History of the Portland Trail Blazers
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The following is a detailed history of the Portland Trail Blazers, a professional basketball team which joined the National Basketball Association in 1970.
[edit] Early Franchise history
On February 6, 1970, the NBA board of governors granted the Blazers franchise, after the Blazers paid $3.7 million to join the league. In that year, the Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) and the Cleveland Cavaliers also joined the league. The team was based around Geoff Petrie, a first round draft choice out of Princeton University, and the 6'10" (2.08 m) tall LeRoy Ellis, whom they picked up in the expansion draft. In their first season, the Blazers finished with a 29-53 record, which generally was poor, but was the best out of the three new teams in the NBA. The next year, the Blazers won only 18 games, but rookie Sidney Wicks was named Rookie of the Year. The following year, the team landed the number 1 pick in the NBA Draft, but squandered it on LaRue Martin, a player who was a complete bust in the NBA.
The Blazers did not beat their first season's record until they drafted Bill Walton from UCLA in 1974. In his first two years, under coach Lenny Wilkens, the Blazers were a much-improved team; but still did not post a winning record (nor did they make the playoffs). In the 1976 off-season, Wilkens was fired and replaced with Dr. Jack Ramsay. That off-season, the team made several key acquisitions, most notably forward Maurice Lucas who was acquired in the dispersal draft that occurred when the American Basketball Association was acquired by the NBA (and several of its teams folded).
[edit] The Championship Season
- Main article: 1977 NBA Finals
In the 1976-77 campaign, the Blazers posted their first winning record, going 49-33 under the leadership of Ramsay. The team—Walton at center, Lucas and Lloyd Neal at forward, and Dave Twardzik and Lionel Hollins at guard—made the playoffs for the first time. Not much was expected of the young team, but the Blazers shocked the world by winning the NBA championship in their first time in the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Bulls (who were a Western Conference team at the time) and the Denver Nuggets (a surviving ABA team) in the early rounds, the Blazers stunned the favored Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in four straight games. They then went on to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 for the championship.
The next season started greatly for the team, who raced off to a 50-10 record. However, at that point a rash of injuries set in (most notably to Walton, who would struggle with injuries his entire professional career), and the team finished the season with a 58-24 record. They failed to make it back to the Finals, losing to Seattle (the eventual Western Conference champion) in the conference semis.
[edit] The Early-Mid Eighties
For the next several years, the team basked in the afterglow of its only championship. Despite the loss of several key players due to injury (and an acrimonious parting-of-the-ways between the team and Walton), the team continued to play competitive basketball. The sellout streak continued, and the Blazers were immensely popular around town. The team continued to make the playoffs every year except for one (1981-1982), and on several occasions advanced past the first round. However, the NBA's Western Conference at that time was dominated by the L.A. Lakers (with a few Finals appearances by the Houston Rockets); at no point were the Blazers ever a contender for the championship.
In the 1978 draft, the Blazers (for the third time in their history) landed the #1 pick in the draft; and selected Mychal Thompson, a center originally from the Bahamas. Thompson was as glib and outspoken as Bill Walton was shy and retiring (this was well before Walton transformed into the outspoken play-by-play man he is today). Thompson was a serviceable center who had a productive career with the team, though he never justified his selection as a number 1 pick. Over the next several years; the team acquired several other players who many thought could form the nucleus of a championship contender—Jim Paxson, T. R. Dunn, Fat Lever, and Wayne Cooper. In 1983, the team selected Clyde Drexler, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career (eventually winning an NBA title with Houston).
The 1984 off-season was one of controversy. The Blazers used their #2 pick to draft center Sam Bowie, bypassing Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton. Bowie suffered a series of serious leg injuries that limited his production for the team. One bright spot in the 1984 draft was the selection of forward Jerome Kersey. That summer, the team sent Dunn, Lever, Cooper, and a draft pick to the Denver Nuggets for forward Kiki Vandeweghe. While Vandeweghe would have several productive seasons in Portland, the trade was widely disliked. Vandeweghe was regarded as an excellent shooter and passer, but a poor defender and rebounder.
