RipCityRevival's Blog

Jul 24

    As promised I am now strictly responding to the Message Boards in Blog form to allow for more people to express their views. Given the news of the day, I felt it neccessary to go ahead and respond tonight rather than tomorrow. 
    First I will address the HOT news, Andre Miller is now a Portland Trailblazer. Now a lot of us aren't super high on Andre Miller as a PG, but I will tell you why he is a great snag for KP. We can all agree that he is a little bit of an upgrade than Blake at the starting PG position. How much of an upgrade can be debated, but he is an upgrade. Now, here's the important part, Steve Blake becomes the number 2 PG in the rotation. This is a massive upgrade from last season and alone, that combo can help push Portland into the class of LA, San Antonio. The team just got MUCH deeper. 
    Now the question this raises is, what about Bayless? My answer is fankly, I really don't care anymore. Yes he has improved, yes he could be great someday, but now Portland can afford to wait for Patty Mills. I wasn't too high on Mills until I heard the excitement in Nate's voice talking about him going into Summer League before he got injured. Andre Miller just made the starting line up a little better, the second unit a LOT better, and he bought Portland time to let Mills or Jeter cover that third PG spot until they develop. A great move by KP to buy him off the market, at a decent price, without giving up Blake in the process. 
    Next topic I want to address is ODEN at the USAB camp. Day 1: I was very impressed at his defensive presence and his self assuredness. He seemed to be getting up and down the floor better than last year. The article I read (and posted the link to) from Oregonlive.com made me all the more excited to see how he fits in with our team this year. Day 2: Did not see the self assuredness today. He looked a little more confused, BUT he was cruising up and down the floor, he was going non-stop and his conditioning looks 100 times better than last season. Keep up the good work GO.
    Finally, FIBA Eurobasket Challenge. Apparently I was wrong on a few things. NBA TV, as of right now, is NOT going to show it, so I will do my best in September to follow the tournament and keep you updated in my blogs. I also urge you to go to NBA.com and contact the league, begging them to show the tournament on NBA TV. They don't have to show it live as long as we get to see our guys play. I am Jonesing to see how good Claver looks alongside Rudy.
    So there my take for today. Hope I shed some perspective on these subjects and I hope we are all fired up for the coming season. The Rip City Revival lives on! Go Blazers!