Currently in Portland, the Trail Blazers are a mess. When controversial players such as Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells were shipped out of town, it was supposed to be the start of a rejuvenated organization, and the fans were supposed to come flocking back. For that to happen, the Trail Blazers need to bring in quality guys with great character who will do everything they can to once again make the organization a winning one. This would in turn increase the amount of people in the public who will be willing to support a team that is a now second to last in attendance. Players like Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster have shown potential, but that won’t be fulfilled for years to come. The most enjoyable player to watch, Ruben Patterson, was recently traded to Denver, and it was always hard to cheer for him considering he is a registered sex offender.

Zach Randolph showed promise exactly when it mattered for him: in the final year of his rookie contract. That season he averaged 20.3 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game, one of only a handful of players to average a double-double in 2003-2004. There was a buzz in Portland because it seemed as though we had a solid player that we could build around. Guess again. Once ‘Z-Bo’ got his $84 million payday, his attitude changed and one could feel that things weren’t going to be good. He showed up for the next season still looking out of shape and fat. Not surprisingly, his knee blew out and he only played half the season. Recently, Randolph said that he wouldn’t be upset if he was traded because he might go to a winning team or somewhere that was warm. Personally, I hope another team is stupid enough to trade for him. $14 million per year should be enough to buy some effort, loyalty, and commitment to making your team a winner. Clearly that’s too much to ask of Randolph, who is more interested in showing his house off on ‘Cribs’ than making his team better.

I don’t even know where to begin with Darius Miles. The Blazers management gave him a six year $48 million contract because Paul Allen (the world’s 6th richest man) liked his potential. Miles’ first course of action after signing his new contract was to run out of town the community’s favourite figure in the organization – Maurice Cheeks. Miles has always been a bust. He has no motivation whatsoever and frequently is missing from team practices and then disappears on court too. I remember thinking to myself that when they signed Miles to the six year contract, the team would regret it – I bet they do now. It was just another awful management decision in a long line of awful management decisions. In that one summer alone, Trail Blazers management signed long-term contracts to Randolph, Miles, and Theo Ratliff (5 years, $55 million). These three players will cost close to $100 million over the next three years. I know hindsight is 20/20, but there is no way that they would sign any of these players if they could call a mulligan.

It’s no wonder that Allen wants to stop the financial bleeding of the club. Ultimately, it boils down to the fact that he can’t be successful as the owner of this team. For the sixth richest man in the world to ask for community support to stop the financial bleeding is ridiculous. Hello, Paul??? You’re the one that wanted to give Miles the big (and stupid) contract, you’re also the one that wouldn’t trade him recently. You must be the only person in the Pacific Northwest that thinks this guy has any talent. You’re the one that wanted to buy a championship in the late 90’s by accumulating the highest payroll in the entire NBA. Did it work? No, but you did come close. It’s time to cut your losses and give the community and Trail Blazers fans something to cheer about again.