In 1985, the team selected point guard Terry Porter in the draft.
After several consecutive seasons of losing in the first round, the Ramsay Era ended in the summer of 1986 when the long-time coach was fired and replaced with Mike Schuler.
[edit] The Summer of 1986
The summer of 1986 was a monumental one, both for the team and for the league. In addition to the firing of Ramsay, the team made several draft selections which were both controversial, and which would foreshadow several changes that would come to the NBA. In the first round of the draft, the Blazers (who had 2 picks) selected forward Walter Berry out of St. John's, and center Arvydas Sabonis out of the Soviet Union. Later in the draft, the team reached behind the Iron Curtain again, and chose guard Dražen Petrović from what was then Yugoslavia. The drafting of two "communists" was highly controversial—the Cold War was still going on; and many doubted that either player would be permitted to come play in the NBA. (The selection of Sabonis would become even more controversial in 1988, when the Lithuanian center was allowed to come to Portland to train, and then proceeded to lead the Soviet Union to a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.)
The selection of Berry was a foreshadowing event in another way. Unlike the two Eastern European players, he was available and reported to the team, where upon it became evident that he was a locker-room cancer. After only a few months with the team, Berry was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for another controversial rookie, center Kevin Duckworth.
[edit] The Mike Schuler Era
Mike Schuler was hired prior to the start of the 1986-87 season as Head Coach of the Blazers. In his first two campaigns, the Schuler-led Blazers posted records of 49-33 (in 1986-87) and 53-29 (in 1987-88). Both teams made the playoffs (with home court advantage) but were defeated in the first round (to Houston in 1987, and to the Utah Jazz in 1988). In both years, the Blazers' reputation was that of an offensive-minded; "soft" team which could not play defense— a reputation that was rather accurate. The Blazers were among league leaders in scoring both years, but near the bottom of league rankings in defense and rebounding statistics. Many fans questioned the direction the team was taking.
The Schuler era was marked by several controversies regarding the starting lineup. The first such controversy occurred when Clyde Drexler won the starting guard spot over veteran Jim Paxson, who subsequently demanded (and got) a trade. In the 1987-88 campaign, veteran center Steve Johnson was injured, and was replaced in the lineup by Duckworth— who went on to have an All-Star caliber year (and won the starting job from the foul-prone Johnson). As the team was winning, these controversies were glossed over at first.
At the conclusion of the 1987-88 season, the team was purchased by (current owner) Paul Allen. The Paul Allen era (1988-present) is described in Part 2.
This page covers the history of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise from the 1988 off-season through the 2003 off-season. For information on the franchise's history before this date, please read Portland Trail Blazers History (1970-1988). For information on the franchise afterwards, see Part 3 of Portland Trail Blazers' history.
[edit] The season of change
At the conclusion of the 1987-88 campaign, the team was purchased by (current owner) Paul Allen. There was much hope going into the 1988-89 season; as the team had two excellent centers (Steve Johnson and Kevin Duckworth), and two good small forwards (Kiki Vandeweghe and Jerome Kersey), as well as a perennial All-Star in Clyde Drexler. The team, however, quickly fell apart during the year, as the issue of who should start became paramount. In addition, many veterans were unhappy with Mike Schuler's coaching style; as a result the team limped to a 39-43 record and barely made the playoffs (where it was ousted by the Lakers 3-0 in the first round). Schuler was fired; assistant Rick Adelman was given the head coaching job on an interim basis.
That summer, however, several events occurred which vaulted the team back into the Finals. Most notably, Sam Bowie and a draft pick were traded to the New Jersey Nets for veteran forward Buck Williams, instantly transforming Portland into a respectable defensive and rebounding team. Vandeweghe was sent to the New York Knicks for a draft pick, and Johnson was taken by the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in the expansion draft. Dražen Petrović was permitted by the Yugoslav authorities to come to Portland and join the team. For the second round of the draft, Portland selected a young forward from UConn, Clifford Robinson.
