Portland Trail Blazers great Clyde Drexler talks leaving Blazers on podcast

Portland Trail Blazers great Clyde Drexler recently joined the James Posey podcast, discussing his career and his trade to the Houston Rockets.

Three-time NBA Champion James Posey had Portland Trail Blazers great Clyde Drexler on his podcast recently.

Drexler discussed his time with ” Phi Slama Jama, ” the name given to the Houston Cougars team from 1982 – 1984, where he played with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon. Drexler detailed a game where they matched up with the University of North Carolina, who had future Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and James Worthy.

Drexler talked about how his favorite player was Julius ” Dr. J ” Irving and how he modeled parts of his game on Irving’s.

When reflecting on his NBA finals appearances, he talked about how the teams that were dynasties were the only ones able to win championships. He said that other teams made finals, but they couldn’t beat the dynasties of either the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers.

Though the Blazers had the best records in the regular season for two straight years, Drexler said they didn’t have enough talent.

Drexler also discussed why he left Portland. He said that they gave up too soon after some injuries on his knee and went into a rebuilding process. Management moved center Kevin Duckworth, Drexler questioned these moves, and he then requested a trade to the Houston Rockets.

He said it was the best move he ever made and demanded the trade request himself by ringing the Rockets GM. Drexler won a title with the Rockets in 1994/95, averaging 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Along with Damian Lillard, Drexler is either 1A or 1B as the greatest Blazer of all-time. This story of how the trade panned out may be news to many people, as Clyde isn’t the most popular ex-Blazer considering his Hall of Fame status.