6 People who turned their backs on the Portland Trail Blazers
Disgruntled players and bad GMs left the franchise reeling, whether it was after they left or while they were still in Portland.
Bill Walton led the Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Championship. Ten franchises have never won one title, so Portland at least has that in its back pocket.
It hasn't always been rosy in Rip City, though. Plenty of players and at least one general manager (maybe more, depending on who you ask) have left a bad taste in fans' mouths on their way out the door.
Whether it was poor behavior on or off the court (or both in some cases) or a laundry list of questionable roster decisions, people throughout the organization's history have turned their backs on Portland, so to speak.
Here are six of them whose transgressions have left some lingering warts on the franchise.
Bonzi Wells
Bonzi Wells was a poster child for the Jail Blazers era. He was a good player when he was on the floor; the problems came when he was off it.
While trade requests are commonplace in today's NBA, the Wells-Blazers situation was the opposite. Portland essentially requested they trade Bonzi themselves.
On Nov. 18, 2003, Wells was suspended for two games and stripped of his co-captain title after cursing out head coach Maurice Cheeks on the sideline during a game. Per The Oregonian, it was at least the fourth time in Cheeks' two seasons in charge that Wells had gone at his head coach in front of the team.
“This time I’m fed up with it,” Cheeks said. “I’m just tired of it.”
So was Portland, apparently. Less than three weeks later, Wells was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Wesley Person and a first-round pick.