All week I have been thinking about this column. Being my first column for OregonSportsNews.com, I felt the whole range of emotions. On twitter, I asked John Canzano (@JohnCanzanoBFT) if he had any advice for me. He said, “Write truth. Make deadline. Sleep well.” As the week progressed I started to more fully grasp his advice.
The sun rose Thursday and still, no news. The Nets were rumored to be calling about Crawford; the Lakers/Wolves/Blazers three-team trade was still “in the works”, but nothing solid. Then the world wind began. A day that will go down as a major transitional day in Portland Trail Blazer franchise history.
Gerald Wallace was traded to New Jersey for an expiring contract in Mehmet Okur, an injured Shawne Williams and a great, possible franchise changing draft pick. Next, Marcus Camby was traded to Houston for point guard Jonny Flynn, big guy Hasheem Thabeet and a second round draft pick. The icing on the cake of this crazy day was the news that coach Nate McMillan was fired and replaced by assistant Kaleb Canales.
Later in the day, after some of the dust settled, Greg Oden and Chris Johnson were released to make room for the new Blazers. Many sources reported that Oden will be “off the grid” to get healthy. We will see how that saga continues to unfold.
Along with a day like Thursday, there is so much chatter about how the team did. Websites grade teams on their trade deadline acquisitions, journalists discuss what could have happened and columnists (like myself) give varied opinions. When I finally sat down to write this column I wanted to keep it somewhat positive. So following are three reasons I believe Thursday March 15, 2012 will be a good day for this Blazers franchise.
1 – 2012 1st Round Draft Pick from New Jersey. As of right now, the Nets have the fifth worst record in the league so this pick could be incredibly valuable in this coming draft. Austin Rivers, Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger… There are a lot of ballers at the top of this draft. And if the Blazers don’t start winning games, they could possibly have two lottery picks.
2 – Portland will have a lot of cap space when the summer comes. In the trades we acquired three expiring contracts and Shawne Williams has a player option for $3 million. LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams are the only five Blazers under contract for next year. Other than signing Nic Batum in the summer and having two high draft picks, the Blazers will be very active trying to entice a big name to down this team.
3 – We will get to see the clown Javale McGee four times a year. I know he has nothing to do with the Blazers but I was struggling to think of another positive thing. McGee has been playing in the Eastern Conference and Portland has only played them twice a year. Now that he has been traded to Denver, we will all be able to enjoy his idiotic moments four times a year.
Really, it couldn’t get much worse than it has been the last week. Blown out by the Knicks and Pacers. A five assist night. Twenty-nine point halves. A loss by 42 points. Just plain bad, uninspired basketball. Paul Allen got sick of it and blew the team up. We will see how the aftermath affects the rest of the season and how bright the future of this franchise really is.
Being new to this website, I am open to all comments, suggestions, column ideas. Email me at [email protected] or follow me on twitter at @GTPort74.
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