Does Brandon Roy deserve a max contract?

Portland loves Brandon Roy. Max money and max years? Done.  Any other demands, Mr. Roy? The city of Portland would oblige to almost anything the man asks for. The question is, has he earned this blind loyalty?

Fans and journalists alike are furious over the fact that Brandon Roy hasn’t been signed yet. Why should there be any debating? Brandon is our best player and deserves anything he wants, they say. Perhaps they are right in that he is our best player, but what has he accomplished that sets him apart from other league leaders? Almost every team has a player they call their leader and “franchise” player.

Sure Brandon Roy is an all-star. We’ve had all-stars in town before. Yeah, he won rookie of the year, but that is nothing but another chapter to awe at when a great player retires. The real measure of success is winning. Individual accomplishments mean nothing when compared to the success of the team. The leader of a teams value should be measured in his ability to lead the team to victory, not on his collection of all-star game appearances and awards.

That’s not to say Brandon hasn’t done a great job in leader the team to victory. The Blazers won 54 games this year, much more than many people expected. Brandon led the Blazers, a team many believe is among the deepest in the league, to the playoffs for the first time in six years.  But that’s where I see a problem in Roy receiving the maximum contract.  The Blazers as a team are among the deepest in the NBA. The 1st round isn’t enough. Other star players lead their teams deeper into the playoffs with half the supporting cast Roy has.

Despite this, there is no reason to doubt the Blazers or Roy. We have one of the youngest and deepest teams in the NBA that is still growing up.  If you offer a max offer to Roy, you risk the child that is the Blazers growing into a 30-year-old young creative living in the basement. But then again, this is Portland, so I guess that’s what should be expected.

Blazer fans’ tears made into “where amazing happens” commercial

I just saw this on espn today…Brought back some lovely memories. Enjoy.

95.5 The Game ‘Wheels at work’ discuss Ron Artest

Listen to it it here. I edit it to just the parts about Artest.

Basically, they acknowledge the fact that Ron would greatly benefit the team, but that believe that his off court problems are too much. I disagree. He hasn’t really done anything in the last couple years, and I don’t give a fuck if it’s a “contract year”, if he’s crazy like people say, there is no way he’d be able to contain himself for an entire year. He had some anger issues, but so do a lot of people in the world. I believe he’s dealt with them for the most part. 

They do go on to say that it may be time to bring on a guy with a less than perfect past, but that ridiculous soccer moms and dads around Portland wouldn’t have it. I ask of these folks, did you vote for Sam Adams? Imagine if, during the Jail Blazers era,  a player slept with someone underage? You would have gone crazy. But Sam’s still mayor. 

I think some of Portland’s fans should start following Segway Polo. I doubt you’d find anyone of “questionable” character there.

I guess I’m the only person that doesn’t think Greg Oden had that great of a season…

Lamarcus, Brandon, and I guess Greg Oden have been invited to train for the US olympic team next year. Wow. Greg, a guy compared to Sam Bowie, but is actually averaging less than him, is be given a chance to play in the Olympics. That’s 9 points and 7 rebounds to go along with nightly foul trouble. This guy is gonna be playing with the best centers in the NBA, Dwight Howard, Yao and Amare Stoudemire.

The Bow-Fon

 

 

As a Blazers fan, my immediate reaction is happiness. Greg will be given the chance to improve his game by playing against the players he should strive to become like. But the more I thought about it, the more I disliked the idea of him playing with the USA basketball team. Before he had even come close to earning it, Greg was in all the Blazers advertisements, got a deal with cricket wireless, and was in more NBA commercials than the Blazers real star. Basically, it’s hard to go somewhere in Portland for more than 10 minutes without seeing his face. 

Playing with USA Basketball is just another thing Greg will receive that he hasn’t earned. If people weren’t talking about his ‘potential’, would a player with such mediocre averages even be considered for the team? No way. Maybe the US team believes, like everyone else, that Greg is going to develop in the next couple of years and wants to have him then. But why include him in the roster when you have proven players that could take his spot? It’s not fair to base the whole thing on potential, because the Olympic team doesn’t want their fate even a little bit interlinked with the Blazers.

I don't think Greg fits...

 

 

The USA basketball team should be a guaranteed champion. Greg Oden is by no means a guaranteed Olympic level player. So should Greg turn down the offer? No way. He should be trying to improve his game in anyway he can. Actually, it seems playing with the team can only do one of two things for Greg. It can justify all the ads and praise he’s gotten, or it can serve as a great humbling experience that can only be good in the end. 

 

As far as Brandon and LaMarcus playing, they’ve earned it. Roy of course, is an elite NBA player. While much of LaMarcus’s selection may have been based on potential, he’s proven it’s not without merit. He’s averaged solid numbers for the last two years and even higher against Houston in the playoffs. So two of Portland’s ‘big three’ deserve to be there. Time will tell if the third one needs a replacement.

Top Five Worst Blazers Losses of the New Millennium

5. The most recent of the group, but still quite bad, game 1 of the 2009 playoffs against Houston. The crowd was electric. The rose garden was home to the playoffs for the first time in more than half a decade. This wasn’t some fluke either, the Blazers hadn’t snuck in as an 8th seed undetected. They were the 4th seed and held home court advantage.

