30 teams in 30 days - Trail Blazers Tim Chisholm 9/19/2006 1:05:21 PM TSN.ca basketball columnist Tim Chisholm is looking at one NBA team each day for the month of September. Season Preview Portland Trail Blazers Could it be that the Portland Trail Blazers are finally on the path back to respectability? It almost seems like a notion too far-fetched to be true, but this summer has seen a serious upgrade not only in terms of roster talent but also in terms of roster stability. Nate McMillan was brought in last year to rehab the image of this once-proud Portland franchise, and the last few months have seen management attempt to give McMillan a rehabbed roster to work with. The biggest moves for the this team came on draft night, as they pulled off five trades in an attempt to bolster their roster with quality young talent while also shedding themselves of Theo Ratliff, Viktor Khryapa and Sebastian Telfair. What this team ultimately walked away with was the draft rights to Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Washington guard Brandon Roy and Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez. All three are polished players who can step in immediately and play a role on this team, a stark contrast to the Blazers' recent draft outings where they have looked to add raw, athletic projects like Telfair, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw, all of whom still have yet to contribute to Blazers game plan. What this gives the team is not only some actual depth at multiple positions, but also some flexibility as they look to unload the bloated contracts of Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. And make no mistake; the rebuilding project in Portland does not truly begin until those two players, or at least Randolph, have been shipped off to become someone else's problem. These two players represent some of the very worst personalities to come through the door in Portland, ever. They both refuse to play team ball, are selfish to the point of being laughable, and neither one has committed to rounding out their games' since nabbing big contracts with the Blazers in 2004. They are both holding this team hostage in terms of development because neither one wants to buy into what coach McMillan is trying to sell this team on in terms of hard work and effort, and their attitudes continue to hang as a dark cloud bleakly over the Portland locker room. The unfortunate issue is that neither one is a particularly desirable trade asset for other teams. Bad attitudes have gone quite out of vogue in the last year or two (as Bonzi Wells' contract negotiations have proved) and both also come with enormous contracts that vastly outweigh any impact they could hope to have on a new team. So, with that said, the Blazers are going to have to go forward with them in the mix and hope that their rehabilitation isn't thrown too far off course as a result. The hope is that if enough of the young players on this team buy into the team concept being peddled by McMillan, it might offset some of the negativity brought on by Miles and Randolph. Jarrett Jack became a quick favorite of McMillan last season for his hard-nosed approach to running the show, and while he's not necessarily exceptional at any one thing, his all-around leadership abilities and work ethic are exactly the kind of qualities McMillan is looking for from players in his rotation. Jack, along with newly resigned centre Joel Przybilla, represent the two guys who worked hard enough last year to actually earn consistent minutes and then use them well once they were awarded. They will both be asked to bookend the starting five this year at point guard and centre, respectively, and that should really help this team's development when it comes to setting a positive tone for the season going forward. The potential ace up McMillan's sleeve is going to be centre Jamaal Magloire. He'll most likely be coming off of the bench for the Blazers, a role he probably won't love since he has always seen himself as an integral cog on every team he's been on, but he's also playing for a contract, and so his priority will most likely be to play as hard as he can for the minutes he's afforded with the hope of landing a big payday next summer. Magloire is a fantastic rebounder who has a tendency to become a black hole on offense, which should be interesting if he's ever paired with Randolph in the frontcourt, but he should be able to add a serious threat to opposing team's second units, which would mark the first time in years that this team has a legit weapon off of their bench. If this team can find a way to unload Miles and Randolph, it would be icing on the cake right now for the Blazers. As it stands they're at least finally headed firmly in the right direction after this summer's reconstruction, and while the playoffs are still a ways away in the deep Western Conference, no one in Portland could be faulted for believing they have something to look forward to in the years to come. PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP PG - Jarrett Jack He came into last season so far down on the depth chart one wondered if he'd nab any playing time at all behind Telfair and Steve Blake, but Jack not only played his way into the rotation, he played Telfair and Blake right out of Oregon. Jack is a steady floor general in the mold of a Travis Best, he's steady and efficient and always looks to put the team first. He's not spectacular, he's not flashy, but he's the kind of point guard that coaches love because they're more concerned with fundamental leadership and playmaking rather than crossover dribbles and no-look passes. Leave that to his new back-up Rodriguez, nicknamed 'Spanish Chocolate'. Jack is going to disappear into his role as starting point guard, just the way coach McMillan would want it. SG - Brandon Roy For the Blazers, it came down to Randy Foye or Brandon Roy. Both were seen as the cream of the crop when it came to guards in this year's draft, and in the end they selected Roy. He's not as spectacular as Foye, but he can do everything on the court and he can do it all well. He has incredible maturity as a player already and will surely be looked to a lot this year to provide consistency on an often-inconsistent roster. He figures to be right there in April when it comes to Rookie of the Year voting, but the Blazers tabbed him in the draft because they believe he's much more than a rookie phenom. They expect much out of their new starting guard, and Roy was probably the best choice to live up to those lofty expectations. SF - Darius Miles I can't say for sure that Travis Outlaw won't win this spot in training camp, but Miles came out strong to start last season before getting injured, and quickly reverted back to his petulant, me-first ways. He has spent the summer on the trading block and nearly relocated to New York before James Dolan put the kibosh on that deal, and now Miles might look to work extra-hard if for no other reason than to play his way onto another roster so that he can escape the hard work and expectations set at his feet by coach McMillan. I bet the Blazers are hoping for the same thing. PF - Zach Randolph He's overweight, he's lazy, he demands the ball on every possession and requires nearly the whole 24-second clock to work his offense, and then after his team finally gets him in a position to score where he's comfortable, he repays them by not getting back to play any defense. He embodies everything that this team is trying to get away from, and if his contract weren't so absurdly hefty, they would probably have no hesitation in slotting rookie LaMarcus Aldridge into this spot. As it stands, he'll have to play back up until they can sucker someone into picking up the check on this overpriced entrée. C - Joel Przybilla I still don't understand why he opted to stay here rather than accepting an offer from Detroit or San Antonio, but either way it's Portland's gain. He's got to find a way to stay healthy for an entire season, but he has good instincts around the rim and can block shots with the best of them. Magloire's presence on the roster will help alleviate the issues brought on by a starting centre not being able to play more than 25 minutes per game. He is actually a pretty good compliment to Randolph in that he doesn't demand the ball on offense and he does what he can do to pick up Randolph' mess on defense. He's not stellar, but he's a great asset for this rebuilding team. http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=178050&hubname=nba -- 有人幫忙翻譯這篇的話， 懸賞5000P幣XD 想要嘗試翻譯的請推文告知！ --

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