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Yes, that's KP above (middle), in his college days (courtesy of kusports.com)
Fans of the Portland Trail Blazers astound me at how short their memories, loyalties and patience can be at times. In recent years I've seen them flip on players and management quicker than a Russian Olympic gymnast. All the while I've sat back wondering how many of them are bandwagon jumpers who only joined the Blazers train when things started looking up and the Jail Blazer era was behind us.
All you need to do is peruse the OregonLive or Blazersedge comments sections to find the trolls with their hastily put together ideas, exclaiming their upset with the direction of the team or proposing the trade of players they had lauded the day before. With that in mind, I present to you the Top Ten Stern Warnings to Blazers fans in the team's current situation:
- Stop expecting wholesale changes every off-season. Yes, the last couple of summers have seen huge changes to the Blazers' roster -- primarily because they were needed to clear out bad attitudes, bad contracts and bad players. That time is over and so is the need to make significant moves each year. Too many moves = too little chemistry and bonding.
- Stop expecting miracles out of Kevin Pritchard. KP has done his fair share of nice maneuvering in recent years. Some of it was through brilliance and hard work, some of it was simple common sense and some of it surely was the result of luck. Either way, you can't expect that every summer is to be filled with "pritch-slapping" of opposing GMs. You just look like one of those over-cocky Laker fans (that Blazer fans love to hate on) when you start with this type of boasting.
- Be thankful that Paul Allen has such deep pockets. There aren't many owners around the league that are willing in these economic times to put their playing roster over their own wallet, so don't keep expecting the lop-sided trades and purchased draft picks to keep coming forever.
- Don't fall for hype over Brandon Roy's contract situation. Roy is a consumate professional -- you know that, the team knows that and Pritchard and Allen know that. At the same time, contract negotiations are just that: negotiations. It would be ridiculous for any business person to come to an agreement without carefully considering all of the implications. Roy will re-sign, be sure of that -- just don't go expecting it to happen right now, just because you want it that way.
- Allow the hype-mongers like Canzano to have their say, then politely ignore them. We all love to have as much coverage of the Blazers as possible. We scour the net looking for articles when there is no real news to report. That is where the likes of John Canzano come into their own. They're paid to right puff pieces on the likes of the Blazers, in order to stur public opinion, draw in readers and ultimately get a reaction. It's their job. Enjoy the reading, but don't take it as gospel and certainly don't take it as a call to arms to put down management and demand changes.
- Wish Darius Miles well. During the 2008-09 season there was a situation whereby Miles made a dramatic comeback to the NBA, which had the small effect of reducing the Blazers' available cap space. This scenario brought out a chorus of haters who claimed that Miles was doing this purely to bring down the Portland faithful and blow up the Rose Garden. Did they ever stop to think that perhaps he just wanted to resume his career? Wish the guy well -- he's made his mistakes, perhaps he hasn't played that well for Portland in the past, but he's a human being and he deserves the right to take on employment just like you and I do.
- Remember where we've come from. It was only a short step back that the Blazers were the laughing-stock of the league with a rap sheet longer than a Damon Stoudamire stogie. The Jail Blazers had one of the highest salary totals in the NBA and were not a team that anyone could be proud of. With the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells, Zach Randolph, Ruben Patterson and Stoudamire gone, we should be proud of the type of players that management has brought in and the way they have managed to cut salaries so dramatically to get us to the situation we're in this summer. Enjoy it.
- Stop demanding the trade of the likes of Travis Outlaw. Do you think players take notice of what fans have to say? Of course they do. Fans are as much their livelihood as the bread-eating customers are to a baker. In these crazy days of the internet, myspace, facebook and twitter, players are more connected than ever with their fans. Even if they deny it, those fan opinions are sure to have a big effect on the play of these young millionaire athletes. If you want your players to play well, think twice before you rehash your demands to trade Trout for the hottest player of the moment, for the thirteenth time.
- Forget about Hedo. Perhaps the Blazers' brass didn't make the best decision by going all out with a public show of affection to secure Hedo Turkoglu's signature this summer. However they made the move that most would think to be wise if you wanted to court a top-name free agent and sadly came off second-best to Canada's finest basketball team. Is it worth booing him when Hedo comes to town this season? Well, that's up to you the fan. But don't regret that Hedo became Hedon't when he decided to sign with the Toronto Raptors -- he obviously didn't want to be in Portland and if that's the case, the Blazers don't want him.
- Remember that the summer is not over! Whilst the Blazers might not have made any significant moves just yet, they sit perfectly poised in position to be that team that alleviates the situation of a cap-strapped team in this tight economy. They can be that trade partner in a lopsided deal (with a nice trade exception to boot) and have the money available to sign one of the remaining quality free agents. Sure, some of the big names have gone off the market, but if the Blazers didn't make a serious run at them, then perhaps they were not that "fit" that Pritchard and Nate McMillan are looking for. You've said "in KP we trust" in the past, so why not now? If the Paul Millsap signing comes off, great. If not, well we've just financially hamstrung one of our biggest division rivals. Wait and see what happens the rest of the way over the summer, but don't sit there refreshing the Blazers site or your twitter feed expecting a trade/signing every hour -- it doesn't always have to be that way. Don't forget that last season's team returns with four rookies with a year of experience under their belts, a (hopefully) healed Martell Webster and a 54-win season behind them.
Have you got a number 11 to add? Fire away in the comments...
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