[edit] The return to the finals
With the exception of the championship year of 1976-77 (and the following season), the early nineties is generally regarded as the greatest era in team history. In the 1989-90 campaign, the team posted a 59-23 record, and defeated the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference playoffs. The team was ultimately defeated by the defending champion Detroit Pistons, led by Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas 4-1; but an air of optimism hung over the city. The team won with gritty defense and rebounding, the aerial highlights of Drexler and Kersey, and the deadly outside shooting of Porter and Petrović.
That off-season, Petrović joined the New Jersey Nets, where he would perform at an All-Star level before his premature death in an auto accident in 1993. To replace him, the team signed free agent guard Danny Ainge, who had won three titles with the Boston Celtics in the 80s. In the 1990-91 season, the Blazers posted a 63-19 record - the best in the league and the best in franchise history. They ended the Lakers' nine-year reign over the Pacific Division and won home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They easily dispatched their first two opponents in the playoffs; but the season ended in heartbreak when the Lakers defeated the Blazers 4-2 in the Western Conference finals.
In the 1991-92 campaign, the Blazers repeated as Pacific champions. They steamrolled through the Western Conference playoffs en route to an epic showdown with the Chicago Bulls in the Finals—one that they would lose 4-2, and which cemented the reputations of both Jordan and Drexler (placing the latter firmly in the former's shadow). During the playoffs, the Blazers' reputation as a "dumb" team—one which thrived on athleticism and emotion, rather than sound fundamentals—begin to take hold, especially in game 6 wherein the Blazers gave up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter after dominating Chicago for most of the game.
[edit] The end of the Adelman era and the beginning of the "Jail Blazers" era
After the 1991-92 campaign, the wheels started falling off the wagon a bit. That off-season, the team tried to give a lowball offer to guard Danny Ainge. He angrily left for Phoenix and became a major player in the Suns' run to the finals in the following season. To replace him in the backcourt, the Trail Blazers signed free agent guard Rod Strickland, who was a rather controversial player. In the minds of many, this began the "Jail Blazers" era.
Those who suspected that the Blazers depended too much on athleticism were somewhat vindicated, as a series of injuries and other issues started to plague the team. Kevin Duckworth started struggling with his weight (an issue which affected him his entire career), and his performance dropped off significantly. Drexler, Kersey, and Buck Williams also started showing signs of age; Drexler and Kersey missed a combined 50 games due to injury. Despite this, the team posted a 51-31 record. A bright spot was the continuing emergence of Clifford Robinson; "Uncle Cliffy" astounded the league with his dazzling defense off the bench and was rewarded the Sixth Man Award.
Unfortunately, the team failed to advance in the playoffs, losing to David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
Two other key events occurred in the team in the 1992-93 season. Owner Paul Allen started breaking ground on the Rose Garden, which would replace the aging (and far-too-small) Memorial Coliseum, which was the Blazers’ home court at the time.
On a far more negative note was the infamous "Blazer Sex Scandal". While on a road trip to Utah, several members of the team attended a party in Salt Lake City, where some of them had sexual intercourse with some local girls who turned out (unbeknownst to the players involved) to be underage. Originally, the identifies of the players involved were not revealed pending an investigation; and speculation was rampant. Eventually, four players, including Jerome Kersey, received suspensions from the team; however, no players were charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
In the 1993-94 campaign, the decline continued. Terry Porter suffered an injury and was replaced in the starting lineup with Strickland. Duckworth was traded in the off-season to the Washington Bullets for forward Harvey Grant. To replace Duckworth, center Chris Dudley was signed to a one-year contract (a deal which incurred the wrath of NBA commissioner David Stern who viewed it as an attempt to circumvent the league's salary cap—the Blazers prevailed in arbitration over the matter). Portland went only 49-33 and was eliminated by eventual champion Houston in the first round. Adelman was fired and replaced with Seton Hall coach P. J. Carlesimo.
