bit better at this point but by not that much. If Oden works out hard this summer he could make that Quantum leap and catch Bynum or maybe even surpass him.

Oden has shown me some flashes of greatness in this playoffs. I remember a few times he looked like a young Shaq out there the way he backed down Mutumbo underneath the basket. I think he's going to be great its just going to take time but if he works hard he will be an all-star bigman.

[monosylab1k]

If the Blazers are to become as good as many think, dynasty potential and all, Oden better be really good. Now, does he look like that kind of player to anyone here?

Footwork is terrible, bad handles, bad offensive basketball IQ. Even when they have a bad year, you can tell the rookies with potential. Oden doesn't show any of that. What's his ceiling right now? Marcus Camby?

If he reaches only Marcus Camby level, the Blazers are still championship caliber. His ceiling is way higher than that.

His offensive rebounding rate was #1 in the entire league, he was #8 in total rebounding rate. Defensively he was still playing very well in spite of all his fouls.

His one huge problem is fouling. If he was able to stay on the court he would have had far better numbers. Oden was averaging 9 points & 7 rebounds in 21 minutes a game. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard's rookie year he averaged 12/10 while playing 32 minutes a game. Project Oden's numbers to 32 minutes a night, and he's at around 14/11. And nobody was talking about what a skilled, polished player Dwight Howard was after his rookie year.

On top of that, the Blazers have a very capable center in Pryzbilla. They didn't have to force Greg Oden into playing tons of minutes because of Pryz's presence. They were able to bring him along slowly.

I say Oden still has a 20 pts, 12+ rebounds, 3 blocks a night potential. Not quite the dominating big man everyone thought, but what team out there won't take that out of their center?

Like with everything, it just got very popular to shit on Greg Oden for no good reason. The guy has health issues and fouling issues, but when he's on the court he's making a far better impact than anybody in this Greg Oden Hating crowd of mindless sheep will give him credit for.

[Findog]

If he reaches only Marcus Camby level, the Blazers are still championship caliber. His ceiling is way higher than that.

His offensive rebounding rate was #1 in the entire league, he was #8 in total rebounding rate. Defensively he was still playing very well in spite of all his fouls.

His one huge problem is fouling. If he was able to stay on the court he would have had far better numbers. Oden was averaging 9 points & 7 rebounds in 21 minutes a game. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard's rookie year he averaged 12/10 while playing 32 minutes a game. Project Oden's numbers to 32 minutes a night, and he's at around 14/11. And nobody was talking about what a skilled, polished player Dwight Howard was after his rookie year.

On top of that, the Blazers have a very capable center in Pryzbilla. They didn't have to force Greg Oden into playing tons of minutes because of Pryz's presence. They were able to bring him along slowly.

I say Oden still has a 20 pts, 12+ rebounds, 3 blocks a night potential. Not quite the dominating big man everyone thought, but what team out there won't take that out of their center?

Like with everything, it just got very popular to shit on Greg Oden for no good reason. The guy has health issues and fouling issues, but when he's on the court he's making a far better impact than anybody in this Greg Oden Hating crowd of mindless sheep will give him credit for.

Learning how to play the game will go a long way for Oden. You're right that being so foul-prone is what limited his playing time. He will learn the NBA game. I think there's two things at play here: One, he was hyped as the next Bill Russell when all the Blazers really need from him is to be the next Alonzo Mourning. Two, he put on way too much bulk during his year off. He needs to become lighter and leaner and model his game more on being a mobile big that can defend the paint, like Zo. He shouldn't bulk up to be the next Shaq. For whatever reason, his body is fragile and he doesn't need the extra bulk.

[Findog]

60 games into his rookie year the "experts" were saying Durant would never be able to do anything at the pro level but score. I think he did a nice job this year of expanding his game.

Oden simply can't be judged on his rookie year. It's obvious he's not going to be the GOAT like was fantasized about, but he still has it within him to become an excellent defensive center and a capable offensive player, and that's all Portland needs from him. They have Roy and Aldridge to be the top two options on offense.

[Brazil]

Portland did the same thing in 2007 that they did in 1984: They drafted according to their needs. In 1984 they had a potential top tier shooting guard in Clyde Drexler. What they needed was a big man. They missed out on Hakeem Olajuwon because Houston had the #1 pick (which they arguably tanked the 83-84 season to get). So they drafted Sam Bowie. Unfortunately Bowie was an injury prone piece of shit and Jordan became the greatest player ever to set foot on the NBA hardwood.

In 2007 they had Brandon Roy coming off a Rookie Of The Year season. What they needed was a big man. So they drafted Greg Oden. Unfortunately, Greg Oden fucked up his knee and missed his 1st season. Now he's behind the learning curve and doesn't look like he'll be more than maybe a 10 and 6 guy while Kevin Durant has clearly become the better draft choice.

Right or wrong, the Trail Blazers drafted according to their needs.

I agree with you, this is why I wrote unluckiest team in the draft, we cannot for instance blame the blazers FO for picking Oden over Durant, at that time I thought also Oden was the better choice.