Well, the fairy tale had to end some time, and for the Blazers this summer was that time. Though, considering how hard reality strikes some teams, the Blazers were let off fairly easily.
This, I suppose, is the premise of Chisholm’s diatribe. The Blazer’s romp through the magical kingdom of Royland is over. The cold winter of reality has set in. But the winter has been a light one, so it's not really that bad? I’m confused already.
After all, this was a club that should have had far worse karma after the way they handled the Darius Miles situation last summer and the way the early parts of their contract negotiations went with Brandon Roy, but things went all right in the end.
So the cold winter of reality hasn’t really been that cold, and our bad Miles karma hasn’t really been bad. But if you want to keep making awkward accusations and immediately backtracking, I guess that’s fine.
And let’s hold up a second. Admittedly, we didn’t handle the Miles situation smoothly. Penn’s letter last year warning teams not to sign Miles was… misguided at best. But Miles was a malcontent who never got in shape for the Blazers, and was still getting paid through insurance. Requesting a medical retirement seemed reasonable after two serious microfracture surgeries and his subsequent donut-infused rehab. An independent doctor signed off on the deal. When, against the odds, he made it back to the NBA, he averaged fewer than 4 points and 2 rebounds per game coming off the bench for one of the worst teams in the league. May I remind, you, this is a man who spent his money to actually buy THIS CAR. I’m no karma expert, but I don’t see what exactly we did that was so bad.
Plus we signed Roy to a max contract, and even gave him an option on his fifth year. That seems like fairly good treatment for a star player who deserves max money. Later in the article, Chisholm criticizes the early parts of Usain Bolt's sprints – what takes that guy so long?
Did they get to spend their money on their number one free agent target (Hedo Turkoglu)? No, they didn't. Did they get to spend their money on their odd second choice (Paul Millsap)? No, they didn't.
You realize that Millsap did not actually choose to stay in Utah, but that Utah chose to retain his services as a restricted free agent, right? I like your whole fairy tale vibe, but the NBA has actual rules and things about who you can sign.
What they did get was a two-year rental on Andre Miller in an attempt to save face in a summer where no one seemed interested in playing in Portland.
Yes, Andre took our $10 million in face-saving money. We have encouraged him to splurge on a nice hair cut with that cash.
Perhaps that, though, is the real trouble spot that has arisen this summer.
Portland is a club on the rise with one of the most talented guards in the game and a highly respected coach on the sidelines. Yet they had trouble spending nearly $10-million in cap space this summer because players and agents seem wary of linking themselves with the club. Surely part of it is the aftermath of the Miles fiasco, but GM Kevin Pritchard has begun to get himself a reputation as an arrogant malcontent who sees himself as bigger than his club and his club as better than the league.
That $10 million was tough to spend, it’s true. Pritchard tried to buy some new TVs for the Rose Garden concourse, but Best Buy wouldn’t take his dirty money. We offered $10 million to Zaza Pachulia, but he said he’d rather stay in Atlanta for $4 million because living in the state of Georgia reminded him so much of his home in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Or wait, maybe there just weren’t that many high-end free agents on the market this summer! If you want to criticize Pritchard, maybe you should criticize him for making that dumb $50/5 offer to Turkoglu in the first place. (On a completely unrelated note, Turkoglu shot 30/91 from the field and was visibly tired during the Eurobasket tournament. He turns 31 before next year’s playoffs [I sure hope you guys make it this year]. Enjoy your Turkish Sensation, Toronto! I’m jealous that your fairy tale isn’t over yet.)
Agents steered their clients away from Portland during the draft due to uncertainty as to when their clients would ever play.
Oh those terrible Blazers. They have so many good players that rookies don’t want to get drafted by them because they won’t get to play. The front office is running that team into the ground.
Portland's coach Nate McMillan was vocal during that process and this summer about the differences he and his boss have over the makeup of the roster (so much so that McMillan refuses to extend his contract beyond one-year increments so that he'll be available should a better opportunity present itself in the future).
He wants the chance to escape fairy tale land at a moment’s notice, duh.
Rudy Fernandez was displeased with the news that Turkoglu could be coming to the team and what it could mean for his already mid-sized playing time. Sergio Rodriguez, now of the Kings, was frequently frustrated with his role within the club and Jerryd Bayless has since taken up his cry. Heck, one has to wonder why Turkoglu would spurn a team that spent two solid days courting him like he was a southern belle for a club that was only willing to lift a telephone.
*Gasp* One minor role player complained about his playing time last year, while another player worried that signing a signing a free agent at his same position might cut into his minutes? The sky is falling! For what it’s worth, I have never heard Jerry Bayless complain about playing time. I have heard him say mature things like:
Dime Magazine: When you first heard about the Miller signing, what was your reaction?
JB: I thought it could be a good learning experience for me. I just gotta take it for what it’s worth and learn from it. Andre Miller’s a great point guard, so it’ll only help me get better.
As nice as it is to have a team that the media adores, that isn't nearly as nice as having a team that players adore, because the media is fickle and is already poised to ditch this club for their division-mates in Oklahoma City.
I think Chisholm just argued: media adoration doesn’t matter much, but watch out because the media’s about to adore another team! In this love triangle, Portland would be Jennifer Aniston, Oklahoma City would be Angelina Jolie, and the media would be Brad Pitt? I think that puts Tim Chisholm in the role of Perez Hilton.
Perhaps one of the issues leading to this circumstance with players is that players in Portland don't feel that the club has their best interests at heart. While a team must always remain dispassionate its their players to a certain degree, there are few organizations that (at least outwardly) treat their players with less humanity. These players are frequently reminded that they are assets first, people second. Bayless will never get a chance to play this year behind Miller, Roy and Steve Blake, yet he is theirs and they want no part of a trade discussion.
As discovered by members of BlazersEdge, the front office does have a rather impersonal approach to player valuation. Other organizations sign players to contracts based solely on three hour personal interviews, playing ability be damned.
Travis Outlaw, one of the most dependable options on the team, has been sitting on the trading block for over a year without the club making any effort to dispel notions to the contrary. Teams shouldn't go out of their way to indulge every player's whim, but nor should they act as though there are no people inside the uniforms. A team like Dallas is the preferred destination of nearly every trade demand because players are cared for while in Dallas.
Travis Outlaw – one of the most dependable options on the team? Oh man, you crack me up.
Part of Boston's legacy is that once you enter the Celtics family you are a Celtic for life, an honour that extends far longer than any one player's on-court career. Heck, one of the reasons Turkoglu may have ditched this club is that Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo has a reputation for making sure his players are done right by.
Have you ever seen Red Auerbach and Bryan Colangelo in the same room at the same time? I DIDN'T THINK SO.
Come on, let’s get back to the story about how the Blazers all pranced around a fairy tale rose city but then woke up and realized that they all hated Kevin Pritchard. That was a good story.
Portland may improve on their successes of last year or they may take a step back, but it's their long-term future that should have fans worried because having a reputation as an inhospitable club is very hard to shake.
Chisholm, the weather reporter: “Well folks, I didn’t take a look at the radar this evening, but I’m pretty sure tomorrow is going to be either cloudy or sunny. It doesn’t really matter, though, because I saw a movie last night that said the world will end in a sudden ice age, and that’s the sort of bad weather that’s going to be very hard to shake. Now here’s Tom with the traffic report.”
The rest of the article contains a breakdown of our starting lineup, with more backhanded compliments than a pimp with a golden heart. For more of Tim Chisholm’s thoughts, please view this twitter topic thread.
nicely done
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