[edit] Trader Bob and PJ
The 1994-95 season was also the first in the reign of "Trader" Bob Whitsitt. At the time, Whitsitt was viewed (throughout the NBA) as one of the brightest executives in the league. He was a master of the salary cap (and other details of the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players) and was widely viewed as the prime architect of the Seattle SuperSonics. After a falling-out with Sonics' owner Barry Ackerley, Whitsitt was eagerly hired by Paul Allen and set about rebuilding the team. The Sonics went to the NBA Finals in 1996, two years after Whitsitt left for Portland.
The 1994-95 campaign was the last for two key members of the Blazers' squad of the early 90's; Drexler was traded in the middle of the season to the Houston Rockets for Otis Thorpe and a draft pick (where he, along with center Hakeem Olajuwon would lead the Rockets to a second consecutive NBA title). His number was retired in 2001. In addition, forward Buck Williams would retire at the end of the year, after a long career in both New Jersey and Portland. The 1994-95 campaign was also the last year in the Memorial Coliseum.
The Blazers that year were an above-average defensive team but a poor offensive one. They posted a 44-38 record and were swept by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs.
The next year (1995-96), the team moved into their new home, the Rose Garden. The team was led in scoring by Robinson; and that year also saw Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis join the Blazers nearly ten years after he was drafted by the team (he was originally drafted in 1985, but was barred by Soviet authorities from going to the United States). Sabonis, although a shadow of his former self due to age and injury, was still a dominating force in the middle for the team. However, the season also saw the rise of tensions between Carlesimo and Strickland; Strickland disliked Carlesimo's rather vocal and intense style.
The 1995-96 Blazers posted an identical 44-38 record that year, and was defeated by Utah 3-2 in the first round. In game five against the Jazz, the Blazers were defeated 102-64, setting a record (since broken) for the fewest points scored in a playoff game.
[edit] Whitsitt makes his mark
The 1996 off-season was yet another eventful one for the Trail Blazers. Strickland demanded a trade and got one, being sent to Washington (along with Harvey Grant) for controversial forward Rasheed Wallace. A second trade brought even-more-controversial guard Isaiah Rider from Minnesota, where he had completely worn out his welcome. To replace Strickland, the Blazers signed playground legend Kenny Anderson to a free-agent contract. In the draft that year, the team selected a high school player, Jermaine O'Neal.
To some, this represented the influx of young talent the Blazers, who had been a rather ordinary team in previous years, needed to return to the ranks of the league powers. To others, the moves represented a disturbing new trend of placing talent above character. Wallace had a well-established reputation as a hothead; Anderson was regarded in some circles as a locker-room cancer, and Rider was widely regarded as the worst of the bunch. In addition, the drafting of high schooler O'Neal was a controversial move. However, the moves worked initially, as the Blazers greatly improved on their prior record, winning 49 games. The playoff results were the same, however—a first round loss, this time to the Lakers—and Carlesimo was fired and replaced with Mike Dunleavy.
One other long-time fixture with the Blazers left the team as well. Clifford Robinson, widely blamed for recent playoff failures (in part due to a noticeable decline in his performance in the playoffs) was allowed to leave as a free agent during the 1997 off-season.
[edit] Mighty Mouse
In addition to Dunleavy, the 1997-98 campaign saw two other important new faces; forward Brian Grant who was signed in the off-season, and—most importantly—guard Damon Stoudamire, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Toronto Raptors. The trade for Stoudamire was regarded at the time as the most significant deal the team had made in years. In his first NBA seasons with Toronto, the Portland native won Rookie of the Year honors and posted All-Star quality numbers for the Raptors, and reminded many of a young Isiah Thomas. Many expected that "Mighty Mouse" would become the franchise player the team had lacked since Drexler left. Although the team was bounced out of the playoffs by the Lakers again, there was optimism all around.
Yet there were early signs of trouble. Rider had numerous brushes with the law, mostly for marijuana offenses. Rasheed Wallace racked up technical fouls at an unprecedented rate. Again, these issues were glossed over while the team performed well.
