Blazer Talk: 02/01/2006

Ruben Patterson traded to Denver

This is no suprise and I am actually happy for Ruben. He is going to a place where he can be a winner. I will miss his energy. Thankfully we have Viktor to pick up where Rube leaves off. Best of luck to you Ruben! I'm glad you got out.

The deal is a 3-way deal between Seattle, Denver, and Portland. It pans out like this:

Ruben Patterson and Reggie Evans to Denver
Voshon Leonard and Vitaly Potapenko to Portland
REggie Evans and a 2nd round pick from Denver to Seattle.

Here is an early link to the story: LINK

*UPDATE*
I haven't been able to get here to update but the deal is a bit different than originally announced. By now, most of you know how it went down but I am posting for the record.

Seattle acquires Earl Watson, Bryon Russell, a 2008 second-round pick and cash from Denver.

Denver acquires Reggie Evans from Seattle, and Ruben Patterson and Charles Smith from Portland.

Portland acquires Voshon Lenard from Denver and Brian Skinner from Sacramento.

Sacramento acquires Vitaly Potapenko from Seattle and Sergei Monia from Portland.

It's T-Time...

Trade winds are blowing. Today it is rumored that the T-Wolves are talking with the Knicks and KG to NY is the hot topic. Blazer/Knick rumors are also still alive with Miles and Ratliff the subjects. Denver is in the mix with names like K-Mart and Nene being dropped.

We are in a bit of a spot since Darius hasn't played enough to show his trade value and Theo is hurt. I wish there was a way to get KG here but I know that is not going to happen. I don't like trading for contracts and picks. I want a PLAYER!

Anyway, this will all be over very soon. It's sure to heat up even more before the deadline. I hope Nash doesn't do something stupid.

Blazer Blog is doing a great job of keeping up on all the rumors involving Portland.

It's do or die.

Tonight's game against the Lakers is going to be scary to watch. I'm thankful the women's figure skating gets underway tonight as well because I am going to need a diversion! Thank goodness for PIP! (picture in picture)

Kobe is saying he wants to drop 100 on us tonight. Yeah Yeah Yeah, whatever. A TEAM player wouldn't do that. I am SO incredibly tired of Kobe. I thought it was pretty lame of the NBA to use the little Katrina victim to try and salvage Kobe's image as well. That caused me to turn the channel and miss a good deal of the All Star show. Should I bother mentioning the Nike commercial? Get a clue Nike. You are promoting a really crummy individual. I'll leave it at that. I hear Adidas has a pretty good shoe.

Back to tonight. I have read that Nate is going to play only the guys that are playing hard. If they aren't, they are going to sit. This alone makes me curious to watch. I want to see this really put into action. It should be this way at all times but we all know it isn't.

We will also be without Theo or Joel tonight. Are you motivated Ha? Zach, can you help at C? There is an uneasiness in the universe. In spite of all this, it would not shock me to see a Blazer win. OK, yes, it will. Still, the Blazers have pulled off mighty efforts against the Lakers. It could happen again. A win sure would be good medicine for a seriously ailing team.

GO BLAZERS!

Telfair caught with loaded gun.

Here is the story I was referring to yesterday.

Sebastian Telfair got caught with a loaded hand gun while traveling with the team. No charges are being filed but NBA and team fines are expected.

I am having a hard time believing this is a "one time occurrence" and that it was a "mistake". It seems our innocent, young, PG is not so innocent. I have to say, I am ticked about this.

Read it HERE.

Best Dressed

Zach Randolph may not have made the All Star team like he wanted to, but he has managed to get noticed. Our own Z-Bo won the title of "Best Dressed" for the week of Feb 7-13. I hope that isn't real fur.
LINK

It's time for a chat.

I have been waiting for something "Blazer" to talk about. They were doing quite well and I was preparing to post and then they hit the skids. I was preparing to talk about the 30 point losses when they pulled off a win in Charlotte. Interestingly enough, they played Darius earlier than we had been told.

The result is that today I find myself unable to find anything of significance to talk about. I mean, congratulations are in order for Joel and Noel (is that meant to be or what?) on the birth of their first child, Anthony. I hear he is a BIG boy! Still, Joel is nursing an injured knee.

Theo is recovering from a badly sprained ankle. Darius, who was scheduled to return 2/21, came back a week early. Maybe this is something, maybe he just wanted to help his team. There have been enough trade rumors regarding Darius that it is very easy to see this as the Blazers using the situation to play Darius so any interested teams can see that he is healthy. New York? The Theo/Darius to NY for Penny Hardaway rumor still seems to have legs, even if it's crawling.

In addition to this, a new rumor has surfaced involving Travis Outlaw to Charlotte for Melvin Ely. As the deadline approaches I am sure many more rumors will be born. I'm not convinced anything will happen. I am not convinced we need a trade at all. This team as yet to have an opportunity to function as a whole unit under Nate McMillan. It could be that the missing piece was Darius. We had a good run where the team was playing very well and just needed a bit more fire power. That could have been Darius. Now, Darius can play and Theo and Joel are out. It may be weeks before they are back. By that time, Darius (and who knows who else) may be gone. If that happens, we will never know.

I think I am rambling. I'm bored. Following the Blazers lately has just not been that inspiring as a whole. I'm trying. I'm still bummed over the Seahawks getting ripped off. I'm watching the Olympics. Even there, the USA is taking a few hits. Kwan, Miller, women's downhill...

There have been bright spots. Kudos to the "flying tomato" and the Texan. I've also seen that girls can get "big air" and that picking yourself up after a fall can still bring victory (Chinese figure skater. I'd look up her name but results are posted everywhere and I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!)

So anyway....maybe there is something here to spark a conversation. I will drop a hint that I have heard something today that may be a story later on. If so, I'll get it posted here. I'm awaiting further info....