Local Talent

Most expected the series to go to 7 games, but no one thought the blazers would lose a home game. Perhaps a bit overconfident, the blazers were blown out. I won’t relive the game as it is still fresh in everyone’s mind. But after the first quarter, even with the blazers impressive 18 double digit comebacks, we all knew the game was over. 

 

4.The last game of the season against the Lakers in the 2004 season. This was the first time we had missed the playoffs in over 20 years and we were looking to salvage at least our classic rivalry. The game used to always be an epic 3 point shoot out between Rasheed and Kobe. Unfortunately while we didn’t have Rasheed, the Lakers still had Kobe. After hitting a ridiculous 3 to put the game into overtime, he hit another one to win the game. Oh well, at least Sheed beat him in the playoffs…With Detroit.

3. This one isn’t as heartbreaking as it is embarassing…The blazers were on there way to a 13 game winning streak when they blew a 28 point loss to the Denver nuggets in 2002. This was when losing to the nuggets was like losing to a high school team. (Ok, more like losing to sacramento.)

 

Most hated player in NBA history?

 

 

2. Though this loss was bad, Rasheed’s legendary “Both Teams Played Hard”  quote was a result of it. That was about the only positive thing. The blazers had somehow managed to become one of the first teams ever to comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to force a game 7. Things were close till the 4th quarter, when the Mavs outscored us 36-22 in the United Center. This was the last time we made the playoffs and we lost some classic blazers after this season.

 

 

1. Oh god. This game is still painful to even think about. Any true blazer fan already knows which one I’m talking about. The Blazers were 12 minutes away from the NBA finals. Beat LA signs were all over Portland. Up 15 entering the final quarter, the Blazers(or Refs, or David Stern for that matter)managed to squander a 15-point lead. It was even more painful considering we had managed to comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. The lakers went on a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter that broke every blazer fans heart. I still remember the crazy dunk Shaq pulled after Kobe’s alley-oop vividly. Even now, 9 years later if that loss is on my mind it takes me a little longer to fall asleep. If you’re bipolar and ever happen to be in a manic state, watching the game on youtube will surely calm you down.

And at center…For the Idaho Stampede

At 7 feet 0 inches…GREG ODEN. Will Idaho fans ever hear that announcement? I doubt it. But it might be good for both the Blazers and Greg Oden. (And of course, the Stampede.)

Greg would be the highest pick ever, obviously, to be assigned to the D-League. I know he’s not putting up low enough numbers to even really be considered a D-League prospect, but it would probably be good for him to become one. If it’s true what many believe, that Oden’s lack of success is due to all the pressure and expectations he had to meet, then it  would all be solved with a month or two in the D-League.

It would be very hard and embarrassing for Greg to be demoted to the D-League, but perhaps with all the special treatment he received it’s necessary as a sort of head leveler. I’m not saying Greg is an overconfident or arrogant guy, just that when you’re treated differently than other players when you haven’t even played, it has to mess with your head.

After the special bedroom on the Blazers plane, the billboards all over town, the commercials and everything else before Greg had played an official NBA game, he needs something to get him motivated again. He’s already on every bus stop all over town, what else does he have to gain? A demotion would give him something to gain back. Self-respect. 

If he dominated the league, not only would he gain some confidence, he’d be trying to prove something in every game back in the NBA. If he didn’t dominated the D-League…Well, the Blazers organization would know that it’s time to move on and find a back up for Pryzbilla.

Does Ron Artest want to come to Portland?

 

Just the type of guy the Blazers need

We all know Ron is somewhat crazy. We’ve all seen the fight at the palace. And we all know he is exactly the type of player Blazer fans hate. But perhaps he is just the type of player the team needs. It just so happens that he is a free agent this season. 

 

The reason I suggest that he might be interesting in playing for Portland are the almost laughable comments he made about Brandon Roy. We all know Brandon is a great player.  But what Artest says about Brandon Roy is bordering on ridiculous, and even the most loyal Blazer fans have to admit it. Artest said “Brandon Roy is the best player I’ve ever played against”. This is one of the NBA’s premiere defenders, who has guarded everyone, including Kobe and Lebron. 

Throughout the interview, Artest, a guy known for his craziness, gives nothing but praise towards the Blazers. Perhaps he knows how ridiculous Blazer fans get over players attitude ever since they witness the era of the Jail Blazers. Maybe he wants to show them that he has matured and is ready to play for a city that demands off court perfection from it’s players. 

He goes on to say that Charles Barkley is “overrated”, so we know he wasn’t worried about offending people when he made the comments about Portland. He obviously wants to show that he has a deep respect for the Blazers organization and has said throughout the series that Portland is a worthy opponent. 

Why he would want to play here, I’m not exactly sure. Unless he believes, like the rest of Portland, that we are the coming dynasty, and is ready to jump off the Ming ship. In my opinion a player like Ron would be key in that happening. He defends, rebounds, adds toughness, and can score when everyone else falters. 

Unfortunately the people of Portland would likely never accept such a player coming to the new shoe lace clean Blazers. But it seems the type of player we need almost always comes with this type of risk. Great rebounders usually have some sort of reason they go after rebounds so relentlessly. But I suppose the judgements of Portland fans have taken the team far enough for now.

 

Update: I just saw this article about Ron visiting a Portland Boys and Girls Club. Why the fuck else?