The Blazers finally seemed to begin to gel in 1998-99 (a lockout-shortened season). The team finished with the second best record in the Western Conference, posting a 35-15 record. The Blazers eliminated Phoenix and Utah in the playoffs before being swept by the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs. However, Whitsitt was not satisfied, and made two major moves in the 1999 off-season. First, Rider was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for sharp-shooting guard Steve Smith. Despite above-average play, Rider had worn out his welcome in Portland almost as fast as he had in Minnesota. Second, the Blazers traded a collection of bench players to Houston for Scottie Pippen. It was widely believed that these players would lead Portland to a return to glory.
It almost worked. Led by Stoudamire, Smith, Pippen, Wallace, Sabonis and sixth man Grant, the Blazers finished with the second-best record in the league, behind only the Lakers. They returned to the Western Conference finals, where they played a memorable series against the Lakers. The Lakers, led on the floor by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal and coached by Phil Jackson, split the first two games in Los Angeles with the Blazers. The Lakers then took two straight from the Blazers in Portland. Many wrote off the Blazers; but the Blazers then came back to win Games 5 and 6. The Blazers were leading in Game 7 in Los Angeles, before the Lakers came back and won the series in a 4th-quarter rally reminiscent of Game 6 against the Bulls almost ten years ago. The Lakers went on to win the first of three consecutive NBA titles with Shaq, Kobe, and Jackson at the helm.
[edit] The bloom falls off the rose
Despite the heartbreaking loss to Los Angeles, many believed that the Blazers remained a championship contender. In the 2000 off-season, Whitsitt set about making the moves he thought were needed to push the team "over the hump." Unfortunately, just about every move backfired.
First, Brian Grant was a free agent that summer and was not happy about his role off the bench. As a result, he was traded to the Miami Heat in a 3-team deal that brought Shawn Kemp from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The move reunited Whitsitt with the player that first allowed him to make a splash in NBA front-office circles. However, Kemp was a shadow of his former self due to injuries and a weight problem. It soon was revealed that he also had drug problems. Kemp never contributed much to the team. A second problem perceived was the need to have more “big bodies” to defend against Shaquille O’Neal; as a result, little-used forward/center Jermaine O'Neal was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Dale Davis. This trade is widely regarded as a disaster for the Blazers, as O'Neal has since become an All-Star; Davis had several serviceable years in Portland but at nowhere near an All-Star level. Third, Steve Smith, upset about losing playing time to promising youngster Bonzi Wells, requested and got a trade to San Antonio for guard Derek Anderson. Finally, the Blazers signed free agent forward Ruben Patterson, who was intentionally not re-signed by Seattle after pleading no contest to a sex abuse charge relating to his household nanny.
Things started out well for the team, who won 42 of their first 60 games. However, the Blazers soon hit the skids in the final weeks of the season and stumbled into the playoffs. Kemp's season ended early when he entered drug rehab; it later surfaced that he used marijuana so often that joints turned up even in locker room stalls; many were concerned that he would actually die on the court. A season-ending injury to Bonzi Wells (who had an excellent season that year) dashed any hope the team had of being competitive in the playoffs. The team was swept in three games by the Lakers; the series was notable only for the "towel incident", where Wallace threw a towel in the face of Sabonis during a game. Possibly, because of this, Sabonis returned to Lithuania after the season.
[edit] The Cheeks era
Dunleavy was fired and replaced with Philadelphia 76ers assistant and Hall of Fame guard Maurice Cheeks. Many thought that he might turn the team around. He had a reputation as a "players coach" (he was successful working with Allen Iverson, a player who was viewed as difficult to coach) and many he could better relate to players such as Stoudamire, Wallace, and Wells.
A few other key additions to the team were made in 2001. In the draft, the team selected Zach Randolph, who would later start at forward (though not in the 2001-02). The team also signed free-agent guard Jeff McInnis to a contract.
