Portland Trail Blazers: 3 teams that deserve their own “The Last Dance” docuseries

And then, there’s the cautionary tale: the lesson in how not to construct a foundation and core.

It was evident that by the mid-2000s, the Blazers were in somewhat of a rush to leave the Jail Blazers era and build through both talent and character. Much of that was built through the 2006 and 2007 NBA Drafts, where they brought in future All-NBA stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, and then Greg Oden.

Though we never saw them at full bloom, the early returns were special, sporting them a 51-24 record over 75 games together. But Portland’s long-term success with Aldridge and Roy in particular was all but in the offing because of poor decision making.

A docuseries on this version of the Portland Trail Blazers has the ability to draw in watchers ranging from Grey’s Anatomy and The Good Doctor fans to everything in between. If there’s been one thing we could always count on with Portland, it’s been their sloppiness and lack of insight as it relates to evaluating prospects’ medical history.

It hasn’t always been a fault of their own. Sam Bowie basically admitted he lied to the Blazers about his aching legs circa the 1984 NBA Draft. But like a hard-headed child, Portland needed to learn that lesson twice, and then a few more times thereafter.

Before ever putting on a Blazer uniform, Roy had been knee-deep in two surgeries. Oden had already had hip surgery before he could even grow a beard in the sixth grade.

The Blazers continued their stubbornness, taking Elliot Williams from the University of Memphis in 2010, despite his patellar subluxation — a condition in which the kneecaps slide up-and-down on the thigh bone when bent. The Blazers didn’t have a Draft pick play at least 2,000 minutes in their career until Damian Lillard in 2012.

In 2010, Jason Quick provided a telling statistic in The Oregonian in 2011. From 2006 to 2010, the Blazers had seven first-round picks. Five of them were labelled a “high risk.”

It rolled its way onto the negotiation table, too. Knowing he was running out on both time and cartilage, Roy wanted to cash-in on one final, big payday before it was too late.

It parlayed into also making Aldridge a public enemy for having never pushed Portland to a title, despite watching the core crumble around him. And Blazers fans alike watched as players they could have drafted carve out Hall of Fame careers. Whether or not the Blazers staff and players would be so forthcoming about discussing that is a topic for another day.

And rightfully so, because that this point, someone’s been cutting onions for far too long.