On the Record...

I want to go on the record with my Blazer thoughts prior to tonight's tipoff. First, I am extremely excited about the potential of this team. Portland has serious talent at all positions, but it's unproven and young talent. So, the results will likely be mixed. Once they jell a bit, then we should be in for some real thrills.

Second, I firmly believe this team has the ability to beat any team in the league and not in a fluky off-night for the opposing club sort of way, but that will only occur if Coach McMillan can can mold these players, assuage their egos and coax the best performances out of them as possible and the young guys come to play consistently. I am confident the character of Coach and the players will make both of these things a reality.

Third, while I hope for a 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs, realistically a 7 or 8 is what we should get. Next year will be a completely different story though.

That said, Go Blazers...Beat LA!!!

Rudy Will Put Points On Your Face

The NBA season can't get here soon enough, but we'll have to make do with Trailblazer training camp opening on Tuesday. This is a much anticipated season in Rip City with newcomers Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Bayless and Greg Oden finally taking the court for the Blazers. Last season's surprising 41-41 record has expectations and excitement high. To whet fan appetites, Monday was a media day for Portland and Rudy Fernandez has laid down the gauntlet for his fellow countryman, Pau Gasol.

On who he's looking forward to playing against the most: "Pau. I've never played against him, only on the same team. I want to put points on your face."

Well, Rudy has already put points on Dwight Howard's face. Why not on Pau?

I nominate "I want to put points on your face" as the statement of the year.

In case anybody cares, you can find most of my work nowadays over at Unprofessional Foul. It's only my soccer related content, but with the NBA season starting back up I'll have more material here.

UPDATE: Kiss My Ass

Prior to the 2007-08 NBA season, Portland Trailblazer center, Joel Pryzbilla, wagered with the team trainer, Jay Jensen, that he would play in all 82 games this season and if he did Jensen would kiss his lily white ass (or maybe it would still be clothed, I don't know) at half-time of the 82nd game at center court. Pryz has had a tough time with injuries during his career and was determined to play the whole season. Unfortunately, Pryzbilla broke a bone in his hand last night and won't get to cash in on the bet because he will miss the remainder of the season....five whole games.

Tough break for the man. Now he won't get to know the thrill of having another man's lips planted on his ass in front of 20,000 people.

Kiss My Ass

Professional athletes are well known to be the gambling types. Charles Barkley admitted that he has probably lost $10 million gambling, Michael Jordan is a well-known gambler and some conspiracists believe that Jordan's first retirement was actually a suspension for gambling, and some have even gone so far as to create gambling enterprises (Ric Tocchet). So, it should come as no surprise that NBA ballers bet on all sorts of things. Joel Pryzbilla, for example, bet the team trainer, Jay Jensen, that he would play in all 82 games this season after missing significant amounts of games each season during his career.

So when Blazers athletic trainer Jay Jensen - who tends to the aches and pains of Przybilla - heard Przybilla's goal of playing in 82 games, he snickered.

"He kind of laughed at me,'' Przybilla said of Jensen. "So I said, 'Do you want to make a bet?' ''

At that moment The Bet was established:

If Przybilla doesn't play in all 82 games, he has to buy Jensen dinner. But if he does play in every game, Jensen has to kiss Przybilla's behind at half court after the Blazers' final game.

Pryzbilla has another 24 games to go to win the bet, so it could still be lost. But, if I were Jensen I would start stocking up on pink eye medicine.

Post-Draft Thoughts on the Trail Blazers

Now that the 2007 NBA Draft has finished, it's time to take stock of the draft. Portland couldn't really have a bad draft with the first pick and being able to pick up a talent like Greg Oden. Who looks like he will be wearing number 52, the number of former Blazer great Buck Williams. But, that wasn't the only move of the night for Portland.

