With the NBA Draft approaching in less than two weeks, and free agency kicking off just six days later, there are a lot of potential changes coming for the Portland Trail Blazers. With LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, and Robin Lopez all free agents this summer, along with trade rumors involving Nicolas Batum, the Blazers starting five could be a starting unit of one come July first.
Should that happen, where does the team go from there? Would such moves define them as living at ground zero, or would they merely be breaking new ground?
Changes happen. And any changes that brings this team closer to where they were in 1977, and have failed (yes failed) to get back to since, is for the greater good of the franchise.
As a lifelong resident of the Portland area, I am not a stranger to the opinion that the Blazers are not generally regarded as championship contenders, and I am not referring to just the fanbases of the rest of the league.
“As long as we’re not a lottery team.”
“As long as we don’t miss the playoffs.”
“As long as we don’t get embarrassed at home.”
“As long as we don’t get swept out of the first round.”
You can hear those phrases from any number of fans wearing Blazers’ jerseys, and they come from all age groups and all walks of life. Some are 10 years old, some are nearing the speed limit on their DOB. The truth is that fans of perennial contenders generally don’t say things like that, not during “good” eras anyway. It’s called low-sports-esteem, and we’re all guilty of it at one point or another.
Your team struggles to finish the season on a note you find respectable, and being the determined and devoted fan that you are, you hold your head high even though everyone else is saying your team’s season was just “ok”. You were one of the top 16 teams in the league, but not one of the teams truly expected to compete for the title. That’s not a failure, by any stretch of the imagination. But is it success?
Here’s a fact – The Portland Trail Blazers have not seriously contended for the title since the year 2000. They haven’t even been in the Finals since 1992. A person born the same year that Portland last played playoff basketball in June, could be graduating from college this year or perhaps they’re already a year in to their career if they graduated “on time”. That’s pretty darn scary.
From 1974-78, Bill Walton prowled the paint in Portland. He wasn’t healthy for even one full season during his tenure in here, but he found a way to put together a spectacular stretch from the fall of 1976 through the spring of 1978. He did so well, that he led Portland to its first and only title, then won the league MVP in 1978 on what appeared to be a rampage toward their second title. Walton went down, and one could say that the Blazers, like him, have had a limp ever since.
Then came the years of rebuilding and torch passing from Maurice Lucas to Mychael Thompson to Clyde Drexler, and then to Rasheed Wallace. Brandon Roy, Aldridge, and Damian Lillard have all taken turns carrying the torch since, but with very limited success stories. That raises the question, who will get this franchise back in to contention?
Is it Lillard? He’s extremely young, but his two experiences in the playoffs have been underwhelming despite what the numbers or highlight reels will show you. Given enough time he could be “the guy”, but there’s room between him and his ceiling. Aldridge now has one season shy of a decade in Portland in his bank account, and only one playoff series win to show for it. Teams do struggle, but a superstar should be able to get the kinks worked out for at least one magical year, especially when given nine. Roy was in Portland for five seasons, led Portland to three playoff appearances, but no series victories.
Between 1983-2003, rosters led mostly by Thompson, Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, Rasheed Wallace, and Damon Stoudamire helped Portland to a league record 21 postseason appearances. That run included five trips to the Western Conference Finals (three in a row from 1990-1992 and back-to-back trips in 1999-2000), and two trips to the NBA Finals in a three year span between 1990-92.
Sounds spectacular, right? What if I told you that during their 45 year history, the Portland Trail Blazers have been eliminated from the playoffs during the first round 21 times, and that 14 of those were during their celebrated 21 year run? Does that make it any less spectacular? What if I said that in 45 years, maybe just seven featured a Portland team truly competing for the title? That’s less than a quarter of their entire history.
The point of this is not to figuratively urinate on what the team has accomplished in a long and beloved history, it is to respectfully but clearly wonder aloud why there aren’t more banners in the rafters. Is it unfair or unrealistic to expect to see championship banners (plural) when you gaze up at the ceiling of the Moda Center? Are one and a half decades a sufficient amount of time to see a team get back to the conference finals? Is nearly four decades a sufficient amount of time to see a team win a second title? When you’re watching the 2015 NBA Finals and constantly hearing about Cleveland and their 53 year title drought, don’t forget that the city of Portland is just 13 years behind that, or that they haven’t even been in the Finals since 1992, while Cleveland last appeared in 2007. Portland has had the number one pick overall just four times, three of which came in the first 10 years of their history. Cleveland has been lucky enough to have the first selection six times, four of those coming in the last 12 years, including three in the last four.
Many of you don’t have any recollection of the 1977 championship, I certainly don’t, for I was negative five years old when the lone title in Portland’s history was brought home. Some of you probably don’t remember the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals. I myself was just 8 and 10 years old when the Blazers were in the Finals, so my memories of them being there are not strong. Some of you don’t even have that. For some, the loss in the second round against San Antionio last season might be the farthest you’ve seen this team go since their excruciating game seven loss to the Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
So here’s the question every fan must ask themselves – Is it wrong to be a fan and to expect greatness from your team?
If you are invested, don’t be afraid to want more from a team you invest so much in, and don’t ask the team to refrain from making those changes in favor of mere roster continuity. It’s time for “good enough” to not be good enough in the Rose City.
Consider your investment, the Comcast/Xfinity service you send money to each month to be able to watch the games in the comfort of your own home. If you go to a game, you’re either fighting traffic or waiting your turn on public transportation, rubbing elbows with other fans on overcrowded albeit spirited MAX trains. You’re doing your part, the guys driving the buses and the Bentley’s can absolutely do theirs, they make more than enough money to spend all year finding ways to make this happen.
If you truly believe in this team, not the roster, do not fear change. The names on the back of the jerseys will change again and again, and again. New players will arrive, old ones may depart, it’s the circle of life in the NBA when the average player is out of the league within five seasons.
Why, just four years ago, Roy valiantly fought eventual champion Dallas in the playoffs, and announced his retirement a few months later. The vast unknown of whether Aldridge and/or Wesley Matthews could handle leading the team in his absence began to take hold and many doubted whether they could. Fast-forward to present day, and Aldridge and Matthews are bonafide stars and free agents to boot, leaving many fans to fight for them to stay in town. Fans who truly believe in them and want them to stay, regardless of the cost, fans who may not have believed in them when Roy was here and Aldridge was a second fiddle and Matthews a reserve defensive specialist.
Things change, be aware and prepared. If this team truly wants to compete, changes need to be made. They will need more from the center position, more from the small forward positon, more from the point guard position. Yes, they will need more from the power forward position. Shooting guard is a quite large question mark with the health and potential of Matthews in the up in the air. They will need more depth, and perhaps some more experienced or at least better experienced assistant coaches.
Just last season, Cleveland was arguably the worst team in basketball, yet this year they find themselves in the NBA Finals, that didn’t happen by standing pat, Portland should follow suit, even if that means learning some new names next year.
Changes are coming. The players know it, Neil Olshey knows it, Paul Allen knows it. Don’t fear it, embrace the change.
I’ll leave you with this – Portland winning a title matters more and is absolutely more important than the name on the back of the replica jerseys worn to home games being relevant. Remember that, and embrace the changes.
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