However, the Cheeks era did not go as well as planned. Several key Blazers players got in well-publicized scrapes with the league and with the law. Wallace continued racking up technical fouls almost unabated. Several players (including Wallace) were arrested on a variety of marijuana offenses. (Marijuana is illegal in Oregon except for medical marijuana cardholders; though possession of less than an ounce is an infraction rather than a crime.) Cheeks had numerous run-ins with Stoudamire; the latter had a reputation for shooting first and passing second (much like Iverson)--a trait that Cheeks (one of the all-time greats at the position) found undesirable in a point guard. The result of the season was the same as the previous season&mdash (a three-game sweep at the hands of the Lakers).
For the 2002-03 season, Arvydas Sabonis returned to the team. However, the relationship between Cheeks and Stoudamire worsened to the point where Cheeks benched Stoudamire and started Pippen at "point forward" (alongside Wells). It soon became apparent that Stoudamire had a marijuana habit; he and Wallace were arrested for possession of the drug when a Hummer they were riding in was pulled over for speeding. In addition, Wallace further angered many in both the community and in the NBA when he received a 7-game suspension for threatening a referee after a game. The team barely made the playoffs and drew the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. The Blazers quickly dropped a 3-0 lead to the Mavericks, and in the process suffered several key injuries. Many believed another sweep was inevitable; but the Blazers won the next three to force game 7, which they ended up losing. That playoff series was also remembered for the "national anthem" incident, in which a young girl who was to sing the Star Spangled Banner before one of the games forgot the words, and Cheeks helped her sing the tune. This move cemented Cheeks' reputation in the community - and many feel saved his job.
At the end of the season, Pippen and Sabonis left as free agents. More importantly for the Blazers, Bob Whitsitt resigned his position with the Blazers on May 7, 2003, stating that he wanted to focus his attention on the Seattle Seahawks NFL team, also owned by Paul Allen. However, he had been the subject of continuous criticism from the team's fans and both the local and national press for the team's frequent playoff exits. More importantly, the team's numerous off-court troubles earned it the nickname 'Jail Blazers'.
To replace Whitsitt, the team hired Steve Patterson as team president on June 18, 2003 and announced that John Nash would become general manager on July 15.
[edit] The Patterson/Nash era
Patterson and Nash immediately began a campaign to clean up the team's image. A "25 point pledge" was announced and published, describing a standard of conduct that all Blazer personnel would be required to live up to. The Blazers' draft choice that year, Travis Outlaw, was the son of a police officer and had a spotless record (despite the ironic last name).
Not long after the 2003-04 season started, Bonzi Wells (who had grown more sullen and disruptive over the past several seasons) launched a tirade at Cheeks during practice; he was suspended and soon traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Wesley Person and a first round pick. Soon after that, Rasheed Wallace (normally one who is distrustful of reporters) gave an extended interview in which he claimed that the NBA "exploited" African American players. This interview was widely denounced by the team, the media, and the league, but no official punishment resulted.
During the season, two other "character" trades occurred. Point guard Jeff McInnis, considered by many to be disruptive in the locker room, was sent to Cleveland with Ruben Boumtje Boumtje for forward Darius Miles and cash. Wallace was sent to the Atlanta Hawks along with Person for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, center Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau. Many of these trades were welcomed by the fan base, but they were disruptive to team chemistry (the Wallace trade occurred during a "hot streak"; after the trade was commenced the hot streak abruptly ended). The team posted a 41-41 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1981. The Blazers' 21 straight playoff appearances was an NBA record and one short of the all-time record of 22 years in US professional team sports, held by the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League.
[edit] The last year of the Cheeks era
The team embraced a bit more controversy in the off-season when it selected Sebastian Telfair, a high-school player from New York, with its first draft pick. Telfair had been widely viewed by many NBA observers as overrated and not ready for a professional career. The team also selected two European players, Viktor Khryapa and Sergei Monia, with later picks (one acquired in the Wells trade, one purchased from the New Jersey Nets for cash), as well as Korean center Ha Seung-Jin in the second round. Based on their stellar performance the previous season, three players&mdash, Miles, Ratliff, and Zach Randolph&mdash were given large contract extensions in the summer of 2004. Davis, who had grown increasingly disgruntled in Portland, was traded to the Golden State Warriors for also-disgruntled guard Nick Van Exel, and center Joel Przybilla was signed to a free agent contract.
