Honestly, I’m not very good with goodbyes. I don’t really like doing them and often times I’m clumsy with them. If I go over to a party at someone’s house, or if I’m at a bar, I’m kind of known for just leaving when I want to leave. I don’t know why I do it, I guess it’s kind of rude, but it’s me. I never liked having to track someone down just to say bye, it felt pointless. But anyways, part of me wanted to introduce the new blood into RCP, keep posting and tweeting for a week, and silently disappear. But I guess I need to say a few words in my last post. I guess I kind of have to leave a mark on something I helped give birth to, even if this was never about me. Also, Coup won’t shut up about it.

It’s going to be tough to leave this little corner of the earth, and quite frankly I miss it already. I’m going to miss the interactions on twitter, being able to spark up a discussion instantly. I’m going to miss feeling a part of the basketball blogger community–it’s not always the most friendly, functional, but there’s an understanding between writers that can’t really be put into words. For three years, whenever I wanted to I could pound out a post about whatever I wanted. That kind of freedom and the joy it brings can’t really be matched.

I learned a lot doing this and I wouldn’t trade it for a lot of things in the world…except for a date with a celebrity. My only goal was to promote thoughtful discussion and to get other people’s perspectives on the game I loved. I wasn’t always right, not every post was brilliant or hell even good, but it was me and it’s something I’m proud of.

I just want to say thank you to any person who has come to this site, read our material, linked to us, commented us, tweeted us, etc. You have no idea what it meant to us. When we started this, it was never about getting noticed or fame or fortune or any of that. But the interactions we’ve had have been priceless. I’m thankful I’ve had this space for the past three years. I’m thankful it brought me and my buddy even closer than before.

I feel great about where this site is going to go, as you should be able to tell by the past few days. They’re gonna kill in ways I couldn’t imagine…I’m just blessed I was a part of something people even wanted to be a part of. Today is the day I get out of the way and I let the new blood take this platform to the next level. I hope you stay on board, farewell to you anonymous people whoever you are for letting me do my thing this whole time. Take me out Hov….

Thank you, thank you, thank you, you’re far too kind.
Hold your applause, this is your song, not mine.

The big(ger) news was the following from Freeman:

Point guard Patty Mills, who played for the Blazers as a rookie last season and on their summer league team in July, is not expected to be a part of camp. The Blazers issued Mills a qualifying contract offer over the summer, but he has not signed it.

It’s newsworthy, but it should not be surprising. Going into summer league there was a some sort of unspoken battle between Mills and Armon Johnson. I figured Mills’ days were numbered considering the Blazers had made an effort to move up in the second round to grab Johnson. That investment, plus them signing Johnson to a contract put the nail in the coffin of Mills’ tenure in Portland. It’s unfortunate to see such a talented kid go, but there was no room for Mills. Management is clearly high on Johnson and believe his overall ceiling to be higher than Patty. Mills needed to show a better ability to ‘run the show’ as a PG, and obviously didn’t do enough of that.

Back to the invites to training camp, considering the fact that Portland’s roster is already over-loaded, it seems like a classic situation where extra bodies are brought in for the first few two-a-days. Nearly ever team does it and all of these guys seem like supreme longshots to make the roster. An interesting point was brought up by Ben Golliver over at Blazersedge who passed along a quote from D-League guru Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside.

The Development League’s new allocation system allows for each D-League team to acquire the rights to 3 players cut from their affiliate’s training camp. With the Blazers bringing these guys into camp, assuming that they are cut and interested in playing in the D-League, they will be automatically be assigned to the Idaho Stampede instead of going through the draft/waiver process and potentially ending up on another D-League team.

This could be a scenario where Portland is looking at using the D-League better and getting guys more ingrained into their system. It’s interesting that three of the four players Portland is looking to bring in are perimeter players, considering the fact that Portland is stacked on the wing. An extremely speculative mind would wander towards thinking Portland could be preparing for a major move…I wouldn’t go that far, but certainly something to think about.

“I think if Portland keeps my rights, that means they believe in me. I’m excited to begin the season with them and prove that I have my place on the team and play minutes. The most important thing is to grow as a player and as a person. I’m an NBA player and there’s not many people who can say that.”

Now of course, I’m taking a grain of salt because there’s always a chance someone told Rudy it might be a good idea to have good PR for once, but I disgress. This statement is almost the direct opposite of what his agent Andy Miller went ahead and said months ago….by the way he’s so fired right? This is the right attitude to have, it just sounds like Rudy went home and had a temper tantrum and now he’s over it. Kind of like that girlfriend or boyfriend that is tired of that relationship, thinks they are getting treated poorly, asks for a break and then after 3 unsuccessful weeks on the market begs their significant other to take them back. Ok, maybe not that extreme but you get my point.

I have no problem seeing Rudy back in a Blazer uniform. This entire time, despite some of the inflammatory comments, I had a feeling Rudy would be back at least to start the season. For one, the market for him simply was not there. The teams that were interested either didn’t have the pieces to make Portland happy in a trade, or went elsewhere to fill their perimeter needs. Secondly, I just never felt like the Rudy/Portland relationship had truly reached a toxic, unworkable, level. Despite Andy Miller’s comments, we had never truly heard anything negative come directly from Rudy Fernandez’ mouth.

So…for now, it seems as if this telenovela is over. Fernandez seemingly will play a big role for the Blazers this season, and seems to be motivated to prove his worth. It’s a win-win for the Blazers to be honest, because if he showcases his talents and his stock goes up there’s always the chance for a deal mid-season. If not, you get a heck of a player in your rotation.