Now even Quick is getting in on this LA wants out train

What do you have against our grand local media? If the Oregonian says it, I believe it.

 

Apparently the negativity is one of the few things that is marketable since Quick and Canzano kept their jobs.

 

I'll say this. Aldridge is/was so well loved by the fans in Portland, it will be hard to have him play here again after those comments because LITERALLY the only thing the great fans of Portland will not tolerate is a player turning his back on the city.

 

Seems like Batum did not have too much trouble last year.

 

What? The comments he made after Quick clearly pushed his buttons?

 

Batum's agent said that, not Batum

 

His agent works for him, so he paid for someone to talk shit about Portland.

Oden's comments were 100X worse than these and I believe he would still be able to play here if healthy.

 

ok.

 

For crying out loud, sometimes it feels like we should just draft players from small towns or colleges that will be hungry to play and happy in Portland.

CJ McCollum anyone?

Sometimes the non-stop rollercoaster that is Blazers basketball doesnt make me blame people for over-reacting.

 

Batum's comments were directed at the team and style of play. LA's comment seem to be directed at the city and lifestyle here.

 

Yup, outside of Oden (and he made his comments after leaving POR), no active Blazer has ever said anything like what LA just did.

 

The sad thing is, the beat down, pessimist Blazer fan in me that hides deep down inside and sometimes pokes its head out a little knew this was probably going to happen. Oden and Roy ... it just seemed that some sort of LMA issue was inevitable. Man, it would have been so fun to be a Blazers fan for about 5 to 10 years. Kinda makes draft day a bit of a bummer. But who knows what will happen or even when. It is what it is. Im not looking forward to another rebuild. And I really miss the playoffs even if we didnt have a chance to really make noise.

Ok time for the little pessimist Blazers devil to go away for awhile and live in the moment and enjoy the wonders and possibilities of the draft and free agency. I have had my vent now.

 

get good value, hopefully this incites a bidding frenzy

or keep him and tell him to grow up, do his job, and fulfill his contract

 

I just read the Quick article

Aldridge said the reason he hates Portland is you can't do anything. Not nothing to do, but if you do anything it gets looked at under a microscope. I think he wants to be moved, but that story was misinterpreted big time

 

What comments? I've never seen grown men flip out over anonymous 'sources' and innocuous quotes, and go on to treat them as fact.

 

This.

Quick: "My sources tell me you want a clause in your lease that you won't have to pay a penalty if you get traded."

Player: "What the fuck? How did you find out about that? What business of yours is it if I want an out clause in my lease? That's what I hate about Portland. You can't do anything in this town without you ass clowns finding out about it and making a big deal out of it. Next you'll print how often I take a shit. Christ, let me out of this hell."

Or something like that.

 

Yeah, I don't see any comments that could be construed as negative towards the city - other than a media fishbowl comment brought on by Quick. Was he frustrated by the losing? Clearly. Wouldn't we be concerned if he wasn't?

 

LaMarcus Aldridge wants out of Portland, don't expect it to happen Thursday...

http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/06/blazers_insider_although_lamar.html

Throughout this summer, there have been rumors the Trail Blazers might trade LaMarcus Aldridge, and I’m not the least bit surprised.

Not that I believe general manager Neil Olshey is looking to move the star power forward. But I believe Aldridge wants out.

Will it result in a trade during Thursday’s NBA Draft?

I doubt it, unless it includes Portland getting either Atlanta’s Al Horford, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New Jersey’s Brook Lopez, or the Clippers’ Blake Griffin.

See, Aldridge wants to end his seven-year run with the Blazers because he thinks Portland is too small. Too boring.

But Olshey is not in the business to make players happy. He is in the business of making the Blazers better. And if there has been one consistent with Aldridge throughout his seven years in Portland, it’s that he puts up somewhere around 21 points and 8 rebounds a game whether he is happy, unhappy or indifferent to what direction the Blazers are headed.

Still, it is an interesting proposition for Olshey as he embarks on his second summer of reshaping the franchise. Aldridge has two years remaining on his contract in Portland. He has no leverage to demand a trade right now. But he will after this season, when he can enter his final season in Portland with a threat to walk into free agency, leaving the Blazers with nothing in return, except for some salary cap relief.