The other big news of the night was that Portland traded oft-troubled Zach Randolph plus Fred Jones and Dan Dickau to the Knicks. In return, Portland gets Channing Frye and malcontent Steve Francis. The rumors suggest Portland may try to buy Francis out to get cap room and go after a free-agent small forward (Rashard Lewis?), and will keep Frye. I'm not sure why the team would want this trade unless it was all to get rid of Randolph. Frye seems to play the same position as Aldridge and has a similar game. Francis is a lockerroom cancer and hasn't produced like Randolph has in the past few years. If Randolph can stay out of trouble in NY (a big IF), Isiah Thomas and the Knicks really got the better of this deal.

I'll reserve judgment but I am leaning towards maybe this not being the best deal for Portland. I think a better move would have been to hold on to Randolph and then try to get more for him at the February trade deadline.

Seattle, who had the number two pick, drafted a tall, skinny forward from Texas, Kevin Durant. Then Seattle traded Ray Allen to Boston for the 5th pick (Jeff Green), Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak. It looks like Seattle may have fleeced Boston. The second year in a row a Northwest team has done that to Boston.

I really liked what Seattle did in the draft, and it looks awfully similar to Portland's 2006 draft. Portland got a tall, skinny forward from Texas (Aldridge) and a well regarded and well rounded upper-classman (Brandon Roy). The Pacific Northwest appears poised to have some really successful teams for the next decade. That is, if Seattle doesn't relocate.

Portland also managed to buy Phoenix's first round pick (no. 24) again this year. Last year Portland drafted Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez and this year the team selected a Spanish shooting guard, Rudy Fernandez. I don't know anything about the pick so I can't judge.

The Blazers also picked up Petteri Koponen (30) and Josh McRoberts (37). Koponen is a Finnish guy that I also know nothing about but did give Portland 3 first round picks. But, McRoberts has the potential to be a quality role player passing from the high pivot. He won't be a star but Portland doesn't need that.

At the end of the 2nd round, Portland also picked up shooting guard Demetris Nichols from Syracuse and Taurean Green, the point guard from two-time NCAA champs Florida. If Nichols makes the squad he could provide the outside shooting necessary to creat space down low. And, Green is a wonderful defender a the PG spot. However, the puts quite the logjam at the position. Jack, Rodriguez, Green and Steve Blake if he signs with Portland as many expect him to do all will be vying for time. Not too mention Steve Francis plays some point, as does Roy. However, the also means Portland may be trying to move Jack as has been rumored.

Overall, a good draft for Portland on the basis of Oden alone. Portland did get rid of Randolph but that may not be the best move, in my opinion. The other five picks? The potential is there with McRoberts, Green, and Nichols but playing time let alone a roster spot will be tough to come by. My money would be on McRoberts and Green. The other two, who knows? They will likely stay overseas for at least one season. But, this draft was all about Oden for Portland. Hopefully, it plays out well. I also smell more trades coming out of Portland.

Other news:

Looks like Golden State is trading Jason Richardson to Charlotte for Brandan Wright (the 8th pick).

Atlanta looks like it got quite the haul with Al Horford at number 3 and Acie Law IV at 11. Atlanta filled its point guard need and Horford is a beast that will give Atlanta some much needed bulk up front. I really think Law is going to end up being a very good PG in the league. Maybe not the level of Chris Paul or Deron Williams but very good.

Update: It looks like Demetris Nichols was part of the Randolph trade and will be going to the Knicks. That link also has some foreshadowing of other trades coming down the pike.

Blazers Rookie Blog

Just got an email announcing the Blazers Rookie Blog. It looks as though the blog is only for Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. Sergio Rodriguez gets no love. I'm sure the Blazers organization could find write some posts for him as well. As it stands now, only Brandon Roy has posted something. Roy writes that his girlfriend is due any day now with his first child and he thinks Oregon could be dangerous in the tourney this year.

Time To Trade Zach Randolph

With the NBA trading deadline fast approaching, trade rumors swirl about players switching teams and one player that definitely needs to go is Zach Randolph. The Portland Trailblazers need to pass Randolph on like a hot potato and the team needs to do it now while his stock is high. Why is his stock high and why would the Blazers want to trade him? Let me explain.

