|
Portland Trailblazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). more...
 Home
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Defunct Teams
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA Autographs Original
NBA Championship Items
New Jersey Nets
New Orleans Hornets
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Other
Other NBA Items
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trailblazers
 Jerseys
Other
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Seattle Supersonics
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Vancouver Grizzlies
WNBA
WNBA Autographs Original
Washington Wizards
Home arenas
- Memorial Coliseum (1970-1995)
- Rose Garden (1995-present)
History
The Trail Blazers entered the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team; and have played in Portland for the entire time. In 1977 they won their only NBA Championship. The team had been a regular fixture in the NBA Playoffs until as recently as 2002. The team was sold to Paul Allen in 1988; in 1990 and 1992 the Blazers advanced to the NBA Finals but were defeated both times; first by the Detroit Pistons and then by the Chicago Bulls.
In 1996, general manager Bob Whitsitt began rebuilding the team using players who were talented, but who had questionable attitudes and/or criminal records. This worked initially, as the team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, but the strategy soon backfired on the Blazers as the local community soured on a team better known for its off-court antics than for its on-court abilities. The team began to be known as the "Jail Blazers". After a series of embarrassing off-court incidents and playoff failures, as well as declining ticket sales, Whitsitt resigned after the 2003 season.
The current management has been attempting (with mixed success) to re-connect with the community at large. Most of the players associated with the "Jail Blazers" years are gone, and a new crop of young players is showing promise. However, the Blazers failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2003 and 2004, posting records of 41-41 and 27-55.
The Current Situation
In July 2005, the Blazers announced the hiring of Nate McMillan as their new head basketball coach, ending a several-month-long search. Other candidates for the position included Marc Iavaroni, Terry Porter, and Lionel Hollins.
The Blazers did well in the 2005 NBA Lottery, and won the #3 pick in the 2005 draft. On draft day, however, the team traded the pick to the Utah Jazz for the #6 and #27 picks in the 2005 draft, and a conditional pick in the 2006 draft (belonging initially to the Detroit Pistons). The #3 pick was used by Utah to draft Deron Williams, the Blazers used the #6 pick to draft Martell Webster. The 27th pick was used to draft Linas Kleiza, and the 35th pick (the Blazers' own) was used to draft Ricky Sánchez. Both picks were traded on draft night to the Denver Nuggets #22 pick, Jarrett Jack.
Other moves by the team during the 2005 offseason:
- Signed Webster and Jack to contracts.
- Signed guard/forward Sergei Monia of Russia, one of the team's first-round draft choices in 2004, to a contract. Monia played the prior year for the CSKA Moscow basketball team.
- Signed guard Juan Dixon, a free agent who previously played for the Washington Wizards, to a contract.
- In September 2005, the team offered restricted free agent guard Steve Blake a contract. On September 28, the Washington Wizards announced that they would not match, making Blake officially a Trail Blazer.
- Signed guard Charles Smith, a free agent who had previously played in the Euroleague, to a contract.
- Released Nick Van Exel and Derek Anderson. The former player had a team option for 2005-2006 which was not exercised; the latter was waived under the "amnesty" provision of the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Hired Maurice Lucas, Monty Williams, and Dean Demopoulos as assistant coaches.
- In October 2005, the team signed forward Sam Clancy Jr. to a 1-year contract. He was waived by the team after 3 exhibition games.
In addition, the team attempted to execute a sign and trade agreement with New Jersey. The Blazers signed free agent forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim to a contract, then traded him to the New Jersey Nets for a future first-round draft choice and the Nets' trade exception. However, the trade was rescinded after scar tissue was discovered in Abdur-Rahim's knee during a physical; resulting in Abdur-Rahim becoming a free agent once again. Abdur-Rahim subsequently signed a free-agent contract with the Sacramento Kings; as this deal was not a sign and trade the Trail Blazers received no compensation.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
|
|
Contact