So it might be wise for Olshey to shop Aldridge and see what he could net in return. If it’s not a Horford, or a Davis, then play on. Get another All-Star caliber season out of Aldridge.

With the arrival of today’s draft, I have no idea if Olshey will deal Aldridge. But I am convinced Aldridge would not only welcome a trade, but is hoping for a trade. Had that feeling since the last week of the 2012-2013 season.

The day before the end of the 2012-2013 season, before a game at the Clippers in Los Angeles, some third-hand knowledge had been passed down to me on my way to the arena: Aldridge was unhappy in Portland and wanted out. So I cornered the Trail Blazers star outside the locker room, before the game, and asked how he felt about Portland.

“What do you mean, feel?’’ Aldridge asked warily.

“How do you feel about the city, the team?’’

“I’m fine,’’ he said shortly.

I told him he didn’t sound very convincing.

“I’m fine,’’ he repeated. “I had one season that was tough, it’s a building year and right now, I’m not going to get into it. This season was better than we thought it would be, it ended rough, but I haven’t gotten into that mindset of evaluating things.’’

I asked him what he meant when he said he ‘wasn’t going to get into it.’

“I mean, I’m fine. I know a lot of questions are about to come up about my happiness and this and that, but I’m fine. We had a tough season and now we just have to wait until the summertime and see what the next step is.’’

As we leaned against a wall, and other players walked in and out of the locker room, I asked Aldridge if he had asked to be traded or anything along those lines.

“No,’’ he said. “We haven’t talked about that.’’

Do you want to be moved?

“I’m fine. Like I said, it was a tough season, but I’m not trying to jump ship. We will sit down and we will talk about who we are going to bring in, and what things will happen and we will go from there.’’

We went back and forth. I told him it had been relayed to me that he didn’t re-up with any of his Portland sponsorships and deals, agreements that in the past included Cadillac, Chevy, and Providence Hospital. And that it had been relayed to me that he was asking to get out of a lease on his Pearl District condo.

It had the appearance that Aldridge was putting his affairs in order. Preparing for a clean break from Portland and the Blazers.

He said it was correct that he didn’t sign any sponsorship deals this winter, but that had nothing to do with his desire to stay in Portland.

“I just didn’t want to do anything this year,’’ Aldridge said. “Being in Portland for seven years, I have done everything I can do, so I’m just waiting it out to see if there is anything I like. I’ve done car deals, all types of stuff. So I’m just chillin.’’’

He said he was looking to cancel his condo in the Pearl because he used it for his family when they visit him during the season. He didn’t see a reason to keep it during the summer.

“People are going to read into whatever I do,’’ Aldridge said.

He said he would reserve any declarations until he meet with Olshey after the season, and then he would gauge where he stood with the Blazers.

“That’s the plan,’’ Aldridge said.

If he didn’t like what he heard from the GM?

“I will cross that bridge when we get there. I can’t do what-ifs. Right now, he is telling me he is going to bring guys in over the summer, so we will talk about it and go from there. If we are not on the same page, we will figure it out.’’

After the game, I approached Aldridge again, this time in the locker room. I asked more questions about his past sponsorships and why he suddenly this year decided not to renew any of them. And since our pregame talk, I had received more information, again through a third party: He was trying to put a clause into his lease that if he was traded, he wouldn’t have to pay penalties for breaking the lease early.

Aldridge was irritated.

“This is why I hate being in Portland,’’ he told me. “You can’t do anything.’’

The next night was the season finale in Portland, and I asked Olshey about Aldridge. Turns out, the two already had quite the face-to-face meeting about two weeks prior. Much was said. But on the record, Olshey would only give generalities.

“It’s the end of a long season,’’ Olshey said. “He hasn’t made any trade demands. But if there is one thing I can say, it’s I empathize with what LaMarcus is going through. This is the fourth genesis that he has lived through: From the Jail Blazers, to a youth movement, to a bunch of aging veterans, to this. It’s not easy for him.’’

How was Olshey going to handle Aldridge moving forward?

“Well, I’ll tell you this: I’m not going to be making any phone calls to move him,’’ Olshey said. “But if the phone rings and it makes the team better ...’’

He shrugged.

Today, we will find out if Olshey ever got that call.

 

Re: LaMarcus Aldridge wants out of Portland, don't expect it to happen Thursday...

Thank god there is a new thread on this.