Before the 2004-05 campaign started, two players managed to get themselves involved in major off-court incidents. Randolph and his brother were in a nightclub in Marion, Indiana (Randolph's hometown) when his brother was involved in a shooting there. Although Zach was not involved in the shooting, he initially did not cooperate fully with the police investigation into the incident; after being threatened with criminal charges for filing a false police report, Randolph gave a revised statement to police, which ended the matter as far as Zach was concerned. Zach's brother was later convicted and sentenced to prison.
A potentially more embarrassing incident occurred when it revealed that forward Qyntel Woods was raising pit bulls for the purposes of dogfighting, a felony offense in the state of Oregon. This revelation provoked a great deal of community outrage. (In addition, Woods also received a 5-game suspension from the NBA for violating the league's drug policy.) The Blazers put Woods on indefinite suspension pending a criminal investigation; after Woods pleaded guilty to a lesser (misdemeanor) offense, the Blazers waived him. Woods was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Miami Heat.
When the season started, the Blazers stumbled out of the gate. The starting lineup consisted of Ratliff, Randolph, Abdur-Rahim, Stoudamire, and Anderson. For the early part of the season, the team played mostly a .500 ball game, but there were numerous complaints and chemistry issues. The starting backcourt struggled with their shooting; Abdur-Rahim was playing out of position (it was widely believed that he was being showcased for a trade). Darius Miles, after a stellar previous season, was unhappy about being benched. Ratliff was nowhere near the dominating presence in the middle that he had been the previous year (which he blamed on a minor injury); and there were complaints that Randolph was a ball-hog. There were numerous line-up experiments over the course of the season, as Cheeks looked for a winning combination; but the team never played consistently, nor did it ever win more than two games in a row the entire season. In addition, injuries took their toll—Anderson, Abdur-Rahim, and Randolph all logged significant minutes on the injured list. Widespread speculation started that Cheeks' job was in jeopardy. In addition, the bankruptcy of the Rose Garden became a major distraction. The injuries also likely prevented any major trades from occurring.
The frustrations came to a boiling point when during a practice, Darius Miles (upset with inconsistent playing time, and the belief that Cheeks was "riding" him more than other players about perceived deficiencies) launched into an obsencity-laced tirade against his coach in full view of other players (as well as a few reporters who happened to be present). The tirade included various racial slurs (both Cheeks and Miles are African American), as well as the observation that Cheeks was a lame-duck coach; thus Miles had no reason to listen to him. The team reacted with a 2-game suspension for Miles— widely considered by many in the community to be woefully inadequate— and it was reported that some in team management wanted a less severe punishment than that. The incident turned the fan base against Miles— the same fans who praised his defense and energy the year before were now calling for his head. The incident also was perceived as a public undermining of Cheeks as coach.
The incident took a further strange turn when an unknown (to the public) employee of the Trail Blazers leaked a memo about a proposed settlement between Miles and the team to the media—in which the team would agree to refund (to Miles) the pay forfeited as a result of the two-game suspension. This caused a great deal of public outcry, and was perceived as a further slight to Cheeks. Blazers management's position was that the memo was only a draft; and that this practice was business as usual in the NBA— the terms of the collective bargaining agreement made it difficult for teams to enforce fines against players without them being overturned by arbitrators. (A subsequent investigation by The Wall Street Journal did reveal that the practice of publicly punishing players and privately rescinding the punishment is indeed common in the league.) Nonetheless, the view of management in the public's eye was furthered tarnished&mdash, so when the team’s management investigated the leaks and fired several long-time employees of the team.
