Over at ESPN, John Hollinger dropped some more Blazer content with a training camp report and some observations. The gist of the report centers around a ‘humble’ Blazer team which is keeping its goals and expectations realistic. You know the whole, “Win the division, win a first round series” soft, Quincy Jones-esque jazz. Instead of the “Yeah we’re gonna demolish the Lakers and win a title this year” noise which I guess some people think the Blazers should do. If my memory serves correct, last time a Blazer popped off to the Lakers (staring at you Ruben Patterson and Shawn [...]

Hmm.
(First off, excellent coverage by the media yesterday. BE killed it with the tweets and posts. Casey Holdahl was  a beast with the video chats. Oregonian people were on point. (PS, go read Quick’s meaty ‘Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door‘ article.))
Media day can be a tricky beast. It can’t be denied that there is a certain excitement attached with it. That’s just natural when you no longer have to watch the WNBA to get your basketball fix. Media day is when you finally are getting some basketball related news. It makes it easy to read everything like a kid [...]

The beginning of training camp feels different this time around. In 2006, there was tentative excitement coming off the unspeakable era, with two lottery picks earning solid reviews from the offseason pundits. 2007 was Oden Mania. 2008 was Oden Mania again, coupled with Fernandez Fiesta and a small yet growing dose of Batum Bonanza. There’s always been some shiny new toy to play with, but now we’re presented with a solid acquisition in Andre Miller and a handful of the usual questions that in the past have been secondary to “Just show me pictures of the new guys!”.
It’s a sign [...]

Over at Ball Don’t Lie, Kelly Dwyer with another one of his top 10 lists, this one naming the 10 best shooting guards of the last decade. Coming in at #8? None other than Mr. Brandon Roy. I’m not going to do a cut-and-paste job on that work but let’s just say he’s (deservedly) mentioned in the same paragraph as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Today on ESPN.com, John Hollinger dropped his 09-10 forecast of the Blazers and every team in the NBA. It’s an Insider article so if you don’t have those priviliges you’re just going to have to pout. Kind of like how I do when I hear they might cancel Parks & Recreation just as its getting super funny. Anyways, back to Hollinger’s thoughts on Portland. Surprisingly, he shows the Blazers a lot of love. Is this….*gasp*….national respect? It tastes good people. The piece…well it’s nothing new for Blazer fans. Andre Miller = upgrade, Brandon Roy = really good, Free Agents = [...]

First Jarron Collins, now Ime Udoka is invited to Blazers training camp to compete for the 15th and final roster spot. And there’s this from Joe Freeman’s twitter:
KP now says two more guys have been invited to the Blazers camp: Donell Taylor and Quinton Hosley.
I don’t care what position he plays, Udoka gets my vote at this moment because we know he can play a little. A serviceable big man still makes more sense, but Collins is not one of those.

If you ask me, pro sports media days are the biggest tease in the world. The players haven’t played in four months, so there’s very little of substance to ask about — it’s a day burrowed deep in the cavern of sports hypotheticals when it just so happens that every player is made available to the media because they need to get their photos taken for previews and such things. So much for quenching that NBA thirst. The best we can ask for is some interesting stories to be revealed about the players and the relationships on the team, but [...]

Q&A with Nate McMillan over at the Columbian. He talks about a lot of topics so I highly recommend just clicking on the link, but there’s one little excerpt I had to drop in this post because it’s got me juiced for the season.
“There are teams — we did a nice; we played well last season. But can we continue to play at that level and go to another level? ‘Cause we’ve got to go to another level to get to where we want to go, which is eventually a championship — that’s the ultimate goal. There are goals: winning [...]

Just some morning reading material I thought I’d pass along. Over at Ball Don’t Lie, Kelly Dwyer kept up with his top 10 lists, this time highlighting what he believed to be the top 10 NBA meltdowns of the decade. If you don’t know what topped the chart I’ll give you a hint: Ron Artest. However, I post this because the Blazers appear on this list 3 times. It’s always nice to take a look back at the insanity that was the last decade for the Blazers. Be thankful we’re debating Andre Miller v Steve Blake and ‘can we win [...]

The Blazers have signed Juwan Howard for one year. Here’s the press release, and here’s what KP had to say on it:
“Juwan Howard will add a wealth of experience and veteran savvy to our young, talented roster,” said Pritchard. “We look forward to Juwan’s contributions on the court and in the locker room.”
Blah, blah, blah he’s been around the block so many times he’s carved his own path into the pavement. This is the most important line in the press release for me:
Howard becomes the 14th player on Portland’s roster.
That’s the key. As long as Howard stays the 14th player [...]