Suns waive Brown, totally should have signed Damon

From the Stories Only I Care About Department, I present to you the news that the Suns have waived Dee Brown. I have come to grips with the cold reality that Damon Stoudamire will never return to the Leauge, but knowing that this was apparently a temp position makes me feel a little better about Brown beating him out for the spot.

Suns sign Brown, ruin Christmas

You may not have known because it got so few pixels, but I was mildly excited by the idea of Damon Stoudamire trying out for the Phoenix Suns. I was somewhat of a Stoudamire fan throughout the years, but I was moved to full-out rooting for the guy after I heard him booed upon his first return to the Rose Garden after leaving the Blazers. Seriously people, I know he got caught with weed a few times and that makes you mad. So lets all boo the hell out of him. Even though the team won a whole lot of games when he was at the helm. Even though he is one of a very few people actually from Portland to make the League. Even though he has done some very good things for the community. Boo this man!

Nothing like a quick mini-rant on Christmas Eve. Anyways, my dreams of seeing Damon come off the bench for the Suns are now destroyed as Phoenix has signed Dee Brown to the spot. Since the Suns are in desperate need of a steady vet to keep things rolling when Nash is laying off to the side of the court wrapped up in towels, I thought Damon had a great shot. But it didn't happen, and now Damon is back to his day job as Director of Player Development for the Rice Owls. Of course.

Suns at Portland, Pre-pregame

You know the Phoenix Suns must be in town when you get an evening text from a friend saying they are looking at Shaquille O'Neal in a downtown coffee shop, and that he is indeed "very large."

A quick check on Shaq's twitter verified the man's presence:

Its so cold in porland the sun just sent me a text, yo shaq ill c u n may Schwwwwwww

Somehow technology seems to be making Shaq even more random, I didn't think that was possible. But if The Big Genie doesn't like the weather he should challenge it to a duel. I bet Shaq could destroy ARTIC BLAST '08: COLD TEMPERATURES 4 REALZ! in a cage fight. Then maybe the City of Portland would reopen the street I live on. Blah.

It probably doesn't help the Blazers that the man is carrying on about how he could average 27 and 10 this season. You know, if he was into that sort of thing. While it seems like bluster, hopefully Shaq's old joints will still be frozen at tip off. Because while he couldn't put up those numbers against the entire League, it seems he may be able to pull it off against Greg Oden. Seriously Shaq, we know you are great and all that. No need to prove anything. Our guy has confidence issues enough as it is.

Oh yeah, and make that roster Damon!

Now, game links to keep you from doing any actual work for the rest of the day. Because I care.

- Sheed's Shakedown
- 15 Thoughts
- Pre-thoughts
- BE Preview

Portland vs Phoenix, Pre-pregame; Von Wafer edition

Its always inconsiderate of the Universe to allow basketball things to happen while I'm away from a computer. No worries, Monday will be here soon enough. I'm off to find a cozy place to enjoy Portland vs. Phoenix, get ready for action with a Bust a Bucket game preview and some Rip City Project thoroughness.

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Notice how Von Wafer has been getting minutes since the injury bug hit in Houston? Pretty awesome. Eventually, NBA.com may even update his player photo. Go Blazers!

Weakend Review: Don't you feel better? I feel better.

After the heavy dose of depression that was the Blazers vs. Lakers on opening night, I entered the weekend searching for some salvation. Luckily the games against San Antonio and Phoenix brought a little of the warm fuzziness back. Here's some tidbits...

Portland 100, San Antonio 99 (box score):

-This team will be tough at home all season, a rabid Rip City crowd seems to help the young'ins attack with confidence. The Spurs found that out the hard way as the Blazers held on for the narrowest of victories.

-Nicolas Batum played an absolutely stellar first half. Blazers management raised some eyebrows when they decided to keep Batum on the roster after his lame summer league performance. His play proves once again that Kevin Pritchard knows more than we do.

-The Spurs put some brutal shackles on Roy last season. It was hard to watch. This game, Roy was awesome against San Antonio's defense. His success was probably due to a combination of his continued growth and a Spurs team that is a year older. I prefer more of the former.

Phoenix 107, Portland 96 (box score):

-Portland lead at the half and played competitively throughout at Phoenix. This is encouraging considering that reports of the Suns death have been greatly exaggerated.
-Rudy Fernandez was great in this game. Teams aren't really considering him in defensive schemes yet, but they will have to if he continues to play like this. It really is not fair that the Blazers continue to get awesome young talent. Sorry NBA.

The Outdoor Game! Phoenix vs. Denver

I watched that outdoor NBA preseason game the other night. This pretty much sums it up. Once the novelty wore off, I realized I was watching some horrible basketball. The highlight of the game had to be when Suns GM Steve Kerr joined the broadcasting team for a chat. I'm not sure what was said, but there was a Suns dancer wearing the tightest pants ever in the background, and she was absolutely working it. So, you know, that was nice.

Terry Porter got the Suns job? Rudy is coming? Someone should blog about that...

I have no business blogging right now. Seriously. I'm in a cave somewhere frantically pounding my keyboard with bloody stubs that used to be fingers, gasping for one last wave of vigor as I dig my way through a sea of inconveniently close deadlines.