At any rate, Miles' prediction was accurate. On March 2, 2005, Cheeks was fired and replaced on an interim basis by director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard. At that point, it was decided that the Blazers, who were several games out of the last playoff spot in the West, were unlikely to qualify for the playoffs, and so a "youth movement" was started. Many veterans on the team were given reduced playing time, and several—including Van Exel&mdash responded by refusing to play. Others were given extended leaves of absence. Zach Randolph had surgery on his injured knee and was done for the season. Instead, the bulk of the minutes were given to a cast of young players including Telfair, Travis Outlaw, Khryapa, Pryzbilla, and Ha. The only veterans to see significant minutes were Stoudamire, Abdur-Rahim, Ratliff, Patterson, and Miles. This roster only managed to win five games over the last two months of the season (though individual players did show flashes of brilliance)—primarily due to poor perimeter defense (with the 5'9" Stoudamire and the 6'0" Telfair at the starting guard positions, the team had little hope of defending opposing backcourts well). As a result, the team plunged into the lottery.
[edit] Arrival of Nate McMillan: 2005–present
In July 2005, the Blazers announced the hiring of Nate McMillan as their new head basketball coach, ending a several-month-long search. Other candidates for the position included Marc Iavaroni, Terry Porter, and Lionel Hollins.
The Blazers did well in the 2005 NBA Lottery, and won the #3 pick in the 2005 draft. On draft day, however, the team traded the pick to the Utah Jazz for the #6 and #27 picks in the 2005 draft, and a conditional pick in the 2006 draft (belonging initially to the Detroit Pistons). The #3 pick was used by Utah to draft Deron Williams, the Blazers used the #6 pick to draft Martell Webster. The 27th pick was used to draft Linas Kleiza, and the 35th pick (the Blazers' own) was used to draft Ricky Sánchez. The 27th and 35th picks were traded on draft night for the Denver Nuggets #22 pick, Jarrett Jack.
[edit] The 2005-2006 season
Several controversies arose during the 2005–06 season. Sebastian Telfair, who replaced Damon Stoudamire as the starting point guard, played at a level below expectations and had issues with McMillan. Forward Ruben Patterson engaged in several public power struggles with McMillan and earned a lengthy suspension from the team. Zach Randolph, recovering from a knee injury, was criticized for his alleged poor play and work ethic. Darius Miles also had issues with McMillan, including a game where he changed into street clothes at halftime in protest of lack of playing time. Both Miles and Randolph publicly requested trades, though Randolph has since apologized. In May 2006, Miles gave an interview with The Oregonian reporter Jason Quick in which he admitted to coming to practice with alcohol on his breath. Injuries also hampered the Blazers' season. Telfair, Miles, Randolf, Theo Ratliff, and Joel Przybilla also spent significant minutes out with injuries. The Blazers finished the season 21–61, the worst in the NBA.
This did not help them in the NBA Draft Lottery, as they landed the fourth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.
[edit] Financial difficulties
Since the end of the 2003 season, after which Bob Whitsitt resigned, the team has been public about its desire to cut costs. Several players viewed by many as "assets" were traded for not much in return, and/or allowed to depart via free agency with no attempt to re-sign them. Oregon Arena Corp., the Blazers' sister company, declared bankruptcy in 2004. Because of the bankruptcy, owner Paul Allen lost control of the Rose Garden, which was turned over to the creditors.
In February 2006, team management went public with the claim that without the revenue from the Rose Garden, the Blazers have found it difficult to turn a profit. According to the Blazers, they estimate they will lose $100 million dollars over the next three years. Steve Patterson stated that the "financial model (of the team) is broken", and that any options were on the table. Some thought that might include a bankruptcy filing by the team itself, though others believed that this was mere posturing to force the arena owners to negotiate a more favorable lease. Representatives from Allen's company met with state and local leaders to try to solicit public funds to help the team. However, public officials stated they have nothing to offer due to budget constraints. [1]
NBA Commissioner David Stern stated, "My goal on behalf of the league would be to keep the team in Portland, playing in the Rose Garden, with economic prospects that make some financial sense." It is highly unlikely the Blazers could move because they are contractually obligated to play in the Rose Garden until 2023. [2]. However, some believe a bankruptcy filing, were it to occur, and might eliminate any restrictions on the team's ability to relocate. Allen put the Blazers up for sale during the season, receiving several bids for the franchise, but took it off the market in August 2006.
