Got a question? I'll try to answer it.

Greetings forum dwellers! I'm in Phoenix for tonight's game and have a bit of down time to fill before heading to the arena. And since my pale, delicate skin can't handle Arizona-style sunlight in mid-January, I figured I'd hop on the forum and see if anyone had any questions they'd like answered. Of course, I probably don't HAVE a good answer, but I'm willing to try.

 

By the way, redesign looks great. Nice work, whoever did that.

 

Nice!!! Haven't interacted with you since OLive days. Good work with forwardcenter, etc.

What's the plane like? Do guys just do their own thing, or do they interact with each other a lot? Is the general decorum different between wins and losses?

Do guys treat LA like a #1? Is Dame making a dent to that claim? Is Wes truly the vocal leader on this team?

 

Do any of the other Blazers players or Blazers Brass visit this forum?

 

The plane is pretty much your standard commercial jet, but with all first class seating. There's a section (from front to back) for players, a section for coaches and a section for broadcasters, training and PR staff and myself. Players and coaches sections have tables as well. It's very comfortable. We don't interact with the players and coaches unless they come back to our area, which is infrequent, so I'm not entirely sure what they're doing up there, but I know there are guys who play cards on a regular basis. They also watch lots of movie and game film. And while it's probably slightly more jovial after a win, it's usually not that different from game to game.

Aldridge is certainly the most revered player in the locker room. He's far more vocal the last two seasons than he was in the past, so I think he's the guy other guys look to. I think Wes is right up there as well.

 

It's very possible, though most don't share their browser history with me, for whatever reason.

 

Thanks for answering. There was talk elsewhere about how fans hang on to wins and losses more than players do. Wanted to see if there was any truth to that.

Moving past the softball stuff, did you catch the story about the Nets player getting caught by the papers coming in to the hotel with hot women early in the morning, on the day of a game? How frequently does this happen and just not get reported (with this team, and others in the league)? In general, do you think guys on this team are faithful to their significant others? Is Nic's divorce a discussion point among the team?

 

what former players do the current players talk about or seem to miss the most?

 

Even Neil Olshey?

 

Casey, any stories about times you got hassled by other team players or fans, or employees while on the road? I'd assume you could leave the team/player anonymous.

 

Do they let the HCP fly on the plane or do they make him fly commercial?

How's the team's spirits after the injury to LA? Business as usual or a bit more concerned?

 

Hey Casey,

As an international fan (I'm from New Zealand btw!) I've always fantasized with the idea of spending a season over there and just setting up camp and watching all the home games when I'm a little older n more financially stable. I was just wondering in your journeys with the team if you run into many international fans along the way? Any crazies? And do the Blazers do anything specifically for international fans? Not sure exactly what that could/would be, more so maybe just the awareness of how far Blazermania reaches.

From what I've seen here in Auckland, there are just a handful of times ive seen Blazer jerseys being worn around the place, recently seen 2x Lillards though, but mostly throwbacks like Clyde - and I'm definitely the only person in New Zealand rocking a Damon Stoudamire jersey

 

100 percent honest here, I've only twice have I ever seen anything like that, and it was some time ago. I don't know how frequently it happens and, to be honest, I don't think it really matters. It's not anyone's business, in my opinion if you're out all night partying or up all night taking care of a sick child. We put a lot of importance on sports, but these are still individuals living their lives, and to a large extent, I don't think it's fair for anyone to tell someone else how they should conduct themselves. Same goes for infidelity. As for Nic's divorce, I've never once heard it mentioned. Heck, Nic would never even admit that he WAS married until the newspaper got a hold of the story.

 

I've wondered that myself. I'm guessing it might be a little of both, though I would lean toward DNP's for DNP's sake. And with so many regular rotation players out of the lineup, maybe that makes it a little harder to get Allen in the game consider there aren't injuries at his position, if that makes sense.

 

Probably Mo Williams since he's the most recent. He was also really close to Dame, Will, Thomas and Dorell, so he's the guy who gets mentioned the most.

 

Any idea if all trade talks are dead? They seemed to spike about 2 weeks ago with Wilson Chandler and Jose Calderon then vanished. Never got the Jose Calderon thing either.

 

Who is this HCP that you speak of ? Everyone who travels with the team takes the same plane. There have been rare occasions, such as during the playoff series versus the Suns from ... whenever that was, when those of us lower on the totem pole have to fly commercial, but that hasn't happened in a few years now.

As for team mentality, I think they're kind of used to injuries at this point. And they have some experience playing without LA from last year, so I don't think they're too awful concerned. I mean, they'd much rather he could play, but NBA players also tend to be fairly confident in their own abilities.