Randolph in his sixth season is having his best statistical year ever. He leads the Blazers in points at 24.0 per contest and rebounds and 10.2. The numbers Randolph is putting up are All-Star caliber even if he didn’t get named to the squad. He has the great misfortune to play in the Western Conference with other stellar power forwards like Nowitzki, Garnett, Boozer, Brand, Duncan and Stoudemire, all of whom save Brand are all-stars this year. Of those western conference power forwards only Nowitzki is scoring at a better clip. Duncan, Boozer and Garnett outrebound him but not by much.

Moreover, Randolph has age on his side. He is only 25, whereas Duncan and Garnett are 5 years his senior, Nowitzki is 3 years older and Brand two. There is more time left in Randolph’s legs than some of these other guys, yet he already is putting up big numbers.

He also has shown that he is fully recovered from the tricky microfracture surgery he had two years ago. And, his body is going to hold up over the long haul because of this style of game. Randolph doesn’t play above the rim. He plays the angles and has a soft touch. His athleticism will never make you say wow, but that means he has a game built to last and will continue to put up solid numbers.

A team with a need for proven low-post scorer would be well served to acquire Randolph. But, why would the Blazers look to trade such a player?

The answer to that question can be found in the direction the franchise is trying to move. Portland wants to separate itself from its “Jailblazer” past and put a team on the floor the fans can respect. The franchise wants people with the ability to make good decisions on and off the floor. Unfortunately, Randolph has proven he is incapable of that and he must go.

Randolph has never been good at making the right choices. Let us just take a look at his Wikipedia entry:

[H]e sucker-punched teammate Ruben Patterson in the face during a practice scuffle in 2003, an act which earned him a two-game suspension. He also has been cited for underage drinking and driving under the influence of marijuana, and was present when his brother Roger Randolph was involved in a shooting in an Indiana nightclub. After an initial interrogation by police, he was threatened with arrest based on his statement; Randolph gave a second statement and was not charged in the incident. His brother was ultimately convicted in the matter and sentenced to prison.
…
On June 8th, 2006, Randolph ran into further legal trouble when two vehicles, both registered in his name, were pulled over by the Portland Police for racing in a 20 mph speed zone. Randolph's car contained two loaded weapons under the seat of the vehicle; Randolph had legal permits for both guns. The officers claimed they detected marijuana odor coming from Randolph's car. In August 2006, a sexual assault complaint was filed with Portland police over an incident with a stripper in a Portland hotel room; after a month-long investigation, the Multnomah County district attorney declined to prosecute Randolph, citing insufficient evidence. Additionally, Randolph is facing a civil suit related to that case, and another alleging that Randolph and friends tried to intimidate witnesses in former teammate Qyntel Woods's dog fighting case.

Let’s just say he doesn’t always make the smartest life decisions. The Blazers don’t want this guy to be the face of the franchise when he has a history like that. I've heard others argue that Zach hasn't been to jail yet and this is evidence that he won't ever go over the edge. But, you don't have to be an expert in criminal recidivism rates to know his track record suggests he will do something stupid again and maybe he won't be as fortunate with the legal system as he has been. All you have to know is that a leopard can't change its spots.

In addition, he just isn’t one to lead by example on the court. Head Coach Nate McMillan has tried to instill a work ethic into the squad but Randolph just doesn’t seem to want to listen.
In a recent practice, Randolph was benched by Coach McMillan because he wasn’t exerting as much effort as Coach would have liked. Randolph just doesn’t take instruction well. This is not a good example to be setting for the team since he is the defacto leader due to his veteran status and his numbers.

Zach Randolph will be a good player in this league for many years to come but he just shouldn't be the leader of the Blazers. Portland would much rather see Brandon Roy emerge as the team leader and trading Randolph would speed this process along. Now it is only a matter of getting a fair value for Randolph and not selling him just to get rid of him. Hopefully the Blazers realize this and manage to get a good deal for him.