Apparently I don't control the timing of many things in life. This includes juicy Blazer developments that are just begging to be tossed around in this desolate space.

For example, Terry Porter getting the Suns coaching job. Wow. Really. You know we wish him well.

And then Rudy making it official that he will be coming over. That isn't especially surprising, but an eerily familiar pattern seems to be emerging here. Remember when the tornado of Sergio hype touched down in the Portland area? That was a ride.

Rudy is better prepared and in a better position to succeed than Sergio was/is, but I have really been hoping local media folks would wait at least two seconds before giving the guy an insane amount of hype. I took the picture below of the front page of the Oregonian today while on my morning Poptarts run. Sheesh people:

The Final Game: Portland at Phoenix

The season that was the jumpoff for this city rediscovering that Blazers love is coming to a conclusion tonight. They play a Phoenix team that is both elite and motivated. All the playoff seeding possibilities are confusing (to me), but we know that Phoenix will not have home-court advantage in the first round if they don't beat Portland tonight.

With Portland's late surge they've achieved the ahead of schedule feat of 41 wins, guaranteeing at least a .500 season. Of course they will be pumped at the opportunity to secure an above .500 record. For the youngest team of in the league, the way the Western Conference is this year, I'd say even being so close is remarkable.

Unfortunately, the game is at Phoenix. Portland is still trying to figure out how to win consistently on the road (13-27) and against Phoenix (0-9 over last nine). Factoring in a Suns squad that will be more amped than they usually get for the Trailblazers and the odds of a Rip City win seem remote. So be it. This team has overachieved all season. Given their taste for overcoming odds, I wouldn't be surprised at a Blazers win tonight. It would be a perfect end to this season, sending one more blip on the basketball radar that this team is turning into a serious force.

That is the sappy fan in me. The reality is that this season has been a huge success regardless of what happens in the desert tonight. Things are good in Blazerland, and somehow getting better. I'm just enjoying the ride.

Impending DOOM

A couple days ago I joked that Brad Miller and Hedo Turkoglu being named players of the week was a sign of the apocalypse. Hardee-har-har.

Now this is happening. Wow. Suffice to say, I'm heading to Costco to stock up on bottled water and Wal Mart to stock up on ammunition. Anyone know how to build a bunker?

Goonerluke Gives Thanks

In an ongoing indulgence of my laziness, another fine member of the DeceptivelyQuick extended family has stepped up with an entry. He is the infamous Goonerluke, who you likely know if you frequent our manifest-destiny friends over at BlazersEdge. Now he's giving thanks those who have played an underrated role in the resurgence of the young Blazers:

Today we take a look at those often overlooked individuals who made our current Blazers team possible and to who we all owe a debt of gratitude.

Isaiah Thomas, New York Knicks, GM

Never shy of tying another huge anchor around the neck of his ever-sinking Knicks franchise, Isaiah made the move that he thought would put his ESPN fantasy team over the top, he acquired Zach Randolph from the Blazers. A move that, if not putting the Blazers “over the top,” at least got them over a hump. (I call the other hump “D Miles”) To my friends I often describe Zeke’s skills as a general manager as the double inverse of his skills as a player. (Exception: Unless Zeke’s skills as a general manager are considered in the context of ESPN fantasy league basketball, in which case he is a borderline genius) The Blazers have overachieved this year, while the Knickerbockers are hopelessly bad, with or without Zach. How some Knicks fan hasn’t lit himself on fire in the middle of Times Square, I’ll never know. But it looks like that is what it’s going to take. Brutal, brutal legacy to leave, Zeke. Big ups for helping us with Z-Bo though, I promise I’ll never boo you. (Except for when ESPN classic shows the ’90 Finals, then I have to boo.)

Microsoft Corp.

While not really an individual, Microsoft is a corporation, which is a business that gets the same rights as an individual, or something like that. Regardless, the success of this Washington company has been very good to us Oregonians as well, as Paul Allen’s $18 billion (thank you MSFT!) makes the NBA salary cap and over the cap penalty more of an annoyance than anything else for Portland GMs.

Phoenix Suns ownership

Is majority owner Robert Sarver eating Shrimp Flavor Cup o’ Noodles for lunch? I hope so. I think the Suns post Nash/Hill era would look a lot brighter with Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, and the new Jim Jones. Sarver’s personal fortune is only 2.22% of Paul Allen’s, which means that his GM has to worry about the salary cap. Lucky for us, Phoenix’s strategy for fiscal responsibility involves jettisoning young talent to the Rose City. I toast my Sangria to you, Mr. Sarver. Ole!

Jim Paxson, Chicago Bulls, GM

In the 2006 NBA Draft, aka “The Kevin Pritchard coming out Party,” Jimmy P. gambled on upside and completely ignored fundamentals and polish when he traded LMA for TT and The Wolverine (Viktor Khryapa). I knew there had to be a good reason why we retired Paxson’s number – so that one day we could use it as a psychological edge and make him bend to our will.

Danny Ainge/Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics/Minnesota Timberwolves, GM/GM

Grouped together because they both passed on BR7 and I’m lazy. In reality, Danny Ainge deserves a way bigger shellacking on this because he basically traded the #7 pick for Telfair and a bit of cap relief = Theo’s contract